Chapter 911
The Sacrifice of the Ouroboros Ring
“So… just the three of us?” Master Walter asked Miss Sprenger subtly as he slowly took his seat.
Miss Sprenger didn’t reply, merely smiled at Master Walter and handed him a glass of wine.
“I urgently summoned you because two major events have occurred… and these two events are connected, so I must inform you as soon as possible.” Miss Sprenger’s pleasant and clear voice rang out.
She raised one finger: “The first is that the Fallen Heavenly Envoy is not in good condition. Today, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy got into a dispute – a fight, even kind of a fight – with someone in the Dream Realm.”
“…Has the Fallen Heavenly Envoy been injured?” Master Walter’s expression changed slightly as he took a sip of the wine in his hand. For a moment, his expression became extremely complicated, filled with surprise and joy, yet also with worry, fear, and hesitation. Countless emotions, like an overturned paint palette, mixed into an unpleasant mess. The only variable in the Ouroboros Ring ritual was whether, after they summoned the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy would be willing to share their power, or if they could forcibly extract it should they refuse. The suppression of the Wall of Balance was absolute; even a Heavenly Envoy would be reduced to the limits of the Material Realm when descending, which was the Sixth Tier. Most rituals were effective against the Sixth Tier, so they had prepared strong enough binding rituals. However, such matters were ultimately not entirely reliable. —Only by holding power and initiative in one’s own hands was the most reliable and stable choice!
Madam Marasia frowned in displeasure as she looked at his momentary ugliness. Miss Sprenger, however, only gave a cute smile and said lightly, “Yes, this is undoubtedly a new opportunity. According to the information I’ve obtained, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s emotional fluctuations today were extremely strong, very likely due to suffering a defeat. They even have the desire to descend to the lower realm and interfere with the Material Realm — you know what this means, right?”
“This indicates that the Material Realm is no longer an existence that can be disregarded by them,” Madam Marasia said elegantly and calmly. “When a person has no desires, they are precisely the most dangerous. When a person has desires, they can be exploited — even gods are the same.”
“Like those Dwarves? And the Banquet Heavenly Envoy and the Winter Envoy…” Master Walter nodded repeatedly, lost in thought, and took another sip of wine. “Do they want to complete a ritual in the Material Realm to continue getting stronger?”
“Yes,” Miss Sprenger said with absolute certainty. “That’s exactly it.”
Hearing this, Master Walter’s mind was put at ease. —At least it wasn’t a bad thing, he thought. On the contrary, this matter was filled with opportunities… If they originally didn’t know how to interact with the Fallen Heavenly Envoy or how to negotiate with them, now at least they could talk. If they could talk, it was always much better than using rituals to restrain them. But if that were the case… why didn’t they ask Dr. Leviathan?
While Master Walter was contemplating, Miss Sprenger had already provided the answer: “I believe the Ouroboros Ring ritual needs to be advanced.”
“Can it be advanced?” Madam Marasia confirmed.
“Yes,” Miss Sprenger nodded. “Although May 5th is the most perfect day of balance, the outer ring ritual has already been successfully established. We only need to make slight adjustments, and we can convene the inner ring ritual at any time.”
“When do you plan to advance it to?” Master Walter pressed. “Before the founding of the empire? Then we won’t be able to lure those people out.”
“At least this month,” Miss Sprenger nodded. “Once this month passes, it will be difficult for us to negotiate any terms with the Fallen Heavenly Envoy. Fishing or a better ritual, which do you choose?”
“—Then it’s this month. It’s settled.” Walter frowned slightly, then downed the wine in his cup, affirming. This general from the Ministry of the Army spoke with powerful conviction.
Miss Sprenger further added, refilling his wine, “Similarly, considering one point… I do not intend to capture those Transcendants who entered Star Antimony.”
“Is it because there isn’t enough time?” Madam Marasia guessed.
“That’s partly the reason,” Miss Sprenger said solemnly. “The other reason is that we cannot afford to lose any more personnel. Originally, when we convened the Ouroboros Ring ritual, we planned to select someone from within to be the sacrifice… because we did not wish for things to be out of control. If we included those outsiders, and considering that the sacrifice must be captured alive, it would very likely cause variables. After all, they are all Demon Avatars, and one careless mistake could lead to the leakage of powerful demons. It is undoubtedly extremely difficult for humans to contend with Upper Demons. One wrong step could lead to the loss of personnel, triggering a chain reaction – deceased allies would become new demons. That is why we chose to have one person become the sacrifice unknowingly; this was to ensure the controllability of the ritual.”
