---

The ritual circle flashed with a dark red light.

Yael who was in the center of the ritual circle had a very maniacal expression. The tribal markings on his body floated away from his body and encircled the basin full of blood. Those marks then absorbed the blood on the basin a visible speed and once the blood were all absorbed, the markings neatly arranged themselves in a circular formation.

A crack appeared on the middle of the circular formation, wind whistled and the crack revealed a tear on space that soon covered the entire circular formation.

The Blood Ritual: Devil's Cradle was finished, Raven knew that it was too late, he couldn't do anything to close the two-way portal any longer, unless he was enlightened with the mysteries of Space Laws, there's no way for him nor anyone to close this portal, they could only wait until it naturally closes on it's own and based on how many sacrifices Yael gave, this portal will last for a while.

It also didn't help that the effects of Berserk Trigger Pill was now over, Raven felt his body ache too much as he was reminded just how reckless he had been during this fight. It had to be known that he was proficient in wielding the Archaic Thousand Arms Hammer just yet, but he wantonly used it since the need arises.

Raven could feel his arms were swelling and throbbing due to his recklessness, the webbings between his thumbs and forefinger were also bleeding. His legs were about to give up on him as well, Raven is now only standing due to sheer will, he just couldn't back down right now.

Being quick with his actions, Raven took out some recovery pills from his spatial ring and shoved them onto his mouth. Normally, he would sit down and digest these pills properly in order to not leave any hidden injuries nor impurities on his body, but he didn't have that option currently so he could only do his best.

Thankfully, Yael is also spent due to him supporting the ritual on his own. This gave ample time for Raven to recover some of his energies and cure some of the more dangerous wounds on his body. In his current state, Raven had no confidence on taking on, even the weakened, Yael at all.

Unfortunately, even if Yael won't be a problem for a while, there are some people who would take his place. And by some, it means the army of Black Curtain Guild who were now coming out of the portal one by one.Raven will never mistake their identities. The thick smell of evil that emanated from their bodies. Their faces covered with masks along with a dark veil. Even if he closed his eyes, he would be able to pick them out. He watched as their numbers grew with a solemn face.

He was forced to watch until the estimated number of the guild members reached hundreds, closely reaching to a thousand strong people. A dense shrill aura covered the whole room, it was like a beacon that announced that the Black Curtain Guild was here.

Out of these great number of people, there are some who's auras raised an alarm in Raven's consciousness. Without a doubt, these are the highly ranked members in the guild, the Emissaries.

Raven encountered one of them before, precisely the Fifth Emissary. He remembered doing a considerable damage on him which should've killed him, but looking at it now it seems that it wasn't quite enough since the Fifth Emissary was alive and kicking.

"Here we thought that you forgot our appointment, but it seems that you encountered some trouble. Isn't that right Yael?"

One of the Emissaries chided the weakened Yael. The latter didn't even have the energy to be upset with him and only said: "Some trouble my ass. That little shit nearly stopped the ritual altogether."

"Hoh?" The Emissary curiously followed where Yael was pointing and his gaze landed on a little brat who was holding a bloody hammer. The Emissary raised his brow and asked: "Seriously? A little brat like him caused you this much trouble? Aren't you getting more and more useless?"

"Look around you idiot!" Yael fired back, "See how many of my people are dead! Then you will obviously understand what I mean."

Now that he pointed this, the people of the Black Curtain Guild curiously looked around and saw the amount of destruction that happened here.

The ground was in shambles, pieces of boulders with bits of flesh and limbs were scattered everywhere. The saw dead bodies of Yael's forces scattered around this brat yet he was still standing and even emanating sheer hostility while looking at them.

The Emissary who chided Yael earlier couldn't help but to inspect the little soldier brat closely. He did it not because of Yael's words but because he thought that he awfully looked familiar. However, no matter how close he inspected, he just couldn't remember who he was properly, all he knew is that he felt a great irritation as he looked at his face.

Raven's eyes met the curious gaze of the Emissary, he silently spread his sense on this person's body and he immediately recognized him. A wide sneer appeared on Raven's face as he straightened his body and said:

"Long time no see, Fifth Emissary. I trust that your soul was healed properly, no?"As soon as he said these words, the Fifth Emissary's eyes widened under his mask as he shakily raised his finger and pointed at him.

"You! I remember now! You were that little shit who injured me before!" The Fifth Emissary growled ferociously which stunned the members of the Black Curtain Guild.

Raven grinned widely as he neither confirmed nor denied his claim. Nevertheless, the Fifth Emissary was correct anyway. It has been a couple of months since that incident happened but the Fifth Emissary could still vividly remember that event like it just occurred yesterday.

Explaining how much pain he felt back then would be difficult to do. If anything, to him it felt like his body was being divided by a metal saw in half, it burns yet it chilled his entire body frozen. He remembered not being able to speak properly for the first few days after that incident due to how painful that was, no one knew what happened to him since he can't talk nor hear them at all. It was a very traumatic experience that still haunts him in his sleep.

This is why without even wasting a single moment. The Fifth Emissary howled and released his aura. Pieces of armor appeared in his body, each of them were tinged with a dark red hue and had carvings akin to wailing and writhing souls.

Along with his howl, a sad and shrill aura suddenly descended on to the room. From the bodies of hanged people above, ethereal creatures emerged. Every single one of them took after the faces of the bodies they came from, albeit radiating shrill and evil aura.

Raven didn't even need to analyze what happened. He knew that the Fifth Emissary just roused the souls of the dead from their graves in order to deal with him.

A somber expression reached Raven's face, he needed to do something before the souls of the innocent gets anchored by the natural laws and become specters or vengeful souls.

He roused his blood essence, his longevity in other words, use the forbidden technique one again. He spat out a glob of blood essence which drained at least five years of his life and with it, a strange symbol emerged. Raven clasped his hands together and quickly chanted an incantation despite his exhaustion washing over him. As the souls nearly subliminated, Raven finished his technique and the symbol from his blood essence turned into a wide array that illuminated the whole room.

With a benevolent heart, Raven roared: "First Holy Word: Salvation!"

The array's light intensified, it released a strong yet gentle light which made all the souls stop from their tracks. All of them looked up, as they basked in that gentle light, the evil aura that corroded their nature disappeared entirely which caused a tremendous backlash for the Fifth Emissary.

"Depart in peace." With one last prayer, the array flared once more and the souls disappeared one by one. Before they departed from the mortal world, they expressed their silent gratitude for what Raven did for them.

Blood seeped out from the Fifth Emissary's lips, he harshly glared at this brat in front him. He mentally cursed every single fiber of his body and couldn't help but to think that Raven was the bane of his existence.

Out of nowhere, a flash of light passed through the Fifth Emissary and went directly towards Raven. This attack caught him unprepared which caused Raven to fly backwards while spitting out blood. The Fifth Emissary looked behind him as looked at who sent the attack.

"I didn't ask for your help." The Fifth Emissary coldly said.

The Fourth Emissary shrugged and said: "I didn't have to help if you've killed him already."

"YOU EVIL SPAWN! YOU DARE TO HARM MY SON! THIS OLD MAN WILL END YOU!"