The Sacrifice for the Heretic Array
The Sacrifice for the Heretic Array
Crunch, crunch.
Betra sat in a dark corner of the room, biting her nails like she had an anxiety disorder.
She was terrified. She couldn’t forget Illea’s eyes she had seen that evening. Pupils dark as the abyss. The boundary between iris and sclera was gone, creating a grotesque and eerie sight.
It was similar to the gaze of a demon she had seen once in the royal capital.
“……That bitch is a demon.”
Or she must have been possessed by a ghost. No ordinary human could harbor such malice.
Having faced Illea’s true nature, Betra could no longer remain in the lord’s castle.
She had to leave before she was devoured.
At dawn, she planned to leave the territory.
Though her youthful days were over, her body was still fresh, and her allure had ripened even more than in her younger days.
Some lord in a rural backwater would surely take her in.
She would start over.
“……Shit.”
Reason and emotion were separate. It was infuriating to be driven out by a brat not even the size of a bean. Anger crawled up, diluting her fear. The unfairness eased the terror.
Why should she be the one to leave?
She liked this territory.
As long as she pleased the baron, the castle was nothing more than her playground. Even if the playthings called public girls broke, they were always replaced, and the servants treated Betra as the mistress of the castle.
Where else could she enjoy such luxury? For the lowly life of a prostitute, there would be no heaven like this again.
The small power she had enjoyed so far held Betra back.
She bit her nails nervously.
‘No way I’m getting kicked out by some stray bitch.’
She needed a way to drive Illea out instead.
It was hard to ask the baron for help as she usually would. With Illea having the baron’s favor behind her, there would be pointless consequences.
She had to find another solution.
While thinking deeply, a flash of inspiration came to her.
Betra raised one corner of her mouth.
A sure cure to destroy a possessed bitch. None other than the Great Saint Church. The Order, the natural enemy of demons, would see through Illea’s true nature.
If Illea was truly possessed, she would be locked away in a monastery under the pretext of treatment, and if she was a demon contractor, she would be skinned alive on the rack.
Both outcomes were good, but the latter was far more appealing.
Seeing that pale white skin turn into a lump of blood, Betra might truly feel salvation.
She began to cackle like a witch.
Tomorrow morning, she planned to formally report to the Order through a priest. That a demon contractor had appeared.
The Order would dispatch the Anti-Demon Unit to the territory.
Inquisitors, Holy Knights, exorcist priests, Punishers, and priests…… they, as vicious as demons, would judge Illea.
“That wicked bitch. That pretty face of yours will soon rot and decay.”
Pleasant imaginings drove away her anxiety and fear. In a few days, the castle would once again be Betra’s world.
Smiling, she climbed onto her bed. Just as she was about to fall asleep.
Click, click, click.
A dull sound came from beyond the door.
In time with the sound, the doorknob rattled intermittently.
Betra jolted upright.
‘Someone’s outside.’
It seemed like someone was trying to open the door.
Feeling unusually uneasy today, she had locked it, so the door did not open.
“W-Who is it!”
No answer came back.
The noise simply began to quicken in pace.
Click, click, click, click, click.
The doorknob rattled wildly. Eventually, it began to clatter up and down like mad.
Betra’s complexion turned pale.
The fear she had pushed down rose to the surface.
Just as she was about to scream, the noise abruptly stopped. Silence came without warning.
The noisy doorknob gently lowered.
Creak.
The old door opened slowly, making a grinding sound.
Betra’s eyes shook violently.
“I-Illea……?”
Through the crack in the door, the silver-haired girl stepped in. Her blue eyes were colder than usual.
“You locked the door, Mother.”
“Y-You knew, so why did you force it open?”
“Because I need you.”
“What do you mean, you need me……”
“To be exact, I want your body.”
Betra furrowed one brow.
“What are you saying?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
With that, Illea began to walk slowly toward the bed.
“Don’t come closer! Speak from there!”
Betra screamed as if having a fit, and Illea smiled softly at her.
“What are you so afraid of?”
“I know your true nature! If you come any closer, I’ll scream!”
The lord’s knights or guards would rush in immediately.
Illea stopped, looking troubled.
“My true nature, you say. It seems you’ve seen through me. So, what did you see?”
Tension filled Betra’s expression. As if making up her mind, she suddenly shouted.
“……A demon. You’re a demon!”
She wanted to scream for everyone to come and catch the demon here. But strangely, no sound came out.
Like crying underwater, her voice circled around her and scattered.
“Everyone’s asleep. It would be rude to shout like that.”
Betra frantically clutched at her neck.
At some point, she couldn’t utter a single word.
A foreign sensation filled her throat, choking off her breath.
Betra began to dry heave desperately. Whether her effort worked, black smoke spewed from her mouth like vomit.
She wailed like a beast.
“You wicked demon bitch! What are you doing to me!”
“You’ve misunderstood. I am not a demon. Would you lower your head for a moment? It seems you mistook me for that.”
