Chapter 338: The Seventh Sacrifice

Allen’s expression changed slightly.

"The human you brought back from the land of the living..." The warden hesitated for a moment before forcing the words out. "He has awakened."

Silence descended over the Royal Meeting Hall. Zanki and the other demons remained kneeling, watching their king as the coldness gradually disappeared from Allen’s face.

A smile slowly formed on his lips.

"Finally... the last sacrifice of my life."

Allen leaned back against his throne, his golden eyes remaining fixed on the kneeling warden. After centuries of searching and countless failed rituals, the one existence he had sought for so long was finally within his grasp. For the first time that night, his satisfaction was impossible to conceal.

"Excellent work," Allen said, his voice unusually pleased. "Make sure the human is treated well. I will not tolerate even the slightest harm coming to him before the ritual begins. Is that understood?"

Despite the praise, the coldness in his final words sent a shiver down the warden’s spine. He immediately lowered his head, pressing his forehead against the floor.

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty! I understand!"

"Good. Then bring the human to the Abyssal Sanctum."

"At once, Your Majesty!"

The warden bowed once more before hurriedly leaving the Royal Meeting Hall. Allen watched him disappear through the enormous doors before turning his attention toward the Upper Blood Demons, who were still kneeling before him.

"Prepare the Black Eclipse Circle," he commanded. "I want everything ready before I arrive. There will be no mistakes, and I will accept no excuses."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Upper Blood Demons answered together.

Allen slowly rose from his throne, his golden eyes gleaming with anticipation. The moment he had waited two thousand years for was finally approaching, and even he could no longer completely suppress his excitement.

"After two thousand years of preparation, the time has finally come."

He extended one hand toward the gathered demons.

"Let the Black Eclipse begin."

The Upper Blood Demons lowered their heads, but Allen wasn’t finished. His smile gradually twisted into something far more sinister as he imagined what awaited him once the ritual was complete.

"Before the first rays of sunlight touch this world, I shall awaken the God of Shadow."

His golden eyes narrowed.

"And when that moment comes... my true plan will finally begin."

Allen then turned toward the Jester Demon, who stood among the Upper Blood Demons awaiting his orders.

"Jester, go and inform the Tenebris Circle. Tell them to begin preparing the sacrifices immediately. Every offering must be arranged exactly as written in the Black Testament."

The Jester Demon lowered his head respectfully, placing one hand against his chest.

"As you wish, my King."

With those words, his figure vanished from the chamber.

Allen glanced toward the remaining demons before turning toward the entrance.

"The rest of you, follow me. We still have preparations to make."

Without waiting for a response, he began walking toward the enormous doors. The Upper Blood Demons followed closely behind, accompanied by the Elite Demons stationed throughout the hall.

For the first time in two thousand years, the final requirements of the Black Testament were within reach.

And the preparations for the Black Eclipse had begun.

Tenebris Circle — Sacrifice Hall

Deep beneath the Demonic Kingdom stood an enormous underground sanctuary belonging to the Tenebris Circle.

Unlike the Abyssal Sanctum, where the Black Eclipse would ultimately take place, this facility had been constructed for a different purpose: gathering and preserving the sacrifices required for the ritual.

For centuries, offerings had been brought here from different corners of the world. Some were rare ingredients whose existence had never been recorded in human history, while others were living creatures that did not belong to Earth at all. Every sacrifice was carefully preserved according to the instructions written in the Black Testament, awaiting the day when the final ritual would begin.

The Tenebris Circle itself was no ordinary religious organization.

Established by Allen to extend his influence throughout the human world, the secret cult operated behind the identities of legitimate religious institutions, charitable foundations, and other influential organizations.

Through these disguises, its followers had spent centuries gathering resources and manipulating powerful individuals without revealing their true allegiance.

But the members entrusted with preserving the sacrifices were different from the ordinary followers operating in the human world.

They were demon priests.

Highly educated in the forbidden teachings of the Black Testament, these priests had dedicated their lives to understanding the complicated procedures required for the awakening of the Forgotten God, known within their scripture as the God of Shadow.

