《Salvation From Sacrifice》


 Prologue: War Scrolls

    Prologue: War of Legends


    A serpent swam through an ocean of clouds high in the sky. Some may have thought this monstrosity was flying, but that was a misunderstanding, this beast needed clouds to stay airborne. This blue-scaled beast ducked and weaved through the white mist, never rising too high above or too low below the clouds.


    It¡¯s elongated body stretched endlessly into the horizon, while the scales had a chameleon effect of blending in with the blue firmament and the white cumulonimbus. It''s split iris had an amber glow that shined like a lighthouse through the dense white sea.


    The goliath dove into my three teammates, its massive jaw dislocating as he stretched it wide ready to eat. As it spiraled down into the tower-like cloud, a bulge could be seen from its gullet as it constricted the newly acquired and still squirming food. The serpent had millions of dorsal fins made of an electric-like rock, which not only caused thunderstorms, but it helped the beast stabilize from its erratic maneuvers.


    The clouds kept a pristine white color as purple tendril lightning bolts shot in every direction. The electricity shifted in a uniform direction and formed a tornado of blinding light inside of the core of the cloud.


    Lightning burst upward as the serpent¡¯s head rose to rejoin the battle, letting its tongue flicker from its mouth. Its very presence manifested a dense fog, the dew that covered its body evaporated from jolts of lightning that intensified the fog.


    The name of this divine serpent was Leviathan, a naturally created entity that was born from heaven since the beginning of creation. The body stretched around the world three times over, hovering high above the ground.


    The goliath was commanded by lazy gestures from a fluttering white-winged angel, scorn was etched on her soft face as she noticed that not only did one of my comrades avoid the jaws of Leviathan, but he was unperturbed by the lightning surges around him.


    After she contemplated the cause for the immunity, her eyes narrowed towards me in the distance. She then noticed that the clouds around my ally and I were pitch black as opposed to the white clouds around her.


    Any normal person would think that clouds turning black during a thunderstorm was natural, that would be true in most cases. The truth of the matter is, this grand and final battle in War Scroll was held in Empyrean, the highest heaven untouched by the laws of nature and man. Corruption in such a pure domain would raise an inquisitive brow, along with the presence of a demon such as myself.


    My very attire was that of a businessman; a crimson suit and a black vest with a flowery gold pattern. My ram-like horns made me feel like the antithesis of what should be in heaven. A lit cigar with gold wrapping and a black metal brand sat in my mouth as I deeply inhaled.


    Two bland-looking human servants, both of opposite genders to the other, had metal collars that were chained to my hand. Their inclusion in this war allowed me at least one or two wild cards if my team were to fall apart. They didn¡¯t show any emotions as they were Non-Playable Characters or better known as NPCs.


    A demon in heaven with slaves...it makes me chuckle just thinking about it.


    ¡°Dante,¡± the angel said in a soft voice carried through the rushing wind. ¡°One of your allies have been consumed in a single fell swoop from a Calamity class monster, might you think your guild has lost this battle?¡±


    I huffed my cigar and laminated, the current situation was abysmal and this serpent required over 100 regular players cooperating with dozens of flawless strategies in synchronization to kill it, but the game servers haven¡¯t shut down yet.


    2 minutes and 37 seconds


    Till Shut Down


    I stared at Virgil, noting that her Crown of Thorns was constricting to the point of drawing blood on her platinum blond dreadlocks. Her body glowed an ethereal blue from the status effects of the crown.


    ¡°The clock is still ticking,¡± I tapped on my wrist with a vile smile. ¡°You think the last five players can let this game end with an anticlimactic surrender?¡± I rose my arms into the air and had a shiver run down my spine as I shouted. ¡°MILLIONS OF SOULS BEAR WITNESS TO THIS WORLD¡¯S END! AND OUR VICTORY WITH IT!¡±


    This battle has been approved by the board of developers and the marketing team for War Scroll, the top five players in a one on four-fight for supremacy. As it does seem one-sided, the truth of the matter is that Virgil acting as the sole combatant would be unfair if not for her ranking as the number one player in the game¡¯s history, albeit because of her function as a support for a team. So the minds behind the game decided to allow her the ability to control one of the strongest beasts in the game. So, to market for the sequel to this game, they decided to stream the battle live on their official website and the decided victor¡¯s prize would be the inclusion of their characters in the following game¡¯s story.


    Virgil sighed, the stakes were too high to allow a support class opponent to survive. Slowly she guided her hand in my direction, Leviathan then shifted its head in the same motion, ducking its head into the clouds, with a trail of purple light following his movements towards me.


    Desecrate Grounds Spell:


    Devil¡¯s Presence


    The smoke from my cigar shifted from grey to black, then it charged towards the angel as if it had a mind of its own, slowly tainting the clouds the same color as it grew closer.


    Desecrate Grounds was an exclusive spell type that was dedicated to Evil Clerics, a hidden archetype among the main 3: Warrior, Mage, and Rogue. The spell entailed the ability to curse an area so that allies may have a boost in attack, defense, and immunity towards some elements and debuffing enemies to lower the prior mentioned stats along with vulnerability to most elements. Devil¡¯s Presence is the highest tier in that category, immunity towards all elements besides Holy.


