NOVEL NEXT Chapter 371: Cult Of Diabolos
"…How did this even happen?" Azel muttered, staring at the ruined courtyard.
The garden had always been a peaceful place… it had rows of neatly planted flowers and vines maintained by the academy's gardener.
But now it was chaos.
Dirt had been kicked up, pots were shattered, and petals littered the ground like torn silk.
There was even blood splashed against one of the stone edges, already drying into a rusty stain.
Nari said Lorraine liked this place and she came here often to help the gardener, sometimes bringing Nari along as well.
Azel crouched down and brushed his fingers over the dirt.
There were footprints.
Big ones that were deep in the soil and drag marks like someone had been pulled… but the trail had vanished.
'I thought this was supposed to be one of the safest places in the world,' he thought grimly. 'Even with all the incidents lately, there are guards and barrier wards everywhere. People shouldn't even be able to enter without triggering alarms…'
He sighed and stood. "What do I even do?"
The exhaustion in his voice was clear.
This wasn't the kind of problem that could be solved with brute force… someone had managed to infiltrate the Academy and take a student right under their noses.
And Lorraine wasn't even a regular student… she was a damn heroine too.
"Nari," he said, turning to her, "did you see who took her? Anything at all?"
The witch was trembling.
Her big hat was tilted and although she didn't say, her robe was was torn along one sleeve where a wound bled through.
She hugged herself tightly, staring down at the ground.
"They were… wearing black cloaks," she said, voice quivering. "They had this weird symbol on them… an overturned cross. But I don't know where they took Lori, or why they took her."
Her voice cracked a bit. "She recognized them though… she said something about her and Grand Mage Luke defeating them before."
Azel's eyes narrowed.
"Luke…" he muttered.
He took another slow glance around.
The courtyard was a mess, but the trail stopped abruptly near the far wall. Whoever took Lorraine knew how to hide their tracks.
'Damn it,' he thought, rubbing his temple.
Then… he heard footsteps.
Rain stepped through the archway leading into the courtyard.
"I know where they took Lorraine," she said simply.
Both Azel and Nari turned to her at once.
"…How?" they asked together.
Rain walked forward, stopping near one of the bloodstains.
She crouched, running a finger through it, and her holy aura flickered in response.
"I'm sure you're aware of the scars on her face," she said. "I left them there on purpose. And I thank the Goddess that Azel didn't tamper with them."
Azel crossed his arms. "I figured you left them for a reason."
"Wait… you both could've healed those scars?" Nari asked, disbelief coloring her voice. "But you chose not to?"
Rain didn't look at her. "Sometimes scars serve a greater purpose."
Nari swallowed. "If it helps us find her now… then I don't have any complaints."
"So how do you plan to do it?" Azel asked, his tone sharper.
"The dark magic in the spell that caused those wounds is unique," Rain explained. "I infused them with a fragment of my holy energy. With that link, I can trace her mana no matter where they take her."
Azel's eyes flickered slightly. "And you're sure this will work?"
"Yes." Rain stood, her golden eyes began glowing. "And if we move quickly… we can end this cult once and for all."
Nari blinked. "Cult?"
Rain nodded grimly. "Yes, The Cult of the Diabolos."
…
'The Diabolo arc… already?' Azel thought grimly as they made their way through the old sectors of the Academy island.
He remembered the events a bit… they were a small but fanatic organization obsessed with resurrecting an ancient being known as Diabolo, one of the primordial evils. It was similar to Falnirr, they were both destruction incarnate.
They used forbidden rites, sacrificing mana-rich hosts to reconstruct his form.
'Madmen trying to bring back something they don't understand,' he thought.
The abandoned area was quiet.
Moss grew on cracked bricks, and the remains of old buildings stood covered in vines. Even the game hadn't said what had built all these buildings before the Academy came into existence here.
Nari followed close behind, gripping her staff with both hands.
Her expression was pale, but she was determined.
Rain led the way.
"She's close," Rain murmured.
They reached an old tower… it was tall and leaning to the side a bit with half its roof caved in.
It was the kind of place people forgot existed.
"Her energy is coming from inside," Rain said, staring up at it. "From what I can tell, they're using her as bait to lure Grand Mage Luke. They know he'd come running if she was captured."
Nari frowned. "That's messed up."
Rain's expression hardened. "It won't work. They're not strong enough right now. We can wipe them out before they finish whatever they're planning."
She turned to Azel. "Azel… if you will."
He nodded.
A pulse of blue aura flared from his body, swirling like wind around his arms.
He walked to the door, raised a foot, and kicked.
The door blasted clean off its hinges and crashed inside.
"Wow…" Nari breathed.
Rain gave a small nod. "That'll do."
Inside, the tower was unnervingly clean.
The floor glowed under the torchlight. Black fire danced along the walls, casting sickly shadows that twisted like living things.
At the far end stood an altar carved from dark stone.
Chains of mana bound Lorraine to it.
"She's alive," Nari whispered.
But before they could move closer, figures began to emerge from the dark corners of the room.
Dozens of them, each draped in black cloaks marked with the same inverted cross.
A tall man stepped forward with his hood pulled low.
"Welcome to the Cult of Diabolos," he said mockingly. "I am Vice Commander, Hetero Drew, at your beck and call. If you've come to sign a membership, then that would be—"
Rain raised a hand and pointed at him.
"Bang."
The holy blast tore through the air before the man even finished his sentence. His head exploded in a flash of golden light, spraying blood across the brick wall.
The cultists froze.
"Good speech," Azel muttered under his breath.
The silence broke instantly.
And then someone else moved.
From behind the altar, a woman stepped forward through the drifting smoke.
She was tall and carried herself with an air of confidence.
She wore a fitted white shirt and Kruvane pants, the kind used by martial elites of the Empire. A cigarette burned between her lips as she took a calm drag.
When she exhaled, the smoke curled around the jagged blade in her hand… a wide, two-edged sword that glowed with red light. It felt strange…
Rain didn't waste time. "I'll deal with the members. Nari, you're with me. Azel, handle her."
She leapt forward before either of them could respond, holy light erupting as gunfire-like bursts echoed through the room.
Nari followed, hurling waves of violet flame that ignited the air.
Azel's gaze stayed on the woman.
Her eyes met his lazily, like she wasn't even threatened.
He dropped into a stance and compressed his aura tightly around him.
Blue light glowed along his legs and arms as he released his first aura point.
'I can close the distance in seconds,' he thought, measuring her breathing.
There was no mana radiating from her and no aura either but something about her presence made his instincts scream.
'Once we save Lorraine, I'll think about all of these things later—'
He didn't finish the thought.
The space where she had been standing was suddenly empty.
Azel blinked but before he could move, he felt a sharp, tearing pain shoot through his body.
He looked down with his eyes wide.
The jagged sword was sticking through his chest from behind.