Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 245

[Vol. 5] Chapter 245: Slaughter Above the Blood

Behind the blood tree roots lay a meticulously crafted, man-made tunnel, reinforced with certain magical enhancements. At regular intervals, luminous stones embedded in the stone walls provided illumination.

The craftsmanship here was remarkably detailed. To maintain the tunnel’s aesthetic, the walls on either side were smooth and clean, with various murals and carvings added. Clearly, significant effort had been invested in its creation.

However, the same blood-red roots had now spread and covered the space, obscuring much of it, even encroaching on the walkway below.

Though these blood-colored tendrils didn’t seem to possess any aggressive qualities or mobility, their mere presence in the eerie silence of a thousand meters underground would make any lone traveler’s hair stand on end.

With Eudora, in her succubus form to resist the underground pressure, holding Miss White Fox’s hand, and with the Goddess of Life temporarily controlling Theresa’s body to help her adapt to the environment, they continued referring to Violet by her alias.

“Dawn, look at these roots and veins extending so deeply underground. It’s quite astonishing. I never thought that, after thousands of years, a seed planted by Seth would still exist in this world, although it twisted by foreign energy into its current state…”

Walking behind Sethlin in the somewhat narrow passage, the white fox girl paused at Sethlin’s sigh, quickly realizing the meaning.

“Oh~ no wonder this tree grew so massive! So it’s actually from a species you once cultivated? That would make it a kind of Divine Tree, wouldn’t it?”

Sethlin responded ambiguously.

“I didn’t plant it myself. Judging by the look of it, it must be one of the ‘Life Seeds’ Seth gifted long ago, planted here by someone. And the timing must have been… after the so-called [Divine Catastrophe].”

“This land at the world’s center, now called the Holy Empire, if I recall correctly, was originally jointly ruled by the two most powerful deities of the neutral faction: the Sun Goddess Mystrine and the Moon Goddess Luna. Together, their combined strength made them the strongest beings in this realm.”

“The divisions of realms and alliances among the gods are very strict. Planting a Life Seed from Seth, one of the God of Orders, within another god’s domain would be an extreme provocation, likely to sour relations between deities, and could even incite war between factions if mishandled.”

The goddess glanced back, a mischievous smile playing on her face.

“Rather like the war between this nation and the demons from another world that you’ve been quietly orchestrating, isn’t it?”

“Ahem, it sounds like I’m some kind of casino boss pulling strings from behind the scenes… I’m not doing anything like that…”

Despite the white fox girl’s exasperated denial, Sethlin, as usual, let it pass without further comment and continued on the previous topic.

“In any case, this little one that grew from Seth’s Life Seed should be no more than a thousand years old, and without nurturing from the divine power of [Life], it wouldn’t have grown very well. Now, it’s been twisted into this state…”

The goddess’s gaze turned back to the opening ahead, her tone containing an uncharacteristic hint of anger, something Violet hadn’t seen from her before.

“…A vile creature, as detestable as ever.”

With these cold words, a strange and eerie scene unfolded before the girls’ eyes.

In the center of a spacious chamber at the end of the corridor stood a series of statues.

There were ten in total, with nine shorter stone platforms arranged in a circle on the outer edge. On each platform was a statue of a demon beast, carved in a posture of full-body prostration, as if in worship. Their lifelike expressions even conveyed a reverence akin to that seen in worshippers of the goddess.

In the center, surrounded by these figures, on a raised platform, stood a distinctly different statue, exuding an air of pride and dominance.

It was a fearsome figure clad in blood-red armor.

With six arms, it didn’t appear excessively monstrous but rather exuded a beauty brimming with latent power. Each long, well-proportioned arm ended in a fearsome weapon melded into the armor itself, as if these weapons grew directly from within, crafted solely for slaughter.

His lower body, encased in sturdy boots, he appeared no different from an ordinary human. However, from his hips grew a monstrous tail, as sharp as a cleaver on one side and thick and fleshy on the other. With a single swing, he could easily split an opponent in two.

The head, concealed within a helmet, had nothing particularly unusual about it, save for a massive, sharp horn extending directly from the metal, projecting an imposing aura.

With just a glance, Violet recognized this figure or rather the identity of this statue. She had seen its likeness in ancient texts and illustrations before.

One of the Four Demon Lords of the Demon Realm, the King of [Slaughter], Sluthel.

Of course, it was only a statue.

“So the blood extraction was meant for this purpose? Demons can’t tap directly into the earth’s veins, so they use a statue as a substitute. Clever…”

As she spoke, the white fox girl’s gaze moved down to the statue.

The circular platform holding the demon beasts and enshrining the statue of the Demon Lord of [Slaughter] rose from a crimson blood pool, which spanned almost the entire hall. From the depths of this pool, an unknown power surged upward, bubbling like boiling magma.

It seemed like the site of some massive, sinister ritual.

…Actually, “seemed” might be the wrong word here.

“Who are you!?”

By the way, this underground chamber, hosting the blood pool and infused with the blood of countless beings, wasn’t empty.

Of course, they weren’t truly “human.”

When the group of girls stepped into the chamber, they locked eyes with four or five well-dressed young men and women. These figures, clad in elegant and noble attire, were placing thick, blood-red tendrils, likely roots of the blood tree, saturated with blood, into the blood pool, as if they were hoses.

They probably hadn’t expected anyone else to appear in a place like this, so they hadn’t bothered to disguise themselves. The small, bat-like wings on their waists and their blood-red, slit-pupiled eyes were clearly visible to Violet and her companions.

“They’re vampires.”

The white fox girl shook her head with a sigh.

Even though Violet had suspected this, seeing the scene, a chamber surrounded by blood-soaked decor and creatures that looked like mere pet bats by comparison. Confirmed her hunch, they had indeed found the culprits.

No wonder her SP scan earlier had only located the suspicious blood-red tree and no other significant threats. It turned out they’d hidden themselves deep, a thousand meters below ground.

“They’re enemies—engage!”

*Shing! Shing! Shing!*

Seeing that Violet and her group hadn’t answered their initial question, the vampire quickly realized the visitors had ill intentions. They each drew their weapons, taking up defensive stances.

Similarly, the white fox girl’s side wasn’t inclined to waste words.

Some things simply needed to be settled by force before any meaningful discussion could happen.

And besides, Violet had been quite curious about these figures who had been secretly active within the Holy Empire, collaborating closely with the demons… for a long time now.