Chapter 417: Dark Demon’s Blood Sacrifice (4k)
Dark took a deep breath.
His thoughts had always revolved around “the recreation of history,” but he had never considered the possibility of “changing history.”
Because history was something that had already happened; even if the replicated history was altered during the ritual, it couldn’t truly change the existing fate.
But the appearance of the “Great Prophecy” made him realize that there was indeed room for manipulation.
And once he confirmed that Ophelia Brad had used the “Great Prophecy,” and then worked backward from the current result—the “Demon King was killed”—he could deduce that she had changed the historical outcome where the “Demon King was not killed.”
Based on this foundation, they could further deduce.
The most significant historical event related to those present, where the “Demon King was not killed,” was undoubtedly the one closest to the present.
The “Demon King” was not killed but sealed.
The “Hero” Brett Gold sacrificed himself heroically in that battle.
The “War God” Alvaraite Saint Diemond became fully divine after that battle.
Those who participated in the final battle included the “Sun Warrior” Aurora Montiel Farley, “Saint Joan,” and other heroes.
Even if Dark was ignorant, he could not be unaware of the final battle involving Alvaraite.
Once he had this thought, looking back at the personnel configuration on site, he realized that all the core roles were already present!
“The Demon King” role: Ophelia Brad.
“The Hero” role: Wit Gold.
“The War God” role: Dark Demon.
…
He didn’t need to look at the other roles; just these three core roles’ performers were incredibly close to the people in that history.
Apart from them, no one else could fit as well. “Ophelia Brad tried to change the outcome where the ‘Hero’ ultimately sacrifices and the ‘Demon King’ is not killed.”
“The ultimate result would be the ‘War God’ killing the ‘Demon King!'”
“Even though it’s just an act within the ritual, with the power of the ‘Great Prophecy,’ she might really be able to influence reality.”
“No, rather, if she couldn’t do it, she wouldn’t risk her life to complete the ritual.”
Dark’s gaze became unusually grave.
On the surface, Ophelia Brad had no reason to do so.
But upon deeper reflection, her motivation was clear.
Because the death of the Demon King wasn’t a good thing.
This generation of the Demon King was extremely troublesome.
He possessed numerous hidden vessels; once killed, he could be reborn in one of them.
In short, his death helped him escape the seal!
…
Given that Ophelia Brad had been embraced and demonized, her mind was inevitably controlled to some extent by the Demon King.
Even if she retained her rationality through the strength of her blood kin and did not become dominated because the Demon King was sealed, the core loyalty had taken root.
The contradiction and struggle of knowing rationally that she shouldn’t be loyal to the Demon King, yet being essentially compelled to be loyal, led her to choose self-sacrifice to help the Demon King escape.
In “loyalty,” she also found release.
Once the Demon King escaped the seal, she would inevitably face complete domination.
At that point, the rationality she had maintained would likely collapse.
So she must die.
…
She used the most decisive method to completely free herself from the Demon King’s control.
From her standpoint, she did her best to achieve a “win-win.”
…
Dark quickly realized that his deduction might be true.
He tightly held the “Great Prophecy,” spitting out the turbid air he had inhaled.
Perhaps because he knew from the start that the Demon King’s escape was inevitable, he didn’t feel much about Ophelia Brad’s actions.
Even if Ophelia Brad hadn’t done it, the Demon King would have escaped in some other way.
Whether saved by the heterodox sect, rescued by demon remnants, or due to an internal traitor in the Church, it made little difference.
He generally observed this matter from an outsider’s perspective.
Now, he just felt sad that a hero from his mother’s era ended up like this.
“Is there still a chance to save her?”
He looked down at the crying Wit, whose sobs were gradually fading but whose sadness was deepening, thinking faster than ever.
…
“Demon, what do you think?” Ryan Hux asked concernedly, noticing Dark in deep thought.
Dark didn’t plan to share his deductions with Ryan Hux.
Ryan Hux wasn’t a qualified Magus; he lacked knowledge in magical theory and had no real need to discuss with him.
Shaking off Ryan Hux’s influence, Dark turned and walked around, his gaze finally settling on the bottle floating above the spell circle.
“Leaving aside the impact of the ‘Great Prophecy’ on reality, let’s focus on the ritual itself.”
“Ophelia Brad still dies as the ‘Demon King,’ and she plays the role of a ‘Demon King’ with many containers, who can be reborn in one of them upon death!”
“Vampire Vlad is one of those containers.”
Dark suddenly had an epiphany.
The ritual was not over, and everything was still undecided.
The problem now was how to make Ophelia Brad reborn in the container of Vampire Vlad?
Dark lowered his head and thought hard.
He lacked knowledge in this area and couldn’t fine-tune the ritual’s direction like Ophelia Brad could.
Under these circumstances, he could only follow the original flow of the ritual and incorporate Ophelia Brad into the creation of the “Vampire Vlad” mana card.
But the creation of “Vampire Vlad” had not been activated.
And transforming Ophelia Brad into a mana golem—would that really work?
On the surface, this was clearly taboo.
Even if they ignored the taboo,
Would Ophelia Brad really accept being transformed into a mana golem?
Usually, during the transformation, her spiritual intelligence would be erased.
Unless…
“Mana Book!”
The “Mana Book” floating beside him immediately flew into his hand.
Dark picked up the “Mana Book” and flipped through it quickly.
After creating the “Mana Book,” he used its automatic recording ability to document much knowledge in this book.
