Equipment Printing School Mage

Twenty-one Blood Sacrifice (Part 2)

"Who are you?"

When Emiya and his group met the elders in charge of the city's defense, they were met with harsh scolding.

The patrol cavalrymen leading the way in front of them were already covered in cold sweat.

No matter from which angle you look at it, their bringing a group of mysterious people before the elders seemed to be inviting a wolf into the house - but their team was indeed no match for them, and even if they fought to the death, they would not have had time to send a signal.

Before Emiya and his companions stood an old man with a white beard and brow, but facial hair thick as a lion's mane. He wore the white robes of the Good Archmage, embellished with ornaments of a style only worn by Halrua's most distinguished elders.

Emiya wasn't angry—to be fair, their appearance did differ somewhat from the Halruan people, and their behavior was probably also quite different from the Halruan people, who were known for their countless formalities. It was only natural for an elder to be wary of them, even hostile.

Their original purpose for this trip was to eliminate the influence of Shar and the Gods and Non-Gods. Even if there was bloodshed, it would be best to keep it to a minimum.

But Emiya never expected that these rats that were supposed to be still lurking had actually begun a blood sacrifice!

The most difficult illusionist in their team to distinguish between good and evil also looked down on this trick of slaughtering innocent people.

The illusionist observes the world and the human heart, ultimately confusing the false with the true - and sacrifice is an act of bullying the weak, relying on others for hope, future, and even soul, which is the most despicable.

The reactions of others were naturally more intense.

Metatron did not choose to argue with the elder, but simply took a step forward.

By now, they had entered the shadow of Halruaa's city, almost completely engulfed by the darkness cast by the tower.

Emiya said coldly, "Let's get straight to the point. We know about the mass sacrifice case and we hate it immensely. We hope to help Haligard get to the bottom of it and bring the perpetrators to justice."

"Then I'll ask again." The elder glanced at the overly young team, "Who are you?"

Aimiya replied, "You don't know me, but we know you—you are Giles al-Arafat, ranked 127th in the Halruaah Council of Elders thirty years ago. You are now 240 years old, with a violent temper. You hate to play along with others—so, I'll be frank."

"We are the chosen ones of the Magic Goddess who have come to spread the Magic Web."

"We set out from Toril over ten days ago, overcoming numerous obstacles and hardships before finally reaching Halruaa and landing successfully in Halayach. Our purpose in coming to this land is simple: to rescue Halruaa, who have been sinking for nearly a hundred years, from their suffering and lead them back to the Weave and the embrace of Toril.

"We accidentally learned that someone in Halrua, a holy land for the spread of arcane magic, had committed an extremely horrific crime. We believe that this evil will be a major obstacle to the spread of the magic network, so we hope to participate."

Normally, these remarks would be enough to shock the vast majority of Halruaan people.

Even Sassan and Orma, who were standing behind them, heard it for the first time and couldn't help but tremble - this subtle movement naturally did not escape the eyes of Sig and Haverfont.

However, this Giles Al Arafat was personally confirmed by one of their guides, Elder Nayef, to have a violent temper, and it was indeed well-deserved.

Even though he couldn't help but shudder when he heard about spreading the magic web, he immediately raised his head again and said, "If you are the goddess's messengers, then every piece of land in Halruaa is thirsting for the nourishment of the magic web. You can begin to deploy the magic web. Next, I recommend going to the Temple of Mystril on Mount Taras. There should still be a few former priests there who are still holding on."

Then he pointed to his waist-length beard and said, "I won't bother you with the tedious matters of Haligad."

He did not dwell on the identities of Emilia and the others, but simply admitted it - however, he found a high-sounding reason and pushed Emilia and the others out with great determination.

Without even waiting for Emilia and the others to show their silver fire!

"...Is that so?" Mars stepped forward, revealing his insignia as a Knight of the Secret Fire. "You are naturally the most important law enforcer in Halegaard. However, according to Halruaan law, you have no right to refuse intervention from others, especially from the capital, Halayach, regarding prisoners who could threaten an area larger than a city."

