Chapter 132
Makakushi raised his left hand, pointing toward a vague boundary line that revealed nothing beyond it, pointing toward a world where the minions of the One Cursed had long been known to do nothing but destruction, destruction, and more destruction.
He spoke of what had long been a daily sight for every member of Team Xirkushkartum, a scene they had witnessed so often that it had almost become ordinary, almost natural, almost no longer provoking any reaction at all.
The Angels and Holy Beings, according to Makakushi, had never been known as entities that performed rituals in an orderly manner, never known as beings that obeyed restrictions and obligations, never known as parties that acted without destructive intent within them.
What they had done, from time to time, from generation to generation, from the oldest records to the most recent reports, was only one and the same thing.
To erect sacred shrines in places where they should not be, on lands that were supposed to belong to the satanist followers, in locations that had been preserved in their sanctity for centuries by their predecessors.
The Satanist Elites who were part of the Banner of Zhulumat began to show expressions different from before.
If when Onigakure spoke they appeared astonished and began to believe, now as Makakushi delivered his rebuttal, doubt began to show on their faces.
Some nodded slowly, recalling reports they had read, testimonies they had heard, evidence they had witnessed firsthand about what the minions of the One Cursed truly did at every opportunity they had.
Sacred shrines erected atop the ruins of settlements, altars built in places that once served as gathering grounds for satanist followers, symbols carved into the walls of buildings they had only recently seized.
That was what they had always known, that was the pattern that had never changed despite the passage of time and the смен of generations.
Makakushi continued with examples that were more concrete, closer, and easier for everyone in the room to remember.
He spoke of the satanist residential area in the eastern region that had been reclaimed a few months ago, of how the Angels and Holy Beings did nothing but "beautify" those already filthy buildings in their own way.
Not cleaning, not maintaining, not repairing, but beautifying according to their own standards, their own aesthetics, in a way that made the buildings no longer feel like homes, no longer feel like places of living, no longer feel like they belonged to the satanist followers who had inhabited and cared for them for centuries.
That was what they did, that was what they always did, that was what they would continue to do as long as they had the chance.
Not complex rituals with restrictions and obligations, not the extraction of essence for the awakening of a being, but destruction neatly wrapped in the guise of improvement, ruin disguised as development, desecration carried out with a sacred and unwavering face.
"If it is true that the intention of the Angels and Holy Beings is to awaken a being, then how powerful is that being really? Because the larger the scale of the ritual you describe, the greater the entity they intend to awaken."
Fhooooh!
"Logically, if they are superior beings whose power can shake the world, they would surely deploy all the resources they possess. Yet in reality, they are only focused on two cities."
Hhhh!
"Among the many cities of satanist followers scattered across this world, why only two chosen as the center of such massive activity? Are two cities enough to support the awakening of an entity you claim requires total extraction of essence? Or is that being not as great as you believe?"
Makakushi had not finished speaking; there was still more he wished to say, more that lingered in his mind that he could not simply suppress.
He raised his hand once more, not to ask for permission—because permission had already been granted from the beginning—but as a signal that he was not done, that there was still something to add, that his argument had layers deeper than merely refuting Onigakure's ritual theory.
And when all eyes returned to him, when silence once again closed in and created space for his voice to be heard more clearly, Makakushi delivered the question that had troubled him the most, unsettled him the most, and made him doubt the entire framework built by Onigakure.
He spoke of the awakening scenario described by Onigakure, of the ritual involving twelve restrictions and ten obligations, of the total extraction of essence from a capital controlled by satanist followers.
Makakushi questioned, in a tone that could not conceal his doubt, just how powerful the being at the center of this ritual truly was—if all of this were indeed real.
He invited everyone in the room to imagine, to think, to reflect on the most logical scenario.
If the being to be awakened was truly powerful, if its strength was so immense that it required such a complex ritual and such a great sacrifice, then it must belong to the category of legendary beings—beings whose names were recorded in ancient texts, beings whose very presence alone could alter the balance of power in this world.
The Satanist Elites within the Banner of Zhulumat began exchanging glances with increasing intensity.
Makakushi's question started to shake the conviction that had just been formed from Onigakure's explanation.
They began to think, to calculate, to compare it with their knowledge of powerful beings that had long been the greatest threat to the satanist followers.
And the more they thought, the more they realized there was an anomaly that could not be explained.
Beings of such magnitude, beings whose names alone could raise the hairs on one's skin, usually possessed vast domains, usually could not be sustained by sacrificing a single city, usually required offerings far greater than mere essence from one capital.
Then why, if this ritual was truly taking place, did the Angels and Holy Beings choose only two cities among the many established by the satanist followers across the world?
Why only Thalyssra and one other city?
Why not extract the essence from all major cities at once, from all centers of power, from all places that had long served as the foundation of their resistance?
Makakushi continued with logic that grew sharper, more piercing, more difficult to refute.
He stated that if the Angels and Holy Beings truly intended to awaken an immensely powerful being, they would not act half-heartedly, would not hold back, would take the greatest and the most from everything they could seize.
They were beings who knew no mercy, no limits, no concept of "enough."
If they could extract essence from a hundred cities, they would do so.
If they could sacrifice a million lives, they would carry it out.
There was no reason for them to limit themselves to only two cities, no logic that could explain why they would choose such a small scale if their goal was to awaken something so vast.
Unless—unless the being to be awakened was not as powerful as imagined, unless this ritual was not as grand as described, unless all of this was merely deception, merely a diversion, merely a smokescreen deliberately spread to conceal what was truly happening elsewhere.
To be continued…