How the Cult Saves the World

Vampires. The so-called bloodsuckers.

The creatures of the night that feed on human blood.

"What is that?"

But Zain seemed to have never heard of the word before. Well, there was no such word as 'vampire' in this world.

"Simply put, they are beings that use human blood as their nourishment."

"Ah, I see. Like mosquitoes. But, why are you bringing that up?"

"Why?"

Because there is a vampire in this city.

"Master?"

I swallowed the rest of my words and he called me again.

"You said you were afraid of beings that you can't see."

"Yes, I did."

"Then you're lucky."

Vampires have a physical form.

The quest in the village of Bayers within the game HSAW was a sub-quest, just like the one in the Cartel Forest.

The main quest of HSAW was only to fight against Diego's Faith and save the world. Sometimes, there were stories about Rizes Church, but most of them were also related to Diego's Faith.

Anyway, everything else was classified as a sub-quest. So I didn't have to clear the quest in Bayers village.

The quest in Beon was more important, anyway.

I didn't plan to do the Bayers quest either. Well, I did play it a few times in HSAW.

But when I saw it in reality, my thoughts changed a bit.

Especially the innkeeper's daughter who was locked up in her room. That person, I had seen her in HSAW too.

Behind the small village of Beon, there was a huge mountain called Beon Mountain.

Its height was so high that humans could not easily measure it, and there were many dangers everywhere.

Among them were monsters that often appeared, such as orcs and goblins.

"Grrr---!"

"Kikikik!"

And now, the two races that had not invaded each other's territory before, have collided.

The orcs' blunt and hard weapons, along with the goblins' sharp spears swung at each other incessantly.

Puck---!

Green blood splattered as orcs and goblins fell to the ground.

Two people were watching that scene from the cliff next to them.

Purple long hair fluttered in the wind. The long-haired man sat on the edge of the cliff and yawned repeatedly. The other one stood behind him and scanned the situation with emotionless eyes.

"This is boring. They're so stupid that their fights are also crude and worthless."

The long-haired man, Calid, muttered. It was then that he felt a new presence.

"Lord Terdius."

One of his subordinates approached Terdius, who had been watching the situation with a blank face. It was Ron, who had a stiff impression.

"They're not around here either."

Terdius' brows furrowed briefly and then relaxed.

"I see."

Calid watched him tilt his head back.

"What? They couldn't find it again?"

"Yes."

"Seriously. Your subordinates are so useless, aren't they?"

Calid narrowed his eyes and jumped up from his seat.

"A treasure is supposed to be hard to find, but this is too much. There's no profit at all."

Calid's handsome face twisted. He soon passed by Terdius' side.

"I'm just going to go. Good luck, Third Lord."

Calid disappeared like the wind at a fast speed.

Terdius stood still in his place. In fact, this was not something he had been ordered by anyone.

He just came here because he felt like he had to for some reason. A hunch, if you will.

"You guys retreat."

Terdius ordered Ron to withdraw.

"...Yes."

Ron and his subordinates, who had been quietly following behind him, withdrew without a word. They had seen Terdius' solo actions several times before.

Terdius, who was left alone, glanced down at the cliff and jumped down. A sword came out of his waist at a fast speed.

At the sound, the orcs and goblins looked at Terdius with surprised eyes.

But, it was already too late.

The heads of the monsters flew into the air and hit the ground.

Thud!

Thump.

Terdian didn't even look at the corpses of the monsters and shook off the green blood on his sword.

He moved his steps slowly. To find the treasure.

I was standing in the hallway. I didn't know how long I had been there, but I was just there.

A dark hallway. I was not alone there.

There were black shadows everywhere, like silhouettes. They opened their mouths at me.

"Hey, you're an orphan, right? Jeong Ji-hyun."

"How dare you, you orphan bastard."

The black shadows sneered at me.

"My dad said I shouldn't play with kids who don't have parents."

"You have no mom or dad!"

The people's murmurs grew louder. And the louder they got, the smaller I became.

Maybe it was because I was so small. I felt suffocated.

What did I do wrong to deserve this?

'All I want is, I just...'

But I couldn't say anything. I couldn't make a sound even if I wanted to argue.

It felt like someone was choking my neck, making it hard to breathe.

I just wanted to live a normal life like everyone else.

'Why do they all ignore me and oppress me?'

Why... What did I do wrong to them?

"...Master!"

I opened my eyes wide.

"Master, are you okay?"

Then, I saw a strange ceiling and Zain's face looking at me with concern.

"Huh, haah."

I finally breathed. I gasped for air and sat up.

Oh, right. This is the world inside HSAW.

