On 27th June, Noble's Street, Roseglen City.
It was around 8 A.M.
In the study room at a luxurious mansion,
Viscount Gauvain sat on the wooden armchair and looked quietly at a human-skinned scroll with a solemn look. At that moment, a grey-skinned goblin-like creature sat on the other side and stared at Viscount's round face with a creepy smile on its face. It had a sharp nose, lean hideous face, and pointy ears. Its deep-set eyes were dark red with a hint of madness, and it wore a comfortable black shirt and pants like a butler.
Viscount's face soon turned green after he skimmed through the document and finally muttered,
"So, you are from the Red Python organization, huh?"
"Yes, Mr. Viscount. Our organization would like to co-operate with you. If you agree to sacrifice something, we will allow your son to walk on the path of the 'Warlock'." It said with a creaky tone and placed a red vial on the table.
Meanwhile, Viscount Gauvian gave an in-depth look at that red vial and asked, while arching his eyebrows upward,
"How do you know the necromancers will fail to kill the High-rank nobles during the gathering?"
A low eerie chuckle came from that creature's mouth. Then, it leaned forward towards the wooden desk and replied while playing with its sharp-clawed hands.
"Because 'Her Majesty' sensed an anomaly appeared in the royal capital. That anomaly was the one responsible for our previous mission's failure. So using this upcoming chaos, we want to gather more souls." Upon hearing those words from that creature, Viscount fell into deep thoughts and once again asked,
"What is your name? Also, explain more about this vial."
A big grin appeared on that creature's face as it heard Viscount's words, and it replied excitingly,
"My name is Susur. As for this red vial, it contains the blood essence of a Dark Serpent. As long as your youngest son consume this blood essence, he will directly rank up to an official Warlock and become a fully-fledged member of the Red Python Organization. If he helps us achieve our goal, he might rise in rank and become a second-tier Warlock in the next few years."
Viscount got tempted as he heard those words. He knew that the possibility of his son ranking up to becoming a second-tier mage under the normal circumstance was almost zero.
So, this deal was more like a miraculous opportunity.
Alas, he didn't reply instantly and asked one more question,
"If he consumes this blood essence, there won't be any side effects, right? Or will he lose humanity and become a demon?" That was Viscount's most concerning question. If his son became a mindless monster or some demon after consuming this vial, he might die from the shock!
Meanwhile, Susur became surprised a bit and replied while shaking its head,
"No. Your son will look like those normal Warlocks and also be able to cast bloodline spells without any restriction. Not only that, but he also won't face any shackles up to third-tier Warlock."
Viscount's eyes shined as he heard those words.
'Third-Tier Warlock! If he becomes a Third-Tier Warlock, I don't even need to be afraid of anyone in these surrounding kingdoms!'
He quickly opened his mouth and asked.
"What do I have to do for that?"
A cunning smile appeared on that demon's face.
"I need a large-scale human sacrifice."
Upon hearing Susur's words, Viscount's face stiffened.
'Human sacrifices!'
He closed his eyes for a moment and soon asked in a trembling tone,
"You want all the people in this city?"
Viscount knew that this demon was after the human souls of Roseglen city and got frightened inside. But he didn't lose his calm as he understood his family situation and pondered. After all, he had been helping the necromancers during the past few years and even conducted human sacrificial ceremonies. So, it wasn't a big deal for him.
'I need to sacrifice something if I want something in return. If the necromancers did fail to kill high-rank nobles, then my whole plan would flip up, and my children's lives would also be in danger.' Viscount thought carefully.
After a long silence, he stood up and nodded his head in agreement.
"Excellent!" Susur said excitingly and continued with a stern voice,
"I want your soldiers to write some characters all over the city walls. Also, if you want your family members to be alive, get them out of this city before I start the sacrificial ceremony."
Meanwhile, Viscount nodded solemnly and soon walked out of his study room along with the demon.
After that, he sent all his family members out of the city and asked his soldiers to draw weird letters all over the Roseglen City walls. Then, he hurriedly moved out of Roseglen City and sent urgent messages to all three of his children.
...
Roseglen City.
It was around 10 A.M.
At that moment, the demon Susur moved towards the city square while wearing a black hood to cover its appearance and soon arrived in front of a large platform. After that, it looked up at the dark sky and then glanced at the surrounding humans with greedy eyes. There were shop owners, travelers, adventurers, soldiers, peddlers, children, elders, and homemakers roaming here and there. Many shouts, giggles, and laughter echoed in every direction. A few children even played hide and seek at the front of the town square, making the whole surroundings lively.
A blue-haired kid named Tim, around ten years old, suddenly halted his footsteps as he heard a strange mutter from the nearby hooded kid and turned around. With a trace of confusion, he walked closer to that kid and tilted his head.
Due to the presence of the black hood, he couldn't see that kid's face clearly and become more curious about that kid.
That hooded kid was almost the same height as him and looked skinnier.
'Who is this kid? I've never seen him.'
"Hey, want to play hide and seek with us?" Tim quickly arrived before the hooded kid and asked casually. But he didn't get any response from that kid, which annoyed him a little. He noticed that the hooded kid was completely ignoring him and continuing to mutter strange words.
Tim also saw a crystalline bottle in that kid's right hand and became startled.
'It looks more beautiful than my mom's Blood gem.' He muttered inwardly and extended his hand to snatch it.
But before he could do it, the hooded kid slapped his hand and continued to mutter like a puppet.
Tim was a short-tempered kid. So, he got more annoyed as he saw that hooded kid's attitude and got furious. Without hesitation, he grabbed that black hood and removed it to see the face of that damn kid.
His action attracted the nearby kids' and a few shopkeepers' attention.
But as soon as Tim removed that hood, everyone's faces turned pale. Because what they saw was not a child but a grey-colored goblin-like creature!
"G-GOBLIN!" Tim screamed in terror as he saw that creature and backed away in fear. Meanwhile, other children and women also got scared and ran away in panic. But soon, they stopped as that gray-colored creature stood there like a statue, muttering a strange chant.
"It must be a hybrid goblin shaman!" An elite adventurer walked out from the crowd and spoke while gripping his sword hilt. His companions also appeared behind him and took out their weapons to ready for a fight.