    Of course, I was the shadow to Virgil so to speak, She was a Holy Cleric ascended to an Archangel and I an Evil Cleric ascended to that of an Archdemon. She also had similar abilities such as Consecrate Grounds which amounted to a consistent healing factor to allies and immunity towards most elements besides Dark.


    Her command to Leviathan gave me an opportunity to shift the tides of the battle and expand my domain on the battlefield. Solely for the reason of multitasking, when you cast a spell or shift to command an ally, you lose concentration in a spell. Although this wasn¡¯t a problem if you were of a higher level, unfortunately for her, we were evenly matched, just like the age-old battle between light and dark.


    The dark clouds close to me shimmered with a purple glow, the danger was approaching as the light grew brighter by the second. The situation may be grim, but the advantage gained was insurmountable.


    Leviathan left his safe zone and entered my Desecrated Grounds, defeating him was no longer an impossible feat.


    Unexpectedly, the serpent hissed in pain as its wincing face flew skyward a foot away from me. Blood spurted from its mouth as red numbers in the 6 digit range faintly glowed above his head, and the number kept climbing rapidly.


    ¡°DANTE!¡± Virgil trembled with wrath, contrary to angels supposedly embodying the 7 holy virtues. ¡°What did you do to Leviathan!¡±


    Although Virgil¡¯s ranking was unmatched, a cleric was a cleric. A supporting role within a team, as a player alone she was about as physically inept as a toddler fighting a soldier, but as a member of a team, her skills would make a company of novices defeat any veteran team.


    Leviathan was her queen of the chessboard so to speak, losing that beast would result in checkmate.


    I, myself was surprised at this turn of events myself. Examining the situation a bit closer revealed the bulge in his gullet made no progress to its stomach, as the food writhed around spasmodically.


    Ah-ha


    I choked on a bit of smoke as I chuckled at my revelation. It appears that one of my teammates actually got eaten by Leviathan, the only speculation I had as to why it took so long for the damage to start to take a toll was because the serpent kept itself within Virgil¡¯s Consecrated Grounds, instantaneously healing any wound inflicted onto its insides. Meaning the moment she allowed her queen to attempt a check on the king, she would lose it to the very piece she thought she had taken.


    My mind thought about who might be inside the belly of the beast, I shifted my glance at my first comrade to appear after the serpent¡¯s strike. The cloaked mage was taking his time delaying spells for an instantaneous strike of complied effects.


    Well, it obviously isn¡¯t Vinea.


    I shifted my gaze from side to side to find the rogue, but their work is better suited in the shadows out of people¡¯s perception. He was possibly organizing an assassination strike or some sort of unexpected alternative.


    Not Baal either, there¡¯s no way he could inflict 6 digits worth of damage.


    So by order of elimination, it had to be the warrior Asmodeus. Perhaps that brilliant man anticipated this turn of events. Behind the avatar, the man was a retired military tactician for the American Military. Although self-sacrifice was a bold and foolish gambit no matter how you looked at it if he would¡¯ve stayed a minute longer on Virgil¡¯s grounds while in that beast, he would¡¯ve surely perished. Now that he¡¯s over in my domain, he¡¯ll be able to reside in that serpent for as long as he pleased, and since there are no scales inside of the gullet to act as a defense, it will fall within minutes.


    With a confident smile, holding my hands up and twinkling my fingers, I taunted her inquiry, ¡°~Maaaagic~¡±


    Her rosy lip twitched upward, ¡°I haven¡¯t lived 32 years to be laughed at!¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t lived 61 years to be schooled by a youngin,¡± I huffed some cigar smoke in her direction, as Leviathan sprayed more crimson rain from its mouth.


    The serpent twitched as its eyes darted in every direction, lightning danced with the blood in the air but held no shocking touch when it kissed me. The beast held hostility to me as its only opponent within its range of vision, it then proceeded to dive like before.


    Paralyze Spell:


    Draconic Venom x7


    Spectral chains manifested in the air, piercing the serpent¡¯s soul. A purple hue colored the chains as flickers of black embers danced lightly around it.


    Normally Leviathan would be unaffected by such a spell type because of its immunity, but since he was in my domain his immunity was stripped. The main cause for concern was that his power was still overwhelming, even if his immunity was taken away, a high-level spell of paralyzing would just slow it down. Venea took his time preparing 7 consecutive delays of the same high tier spell while attention was on me, causing the goliath to freeze for a little bit of time.


    Virgil was livid at this point, stomping her sandal on the non-existent ground. She held up a scepter of a golden dragonfly that had rubies for eyes, then slashing it down in my direction.


    ¡°Feel the wrath of God!¡±


    Mass Summon Divine Prayer:


    Rapture


    Countless wisps of blue motes gathered above the clouds like an inferno, each one grew into the shape of a human being. Most of the vanguard were naked humans, both male and female with a variety of weapons ranging from swords to maces as they marched onto my territory. While the ones closest to Virgil were fully suited in knights armor and stood still in her safe zone.


