Facing the Blood Priest

  That night, the trio returned to the square in secret. The lights were out, but the place was far from silent. A tall figure knelt at the center, hands raised, murmuring inaudible words.

  "Gabriel," called Gotier, his voice slicing through the silence like a blade.

  The man rose slowly, turning to face them. His face still wore that calm smile, but his eyes now gleamed with something cold and threatening.

  "I knew you'd come back," he said, his voice sounding almost disappointed. "So curious... so determined. But you don't understand what I'm doing here."

  "We understand enough," Gotier replied, stepping forward. "You're using these people for your rituals. Sacrificing them."

  The Battle with the Blood Priest

  Gabriel sighed, opening his arms as if explaining something simple to a child. "They have nothing. I give them purpose. A chance to become part of something greater. Do you really think you're saving anyone here?"

  "This isn't redemption. It's murder," Akari said, preparing for battle.

  Gabriel's smile turned into an expression of disdain. "You're so na?ve..."

  He raised his hands, and the ground beneath the square began to tremble. Blood seeped from cracks in the earth, forming living serpents that writhed around the priest.

  Gotier stepped back, his voice filled with shock. "He's a Blood Priest. One of the most powerful."

  Gabriel laughed, his voice echoing through the square. "More than that, Gotier. I am a servant of purification. And you... will not survive this night."

  The square plunged into a pulsing chaos of blood and darkness. The red serpents emerging from the ground coiled around Gabriel, radiating a sinister energy. He seemed to grow, his presence becoming more threatening, as if the very environment conspired in his favor.

  Yuzuki drew his sword, its blue gleam shimmering against the red light of the blood-soaked ground.

  — "Gotier, you said you know this magic. How do we deal with it?"

  Gotier froze for a moment, his mind caught in memories of his days as a priest, when he heard tales of the Blood Priests — legendary figures who used corrupted faith to channel inhuman powers.

  — "He can't do this alone. He needs fresh blood."

  Akari looked around, her eyes sharp.

  — "He must've prepared something beforehand. An energy circle, maybe. We need to break the connection."

  Gabriel laughed, his voice thundering through the square.

  — "Ah, Gotier. Always underestimating what true devotion can accomplish. There's nothing you can do now."

  He raised one hand, and the blood serpents lashed out like whips toward the group.

  Yuzuki leapt, dodging swiftly as he delivered a quick slash that severed one of the serpents.

  — "These things are tough!"

  Akari quickly opened a scroll and recited an incantation, launching a glowing seal that repelled one of the creatures trying to strike her.

  — "We need to find the source of this! Gotier, where could he have made the circle?"

  Gotier pointed toward the trees at the edge of the square, his voice urgent.

  — "There! The offering altar. That must be where the ritual started!"

  — "Then I'll handle him," said Yuzuki, advancing toward Gabriel while Akari and Gotier ran to the altar.

  The Confrontation

  Gabriel watched Yuzuki approach, a sneer forming on his lips.

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  — "You think you can face me, boy? Corrupted faith is stronger than any mortal blade."

  Yuzuki didn't reply, lunging forward with his sword in a fast arc. Gabriel moved his hand, and a wall of blood rose to block the attack. Yuzuki's sword cut into the barrier but met resistance, as if the blood had gained the density of metal.

  — "Interesting," Gabriel said, narrowing his eyes. "You're not ordinary."

  Yuzuki planted his feet firmly, taking a deep breath before jumping again, his sword spinning like a storm of light. Gabriel kept retreating, raising barriers while summoning more serpents to attack Yuzuki, who fought them off one by one.

  The Blood Serpents

  Gotier solemnly drew his silver cross, wielding it like a sacred weapon amid the apocalypse. The metallic shine briefly cut through the shadows as he steadied himself on the corrupted ground. His gaze did not waver.

  — "I can purify this place." His voice rang out firm, almost defiant against the very hell that surrounded them. "I'll use the Dankai... the blood seal. But I need time. Can you protect me?"

  Akari felt the pressure in the air. The altar pulsed like a dying heart, and shadows slithered around them — as if evil had scent, form, and intent.

  She didn't answer right away. Her golden eyes met his.

  — "I won't promise miracles..." she said with a faint smirk, raising her arms. "But I promise we won't die here."

  With a swift gesture, Akari summoned the barrier. A dome of violet light surrounded them, slicing through the darkness like a flame in an endless cave. The shadows struck the shield, writhing, screaming in agony with mouths that didn't exist, eyes that wept blood.

