Out of nowhere and unprompted, Bishamonten spoke: "WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED HERE SHALL LEAVE THIS LAND SEVERELY OUT OF BALANCE. THE LEYLINES SWELL WITH UNBIDDEN POWER. THE RESTLESS DEAD WAIT FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO COALESCE. UNTIL THIS IMBALANCE IS REDRESSED, THE WEATHER SHALL BE RUINOUSLY EXTREME, AND THE EARTH SHALL BEAR NO FRUIT. EVEN THIS AVATAR, AND THIS SPEAR, SHALL BECOME SOURCES OF RUIN, IF THEY ARE SIMPLY LEFT TO BE. THIS CANNOT STAND."

A heavy silence hung over them as the avatar shifted in place, turning towards the ruined remains of the Cathedral. Small sections of it had survived by pure chance, including a number of its giant support pillars.

"...THESE ARE SACRED. THEY SHALL DO."

The deity's faceless head turned, and it knelt down. One by one, it pressed holes into the ground with its index finger and widened them just enough to fit the pillars. There were eight in total, spaced equally just outside the outer containment ring's perimeter. Bishamonten proceeded to walk towards the ruins of the church, forming additional aura arms until it had eight in total, removing the same number of pillars to bring them back. One by one they were set into their respective recesses in the ground, and forming a hammer and chisel of aura, the god levelled each pillar's top to be the same height. Despite the meticulous and procedural manner in which Bishamonten carried out all these tasks, it actually did them astonishingly quickly, moving with a swiftness unreasonable even for a human, let alone a titan of its size.

With a single stroke of each of its hands, Bishamonten drew a grandiose, immensely complex glyph in mid-air right above itself, ending with the right hand pointing skyward. It seethed with a profound meaning that couldn't be discerned in a mere glance, but one facet was clear and simple enough to instantly brand itself into the minds of all who beheld it.

NORTH

With a downward gesture, Bishamonten stamped the glyph onto the top of the northward pillar, and with a sound like thunder, a circle of ground out to around one meter around the pillar was smashed down. The ancient stone suddenly took on a faint, yet undeniable golden glow.

In this manner, it continued for seven more directions, taking no more than a handful of seconds each.

NORTH-EAST

EAST

SOUTH-EAST

SOUTH

While this took place, Third continued attempting to free himself or simply lashing out in any way he could, and Zelsys continued exerting what little stamina she had left to keep him down. She wasn't alone by any means, for the demonic elder was hammered by everything from spiritual bullets, to sword-beams, fists of stone and aura, beams of flame, and gusts of concentrated liquid flame. A few of the strongest-willed, or perhaps most foolhardy of allied tankmen even struck him with mortars and cannon-shells. None of this managed to inflict permanent damage upon him, and seemed to only make him angrier, more desperate, and less subtle in his attempts to free himself. Zel called back her Fang Rippers at this point, finding them to be no longer needed to subdue the demonic elder.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

And yet, each time a pillar was sanctified, even the mortals hundreds of meters away felt a tangible change. What fight the Third Truthseeker had left in him was being suppressed, yet the invisible pressure they felt didn't lessen even a bit. The already-severe tension in the air only grew, the divine merely replaced the demonic, and a fair few gave into reverent impulses and began praying to whatever divinities they were familiar with. The sky only grew more overcast, yet rays of golden light began to shine down upon the city.

"ERE YOU ARE PERMITTED THE PRIVILEGE OF REBIRTH, THE STAIN OF YOUR DEEDS IN THIS LIFE NEEDST BE BURNED AWAY BY EMPYREAN FLAME AND WASHED AWAY BY THE FOG-SEA'S MERCURIAL WATERS."

SOUTH-WEST

WEST

Bishamonten stepped into the octagon before completing it, forming the final glyph before dismissing its six aura hands. Holding the glyph in place with its upward-pointing right hand, the avatar gripped the giant spear-staff with its left. Then, it cast its gaze down upon the brave souls arrayed around the circle's perimeter.

"ALL BUT ONE OF YOU WOULD DO WELL TO RETREAT FROM THIS PLACE AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED STEPS, FOR HEAVENLY LIGHTNING SHALL RAIN DOWN TO REDRESS THE IMBALANCES OF THIS LAND AND TO SCOUR AWAY THIS DEMON'S EXISTENCE."

The deity stopped at Zelsys.

"YOU SHALL WANT TO STAY, FOR SEVERAL REASONS. I BID THEE TO ENTER THE RITUAL CIRCLE..."

Two voices rang out after that; one Bishamonten's, and one Victor's.

"WALKING TRIBULATION."

"Mistress Zelsys."

Without wasting a moment, Zelsys did just that, and Bishamonten sealed the perimeter the moment she crossed over.

NORTH-WEST

At that moment, the world outside became indistinct. Zel could see shapes moving about outside, but everything was blurry and the sound was muted. With each passing second, the divine pressure inside the octagon grew, as did the tension in the air. Golden sparks flashed in and out of existence with increasing frequency. The god gripped its staff-spear with its other hand, still looking down at her.

"YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. THE ANSWERS ARE SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK. FIRSTLY, YOUR PRESENCE BENEFITS THE RITUAL, JUST AS A FIRE CULTIVATOR'S PRESENCE BENEFITS A RITUAL RELIANT UPON FLAME. MOREOVER, YOU SHALL BENEFIT FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE RITE IN WAYS BEYOND THAT WHICH IS OBVIOUS."

"I ASK OF YOU, IN RETURN, TWO ACTS IN SERVICE OF THE RITE, FOR I SHALL DEPART THIS VESSEL ONCE IT BEGINS. BRING OUT THE FANGS WHICH BEAR THE MARK OF KEIKI-AMATSUMARA, THE FORGEMOTHER, AND SKEWER THIS DEMON WITH THEM. THEREAFTER, WATCH OVER HIM UNTIL HE IS DESTROYED. THAT IS ALL I ASK OF YOU."

"Very well," Zelsys agreed, calling forth Carnifex right away. She formed each of its True Fangs into a Fang Spear and, in one gesture, impaled the Third Truthseeker such that he was forced to remain in that same kneeling position. The man's eyes, despite his loss of the ability to resist, still burned with defiant will and hatred. Zel had to admire his tenacity if nothing else.

She sat down across from him, and waited. Victor pulled the Oculus out of the avatar's head, and leapt to the top of the northward pillar, where he placed the staff in the same upright position as its giant counterpart. The ritual was initiated by Victor chanting a single line in concert with the Avatar of Bishamonten.

At that moment, golden lightning illuminated Eberheim. The Third Truthseeker screamed out in a combination of pain and terror.