Sacrifice (1)
“What the hell is this bullshit?”
A heavy silence descended in an instant.
The knights stood there awkwardly, and at their forefront was our Belladys—no, Vera—bristling with irritation. Her pale beauty now brimmed with vitality, making her look like a stunning magazine cover model. I could stare at her all day in a daze; she had that devilish charm.
But right now...
There was just one feral stray cat, hackles raised, not even recognizing her own lord.
“Uh... Vera?”
“How dare you shorten my name like that. That's... that's a pet name reserved for me and my lord alone...!”
A menacing aura of magic rose from Vera.
“Do you understand why that's reason enough for me to rip you apart and kill you right now?”
“...”
Let me trace the disconnect between her and me here.
Ah.
Even with Possession, the system only lets me see her from a first-person perspective. My avatar in the game isn't precisely described. It's for immersion, tailored for the gentlemen players.
As such, my in-game avatar has an ambiguous appearance. So the form I've descended in via Possession looks utterly foreign to them.
Emergency.
Once I realized that, Vera's rage no longer seemed like mere petulance.
Super emergency!
She was growling for real, a beast ready to tear her foe to shreds.
-Whoooosh!
The first assault came as a razor-sharp thrust. I activated a skill and barely blocked it at the last second.
-Clang!
Her attack halted against a translucent barrier with a vicious screech. It carried killing intent, sending a chill down my spine, but Belladys had no means to harm me right now.
My Possession level was 10, at the pinnacle. That meant the body formed by Possession was impervious to harm from any being in this world.
Still, I wanted to test a defensive skill. Taking an attack head-on in front of everyone looked bad, and I was curious to try it out myself.
It's cool as hell.
A heavenly being descending with wings unfurled from the sky. Casually blocking an attack from one of the world's strongest with such effortless grace and serenity.
How could I resist?
Back to the present.
I decided to take action as I gazed at Vera, whose mood had soured terribly.
“Vera.”
“That name again...!”
Ah, we're not at that stage yet.
“Belladys.”
“How dare you call me by name. I won't forgive you!”
What was I supposed to do here?
-Whoosh.
Enormous wings sprouted from my back and flapped on their own. The breeze tousled Belladys's hair gently.
I hadn't landed yet. Hovering in the air, I calmly surveyed the situation.
The knights' aura was fiercely hostile. They'd clearly come ready to settle things today. Otherwise, they wouldn't march here in such deadly weapons and armor.
For me. To rescue me from a nonexistent hostage drama, they'd steeled themselves even for war.
Admirable, but...
It was ironic that this all stemmed from a misunderstanding.
I pondered for a moment. Since I'd already Possessed, why not lean into the concept a bit more?
For instance.
“War brings happiness to no one.”
If I smiled benevolently, exuding the leisure of one who knew all the world's affairs, it would plant doubt even in their formidable force.
“You don't seem like the type to listen to words from the Black Sun cult.”
“Are you saying I'm an apostle of the Black Sun?”
“Isn't that what it looks like? You appear out of nowhere, nullify my attack, and block my lord's knights.”
Hmm, from their perspective, sure.
But I was just here for a fan meet-and-greet.
“And you still don't recognize me? How disappointing.”
“...You.”
Belladys's expression grew increasingly menacing as I maintained my unflappable poise.
“Die, or get out of the way.”
“Neither appeals.”
-Grind.
A grinding sound from her clenched teeth signaled the end of her patience. Another attack was coming soon.
I first checked Belladys's stats leisurely.
Her Strength was at 10, the pinnacle for humans. No one could match her in combat prowess.
Fighting gently wouldn't work, so I'd melt her defenses with words and win her over.
I reminisced carefully about my history with Belladys.
Quest character, vampire, victim of the Black Sun cult. No one could quell the hatred she harbored for the Black Sun.
They'd utterly ruined her life.
'Avatar of the Black Sun' is sneaking glances nervously.
Know you messed up?
She'd bungled human affairs so badly it showed. No wonder the kid turned out twisted.
“The first time we met, you were with Lisia.”
“...Lisia?”
“Now you're willing to hear me out?”
I hate fighting. It'd ruin that pretty face I'd gone to such lengths for.
Combat talk applies to ground-dwellers; we Constellations couldn't care less.
Regardless, I kept speaking to the wary Belladys.
“Back there, in the Black Sun cult's forbidden sanctuary.”
Nothing tickles the heart like a first meeting story. First impressions are half the battle, right?
And ours was particularly intense.
“How do you know about that?”
“Lisia worried about you, but I knew the warmth in your heart.”
The battle with the Black Sun's vampire, Belladys, was notoriously tough, shaking up the community. True to her legendary monster namesake, the devs had poured effort into her—bizarre attack patterns that smashed players' hopes.
Phase 2.
And watching the boss's health bar refill on every hit felt like cosmic horror, blood turning ice-cold.
Many players gave up recruiting her and chose deletion.
But I didn't abandon Belladys.
All it took was persistence and time. Lisia shone in that fight. Only she, who'd been with me from the start, could frontline against Belladys's power.
The rest specialize in support.
Not that others were useless. She was just essential then.
Blocking Belladys's platform leaps in the pre-phase, I'd analyze patterns and feed back to Lisia.
Thus, we cornered her near death.
[Vampire Belladys Rozeria]
The key was decoding the curse in her blood.
Holy Blood.
Obtained by clearing an event quest with 16-day attendance. Prerequisite for recruitment.
And that perk still coursed in me.
◈ Intense divine power infused blood that can quell blood curses. Use on 'Belladys Rozeria' to recruit to the cult.
Of course, Belladys was already in our cult, so no real effect, but sentiment matters, right?
I pondered once more.
Hmm.
Just using it would be boring. After all this buildup, popping it out flatly would kill the vibe.
How to make it dramatic?
My eyes drifted to the whining message window.
Hey.
The Avatar of the Black Sun floated a question mark at my call.
Help me. With words alone?
'Avatar of the Black Sun' stiffens rigidly.
Let's use one of your cult kids.
Might as well exploit the situation fully.
'Avatar of the Black Sun' doubts her ears.
You gotta earn your keep.
For example, villains doing villainy—isn't that normal?
I'm the one fielding all her ire right now, so I needed to divert her gaze briefly.
The Black Sun cult was right there, the original target anyway. Fully prepped to block our advancing faithful.
Their somber armor exuded intimidation, but compared to our dazzling crew, it was child's play.
They knew it too. If holy war broke now, their cult would vanish from the world today.
Have one of yours attack me.
'Avatar of the Black Sun' asks if you're insane.
Just do it. Or fold?
My icy addition stirred unrest among the standoffish Black Sun group.
“Wh-what is this?! What's wrong with you?!”
“Grrr...!”
One convulsed, then massive divine power surged. The Avatar's frenzy and amplification buffs, no doubt.
Perfect.
Satisfied, I continued my kindly chat with Belladys, feigning ignorance.
“I'm sorry to stand before you like this. It's all my sin.”
“You, what the—”
Belladys plunged deeper into confusion.
But before she could deduce answers...
“Raaargh!!”
A cult priest leaped between us in a flash, unleashing a mighty blow at me.
-Splash!!
Red blood sprayed across her pale cheek.