Chapter 205: Dark Ritual, Cersei Humiliated

In the Throne Room, Joffrey Baratheon sat upon the fearsome Iron Throne, wearing a crown fashioned of iron. Atop Joffrey Baratheon's crown, a roaring lion of pure gold and a crowned stag of silver leaped; on his golden silk robes, one hundred stags and lions danced.

Before long, Joffrey Baratheon could not bear the weight of the crown, so he removed it and placed it upon the Iron Throne.

Once the crown was removed, the horrific scar on Joffrey Baratheon's scalp was fully exposed—a lightning-shaped scar oozing pus and blood. It was the terrible wound left by the giant eagle of the Wolf King Eddard, which had torn Joffrey Baratheon's scalp; it was precisely this scar that made it impossible for Joffrey Baratheon to wear the crown for long.

Joffrey Baratheon sat at the peak of the fearsome Iron Throne, while at the entrance to the steps of the Iron Throne, the Kingsguard Nurus and Black Kong Tabit stood guard on the left and right, respectively.

To demonstrate piety toward the Great Other, Cersei had already announced that the shields of the Kingsguard must be engraved with skull emblems, and that the Kingsguard must abandon the faith of the Seven and convert to the faith of the Great Other.

Because the Kingslayer Jaime had been fighting in the Westerlands for a long time, and ever since Ser Barristan and Ser Arys Oakhart had left, the Kingsguard had completely degenerated into Cersei's lackeys, devoid of any honor; faced with the orders of the Regent Queen Cersei, these Kingsguard in name only were quite happy to comply.

Cersei sat on a pure gold throne to the right below the Iron Throne, symbolizing her noble status as Regent Queen; she wore an ivory-colored lace gown, beautiful and dignified, smelling entirely of rose perfume.

Death Storm and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen drove seven people into the Throne Room.

Among these seven people, a hired knight, a white-haired old crone, a young Silent Sister dressed in black, a blacksmith from Iron Street, a pregnant woman, a little girl of only about twelve years old, and a septon were brought into the Throne Room. Every person's face was filled with fear.

Cersei recognized that this septon was Septon Lucan, the seventh son of Lord Walder.

Back then, when Cersei sent the Black Robe Army and the necromancer Ogbeta to coerce the fat High Septon into publicly declaring the Seven to be false gods and destroying the statues of the Seven in Baelor's Sept, Septon Lucan and many members of the Church did not dare to openly oppose it, but private complaints were inevitable.

Septon Lucan looked much like a weasel, a typical feature of the Frey family's appearance. He was over fifty years old with graying hair; was he praying devoutly, or was he using prayer to mask the unease in his heart? Old thing, if you are truly so devout, then sacrifice yourself to your Seven and defend your faith in the Seven with your life!

In the middle of the Throne Room was a dark artifact, a skull cauldron, inside which boiling blood and white bones were cooking, surrounded by seven iron pillars engraved with the images of the Seven.

Yet, the images of the Seven were each hideous and terrifying.

The Father had a large hole in his neck, blood trickling out, and his golden scales were filled with corpses, skulls, and bones.

The Mother's eyes were weeping blood, appearing extremely sorrowful.

The Maiden was being defiled by a group of wights, her expression wanton like a prostitute from Silk Street.

The lantern in the Crone's hand had turned into a skull lantern, emitting an eerie blue light.

The Warrior gripped a skull sword and a bone shield, looking like a combination of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Death Storm.

The Smith's anvil was piled with corpses, brains, and blood; he was hammering away, killing all life.

The Stranger exuded an aura of death from his entire body, and his smile was terrifying.

The dragon skull of House Targaryen gazed at all of this with empty eyes.

Death Storm brandished a warhammer and ordered Septon Lucan, the old woman, the blacksmith, the little girl, the Silent Sister, the hired knight, and the pregnant woman to kneel; the seven knelt one after another.

The necromancer Ogbeta, in a gray robe, gripped a skull scepter, his body hunched, his pitch-black lips and filthy teeth revealing a horrific smile.

"Your Grace Joffrey, Regent Queen Cersei, only by executing these people who worship the false Seven can we collect magical power and use the dragon remains to summon an ice dragon!"

The seven people were sweating profusely from fear; Ogbeta made a gesture, and Death Storm dragged Septon Lucan over to the boiling dark artifact.

Septon Lucan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with rough, pale palms and said, "Your Grace, Regent Queen, we are innocent."

