How the Cult Saves the World

The original infiltration route of the Rizes Church was from the countryside, where the influence of the government and the Diego Church was the weakest. They always prioritized infiltrating the villages that were the hardest for the state or the Diego Church to notice when they expanded their power.

But Bahano was different. The Rizes Church had already occupied the Kingdom, so their branch was in the capital.

'I wonder if the Diego Church knows that.'

It doesn't matter if they didn't catch on. I don't need to worry about that.

Anyway, we headed to a place a few blocks away from our lodging. There was a passage in the basement of a building that was a fruit shop during the day, which led to the Rizes Church's chapel.

"From now on, keep your mind sharp."

As we were walking, I heard Zain talking to Troy.

"Don't let your eyes wander to useless places. It could endanger us all."

"I know. Don't worry. Just do your job, Zain."

"Geez, look at this guy."

Somehow, the two of them seemed to get along, but then they went back to their usual selves.

I ignored their conversation and looked around. Without stopping, we soon arrived near the building where the Rizes Church's branch was.

But at that moment, I felt a strange sensation.

'...It's gone.'

And that sensation told me a very simple but important fact.

There was no 'Divine Protection' here.

I could feel the sinister energy of the Divine, but not the energy of the Divine Protection.

'There's no possibility that they hid it well... There's no way they could hide such a strong energy.'

It was a disaster. The plot had changed again from the original. The hidden route had changed here.

[Sub Quest 'Light of Hope' 6. <Capital Bahano> Clear!]

[Sub Quest Reward will be given.]

[Sub Quest Update!]

[Sub Quest 'Light of Hope' 7. <Secret of Bahano Castle>

Content: You have learned the situation of the capital Bahano. Now it's time to check the secret of Bahano Castle.

Objective: Find out the hidden secret of Bahano Castle (This quest is a linked quest)

Success: Next quest clue

Failure: -

Final Success Reward: ???

[Do you accept?]

[Yes/No]

As soon as I realized the situation, a system window appeared. As I read it through, I could understand what the system wanted to tell me. It was like a navigation that reset the information that had changed from what I knew in real time.

'As expected, this system...'

It seems to be tailored to me.

But the important thing was not the system. It was the objective of the quest, 'the hidden secret of Bahano Castle.'

As I saw it, one hypothesis came to mind.

'Yeah, this is the most likely.'

The High Priest of the Rizes Church's Bahano Branch had the King of Bahano in his hand. So the most likely place where the High Priest, who was not in the chapel, had gone to was Bahano Castle.

And the reason why there was no Divine Protection in the chapel...

Oh, damn. I forgot about that.

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The High Priest of Bahano was different from the High Priests other branches. He also carried the Divine Protection with him. He was a man who valued his life terribly. Then the Divine Protection would be in the castle with the High Priest.

'Damn hidden route.'

In the end, I had to change my destination. If they were going to adjust it anyway, they should have told me sooner.

"...We're going to the castle."

"Huh? The castle, all of a sudden?"

Zain asked me with a surprised look at my somewhat abrupt words.

"What are you going to do there?"

"This is the place where Lord Kyros told us the Rizes Church's branch is, but I can't feel the Divine Protection."

---I see. The whole Bahano was covered with the Divine's energy, so I was late to notice. You're right, my child.

Kyros was in a spiritual state, so he couldn't help but be late to notice.

"Really...?"

"This is my guess, but there might be something going on in the castle. On the way here, I saw the state of the Bahano people, and there were many people who were seriously addicted to Happy even in the capital where the castle is."

As I continued, Zain and Troy's expressions became serious. I took a breath and added.

"That means, there's a high possibility that the royal family is not functioning properly. In other words, the royal family might have been eaten up by the Rizes Church already."

As soon as I finished, a light appeared in the air and Kyros materialized. The little puppy looked straight at the castle.

"That's right, that's right."

Sniff sniff, Kyros sniffed the smell from the castle and Zain and Troy were surprised. Troy was about to kneel, but Zain stopped him.

"There's a very malicious smell coming from there. But, my children. You have to be careful. It's much more poisonous than any smell I've smelled before."

Kyros looked at me with worried eyes. I stroked his soft fur and answered.

"Yes. Don't worry, Lord Kyros. We're not going to do anything to the Rizes Church right now, we're just going to investigate."

Zain looked at me with a suspicious eye, but my words were sincere.

This matter could cost us our lives if we moved rashly.

---

We headed straight to the castle. The way to Bahano Castle was not very difficult. It was late, so there were few people, and we were able to reach the vicinity of the castle without being noticed by anyone.

The problem was...

"The security is quite tight."

The entrance of the castle was guarded by several heavily armed guards.

Zain, Troy, and I hid in the bushes near the castle and watched the situation. Kyros had returned to his spiritual state, saying he didn't want to be a bother.

---The security is strict, it looks hard to break through.

'Yes. That's why I'm worried.'

---And I can feel the Divine Protection here.

'So it was.'

My guess was exactly right.

The objective of the quest pointed to the castle for this reason.

"What do we do?"

"Let's watch a little more. Today we're just here to look around, so we have to avoid leaving any traces as much as possible."

