Human Sacrifice.
The act of offering a living person as an offering.
Since the time humanity began forming societies and the concept of religion was born, this alien ritual has evolved into a form that embodies the malice and madness of humans.
The Inca Empire had a magical ritual called capacocha, where children were sacrificed. In what is now referred to as the Middle East, newborns were reportedly thrown alive into stoves and burned. The Maya civilization also occasionally sacrificed children to the gods of the underworld out of belief that precious offerings were necessary for their gods.
In China, people were boiled alive as part of human sacrifices, and during the Shang Dynasty, the state itself presided over these rituals using prisoners as materials for sacrifices.
The worst period of human sacrifices within the Shang Dynasty was towards its end, where rites as horrific as throwing people into pits of venomous snakes or making them walk on heated copper pillars are said to have occurred.
Such horrifying human sacrifice rites were common worldwide.
In some places, people were thrown alive to crocodiles; in others, they were covered in iron chains and drowned in the sea for good harvests. Some were locked in closed rooms of shrines and starved to death as offerings to the deities. Infants born out of wedlock were similarly locked away and starved, turned into spirits called Zashikigurashi.
Religious reasons.
Magical reasons.
The madness of humans desiring the great cost that comes after these terrifying rituals.
The madness of humans that boils over at the sight of blood.
Human sacrifice is not a simple magical ritual but rather the embodiment of human malice and madness shaped into magical form.
Does human sacrifice encapsulate the malice and madness of humanity?
Or did the malice and madness of humanity create human sacrifices?
The term “human sacrifice” has become nearly taboo in modern times, with even mentioning it considered a blasphemous ritual.
Such an ominous word escaped not only from a demon’s mouth but also from Iserin’s.
“What? Human sacrifice? What… is that?”
Her face full of doubts, Iarin looked at Jinseong.
“Before any explanation, I have a few questions. So, Iarin. Have you ever seen this pattern?”
After staring at the drawing for a moment, Iarin shook her head.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Is that so? Let me narrow down the question. When you were going to meet your friend, didn’t you pass a fortune-teller’s tent? Was there a pattern like this one drawn on it?”
“Fortune-teller? No… wait, isn’t that place strange?”
Iarin showed signs of fear and unease, but Jinseong, seemingly satisfied with her answer, turned to Iserin and asked.
“Have you ever closely examined that fortune-teller’s tent?”
“Ah, no. I also went that way for the first time yesterday… And Ella and I aren’t that close…”
After hearing the sisters, Jinseong nodded.
‘At least these girls aren’t the main targets.’
Crom Cruach.
This was the name of the highest deity worshipped by the Gaelic people until the fifth century, and simultaneously, the name of the entity they feared the most.
Crom Cruach had many names—such as Cen Croich, Crom Dubh, and Crom Cruach. Most of these names carried horrifying and brutal meanings.
To name a few: the Twisted Hill, the Blood-soaked Mound, the Hill’s Head, the Blood-stained Sheaf of Grain, the Twisted Demon Covered in Blood, the Twisted Darkness, and the Blood-covered Black One.
Meanwhile, the title Cenn Cruaich or Cenn Croithi, which means ‘Head of All Gods,’ was less commonly used. Instead, names reflecting terror and fear were widely utilized.
This dreadful chief deity was responsible for fertility and the sun. It was believed that offering human sacrifice to this deity brought about immense harvests and warm sunshine, bringing peace to the people. However, over time, the Tuatha Dé Danann seized the symbol of the sun from this deity, leaving him solely as a fertility god.
This perverted idol’s only demand was the first born.
The first fruits of everything with life.
If fruits ripened, the first one.
If harvesting grain, the first piece.
The first beast hunted every season.
And the firstborn of humanity.
Among these, the most coveted by this twisted darkness were children born to humans, especially the youngest infants. As such, people would without distinction offer babies—both sons and daughters—to Crom Cruach right after birth. If there was no infant to offer, they’d decapitate the firstborn child and place it on the altar. Without even a firstborn to take, they’d invade other lands to kidnap and kill the firstborn.
