Chapter 74

Verandez was on his knees in a dark, spacious room, illuminated only by half-melted candles casting flickering shadows. The air was thick with dust, and various pieces of furniture, pictures, and ornaments were shrouded under white blankets. In the center of the room lay a blood-red circle, its edges jagged and uneven, drawn with a star-like shape inscribed within it. Each point of the star was equidistant from the center, forming a symmetrical pattern with straight lines connecting them—a pentagram, drawn with blood.

Verandez hurriedly gathered various items scattered around the room, rearranging them frantically. Some items he ignited, like candles, casting eerie shadows against the walls, while others he used to complete the mostly finished pentagram, drawing the final lines with his own blood that dripped from his trembling hands. The result was messy, lacking the precision that most of the pentagram had, but time was of the essence—there was an angel coming to kill him, after all. After inscribing a symbol in the center of the pentagram, Verandez huffed, wiping sweat from his forehead. "There, finished," he declared, his voice tinged with nervousness.

Turning his attention to the person currently protecting him, Verandez observed Mincs nervously standing guard at the entrance of the attic. She occasionally peered down and out of the attic ladder, scanning for any signs of approaching danger. In her hands, she held her two weapons—a whip in her left hand and a rapier in her right. "Why did you have to bring me here?" she whispered, her voice laced with fear.

"Because you're the third-strongest person here," Verandez replied, his voice barely above a whisper, betraying his own anxiety.

"I'm pretty sure that razorhoove of Marcus's is stronger than me!" She silently exclaimed, her worry evident in her expression.

"But he couldn't fit up here! Also, he's an animal at most, not a person!" Verandez silently exclaimed back, trying to reassure her.

Mincs gasped at his words. "You take that back! He's an adorable fluffball with feelings!" she once more silently exclaimed.

"I'm not denying that. He definitely has feelings. I can feel his hatred for me whenever I walk by!" Verandez once again exclaimed back, his tone tinged with resignation.

"Then why didn't you use summons? Could they protect you better than me?" Mincs asked, turning around to peer down the ladder to check for any signs of approaching danger.

"I would've, but I've already used up most of my mana and materials to summon all those Veil Folk that Orian told me to," Verandez replied, his voice filled with regret, as he turned back to the pentagram and retrieved a very odd yet beautiful-looking flower from his worn suit.

The flower had the shape of a typical rose that had fully bloomed, but that's where the similarities to a normal flower ended. Its stem was indigo blue, its thorns purple, and the flower itself displayed a vibrant array of colors, ranging from fiery orange at the base to crimson red at the edges, with small streaks of black weaving through the entire bloom. It was undeniably unnatural, yet it possessed a beauty that surpassed that of any rose or other flower.

Taking a deep breath, Verandez placed the rose in the middle of the pentagram, right where he had drawn the symbol. As he laid it down, he felt his heart beat faster than ever before, and his breathing was heavy. Hovering his hands over the unnatural rose, they shook slightly, whether from the bleeding or from fear and uncertainty.

"Th-this is it," he murmured to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. *All I ha-have to do is recite the rit-ritual, summon the invasion, and then... and then what?* His hands froze as he stared at the pentagram, his mind racing with questions. *Why am I doing this? What is my reason for doing this?* His breathing grew more ragged as he struggled to remember, but no matter how hard he tried to search for his reason, it eluded him, as if there were parts of his mind blocked off from him.

"What are you doing, by the way?" Suddenly, Verandez heard Mincs ask, her voice tinged with curiosity as she tried to peer at what he was doing from her position. Verandez let out a few empty chuckles, his nerves palpable. "I-I don't know. I honestly don't know," he admitted, biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Then why are we up here!? We should be trying to hide in a random room so that we're harder to find!" Mincs exclaimed silently, her frustration evident in her tone. Verandez's voice grew quieter with each word as doubt crept in. "W-we can't! I ha-have to do this; for some reason, I just have to," he stammered, his conviction wavering.

"I doubt it's anything important if you forgot about it in a situation like this. Also, that's dumb. Who does something just because they think they need to do it?" Mincs shook her head in disbelief as Verandez turned back around, confusion evident in his expression. "Wha-what do y-you mean?" he asked, his words stumbling.

"Life's too short for you to mindlessly follow something you feel compelled to do without reason. If you live like that, then you're more of an automaton than you are a person," Mincs explained as she continued to peer down the ladder.

Verandez stared down at the floor, grappling with his thoughts. *She-she's right. I don't need to do this. I can just surrender. No more fighting, no more being scared. I don't have a reason. I don't care-* Before he could finish his thoughts, he felt something warm press against his back, and a gentle voice whispered in his ear, "You want to help us, don't you?"

Verandez froze as his veins ran cold. "I-I do?" he questioned, his mind swirling with uncertainty. "Yes, you do. You made a promise, remember? That's your entire reason for doing this," the voice whispered in his ear, a hand patting his head gently.

"I did?" he asked, unable to recall anything about such a promise. "Yes, you did. You promised to help us. You promised to save us," the voice whispered, its words as sweet as honey, calming him down. Verandez nodded slowly. "Yes, you're right," he said, his resolve strengthening as he placed his hand over the unnatural rose once again.

"By my will, by my decree,

I summon thee to this land.

Through the veil, let darkness rend,

My call to you, I now send."

The room began to shake, the unnatural rose floating as the blood-made pentagram started to glow. Mincs, hearing Verandez's chants, turned around, her eyes widening in disbelief. "What the?" she muttered breathlessly, watching as Verandez continued his incantation.

"By the pact of blood, by my plea,

Unveil the gates, let chaos be.

From realms afar, heed my cry,

Let chaos reign, fulfill my dream."

The unnatural rose pointed upward at the sky, and with a sudden burst of light, blood-red lightning streaked across the heavens, shattering the roof and tearing through the fabric of reality. "Finally," said the voice in joy, as Verandez and Mincs looked up at the sky, Mincs uttering in pure shock, "Dear Goddess."