On Blue Mountain Island, inside a primitive forest.
Having prepared, Verdu Abraham worried that holding the ritual outside the city would be discovered by official Beyonders, so he used a sealed artifact to teleport away from Bayam and reached this remote place.
Touching his ribs that had started to ache again, Verdu took off his classical robe and set it aside.
Next, he set up an altar, lit candles, and burned the correct essential oils, hydrolats, herbal powders, and other items.
After completing the preliminaries, Verdu stepped back two paces and, lowering his voice, recited in ancient
"Great War God; Symbol of iron and blood; Lord of turmoil and strife..."
The wail of wind rose in response, echoing endlessly in the dark forest.
Amid the gentle swaying of branches and leaves, two of the candles on the altar suddenly began to crackle.
Their flames abruptly swelled, surging up from "saplings" into "giant trees."
At the same time, the color of the flames changed from orange-yellow to blazing white.
The wind passing through the forest became fiercer, and the two blazing white pillars of flame intertwined, twisting into a blurry, enormous figure.
At that moment, Verdu Abraham felt an indescribable gaze fall on him from on high.
He quickly lowered his head and said,
"Great War God, your humble believer begs for your help."
As he spoke, Verdu kept adjusting his mindset, striving to remain calm.
He knew from a certain family tome that when praying to the "War God," the most important thing was to tell oneself "don't get angry."
The huge figure of blazing white flame continuously spewed streams of fire to the sides and spoke in a language that Verdu could understand but didn't recognize:
"Humble mortal, gods are not here to fulfill your wishes.
"Speak, state your plea. Whether I help you in the end is for me to decide."
Verdu had already rehearsed his words. After a brief recollection, he said:
"Great War God, how can I bring my ancestor, Mr. Door
"A ritual—a ritual sacrificing a Faceless, a Secret Mage, and a Parasite. You should already be clear about it," the flame giant said in a low, majestic voice.
"It's the same answer that Dorian's student gave..." Verdu sighed inwardly and said.
"Great War God, if I ask you to help me complete this ritual, what do I need to pay?"
The flame giant looked down at this "Astrologer" and said,
"The corresponding price is beyond you. Your pale and insignificant soul is not even qualified to be embers."
Just as Verdu was feeling disappointed and dejected, the flame giant continued,
"But Mr. Door can.
"Besides, I'm in a good mood today.
"Sacrifice a portion of your blood to me as a mark of the contract. I will claim the corresponding price from Mr. Door."
"Can it be like this?" Verdu was somewhat suspicious, but upon further thought, he found no problem:
Indeed, only his ancestor
As for whether Mr. Door was willing to engage in this transaction, Verdu never considered it. In his view, anyone in a state of exile and sealing would undoubtedly want to break free, even at a considerable price!
"Yes, great War God." After thinking for a moment, Verdu's blood rushed and he agreed.
He then changed the ritual, added the sacrifice and bestowal parts, and used an iron dagger to pierce his arm, letting out some dark red blood.
When his blood turned into red "pearls" and passed through the "Gate of Sacrifice and Bestowal," the area beyond became extremely dark, as if hiding countless monsters.
The next second, a mass of something was spat out from behind the illusory gate.
It was a semi-transparent lump of flesh with slimy tentacles, and twisted worms crawled in and out of it.
Just seeing this thing made Verdu's head spin, as if someone had poured a lot of paste into it.
At that moment, a spark of fire fell, enveloping his body and tinting his vision with a layer of crimson.
With this crimson layer, Verdu no longer experienced abnormalities from staring directly at the lump of flesh.
Then, another mass was spat out by the "Gate of Sacrifice and Bestowal."
This was a bird with a deformed head; every feather shimmered with faint starry light, and worm-like gleams on its surface would sometimes burrow in and sometimes spread out.
"Star Worm... Is this a monster with the 'Secret Mage' Beyonder characteristic? The previous one corresponded to 'Faceless'... Indeed, 'Secret Mage' and 'Faceless' are just potion names, not referring exclusively to humans; demigods are the same unless especially modified with 'half-human'..." Verdu had a relatively deep understanding of his own Pathway and thus understood the current situation.
And this meant that the ritual to help Mr. Door escape could use demigod monsters corresponding to "Seer," "Apprentice," and "Thief" as sacrifices, and Verdu didn't need to do it himself—the great "War God" had already prepared everything.
Verdu could hardly suppress his inner joy and looked with great anticipation at the "Gate of Sacrifice and Bestowal," waiting for the third sacrifice to be spat out.