Miss Sprenger looked around and sighed, “And now… our situation is clearly not good. Of the high-ranking members of the Rose Cross, only the four of us remain.” —She said four, but only three people were present.
Master Walter understood what Miss Sprenger meant. Dr. Leviathan was the sacrifice chosen by Miss Sprenger!
“Then let Mr. Leviathan be the sacrifice,” Master Walter said ruthlessly. He said this before Miss Sprenger to claim the proposal for himself. Everyone knew that Miss Sprenger yearned for freedom, like a cat without a master; Madam Marasia had little desire for power; and Dr. Leviathan was an artist. The only one who craved power was Master Walter himself. He was also the one most concerned about the outcome of founding the empire and the most suspicious one — Before going to Miss Sprenger’s meeting place, he had prepared a ritual to detect lies for himself, as he was very worried this hasty summons might be a trap. But now, he was certain that every word Miss Sprenger spoke was true. This meant their plan was about to succeed. The three remaining people among them would become the centers of power in the new world! Three Sixth Tier beings — although far fewer than initially expected, it was still acceptable. At least this level was sufficient to rebuild the empire! And as for the upper echelons, three people were better than four. Among their four… the one he feared most and wanted to eliminate most was undoubtedly Dr. Leviathan. But if only three remained, there had to be a leader, right? With Miss Sprenger and Madam Marasia not having strong desires, he would not give up the title of leader and the status of the new world’s power controller! Thinking of this, the depths of Master Walter’s pupils reflected a brilliant purple. His emotions suddenly became excited, and he downed the wine in his cup again. The marks of jealousy, greed, and lust on Master Walter’s body, at some unknown time, began to glow faintly: “Leviathan was never popular — the Fly Demon within him is too dangerous, and he himself is sickly. He is so weak that he could die at any moment. What are we performing the Ouroboros Ring ritual for? For world peace — we will reign supreme over the world and rebuild the Human Empire! The wielder of power of the Human Supreme Empire is a Fly Demon? One who controls decay, death, swarms, and disease… Does that sound right?”
As Master Walter spoke, he became more impassioned: “The three of us are just right — at least it’s respectable!” —He didn’t mention survival of the fittest because Master Walter actually knew that the weakest among the four of them was Madam Marasia. This was because that old lady had the weakest desire for transcendence and the highest moral standards… especially since she was old, and as her lifespan increased, her twilight desires would dilute and extinguish her desires for transcendence. Master Walter had the desire to advance to the Sixth Tier, but Madam Marasia did not. She was only included because she held a high position in the Rose Cross Society and had extremely high prestige and trust; such a matter could not bypass her… doing so would only lead to dissatisfaction and a loss of trust in the plan, so they were forced to include her. But the problem was that this weakest Madam Marasia had an excellent relationship with the strongest Miss Sprenger. When she was young, she was brought into their line of work by Miss Sprenger. According to the mentor system of the Rose Cross Society, Miss Sprenger was her mentor! Therefore, with this connection, he could only exclude Dr. Leviathan!
Furthermore, Master Walter harbored another desire — Miss Sprenger’s peerless beauty and exquisite figure captivated him. No, everyone would be captivated by them. Besides her beauty, she was also Queen of Valentin I, and every Star Antimony person worshipped Valentin I. This noble identity was an even more enticing honey to a Transcendant. Not to mention, she was a woman that even Valentin I had not tamed — she always left the Royal Palace as she pleased, and even Valentin I, who had become paranoid and irritable in his old age, did not put her in his eyes. Everyone knew this. For ordinary people, this was a dangerous warning, indicating that her love was likely to represent infidelity. But for Master Walter, this was even more challenging! This was also why he always echoed Miss Sprenger’s words, yet wanted to take half a step ahead to make her smile and nod in agreement. Even if she was a dangerous witch — he would be the King of the Sixth Tier world then! Who else in this world was worthy of her besides him? The Eternal Pope, also a Sixth Tier being? It was for this reason that he vehemently agreed with Miss Sprenger’s decision to exclude Dr. Leviathan. In the eyes of Master Walter, now a middle-aged man, this was precisely Miss Sprenger expressing her favor towards him!