A blue light flashed in Cersei's eyes. "Septon Lucan, you worship false gods and use the false Seven to swindle money from the good men and women of the world; how could you be innocent?"

Septon Lucan said, "Regent Queen Cersei, you are of House Lannister, and I come from House Frey; House Frey is a relative of the Lannisters. My second brother, Emmon Frey, married your aunt Genna Lannister; we are true relatives!"

Cersei smiled. "Septon Lucan, you still know how to claim kinship with me, which proves you are a smart man. If you are willing to renounce your faith in the false Seven and convert to the Great Other before the Iron Throne and the dragon remains, I can spare your life."

Septon Lucan stroked his chest. "Regent Queen Cersei, what if I refuse?"

The answer came from the necromancer Ogbeta. "Septon Lucan, if you dare to refuse, then I will admire your courage, and then use a skull dagger to dig out your heart. Your corpse will be thrown into the dark artifact to be boiled and used to refine dark magic! Your flesh, blood, and soul will become part of the ice dragon and be reborn in the world of men!"

Septon Lucan said without hesitation, "I am willing to abandon my faith in the Seven, I am willing to convert to the Great Other, and I am willing to develop believers for the Great Other!"

Cersei nodded solemnly. "You are worthy of being Lord Walder's son. Lord Walder is nicknamed 'The Late'; although late, he always arrives at the right position eventually, and you are the same."

Prince Rhaegar Targaryen presented a black robe adorned with skulls; Septon Lucan took off his white septon's robe, put on the black robe, and formally converted to the faith of the Great Other.

Cersei needed someone like Septon Lucan, who could put on a show and was glib, to propagate the Great Other; after all, relying solely on violent coercion could not develop believers on a large scale. Cersei needed to establish a church for the Great Other so that she could preach widely across Westeros in the future.

Sitting on the Iron Throne, Joffrey Baratheon stroked his crossbow; he was somewhat disappointed to see Septon Lucan convert to the Great Other.

"Since this guy has converted to the Great Other, does that mean I can't shoot him with my crossbow?"

Cersei said, "Joffrey, we cannot harm those who are willing to convert to the Great Other."

Joffrey Baratheon flared his nostrils. "Isn't it said that slaughter and blood are what please the Great Other? If these fools all convert to the Great Other, won't I have no way to go on a killing spree?"

Ogbeta revealed a sycophantic smile. "Your Grace Joffrey, please be patient. There are plenty of heretics in this world who worship false gods; there will always be fools willing to sacrifice themselves for false gods."

The second person dragged to the dark artifact was an old woman over seventy years old.

Cersei stared at the old woman. "What is your name, and where are you from?"

The old woman's toothless mouth trembled. "My name is Mary, from Flea Bottom; I work as a kitchen helper in the brown soup canteen."

Ogbeta said, "Mary, the fact that you eat chaff and swallow vegetables in Flea Bottom is all because the false Seven never protected you. As long as you abandon your faith in the Seven and convert to the great Great Other, you and your descendants will live a good life."

The old woman Mary spat a thick glob of phlegm onto Ogbeta's face. "I have never worked for the Church, nor am I fanatical about the Seven, but the Mother gave me seven strong children, the Warrior protected my children, and the Maiden protected my daughters' virginity."

"Some septons and septas of the Church are morally corrupt and hypocritical, but the Church still has many good people—the brothers of the Beggar Brotherhood, the preaching prophets, and the Silent Sisters help the people of King's Landing and everywhere else get through hard times. Asking me to abandon the Seven and convert to your evil Great Other is impossible!"

Cersei said angrily, "You dare to blaspheme the Great Other; I see you are tired of living."

The old woman Mary glared at Cersei. "You are nothing but the Kingslayer's whore, and Joffrey is nothing but a bastard born of your adultery with the Kingslayer. The Lannisters murdered King Robert Baratheon, and the bastard king stole the Iron Throne. When Stannis and the Wolf King Eddard arrive at King's Landing, you and your children will not escape death. Righteous people will wrap the corpses of you and your bastard children in a shroud and carry them out of the Throne Room!"

Joffrey Baratheon walked down from the Iron Throne in a huff. "This old hag actually dares to call me a bastard!"

