Chapter 19: 19:Deception

I am fallen on the ground of my workshop with the Yoguais around me, helping me. They lift me up and carry me to the operating table, while one of them prepares a potion by rummaging through my stock.

Mixing a feather from a Bifang bird, fur from a Kitsune, a Jinmenju fruit and pure water, the Yoguai prepares a restoration potion.

He runs up to me while I breathe unevenly; my heart was slow, all my energy gone with the destruction of the horde.

The Yoguais support my back and help me drink the potion. The taste is horrible—a mixture of raw chicken, dirty water, and cinnamon.

Holding back the urge to spit out this disgusting potion, I drink everything; the mixture of the fruit and water allows my body to absorb the energy from the feather and fur, restoring my energy and health to some extent.

My heart begins to accelerate again, my blood flow stabilizes, and color returns to my skin, my mana gradually being restored.

The yoguais help me sit up, and I hold onto the edges of the table.

How did they manage to destroy the entire horde, especially Gashadokuro? I ask a yoguai to bring me a glass of water.

After drinking the water, I leave the glass on the table and get up, still staggering and dizzy but able to stand.

"Take me to the altar," a Yoguai supports me on his shoulder and helps me walk to the altar where the child is, leaving the workshop and crossing the corridor with blue torches.

The organs are still there, just like the child on the altar, still unconscious.

"I will start the ritual earlier; do not let anyone interfere!"

The Yoguai nods and leaves the room.

I move to the center of the hall and touch my chest with my right hand. The mark of a lion appears on my hand, and I tear open my shirt, revealing a mark of a crystal on my chest.

A crystal made from the bone powder of a Foo Dog, the Chinese Imperial Guardian Lion, is the part implanted in my body to enable me to cast spells.

I begin to chant the calming spirit chant, found in the book The 8 Great Taoist Spiritual Chants.

“Tai Chang, Tai Xing, Ying Bian, Wu, Ting, Qu Xie Fu Mei, Bao Ming Hu Shen, Zhi Hui Ming Jing, Xing Shen An Ning, San Hung Yong Jiu, Po Wu Sang Qing, Ji Ji Ru Lu Ling,” A calming energy fills my body and spirit, and my mind’s thoughts are cleared.

Now, the protection chant.

“Tian Di, Zi, Ran, Hui Qi, Fen, San, Dong Zhong Xuan Xu, Huang Tang Tai Yuan, Ba Feng Wei Shen, Shi Wo Zi Ran, Ling Bao Fu Ming, Qian Luo Ta Na, Dong Gang Tai Xuan, Zhan Yao Fu Xia, Ru Ren Wan Qian, Zhong Shan Shen Zhou, Yuan Shi Yu Wen, Chi Song Yi Bian, Que Bing Yan Nian, An Xing Wu Yue, Ba Hai Zhi Wen, Mo Wang Shu Shou, Shi Wei Wo Xuan, Xiong Hui Xiao San, Tao Qi Chang Cun, Ji Ji Ru Lu Ling,” the flames of the torches rise and expand through the tunnels; the energy of the Spiritual Chant to Purify Heaven and Earth fills the entire tomb from the crystal in my chest that energizes the spell, activating the protective barriers and the transmutation for the workshop’s defense.

Now I will start the ritual. I take a deep breath and sit down exhausted; I will have to wait some time before beginning the ritual due to fatigue.

The energy from the crystal is gradually replenished by the Mana in the air; the crystals embedded in our bodies absorb this mana to serve as batteries and allow us to cast spells, as humans cannot do so naturally.

I look at the crystal in my chest, remembering the training time at the Celestial Palace in Beijing. We all underwent a surgical procedure when still children—if the surgery fails, we die; but if it succeeds, we can train from an early age. Due to the large number of people in the organization, some children dying is not a problem by comparison.

In the end, we’re all rotten, I stand up and walk calmly to the sleeping child, drawing a Ge, a Chinese ritual dagger, from inside my cloak.

I reach the sleeping child and bring my face close to the dagger, beginning a silent chant, whispering it to the dagger without anyone being able to hear.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

I am very sorry for what is about to happen here, I will gladly accept the punishment afterward. I turn the dagger downward and then thrust it into the child’s chest, the blade hitting the heart and my energy passing through the object.

Black lightning then manifests from the child’s body, striking my body and destroying my clothes. My hair floats in the air, and the dagger begins to rot without me understanding what is happening.

Then, I feel a pair of hands touching my shoulders and a whisper in my ears: “Great job, little one, now it’s my turn.”

It was the same voice from the figure in my dreams, the deity that warned me about the end of the world because of the actions of the church. What?

