"The time has come... the vessel is prepared..." Claire's chanting voice suddenly rose, carrying a kind of fanatical excitement.
She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around; under the shadow of her hood, only a cold, cruel smile could be seen curling at the corners of her mouth.
She faced Catherine, who had been dragged to the edge of the magic circle, and extended her withered, pale fingers.
"By the decay of the old blood, we usher in the glory of the new covenant! neos keogai, the Lord we serve, please accept this pure vessel, descend with your will, and open..."
There was no time to wait!
A cold glint flashed in Holmes's eyes. He abruptly turned his high-intensity flashlight to maximum brightness, activated the strobe function, and hurled it like a flashbang straight toward the center of the hall, at Claire's feet!
The flashlight struck the stone slab with a loud crash, simultaneously erupting in a blindingly intense white light that instantly engulfed the entire central area of the hall.
The pistol in Holmes's hand was already raised, and the muzzle spat out deadly fire, exploding simultaneously with the bright light.
The target was not Claire in the center, but the two Cultists holding Catherine, who had been temporarily blinded by the intense light.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two bullets precisely pierced through the heads of the Cultists!
In the center of the hall, the moment the light exploded, Claire let out a sharp, angry hiss.
She did not seem completely affected by the intense light; her blood-drop pendant erupted with a strong, dark red radiance, forming a thin halo that protected her head.
She suddenly raised her hand and waved it!
"Hum—!"
The entire magic circle on the ground suddenly lit up, and the dark red light, like boiling blood, instantly flowed along the complex patterns and converged.
With Claire at the center, three visible circular light barriers made of different colored energies rose instantly, like a giant glass bowl turned upside down, enclosing her, Catherine, and the core area of the magic circle.
The outermost layer presented a murky, earthy yellow halo; phantom images of rocks, metal, and bones flowed across the barrier, and a powerful repulsive force field formed instantly.
The middle layer appeared as a shifting, dark red, like molten metal and churning blood plasma; faintly, the twisted, pained faces of souls could be seen silently screaming on the barrier.
The innermost layer, clinging close to Claire and Catherine, appeared as a deep, viscous dark silver, flowing slowly like mercury and emitting powerful protective energy.
"Foolish ants!"
Claire's cold, angry voice penetrated the light barrier.
"Do you think you can stop the Lord's descent? Stepping into this sacred ritual ring is the beginning of your souls' complete annihilation!"
Before Claire had even finished speaking, the monsters she had summoned had already unleashed a bloodbath.
The Flesh Giant let out a dull, gurgling sound, its massive body crushing the stone slab. Its alienated, fleshy giant arm raised high, carrying a suffocating wind pressure, and smashed down fiercely toward two Police Officers trying to lift their injured comrade!
"Scatter!"
Sheriff Marcus roared, pushing aside the Police Officers next to him, and his shotgun roared!
Lead pellets rained down on the giant's fat layer, but only left deep pits and splattered greasy tissue; the effect was minimal.
One Police Officer couldn't dodge in time and was grazed by the giant arm.
"Crack!"
A clear sound of bone breaking rang out; he was swept away like a broken sack, spitting blood, and completely lost consciousness.
The Bone-Claw Insectoid turned into a deadly afterimage in the shadows, its sharp claws tearing through the air with a teeth-grinding screech, aiming directly at Watson, who was bandaging the severely injured Police Officer!
"Watson! Duck!"
Wright's voice was hoarse with extreme tension; the pistol in his hand spat fire almost at the same moment the shout rang out.
"Bang!"
The bullet grazed the afterimage of the Bone-Claw Insectoid, striking the stone steps and sparking.
Watson rolled away in a sorry state, but the second strike of the Bone-Claw Insectoid had already arrived!
The sharp bone claw tore through his coat, leaving three deep, bone-exposing bloody gouges on his shoulder blade. The intense pain made Watson's vision go black, and the first aid kit in his hand dropped to the ground.
Holmes's gaze locked onto the outermost ring nearest to him, the Ring of Assiah, the world of matter, the layer where humans reside.
His mind instantly flashed with the cipher he had previously cracked: "The ring symbolizes rejection; to enter the ring, one must be in harmony with the world within the ring."
Flesh and soul together make up a human being; "Blood symbolizes the flesh, burning symbolizes the soul."
He rushed toward the Aries archway without hesitation.
The melee in the hall intensified, with the remaining Cultists attacking wildly under the cover of the flesh monstrosities.
Sheriff Marcus and the remaining capable Police Officers, along with Watson, relied on stone pillars and room archways as cover, fighting desperately to buy time for Holmes.
Holmes rushed into the Aries room; the altar was fully equipped: a glass bottle filled with clear water, deep red wine, a silver bowl containing fresh blood, a burning white candle, a strangely shaped flame-shaped dagger, and a red mask.
He quickly picked up an unlit white candle and the silver bowl containing blood, then rushed toward the magic circle.
Just as he stepped into the range of the Assiah ring, an invisible, immense resistance came, and Holmes felt as if he were walking through viscous asphalt.
At the same time, intense pain swept through his entire body, as if his soul were being forcibly ripped out of his flesh; he gritted his teeth, feeling his vitality and mental energy draining away rapidly.
Holmes struggled to walk to a node within the ring, poured the fresh blood from the silver bowl onto the lines of the magic circle, and simultaneously lit the new white candle in his hand with the candle from the altar.
The moment the fresh blood touched the glowing lines, it made a "hissing" burning sound, and the flame of the white candle suddenly flared high, emitting a pure radiance.
The light of the Assiah ring suddenly dimmed, and the resistance that had been tearing at his soul disappeared.
The outer ring was broken!
The pain in Holmes's body receded like a tide, but the lost vitality and mental energy could not be recovered.
He gasped and slumped to the ground, his gaze turning to the inner Yetzirah ring, and the sword symbolizing power, the crown symbolizing authority, and the golden cup symbolizing desire on the ring.
Inscribed on the altar were the words: "See clearly the power you crave, the authority you hold, the undying desire, for sacrifice is their cornerstone."
"Wright, the key to breaking the second layer is in the Virgo room; use the coin in the room to replace one of the items in the magic circle."
"But be aware, there is a price to pay!"
Hearing the guidance shouted by Holmes and seeing the changes in the outer ring, Wright understood immediately.
"Virgo!" He rushed toward the Virgo room while using his pistol to force back a Cultist attempting to approach.
On the altar were displayed four artifacts symbolizing authority and desire:
A cold, gleaming longsword with a cross hilt.
An ancient, heavy-looking dark gold coin engraved with unknown runes.
A silver crown inlaid with several dull, lusterless gems.
A golden goblet inlaid with rubies, its walls carved with blasphemous patterns.
Wright's gaze swept over them quickly; the sword, crown, and golden cup were already in the Yetzirah ring, so he needed to take the coin to replace one of them.
He took a deep breath, grabbed the ancient gold coin from the altar, and resolutely stepped into the Yetzirah ring.
Instantly, he felt countless cold hands tearing at his memories, his knowledge, and the common sense he relied on to understand the world!
The pain made him almost kneel; he saw hallucinations, his accumulated detective knowledge dissipating, and his keen insight into cases becoming blurred.
He endured the inhuman pain, staggered to the node of the magic circle, and the altar displaying the three offerings was right before his eyes.
So the question was, which one to replace?