Ritual

In a small clearing within a dark forest; screams, grunts and cries of young people and children could be heard.

"Help, help. Please, someone help us!!"

"Bloody hell, stop screaming or I'll eat your hearts!" A man dressed in a black cloak and hood hiding his face threatened ominously. But it was no use, the children cried even louder.

Watching the children's reaction, the hooded man became even more furious and yelled angrily, "You worthless bastards, why haven't you shut those brats' mouths yet!!?"

"Yea!"

Immediately, other similarly dressed men nearby began beating the children's necks to render them unconscious.

"Wait, wait! What do you want? I'm the son of Baron Lennox of Mytilen, I can pay you whatever you want. Please let's negotiate." A pale young man with long black hair said hastily as he crawled across the muddy forest floor.

"Hehe, don't worry, we already have what we want. We don't need anything from your father." The hooded man replied mockingly.

"Are you really going to kill a Baron's son? Even if you succeed, you will be chased to the ends of Carnales." The young man kept trying to persuade him.

The man quickly replied with contempt: "Don't speak of a Baron. Even if you were the son of a Marquis, we would still kill you!"

"Hey, wait! I want to help you guys. I've decided, I want to be a member of your group. I'll help you guys!" Rising from the ground, the young man with the long black hair changed tactics and said it with great enthusiasm and boldness.

"Trying to be smart? We don't need trash like you. By keeping quiet, you'll help us. Enough, let's act quickly, we've alerted the Church dogs. Tie this damn talker's mouth fast and bring him here." The hooded man, who seemed to be the leader, walked away and started drawing something on the ground using a strange liquid.

"Bloody hell, get your filthy hands off me or I'll kill your entire family!" Realizing that he would receive no mercy, the young man began to curse as the henchmen grabbed him.

The young man tried to fight but was quickly pinned down by the strong henchmen and taken alongside the cloaked man.

Despite the darkness of the forest, the young man with black hair managed to have, with the help of the moonlight, a glimpse of what was being drawn.

It was a large triangle within a circle, and within that triangle was a wide pupil-less eye. Without a doubt the liquid used to draw was blood!

The eye looked alive, and when the young man looked into the eye, the eye seemed to look at him with malice.

"Put the boy in the center." The hooded man said coldly.

Hearing this, the young man began to struggle even more, but it was useless. The thugs restrained him even more tightly and placed him over the eye made of blood.

When he lay down on top of the bloody eye, the young man stopped his fight quickly, he could no longer move.

"Leave him to me, get the other materials and bring them here." The hooded man ordered and approached the young man inside the circle.

"Boy, there is no reason to be afraid. Today you have been chosen to be our lord's great avatar. So rejoice." He laughed heartily and took two silver daggers from his bag.

The young man's eyes widened in fear as he saw the size of the daggers. Even a dog can tell who these daggers will be used on.

The henchmen quickly picked up the unconscious children and led them to the circle. They stripped the youths and placed them around the boy with long black hair, who was motionless in the center.

"Each one in their positions, let the ritual begin." The hooded man placed the daggers beside the young man's motionless body and lit some red candles that were at each end of the blood triangle.

Suddenly; the henchmen held hands, formed a circle around the young man, and began to sing.

"Praise be to him that lurks in the heart of every man."

"Praised be he who walks in the abyss."

"Blood, death and destruction spread on the ground."

"Ancient forces break loose."

"The Red Mass is celebrated."

"It's time for the reveal."

"Kill, possess, drink, eat."

"Saint Original Sinner, we invoke you."

As the henchmen sang, the bloodshot eye glowed as if it was coming to life.

The hooded man quickly grabbed the two silver daggers that were beside the young man's body and, in a ferocious move, plunged them one into the young man's heart and the other into his stomach!

Puchi! Puchi!

The sound of daggers piercing flesh sounded ominous in this dark forest. The young man who was immobilized and on the verge of death trembled bitterly in pain.

