Cult Sermons and Shocking Origins
After another round of commotion died down, we were led by the knights into a quiet atmosphere.
Story-wise, the place we were heading was probably the Hearth, the heart of Rondan. In this blizzard-swept land of death, the Hearth turned it into livable ground, and the city had formed around it with people clustering densely. Sure enough, the number of passersby started increasing as we went.
Whenever I glanced at them to check their conditions, they didn't look all that upbeat. Is this really a dark fantasy world? Most shuffled along with hunched backs, eyes fixed on the ground, their gazes gloomy. It seemed like they'd conditioned themselves that way to avoid accidentally glimpsing a giant—like my own mistake—without even realizing it.
The few who held their heads up were...
"Everyone, look! Why do you think we've fallen into such despair? It's because we don't believe in our one true god, Lord Luminous! If you don't believe in Lord Luminous, you'll live a life of misery and, after death, end up bowed in a realm crawling with Outer Gods. But if you do believe, you'll be saved!"
...pretty much just the self-proclaimed cultists who seemed even more unhinged than me, the certified nutjob.
"Ahh, O God, please save us."
"Why have you forsaken us?"
"We'll offer tribute. Things this world doesn't need."
They knelt, clutching idols they'd made of their god, praying or preaching. Unaffected by Outer Gods, these objects didn't trigger Super Coward Mode and showed their true forms. Not scary, but it sure hammered home the end-times vibe.
The cultists' sermons didn't last long before rabbit-masked figures appeared to shut them down.
"Knights!"
One shout, and everyone else flinched, hunching over. But one Luminous preacher kept his head rigidly high to the end.
"L-Let go! You lot, do you wanna plunge into the abyss without Lord Luminous's light?!"
"Shut it, you idol-worshipping scum, and scram!"
"Just grab him. Rondan's Iron Rules, Article 2: Do not worship false gods. Major violation. Toss him in a cell."
A subordinate said this to the senior rabbit mask, who was sucking on a smoking candy.
"Senior, the prison's closed due to the actual situation right now."
Hearing that, the senior rabbit mask muttered, "Damn Outer Gods," clutched his head, and shook it.
"Ugh, just shove him in the branch's holding cell or something."
The old cultist screamed himself hoarse.
"Let go! You idiots, we must enlighten them!"
Even as they dragged him off, he pulled a paper from his chest and waved it around.
"Sign it! The Hearth and Logs are just a big tower. The true one watching us from the snow is the Observer of Light, Lord Luminous!"
Everyone averted their eyes at the sight of the paper, looking down desperately. Immune to madness, I snuck a peek, but it was so scribbled I couldn't make out the words.
"Yes, yes, we get it. Flashing unpurified text like that means we'll have to add another charge."
Enlightenment my ass. Just possessed by mosquitoes, sucking blood money.
As I thought that, a faint song suddenly echoed from somewhere.
"♪~"
"What the hell is this voice?"
It was a beautiful tone, like jade beads clicking perfectly. Melancholy-tinged, I listened in awe. But unlike me, everyone around scattered in panic every which way.
"Shit, mental attack! Plug your ears!"
One yell, and since this wasn't a one-off, they acted fast. Every resident and knight clamped their ears shut. Even the Hunter, hands bound, spread them as wide as possible and jammed her thumbs in to block the sound, curling up.
As they did, the freed cultist grinned smugly and backed away slowly.
"Heehee! Thank you, O Observer!"
The worshipper bolted in the end. What timing... Seeing him escape before capture—lucky guy? For me, Super Coward Mode made it just a song, but that old man hadn't plugged his ears either. Hope he's fine. Whatever, his problem.
"Not a good day. Long road ahead."
The song stopped, knights stood, and we resumed. Others rose too, resuming their gloomy trudge like nothing happened. I faked plugging my ears to avoid seeming weird, so no floggings from the knights.
We passed countless people and, before the tower, entered a building. The masked woman flung the door open roughly, and two cat-masked men jumped up, saluting frantically.
"W-We greet the Vice Captain, right hand of Her Highness the Princess, and her subordinates!"
"Yeah. Who's the branch chief here?"
"The Black Lion!"
"Call him."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Despite looking exhausted, they scurried inside briskly. Moments later, the sweating Black Lion emerged—a tiger-masked man. Why tiger if he's a lion?
Spotting the Vice Captain, he saluted instantly. She returned it, he dropped his hand, and snapped to attention.
"Fourth Branch status report: Five off night duty, three injured, currently five knights..."
"Not here for that. Cut it."
She waved him off, and he finally got to the point.
"What brings you here instead of the Hearth...?"
"Need to communicate with the Princess for official business. Watch these guys."
"...Who are they?"
"Underground Prison inmates."
"Ah... From that place?"
"Yep. Can't take criminals to her. We'll judge here."
The branch chief's eyes chilled at her words. Oof, that glare screams 'better off dead.' No eye contact for me.
"Anyway, thanks."
"Y-Yes... Understood."
Luckily, no details. She and her two left us behind casually. Just ditching us like this?
Perplexed, glancing around, knights approached and yanked our blue tape bindings.
"Vice Captain's orders. We'll handle your custody. Follow."
The place they led us to was an inner room crammed with iron bars. Same old jail time even here? Never committed a crime in my life...
From lightless Underground Prison to surface holding cell—progress? Empty, probably for temp lockups like this. The iron door creaked open rusty-like, and at the branch chief's gesture, we entered.
"Wait here. Don't try anything."
He slammed it shut, locked it, and left promptly. Silver lining: he bounced quick. Lingering would've made relaxing impossible.
The space fell awkwardly silent. Nothing to say, so I stayed put. Bored, Agartha tapped the floor with her foot. Figured she'd stop, but it got louder.
About to tell her off—
"Ugh... Waaah!"
Agartha wailed. Damn, she's the noisiest human ever. Wow. Can't sit still for a single minute! Had to admire it.
"Jeez, why's everyone so quiet? I'll die of boredom."
"Gotta open your mouth?"
"No! You were chatting earlier!"
"Pointless energy waste."
"Save it for times like this; energy's endless otherwise."
Agartha hummed thoughtfully, then nodded like she'd struck gold.
"Stuck like this, maybe we're a fated community."
"...Nonsense."
"So, with guards blocking escape, why not share backstories? Might find common ground."
"Better a quick death than relating to a thief."
"Aw, could change after hearing. I started it, so I'll go first."
Expected some bullshit from her as usual. Her bored face matched.
"I'm the daughter of a thief who raped my mom."
Agartha spat it out casually, leaving us stunned.