The smoke Betra had vomited was forming into some kind of shape. A wriggling mist, as if alive.
The black miasma reshaped itself into the hideous figure of an old hag.
“Wasn’t that demon you saw before perhaps this child?”
She had seen those pitch-black eye sockets once through Illea. Could it be that the dark shadow she saw then had truly been the gaze of a demon?
Trembling, Betra muttered.
“Y-You really were a demon contractor.”
“No. I am a witch. And you are the sacrifice.”
The old hag spirit licked Betra’s cheek.
She could not even scream. Before extreme fear, a human turned to stone.
“Now, let’s go together to the altar.”
The old hag spirit turned back into smoke and seeped into Betra’s body.
Her eyes turned completely black.
She was possessed.
Illea looked out the window. The moon was shining strangely bright tonight.
She drew the sign of the cross toward the full moon.
“Saint Marziel. Your original sin has taken root. Please keep watching.”
***
As he descended the spiral staircase connected to the underground, Johan was lost in thought.
‘Has Illea arrived?’
According to the contract, she would have prepared the mana and the sacrifice to use for the heretic array.
If everything went as planned, tonight the Ring of Kazan would fall.
The moment the holy relic turned into an abomination, Johan would evolve.
However, what form he would take, what power would bloom—he could not be certain of anything.
There was no precedent.
An imp with a white horn. No demon in the novel had been born with a single horn from the start. Not even the Apostles of the Apocalypse had such privilege.
Also, the incubus power he possessed was of little help in identifying his true nature.
There were plenty of demons who handled incubus powers.
There were too few clues to guess his species.
He would have to learn about himself through direct experience.
‘Not knowing what I am makes it difficult to plan ahead.’
Lately, he had worried about this often, but for now, no solution came to mind. At present, focusing on the task before him was the best he could do.
If luck was on his side, he would gain one or two clues tonight. As the price of corrupting the holy relic, another power would awaken.
Johan organized his thoughts to that extent and opened his mouth.
“Raguel. You wait here for a moment.”
The blind boy, who had been groping his way down the stairs, suddenly stopped.
“Why?”
“Just wait without asking. It won’t take long.”
Tonight, someone would die in the underground. And not an ordinary death, but a human sacrifice. It might shock the fragile boy too much.
Sensing Johan’s intention, Raguel lowered his head deeply.
“Does it really have to be done? No matter how evil she is, that kind of death is unfair.”
“Whether Betra is evil or not is of no importance to me. She is simply suitable as a sacrifice. Don’t misunderstand. This is not judgment.”
“I-If that’s really the case, then using a public girl as a sacrifice would be much more efficient. Isn’t it because you don’t want to harm them that you chose Betra?”
Johan clicked his tongue and jumped down from Raguel’s arms.
“You’re trying to judge me by your standards. I am not human; I am a demon who will devour this castle. Betra is an obstacle, and I simply want to remove her this time.”
Johan began to descend the stairs alone. Walking and even jumping had become easy enough now.
“B-But……!”
“Enough. I don’t want to hear your hypocrisy any longer. You, who can’t even stop me, have no right to complain.”
Perhaps it struck home, as Raguel froze stiff. Lowering his head, he could say nothing more.
Johan swallowed quietly and stepped further into the underground.
***
“You look displeased.”
Illea was already in the library.
“No different from usual.”
“A rude little imp. Acting all important for nothing.”
The old hag spirit picked a fight, but Johan didn’t even respond.
He had had enough meaningless conversation with Raguel.
‘……Did I push him too hard?’
Thinking of the boy who must be shrinking back right now left a strangely unpleasant feeling.
Illea tilted her head slightly, looking down at Johan.
“Johan?”
“Betra?”
Shaking off his thoughts, Johan got straight to the point.
“There.”
Illea pointed her index finger toward the heretic array.
The old hag spirit spoke displeased.
“Because you were late, that bitch regained consciousness. She made so much noise that it was a hassle.”
On top of the grotesque ritual circle, Betra was lying face down, gagged.
Her eyes were trembling.
Just what on earth was happening in this castle? Demons, witches, heretic arrays, and an unfamiliar space surrounded her in bizarre chaos.
She wanted to scream, but the tightly secured gag would not allow it.
Just as Johan was about to approach her, footsteps came from behind.
“I told you to wait on the stairs.”
It was Raguel.
“I-It’s my responsibility too……. I don’t want to avoid it alone. Please let me stay here.”
“Then you are fully participating in this evil.”
“Better than being a coward.”
“You won’t be going to heaven.”
“From the moment I made a contract with you, heaven was out of reach anyway.”
Johan let out a small laugh.
“Do as you please.”
It was a very awkward conversation for one between a demon and his contractor.
That was why Illea found it interesting.
“How amusing.”
The old hag spirit looked displeased.
Johan pointed at Betra.
“Are you sightseeing? Don’t just stand there blankly. It’s time for you to do your work.”
Enough pointless chatter. It was time to activate the heretic array.