    It was interesting to note that a lot of the faces of these specters were NPCs in the story of the game.


    Most notably was the figure in front of Virgil had an ethereal crown and a royal cloak, brandishing a longsword.


    His name was King Vladimir, and he played a pivotal role as the subjugator of demi-humans and the leader of the Coalition of Humanity.


    Which to make things short and sweet, was an alliance between world powers to defend the world from false gods who wreaked havoc on the world of Sheorth, and demi-humans who were persecuted because of their appearance.


    Funny enough, the evil deity I devoted my character to for power, was the one responsible for tricking gods to invade the world of mortals.


    So, she¡¯s sacrificing the pawns to buy time for Leviathan to be released while keeping her useful pieces as a meat-shield.


    1 minute and 3 seconds


    Till Shut Down


    That countdown was infuriating, why would they give us so little time for a fight of such grandeur. More to the point, how can we end the fight in one move?


    I just had to buy time for my allies to come up with some reckless plan, so I unsheathed a demonic ceremonial black dagger. The edge of the blade was coated with so much blood that a faint trail of rust could be seen.


    I pulled forward one of my servants towards me, causing the young man to fall on his knees. He looked into my eyes with an empty expression. His copper hair was unkempt from the influx of electricity exuded from Leviathan¡¯s frame. Eyes widened as he followed the demonic blade plunge towards his abdomen and slide up to his throat. Blood sprayed in a ludicrous amount as it got tainted more and more black.


    Mass Summon Sacrifice:


    Apocalyptic War


    Each droplet of blood separated from one another, crimson beads held in stasis at different elevations that matched the number of troops brought forth by Rapture. The droplets expanded and took a demonic form of petty monsters from hell, ranging from imps to small whales to antlions.


    Both Apocalyptic War and Rapture were both major spells that didn¡¯t require mana to summon, but their only efficient use was to act as meat-shields and buy time. As all of the creatures that were summoned were of either low tier or middle tier quality, which even a single veteran player could defeat if given enough time.


    ¡°Two can play at that game!¡± I shouted to Virgil as I unhooked the servant¡¯s collar, casting him aside to plummet from heaven to earth.


    Virgil clicked her tongue as she changed her divine army¡¯s target from me to my own hellish army.


    The mist was still dense enough to make both armies partially invisible, it had gotten so bad that I¡¯ve lost track of my comrades.


    The war between good and evil was about to begin in all its vile glory.


    Civilian-looking spirits clubbed their maces at mothmen who in return sunk their fangs into the spirits. Knights cleaved chamroshes, which was a creature that had the body of a dog and the head and wings of an eagle. A minotaur rammed its horns through two women, both flailing their swords as they burst into bright blue glitter.


    I decided to give my side more of a winning edge by shifting things into my favor, I pulled out a small glass vial of black slime, crushing it in my hand I threw the vile nectar into enemy forces. The moment it hit an individual spirit, I snapped my fingers to activate the ability.


    Contagion:


    Plague of Death


    Contagion was an ability that I exclusively used in raids. It was at its best within condensed and populated areas, acting as a poison within a target and would spread as inflicted targets would die, effects would vary on what type of contagion was used. Plague of Death, in particular, was disliked by the community for its mix of effects.


    A singular human spirit began to suffer from boils popping up one by one, his pace slowed down as fatigue hit him like a carriage. Hugging both sides of his chest, he began coughing a white glowing ectoplasm as if it were blood. He eventually fell on his knees, then his sides as he cradled himself into the fetal position. It was soon after his passing that two other spirits began to experience the same effects.


    Players were outraged that this ability would double in infectivity instead of having a set number of infections per death, and what drove people more bitter was that death was imminent if you were of a lower level than the spell caster.


    A pack of barghest led by Cerberus began to chomp on soldiers'' necks, viciously tearing them apart limb by limb as each appendage blew into glitter. While a group of archers behind those poor vanguard souls shot a volley of arrows into the pack.


    Manticores flew in droves over the divine army, using their scorpion tails as lances for skewering the archers. Who in turn got mounted by knights, who slit their lion throats. Causing the Manticores to explode like balloons filled with red jelly.


    I inhaled my cigar, although I didn¡¯t feel the nicotine from it, the cigar itself was merely for aesthetic reasons. As well as a reflection of my real-life habit which I¡¯ve been meaning to quit for 40 years now.


    My army was dominating the battlefield, the contagion was cutting enemy forcing down in half in a matter of minutes. This allowed my demons to hold superior numbers and essentially handing me victory on a silver platter. Now, this...this is a war fit to serve as an ending to the game...Huh? My health began to drastically decrease and my servant would have nearly died if not for the fact that she was linked to my health bar. I frantically searched around for what was the source of this madness, there were no enemies nearby attacking me nor long-ranged spells being launched toward me. It wasn¡¯t until I looked at the ground that it all became clear.


    White clouds were seen everywhere and Leviathan who was healed from its wounds and paralyze was staring into me, inches away from my face. That damn woman consecrated my grounds while I conjured my own army and spread my contagion! The serpent flicked its tongue at me while it opened its jaws slowly to devour me like my companion Asmodeus.


