Chapter 6: Sacrifice (1)

“Where do you think you’re going with this charade?”

A sudden silence descends.

The Knighthood stands awkwardly, and at their forefront, our Belladis, no, Bella, is filled with resentment.

Her pale beauty is enlivened with emotion, making her as lovely as a painting.

She’s so captivating, I feel like I could stare at her all day.

But right now…

There’s a feral cat, fur bristling, who doesn’t even recognize her own Lord God.

“Uh… Bella?”

“How dare you, how dare you shorten my name! That's a nickname only my Lord God and I share…!”

A menacing aura of Divine Power emanates from Bella.

“Do you understand that's reason enough for you to be torn to shreds and die right here, right now?”

“.....”

Let’s examine the disconnect between her and me.

‘Ah.’

The Summon skill only allows me to see through her eyes, a first-person perspective.

My in-Game avatar isn't accurately depicted.

It’s for the sake of immersion for the gentlemen players.

Therefore, my in-Game avatar has an ambiguous appearance.

And my current Summoned form is unfamiliar to them.

‘Emergency.’

Realizing this, Bella’s rage no longer seems like a playful tantrum.

‘Super emergency!’

She’s like a wild beast, growling with the genuine intent to rip her opponent to shreds.

- Whoosh!

A sharp strike comes first.

I activate a skill, blocking it just in time.

- Clang!

Her attack is blocked by a translucent barrier, producing a harsh noise.

I feel a chill from the killing intent, but Belladis currently has no means of harming me.

My Summon level is 10.

The highest level attainable.

This means that the body formed by Summon is impervious to any harm in this world.

Nevertheless, I wanted to try out a defensive skill.

It would be embarrassing to be hit by an attack in front of everyone, and I also wanted to try using a skill.

‘It’s cool, right?’

A celestial being descending from the heavens with outstretched wings.

Calmly and effortlessly blocking the attack of one of the strongest beings in this world.

How could I resist?

Back to the present.

Seeing Bella’s extremely foul mood, I decide to take action.

“Bella.”

“That name, again…!”

Ah, we’re not at that stage yet, are we?

“Belladis.”

“How dare you, utter my name! I won’t forgive you!”

What does she want me to do?

- Flap.

The massive wings sprouting from my back flap on their own.

The resulting breeze gently sweeps Belladis’s hair.

I’m still airborne.

Floating in the air, I slowly observe the current situation.

The Knighthood’s aura is quite menacing.

They clearly came here prepared for a fight.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have marched all the way here, armed with such deadly weapons and Armor.

For me.

They’re prepared to wage war to rescue me from a non-existent hostage situation.

‘It’s commendable, but…’

It’s ironic that all this stems from a misunderstanding.

I think for a moment.

Since I’m already Summoned, shouldn’t I keep up the act?

For instance…

“War brings happiness to no one.”

I smile benevolently, projecting an air of omniscience.

Even if they have a strong force, it’s enough to instill a sense of unease.

“Those aren’t words I’d expect to hear from the Black Sun Cult.”

“Are you saying I’m an apostle of the Black Sun?”

“Then are you not? You suddenly appeared, neutralized my attack, and blocked my Lord God's Knighthood.”

Well, compositionally, that’s true.

I simply came for a fan meeting.

“I’m quite hurt that you still don’t recognize me.”

“...You.”

Belladis’s expression becomes increasingly menacing as she watches me maintain my composure.

“Die, or get out of the way.”

“What if I refuse both?”

- Grind.

The sound of gritted teeth, signaling the limits of her patience.

She’ll attack again soon.

I first check Belladis’s stats.

[Name: Belladis Rochellia

Divine Power 9 Strength 10 Agility 7 Intelligence 6 Spirit 8]

Her Strength is at 10, the highest level achievable by humans according to the setting.

This means no one can match Belladis in combat prowess.

Fighting her head-on seemed like a bad idea, so I decided to sweet-talk her into joining us.

I carefully retraced my memories with Belladis.

Quest character, vampire, victim of the Black Sun Cult.

No one could quell the hatred she held for the Black Sun.

They were the vile group that had completely upended her life.

「‘Black Sun's Incarnation’ is stealthily observing.」

‘Does he even realize he messed up?’

He's treating this like some trivial human affair, like he hasn't put any real effort in.

