"I have seen it!"
"I have been touched by Rapulnu herself. I sat with the goddess of the undead and we had a conversation, and she told me…!"
"The only way this realm and every other realm can be saved is by the revival of the great one!"
Eryth marched through the shout and yell of the members of the cult. He continued from one room to another searching every corner before moving to another room but he still couldn't find anything.
The Dark mage slowly pulled a door open and stepped into yet another room.
[What are you searching for?]
"Danila… oh, I forgot you were there --- Is everything going smoothly on your side?"
[I can't say things are bad. They have us locked up in a cage with others... I'm sure they plan on sacrificing too]
"Just remain calm, once the disguise comes off, that's the sign to launch the attack," he said out loud.
[Got it… what about you, what are you searching for?]
Eryth sighed and tossed away a book titled 'Tales of King Hrucrypt'
'I still see flickers of the goddess of the dead when I sleep with some other beings," he revealed. "Right now I'm searching for a book that may help, maybe tell me something about Rapulnu, the goddess of the dead.'
[Thinking about it now, there's very little known or written about Rapulnu… the only information that has been going around is that she is deeply infatuated with Kagurath and she wants to set him free]
"Interesting." The dark brown-haired man exited his previous door and pushed open another door. Once in, he immediately froze in his tracks as he locked eyes with a female who dropped what she was holding and turned to him.
Eryth immediately realized she was a stray and decided to use it to his advantage. "You, what are you doing in here? You should be at the gathering."
"I… err," she stuttered. "I was sent…"
"Don't lie to me," Eryth chipped. "It's a holy hour now-- unless you are on guarding duty, you should be at the gathering… so tell me, what are you doing in here…"
Before he finished his words, the lady hurled a dagger at him but the dark brown-haired man was quick to react. He quickly moved his head, letting the weapon plunge into the wall behind him. As he turned back to her, he was met with a clean punch to the jaw which forced him back. The lady closed the distance between them and attempted a right hook.
Eryth blocked her attack but he didn't return one of his own, instead, he grabbed her arm and hurled her into the wall. The lady groaned and used the wall to propel herself up before throwing a kick which the Dark mage blocked with his forearm.
"Calm down, I'm not one of them."
She ignored and continued with a quick left but Eryth took a step back. Once her hand had passed, he moved forward and picked her up by the waist, slamming her so hard into a nearby table that it broke down.
The lady remained on the ground, groaning in pain while Eryth towered over her. "Now that we are all calm, I'm sure we'll be able to talk with our mouths and not fists."
She dragged herself up to sit and whipped the hoodie from her head. "That hurts, a lot."
"It wouldn't have if you had stopped when I asked you to."
She sighed and picked herself up. "Who are you?"
"A curious fella, which is why I'm throwing your question right back at you… who are you?"
The lady walked towards her dagger and pulled it out from the wall. "A daughter that got tired of her father's ways and wanted to know the truth to his actions."
"Oh… so the leader of this cult is your father?"
She slipped the dagger into its scabbard. "Sadly," she replied. "What's worse is that he expects me to carry on when he passes."
"I just want to know the reason my father does what he does."
"I may have an idea," Eryth started. "Have you ever heard of Kagurath?"
She nodded. "I have heard my father speak about it, yes."
"Well, that is what your father wants --- he desires to release Kagurath from his eon of slumber, and doing that will unleash Chaos into the realm."
The lady furrowed. "Oh my… I had thought my father was only doing this because the members paid him and he is tricking them, but I was wrong, it is for different reasons."
The dark brown-haired man nodded. "Yes. And he kidnaps people to use them as sacrifice," he added.
The lady staggered backwards and crashed on a nearby stool. "That is… wow."
[Eryth! The sacrifice happens now, they are taking us]
"Shit," Eryth groaned.
"What is wrong?" The lady asked.
"Your father is about to kill hundreds of innocent lives," he said. "Knowing what your father is up to, it's your choice to do what it is you wish to." With that, the dark brown-haired man bolted out of the room and back into the hallway.
'Danila, inform Blutox to attack the cultist, stop them now.'
[We can---t… they attac… Energy restraining chain… our disguise~ off]
"Fuck!" The dark brown-haired man groaned. He bolted in the direction he was earlier headed with Syrie.
Immediately he stepped into the hall, the illusion he made to look like he had the robe on disappeared and he was left with his normal wear. He could also feel his energy-sapping away into the environment. "Shit." He cussed while taking in his environment.
The place he was in was filled with members of the cult all chanting words Eryth couldn't pick up. As he looked around, he noticed tiny yellow crystals engraved into the wall around. He was sure he had seen the crystals before but couldn't recall where. But the one thing he vividly recalls was that it negates energy and stops the use of Acts that use energy.
Eryth noticed the cultists standing in a circle with the people they were to use as sacrifices, among which were Blutox, Danila, and Syrie, who now did not have their disguises on anymore.
The Dark Mage pulled out his sword. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm telling you now that I'm not going to let this carry on."
The cultists stopped and turned to him. "Intruder! Get him!"