The crossbow fired, and the bolt pierced the old woman Mary's heart. The old woman Mary fell to the ground, and the Kingsguard Nurus and Black Kong Tabit nearby lifted the corpse and threw it into the boiling dark artifact; the old woman Mary's corpse was boiled together with the other corpses and skulls.

Subsequently, Death Storm and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen escorted the hired knight to the side of the dark artifact.

The hired knight wore filthy leather armor, had a lame leg, and was gaunt.

The necromancer Ogbeta said, "What is your name, and where are you from?"

The hired knight said proudly, "I am from Bitterbridge, Ser Pate of Bitterbridge."

Joffrey Baratheon squinted. "You in these rags are a knight too? You're probably a fake!"

Cersei said gloomily, "Ser Pate, I know that in the Riverlands and the Reach, many commoners like to name their children Pate because of Pate the Pig Boy. As a knight, you are merely a hired knight; without a doubt, your faith in the Seven has made you a total failure. Kneel down and announce your renunciation of the faith of the Seven and become a servant of the Great Other, and I will make you a true knight!"

Pate of Bitterbridge said disdainfully, "A dark knight, you mean? I am a penniless hired knight, wandering from place to place, sleeping under hedges and in the wilderness; without a doubt, compared to the noble Kingsguard, I am nothing. But compared to these Kingsguard who have abandoned their faith in the Seven and are utterly shameless, I, Pate, am the true knight!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the Kingsguard beside Cersei; they were all dressed in finery, their cloaks as white as jade.

Ser Meryn Trant, with a beard like rust, threatened to slaughter Pate; Mandon Moore, with dead fish eyes, threatened to gouge out Pate's heart; the short Ser Preston Greenfield cursed incessantly; and the pot-bellied Boros Blount announced he would slaughter Pate for the Great Other.

Nurus, who had flame tattoos on his neck, and the tall and strong Summer Islander Black Kong Tabit, glared at Pate with hateful eyes.

Pate of Bitterbridge said: "The Kingsguard once had great Knights like Aemon the Dragonknight, the Sword of the Morning Arthur Dayne, the White Bull Gerold Hightower, and the fearless Barristan; now, they have actually become such a group of rats. You bastards, you smeared Holy Oil to become White Knights, yet you actually desecrate these white cloaks."

"May the Warrior slay every evil servant of the Great Other, may the Father judge your fallen souls, may Stannis, the Wolf King Eddard, and all the righteous people of the world destroy your evil gods! The bastard king will never sit on the Iron Throne!"

The Undead wizard Ogbeta said to Joffrey: "Your Grace, Pate of Bitterbridge desecrates the true Great Other and attacks Your Grace; Your Grace may proceed."

Joffrey poutingly fiddled with his Crossbow and shot Pate of Bitterbridge to death; Pate's corpse was thrown into the Dark Artifact to be boiled in boiling water.

In the subsequent trial, the little girl from Silk Street, the Smith from Iron Street, and the pregnant woman all refused to renounce their faith in the Seven; they were all shot to death by Joffrey with his Crossbow. Joffrey even dragged the formed fetus out of the pregnant woman's belly and threw it into the Dark Artifact.

The last person to be questioned was a Silent Sister.

Joffrey held the Crossbow and aimed at a Silent Sister. The Silent Sister was less than twenty years old; she was slender and frail, dressed in black, with a black hood covering her head and face, leaving only two black eyes exposed, which were filled with fear.

The Undead wizard Ogbeta said: "This sister, I know that the Silent Sisters worship the Stranger among the Seven, and the Stranger symbolizes death. In fact, to put it plainly, the Stranger is merely one of the servants of the Great Other. The few people before you are already dead because they were obsessed and refused to repent. Continuing to worship the hypocritical Seven is a dead end; choose for yourself!"

The Silent Sister remained silent. Septa Lucan said: "According to the doctrine, a Silent Sister cannot speak. As long as she speaks, it is equivalent to abandoning the faith of the Seven and converting to the Great Other."

"Silent Sister, speak! The Great Other is not as cruel as the Seven, who imprison human nature; you can laugh wantonly, talk wantonly, and be happy wantonly!"

The Silent Sister opened her mouth wide. Cersei and Septa Lucan smiled, thinking that this Silent Sister would definitely convert to the Great Other.

Because she had not spoken for many years, it took the Silent Sister a long time to find her voice.

"The Great Other is a beast not even fit to be a pig or dog! You dark servants, don't even think about forcing me to abandon the faith of the Seven! The Kingslayer's whore, the bastard Joffrey, the Seven will judge you all!"

