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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39268
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39268
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In my opinion you already have your answer. As Galastel was pointing it out, this hasn't the connotation of ritual suicide, or cultism.

> Can it be portrayed in a "noble" light or would this be too problematic?

You already are. In this world, were magic is real, the lives of an hundred of priests spent to cast the spell aren't different from the lives of an hundred soldiers on the fae-demon battlefields.

The only issue I see is about the spell being "ancient", and seldomly used. As you mention:

> Invasions occur rarely
> 
> ...
> 
> There exists an ancient spell that is used in times of need.

Now, how rare are those times of need? Are we talking once in a decade? Once in half a century? Once every two centuries? If 100 years pass without anyone casting the spell, it's possible that people will start questioning its effectivness.

> **Priest A:** We need to cast the once-in-a-century ritual.
> 
> **Priest B:** But most of the information we have on it has been lost in the great fires of year 234, and what's left is mostly unreliable records, since a lot of the kingdom population died at the time.
> 
> **Priest A:** Alas, only a deity can help us now.
> 
> **Priest B:** But we aren't sure the spell even works!

It's reasonable to think that people will be skeptical, at least some people. But of course, if the spell is actually performed correctly, those deaths will be regarded as noble sacrifice.

Original score: 1