According to the Irish place name legends known as Dinsenchas, the harm caused by these heinous, gory human sacrifice rituals was so severe that when farmers dug deeper into their fields, they’d uncover corpses that hadn’t decayed, with eyes wide open in hatred. Heads severed for rituals piled up like hills.
These hills of severed heads released all sorts of foul smells and cursed passersby with hateful words. The terrifying structure was said to have remained intact until the saint known as Sanctus Patricius, also known as Saint Patrick in English or Naomh Pádraig mac Calprainn in Ireland, came and dismantled it. This hero, who carried clover to spread Christianity and used a rabbit plant and a hammer to perform miracles, crushed the wicked and shattered the perverted idol.
‘Even though it demands the firstborn, twins have different symbolic meanings, so they likely don’t qualify as offerings.’
Jinseong glanced at his naïve younger sister, who had unknowingly stuck her head into a tiger’s mouth and then pulled it back out.
The human sacrifice ritual to Crom Cruach proceeds according to a strict procedure.
One part of this procedure is confirming the “qualifications” of the tribute.
This was a process to verify whether the kidnapped child from another tribe or the child taken from a pitiable villager who sought to avoid the sacrifice was indeed the firstborn.
For the sacrifice, it was essential to offer the firstborn; if not, instead of a bountiful harvest, droughts or calamities would follow. This confirmation was thus necessary.
And this is where the symbol of Crom Cruach was needed.
This symbol, hidden among other emblems, was specifically designed so that only the intended offering could recognize it.
A person who qualified as the firstborn and thus a suitable offering to the human sacrifice could perceive this hidden symbol.
Furthermore, the symbol was imbued with magical spells designed to suppress the spirit and induce sleep in the one who recognized it, thus making it easier to capture them.
In truth, seeing this symbol was tantamount to a death sentence.
Fortunately, his younger sisters couldn’t perceive the hidden symbol of Crom Cruach, nor were there any traces of other spells affecting them, so Jinseong could at least rest assured.
‘Dang… Damn… Damn it…’
But was Ella B Winter, his old companion and Iarin’s friend, also safe?
*
Jinseong’s explanation was brief.
The tent he noticed while visiting Ella’s house seemed suspicious, emitting a smell of blood. Upon examination, it was found to bear the symbols of a human sacrifice ritual, indicating that the diviner intended to use someone as an offering.
That someone could have been Iarin, Iserin, or Ella.
Yet, since Iarin and Iserin didn’t recognize the symbol, they were no longer potential offerings, leaving only the need to confirm Ella’s status.
The explanation was short, but it contained enough information for Iarin and Iserin to understand.
Iserin readily accepted Jinseong’s request.
But Iarin…
“Th-the rabbit! The rabbit is in danger!”
Her face gone pale, she was ready to dash towards Ella’s house.
Jinseong looked steadily at the agitated Iarin, spread his hands, and placed them in front of her eyes. Then he forcefully grabbed her face and began chanting a mantra.
“In pace in idipsum dormiam et requiescam quoniam tu, Domine, singulariter in spe constituisti me.”
After grabbing her face and chanting the invocation, Iarin’s expression turned peaceful, followed by her body going limp, and she fell into the bed as if drained of energy. Her eyes were also half closed, as if sleep was overtaking her.
Seeing this, Jinseong scolded her.
“You haven’t been practicing your martial arts properly. Training your body and cultivating energy are important, but so is training the mind.”
Iarin, who had tried to widen her eyes with worry about the rabbit, gave up and closed them immediately when Jinseong began his lecture.
“If your mental discipline was good, you would have been able to resist the drowsiness. No matter how animal-like your martial arts are, you should be able to resist at least this much….”
And with that, she simply fled.
Into the realm of sleep, where no nagging could reach her.