It's not the world I used to live in. This is a different world that doesn't know me.

"Haa, haa..."

I washed my face. Then I heard Zain's careful voice.

"You seemed to have a nightmare, so I woke you up. Are you okay?"

"Ah... Thank you."

I tried to smile at Zain. My expression didn't come out easily.

I felt like I had been dreaming a lot lately. But, the dream I had today was the worst.

A dream of my previous life that I hadn't experienced since I came to this world.

-Are you alright, dear child? Your face is covered in sweat. Did you have a bad dream?

'Yes. I'm fine. Don't worry.'

Kyros, who had finished his manifestation and returned from a puppy to a spirit form, asked me with a worried voice.

I told Kyros that I was fine, too.

Maybe it was because of the dream that I had. Earlier today, Zain asked me what I was afraid of.

My fear, and the root of that horror.

"Whew. What time is it?"

"It's two in the morning. You should go back to sleep."

Should I? As I thought about it, Zain put on his robe. He looked like he was going somewhere.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, well..."

Jaiin scratched his head and approached me timidly.

"Actually... I'm worried about the innkeeper's daughter."

"So, you're going to free her or something?"

"I just want to hear her story first. Even if she's crazy, it's not right to lock her up in there."

I didn't care much about it either, but it wasn't humane to ignore it either.

-That's what I wanted to talk to you about.

"Okay. Let's go together then. I can't sleep anyway."

Zain brightened up noticeably.

"Really?"

I nodded and he smiled with a squeak.

"I was scared to go alone. This is great."

What a coward.

-My kids are so nice indeed.

I heard Kyros' satisfied laughter and put on the robe that I had taken off. After putting on the hood, I followed Zain to the door.

Zain stood in front of the door and carefully turned the knob. He peeked his head out into the hallway and quickly looked around before looking back at me. After confirming that I nodded, he cautiously moved his feet.

As we entered the hallway, we realized that the inn was as quiet as a mouse. We were the only outsiders in this village, so we were probably the only guests too.

Squeak, squeak.

As Zain and I walked carefully down the hallway, there was a noise from the floor. It felt louder than when we heard it during the day.

I was thinking that when Zain's eyes widened and he looked at me.

'What, what do you want?'

Squeak.

I was just walking quietly, but the corridor was old and made noise. I shrugged my shoulders to convey that it was unavoidable. Zain glared at me once.

This kid.

Fortunately, we reached the locked room without running into anyone.

"Can you open it?"

I didn't have that skill, so I asked Zain quietly. He smiled slyly and took out something from his pocket.

It was a long metal rod with irregular holes.

"I can open anything with this."

A master key or something.

Jain answered briefly and started poking the lock with the metal rod.

-It's a crime without a doubt... But there's a child trapped in there, so we have no choice.

'Yes. Sometimes there are crimes that can be forgiven.'

The old lock made a few clanking sounds and then opened with a click.

Wow, awesome. This guy has good hand skills.

I was about to raise my thumb to Zain who put the lock on the floor gently when it happened.

-Kid! Someone is coming.

Thanks to Kuros' voice, I noticed the sound of wood creaking from the stairs. Zain also heard it and looked at me with startled eyes.

'This... We have no choice.'

I gestured to Zain with my eyes and stepped back. Then, I hid my body in a small space near the stairs. When I made a gesture to cover my mouth with my index finger, he nodded his head.

Soon, I heard someone climbing the last step. One person by the sound of their footsteps. We can easily subdue them.

"What are you do-"

Thud!

Before the man who discovered Zain could scream, I swiftly hit his neck. He lost consciousness without making a sound.

I barely caught him before he hit the floor and laid him down. He was the innkeeper.

"Wow, Master. You can do this kind of thing as well?"

Zain opened his mouth slightly in surprise.

-Well done, my boy! When did you get so strong?

I rubbed my hand, which felt numb from the impact, and smiled faintly.

"I learned."

I didn't just get pushed around by Fanatic while doing physical training close to the limit. I also learned some simple restraint and self-defense techniques.

I smiled at Zain who showed me his thumb and moved the innkeeper to the corner.

Zain opened the door of the locked room.

'This trash...'

The inside was so dirty and narrow that it couldn't be called a room, but more like a storage. In a place full of dusty things, a child curled up and slept.

It was a girl who looked like she was in her late teens.

Her wrists were tied tightly with ropes.

-How dare they do such horrible things to this young child!

"Ha... They locked up such a young child."

Kyros and Zain were furious. So was I. I already knew the situation, but seeing it in front of me made my fists clench hard.

At that moment, the child's eyelids fluttered and her eyes opened.

"Wh, who are you?"