I examined the situation. There were twenty guards in total. More than five of them were wandering around the entrance. We would definitely get caught if we went in from the front. I had some drugs that I could use, but that would make the security stronger later.

As I was pondering for a new solution, I saw an old spire in the distance that looked like it could collapse at any moment.

'Wait, that is... That tower must be...'

I remembered a method I used when I played Woosebeop, a game. It was a secret path I accidentally discovered after playing the game several times, a way to sneak into Bahano's royal castle.

It was heading towards the 'West Tower' that was separated from the castle.

'This is where being a veteran pays off.'

The quest's objective also pointed to this direction, so the task became easier.

Fortunately, the West Tower area was also the weakest in terms of Maseen's Protection. So even if we infiltrated, Maseen's 'children' inside would not notice us.

"Let's go to that tower over there."

"That old tower?"

When I pointed to the tower with my hand, Zain asked me. I nodded and said softly.

"Yes. The plan is to cross over the wall of that place. The West Tower area has the weakest Maseen's Protection."

The Protection's range was quite wide, but it was still limited.

If we could solve the problem by breaking through Maseen's Protection as before, we could enter from the front, but today's goal was not that.

"So we won't leave much trace even if we infiltrate. After that, we'll check the patrol routes of the castle guards from the spire, and decide whether to go further or not."

---Yes, my child. Be careful as much as possible. I don't know who they are, but they are very powerful beings.

'Yes, Kyros.'

I relayed Kyros's words to Zain and Troy.

"I understand."

"I will follow the Leader's words."

Thankfully, they answered sensibly, and we started to move cautiously.

We avoided the guards' eyes and used the bushes behind us to move carefully. After a few minutes, we stood in front of the wall closest to the West Tower.

This place was quite far from the main gate, and it was dark, so the guards would not spot us easily.

I first took out a potion from my inventory and handed it to Troy.

"Drink, Troy. You still need to drink this to break through Maseen's Protection."

Unlike me and Zain, Troy still had no divine power, so this was a necessary step.

"I got it."

Troy drank the potion without a word. After confirming that he emptied it, I thought for a moment.

The remaining problem was, how to climb this wall.

'It's much higher than I thought from the game.'

The wall of Rizes Bridge that I had crossed so far was much lower than the castle's. But the castle's wall was at least twice as high as Rizes Bridge's.

That meant, no ordinary person could cross it with their strength.

'Is there no good way...'

As I thought, I caught Troy's eye. Oh, right.

"Leader, do we have to cross over here? If so, I'll help."

There was a black panther beastman! I had forgotten about that for a moment.

Meanwhile, Troy, who had a clear pride in his eyes, said to me.

"I'll take the Leader inside. I'm enough."

"Thanks, Troy. I'm glad you're here."

"No. But Zain, are you coming with us?"

At Troy's question, Zain was a bit surprised.

"Huh, huh?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Zain didn't give a clear answer, but Troy didn't bother to add more. And then I witnessed an amazing sight.

Troy's body grew longer and soon black fur sprouted.

"Wow..."

As Zain let out an exclamation unknowingly, Troy transformed into a black panther in an instant.

I couldn't close my mouth at the sight of the black panther with a yellow glow in his eyes, whose size was twice as big as a human.

"Wow..."

I was glad there was no one around. Troy, you're so big. I didn't know you were this big from Woosebeop, since there was no cutscene or anything.

"Leader, get on."

At Troy's words, I came to my senses. Then I saw Zain's face in my sight. He looked as surprised as I was.

"Leader."

"Huh, yeah."

Troy gestured to his back with his head. I immediately approached Troy and grabbed his fur. It was soft. No, this is not the time.

"Wait, Troy. Do you feel any presence inside?"

Troy sniffed, moving his nose hard.

"There's no guard around here, or beyond the wall."

As expected. There was hardly any guard around the West Tower in Woosebeop.

'That's a relief.'

"Get on, Leader."

I couldn't resist Troy's urging and moved quickly. As I grabbed Troy's back and climbed up, a back wider than a horse greeted me. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it was okay without a saddle because the fur was fluffy.

'But this is the first time I've ridden a black panther, where should I hold?'

For now, I grabbed a bit of Troy's back fur.

In the meantime, I saw Zain's cringing figure.

"Zain, you get on too. Hurry."

At Troy's urging, Zain came to his senses and approached. Zain climbed up behind me with a little admiration.

"Hold on tight."

"Where exactly?"

"Anywhere."

As Troy said, I held the fur I was holding tighter. The view changed at the same time.

Whoosh-

A strong wind blew as Troy flew into the sky. Is this flying...? As I was admiring, we crossed the wall in an instant.

For a moment, I felt like I was in an amusement park. I almost screamed, but barely held it back.

Thump, thump. My heart pounded with a pleasant tension. This is pretty fun.

"You can get off now."

As soon as Troy gave me permission, I got off. This was really fun. I should ask him to do this again next time.

"Huh."

As I was excited, I heard Zain's sigh next to me. He looked dazed. He must have enjoyed it too.

---My child, you look happy.

'It was more fun than I thought.'

---Really? Next time, I'll do it for you.

Kyros's words made me imagine myself riding on a small puppy.

'That's a bit...'

---I, I can do it too!

Kyros tried hard to appeal, but I didn't accept it.