Blessing?

The following ritual was indeed much more extreme than the first. It was probably intended to gauge Edrick’s reaction, and if he had responded negatively, Hiliap would have continued the tour elsewhere and skipped this one altogether.

…This was certainly more in line with what this sect was infamous for. A pure female sacrifice, seemingly past the time of Bloomin, was roughly dragged to the altar and brutally Viotfested until death ensued. With the lead-up to the death including limbs twisted completely the wrong way, severe beatings localised mostly to the face, chest, and stomach, suffocation, and definitely internal damage, both from the typical sources of blunt force trauma and from the personal weapons of the disciples.

This was a level of violence Edrick rarely engaged in. When his activities with a disposal toy came to an end, it was usually then that he would show himself truly violent. He wasn’t one to be so rough from beginning to end. While he found violence gratifying, melding it with his ‘nighttime workouts’ didn’t produce much result to satisfy him.

The show was rather enjoyable nonetheless. 

Hiliap soon resumed the tour, and the rest of the visit was a lot more mundane. Apart from their rituals and sacrifices, Cult Of Asmodeus wasn’t too special. They had dorms, common areas, and training rooms just like any other sect.

As such, the next point of interest was Edrick’s meeting with the sect leader, who actually resided directly above the ritual grounds, inside a large room suspended directly above the altar by enormous chains. 

The hallways leading to it were also suspended in the same manner, but they somehow barely moved…

The view from all the way over there was quite the sight, however. One could see the detailed carvings adorning the stone walls of the sects much better from this elevation than from the ground.

They were carvings supposedly depicting Asmodeus himself offering blessings to those who worshipped him–Of course, even within the sect itself, no one actually believed that Asmodeus would be so magnanimous. If he manifested fully amongst them, everyone knew that he would do everything in his power to make everyone submit to his authority without allowing room for as much as a single personal thought.

He was a devil, after all. And devils were beings that were to be admired when they were trapped in Hell and couldn’t reach you in any way possible. Some devils could be summoned, but only the weak could truly manifest without an exceptional vessel or other incredible means supporting them.

Naturally, Cult Of Asmodeus did know devil-summoning methods, but it was naturally a heavily restricted topic, with only the sect leader knowing anything beyond the most basic and feeble of summonings. Those who wanted to know more needed to sign a pact to restrict who they would be able to talk about their knowledge to, and how they were to use their knowledge without direct authorisation from the sect leader.

Frankly, Anoteros was more interested in knowing whether or not they were capable of finding Hell-Scorched Beasts. The Five-Legged Devil Goat is one such creature, and as the name implies, they are a type of beast that was directly burned by hellfire.

Anoteros was curious if this sect could help him track down herds of Five-Legged Devil Goats…

“Here we are, Young Master. The sect leader is inside and waiting for you”

Hiliap bowed and opened the door, closing it behind him as he laid eyes on the person who had been the leader of this sect for a little while–Jariakil.

She was dressed almost identically to Hiliap and the female disciples, with only a few key details differentiating her. The symbols and markings adorning her attire were much more numerous and more closely related to Asmodeus.

Jariakil was a fairly tall woman, standing at one meter and eighty-five centimeters in height. Her body was muscular and tan, the colouration contrasting greatly against her long white hair. Her eyes were hidden beneath a blindfold bearing more symbols of the Devil Prince she worshipped.

Regardless, she clearly knew exactly where Anoteros was, her covered eyes clearly staring straight at his.

“Greetings, Young Master Anoteros. It is a pleasure for me to make your acquaintance”

“The pleasure is shared, Sect Leader Jariakil”

She shook his large hand using both of hers, tilting her head slightly.

“You can call me Jariakil, Young Master, or even just Jaria, if you so desire!”

The scion chuckled lightly.

“I appreciate it, Miss Jariakil, but I don’t think it is correct for me to be so casual with someone of your experience”

She chuckled as well.

“I am not that old, Young Master… Please, take a seat–Did you like the two rituals?”

“I quite enjoyed them. Though I would certainly favour something more in between the two I witnessed, that is purely personal. I am certain Prince Asmodeus enjoys what you have to offer”

The sect leader shrugged.

“To be frank, it is a bit random whether we can please Prince Asmodeus greatly or not. So we constantly cycle through various kinds of rituals”

Jariakil leaned forward in her seat.

“Let’s not waste your time, Young Master. I know you want to speak business and longstanding friendly deals. I am sure you have some nice ideas to put on the table!”

Anoteros cracked his neck.

“Well, I take it that you were made aware of the brewing conflicts, yes? Then it stands to reason that where you can benefit the most is in the acquisition of fresh, powerful sacrifices, and the expansion of your sacrifice farm”

“The former point is the most obvious. If a war does take place, then it can be arranged that a portion of the prisoners will be given to your sect to do with as you see fit… As for the latter point… Well, it can go hand-in-hand with what I already said, but to be frank, I have high hopes that my sixth wife will be able to create spatially distorted structures and even some artificial realms”

“In this regard, I would offer you a brand new, easy-to-store area for expanding your farm, but of course, it is unclear when Haoyu would reach this level, so it is more of a promise thrown to the winds than anything else”

The scion marked a pause before speaking up again.

“Of course, the typical agreement I make with everyone is the promise of new sources of disciples, if it interests you, of course”

The sect leader thought silently for a few moments. There was more to this than merely business talk. All of the sects appreciated Edrick’s genuine efforts in building relations that relied on more than him being an Elt, but he remained a scion of the clan they served under, and he had a bright future, so getting into his good books was an opportunity in and of itself.

As such, she immediately agreed to help him when he mentioned Hell-Scorched Beasts, but she also added something herself:

“Young Master, would you be interested in trying to receive a blessing or gift from Prince Asmodeus?”

“Mmh…?”

The noble scratched his face.

“As long as it isn’t ridiculously risky or dangerous, then of course I am interested”