The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 326: I will sacrifice

Chapter 326: I will sacrifice

Hex glided through the darkness as he moved to the village entrance. Behind him, he heard Marcia shout some expletives at Elize. The leader of the Guardians seemed to have realized the seriousness of the situation. Just before Hex moved away, he saw the petite man focus his abilities on trying to get away from the two female Enlightened Knights.

It was the smartest thing the man could have done.

It took Hex a few seconds to reach the village. The darkness didn’t impede him. Not even in the slightest. He would have to look into it.

In the back of his mind, he had one possible explanation for his affinity with the darkness, his physical body. All the bits and pieces he gathered so far insinuated his natural affinity to be with the darkness element. He was a Hex after all. And seeing the remnant darkness left by the Witch, he suspected he inherited – Hex rather not say that he was imbued with it during his creation – it from her.

The patch of darkness he saw upon arrival was the entrance. Only when he stepped into the darkness, did he realize why it was the entrance and not the village itself. A wide, hollow branch stood in his path. Only by going through it would he arrive in the village. Sensing no danger up front, he stepped into the opening.

Unlike the branches through which he traveled from city to city, this branch stood barren. There was no water flow to make use of. Hex didn’t let that deter him. The branch sloped downward and had quite a few bends but he managed to traverse it with ease. After some time, the exit appeared before him.

The density of the darkness increased as he stepped out of the branch. It didn’t hinder his steps as he could still perceive the surroundings. The first thing that caused him to pause a little was the ground beneath his feet. It was not his first time stepping on dry mud but it was the first time since arriving in Wrixia. Ever since they moved away from the sandy coast where they landed, he had been moving through and on branches.

’The village was on the ground.’

With a glance, he was able to tell that the land area was limited. Glancing up, he saw the first branch from the group up at a height of what he estimated to be around seven meters.

He stepped quickly toward the abandoned constructs he saw a couple of meters from the entrance. The village wasn’t large. It wasn’t even organized. The houses stood at great distances from each other in no discernable patterns. A quick count revealed less than fifty of such constructs around here.

The smell of rot and decay permeated in the darkness-filled air. The eerie feeling Hex got from walking inside the village came from the deafening silence hanging in the air. Not even the sound of a leaf moving was audible. Perhaps, he thought after observing a bit, it wasn’t the lack of sound but the lack of any source to create a sound that filled him with unease.

Even he didn’t make any noise. This was partially due to his excellent control. But even his perfect control didn’t account for the lack of noise when he stepped onto the dried leaves and twigs on the ground.

But Hex continued. He could sense it. A group of people gathered a little further up. He used them as his reference as he increased his speed, moving quickly toward the group.

When he got near them, he halted his steps. For some reason, in the middle of the village, the darkness remained absent.

Remaining in the embrace of the darkness, he observed the group. Twenty women and girls stood in a semi-circle, facing a small platform with one person tied to a pole.

’Jade?’

Hex frowned. The girl was supposed to be at the hotel. He observed the other girls but none resembled Jade. This puzzled him. He recalled the conversation between Marcia and Elize. The girls used in the ritual as a sacrifice had one thing in common. They all had sisters.

He had no choice but to wait. The crystal emerged during the ritual. He felt somewhat conflicted. Was he meant to let these women sacrifice a young girl for nothing? Even though he didn’t know Jade at all, he disliked senseless killings. Plus, they would do it in the name of his mother, which he didn’t like either.

The women and girls stood in silence. They seemed to be waiting for something. After a while of waiting, one of the women, who Hex sensed to be the strongest among the group, stepped forward. Her Transformed Stage fluctuations put pressure on the people around her, except Hex of course.

Hex was strong. But not enough to match a Transformed Knight. But standing in the darkness, he was filled with confidence. He knew that he could match her as long as he remained in the dark.

She pointed at Jade, who stood listlessly. In fact, she seemed so disheartened that Hex suspected the ropes tied around her helped more to keep her on her feet than to bind her to the pole.

"Sisters, we stand here once again to receive the Blessing from Lady Medina, or as she is known, the Witch. But before we start, let us offer our gratitude to the sisters. The sister who will give her life in exchange for Blessings for those who will live on."

She went on her knees and bowed to Jade, who shivered at the sight. As soon as the woman bowed, the others in the groups followed her example and repeated her words of gratitude. All her words of praise failed to cheer Jade up. Hex doubted someone about to be killed would see the silver lining in it. Once she was done, the woman stood up, and with her, the rest of the group.

The woman turned toward another girl. The girl shivered under the gaze of the others. Tears flowed from her eyes as she did everything not to look into the eyes of Jade, who Hex noticed, was looking at the girl with pain and agony.

"Let’s not forget the sister bringing the sacrifice. After all, the sister who lives always hurts more than the one who is embraced by Lady Medina."

The group repeated the same steps and even the same words when bowing to the timid girl. The girl swayed. She was hurting. Hex could see that much. As could the sick and frail woman beside the girl.

The woman and the timid girl resembled each other enough to look like mother and daughter. Hex still didn’t see any semblance between Jade and them though.

"Don’t cry, Cyantha," Jade said suddenly, with tears rolling from her eyes. "I am hurt but seeing you cry hurts me more. So, please, see it as my last wish, don’t cry, little sister."

"She...She did it to save me, dear. I am sorry but we had no other choice," the frail woman beside the timid girl called Cyantha explained. Hex could tell she didn’t have much life left in her.

"One daughter suffers, the other sacrifices, all so the mother can live. Truly, this is the way our Lady would have ordered," the lead woman proclaimed. Hex nearly left the darkness to punch the woman. She was getting on his nerves. He hoped he could do so once he retrieved the crystal.

"The shadow of the sun has merged with the darkness around us," she said, pointing at the rays moving away from the ground. "Let’s begin the ritual."

With that, she strode up to the platform and faced the crowd. With her hand, she beckoned the pair of mother and daughter to join.

"The sacrifice can only be given by those who she shares a bond with."

When they all stood on the platform, the woman waved with her hand, singing words Hex couldn’t decipher. The others joined in.

The darkness around them started to sway and move. To Hex it seemed like it was churning. And it was. Suddenly, it twisted so much that Hex sensed SpaceTime being changed. With a burst, it spat a crystal the size of a small hand out. The crystal didn’t glow. On the contrary, it seemed to absorb all light and sight around it.

The woman waved at the crystal as if she was moving the air around it and guided the crystal toward Jade. Hex readied himself to move in.

"Now, it will merge with the mark on her, accepting her soul."

The crystal came near but it didn’t stop at Jade. The woman tried to stop it but she didn’t seem capable of controlling it. The crystal moved toward Cyantha instead.

"What is happening?" The mother screamed. Everyone, including Jade, looked in shock and fear as the crystal hovered above Cyantha.

The girl, who had stood with her head lowered, lifted her gaze. There were no tears. She had stopped shivering. Instead, she looked at Jade and smiled.

"What did you do?" Jade shrieked.

Cyantha withdrew her sleeve, revealing a dark mark on her hand. She turned toward her mother, who gaped at her.

"Don’t worry, Mother. I didn’t forget my duties. As your daughter, I won’t allow you to die." She turned toward Jade and continued, "As your sister, I won’t allow you to die, either."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.