Chapter 48: Sacrificial Altar

Daphne’s grip tightened around his arm. "You can’t," she said firmly. "You promised to save all of us. You can survive his attack. But them?"

She glanced at the terrified crowd behind him. "They won’t."

Gideon blinked as she was right. His gaze swept across the faces staring at him with fear and fragile hope. These people weren’t just survivors anymore, they were potential residents, and he would become their leader, his responsibility.

Henry was a problem, but not the priority. Not yet.

"Fine," he said, forcing his anger down. "We move together, and stay close. You guys can act terrified. Walk straight into the center of the nest."

"And after that?" someone asked, voice shaking.

"You don’t need to do anything," Gideon replied calmly. "The Devourer will eat the other group instead."

He opened the system interface while they began moving, slow and trembling, just convincing enough to look like proper bait.

The sand hadn’t trembled yet, meaning the Devourer was hiding somewhere. This makes the atmosphere tense.

[Do you want to purchase a shotgun and a rocket launcher with two boxes of ammunition for 5,000 Love Coins?]

’Yes.’

[Transaction successful. Items transferred to storage.]

Gideon pulled out the shotgun first and handed it to Aaron along with a box of shells. Aaron stared at the weapon, confused, but didn’t question it. There wasn’t time.

Across the sand, Henry’s group was already moving, veering to the right, trying to escape as planned.

Then the ground trembled. A low vibration pulsed beneath their feet as something massive began circling beneath the surface. The sand rippled outward in wide arcs.

Panic broke instantly.

"What do we do, Gideon?!"

"What’s the plan?!"

They clustered together instinctively, pressing against one another like livestock cornered by a predator.

Gideon stayed calm.

The Verdant Devourer emerged slowly, its enormous body breaking through the sand in a long, dark curve. Its scales looked like layered bark, rough and unbreakable, blending perfectly with the desert terrain.

Screams erupted.

"Don’t run!" Gideon commanded sharply. "Stay together!"

They obeyed. Aaron began loading the shotgun, but Gideon stopped him with a raised hand.

"Wait."

He pulled out the rocket launcher instead and rested it against his shoulder, sliding a round into place.

"So the bait didn’t work," he muttered. "Then I’ll make it work."

He aimed—not at the Devourer, but near Henry’s fleeing group—and pulled the trigger. The aberrant might be blind, but it wasn’t deaf.

BOOM.

The explosion shook the air. Sand erupted violently around Henry’s men, forcing them to stumble and scatter.

The Devourer roared.

But the roar wasn’t alone.

Another explosion tore through the air from behind them. The building they once stayed collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

"What the hell?!" Aaron shouted.

Gideon’s eyes snapped toward the falling structure.

That wasn’t his shot.

He realized instantly the explosion hadn’t been an accident. It came from Henry’s side.

The sand shifted violently as the Verdant Devourer changed direction and surged toward Henry’s fleeing group instead of Gideon’s. The pattern was too deliberate.

So that was it, his theory has been right. Henry and his men weren’t just opportunists. They were Scion of the Lord. They had walked this entire faction straight into a sacrificial altar.

Gideon turned back to the people behind him. "I’m teleporting you. All of you."

There was no point hiding anymore. If they accepted Daphne’s power, they would accept his.

"What about my grandpa?" Daphne asked immediately.

"I’ll bring him back," Gideon said without hesitation. "I’ll kill the aberrant and Henry."

In the distance, he saw the Freebound vehicles arriving, red flares shooting into the sky as signals.

"You’ll land near them," he continued. "Tell them to draw the Devourer’s attention. I’ll handle the rest."

He activated the scroll. Light burst outward, wrapping around the group as their bodies began to dissolve into shimmering fragments.

Then two figures tore themselves out of the teleportation field.

Daphne and Aaron reappeared in front of him.

"I’m not leaving without my grandpa," Daphne said firmly.

"You think I’ll run?" Aaron wiped the blood from his mouth and grinned. "Those bastards crushed my pride. I’m not done."

Gideon stared at them for a second before a low chuckle escaped him. "Fine. Just don’t slow me down."

"We won’t," they answered together.

Screams tore through the air. The Devourer had reached Henry’s group.

The three of them exchanged a glance and moved.

Gideon activated the universal buff from the system, feeling his entire body surge as every stat rose by twenty-five percent. The world sharpened. His muscles felt lighter, faster.

They reached the scene just as chaos exploded.

Henry’s followers were begging now, their loyalty shattered by fear as the Devourer devoured them one by one.

The massive creature launched itself into the air again, its bark-like body twisting under the sun before crashing down.

Through its scales, Gideon saw the horrifying shapes of hands and faces pressing outward, trapped alive inside its stomach.

"Scram!" Henry shouted at the survivors. "You chose this! You chose me! Become the offering for the glorious Devourer!"

His remaining men dragged victims forward and hurled them into the monster’s path like sacks of meat.

The Devourer surfaced again, its enormous head rising before Henry. It lowered itself slightly, as if acknowledging him.

"How is it?" Henry asked reverently. "Is the sacrifice enough?"

The creature didn’t speak, but its tongue slithered slowly from between its fangs. Henry nodded as if it had answered and as if he understood it.

"Eat the followers of Chaos," he commanded. "They’re here to nourish you. Then you will obey the Lord’s will and follow me!"

Gideon’s eyes narrowed.

So that was the connection. The sacrifices weren’t random. They were offerings.

’Is he controlling it? Is Henry a beast tamer?’

Henry’s remaining men suddenly dropped to their knees, chanting in unison.

"We are ready to meet the Lord of Chaos. Let the end of the world unite us in the afterlife."

They threw themselves forward willingly.

Gideon didn’t wait another second.

He lifted the rocket launcher onto his shoulder and fired directly at the Devourer’s eye.

The explosion tore into the creature’s face. It shrieked, thrashing violently as its massive head slammed into the sand.

Another rocket streaked past Gideon from behind him.

Then came the roar of mounted guns.

He turned.

Two vehicles raced toward the battlefield. Jade stood in one, weapon mounted and blazing.

Delilah and Freya were inside, faces tight with focus. In the second vehicle, Killian and Freebound’s members were already taking positions.

Reinforcements had arrived.

And the real battle was just beginning.