    ¡°Game Over, Dante!¡± Virgil exclaimed with a smug smile, her posture became relaxed and lazy as she leaned back into an invisible wall in the air.


    NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!


    I glanced over to Vinea who was kneeling on the clouds, suffering from Leviathan¡¯s electric cloak since my grounds were consecrated, we were both in the same predicament. A sacrifice spell would help if the cool-down time wasn¡¯t so long, speaking about time. It appears that my victory was a mere illusion, a trick of the light so to say.


    8 seconds


    Till Shut Down


    I racked my brain for any solution to imminent defeat until I noticed a quick shade pass through the specters and the clouds. With a quick leap, a cowl covered head was behind Virgil with a dagger brandished against her neck.


    ¡°Game Over, Mantuan,¡± Baal stated solemnly.


    Virgil slowly crept her eyes towards her attacker in fear, that name should¡¯ve been under careful wraps. Unfortunately enough, she didn¡¯t turn her head enough for her avatar to ¡®notice¡¯ my ally.


    Assassination Skill:


    Dagger of Damocles


    This skill was my favorite in the game, specialized to Rouges, it¡¯s damage output was stronger depending on how high either an NPC¡¯s status in royalty was or how high in the leadership board a Player was. Needless to say, this move would be an insta-kill if contact was made. The only downside to the skill was 2 requirements: The user must remain hidden for the skill to take effect as in avoiding visual contact, and the player must not inflict any damage prior to the use of this move. Luckily for us, Baal withdrew from the battle for this gambit to work.


    To seal the deal, he used Name Domination to debuff Virgil by 35% on all stats. Which was an odd mechanic implemented in the game that affected every Player. To begin with, when a Player creates a new character you''re presented to make a true name for your avatar along with an alias. If an enemy ever ascertains your name, your character will temporarily experience debuffs that add by 35 percent to the target for every part of the name mentioned; First, Middle, and Last. We spent a lot of time and resources trying to ascertain her name, Vinea had a master level spell that could give an anagram of a player''s full name to a spell caster but that only incentivized players to make longer and longer names during initial character creation.


    I was about to shout with joy when a notification window popped up in front of my face when I tried to motion to close the window...I couldn¡¯t move my avatar. I glanced at everyone else and noticed that all of the other players had a similar pop-up window in front of their faces as well.


    All motion seemed to stop, even the finishing blow.


    I focused on the text in the window and saw alien characters slowly decorate the screen. Each individual letter seemed like it was plastered on an invisible cube because when each letter was translated it flipped in different directions and was replaced promptly with a readable character.


    Error


    [ //WhEn GoD cReAtEd LiGhT


    wAs He ScArEd SoMeThInG mIgHt StEaL iT?//]


    =_-//oR//-_=


    [//DiD hE tRuSt NoThInG mAy EvEr Be CaPaBlE oF DoInG sO?//]


    Error


    Alright, so it looks like a hacker wanted a piece of the limelight and really screwed up the most climactic moment of the battle. It was infuriating when people feel the need to show off their intellect in this kind of disruptive matter.


    More towards the question, what the hell does it even mean? It''s meaningless in every sense of the word. God created light because humans needed an explanation as to why there was a bright star that lit up the day. Furthermore, if the light was something feasible to steal, big whoop. What could we even use it for? To move at the speed of light? infinite energy? The answer to the question was obvious, if God existed, then he would be certain that no one could steal something untouchable.


    ¡°Screw it,¡± I couldn''t shut down the pop-up, so might as well click one of the choices.


    I focused my eyes on the second option and a small countdown appeared at the end of option B, it was a small safety system to ensure a player wanted to choose an option and gave ample time to look away to restart the timer.


    A tiny ping sound rang in my head, as the last text box appeared.


    SYSTEM RESTORED


    UNBEATABLE DIFFICULTY SETTING SET.


    YOUR ROLE HAS BEEN ASSIGNED.


    YOU SHALL BE THE HARBINGER OF DARKNESS.


    SINCE GOD ISN''T AFRAID, MAKE IT SO.


    TO CREATE A DOMINION AND ELIMINATE ALL WHO OPPOSE IS YOUR GOAL.


    ¡­


    GOOD LUCK.


    ~O=O~


    SYSTEM RESTORED


    ¡°The hell are these edgelord kids comin¡¯ up with these days?¡± I really couldn''t fathom why these hackers always felt the need to be so cryptic when they send messages.


    Back in my day, kids would just tea-bag other players on FPS¡¯, I didn¡¯t work all my life to retirement to have my day ruined by some wanna be Zero Cool hacker.


    It was at this moment that events replayed in my head like a shotty film wheel. Replaying from each moment in this battle, to when I started this game, to when I retired from my job as a car salesman. The wheel of memories went backward faster and faster, my wife¡¯s funeral to our honeymoon to the day I proposed to her by the ocean beach in the night. Family members whished passed like phantoms and my children reverted from adults to teenagers to toddlers to babies. Then it all ended to the point where I came out of my mother¡¯s womb.