  Inside the protection, Gotier began the ritual. Latin words spilled from his lips, broken but filled with ancient power. His cross glowed intensely as the ground trembled.

  The blood in the runes began to evaporate — as if the curse itself was being expelled. The marks on the earth quivered, struggling to maintain the pact sealed there. But Gotier pressed on.

  On the other side, Akari held the line. Each strike from the creatures made her body tremble, but she stood firm, eyes shut, focused — not as a warrior, but as a human shield.

  That night of horrors, under the weight of corruption and faith, Gotier and Akari were the final line between salvation... and the end.

  The square was a field of destruction. The air reeked of iron, blood, and smoke. Moonlight barely pierced the debris swirling in the air, as if time itself hesitated to move forward.

  At the center of chaos, Yuzuki surged forward with a torn roar, his eyes blazing with determination. Mao's darkness pulsed around him as if alive, feeding his blade with pure rage.

  CRASH! The sword slashed the sacred circle, shattering Gabriel's barrier with a dry crack, like glass breaking from within. Before the priest could retreat, the steel sliced through the air and brutally struck his right arm.

  — "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Gabriel screamed in a piercing shriek, the sound echoing like a profane lament through the ruined streets.

  Blood gushed in a grotesque arc. His fanatical smile vanished, replaced by terror and raw pain.

  — "Th-this isn't... this isn't possible!" he cried, stumbling back, eyes wide like a cornered animal.

  Yuzuki panted, chest rising and falling rapidly, sweat mixing with the blood staining his skin. He raised his sword, its tip pointed straight at Gabriel's heart.

  — "What's impossible..." he growled through clenched teeth, "is you continuing to hurt the innocent."

  His voice was low, but it carried the fury of a broken world.

  — "It's over, Gabriel."

  At that instant, as if his words were the final seal, the circle around Gabriel dissolved. The blood serpents let out one last roar and collapsed to the ground like dead flesh, bubbling and grotesque.

  From the altar's shadows, Akari and Gotier emerged staggering, their clothes torn and stained with dry blood, sweat, and smoke. The barrier had vanished, but their eyes burned — exhausted, yet alive.

  Gabriel fell to his knees, fingers digging into the ground, his face a mask of despair and defeat. He looked at Gotier with empty eyes, full of hatred... and fear.

  — "You... will never understand, Gotier." His voice faltered. "What we do... is for the greater good."

  Gotier approached slowly, his heavy steps echoing like judgment bells. In his hand, the silver cross looked more like a sentence than a symbol of faith.

  But his eyes... held no rage. They held something worse.

  Disillusionment. Grief. Shattered love.

  — "You had a choice, Gabriel." His voice sounded like a whisper in a tomb. "And you chose the wrong path."

  He raised the cross.

  Light.

  White, searing, screaming.

  — "NNNOOOOOOO!!!" Gabriel let out a final scream, tearing his throat in despair as he was consumed by the purifying light.

  His body dissolved into fragments of energy — like ashes carried by the wind.

  All that remained was his black cloak, fallen to the ground... empty.

  The Price of Truth

  The explosion of light that consumed Gabriel left the square in an unsettling silence. The thick fog seemed to dissipate momentarily, revealing anguished faces and furious stares. The population of Doom, made up of the poor and helpless whom Gabriel had helped — or manipulated — began to slowly encircle the group, with a mix of desperation and hatred in their eyes.

  Yuzuki raised his sword, still stained with the blood of the serpents summoned by Gabriel.

  "I think the reception here has gotten a little worse."

  "You killed him!" shouted a woman with a thin, hunger-marked face. "Gabriel was our only hope!"

  A man stepped forward, pointing his finger at Gotier.

  "He gave us food, protection! And now you've ruined everything!"

  Gotier remained motionless, but his expression was grim.

  "Protection? He was sacrificing you to fuel his power. You weren't protected. You were the fuel."

  "So what?" shouted another, his voice choked with anger. "Better to die as part of something bigger than wither away from hunger!"

  Akari, who had been watching the crowd attentively, noticed that the faces of the people reflected not just anger, but also fear. They had nothing left. Gabriel was, to them, a false hope, but still, hope.

  "Gotier, what do we do now?" she asked softly, as the villagers began picking up stones and pieces of wood.

  "We survive," he replied, gripping the cross in his hand. "But this is a battle we can't win through force."