Nobody could imagine the cruelty of humans.
The entire royal city was transformed into a large sacrificial field, and massacres were carried out each day. The priests gathered the humans, and ordered the followers of the cult to build small altars in order to perform human sacrifices.
The conscience and empathy of humans were completely abandoned. When bestowed with power, humanity becomes blind.
People who were once called their friends and family were slaughtered with contempt, proving their loyalty to the Supreme God.
When they discovered they could obtain power from sacrifices, they became mad with power. The priests didn't need to order them to sacrifice anymore, and the sky was dyed red with the blood of the slain.
In the palace, Viscount Brown sat on the throne, intoxicated with the screams of the city. An eerie, serene silence was present in the castle.
"Viscount Brown," a knight addressed.
"No, address me as Divine Priest -- Divine Priest Brown," he said, waving the bone scepter in his hand.
"Divine Priest Brown," the knight corrected. "The final preparations for the blood sacrifice are almost complete. 130 altars have been erected according to your instructions."
"That fast?" Brown said in surprise. "Have all the blasphemers been killed?"
"No, my lord, they..." the priest stuttered. "They started to kill their kind on their own, swearing allegiance to the Supreme God by killing their closest companions."
Brown couldn't help but laugh, and announced in an ethereal tone, "Human beings have been lured into depravity by greed and ignorance. No matter -- the Supreme God will enter this world and establish his kingdom."
"Praise the Supreme God."
Brown nodded in satisfaction, "This world must be cleansed, so that the kingdom of the Supreme God is pure and noble. We should test the faithfulness of the believers by sacrificing them. If they really believe in the Supreme God, then the Supreme God will return their life to them."
The priests couldn't help but shudder upon hearing his words. This wasn't the viscount that they used to know.
...
The moment Adam's team entered the west of Madeira Island, the smell of blood flooded their noses.
"Where is it?" Adam asked the devil.
"Still far away," the devil replied.
The other three's faces fell. Over the past month, the devil has become more sensitive in terms of locating the cult, often finding the source at a distance of a hundred kilometres. If the devil couldn't perceive the cult now, it means that it is far away, and yet, the smell of blood was so pungent that their faces scrunched up in disgust.
"Adam..."
"Let's go," Adam said without hesitating. The gods could locate the coordinates of the Mage World through sacrifice. If they were too late, the gods could have crossed into this realm without them noticing. His top priority was to interrupt and destroy the sacrifices.
Their lives would forever change if they did not stop the gods from entering their world.
As they flew, they found that all the towns along the way had become ruins. No humans were left wandering the villages and cities.
A day later, they arrived at the city of the west. It was different from the chilling Cold Maple City, or the bustling Southern Harbour Port -- the city was permanently stained red with blood; the smell of rot and gore embedded in their brains.
The entire royal city was conquered, and they could see 130 altars built underneath the stars and the moon, surrounding the palace. Other tinier palaces were replaced with large altars and a man could be seen inserting a sceptre into the centre of the altar.
William could recognise him in an instant and shouted, "Brown? Are you out of your mind?!"
His shouts immediately revealed their location and Adam glared at him.
William bowed his head down in shame, immediately conjuring a pillar of fire to smite Brown down.
Brown grinned, staring directly at Adam. He ignored the pillar of fire about to smite him, and pushed his sceptre further into the altar.
The chains binding the altar immediately glowed an eerie red, and all 130 altars glowed, instantly killing all the thousands of sacrifices. The blood energy converged onto Brown's altar as he smiled at Adam.
The energy was enough to completely shield Brown from Adam's team's magic, and he shouted with a booming voice, "Heretics will surely perish, you will wish that you were never born!"
"I want you to pay with your life, little wretch."