Demonic Devourer's Development

Chapter 81 - Devotees

Tasting fruits of cultist's labour was something I waited with anticipation and curiosity all the time Bishop spent to prepare my ceremonial greeting. The fruits of demon worshipping were usually bloody, and this attracted me—other kinds didn't give me EXP, even if they were delicious. 

The site of my cult—church—secret meetings was a good couple hours of walking away from the walls of Tinaris. It was a cave, dank and energisingly cold, but spacious enough to fit all my followers, all thirty-something of them. 

As they gathered in the hall lit up by many torches and candles, Bishop and some of his most devoted helped to set up. The uneven light of them created an atmosphere of mystery and something forbidden, additionally enhanced by pictures someone painted on the walls. I had no idea what they could've depicted with all the water damage, but they sure looked very demonic. 

To top this all off, a stone slab that served as an altar stood in the middle of the cave. A sacrifice that was tied up to it already, though, for now, covered by a piece of cloth—an ox. Yvenna already had time to express her disappointment that it wasn't a human, but now worked up anticipation again.

While the rest of the cultists gathered in their positions, I examined them from the shadows. They all wore dark robes, but the hoods didn't hide their faces. Their boring, bland faces and their eyes, most of them crazed with devotion (or just crazed. I was confident that you had to be at least a bit crazy to join a cult like that, no matter what it promised). Faces of simple peasants, most of them.

A few even now caught my eye with the snottiness that was came from, I was sure, their white bones and blue blood. This held them aside from most of the devotees, and closer to each other. I wondered if they were the ones Bishop wanted me to intimidate and impress the most. Well, I was ready to make them feel some shock and awe.

My inspection finished when Bishop walked out to the brightest part of the cave, from where his voice boomed through the entire place.

"My brothers and sisters. For so many years, have we known the truth of what was and what will be. It helped us move from the darkest times towards hope and reminded in the best times that they won't last forever. For many years, have we hidden from the law of the gods who don't deserve their titles—gods that exploited, corrupted, and tormented humanity for centuries, all while hiding under the guise of helping. Now, when our world began to, at last, fall down that slope they pushed it towards for so long, we kept warning everyone about it, and yet stayed as unheard of as before. Our hopes waned, and we prayed to the First God and his Chosen One to come and save us. And finally… Brothers and sisters, our prayers have been answered! Rejoice with me, as our messiah steps amongst us in all his unholy glory!"

I took it as my cue. With great flourish—and may burn whoever says that I know nothing about making an entrance—I descended from where I stuck myself to the ceiling, right to Bishop's side. The only clothing I wore for today was a set of pants, so as much of my inhuman features were open for everyone to see as possible.

My wings shimmered, my claws made of icy wind and magic, caught light, my stinger protruded, my hair was an eye-searing contrast of blue and red, a white cross on my chest showed, and the most of my best and worst feature—my transparent skin—was on the open.

"Yes, rejoice!" I grinned at the pale with terror faces of the cultists and watched as they fell to their knees at once. "Your Devourer, that's me! Time to serve me well in life, or I will decide that you are more useful to me as a dinner." Caught in the moment and their fear, shock and—indeed, it was there—awe, I cackled, flapping my wings, which raised me a half a meter off the ground before I noticed and put myself down.

"My lord," Bishop addressed me and gestured to a helper who silently took off the cloth from the ox. The animal blinked his stupid, docile eyes, oblivious to what was happening, "to celebrate your arrival, we have prepared a sacrifice in accordance to your preferences. Please, honour us by taking it, and letting us know that, however small is our input, we are helping you with saving our world and following the First God's will."

My cheer soured when he reminded about the First Asshole again, but food was food. "Sure. Watch and learn… what happens with those I chose would serve me best as a dinner."

With a single swipe of my claws, I severed the massive animal's spine. It didn't even had a time to moo, and its dead body was already falling on the ground. Then, with another grin at my devotees' expense, I leaned forward and dug my face into the warm flesh, gorging myself on meat, blood and whatever got crunched on my teeth between the two.

It was a messy manner of eating, but faster than actually using hands for it. The fact that by the end of my meal, I was covered in blood from head to toe was only a bonus. I caught the whiff of the acrid smell, and realised that someone in the crowd must've pissed himself.

"Did you like our sacrifice, my lord?" Bishop asked. He looked shaken as well, but also had an inspired blaze in his eyes.

I licked my lips and remembered the EXP notification. Bigger than just a cow, but not by much. "Decent. Sacrifices are good and all, but I can catch my food faster myself, anyway…" I looked around. "But if you still want to be useful for me, I have other things I want from you."