While Ansu and the others were exploring the underground ruins...
Far away on the surface, a large group of horsemen was scouting the wasteland, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust as they crossed the parched, cracked earth.
Since this area was beyond the surveillance of the Church of Holy Light, this team, composed entirely of mages, was able to use their mana freely. One detection spell after another swept across every corner of the wasteland, leaving no stone unturned in search of any possible clues.
A scout galloped up to the group, pulling the reins tight to stop before an elderly man leading the party.
"Elder John, we've just received intel. The last known location of the Hermit and his companions was Limestone Town in the viscount's territory. Should we head there to search?"
Elder John thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "We can, but Limestone Town has a Church of Holy Light outpost. Our numbers are too great. It would be best to send a few people to infiltrate the town first. If you find any trace of the Hermit, report back to me immediately!"
After the scout left, Elder Lyles, another member of the party, grumbled as he approached.
"Eleven Truth faction elders, six Restorationist faction elders, and nearly every executor from the eastern provinces have been sent to hunt down a single lowly deacon general. Has Samantha lost her mind? Is he really worth all this?"
"If I told you that even with all these people, we might not actually be able to kill the Hermit, would you believe me?" Elder John gave a helpless smile. "Have you forgotten? Celia is by his side."
At the mention of the Ash Witch's name, Elder Lyles fell silent for a moment.
"I suppose you're right..."
No one knew the true extent of Celia's power because every challenger who dared to test it had already been reduced to ashes by that mad witch.
Elder John knew deep down that he couldn't defeat her. This was exactly what Samantha was worried about, which was why this operation had gathered so many experts from the cult.
"But I still don't get it. Why would the Hermit and Celia betray the cult out of the blue?" Elder Lyles asked, sounding as if he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"And why is Samantha so furious? Even though she's trapped in the Royal Capital, she's commanding the Council of Elders to use nearly a third of their elders just to deal with this cult traitor?"
"You're asking me, but who am I supposed to ask?" Elder John sighed. "Since she is the cult leader and the head of our Truth faction, I can only obey orders. After all, she's always been right in the past..."
"Fair enough." Elder Lyles nodded reluctantly. Indeed, during Samantha's nearly hundred years as the Acting Cult Leader, the Echoes of Truth had grown steadily. Aside from two recent incidents, she had almost never made a mistake.
Just as Elder John was about to lead the team southeast toward Limestone Town...
A magic tool in Elder Lyles's pocket flickered slightly. To his surprise, a weary magic projection of Samantha appeared before the two elders.
"Cult leader?" Elder John was also surprised. After all, she was under heavy surveillance by the Church of Holy Light, and magic communication could easily expose her location.
"I'll be brief..." Samantha's face looked ancient and exhausted, her clouded eyes shot through with blood. She asked in a raspy voice, "Have you found the Hermit? Have you killed him yet?"
"Not yet, but..."
Elder John tried to explain, but he was immediately cut off.
Samantha's voice was thick with suppressed madness as she growled in a near-hysterical tone, "Find him! You must find the Hermit and kill him!! Bring me his head! Otherwise, don't even think about returning to the cult alive!"
Elder Lyles looked at Samantha's increasingly terrifying expression and couldn't help but wonder to himself.
You've already fallen to such a state, yet you're still threatening us? Has this old hag truly lost her mind?
"Understood, cult leader..." Elder John nodded, then asked about another matter. "What about Celia? How should we... handle her?"
Samantha fell silent for a moment.
Then, her tone became incredibly cold.
"She will surely interfere with our mission. If necessary... kill her as well!"
Elder John took a deep breath and nodded again.
"However..." Samantha added, "The ideal scenario is to disable her. Even if you turn her into a cripple, as long as you bring Celia back to me with a single breath of life left, I can..."
Samantha didn't finish the sentence. She only let out a twisted, hideous smile.
The two elders looked at each other. Elder Lyles finally couldn't hold back.
"I have a feeling that bringing her back alive will be even harder than killing her..."
Knowing she was in a desperate situation, how could Celia not fight them to the death? If Celia were that easy to deal with, would they really need to go to all this trouble?
Samantha's projection began to flicker violently, as if she were in the middle of a battle on the other end. She turned her head irritably. "I'll leave the specifics to your judgment. I won't say anything more..."
With a crackle of static, the magic projection vanished into thin air.
