Only God
Chapter 394 - 349: The Ritual of Sacrificing the Soul

Chapter 394: Chapter 349: The Ritual of Sacrificing the Soul

Stone Mason Guild.

As one of the top commercial guilds throughout the Empire, the Stone Mason Guild wasn’t as wealthy as the Olive Guild, but due to their involvement in Church construction work, their status was far more esteemed than those who cultivated olives. In some places, the stonemasons were respected akin to monks.

Anos was indifferent to the Stone Mason Guild and only showed the stonemasons polite respect. This was mainly because the Stone Mason Guild’s relationship with the Delos Family wasn’t particularly close. Moreover, due to her lack of belief, Anos didn’t feel much affinity towards the stonemasons.

Now, Anos and Mira had concealed their whereabouts. They no longer walked in the open but conducted their investigation in secret.

Despite Anos no longer accepting help from any force, including the Delos Family, this didn’t mean that Her Highness had lost her sources of information.

The Red Olive Poetry Society was more than just a poetry club.

As the president of the society, Anos naturally had her own resources at her disposal.

Not long after, she investigated and discovered that the Stone Mason Guild’s most recent job involved the maintenance of the Danschel Grand Cathedral.

"The Stone Mason Guild has always had a deep relationship with the Church, and this time, it’s said that during the maintenance, they discovered a Bone Church beneath the ground."

That’s what Stephanie had explained to Anos.

The news caught the Princess by surprise. The Danschel Grand Cathedral was the center of faith for the entire Imperial City, yet beneath this cathedral, there was a Bone Church.

The Bone Church, also known as a graveyard church, was a type of church that proliferated during the early days of the Empire. As the name implies, it was a place both a church and a tomb.

In the early days of the Empire, this kind of church was once popular until it was banned by an edict from a Great Shepherd and gradually vanished from the world.

Although it was surprising that an underground Bone Church was originally beneath the Danschel Grand Cathedral, it wasn’t something that warranted much attention. However, Anos recalled the underground tomb discovered by the Olive Guild.

"Could Great Shepherd Conrad have always been aware of the existence of the Primordial Church?

If he is connected to the Primordial Church... how deep does the relationship go?"

For Anos, this was a question worth pondering.

Even though the Delos Family had passed on the imperial throne for two generations, their foundation in Danschel remained shallow, and the family’s relation with the successive Great Shepherds could only be described as lukewarm.

Although Anos had her suspicions about the Great Shepherd, she couldn’t afford to startle the quarry at present, so she first set her sights on the Stone Mason Guild.

After disguising themselves, the two women passed through the separate districts of Danschel, marked by their gateways, and arrived at the Stone Mason Guild’s headquarters.

They took on new identities: a stonemason merchant and her apprentice.

The investigation lasted an entire half day. Anos negotiated with various stonemasons with a substantial sum at hand, not missing a single word or phrase, probing subtly and finally gleaned some information from a young but talented stonemason.

"That team captain took a mirror from inside."

The stonemason whispered.

"A mirror? Where is that mirror now, and why did he take it?"

Anos asked.

The latter shook his head, saying,

"I don’t know, but I know where the mirror is likely to be... it should be in our guild leader’s basement..."

After the man had spoken, Anos placed three gold coins on the table. He hurriedly took them and went on to disclose more details.

[...]

The following night, Anos and Mira quietly made their way to the guild leader’s residence.

It was a manor with a small estate. Their goal was clear: to infiltrate without alerting anyone and locate the mirror that the stonemason had taken from the Bone Church.

Mira was using Ancient Language to scan the surroundings.

Soon, she whispered to Anos,

"The basement is beneath the room on the left, and inside there is a clump of ghostly green dark energy... It doesn’t look good."

Anos took a deep breath,

"If the decision is made, we can only set off now."

Mira nodded, confident that whatever happened, she could handle it.

They skirted around the guards who were watching over the Guild President’s estate. Using the Ancient Language, Mira created a tunnel, and under the dense cover of the shrubbery, they headed straight for the underground chamber.

As Mira explored and approached the location of the underground chamber, the girl saw that the clump of condensed green-black energy grew thicker as they got closer.

It was similar to the black fog she had seen before.

Before long, a thick stone wall arose in front of the two of them.

It seemed they had reached the underground chamber.

Mira and Anos exchanged glances and then, with a word of the Ancient Language, the entire wall collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Anos charged into the underground chamber through the dust of the collapsing wall, her Longsword gleaming, ready to subdue any enemy that might be lurking within.

But as the dust settled, Anos only saw a bloated fat man lying on the ground and a large copper mirror standing at the far end.

The copper mirror was engraved with intricate patterns.

The fat man was clearly the President of the Stone Mason Guild; the Princess recognized him.

"This is..."

Anos turned her head towards the copper mirror.

A mirror... typically reflects everything before it; with the President lying on the ground, and Anos standing in front of it, the mirror should show the reflection of Anos.

But the Princess saw, not her own reflection.

Instead, it was the Guild President’s. The full-length mirror showed only his face; his entire body appeared in it!

The President’s face was pale, his hands hung limply, his eyes rolled back, and thick with bloodshot veins.

Anos involuntarily stepped back, her Longsword trembling slightly.

The President in the mirror looked like a walking corpse, surrounded by a dense black energy.

Mira quickly came to her side, immediately noticing the patterns on the mirror.

"That is, that is a ritual!"

"What?!"

"A ritual of soul sacrifice! I’ve encountered it before!"

Mira spoke urgently,

"The patterns on this mirror are for a ritual, and this man’s soul has been taken from his body!"

As Mira’s words fell, the black energy in the mirror surged, quickly engulfing the President reflected within.

After a moment, the President’s soul was devoured by the black energy and disappeared in the blink of an eye; the copper mirror reverted to its original state.

It seemed to signify that this soul had been sacrificed.

"It looks like... we were a step too late."

Anos said, looking at the President lying on the ground:

"It’s really dreadful to see... Most unpleasant."

Then, the Princess slowly walked to the side of the President’s body, remembering that these merchants always carried a ledger, which might have recorded some clues.

Soon, Anos found a sheepskin ledger in the pocket on the left side of the President.

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