How the Cult Saves the World

No guards were stationed at the entrance of Sercion. Most likely, they were engaged in battle with monsters. Near the entrance, the fleeing locals, presumably residents of the territory, were in a frantic escape.

Behind them-

Screech!

A massive harpy swooped down. It swiftly snatched up a nearby person.

"Zain!"

"I'm already on it!"

Swoosh- Thwack!

Just as the harpy was about to ascend higher with its captured prey, Zain's arrow pierced through its head. Fortunately, those caught by the harpy fell from a low height, sparing them from death.

I couldn't help but gasp in silent admiration at the sight. The reason was clear.

'When did he become so strong?'

The arrow Zain fired was imbued with a denser holy power than before, and it flew with such speed that it obliterated the harpy before it could even react.

"Wow, I didn't expect this!"

Joyful exclamations also came from Zain.

Judging by its power, the bow Zain received as a gift from Katu and Lufu seemed to be of heroic grade. And since it was crafted using a Mana Stone of the same grade, Troy's armor must be of similar quality.

"From now on, we must be extra cautious, High Priest!"

Troy, having passed through the entrance of Sercion territory, shouted at me as if to emphasize the urgency. Those escaping Sercion were startled by Troy but were too preoccupied with fleeing from the monsters to pay much attention.

As we ran further into the heart of Sercion--

"We should split up from here."

Troy, who had been running vigorously, came to a halt. Zain and I could only agree with his suggestion.

"There are far more than we expected."

"That's why we're here."

Inside Sercion, a considerable number of monsters were present.

Orcs and goblins wielding blunt weapons and attacking the fleeing people were the first to catch my eye. I nodded slightly to Zain and Troy, who seemed to await my command, and then gave the order.

"Move as we did in Bahano, everyone."

"Yes, Master."

"Understood."

The command was clear: protect the people at all costs and eliminate the monsters. Soon after, Zain and Troy scattered in different directions. Not intending to leave everything to them, I too dashed towards the center.

Thud, thump!

I obliterated an orc that was about to devour some villagers with my mace.

"Run for your lives!"

I shouted repeatedly at the stunned onlookers, urging them to flee, as I released holy power towards a harpy swooping in from the center.

Boom!

The holy power, smaller in size but denser, pierced through the harpy's head in an instant.

'Damn, there are so many. Where in the world is Sevenus?'

As I annihilated the monsters, I made my way through the crowd. I saw soldiers clad in armor battling monsters throughout the village, and among them were knights from the Holden family.

"Ugh! These hideous creatures!"

While searching for Sevenus, I heard a familiar voice near a collapsed building. Turning my head, I saw a fanatic facing off against an ogre, a mid-level monster.

---Isn't that the child who tormented you?

Even Kyros seemed to recognize him. I hadn't been fond of the fanatic before... but not to the extent that I would ignore him in such a situation.

The fanatic's sword was pushed back by the ogre's hand. Before he could be crushed---

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Boom!

I released holy power directly into the ogre's head, which was about to strike down the fanatic. The ogre, with its head pierced, vanished without even a scream, and the fanatic's gaze turned to me.

"You are... the High Priest of Kyros?"

"Where is Brother Sevenus?"

"The Young Lord is... at the forefront. But why are you here...?"

"Don't bother asking now. If you're curious, we can discuss it after the battle."

Leaving the astonished fanatic behind, I pressed forward.

The deeper I went into Sercion, the more Holden knights appeared.

The knights valiantly fought against the monsters, easily dispatching the lower-level ones. The problem was the mid-level monsters.

The knights were hindered in their fight against the mid-level monsters. Meanwhile, the lower-level monsters bypassed the knights to attack others.

Boom!

I continuously released holy power, swinging my mace relentlessly.

The Holden knights were surprised to see me, but there was no time for conversation.

Crack-

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the sky. My gaze instinctively turned towards it. Someone was tearing apart an already existing rift with their hands.

A slender man with black skin and black wings.

I recognized him immediately.

'Renet.'

The 99th child of the Demon King, the nightmare 'Renet'.

In the latter half of the Woosebeop, no matter which route was taken, he was a figure who would inevitably appear in the war against the Demon King.

Meanwhile, Renet, who had been surveying from the sky, seemed to have found his target and flew straight in one direction.

Seeing this, I too ran towards where Renet was headed. If my hunch was correct, Sevenus would surely be there.

'I hope not.'

Worried that I might be too late, I clenched my teeth and ran as fast as I could.

---My child, I know you are strong, but still, be careful.

'Yes. Don't worry.'

I pushed through the monsters blocking the way, endlessly running towards the direction Renet had flown.

Then, at some point, Renet disappeared from the sky. He had finally descended to the ground.

I gripped my mace tightly and increased my speed. After dispatching another mid-level monster that hindered my sprint and leaping over the debris of a collapsed building-

At last, I saw Sevenus standing atop the ruins. He had just plunged his sword into a mid-level ogre.

"Huff, huff."

He was visibly exhausted from the fierce battle, despite his usually remarkable stamina.

I ran even faster towards him. At that moment, Renet appeared behind Sevenus.

"Dodge!"

At my shout, Sevenus turned his head momentarily. In that brief moment of eye contact-

Renet's black hand emerged from behind and grasped Sevenus' throat.