They wore long black ceremonial robes, their faces concealed behind dark masks. Their appearance was deliberately uniform, making it difficult to distinguish one priest from another.

Tonight, however, their usual routine had come to an end.

After centuries of waiting, they had finally received orders to prepare for the ritual.

Inside the Sacrifice Hall, seven high-ranking demon priests sat around a large circular stone table.

Each was responsible for overseeing one of the seven offerings described in the Black Testament, and they had gathered to submit their final reports.

At the center of the table rested an ancient copy of the scripture, surrounded by records documenting the sacrifices collected over the years.

Beyond the hall, enormous sealed chambers contained rare ingredients, ancient artifacts, and living creatures brought from Nova through forbidden summoning rituals.

The priest seated at the head of the table opened the record before him.

His name was High Priest Valthor.

"His Majesty has ordered us to begin preparations," Valthor announced, looking toward the others. "Before we proceed, I want confirmation of every sacrifice. We cannot afford a single mistake."

The first priest immediately rose from his seat.

"First sacrifice, the Heart of the First Calamity. Obtained from a calamity-class beast of Nova and summoned to Earth seven hundred years ago. Its preservation remains successful, and there have been no complications."

Valthor nodded.

"Very well. Next."

The second priest opened his report.

"Second sacrifice, the Moonless Flower. A rare medicinal flower that grows in the northern regions of Nova and blooms once every five hundred years.

It was successfully summoned three hundred years ago, and its condition remains unchanged."

"Third sacrifice," another priest continued, "the Crown of the Nameless King. An ancient royal artifact recovered from the ruins of a fallen kingdom in Nova. It was summoned eleven hundred years ago and remains secured within its chamber."

Valthor listened carefully, checking each report against the ancient records before him. Everything was proceeding as expected, and the confirmations continued without interruption.

The fourth offering was the Sands of the Unborn Hour, a rare mineral substance collected from the forbidden regions of Nova and summoned nine hundred years ago. Every required quantity had been accounted for.

The fifth was the Last Dreaming Beast, a living creature native to Nova that had been summoned four hundred years earlier. According to its keeper, the beast remained alive, and the preservation measures were functioning properly.

Finally, the sixth priest rose.

"Sixth sacrifice, the Ashes of Rachel. A rare substance obtained from the remains of a creature known as Rachel in Nova. It was summoned fifteen hundred years ago. The required amount has been secured, and there are no issues to report."

Valthor nodded slowly as he reviewed the final confirmation.

Six sacrifices.

Six offerings that had required centuries of searching, countless forbidden rituals, and enormous resources to obtain.

Yet even after everything they had accomplished, one requirement remained beyond their reach.

Valthor turned to the final page of the Black Testament, where a single name had been written in crimson letters.

"Seventh sacrifice..."

The other priests immediately fell silent.

"The Child of Chaos."

Unlike the previous six offerings, there was no sealed chamber containing the final sacrifice. Only an empty altar stood at the far end of the hall, surrounded by ancient inscriptions, waiting for the day its intended offering would finally arrive.

Valthor stared at the final page for several moments before releasing a weary sigh.

"Still incomplete."

He slowly closed the record.

"I wonder if it’s even possible to find what the Testament describes. We’ve spent centuries searching, yet we still haven’t found a single trace of this so-called Child of Chaos."

"Who knows?" another priest muttered. "Perhaps such a being no longer exists."

"Or perhaps we’ve misunderstood the prophecy itself," a third suggested. "The descriptions are far too vague. Even the records from Nova provide little information."

Valthor remained silent.

He had spent much of his existence studying the forbidden scripture, yet even he could not confidently explain what the Child of Chaos truly was. The ancient descriptions were incomplete, and every attempt to uncover its identity had ended in failure.

What troubled him most was that the Black Testament offered no alternative.

Without the seventh sacrifice, the ritual could never be completed.

And if the final offering truly no longer existed, then everything they had spent centuries preserving would remain useless.

Before anyone could continue, a sudden burst of laughter echoed throughout the Sacrifice Hall.