The dark-haired mage swiftly slashed through the members of the Cult of Kagurath, easily dropping every single one of them until he reached the inner circle. A few of the members continued to perform the ritual while three men charged at Eryth.
The men ripped their red robes from their bodies before throwing themselves high up into the sky.
Eryth had prepared his sword to counter but they all morphed into werewolves mid-air and lunged their claws at the dark brown-haired man.
Eryth quickly jumped back just in time to avoid their attack. They all pushed forward, swinging their claws continuously, forcing Eryth into defence from three front. The men were able to use their ability as shape shifting doesn't use energy.
One of the werewolves slapped Eryth's sword from his hand and planted a clean cut in Eryth's chest. Another lunged forward and sent the Dark mage flying back into the wall of crystals, but that didn't stop the dark brown-haired man. The moment his back collided with the wall, his brown eyes turned vertical and a loud grin crawled up his lips, revealing two slightly pointy fangs, it was as if something had taken over his body.
Eryth broke a chuckle before charging forward. He threw a swift right that caught one of the beasts cleanly on the jaw. He spun and threw another of the werewolves back with a kick that threw its head out of its body.
The third of the werewolves dug his claws into Eryth's chest but the dark brown-haired man grabbed his face and slammed him into the ground, spilling blood all around as his head splattered.
The moment he looked up, an explosion occurred from the area where Danila and the other sacrifice were, throwing the cultists that were performing the ritual back. The explosion was followed by an extreme roar that caused the mountain to tremble in its position.
"No," Eryth mumbled as he watched his friends and the other victims morphed into the creatures.
A hand curled around his neck as a figure hugged him from behind. He noticed the pale blue skin and immediately deduced who it was. She leaned in close, bringing her lips to his ear.
"You can still save them," the voice started.
"Let me, and I will save your friends."
Eryth remained quiet for a moment before letting out a strained sigh, opening his mind to her. Rapulnu, who had her hands around him smiled before disappearing into the shadows.
The dark brown haired man's eyes turned normal before his iris changed red and his sclera, black, like that of the goddess of the undead.
He outstretched his hand and a long scythe morphed in it from the shadow. He gripped the weapon and placed it over his shoulder before raising his head high with a smile.
"I smell… living souls."
The beast moved to the open, giving Eryth, who was now controlled by Rapulnu a clear view of what it looked like. It was at least eight feet long with a large number of tentacles-like body parts that covered its lower body parts, while its head looked as though it was belted down into its shoulders.
The creature screeched and charged forward. It lunged some of its tentacles at the dark brown-haired man, destroying anything in its path.
The Dark Mage also launched himself forward. He effortlessly slashed through all the tentacles but once he got close to strike the beast, more of the tentacles appeared and forced him back.
"Come on, that's cheating!" Rapulnu chuckled from within while jumping back to dodge its attack. "But two can play this game!"
Eryth ran in a circular motion, letting the creature's tentacles smash into the wall. The scythe he was holding turned into a large axe before he launched himself at the beast. Eryth raised the weapon over his head and forced a loud screech from the monster as he pierced the axe into its middle.
It formed another tentacle out from its back and used it to slap Eryth away. The attack was so strong it sent the dark brown-haired man out through the wall to the open world, but the Mage only laughed as he soared through the sky.
"Ah!" Eryth moaned. "It feels good to have a— body!"
The creature smashed its way out of the mountains and lunged multiple tentacles at Eryth. The latter outstretched his hands as he fell, letting the wind blow every part of his body. He was relaxed, even while the beast attacked him.
"You are what they call… devil." His expression switched up, more stern. "You don't belong here."
He used one of the beast's tentacles to control his fall before landing harmlessly on the mountain. "I've had my fun, it's time to send you back home."
Eryth pointed three fingers at the beast and a rope that exuded black smoke popped out from the creature's shadow and tied it down. The being struggled but it only made the rope to tie it down even harder.
The dark mage disappeared into his shadow and appeared in front of the beast. He placed his hand in front of its face and a dark smoke evaporated from its face to his hand. He disappeared again, just in time to avoid an explosion.
As the smoke cleared, his friends and the other individuals who were to be used for sacrifice were on the ground coughing.
"Well, I've done my part," Eryth said before his eyes turned back to normal.
He blinked, scanned his environment and rushed to where his partners were. "Hey, you guys okay?"
"What happened?" Danila asked.
"I can't feel my legs," the Lamia said with a soft groan while dragging herself up.
"Long story short, you got sacrificed and I managed to pull you out in one piece," he revealed.
Blutox got up and searched his body, making sure all his equipment and items were still on him before straightening his clothes. "Come on, let's get going, we have a long walk before we get to the Forest Kanrei."
"Come on Blue," Eryth hissed. "At least let us rest for a while."
"We don't have time, we've taken too many detours and the more time we waste, the more Hex's army multiplies… I want to stop that madman before things get worse, not that it can get any worse than it is now."
Eryth sighed. "Fine."
....
ns 15.158.61.38da2