This time, Joffrey drew the dagger of the Death Storm and stabbed the Silent Sister to death, one knife after another. Blood stained her long black robe. Afterwards, Joffrey stripped the Silent Sister naked and threw her into the boiling Dark Artifact.

The Dark Artifact, the skull cauldron, was boiling. The statues of the seven dark gods on the seven pillars continuously absorbed strands of black Qi; this was Magic.

Cersei said angrily: "Out of the seven people, only Septa Lucan chose to convert to the Great Other. These six fools were actually willing to die for the hypocritical Seven."

The Undead wizard Ogbeta said: "The more pious the fool, the more fear and piety they have before death, the more Magic can be collected. By comparison, for a pretender like Septa Lucan, killing him would not collect much Magic."

Cersei looked at the Dragon bones on the side and said gloomily: "Exactly how much more Magic is needed to use the Dragon bones to summon a Frost Dragon? The two Dragons of the Wolf King Eddard at Harrenhal are growing, and I heard that the Magic Dragon he hatched at Winterfell—the one whose Dragon Soul is Lyanna—is already wreaking havoc on the battlefield."

Ogbeta smiled: "Queen Regent Cersei, you need not be anxious. In our Throne Room, the largest Dragon bone belongs to Balerion the Black Dread of Aegon the Conqueror back then. Balerion lived for hundreds of years; pray tell, how can the Dragons in the hands of the Wolf King Eddard, whether they are flying wolves, koi, or Eagle Eye, contend with Balerion the Black Dread?"

Cersei raised one eyebrow: "That may be so, but Stannis has already appeared on the south bank of the Blackwater River with a great army and may attack King's Landing at any time. If Stannis breaks through King's Landing and your Frost Dragon has not yet been resurrected, the Lannister of King's Landing will face total annihilation."

Ogbeta said calmly: "Stannis is very cautious; he will not attack rashly. I suspect it is because of the Red Cloak by his side. R'hllor is the mortal enemy of the Great Other. The Red Cloak knows that if Stannis attacks King's Landing, he will only find destruction and death in King's Landing."

"Our Death Storm can easily dispose of Stannis."

Cersei revealed an evil smile: "Stannis has lived in the shadow of Robert Baratheon his whole life. After Robert Baratheon died, Stannis still has to suffer defeat under Robert Baratheon's warhammer. I reckon Stannis is going to start getting angry and grinding his teeth again."

Afterwards, Cersei and Joffrey left the Throne Room.

Cersei said: "Joffrey, you performed very well. As long as the subjects fear you, they will be more submissive, and your rule will be more stable."

Joffrey said: "My brother Tommen Baratheon and sister Myrcella Baratheon do not think so; they feel that slaughtering the believers of the Seven is wrong. These two idiots, they didn't see how these believers of the Seven insulted me; they actually attacked me back then, saying I was a bastard of Uncle Jaime."

Cersei was somewhat embarrassed: "Those were just rumors. The commoners are jealous of us, so they use rumors to attack the royal family."

Joffrey said gloomily: "I worship my father Robert Baratheon; the Kingslayer Jaime is not worthy of being my father. It is all because of your loose private life that rumors are flying everywhere."

Cersei said angrily: "What did you say?"

Joffrey smirked: "Do you think I don't know? In the days when Uncle Kingslayer was away, you let Nurus and Black Kong Tabit warm your bed. I went outside your bedroom to eavesdrop; you sounded so wanton, I fear even Uncle Jaime in the Westerlands and Duke Tywin could hear it."

Cersei slapped Joffrey across the face.

Joffrey said gloomily: "I don't care how wanton you are, in any case, I do not allow you to get pregnant. The bastards born from you and low-life trash like Nurus and Black Kong will only bring shame to my royal family. Don't forget, you are still the Queen Regent, a widow!"

"I have had enough of two stupid siblings; I do not want bastard brothers. Perhaps they will become the next traitors to the kingdom, just like Blackfyre!"

Cersei said hatefully: "You actually dare to speak to me like this?"

Joffrey said dejectedly: "Mind your tone; I am your King. I absolutely do not allow you to have affairs and give birth to bastards that endanger my Seven Kingdoms. Remember that."

Thanks to Lin'an Farmer, Xinghe Entering the Gate, and. -CD for the monthly tickets; thank you for your support!

(End of this chapter)