    ¡°What..the...fu-¡± my game avatar began to dissipate into a collection of shining stars, which collected into a singular bright light. I watched all of the other players collect into bright lights as well.


    Four bright lights were shot into all four directions across the now black sky.

 Chapter 1: Level 1

    My first thought wasn¡¯t, What the hell is going on? nor was it, Where am I? not even, Why is this woman still chained up to me? it was-OW! Christ that hurt, that hurt...I...I can feel pain?


    Sprawled out on my back as my eyes were fixated towards the sky, the smell of flowers overpowered my nose and grass brushed against me on all sides as the wind blew.


    This...this didn¡¯t make any sense. Virtual Reality Dive games didn¡¯t feel...this convincing. Disclaimers had to be prompted in large and bold text if anything but your sense of sight was altered with. War Scroll was only a vision and auditory dive game, but...I can taste the summer dew from the grass.


    My eyes stared into the sky with bitter resentment, this situation was unclear. It didn¡¯t faze me until I noticed a trademark of this reality.


    Is that Leviathan?


    The faint image of a large snake was stretched to both parts of the sky from as far as my eyes could see. It was like a mountain in the distance, faint details but clear shape. If you listened carefully enough you could hear the goliath groan carry through the wind.


    I tried to move but my body was in clear pain, all I could manage at the moment was to turn my head to the side and what I saw sent a shiver from my head to my toes. My nameless servant in what looked to be her twenties was staring into my eyes, she was filled with pain and grief. Her lip trembled as she coughed up small portions of blood. Her hair was brown as dirt and her nose dotted with freckles was slightly bruised. I gazed down her body, seeing a tattered shirt and her leg, oh god her leg. It was bent in a different direction with a pool of blood. She shook violently from that very pain as she moved her plump lips without sound. ¡°Help me.¡±


    I shook myself from this illusion. NPCs in the game didn¡¯t have any recorded dialogue aside from the main quest. The game couldn¡¯t contain that much information with this new age technology without lagging. This had to be a misconception, she¡¯s not real...she¡¯s not real.


    Was she?


    I whisper to her, gently, ¡°Say something, speak.¡±


    ¡°Help.¡±


    She spoke, I think I heard her, I had to...or did I? Was it a figment of my imagination or possibly an auditory hallucination.


    I ordered her to clear my suspicions, ¡°Speak if you want to live!¡±


    ¡°Help. ME.¡± blood spat more viciously as the woman demanded her voice to work.


    ¡°Oh, God,¡± I mumbled to myself, she was real, she was real and dying.


    The chain between us rattled as I attempted to kneel up, but my body was disoriented. I only managed to keep my knees on the ground as my torso rose, but it would go no further. The pain I felt was nothing compared to hers, it was like comparing a common cold to cancer. I had no excuse to submit to my physical pains, no bones are broken in my body as far as I can tell.


    Okay, is this a game or reality?! Which one is it? Leviathan is sky-high, so this has to be a game, but if this was a game, how did an NPC have a voice? And more importantly, I can feel pain.


    I tried opening up the command console to conjure spells but nothing would arise. All I could see was that my level has drastically changed, from 100 down to 1 from the upper right corner of my peripheral vision.


    ¡°A game¡­game-game-game,¡± my mouth was stuck on the word but my mind wanted to contradict the facts.


    Fine, if I can¡¯t open the console then I¡¯ll use my spells to heal her through an oral command, the game can do that.


    Healing Curse:


    Witch¡¯s Breath


    ¡­


    Nothing happened...Oh right, level 1. Which spells did I have for healing then?... Come on...think-think-think. That¡¯s right, Evil Cleric can only try to appease their god at such a low level through a...sacrifice.


    Sacrifices can vary from animals to humans but neither were available at the moment. Additional abilities weren¡¯t available until an Evil Cleric would contact a malevolent deity to form a pact, only by leveling up afterward would a variety of abilities come into play.


    I attempted to stand up but was only brought down by the chain that connected up together, I looked closer and remembered where it connected to. It wasn¡¯t loose in my hand, it was connected to a metal shackle on my wrist to prevent players from taking my sacrificial slaves away.


    She was dead weight, there was no way she could move on her own, let alone a way for me to carry her. I tried to undo the shackle but it was cursed to prevent warriors from breaking the chain or mages from undoing the shackle through magic.


    What else can an Evil Cleric do? There was one more method wasn¡¯t there? But I never used any other than human sacrifices¡­Oh no. There was one way to save her, but it wasn¡¯t pretty. There were emergency sacrifices that held more value to evil deities in the game than even human sacrifices. It even overruled cool-down times from healing curses to a bestial summon.


    Can I bring myself to do it?... What the hell am I talking about when a life is on the line here!


    I took a few deep breaths before my shaky hand grabbed a metal object from underneath my suit, unsheathed it felt as if a devilishly cold chill consume my entire body. The ceremonial dagger was serrated from the hilt up till the midsection.