With a guttural cry, Sevenus barely had a chance to resist before a dark energy flowed from Renet's hand, spreading through his body.

"Damn it!"

I immediately gathered the holy power within me and unleashed it towards Renet.

Whoosh-!

The holy power I had mustered tore through Renet's wings.

"How dare you, mere human."

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Renet's grip on Sevenus' throat loosened.

Thud-

Sevenus' body plummeted to the ground, the light fading from his eyes, lifeless to the point of being indiscernible.

...No, that can't be right?

He's not dead, is he?

---Child, come to your senses! The boy is still alive!

My head, which had been heating up in panic, cooled rapidly. Yes, Sevenus does not die here. Even in the original story, he may have gone mad, but he did not lose his life.

I bit my lip hard.

"My wings-!!"

As I worried over the lifeless Sevenus, Renet, enraged by his torn wings, charged at me with a roar. I released my holy power directly at him as he approached.

Whoosh-!

The holy power, now thinner than before, had shrunk to the size of a coin. It seemed too insignificant to take down a demon's offspring. But... what I had focused on this time was not the 'volume' of the holy power.

It 'penetrates'.

It was the 'density'.

"What in the world-!"

As a result, a hole was pierced through Renet's brow.

But I did not stop there. I channeled the remaining holy power into my mace.

Bang-!

A white light spread over the holy mace.

And without mercy, I struck Renet's head.

[Warning! You have slain Renet, the 99th offspring of the Demon Lord.]

[The Demon Lord may become aware of your existence.]

To have slain the 99th offspring of the Demon Lord using almost all of my holy power.

Such a feat would have been impossible if the number of believers had not exceeded 50,000.

...Still, I've become quite strong.

It wasn't a bad outcome. Now, I could take down even superior demons on my own, without anyone's help.

"Sigh."

I steadied my ragged breath and approached Sevenus. My head spun from nearly exhausting all my holy power, but I couldn't just leave Sevenus lying there.

I gently closed his eyelids, still open in unconsciousness, and hoisted him onto my shoulder.

Thankfully, the daily physical training meant carrying Sevenus was not a burden.

---Child, are you alright?

'I can still hold on.'

I reassured Kyros, whose voice was filled with concern, and quickly surveyed the surroundings. No knights from the Holden family were in sight.

I didn't want to have to explain why I was carrying Sevenus around.

'That place looks safe.'

Carrying Sevenus, I entered a building that had not collapsed, which appeared to be a library, judging by the scattered books.

I laid Sevenus on the clean floor and sat beside him.

Through the library window, I could see the rift slowly closing.

'Now, only the demons remaining in Sercion need to be dealt with.'

After that, Zain and Troy should be able to handle it. Their equipment should be flying around by now.

---You don't have much holy power left, are you sure you're okay?

'I still have enough to heal Sevenus.'

---It pains me to see you like this. Take this, though it's a meager amount of power.

As Kyros spoke, a white light enveloped me.

Every time the number of believers increased, Kyros gave me strength. His power must be limited.

'Thank you.'

It was clear he had exerted himself for my sake.

---It's nothing. It's only natural for my flock.

Kyros's kind voice and the holy power invigorated me.

Now it was time to heal Sevenus. I examined him carefully.

Renet, the 99th offspring of the Demon Lord, was a nightmare demon. He bewitched the minds of his targets, forcing them into a world of nightmares. While the victim's mind wandered lost in the nightmare, Renet would brutally kill them.

Even if they survived, their minds, muddled by Renet, would never return, driving them mad.

In other words, what I needed to do was to restore Sevenus' mind.

'At least...'

It wasn't as severe as in the original work.

In the original, Sevenus lost his leg to Renet while trapped in the nightmare. It was only after Renet voluntarily retreated upon realizing that the high priests of the Church were coming to Sercion that Sevenus' life was spared.

'Ah.'

That reminds me, the priests of the Diego Church will be arriving. I need to finish up quickly.

I took the hand of the unconscious Sevenus. Renet's attack was a kind of curse that tampered with the mind.

Therefore, using a 'healing' skill capable of mental treatment and curse removal should solve the problem.

So, I immediately activated the healing skill towards Sevenus.

Or rather, I should have. Suddenly, my vision blurred, and my consciousness faded.

In an instant, I lost consciousness.

The moment after I attempted to heal Sevenus, I awoke in a realm of deep darkness.

'What's happening? Have I lost consciousness? Where am I?'

I had certainly lost consciousness right after using the healing skill on Sevenus. And now, I found myself in darkness.

'Could it be that I've fallen asleep and am dreaming amidst all this?'

The absurd thought made me shake my head vigorously. I was too lucid to be asleep.

Then, a light appeared before me.

Turning towards the light, I saw four spheres, each the size of a human head, floating in the void. Each sphere displayed a different scene, blurry as if the photographs were underdeveloped.

'This is...'

I approached the spheres slowly, and upon reaching the one on the far left, its scene became clear.

The first sphere showed a closed wooden door.

'What does this mean?'

Not understanding, I reached out to touch it.

Tap.

As I lightly touched the sphere, the static scene began to move, like a video playing.

I swallowed hard, watching the image in the sphere.

The firmly closed wooden door opened. Through the small gap, a bed was visible. Then, a familiar voice flowed from the image.

'Unfortunately, young master Revelof is afflicted with... Malone's disease.'

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