It contained extensive early education content and the entire contents of the book “Blood Sacrifice,” which was the essence of the “Mana Book.”
The so-called “Blood Sacrifice” involved using animal blood, monster blood, human blood, and other types of blood as energy, converting them into powerful force through blood magic, and then using it for spells, summoning… and even crafting weapons.
It was originally a form of blood magic, but when applied to mana technology, it could be a high-end method for extracting materials.
The only issue was that “Blood Sacrifice” was fundamentally taboo.
Because using blood sacrifice on living beings often meant sacrificing their souls as well, resulting in evil and polluted blood energy.
But what Dark wanted was precisely this effect.
[“Blood and corpses, who will be at the end?”]
The opening statement of “Blood Sacrifice” clearly defined the nature of this book.
Dark flipped the “Mana Book” to the needed page and quickly skimmed it before suddenly looking up, his eyes fixed on the blood magic circle below the glass bottle.
“It’s exactly the same magic circle!”
Although the outer circle of the blood magic circle was more complex, the inner circle matched one described in the book perfectly.
Dark realized he had found the right path.
“Wit!”
…
Dark’s sudden call made Wit lift his head from his sorrow. His eyes were red, tears streaked across his cheeks.
Dark quickly said, “I have a method that might save your mother, but it will come with some problems.”
These abrupt words left Wit Gold bewildered.
He asked, “Really?”
Dark nodded seriously, “Yes.”
Wit suddenly came to his senses.
Although he was deeply puzzled by Dark’s decision to kill and then revive Ophelia Brad, he didn’t have time to dwell on it.
He hurriedly wiped away his tears and anxiously asked, “What should I do?”
Dark pointed to the blood magic circle beneath the glass bottle and said, “First, move Ophelia Brad’s body here…”
In this world, individual life consists of three parts: soul, body, and consciousness.
According to Professor Kazel’s explanation.
Both soul and body are carriers of consciousness.
Death means the extinction of consciousness.
We bury bodies in the ground, where they decompose.
We bury the remnants of souls in the wind, where they dissipate.
Only the death of consciousness (mind) is true death.
Ophelia Brad’s “death” occurred during the ritual; her soul and consciousness were protected by the ritual and did not perish.
“I will use the blood sacrifice method to extract Ophelia Brad’s soul through blood, using this as a catalyst to redirect the ritual toward the ‘Demon King’s resurrection,’ attempting to reactivate the originally set炼成环节.”
“If everything goes smoothly, Vampire Vlad’s soul consciousness will be replaced by Ophelia Brad’s.”
“Just like the Demon King regaining rebirth in a container, completely replacing the container’s original soul consciousness.”
“After successful creation, Ophelia Brad’s soul consciousness will temporarily reside in the mana card.”
“Of course, to protect her soul consciousness from being eroded, I will add necessary elements during the creation process.”
“Then, we need to preserve Ophelia Brad’s physical body.”
“With soul, consciousness, and body intact, full resurrection is possible.”
As he spoke, Dark quickly explained, finally asking, “Do you understand?”
Wit Gold shook his head blankly.
Dark fell silent for a moment, then turned to Bastemon, “Do you understand?”
Bastemon smiled charmingly, “I understand a bit.”
“That’s good.” Dark nodded. “Your time is running out. We must complete the steps of the blood sacrifice before the fusion is undone. Follow my instructions.”
Bastemon nodded slightly.
Dark then addressed Wit again, “Place the body down, then step away.”
Wit carefully placed Ophelia Brad’s body in the center of the blood magic circle and reluctantly stepped back.
The fluid flowing through the magic circle emitted a red glow like blood.
Ophelia Brad’s pale skin, made pale by her transformation into a vampire, became even more transparent under the red light.
Dark bent down, reached behind her head, and lifted her hair from the back of her neck, gathering it into a bundle and placing it on her chest.
Even lying down, her prominent features were concealed under the crimson hair.
When he looked up, he glanced at Ophelia Brad’s face, her pale, delicate face exquisite and beautiful in its paleness.
He took a sharp breath, “Bastemon, hurry!”
…
Bastemon arrived at the edge of the blood magic circle under Dark’s command.
The wounds on Ophelia Brad’s chest had already stopped bleeding under Bastemon’s control, but the blood-stained wounds were still terrifying.
Bastemon extended a finger, tearing open a small slit in the wound, then injected mana, causing Ophelia Brad’s blood to begin circulating again.
The slowly flowing blood triggered her heart to resume beating. A trickle of fresh blood was drawn from the small slit, flowing into the blood magic circle under Bastemon’s control.
Dark held the “Mana Book” and meticulously explained the method of controlling the magic circle.
Bastemon focused intently, following his instructions precisely, manipulating the blood into the circuit of the blood magic circle.
The circuits of the magic circle gradually brightened, and a faint, mournful chanting suddenly began.
Dark’s expression eased, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The circuits surrounding the outer perimeter of the magic circle were indeed set to initiate the blood sacrifice.
Now that the magic circle had successfully activated, the outer circuits began to chant the incantation automatically.
The entire blood sacrifice method was finally on track.
Next, they would rely on Bastemon’s control of blood energy to forcibly add “Ophelia Brad” to the list of blood sacrifice materials.
This was not difficult.
With Bastemon here!
But the success of the entire creation required additional factors.
Most importantly, precise adjustments to the ritual’s progression.
Only by advancing the ritual could they ensure the final success of the creation.
For this step, Dark could do little but hope for the natural progression of the ritual or Professor Metia’s adaptability.