    I bit the silk glove on my left hand and slid it off. Placing the jagged edge against the base of my pinky finger, breathing with a slow and rhythmic pace. Body disfigurement appeased evil gods when done on oneself as a devout follower, but I¡¯ve never tried it before because it leaves permanent debuffs on a character. I¡¯m unsure whether this will work or not, I¡¯ve only read this from backstory pop-up windows gained from leveling up. Usually, an arm or a leg could summon a high tier monster or heal an entire army but...Evil Clerics don¡¯t heal others without some sort of sacrifice, their role was to make monsters, not save them. My breathing became more and more difficult and the world began to swirl around my pinky finger.


    One more second, I just need one more second to steel myself


    ¡°Come on, you can do this,¡± I repeated to myself over and over again.


    Stop being a chicken-shit, you can¡¯t let an innocent person die in front of your eyes.


    Glancing back to the girl, she held eyes of disbelief on what I might do. Never did she think an evil man like me might ever consider going to such lengths to help such a pitiful human like herself. I killed the other servant without a second thought to gain an advantage in battle, she had to see me as a merciless monster.


    Those eyes, those damn puppy dog eyes. Alright, on the count of three. Beads of sweat went down my forehead as I braced myself. One. Gripping the handle of the blade so hard that my hand began to violently shake. Two. I squinted my eyes till it hurt. Three. My eyes shot open from the pain, as I quickly pulled the saw-like teeth to chew my skin. Then thrust forward to chip through the bone, finally pulling it to cut the remaining flesh off. The virgin blades of grass were splattered with crimson, as a hunk of meat dropped to the soil that consumed my fluids.


    ¡°AAAAAAHHHHHHH! FUCK!¡± I was hyperventilating as the blade dropped from my hand, quickly I applied as much pressure as possible on my stubbed finger.


    MY FINGER, MY FINGER, OH GOD, MY FINGER. CHRIST, WHY DOES THIS HURT SO MUCH, WHY?-The spell!!! Right, the spell, what was it?! Umm, think, damn it, think!


    Healing Curse:


    Witch¡¯s Breath


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± it was a pinky finger for god¡¯s sake! How is that not worth enough for a measly curse!


    Healing Curse:


    Vultures of TartarusThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    This time, motes of black suspended in the air formed into two vultures. The heads had golden gleams acting as their eyes as they swarmed around her leg, violently peckings her leg back into place. She winced in pain, biting her cherry lip as the broken leg moved against her will, but slowly her face regained its composure as the leg healed albeit a few spots of purple bruising remained. After the job was done, the vultures flew away into the woods without disappearing.


    Healing curses were a double-edged sword as they offered low costs for high-level healing and buffs, but there was usually a consequence that varied from spontaneous death, bad luck, permanent debuffs, the list goes on.


    What made me worry was my memory, I¡¯ve only used this spell once since it had such a serious consequence, the big problem was that I couldn''t remember what it was.


    ¡°Th-thank you,¡± she stared at me with a long silence, until she remembered something important.


    She immediately tried to move her leg underneath herself as she genuflected with her bad leg as the support.


    Then, she rephrased her initial gratitude, ¡°Your humble dis-disciple gives her eternal gratitude, no words can describe your kindness other than a blessing, if there is anything needed of me, I am at your di...sposal.¡±


    Her jitters only intensified when she saw the loose pinky finger on the ground. Her long brown hair covered whatever expression she had.


    Karma:


    Saving a Stranger


    +1


    Neutral +1


    A sudden illness phased through my body like a phantom, unlike the pain from the amputation, this made my entire body weak. It must be the shock from blood loss, I need to-huh?


    I couldn¡¯t take my eyes away from my stub finger, a black substance covered the injury preventing any more blood loss. Taking a closer examination at the finger on the ground, it too had the same substance on the wound. I picked it up and attempted to reattach the finger in good hopes that it would just glue back on, but alas, a volatile reaction occurred. An intense shock from touching the two surfaces together made me drop the finger. I grabbed the finger once more for further examination. I deduced that no matter what I do the pinky is no longer mine. I doubt any magic would be able to mend it back onto my hand, it belongs to my goddess now.


    The girl was wincing in pain, waiting for permission to be at ease. Sighing in annoyance, I got down on her level and put her arm over my shoulder, raising her to a full stand.


    ¡°Sir?¡± her face was awestruck by the act as if God has personally sent me as her guardian angel.


    ¡°Here,¡± I held my pinky in front of her, ¡°You caused my injury because of your critical condition, keep this and aid me and I will consider us even.¡±


    ¡°But! Th-that''s impossible! As a disciple to Your Excellency, mere acts of what''s expected of a disciple can¡¯t atone for your disfigurement.¡± She was oddly more focused on the fact of repayment then holding on to a dismembered finger.


    Waving my wounded hand in protest as I corrected her, ¡°I don¡¯t seem to recall accepting you as my disciple, no need to act with such etiquette.¡±


    She blushed slightly before objecting, ¡°How could you say such a thing, I¡¯ve been under your gracious wings since you became a cleric, it is only natural I show you the utmost respect, especially since you¡¯ve mutilated your precious hand for my safety.¡±


    An evangelical follower huh, although how did she come under my service when I became a cleric? I remember overthrowing villages and using the NPCs as cattle for my sacrifices so to speak, wasn¡¯t she just an ordinary villager that spawned, or was she a customized NPC made by a friend of mine?


