MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

[Warning: This chapter may contain actions or words that may affect the sensibility of believers of certain religions. In fact, I was pretty uncomfortable writing this chapter so I can only imagine what it would be for my readers. Do not read this chapter if you think this might impact you or make you feel any sense of discomfort. I intentionally made this a separate chapter so that it could be entirely skippable without missing much content along the way.]

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Looking at the ghastly pale body of his now dead wife of his, who had departed from this plane for the afterlife by his own hands, Kang Ho fell silent.

His previously pristine white robe, decorated in gold trimmings and the insignia of the golden cross, as well as the dagger on his hand, were still drenched in the warm blood of his wife.

This was how the ritual should have proceeded from the get-go. Killing Hae-Won had always been a necessary sacrifice for his ambitions to come to fruition but he had an unsavory feeling that he had gotten defeated somehow in this bout with his late wife.

He had expected many things, many reactions from his dear wife during this encounter. Crying and begging for her life in tears, screaming in agony and desperation to spare her life… Like so many humans did before her whenever it was time for them to start their journey to the underworld or afterlife as some call it.

The more regret, pain, desperation, and despair she felt during this act, the more powerful the effects of her sacrifice would have become as it would have fed on all her negative emotions and would have acted as fuel to further the progress of the ritual.

However, none of the expectations he had for this sacrifice was fulfilled, sad as that may be. Hae-Won did not beg. Nor did she leak out a single drop of tear or a voice of despair. She didn't curse nor did she wail in agony and desperation for her helplessness to prevent her demise.

She simply laughed at his face, mocked and humiliated him until her very last breath.

A part of him was unequivocally impressed by her dying performance.

Hae-Won had always been a rather timid woman and this was one of the reasons why the hypnosis had been so effective on her.

And the rest… was incredibly pissed off at what he had to go through…

Since he had now come to realize, after calming his wrath down, that… the man with whom she had fraternized and cheated on himself was the cause behind her sudden surge of confidence; totally unexpected for a timid woman like her.

A mixture of emptiness, unbridled rage, and wrath filled his heart for a split instant, threatening to leak out at any moment. But that feeling of instability and distress did not last for long.

He was someone destined for greatness and he would kill the man who dared to touch her wife later down the road.

For now though… He had a glorious purpose to achieve. One that would cement his ascension and his place as an apostle of his senior and lord. Once he obtained his acknowledgment, he would stop being a man and would become close to a godly entity.

"It's time."

He could feel it instinctively in the very depths of his mind and body, the time of reckoning was soon approaching…

The prayers of the devout believers in all-white went in a crescendo behind him and he approached his sleeping son.

This time, he did not make the mistake of waking him up.

He merely started chanting before him and then finally spoke…

"Bring in the sacrifice…"

One of the priests of the cult soon approached the body of the dead Hae-Won and tore her chest open with his bare hands, causing a sickening crunch and stench to fill the air as all her entrails were exposed to the air. Then, using his claws, he brought out her still-warm heart.

Taking said still-warm heart in his hands, Kang Ho closed his eyes and clenched his fingers around it, causing the blood that was left inside to spray on the body of his peacefully sleeping son, covering him from head to toe on the sprinkles of the blood of his very own mother.

Words were not enough to describe what that child would have felt if he had known what was happening to him right now or what was sprinkled on top of him by his own father.

But this is a necessary sacrifice. Only by using the body of the child carefully grown to become the perfect receptacle could this whole ritual even take place. Even then, this would only be enough to bring out one specific avatar of his god and master.

'Thank America for preparing the perfect ground and day for this ritual.'

He laughed inwardly before slowly quieting down his thoughts. The true ritual was starting and he would allow no intrusive thoughts to come and ruin it.

Everything needed to be absolutely perfect.

"I bring this sacrifice to the Father residing in the deepest darkness of the cosmos…"

He sang and twelve believers approached one after another and stood behind him… Not long after, they soon unsheathed the dagger in their belts and held it in their hands…

"My brothers and sisters. Are you ready for the finale of our long and arduous journey?"

"We are."

"Are you willing to give your everything to our lord and savior!?"

"We are!!!"

Kang Ho looked at them with heavy emotions in his eyes and face; like a father looking proudly at his child after they finally started to walk on the correct way toward their glorious goals.

"We pray today to bring our True Father from the depths of the prison he had been unjustly sent to by the false god and you! All of you! My dear brothers and sisters… will be the first cornerstone for the start of a new world order.

"You will be the first and most beloved by the side of our true Lord and Savior."

They started to weep into tears of joy and happiness, overwhelmed as they were by the magnitude of these deep emotions that were filling their hearts to the brim.

"'HE' is our lord and savior."

｢HE is our lord and savior.｣

"'HE' is the Light Bringer, the one that will bring us salvation."

｢HE is the Light Bringer, the one that will bring salvation.｣

"The defier and the poison of the unworthy gods."

｢The defier and the poison of the unworthy gods.｣

"...And we… are nothing more than the Torchbearer that will spread 'HIS' Gospel."

｢May HIS will fall upon us. May HIS will be realized. May HIS will illuminate the world full of Athens.｣

A large white-on-black pentagram appeared below them, depicting the head of a horned goat and the word Samael written in the middle of the five sides of the upside-down star. [1]

The body of Kang Ho's son started to float quietly in the air and at the same time, the atmosphere in the entire island started to undergo a drastic change.

The air became heavy and the moonlight changed from a beautiful silvery white to a deep bloody crimson.

The madness started to spread all around. The prayers of the believers became more fervent and some even started to spasm on the ground as if they were having a seizure. Some of the believers started bleeding from every part of their bodies as they looked at the moon but even then they never stopped their earnest prayers and chants to their Lord.

Finally… As the clock ticked and the date was about to change, Kang Ho smiled jovially.

"Thanksgiving is nearly upon us."

He spread his arms wide as if he wished to embrace the entire world.

"The most acclaimed day in this nation and a day filled with Lies and Betrayal."

The 12 chosen believers placed the dagger close to their necks in unison.

And finally…

When the clock exactly ticked…

00:00

They all slashed their own necks at the same time.

[Thursday — 28th November 2030]

"Let us welcome The Father of all Lies on this most auspicious day."

He was exhilarated as if he was finally about to reach the summit of success.

His goal had finally been accomplished.

At least… This was what he believed—

Until a golden light filled the skies and filled this space with the power of purification…

[Be Not Afraid]

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[1]: So the Church of Satan is actually a real church. In their original Pentagram, the name of Samael and Lilith are both inscribed.

The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, the church's High Priest until his death in 1997.

The representation I did here is not a representation of that church. I don't really know whether or not they do human sacrifice.

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(AN: A new week starts and I think I rested enough. Time to increase the gear. Let's do our personal mass release event again like last month.

1 dragon = 2 bonus chapters.

1 Castle = 5 bonus chapters

1 Gachapon= 8 Bonus chapters.

Finally, if I reach 10k unlock, even though I can't keep the 99% off next month, I will still keep 40% off for all tiers and 99% off for the highest tier.

Furthermore, I will increase the number of chapters available in the highest tier from 25 to 30.)