I cannot turn or speak. The child’s body begins to float while my body remains paralyzed. The woman raises her hands to my head and uses her fingers to keep my eyes open.

“Observe what you did and know that, as humans have done since ancient times, you are the one who caused the end of the world,” the woman’s voice was sweet and hypnotic, but only served to increase my despair.

I tried to prevent the end of the world, but instead, I was the one who took the first step to end everything.

I will not accept this! I bite my tongue and release the remaining energy from my crystal, activating a self-destruction spell to annihilate the ritual.

Energy fills my body and begins to be released; my entrails tear apart, my bones break, my lungs inflame, and then a red light fills the environment.

In the next instant, I am floating inside a green dome, unable to feel my body.

“What?…” I try to turn, but I cannot move.

Outside the dome, everything was intact. I am then lifted and turned around, seeing a beautiful female face, black hair flowing like ocean waves, full lips with blood-red lipstick, and eyes as black as the night.

“It was fun while it lasted, my dear Weilai, but now it’s over,” this woman didn’t even say my name correctly!

Green flames then appear in my hair and begin to burn me. I am thrown to the ground, falling and feeling pain. My eyes blink and reopen.

“Who are you?” is the last thing I manage to say. The woman does not answer as she approaches the child, unleashing black lightning.

Then I am reduced to ashes.

[??? POV]

I extend my hand forward, and the black lightning emerging from the child’s body focuses on the tips of my fingers. A smile forms on my lips.

Deceiving humans is so easy—offer a way for them to save themselves, and they will destroy the world on their own. The black lightning transforms into a small sphere in my hand; the body of the child in front of me now lies lifeless.

“But what’s the fun if they come here with you dead?” I snap my fingers and the corpse regenerates. The knife is expelled from the body and falls to the ground; the heart begins to beat again, and its soul returns.

“Now, the challenge,” I again snap my fingers. The pieces of meat exploded across the room start to fly, the ashes of that Chinese man’s head transforming into a small diamond that flies toward the girl’s forehead. The organs on the altars float toward the girl and begin to disassemble into wires.

Then her body is enveloped in a mass of rotten flesh that quickly inflates. The intestines become filaments winding around the other organs. A transparent dome then surrounds the girl, and veins-like wires connect to her.

It will take a few minutes to set everything up, but it will be ready when they arrive. I turn around and walk out of that large ritual hall; I need to make some adjustments to the Yoguais here as well.

[Saulo POV]

Sunday arrived, and we are heading to San Michele Cemetery. I am sitting in the back seat of Seth’s car. I am now wearing a dark blue cassock and contact lenses instead of glasses, with my briefcase placed at my feet.

In the right seat, Cassiel is sitting, reading a book. She is dressed in a black suit and pants, with a golden cross necklace around her neck. She also has a silver ring on her ring finger, a whip at her waist, and a pistol.

When she grabbed the pistol from the holster I questioned the reason since firearms are not effective against monsters. She responded that they are perfect for killing mages.

Assan is sitting i the left seat, looking directly at Cassiel. At least, I think so—his eyes are completely black, so I can't tell what he's looking at. He's also wearing a black cassock and carries no weapons or adornments.

Not that he needs to, right? I take a deep breath and look downward. My hands rest on my legs, trembling.

I close my eyes and settle into the seat, I can't get nervous.

At this very moment, the car is crossing the sea toward the island where the cemetery is located. Sachiel’s group has already gone ahead to raise barriers and ensure that no civilians are affected by the assault on the workshop.

We eventually park on a dirt incline leading to the cemetery and wait for Sachiel’s message to invade the site.

Cassiel puts the book in a drawer of the vehicle and picks up her phone, placing it on her lap as she waits.

Seth then gets out of the driver’s seat and moves to the back, sitting in one of the benches and waiting with us.

"Are you ready, Saulo?" I look at Seth.

"A little nervous, my first invasion."

"Better get used to it; any mistake inside a mage’s workshop is fatal," I shrink into the seat, worried.

“You’re with us, kid; you’ll come out alive.”

"Your last students disagree, Cassiel."

“Go screw yourself, Assan.”

I hold back a laugh at the scene. Cassiel’s phone beeps, and with that, we all get out of the car and walk toward the water.

"Reiterating, Assan will stay outside, waiting for us to convert the workshop into sacred territory."

"And for that, you'll have to hit every shot, heard, kid?" I nod to Cassiel, knowing my role.

"Don’t come close to dying this time,” Cassiel rolls her eyes.

“Well, let’s move on, sister.”

Cassiel and I nod, and we head toward the water, our boots activating.