“So, what’s your plan?”
Katherina looked at Leon seriously.
As a qualified priest, she needed to first assess the feasibility of what he called his plan.
Besides, she remembered the strange question Leon had asked her yesterday.
Leon didn’t hesitate.
He took out the forbidden book and handed it to Katherina.
The young priestess quickly flipped through its pages.
As time passed, her expression grew increasingly shocked.
Suddenly, she looked up sharply, casting a soundproofing spell with a wave of her hand.
Her face turned deathly pale as she demanded, “Who gave you this?!”
To her, this was unquestionably a dark tome, and the fact that Leon had gotten his hands on it likely meant he had been in contact with cultists.
Such things were strictly forbidden in the Empire.
If anyone else found out, the punishment would start at the death penalty!
“I found it,” Leon said.
He hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from the priestess and had no good explanation ready.
“Tell me the truth, or no one can save you,” Katherina said gravely.
Seeing the priestess didn’t believe him, Leon felt helpless.
He couldn’t say it fell from the sky, so he just went along with her suspicions: “A beggar gave it to me. He said this book would be useful to me, then just left.”
Katherina’s expression turned to one of “I knew it.”
“Where is this beggar? Where did you meet him?”
Leon shook his head.
“In the slums. I never saw him again after that.”
“Are there still remnants of cultists in the slums…”
Katherina muttered, then turned back to Leon.
“The things written in here must never be used. It’s all dark magic!”
Leon frowned.
“But you just agreed to help me.”
The priestess was momentarily speechless.
She did agree, but who could have guessed the method he showed her was from a forbidden cult book?
Seeing Katherina silent, Leon quietly explained, “Don’t worry, I have no intention of sacrificing innocent people. It describes a small-scale sacrifice ritual, only enough for one person…”
At that, Katherina immediately understood what Leon intended.
She looked up, eyes wide with shock.
“You want to sacrifice yourself to her?!”
“No, Sylph wouldn’t agree to that. If you died, she’d definitely go insane!”
Leon twitched the corner of his mouth and hurriedly added, “That’s not what I mean. This ritual isn’t a one-time sacrifice…”
He briefly explained the process of the Life Drain ritual to Katherina, then sighed helplessly.
“I just want to buy Sylph some time and then look for other solutions. See, I’m not using this to harm anyone else. So, can you help me?”
Leon’s tone was sincere, and with his explanation, Katherina understood how important Sylph was to him.
She recalled what her teacher once told her: a priest’s duty is to save lives.
Taking a deep breath, she put the book away and warned seriously, “I understand. I will help you. But you can’t keep this book, and you can’t tell anyone about this.”
Seeing Katherina relent, Leon immediately nodded.
He didn’t want to make things complicated, but carving magical runes into his body required extremely precise mana control—something he wasn’t capable of yet.
And the only high-level professional he knew was Katherina.
“Sylph’s condition has stabilized for now and won’t erupt anytime soon. I need to study the ritual steps carefully,” Katherina explained, noticing the urgency in Leon’s eyes.
Leon nodded.
“I understand. If you need to test, you can use my body.”
He had to make sure everything went perfectly.
He could endure the pain if the ritual failed during practice, but Sylph might not survive it.
The best way was for the priestess to practice on him until she was proficient.
“You… okay then,” Katherina said, a complex look crossing her face as she saw Leon’s calm expression.
Even she couldn’t help but envy Sylph for having such a brother.
She looked toward the nearby clean bed and pointed, “Take off your clothes and lie face down.”
“Huh?”
Now it was Leon’s turn to be stunned.
“Come on, no dawdling.”
Katherina was already in work mode.
Seeing Leon hesitate, she furrowed her brow and was ready to take matters into her own hands.
“Cough, cough, I can do it myself,” Leon quickly backed away and turned his back to undress.
“Hmph, I’ve seen plenty of naked bodies before, no need to be shy now.”
Katherina snorted lightly but then focused her attention on the magical runes in the book.
She wasn’t making Leon undress for any improper reason.
Direct skin contact made mana control more precise and increased the success rate.
Unfortunately, Leon didn’t know this little fact, or he wouldn’t have foolishly tried so many times during the simulation over his clothes.
“You can talk to me to distract yourself. It might hurt a bit,” Katherina said.
Leon, now shirtless and lying down, nodded at her words.
“I’ve always been curious—what exactly is a cult?”
Katherina’s right hand already rested on Leon’s back.
The slightly cool and delicate touch made him feel a bit ticklish, but soon, a surge of mana flowed into his body.
The pain, like ant bites spreading all over, immediately swept through him.
He clutched the bedsheet tightly.
“You probably don’t know much about it. The cults were mostly eradicated years ago. Generally, their main feature is worshiping dark gods,” Katherina explained, her fingers gliding over Leon’s back.
“There are four of them: [Lust], [Terror], [Greed], and [Decay]. Just from the names, you should be able to imagine what kind of beings they are.”
“Ugh… hmm.”
Leon’s face twisted in pain.
He realized he had overlooked one point: his simulated body stats were peak tier six, but now, he wasn’t even considered a knight!
This pain was several times worse than what he’d endured in simulations.
“Have you heard about the Duke’s Rebellion ten years ago, regarding the cult’s harm?”
Leon’s expression stiffened.
That rebellion was the main cause of him and his sister becoming displaced.
Their parents died during the suppression.
Could it be…
Seeing Leon’s interest, Katherina continued, “That’s right. The rebellion involved cultists, apparently followers of [Terror]. They tried to spark a war inside the Empire to sacrifice to their dark lord.”
Leon silently took note of this information.
He and his sister always believed their parents were falsely accused during that rebellion.
They had been searching for clues all these years but found nothing—until now, hearing this vital information from Katherina.