The two elders were speechless for a moment.
"Sigh..." Elder John gave a deep sigh and waved his hand, directing the team forward. "Let's move!"
However, not long after they resumed their march, several scouts returned one after another.
"What now?" Elder John looked at the scouts irritably.
"Elder, a large group of mercenaries is approaching from ahead! We saw people from the demon side among them..."
This time, the scouts didn't need to explain further. On the distant horizon, dust blotted out the sun as a dark mass of mercenary groups galloped toward them, moving to surround the Echoes of Truth team.
"Demons?" Elder Lyles's eyes widened in shock. "Barcas's people? Why would they be all the way out here?"
...
On the other side...
Deep underground, with Ansu's uncanny assistance, the team was rapidly moving through the labyrinthine corridors filled with traps and hidden passages.
With memories from the simulation, Ansu knew exactly which traps were on the route and which corners hid annoying monsters. Combined with Celia's powerful support, the team faced almost no obstacles, moving several times faster than the previous run.
This was the essence of a second-run speedrun!
Upon finally reaching the spiral tower in the lower levels of the ruins...
Professor Duncan and the students gasped in awe at the endless megastructure. Celia had little interest in the grand architecture of the ancient demon empire; instead, she looked at Ansu with curiosity.
"What do we do next?" She knew Ansu had gained a lot of information from that prophetic dream and was aware of the sacrificial plan he had been preparing.
"Is everyone doing alright?" Ansu scanned the team.
"We're fine. Why do you ask?" Professor Duncan asked, confused.
Ansu looked over Professor Duncan and then turned back to carefully observe Celia's condition.
In the simulation, everyone had been affected by the influence from deep underground, which had triggered their bloodlust. This time, however, not a single person had fallen for it. Everyone was chatting and laughing while admiring the spiral tower, as if they were on a field trip.
This was likely because they hadn't faced any real combat. Since they hadn't encountered any pursuers, the team had basically 'speedrun' their way here. They weren't injured, hadn't consumed much mana, and were even in high spirits.
"Mm..." Ansu nodded silently as he saw the Witch looking at him with suspicion.
Such a relaxed journey was a fitting reward for his desperate efforts in the simulation.
"Why do you keep staring at me?" Celia couldn't help but ask. "I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
"Because you're beautiful," Ansu chuckled.
"Huh?" Celia's cheeks flushed slightly as she touched her face, blinking in confusion.
"The path ahead will be much harder than the one above. The spiral tower is infested with many giant monsters with tentacles." Ansu spoke to everyone seriously. "And the further down we go, the more we will feel the presence of the sleeping deity. He will have a severe impact on our mental state."
The expressions of Professor Duncan and the others turned solemn.
Ansu then spoke to Professor Duncan. "Because of the pursuers outside, it might be difficult for you to carry out your research, Professor. Therefore, I suggest we deal with all the pursuers first. To do that, we'll need to split up for a bit."
"Split up?"
"That's right. Professor, you and the others stay here. We'll be back soon." Ansu looked at Celia again, explaining his plan to her. "The two of us will quickly head to the bottom. I need you to help me set up two magic coordinates. Their locations will be..."
Teleportation circles would allow Ansu to travel constantly between the massive spiral tower and even the inside and outside of the ancient ruins. This was the core of the plan.
However, the nature of teleportation magic required one to personally visit the destination to set the magic coordinates. Thus, Ansu and Celia needed to reach the altar in the bottom temple first.
After hearing Ansu's full explanation, Celia narrowed her eyes slightly. "So, as long as we take control of the altar first and activate it, everyone who follows us will become a sacrifice. Not only does this deal with the pursuers, but it also fulfills the conditions to obtain the demon army's treasure..."
"Exactly!" Ansu let out a wicked laugh. "A lot of people are about to have a very bad day."
"A bad day? Hundreds of people becoming sacrifices... that sounds like a scene straight out of hell." Celia looked at his mischievous smile and began to laugh along.
She really quite liked this Ansu, who was full of schemes and wicked ideas.
This kind of Ansu was the best match for her!
If Ansu, the Chosen One, suddenly started doing good deeds, she would actually become anxious. It would give her the feeling that everything was returning to destiny. After all, light and darkness were naturally incompatible.
She suddenly felt that bringing Ansu into the evil cult was the best decision she had ever made. He was a natural at this!
Rate on N.U.