The drawing made of blood dissolved into a thick liquid and crept towards the boy in the center. The young man watched in horror as the blood surged through his body and into the holes made by the daggers.

Pain!

A bitter pain took over the boy's body, veins instantly appeared on his face. It was as if someone were sticking thousands of needles into his organs. The pain of having your heart pierced doesn't compare to ten percent of that misery.

But, even with such suffering, he still remained conscious. It was as if the blood wanted him to experience such pain.

After a few minutes of pain, the young man's body was drenched in sweat and his face was extremely pale and tired. He felt the little control he had over his body disappear. He couldn't blink or shake, the thing that had entered the dagger holes was controlling him.

The man in the black cloak who was watching all of this caught the unconscious children and brought them even closer to the young man.

Shockingly, the young man's appearance has changed radically in that short time. He had eyes the color of blood and there were no pupils in them, his skin was reddened and several sharp, jagged teeth protruded from his mouth. Along with the darkness and chanting of the henchmen, the image was extremely demonic and sinister.

Let's not talk about children, even adults would have trouble sleeping if they witnessed such a terrifying image.

The young man slowly stood up as he brutally watched the unconscious children on the dirt floor.

Firmly, he approached a young woman with brown hair, lifted her into the air like a doll, and with his sharp, jagged teeth, took a big bite of the young woman's neck!

Chomp!

The girl didn't get a chance to scream, a large piece of meat was ripped from her neck. She died instantly.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The young man happily chewed on the bone-in piece of meat. It looked like he was eating a meal made by the gods.

After he finished chewing, he began to eat the rest of the girl.

It ate the breasts, torso, legs, feet and head. Not a drop of blood dripped onto the floor and the shrill sounds of bones being crunched mingled with the even more fervent chanting of the henchmen.

The young man wasted nothing, it looked like his last meal was years ago.

After finishing his delicacy, he snorted with dissatisfaction; picked up another child and continued his meal...

The more children he ate, the redder his skin and the brighter the blood in his eyes. His belly was slightly swollen, but he didn't seem to mind.

As the goons sang with their eyes closed, the hooded man joined them as he looked in awe at the thing that devoured children.

...

In time, only one child remained. The belly of the young man with black hair was huge, similar to a nine months pregnant. If anyone looked closely, they could see that something was writhing in his belly.

The hooded man braced himself for the last step. As they continued to sing, he and the henchmen slashed their wrists and let the blood flow over the last child.

Seeing this, the young man became even more excited and ran to eat his last meal.

Suddenly!

Whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!

Some dark silhouettes moved quickly through the trees and appeared a few meters away from the men and they stopped singing immediately. Due to the darkness, the intruders' appearance was not discernible.

"Bloody cultists! We're too late..." A silhouette that was joined by the intruders became furious.

With the interruption of the ritual. The young man quickly fell to the ground and became unconscious. His belly has shrunk in size and the rest of his body has returned to normal. The change was almost instantaneous and the intruders did not notice this change as the young man was after the cultists.

Cough! Cough!

Because of the interruption of the ritual, the man in the black cape and his subordinates spat blood.

"Damn! the Church dogs arrived too soon."

"A little more and we would have made it!" The men said with great hatred.

The hooded man was still rational and said, "Run! We are wounded and no match for them."

"Boss, what about the receptacle?" a henchman asked.

"Leave him, he's already dead. It's no use anymore. Now let's go!" The Leader said as he looked at the unconscious youth.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The men broke up and fled in various directions.

"Pursue immediately! I'll go after the leader, try to capture the rest." A tall silhouette quickly followed the cloaked man.

The remaining Church members quickly persecuted him.

Just a few seconds later.

Boom!

Boom!

Sounds of explosions and the clatter of steel-piercing flesh resounded in the dark, silent forest...

Back in the clearing, the body of the young man with long black hair that was stretched out on the ground shook for a few moments and stopped.

Shortly thereafter, small stones floated inches from the ground for a few seconds and then fell around the young man.