After hearing the prayer from the cult priest, Duncan immediately stopped what he was doing, which was cutting off his soul projection and returning to the Lost Home ship.
He stared at the masked priest, who had just finished a fervent prayer, as if he were looking at a fool. The priest raised a small knife that looked like it was carved from obsidian, and Duncan watched as the followers around the altar became excited, chanting the name of their "Lord," the "True Sun God," who, according to legends, had fallen apart many years ago.
They were going to offer themselves as a "sacrifice" to the Sun God, specifically by giving up the heart of the sacrifice.
Now, Duncan finally understood the horrific scene he had witnessed in the cave and the crazy, evil actions of these cultists.
Then, he saw the masked priest take a step toward him, the obsidian knife held high, suddenly covered in a layer of black flames.
This striking supernatural phenomenon made Duncan curious. He wondered if this knife was some kind of "abnormal" item and if this priest was a "special human" capable of wielding extraordinary powers. He thought about how many such special humans might exist in this civilized world and what roles they might play in society.
At the same time, he watched expressionlessly as the knife, burning with black flames, plunged into his chest, making a hollow sound as it pierced through layers of fabric.
The flames burned inside for a moment but didn’t ignite anything.
Behind him, the totem pole suddenly erupted with a series of unsettling crackling sounds, mixed with a tearing, dizzying noise. Duncan vaguely felt something spreading out from the fireball, a cold and crazy "sensation" that he found hard to describe. It was not just because his temporary body had dull senses, but also because this feeling exceeded any experience he had ever had. He only knew one thing: in this world where extraordinary phenomena existed, the priest's sacrificial ceremony was undoubtedly in big trouble.
The change in the "symbol of the sun" on the totem pole immediately caught the attention of the nearby followers. With a few muffled gasps, the scene quickly quieted down from its earlier frenzy. Even the two black-robed figures holding Duncan's arms tightly seemed to be shaken by something, releasing their grip in fear and kneeling before the totem pole. The priest with the obsidian knife stood frozen, still holding the blade but staring intently at Duncan's face. Through the openings in the mask, Duncan could see the priest's eyes filled with confusion and chaos.
Duncan forced a smile, despite his stiff mouth, and slowly raised his right hand to rest on the priest's hand that clutched the knife. Green flames flowed like water, wrapping around the knife.
In an instant, Duncan felt a "feedback" from the knife, but strangely, it felt weak and hollow, as if the knife was just a cheap imitation, housing only a little "borrowed power."
But to him, whether the knife was a fake didn’t matter.
He smiled at the priest and said slowly, "I have two things to say."
In the next moment, the priest felt his connection to the obsidian knife abruptly interrupted by some external force. His fervent faith in the Sun God seemed to crash against an unbreakable barrier.
"First, I’m a broad-minded person—look, I’m this wide."
Duncan tore away the already ragged piece of cloth, revealing a shocking large hole. Through that terrifying hole, the priest could clearly see what was behind Duncan.
"Second, try to avoid offering expired food to your Lord."
Duncan gently pushed the priest's hand away. For some reason, after he wrapped the obsidian knife in green spiritual flames, the priest seemed to lose most of his strength, allowing Duncan's weak body to easily push him aside.
Once pushed away, the priest suddenly seemed to realize what had happened, panic and anger flooding over him. His muscles trembled as he pointed at Duncan, as if he wanted to shout to restore order to the sacrificial scene: "The unclean thing that has come back to life! This is a resurrected soul! You have desecrated this sacred sacrificial ceremony! Unclean thing... which reckless necromancer is behind you?! Are you not afraid of the power of the Sun?!"
"I don’t understand what you’re saying," Duncan replied, glancing at the obsidian knife in his hand while feeling its weak power feedback. He then looked up at the priest, listening to the crackling sounds from the totem pole, and suddenly had a bold idea. "But I suddenly want to satisfy my curiosity."
With that, he raised the obsidian knife high in front of the crowd of black-robed followers, who were still in a state of panic, and pointed it at the masked priest, shouting: "O supreme and holy Sun God! Please accept this sacrifice from the altar! I offer you the heart of this sacrifice, may you return it from blood and fire!"
In the next second, he saw the flames on the obsidian knife surge up, and the cold sensation that had been spreading from the totem pole suddenly focused and pointed at the priest not far away. Duncan saw the priest's eyes widen in terror; he seemed to want to flee the altar, but the knife was faster than him—
The knife flew from Duncan's hand, pulled by some invisible force, wrapped in roaring black flames and faint green fire, and it pierced straight into the priest's chest. With a piercing scream, the cult leader's chest was pierced, and his heart turned to ashes in an instant.
The next moment, the knife returned to Duncan's hand, and it seemed that the little power it had contained was finally exhausted.
It was known that within the sacrificial area of the cult's altar, there were two people: one with a heart and one without. Today, a certain evil god wanted to taste a heart. The question was—who would lose their heart?
Of course, it had to be the one with a heart.
But even if this logic made sense, the smoothness of the whole event exceeded Duncan's expectations. He was stunned that his wild idea actually worked. Only after seeing the cult priest fall did he turn to glance at the now calm totem and mutter with a strange tone, "So as long as the words are right, it doesn’t matter who gives them?"
The fireball on the totem, of course, wouldn’t answer his question, but the cultists around the altar had clearly reacted. A huge panic was unavoidable, but amidst the chaos, some fervent followers erupted in anger, even greater than the fear they felt when the totem had shown its anomaly!
A few of the closest cultists reacted first, shouting the name of the Sun God as they charged at Duncan. These boldest followers quickly rallied more people, and a large group of black-robed figures rushed forward as if they had lost their minds. Some even pulled out short swords and daggers from beneath their robes.
Duncan had planned to shout, "I offer the hearts of everyone on the altar to the Sun God!" to test the appetite of this strange evil god, but when he saw that some of the charging cultists had pulled out revolvers from their clothes, he immediately abandoned that thought. Considering the time it would take for the sacrificial ceremony to take effect and the "quick and accurate within seven steps" rule, he simply gave the cultists the middle finger and cut off his soul projection.
Let these madmen continue their frenzy; he was going back to the Lost Home.
Meanwhile, on the vast, endless sea, rhythmic footsteps echoed on the deck of the Lost Home.
The elegantly dressed doll, Alice, left her room and arrived at the captain's cabin door.
This time, the luxurious wooden box did not follow her but was left behind in her room.
The captain had said she could move freely in the cabin below the deck and walk on the deck. If she had any questions, she could go directly to the captain's cabin to find him.
Alice remembered this clearly.
(End of Chapter)