Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

912 Demonic Idols

"Something?" I wondered, tilting my head.

"Yes, this… This thing." Angelina said, taking out a wooden idol from her inventory, something that wasn't in the bag Erdrich handled to me.

It was a bizarre idol, carved out of crimson wood and covered on blood. It had the shape of a six-armed, three-headed, four-

legged human-like demon covered on flames.

The demon was sitting over a throne made of skulls and bones, and it had a single, giant eye in the middle of its long head, which ended on two insect-like antennae that were probably horns, actually.

"W-What the hell is that thing?" Rita asked.

Everyone that glanced at this idol felt a strange uneasiness. It emanated a cursed and demonic essence from within, something that just felt not right. It made the whole dinner feel heavier. I even experienced some nausea out of nowhere.

"This is apparently something called "Demon King Idol"…" Angelina said. "We have no idea what Demon King this even is, it doesn't look like the Miasma one nor the Death one. It is overall really bizarre."

"Um, so you wanted to just give that to Elayne?" Lily wondered, feeling a bit disturbed.

"A-Ah, no, not just that." Laughed Angelina. "I mean yes, that too. You're the ones investigating this whole thing and know much more than us. However, it was also because that woman that led the Shadows, she was very knowledgeable about Cursed Relics. And she said that this item had a very strong curse that can only be broken using Divinity."

"Divinity…?" I wondered. "But that Curse, do you think…?"

"We can't really say for sure, but it could be possible that this idol is some sort of special item, something that keeps or creates a connection between this Mortal Plane and Hell, where the Cultists draw their powers." Said Angelina. "I tried using my Holy Light on it, but nothing, it didn't even budge. Also no magic or weapons can harm this. We can store it inside the inventory, but the effects it has over the world still persists."

"Wait, this reminds me of the Idols we Druids make. Some cultists do the same for their demons?" Johanna wondered, rising an eyebrow.

"You're not wrong there!" I nodded. "It reminds me of the Idol the Druids made for me… Back home…"

Wait, if that Idol strengthened the existence of my own Domain in the world, and also made my connection with it and nature stronger. Then this Cursed Idol probably has a similar effect! Are the Cultists trying to bring forth a "Domain" from Hell itself? Is this their ultimate plan, or something else?

And then perhaps they're using the Miasma and Nether Powers from the two other Demon Kings to bring forth all these powers. All this horror… These demons, this bloodshed, all of it. Is this all a plan for them to spread the curse and make the Domain feel… stronger and clearer?

To make it real?

I know I'm making little sense right now, but it feels like we're finally getting somewhere. Whatever they're planning, it has to do with creating a Domain, perhaps in the same way I did to fight the Demons back on Earth, to summon it into the Luminous Kingdom.

I explained however I could what I meant to my friends. They somehow understood a bit and nodded.

"So that's it! Destroy the idol and then we can weaken their stupid plan!" Rita laughed out loud.

"Yeah, I mean, I was going to try." I nodded. "But what I mean is, this isn't the last one. I would guess they could have dozens more everywhere, if we want to stop their plan from coming to fruition, we need to find these."

"Then destroying or purifying it would be a bad idea right now…" Mark said. "We'll need the real deal at full power to locate the rest of the idols. After all, if they're truly the pillars of some sort of special Domain, then they have a connection between one another."

"That's right." I said. "But that also could be dangerous if we do it ourselves, even more if we separate. But if we go in big groups, it'll be way too obvious! This is a bit complicated…"

"Then how about we leave it to the Spirits themselves?" Johanna wondered. "You're a master of Spirits, just as a large group of them to sneak around and find the traces. Once we've secured where each trace is located, we'll take them down."

"I had considered that, yes." I nodded. "I'll need to spend a lot of Mana and I'll also require the assistance of more people. Especially those attuned with Spirits and Nature." I looked at her with puppy eyes.

"Really? Well… They were already willing to help and Lady Verdant also agreed so… Fine." Johanna nodded. "I'll go fetch granny and then we'll tell the rest of the Druids. How about we make the Ritual in the Druid Guild Building?"

"Sure! Sounds like a plan!" I nodded. "This'll be our best chance to weaken the cultists from the roots themselves."

Without further ado, we hurried up in our dinner and then ran towards the Druid Guild's Building. A dozen Druids were already waiting us inside, granny Austucia had already made a huge Ritual Circle with the specifics I had told Johanna about.

"You're here! Hurry! Let's begin right away. The better we can weaken those damned demon worshipers, the better!" Granny Austucia was very happy to see us.

"Alright guys let's do this. Angelina, Anikitty, Gandalf, you're joining the Ritual Circle too. Your Mana and connection with Spirits and Holiness is good enough." I invited them into the whole thing.

They were a bit overwhelmed after greeting so many Druid NPCs they had never seen before but cooperated without issues. After all, this was also something convenient for them. Completing this World Quest was the reason their Guild Alliance was made to begin with.

"All's ready…" Austucia said.

"Then let's begin." I nodded.

FLAAASH!

My Spiritual Aura and Mana fused with the ritual circle, everyone's Mana pathways combining together and interconnecting into a sea of pure Spiritual Essence.

And the idol, right in the middle of this ritual circle, started letting out sparks of red demonic energy.

My eyes expanded into every horizon possible, as I saw it.

Four other connections, four more idols to go.