"Hehehe... Hahahaha!"

The seven priests immediately turned toward the entrance, where a familiar figure was approaching them with an exaggerated smile.

Valthor narrowed his eyes.

"Is that...?"

The other priests followed his gaze, and the moment they recognized the approaching figure, their expressions turned cold.

"Jester Demon!"

"What are you doing here, Upper Blood Demon?" one of the priests demanded, making no effort to hide his hostility.

Jester seemed completely unaffected by their reception. He casually approached the circular table, pulled out an empty chair, and sat down without asking permission. Crossing one leg over the other, he leaned back comfortably and examined the seven priests with an amused expression.

"My, my! What a wonderful welcome! And here I thought you gentlemen would be delighted to see me."

"Answer the question," Valthor said coldly. "Why have you come here?"

"Why am I here?" Jester repeated, tilting his head. "Hmm... Judging by those miserable expressions, I suppose you haven’t heard the wonderful news yet."

Valthor frowned.

"What news?"

Jester placed a finger against his chin, pretending to think.

"Oh? So His Majesty hasn’t informed you personally? How unfortunate! It seems our beloved Demon King values his Upper Blood Demons far more than the great Tenebris Circle."

The atmosphere around the table immediately grew tense.

"Watch your tongue, Jester," Valthor warned. "We are the ones entrusted with gathering and preserving the sacrifices written in the Black Testament. Without our work, His Majesty’s ritual would never have reached this stage."

Another priest folded his arms and sneered.

"Unlike you Upper Blood Demons, who have spent years wandering around the outside world, we have remained here fulfilling our duties. You should remember that before mocking us."

Jester blinked at their response before slowly placing a hand over his chest.

"Oh, how cruel! I traveled all this way to deliver such wonderful news, and this is how you treat me?"

He shook his head dramatically, pretending to wipe away a tear. However, when he noticed that none of the priests appeared amused, he finally released a disappointed sigh.

"Honestly, you old fellows really don’t know how to enjoy yourselves."

"Jester," Valthor said, his voice growing colder. "If you have something to report, then speak."

"Ahahaha! Very well, very well! No need to get so angry, old man."

Jester finally straightened in his chair, although the playful smile never disappeared from his face.

"His Majesty has issued an order. The Tenebris Circle is to begin transferring all six sacrifices to the Abyssal Sanctum immediately."

For a moment, none of the priests responded.

Then Valthor abruptly rose from his seat.

"What?!"

The other priests exchanged shocked glances. They had spent centuries preserving those offerings, and according to the Black Testament, the sacrifices were not to be moved until the final requirement had been fulfilled.

"That’s impossible!" one of them exclaimed. "The seventh sacrifice hasn’t even been found!"

"Exactly!" another added. "Without the Child of Chaos, transferring the other sacrifices would be meaningless!"

Jester merely watched their reactions with an increasingly delighted expression.

"Oh, you really haven’t heard anything, have you?"

Valthor stared at him, his earlier irritation gradually giving way to something else.

"What are you implying?"

Jester leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as his grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Hehehe... Gentlemen, allow me to congratulate you."

He paused deliberately, savoring the anticipation spreading across their faces.

"After two thousand years of waiting, His Majesty has finally found the Child of Chaos."

Valthor’s eyes widened, but before he could utter a word, Jester continued with a delighted chuckle.

"In fact, the little fellow is already here, within our kingdom. His Majesty personally captured him, and he’s being held in the Tower of No Return until the preparations for his transfer are complete."

For several seconds, no one spoke.

The entire Sacrifice Hall fell into an unnatural silence. The seven priests stared at Jester, struggling to comprehend what they had just heard. The existence they had spent centuries searching for was already imprisoned within their own kingdom.

Valthor slowly lowered his gaze toward the Black Testament. His trembling fingers came to rest upon the final page, where the name of the seventh sacrifice had been written in crimson letters.

For the first time in two thousand years, all seven sacrifices were within their reach.

And the prophecy recorded within the Book of Endings could finally be fulfilled.

The end of everything was about to begin.

To Be Continued...