    ¡°Under my wing?¡± I mirrored her in the form of a question, in hopes she would reveal more to this mystery.


    She hopped on one leg at my pace as we wandered into the lush forest filled with papaya and weeping willow trees. Flowers bloomed in all the colors of the rainbow in the thickets. The dense tropical floor was covered in moss, which hid multiple critters such as leaping frogs, slithering anacondas, tree climbing centipedes and scarlet macaws resided on tree branches as their squawks echoed us.


    ¡°Under my wing-Squawk-Under, my wing-Squawk-How could you say such a thing-Squawk¡±


    ¡°Yes, it all started when you took care of the marauders who held a tyrannical rule over us,¡± she gave a soft smile that slowly transitioned into a frown when unpleasant memories long-buried resurfaced. ¡°You...you saved us.¡±


    That¡¯s right, I forgot about that issue. They¡¯re low leveled enemies that spawned around a particularly small village until cleared by a player, they would then respawn after a couple of days. The village itself was lacking any incentive for a player to even be bothered to visit it, all it had was people with common dialogue and there were no special items nor any treasure. The reason why it was valuable to me was that the spawn rate of villages was nearly unmatched by any other township, albeit the citizens lacked anything worthwhile to loot. It became a human farm for me to gather sacrifices for raids or dangerous dungeons expeditions. So I would regularly clear out the marauders to keep the population and spawn rate at its prime.


    ¡°Saved us?¡± please don¡¯t tell me that her memories spanned back to villagers I¡¯ve kidnapped and killed.


    ¡°Yes, you spread the word of Her Supremacy, and taught us the glories of Nihtism and chose followers to ascend into Her Supremacy¡¯s divine embrace by guiding them on a pilgrimage,¡± her eyes twinkled like stars as she got excited


    Did...Did I make a cult?


    ¡°So,¡± pausing for a moment to use her name until it came to me, I didn¡¯t care enough before the final battle to even glance at my servants'' names. She talks about my character''s persona and teachings as if it were the only important thing about life. I can¡¯t bluntly ask for her name, she would be devastated. There has to be a way to beat around the bush.


    Hmm. I got it!


    ¡°Tell me about your family?¡± at the very least I could learn her surname.


    She giggled a little bit before responding. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be silly, mommy and daddy went on a pilgrimage with you, you know everything about my family.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly-Squawk-Mommy and Daddy went on a Pilgrimage-Squawk.¡±


    Damn birds, there incessant echoing is playing on my conscious. How many people did I kill? If I remember properly, the village was of a population of thirty people, I never needed to take more than two people at a time. They would also respawn back to the max of thirty. How many generations have I nipped in the bud? I need a new approach.


    ¡°What do you know about the pilgrimage?¡± I was honestly curious how NPCs viewed me abducting their family and friends, as much as it pains me to think about it.


    The thicket was so overgrown that it covered what little of a trail we had to follow, I began to cut through vines and bushes with the ceremonial knife to keep proceeding to the nearest township we could find. Although a bit weird that the trial clearly showed tread marks of people walking through here a lot, yet unkempt bushes blocked the path.


    ¡°We¡¯re on it right now, are we not, Father?¡± she tilted her head slightly and cupped her chin with her free hand.


    ¡°F-father?¡± I stuttered slightly at the abrupt title, did I get an NPC pregnant somehow? Impossible, although, now that she mentioned it, she does look like a spitting image of my real daughter.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what people should call their local cleric?¡± she innocently replied.


    Oh thank god, I¡¯m not a father in this world, just a priest for a village.


    ¡°Yes, my child,¡± I tailored my words around this new perspective, this may be the opportunity I¡¯ve been looking for. ¡°But, your journey has yet to truly begin.¡±


    ¡°Why not? I was beside you in the highest heaven men have dreamed of, as you protected us.¡±


    Heaven? Protected Us?! Does she remember her fellow villager¡¯s sacrifice? Yet she still claims I¡¯m protecting them, this is some strong and misplaced devotion.


    ¡°You must speak to the goddess and ask that she bequeath her blessing upon you,¡± that was the best I could come up with on the spot, but I need to slide something in here to gain some information, anything, ¡°Although, your full name is essential to allow you in her goddess¡¯ grace.¡±


    I hacked off vines and pieces of a bush with my bad hand, a burning sensation didn¡¯t relent as each swing made the pain more unbearable.


    ¡°Squawk-Speak to the goddess-Speak to the goddess-Squawk.¡±


    I swear, if they keep it up, we¡¯re going to have bird meat roasting over a fire.


    ¡°My name?¡± her eyes moist and fixated on my frame, she then slowly said in a crackling voice, ¡°Why my name?¡±


    My hand was filled with vines, on the mossy ground was two thick pieces of wood. A light bulb appeared over my head, metaphorically speaking. I beckoned her over and motioned for her to sit on the ground. I put the two pieces of wood on both sides of her now fractured lower leg, and wrapped it up with the vines I collected, tying it all together in a constrictor knot. I made a splint for her injury to prevent all my hard work to go to waste, hopefully, we can find a more permanent solution.


