Demon's Virtue-Chapter 808: Ritual Preparation

Eiro got to the humans' village, and was immediately greeted on its outskirts. Rather, there were so many people trying to stop him that Eiro found it a little cute. They were trying to stop him from getting further into the village and seeing the town as it was right now. And of course, it made sense to some degree. They still didn't quite understand the degree of Eiro's senses, it seemed. He was already aware of all the decoration and tables set up for some kind of 'feast' later on.

A few different monsters were also in this village and helping out. It seemed like this planned ritualistic sacrifice was a pretty big help to bring people and monsters together here. That was good to know; incredibly so. Maybe Eiro should try and introduce the monsters to different large holidays spread throughout not just Skyhart but the entire continent. That could bring everyone together a lot more easily. Probably.

"It's fine, it's fine," Eiro said with a smile, pushing past the group that was trying to block him, "I already know what's going on here."

With those words spoken, the villagers looked at each other, clearly dejected and a bit nervous about what this meant. But the demon figured that this would be their reaction, "No worries, I'm still incredibly happy that this is something you even wanted to do."

He walked through the group, patting a few of them on the shoulder. As he walked past them, Avalin smugly looked down at everyone from her father's arms, while Leon was just curled up and yawning, his eyes closed. He felt a bit bad, but Eiro was trying to keep him up a bit. The amount of sleep that he needed stabilised a bit more around the 12-13 hour range, but the times that he slept were completely random. So, he was trying to keep Leon's naps to a minimum so that he could actually sleep through the night with everyone else.

Beyond the village in one of the fields, some earth mages had set up a large stone platform. A dozen pillars were set up in a circle, while grooves were carved into the ground that were painted with a deeply floral-smelling paint. In the centre were Gobu and Marius, speaking to each other about the plans. Specifically, Gobu was explaining what else was needed, while Marius was explaining what everyone had prepared to contribute thus far.

With a slight smile on his face, Eiro winked down at the excited Avalin, and held a finger in front of his mouth while veiling himself and the two kids in deep stealth. Excitedly, Avalin pressed her hands in front of her mouth to stop her giggles from escaping, while Eiro walked up behind the two leaders.

"-and we even got a promise from the molemen that they were going to bring part of their insect and rare metal stocks for the ceremony. The trolls are giving up some meats and hides, and some of the town craftsmen decided to create a specific piece to be sacrificed."

Gobu nodded his head as he listened to Marius's explanation, tapping his foot on the ground while thinking about all of this, "I see, I see… With everything, it should amount to quite the amount of power for our lord. We'll have each race's representative act as the conduit for the sacrifice."

"Hm? Conduit? What's that mean?" Marius asked, clearly a bit concerned, as he hadn't heard of this before now. Gobu let out a slightly annoyed groan.

"It means that all the representatives will come together and chant the ritualistic incantation together to activate the sacrificial ritual. Since you are the representatives acknowledged by the one who is being sacrificed to, plus the ones the sacrifices come from, there is close to no loss in the conversion. It's simply a matter of efficiency," Eiro tuned in and explained, barely letting go of his stealth. To not just Marius, but even Gobu, Eiro wasn't even there. They heard his words and comprehended them, but neither could fully acknowledge who they came from. It just seemed natural that there was some disembodied voice giving this explanation. Avalin could really barely contain her laughter at this point.

Gobu nodded, "Mhm, exactly that. Don't worry, I have made sure that everyone is able to properly recite the incantation, as long as they are able to speak in the first place."

"And what about the ones that can't speak? The harpies were apparently also hoping to present some items, but the harpy queen can't use words. And the incantation is in a demonic tongue, right?"

"Oh, that's not going to be a problem. The demonic language is one that even lower-tier demons can't pronounce, let alone non-demons or humans," Eiro started to explain, "There are some bastardisations that still work just as well. There's a slight loss, but as long as the intent behind the words is there, that's enough. The demonic language is a rather raw and guttoral thing. It's been around since the Demon King first fell from grace. He created it while entranced in his deep, primal anger over receiving the punishment he did."

Well, technically the demonic language turned into what it was because the Demon King is a being beyond total comprehension and has no need to stick to simple, logical words. The demonic language is already just a bastardisation that came from the fact that the first demons needed a way to interpret the king's 'words'.

"Yes, that is…" Gobu started, nodding along, when a shiver ran over his spine. Eiro knew that he should notice sooner or later. Being his servant, if it took any longer, Eiro would have been quite annoyed. The hobgoblin turned around and stared at the figure in front of him, lowering his head and slightly bowing forward, "My lord! I-I wasn't aware that you were here! I can explain, I just-"

Eiro smiled lightly, grabbing the book Gobu was holding. He flicked his wrist and quickly summoned a pen. Not the 'Author's Pen', of course, but just a regular writing instrument. He flipped the book open and started making some changes, "No worries, I'm just fixing a few things here and there. The ritual that you are preparing is wrong. Or rather, if you do it like this, a good fifth of your offering to me will end up with the lord of the pit fiends, with apparently some fractions going to… the lord of incubi and the lord of the spined devils. I guess the rituals mixed together a bit over time…"

Gobu nervously stared at the demon in front of him, "Wh-What do you mean, my lord?"

"Demonology is riddled with tricks and false methods so that the different demon lords can take some control. I have developed my own patterns to safeguard the sacrifice. That way, the entirety of your sincerity will be felt by me and me alone," Eiro smiled, returning the ammended book.

"Oh- I wasn't aware, my apologies…"

"Barely anyone is, don't worry," the demon smiled, looking over at Marius, who seemed to be completely taken aback by Eiro's sudden appearance. The human man was just staring at the kids that he was carrying in his arms. Figuring that Eiro should explain, he quickly smiled down at the kids.

"Marius, these are my youngest children, Avalin and Leon," he said, and Avalin quickly grinned and waved at Marius.

"I-It is a pleasure to meet the young lady and lord," Marius slightly bowed his head, but Eiro sighed and shook his head.

"Don't do that, it's going to get to Avalin's head," he pointed out jokingly, "I believe you already met my paramour and her daughter earlier."

"Ah, yes, how do you-"

Gobu sighed, "Our lord knows everything that goes in this town, Marius. That's why there was never any sense in trying to keep this ritual a secret," he pointed out while checking the changes that he was going to need to make in order to make this ritual still work out.

"I… see. Uhm… My lord, if you do not mind me asking, but…" Marius looked at the children, and Eiro realised what the problem was. Of course, the confusion made sense.

Ariella appeared angelic to Marius, and Hannah had a human appearance as long as you didn't notice her wooden features. Avalin was a girl that exuded a sort of holiness noticable even while she was wearing her contacts and sealing bracelets, and Leon was very clearly a beastkin.

"They're not my children by birth, if that wasn't obvious already. But they are my children through and through, and I will fight the gods if they dare say otherwise," Eiro smiled, rubbing his daughter's cheek while Leon nuzzled deeper into the demon's chest, "My other kids are also running around this town somewhere, but they are old enough to be on their own. I will introduce you at the ritual later tonight."

Marius still seemed a bit confused. He was clearly still mentally catching up to the 'fight the gods' comment, when another realisation came to him, "You will stay here for the ritual?"

Eiro nodded immediately, "Of course. Why would I miss it?"