"And in Haligard, an incident of...an extremely egregious nature has occurred," the paladin said, emphasizing each word. "And if that weren't enough, the person involved is not only on the run, but was once a member of the Council of Elders. He hasn't been apprehended and his whereabouts are unknown. This is definitely not just a Haligard matter!"

Giles Al Arafat blinked at the Secret Fire Knight emblem on Mars' chest, took a deep breath, and gave up on the foolishness of arguing with the paladin about legal provisions. He raised his head and said, "You have misunderstood. I didn't mean to exclude you. The investigation is over, and I don't want to waste any more of your time."

"Is it over? What's the conclusion? What's the whole story?" Emilia asked.

"It's simple. Shar's followers have always been proud to join the church. Giving up all ties in their previous lives to prove their piety is merely the beginning. It's not uncommon for them to personally kill all their loved ones and friends." Giles spoke coherently, clearly having prepared for it for a long time. "After a long and hopeless wait, they received news that the goddess of magic's messenger had arrived first and restored the Halayach magic network. In extreme desperation, they finally decided to take a risk and use a last-ditch, crazy measure to try to get the goddess's answer - sacrificing their own children."

"This idea seems to have a major flaw," Emilia said, "The only prisoner you captured, Ionnata Edelhorst's only child, was born just a few hours ago."

"—Ha!" Giles glanced at Olma's carriage. "So, Olma, my student, tell me, you were staying in a nearby town a few days away during your pregnancy, but you chose to come to Haligad when you were about to give birth?"

Emiya frowned: "...To obtain...spellcasting assistance?"

He had never known before that Olma was actually one of the students of the elder in front of him.

"Nonsense," Giles waved his hand. "There are countless towns in Halruaa, and it's not just Haligad and Halayach that have elders in charge! Elders from any place wouldn't be too expensive to help. At least she could stay home and avoid the rough ride. Why would she have to travel for days and nights?"

"Olma," the elder in charge of Halygad's defense said confidently, "Who sent you on this journey to Halygad with a big belly?"

Olma's body was completely frozen, but he still shook his head slowly: "...It was me..."

Giles looked down at her and snorted, "When you were little, you couldn't help but twirl your feet whenever you told a lie. Now you're a mother, and you haven't gotten rid of that habit! Let me reveal the answer—it was your husband, Aenata, who sent you a letter asking you to come to Halygaard! We've found records of the letter in the Halygaard branch of the Knights of the Secret Fire! Unfortunately, your husband may love you, but he definitely doesn't love your child—and his worship of the Goddess of Night even outweighs his attachment to his family!"

"Unfortunately, he's not only a bastard, but also a complete idiot." Elder Giles leaned heavily on his staff. "As a result, the entire Mage Tower disappeared without a trace, and he became the only idiot arrested in the Mage Tower!"

wrong.

Emilia frowned slightly.

Giles believed that Aenata was a follower of Shar. However, judging from the time Sasan had let it slip, their family must have been closely connected to the Gods and Non-Gods.

However, Halligard's investigation led him in a completely different direction. Giles had already firmly established that the Blood Sacrifice was a forsaken member of the Church of Shar.

At this moment, Haverfont made an inexplicable move.

She hesitantly opened an envelope, took out a piece of paper, opened her eyes wide, and then looked up at the sky, not knowing what she was looking for.

Emilia shook her head and continued, "So, the purpose of the sacrifice has been concluded?"

"Yes," Giles replied, "They wanted to use this all-or-nothing sacrifice to make a final plea for the goddess's favor—unfortunately, this last effort also failed. All items related to the sacrifice have been recovered..."

He paused for a moment and whispered, "Even those mutilated corpses."

At this moment, a flock of geese flew across the sky. Their flapping wings stirred up an astonishingly strong gust of wind, making their shapes quite blurred.

Haverfont was silent for a moment, then read the words written on the envelope: "...My dear student, when you see a line of seven geese transformed from air elements flying overhead, you can start counting down to ten. Then, you will understand the foolishness of Giles's conclusion."