“Master Walter!” Madam Marasia frowned slightly, her words faintly carrying a hint of condemnation. But Walter only expressed disdain for her hypocrisy: “Wake up, Madam Marasia! None of us three are particularly good at fighting. Are we going to compete with those outsiders? We need to capture them alive! A great wizard or a Demon Avatar? We have no choice — someone has to be sacrificed! So why not sacrifice the worst one? If Dr. Leviathan isn’t going to do it — perhaps Madam Marasia, you could sacrifice yourself?”
He didn’t have a high opinion of the highly respected old lady. In Walter’s opinion, if it weren’t for Madam Marasia’s weakness and constant concessions, the Goblins would not be controlling the economic lifeline of Star Antimony today. The current disintegration of Star Antimony was at least partly her fault! But it was different for him — if it weren’t for him, Star Antimony would have been destroyed by the Red Phase people long ago! Therefore, Master Walter emphasized: “Madam Marasia, face reality! Transcendants are selfish — I don’t mind telling you, if the four of us went to capture someone together, I would definitely be at the very back. And I know everyone else would choose the same. Everyone only thinks of themselves, and it’s impossible to cooperate tacitly in such a situation. Instead of worrying about betrayal later, why not do something bad together now? With a target that everyone dislikes, at least we can unite.”
As he spoke, his deep purple pupils looked towards Miss Sprenger: “I think at this time, it’s better to follow the majority — Miss Sprenger, what do you think?”
“I think you’re absolutely right,” Miss Sprenger nodded and said affirmatively. The strong sense of pride that came from being recognized by the beauty made Walter, whose senses were already excited to the point of hallucination, even more excited. He felt as if he had drunk too much wine, his vision becoming hazy. He staggered and slumped into his chair. Everything before his eyes became illusory, stretching and receding, colors shifting. It was like eating a poisonous mushroom… —Poisonous mushroom? Poisoning? Is it the wine? Is the wine… poisoned? His pupils suddenly contracted. But the next moment, numerous magic circles suddenly appeared on the chair, locking him tightly in place!
“You acted a bit too early, Dr. Leviathan.” In his hallucination, Miss Sprenger’s intermittent voice sounded out. But Walter only felt his head spinning, his thoughts almost grinding to a halt.
“Cough, cough, cough… I just… *cough*… I was too angry.” Dr. Leviathan painstakingly pushed his wheelchair, emerging from the shadows in the corner. He spoke with a weak and feeble voice, but coughed incessantly halfway through. He looked sicker than he had at their last meeting.
Miss Sprenger walked forward and pushed Dr. Leviathan’s wheelchair. Dr. Leviathan also breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing almost completely into his wheelchair, panting like a bellows. His eyes were filled with rage — he stared directly at Master Walter, whose skin had already turned purplish-black.
“You don’t… deserve my trust!” Dr. Leviathan said word by word, “You have no idea how much I trusted you!”
Madam Marasia also sighed, “I gave you a chance, Master Walter. I warned you twice… If you didn’t listen, then so be it.”
Master Walter’s head could no longer process thoughts. He could only stare at the three of them with wide eyes, his mouth agape like a drowning fish. But even so, he understood what the situation was: It was exactly as he had thought, one of the four of them had to be sacrificed. But the sacrificial victim chosen by Miss Sprenger was not “Dr. Leviathan,” but himself! Clearly, Dr. Leviathan had not trusted Master Walter to betray him from the beginning. So Miss Sprenger had them put on a show to tell Dr. Leviathan about her ruthlessness! Just as Walter himself said — —Instead of worrying about betrayal later, why not do something bad together now? With a target that everyone dislikes, others will naturally unite. How dare you look down on me — Master Walter gritted his teeth. Fortunately, the ritual was still a long way off. He still had a chance to escape… Once the poison in his body decomposed, he would summon his Demon Avatar — Even if he couldn’t escape, he would at least take them down with him! If I can’t have a good time, then no one else will! Just as they had predicted, the danger of “capturing a Transcendant alive,” he would show these people… the price of underestimating him! But at this moment, Master Walter saw Miss Sprenger beginning to set up a ritual. He jolted, his consciousness even seeming to clear up slightly. …No way? “Are you… going to… now…” Master Walter opened his mouth, his swollen throat struggling to utter indistinct words. Miss Sprenger, however, looked at him with a smile that was not a smile. “You want me, right?” she asked charmingly. “I’ll satisfy you soon… very soon. “Wait a little longer… my master.” (End of this chapter)
