Chapter 105: The Moon Goddess Opens Her Eyes
A total of seventeen couples, thirty-four people.
The Cult didn't differentiate between them, moving all of them into the sacrificial formation in front of the statue.
Under the effect of the Soul-Lost Water, all thirty-four had lost their minds, muddled and heavy-bodied.
The cult members had only used magic spirits when suppressing resistance, recalling them quickly afterward, and were now moving them by hand.
Sixteen cult members, each carrying two people, weren't slow.
They still paired the couples, back to back, with the backs of their heads close together.
Only after all the couples were arranged did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Mr. Sea Star said with satisfaction, "Everything is ready. Now we just need to wait for the bell to toll."
Then, the cult members knelt before the statue and prayed silently.
...
Outside the temple.
Dark Demon cautiously peeked out.
All sixteen cult members were facing the statue, praying earnestly.
Looking in from the outside, only their backs could be seen.
"Could this be an opportunity?"
"If I use [Dark Pulse], could I perhaps take them all down in an instant?"
Thoughts churned in Dark Demon's mind.
But he ultimately rejected the idea.
The [Lust] series of magic cards would cause the statue's power to backfire; using them here would be self-destructive.
And if he wasn't careful and allowed any one of the cult members to react, he, a first-year student, would hardly gain any advantage.
The most threatening one seemed to be the central figure of the cult, Sea Star.
...
In fact, when encountering such a situation, the best method should be to notify a professor.
Since Professor Kazel was unwilling to intervene for unknown reasons, then find other professors!
But time seemed to be insufficient.
The cult members looked like they were about to act. By the time the professors were called, everything would likely be over.
Ultimately, what were they trying to do?
Resurrect a goddess?
If they were so devout, why not go to the Holy Rite Academy?
And was a so-called goddess so easily resurrected?
Dark Demon found it incomprehensible.
The behavior patterns of this group of cult members exuded a strange quality.
"It's already around eleven-fifty at night. Could they be waiting for twelve o'clock—the last moment of Holy Night—the instant Halloween arrives?"
"What should I do?"
"What can I do?"
Dark Demon pulled his head back, leaning against the wall and thinking rapidly.
"What did the book say again?"
"When encountering this situation."
"First, assess your own advantages."
"Think about what you have."
"What you can do."
"Before acting, plan your escape route."
Slowly, Dark Demon began to have some ideas.
He gradually calmed down, the traces of panic in his eyes quickly receding, becoming composed again.
Before this, he had never imagined his psychological fortitude had improved to this extent.
Whether in his previous life or this one, he was not someone who could think calmly while standing under a crumbling wall.
But now, he seemed to be able to separate his emotions and think objectively.
Cowardice was useless.
Anger only had counterproductive effects.
He was like a child who had suddenly stumbled into a slaughterhouse.
Preparing to snatch the butcher's knife from the adult's hand.
...
Time ticked by.
The cult members went from silent prayer to gradually praying aloud.
The language and prayers emerging from their mouths were unheard of.
Clear and rapid, sacred and beautiful.
Each person's prayer seemed different.
Like every instrument section in a symphony orchestra.
Each section had its own rhythm, yet combined to form an ultimate melody.
The cult members' prayers became a sacred song.
One by one, incantations materialized, dancing around the statue.
They were white, black, and gold incantations, interspersed with alluring pink.
Wisps of mist gradually rose.
It was a faint pink mist seeping out from the statue.
The mist gradually spread, accumulating at the bottom of the temple.
...
Dark Demon peeked out again, unable to help holding his breath.
From his perspective, he could clearly see.
For the cult members kneeling before the statue, a large amount of mist climbed onto their bodies.
Snake-like portions danced, drilling into their ears, nostrils, mouths, and every orifice of their bodies.
Then it drilled out again.
They seemed to be receiving the goddess's baptism, but it looked more like they were being brainwashed by the goddess.
Dark Demon's brow twitched.
He noticed the mist had already spread to the thirty-four couples.
As if cautiously probing.
First, a little was drawn out.
In through the left ear, out through the right.
Connecting a man and a woman.
Some people reacted.
Others did not.
The mist abandoned those who didn't react and entwined those who did.
There were exactly seven pairs, a total of fourteen people.
The mist intensified its efforts.
Wisps of a transparent liquid substance were drawn out by the mist shuttling between their ears.
It formed an accumulation of fluid like water blisters by their ears.
This involuntarily reminded Dark Demon of the antique shop on Traveler Street, of Old John using the iron hook of fate to pull his distracting thoughts from his mind.
And the liquid substance being drawn out by the mist now, was it something similar?
Due to his limited understanding.
Dark Demon could only guess.
As more and more liquid substance was drawn out.
The liquid substances belonging to each pair of men and women attracted each other.
Like bubbles in water, they floated up to the top of their heads, merging between each couple to form a large bubble.
The surfaces of these bubbles became uneven, like bas-reliefs on a wall, with the deeds of people rising and falling within, like a revolving lantern.
...
In the small temple that had been silent for an unknown number of years.
Two rows of torches burned on the walls, the flames flickering.
The pure white and sacred statue emitted a soft halo.
Pink mist was gradually pervading.
Sixteen believers in seafood-themed leather suits prayed devoutly.
A beautiful melody echoed within the hall.
Above the heads of the people serving as sacrifices, seven increasingly large transparent water bubbles tumbled in the air.
In a direction unseen from Dark Demon's perspective.
The faces of those seven couples showed expressions of happiness.
...
Suddenly.
Within the complex formation centered on the statue, dozens of red candles lit up without warning.
The flames grew from thin to thick.
Candle wax dripped down the sides of the candles.
The temple ceiling, like a mirror, reflected the candlelight.
Circles upon circles of firelight flickered within it.
The light suddenly shone, like ripples spreading from a water droplet on a lake surface, expanding in circle after circle.
The entire ceiling shimmered with a layer of silver light.
And then.
The ceiling disappeared.
In its place was the clear night sky, and that bright moon.
The moment the moonlight shone upon it, the goddess statue opened its eyes.
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