No wonder she turned out this twisted.

“When I first met you, you were with Lisia.”

“...Lisia?”

“Are you ready to listen now?”

I don't want to fight. A fight would only damage her beautiful face.

Besides, the talk about fighting only applies to those ground-dwellers, not Constellations like us.

Regardless, I continued speaking to Belladis, who seemed uncertain.

“Back then, in the Black Sun Cult's Forbidden Zone.”

Nothing tickles someone's heart quite like the story of their first encounter.

They say first impressions are half the battle, after all.

And among those first impressions, my encounter with Belladis was particularly intense.

“How... how do you know that?”

“Lisia was worried about you, but I knew the warmth that resided within your heart.”

Fighting the Black Sun vampire, Belladis, was notoriously difficult, enough to stir up the Community.

It felt like the developers had really put in the effort, making her worthy of the legendary monster's name she borrowed.

Bizarre attack patterns that completely blindsided players who dared to hope for victory.

-Phase 2.

And on top of that, each hit she landed healed her, making it feel like a descent into cosmic horror, chilling you to the bone.

Many players gave up on recruiting her and chose to eliminate her instead.

But I didn't give up on Belladis.

All I needed was persistence and time.

Lisia played a crucial role in that fight.

She was the only one who could stand on the front lines against Belladis's power, having been with me from the very beginning.

‘The others specialize in support, after all.’

That doesn't mean the other characters are useless.

It's just that, in that particular situation, Lisia was indispensable.

While Lisia held off Belladis, who was using the pre-Forbidden Zone stage as her footing, I immediately analyzed her patterns and gave Lisia feedback.

That's how we finally managed to push Belladis to the brink of death.

【Vampire Belladis Rochellia】

The key factor in our success was the method to detoxify the curse inherent in her blood.

Holy Blood.

A reward for completing a 16-day login event quest, a requirement for recruiting her.

And that Special Privilege is still within me.

「Holy Blood (S)

: God's blood imbued with intense Divine Power that can suppress the curse of blood. Use it on ‘Belladis Rochellia’ to recruit her into the Religious Order.」

Of course, since Belladis is already a member of our Religious Order, it has no practical effect, but sentimentality is important, isn't it?

Here, I pondered once more.

‘Hmm.’

Just using it would be boring.

With all this careful build-up, simply using it would be anticlimactic.

How can I create a dramatic scene?

My eyes naturally drifted towards the incessantly whining message window.

‘Hey.’

At my call, the Black Sun's Incarnation sent a question mark.

‘You asked for help. You think you're getting it for free?’

「‘Black Sun's Incarnation’ stiffens.」

‘Let me use some of your Cult members.’

Since things have turned out this way, I decided to take advantage of the situation.

「‘Black Sun's Incarnation’ questions his own hearing.」

‘You need to do some work too.’

I mean, what's so strange about a villainous Cult doing villainous things?

Since I'm the one bearing the brunt of Belladis's resentment, I needed to divert her attention momentarily.

The Black Sun Cult, which our followers were targeting from the start, is right there.

The Black Sun's Priests stood ready to block our Religious Order’s march.

Their dark armor exuded an aura of intimidation, but compared to our brilliantly shining followers, they looked like children playing dress-up.

They must already know.

If a Holy War breaks out now, one Religious Order will be erased from the world today.

‘Have one of your guys attack me.’

「‘Black Sun's Incarnation’ asks if I’m crazy.」

‘Just do it. Or are we calling this off?’

As I added coldly, a commotion erupted within the ranks of the Black Sun.

“Wh-What’s happening?! What are you doing?!”

“Grrrr…!”

One of them began convulsing, and a massive amount of Divine Power erupted from him.

It seemed that the frenzy and Divine Power amplification bestowed by the Black Sun's Incarnation had been activated.

‘That’s it.’

Feeling satisfied, I continued my conversation with Belladis, feigning ignorance.

“I’m sorry that I’ve only now come before you. All of this is my Sin.”

“You… what are you talking about?”

Belladis’s confusion deepened.

But before she could even begin to guess the answer to her questions…

“Raaaagh!!”

A Priest from the Cult suddenly leaped between Belladis and me, delivering a powerful blow.

- Slash!!

A streak of crimson blood splattered across her pale cheek.