"What a bummer! It seemed the blood was not enough! How about you two help poor me out here?"
Absolute silence prevailed. Neither Zodiac Enforcer nor Furcas said anything, as both of them were trying to get free from whatever was restraining them. Still, alas, no matter what they did, they seemed to have been completely confined.
They couldn't use their powers or connections. This entire space was under the mysterious madman's authority, and they knew things were completely out of their hands.
Both of them were utterly unfamiliar with the sense of helplessness because they were simply too powerful and had lived for so long that they had forgotten what it meant to be afraid. But now, it was all coming back.
"What, no volunteer?" Immortika pretended to be hurt as it looked upward towards the eye, and his toothy smile grew, "Even you, a Valkyrien from Angelic Races? Isn't your purpose to fight injustice and bring salvation to the damn or whatnot? Why are you playing this boring role-play? So, will you help a poor fellow like me, or has the decorum of Angelic Races changed, and you guys no longer care about it anymore?"
"You, sacrilegious mortal, to dare utter such blasphemous words for the Holy Race!" Zodiac Enforcer was finally triggered when Immortika directly taunted its race as if he couldn't help it at all, "I don't know how you knew and how you did it or what you're after, but if you know who I am, then you better release me this instant, and I can pray for mercy for your vile soul!"
"Sigh…" Immoritka shook its head ruefully before it burst into laughter, startling Zodiac Enforcer and Furcas again. They couldn't keep up with this madman's mood swings and couldn't read him at all.
"…hah… everything changed with time; Even gods, once pure as the morning light, Can falter, yield to shadows of the night. Angels, with wings of grace and holy fire, May lose their way and, thus, their sacred desire. Yet here I am, still the same, for time is nothing but my keeper." Immortika suddenly uttered a cryptic quote before starting to laugh again, "Hahahahaha, man, I have really outdone myself with this one, don't you two think so?" However, the Zodiac Enforcer didn't take those words as mere sarcasm because the meaning behind them was profound, and only someone like the Zodiac Enforcer could understand it. The Zodiac Enforcer didn't believe that this guy had just uttered something like that in a silly quote.
"Who in the world are you!?" Zodiac Enforcer asked again as it was back to the same question. "A Poor Bore Book, who else?" Immortika innocently replied, "Oh, well, since you didn't want to grace me with your benevolence, I shall shamelessly take it myself, for you are an embodiment of sacrifice for the needy. Now, fulfill your duty and sacrifice yourself, and don't worry, you shall forever be forgotten… I mean, remembered for it!
"Cursed Blood Sacrifice!"
Immortika words seem to create invisible commands that can't be ignored or rejected by anything. "What are you…WHAT! What are you doing…ahhhhhhhh!" Zodiac Enforcer's confused voice suddenly turned horrifying, and he started to scream.
Even Furcas, indifferent to Zodiac Enforcer, was shocked because he could feel real pain from his voice. He knew it was impossible for Zodiac Enforcer to feel pain or get wounded, for it was a well-known fact, yet here he was witnessing something unimaginable again.
Immortika seemed in a daze as Jacob's body trembled in delight under the Zodiac Enforcer's screams, "Now, this is what you call sacrificial music, my favorite, by the way!"
Just as Immortika's voice trailed off, glowing golden droplets started to fall from the dark sky within the darkness, creating a breathtaking scene. However, Furcas wasn't in the mood to admire it; he was completely spooked at this moment because he knew what those golden droplets were and where they were coming from.
"Holy blood! You really wound a Zodiac Enforcer!?!? What kind of Sacred Scripture do you have?!" Furcas asked with disbelief.
At this moment, he was feeling every emotion he had forgotten a long time ago, and the highest emotion he was feeling was 'True Fear!'