Then, the illusionist began to count down seriously.

???

Emiya was full of questions: "What are you doing?"

Haverfont waved his hand, signaling Emilia not to disturb him while he was counting down.

At that moment, Yin pointed to a rather grand building behind Giles and said, "In three seconds, that building will become history. Two, one."

Is it a coincidence? Their countdowns hit zero at the same time.

At the moment of exit zero, a fountain spewing out fiery steam instantly shot up into the sky - along with the spring water, the countless bricks and stones that made up the building also rushed into the sky.

Amidst the deafening sound of shattering, Giles turned around in disbelief: "...Oh no!" Then the elderly man immediately called out a portal, rushed into the door and disappeared.

The high-rise building destroyed by the spring was actually the core headquarters of the entire city patrol!

At this moment, Yin turned around thoughtfully: "...What you just read, was it the letter Zarason sent you?"

Twenty-two Blood Sacrifices (Part 3)

Ionata Edelhorst woke up in her hospital bed.

When he woke up, that desperate scene still lingered in his mind—

With a deafening crash, a fountain of steam gushed out and collapsed the wall of the patrol office. At that time, he was a mage who was tied up tightly and could only watch helplessly as the heat wave of destruction engulfed him completely.

Recalling the agony of being boiled alive in boiling water, Aenata trembled uncontrollably, almost instinctively wanting to confirm whether his body was still alive, whether he had become a skeleton, and whether the flesh and blood growing on it had been boiled alive and fell off.

At this moment, a strange young male voice suddenly rang out before him without warning: "I don't recommend you touch your skin now - otherwise your skin might really be torn apart by your fingers."

The sound scared Aenata so much that he almost jumped out of bed, but then a piercing burning pain spread from all parts of his body, making him scream.

Urgently, the voice said mercilessly, "Now is not the time for you to cry out in pain. Answer my questions, or else, if I can save you, I can also naturally cook you again."

Aenata's rationality as a mage forced him to calm down. He struggled to sit up on the bed and tried to open his eyes.

"Falsehoods and deceit are rampant in the world, and omniscience resides only in the Supreme Being." But almost at the same time, the voice spoke again: "We even used the invaluable regeneration technique to save you. You'd better not take any more unnecessary actions."

"You are...are..." Aenata sat up straight in an almost stiff posture, but immediately realized something.

Regeneration?!

This level of precious divine arts should have been extinct in Halrua!

He shuddered involuntarily, then forced himself to speak in a tone of immense surprise: "You are... from Toril?"

The young voice was silent for a moment, then said, "Your reaction was somewhat unexpected—I thought you would be pleasantly surprised."

"...I...no, my subordinates are of course..." Aenata's eyes rolled around very quickly. "I just didn't expect that I would actually wait until this day..."

"Okay, let's stop chatting here."

Aenata tentatively opened his eyes a little, but found that there was only a ball of roiling flames in front of him, and no human figure could be seen - but judging from other backgrounds, he should indeed be in the hospital in Haligard.

The interrogator didn't give him a chance to think further and simply asked, "What on earth happened? Why were you discovered?"

What to do is not a problem, but being exposed in public is another matter - this is probably the common point of all evil churches that like to plot.

But when faced with this question, Aenata's answer was like an outburst from his chest: "Because it's a complete frame-up! I just came back from the City Library, and when I got back to the Mage Tower, I was tied up and brought here by the Inspection Department. They tortured me severely, saying that I was a cruel and inhumane villain, that I used human blood sacrifices and violated taboos - but I don't know anything about sacrifices!"

The silence spread like an abyss, filling the air with a suffocating sense of oppression.

"Then, the second question—I must verify your loyalty." After a long pause, the interrogator said, "What have you done before? What qualifies you to be our guide?"

The questioner snapped his fingers, and a flame with the stench of sulfur suddenly exploded above Aenata's head, singeing a few strands of Aenata's hair.

The hellfire of the gods and non-gods.