    ¡°What is that?¡± she changed her question to my makeshift first-aid.


    ¡°A splint, it¡¯s used for fractured or broken bones by keeping them straight, supported and protected,¡± reciting what little I knew, because my dusty college degree was in negotiation and conflict management, not medical science, ¡°it¡¯s a temporary measure till it either heals naturally or we find a more immediate solution.¡±


    ¡°Why not use healing magic?¡± she kept a soft voice while being conflicted about something, it''s hard to say but her body language was odd since we started to move, she would: rub her neck, cross her arms, and strangely twist the bronze ring on her finger.


    I gently raised my head from staring at her leg to her face, my face twitched slightly from her question but I tried to subdue it, ¡°If I could heal with magic, I wouldn¡¯t chop off my finger.¡±


    Her face turned pale as she averted her eyes, mumbling, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, what¡¯s done is done,¡± I waved her off with my mutilated hand, ¡°more importantly, our top priority is your health at the moment for the both of us.¡±


    She just opened her mouth wordlessly before shutting it, then just kept her eyes on my hands as I finished the last knots to the splint.


    ¡°All done,¡± standing up, I offered my hand to her.


    She silently did nothing, leaving my offer to hang in the air. Her eyes were almost glaring through me as her face turned to beat red. ¡°Beatrice Sunteon Redimere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you Beat for short if that¡¯s alright with you,¡± she grasped my hand as she rose awkwardly, adapting to the splint.


    ¡°Red will be preferable, Father,¡± she refused to look me in the eyes after stating her name, oddly enough.


    Was she onto me? Did she see through my smoke and mirrors, and get her heart crushed into smithereens?


    ¡°Beatrice Sunteon Redimere-Squawk-Beatrice-Squawk-Redimere-Squawk!¡± the colorful parrots beat their wings as they flew away beyond view.


    ¡°Damn birds,¡± we jinxed each other, I glanced at Red and chuckled. Maybe we were on the same mind link.


    <hr>


    A man-sized black chimpanzee sat on a wooden throne, rolling his fingers on his armrest. A golden laurel wreath sat on his head in a crown-like status and he was dressed in a toga with a square pattern trimming.


    Two gorillas stood guard by the entrance armed with bronze tridents, they were adorned in bronze armor and helmets with plumes of red hair and feathers. The throne room itself was built into a single giant oak tree amid a city with similar architecture.


    The day was changing from a golden twilight to crimson glow that lit up the room, the days have been calm and peaceful as of late. Fluttering could be heard in the distance, the ape guards took a few steps away from the entrance, as a company of parrots flew past them.


    The monkey king held up a hooked finger, and a single parrot perched itself. The feathers on its head flared up like a mohawk, promoting the king to gently pet the scarlet bird.


    ¡°What news do you bring? Simurgh,¡± his voice was guttural and as rough as gravel.


    ¡°Lord Konzi, my underlings found a demon and a human lurking around the isles,¡± she chirped as she butted her head into his hand. The primate loved his darling pet more than most simians under his rule.


    ¡°Humans?! In my kingdom!¡± Konzi clenched his perching hand while keeping a calm stroking motion with his other. ¡°I thought most of those pathetic lumps of meat were eradicated from the war.¡±


    ¡°A few must¡¯ve survived the Rapture,¡± the bird didn¡¯t squawk, it''s speaking and thinking capabilities were on the level of a genius among birds, ¡°The human is called Beatrice Sunteon Redimere.¡±


    ¡°Is any creature foolish enough to speak their true name aloud?¡± The king then pondered in silence for a few moments before issuing an order, ¡°Guards, inform everyone of our guests and tell them to treat them as our own, I want everyone to watch them with an eagle¡¯s eye.¡±


    Both apes gave a single strong pound to their chest before sheathing the tridents, and jumping off into the trees, swinging branch by branch.


    ¡°Simurgh, have your darling companions keep a bird''s eye view on these strangers,¡± the order caused the parrot to flutter its wings in a hover, in front of the king.


    ¡°What do you plan, Lord Konzi?¡± Simurgh queried.


    ¡°My plan is to understand why their is a living human,¡± the king theorized, ¡°If we pretend that we are ignorant towards their arrival, then they shall be put under a false sense of security, they will tell us their motives naturally or else we will have to force it out of them.¡±


    ¡°Or better yet, sacrifice them to Hlasien,¡± the parrot suggested.


    The monkey king let loose a sinister chuckle, ¡°Has it been that long since the last sacrifice on Mount Hlasien?¡±


    The room got darker as the sun completely dipped under the ocean, most of the birds flocked back to their homes.


    ¡°Let the blood of humanity baptize our righteous faith, as the fiery lord cleanse Sheorth of their sins in open flames,¡± Konzi muttered scripture from the Book of Volcanus, as darkness consumed the room entirely.