"Correction, 'Sacrifice,' my hellish friend. Sacrifice. It's just serving its purpose. Don't you hear the screams of joy? The Valkyrien has achieved true peace, I'm telling you. Oh, and we can't let Valkyrien's sacrifice go to waste since he was so kind to me. "Blood!" Immortika playfully uttered, and the next moment, the golden rain of blood suddenly flew towards Jacob's body.
However, when the golden blood fell on Jacob's body, whatever he was wearing, it instantly incinerated, revealing his entire skeleton body filled with runic lines. But what happened next sent chills down Furcas spine as the golden blood, which could annihilate anyone and was the deadliest poison to his kind, started to absorb into those marks!
The dimmed runic marks instantly started to glow as they greedily absorbed the golden blood, while the blood's owner still screamed until his voice started to fade.
But Furcas didn't pay it any heed; as he watched, the skeleton was now surrounded by a crimson ethereal mist like a cocoon.
"Well, I guess my time for fun is over." Immortika sighed with fake ruefulness, "But don't worry, my hellish friend. I fully appreciate your soul sacrifice, and I can assure you that this is not for this guy but the little nightmare since his soul defenses are simply too weak to handle beings like you who like to meddle in mortal businesses. It's all your thrall's fault for dragging you guys into this, so no hard feelings. But don't worry, he'll be able to handle you all soon."
When Furcas heard Immortika's words, he instantly had a bad feeling about this before he could react. "Soul Blood Sacrifice!"
Furcas couldn't even scream before his consciousness was wiped out. His ethereal body turned into a milky white mist, pulling towards the ethereal crimson cocoon and vanishing, leaving only the eerie cocoon behind.
The next moment, the darkness suddenly started to fade away, revealing Yin Sky Island again while the crimson cocoon remained suspended in the air.
"Tsk, those boring guys, I should've known they were incompetent…" Immortika's voice rang filled with derision, "After the first phase, the restriction on me will be increased by many folds, maybe it's the last time I'll ever help you. But who knows, if you continue to provide me with entertainment, I may change my mind…again. Hehehehe…" Immortika's eerie, wild laughter rang before it started to fade away.
At this moment, in the center of Yin Sky Island, the symbol on the Yin Ice suddenly broke, and a purple streak shot out before directly bolting in Jacob's direction and vanishing into the crimson mist.
But the very next moment, the Legendary Key suddenly appeared, creating a powerful ripple before it vanished with Jacob's cocoon and the key, leaving behind the empty Yin Sky Island, which had now started to crumble!
---
Far away, in an unknown dome riddled with endless void and darkness, hidden here was a palace created with stars, completely different from its surroundings.
Within this palace was a temple at its highest peak, and within this temple was hovering a dark Infinity symbol which any movement. But for a few moments, crimson pules suddenly appeared in this dark infinity symbol before it went dormant.
However, a blurry projection appeared just before the last pulse vanished from the infinity symbol, and it trembled slightly before…
"Hihihihihihihihi…" Wanton laughter filled with mirth and disbelief, yet most of it was ecstasy. Once the laughter faded away, a voice filled with excitement reverberated throughout the void and darkness. "The Cursed One has returned; let the Infinity Cursed Quest commence...again!"
________________
End of Third Volume: The Return of Cursed One!
[AN: This volume marked the end of Lesser Plains (Lesser Galaxies) in Jacob's journey. I know many things remained unanswered, like the other lesser galaxies, what happened to the humans of the Common Plains, Asher's background or what Immortika did at the end, and many more. I know no one likes cliffhangers or unanswered questions, especially me, but don't worry, I'm planning to clarify everything as the story progresses and at the right moment. Overall, thank you so much, everyone, for your support and patronage that keeps me motivated and helps me continue this wild fantasy of Cursed Immortality. Please do comment and leave behind your reviews for this volume, I appreciate them all, they are very helpful. Last but not least for some overly worried readers, this is NOT a HAREM novel, please know that there is no HAREM or Romance tag in the Novel description. The new volume will start on Monday, August 5th, 2024. Stay tuned and keep supporting Cursed Immortality!]