His voice barely fluctuated: "I'll only give you ten seconds to think about it."

"ten."

Then, as the count continued, Aenata could only remain silent.

Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, but he was speechless and couldn't utter a word.

"one."

At the last moment, inspiration struck Aenata, and he exclaimed, "I am the most suitable person in the guild to be Halrua's guide!"

“…Go on.”

Aenata let out a long breath, feeling as if his skin was about to burst, but he could only immediately say, "If you are here to conquer Halrua by force, then I am indeed far less useful than my colleagues. But if you desire a victory that leaves no trace, I am more suitable than them!"

"reason."

"...Because I'm pure," Aenata said. "From what I've observed, many members seem to have been lured into joining rather than believing in the creed. They've actually just joined the Serabi Mage Tower, and Elder Serabi himself presided over the Gods of the Non-Gods Conference, that's all. As for me, I've truly despaired of the Goddess of Magic and my own arcane path, but I have no choice but to persevere, even for my wife..."

At this point, he said, "That's why I joined the Gods and Non-Gods Society. And because of this, I've actually been stuck at the bottom of the Mage Tower. Those most promising foreign expeditions have nothing to do with me, and I can only study the scraps left over by others..."

"Point."

"The point is, my wealth is completely clean!" Ienata said quickly. "If I'm pushed to the forefront, no matter how much others suspect me, any investigation will be futile unless they directly frame me."

"...Humph." The questioner shook his head. "So, you haven't actually done anything. You're just a Halruaan wizard who understands some of the tenets of the Gods and Non-Gods."

Aenata's words were seen through at a glance, but he could only blush and say, "In Haligard, the so-called self-professed loyalty is only a proof of loyalty to the Serabi Mage Tower!"

"Okay, you passed." Before Aenata could breathe a sigh of relief, the questioner said, "So, now the Serab Mage Tower is empty. Where did they go?"

"...They just set off for Mount Taras a few days ago," Aenata said. "They collaborated with Elder Mustafa of Halayach to discover the celestial thunder flower. The Serapi family wanted to explore further, so they went out in full force to the Temple of Mithril on Mount Taras—that had always been their starting point."

"Well, Mr. Aenata, I have good news and bad news for you." The interrogator's voice finally relaxed a little. "The good news is that you've survived, and you probably won't be returning to the patrol cell anytime soon."

"And the bad news..."

With the sound of heavy footsteps, the sulfur flames dissipated, revealing more than a dozen figures. A sturdy warrior as strong as an iron tower took the lead and walked out of the smoke and dust first.

——The silver star holy emblem on the knight’s chest is somewhat glaring at this moment.

The knight, with a huge sword on his back, walked up to Aenata with murderous intent, put one hand on his chest, and healed Aenata's skin which had been slightly bleeding due to excessive tension.

But this phenomenon only made Aenata feel like he was falling into an icy cave.

The Silver Star Holy Emblem is a common symbol of the Goddess of Magic in Halrua. However, the Goddess of Magic's priests and spell guardians are not allowed to use sharp weapons.

In other words, this strong man is the almost extinct Secret Fire Knight.

The person who interrogated him was not the Gods or Gods Society at all, but...

The burly man smiled and said, "The bad news is, you only have one life left. From now on, you will not only have to be a guide..."

Almost at the same time, the loud cry of a baby suddenly broke the silence.

The burly man turned his head, looked out at the crowd, and shrugged: "I have another noisy daughter to support."

"……daughter?"

At this moment, the interrogator walked up to Aenata, dispelling the sulfur-smelling phantom to reveal a head of flaming hair. "Formally introduce myself—I'm Emya of Lunya. We represent the Goddess of Magic, having come from Toril. We are dedicated to restoring the Weave of Halruaa and helping all Halruans return to their full glory. From my perspective, I regret that at your age, you fell before the dawn. But you are fortunate that you didn't go the wrong way, and you still have a chance to redeem yourself."

"...Magic...Church." After confirming this, Aenata completely lost his strength and collapsed on the bed.