The Cult Hideout, Packed with Clues!

I found myself glancing around for no good reason. I wasn't about to class-change into a thief or something, was I? It wasn't like I was actually committing a crime, but I was weirdly tense anyway.

I looked back down at the entrance.

No way this is a dungeon, right? The info window isn't popping up, so probably not. Who built this place? Some kind of hidden piece?

I'd never seen a hidden piece like this before. I caught my breath for a moment, then headed down.

I made my way down the cold stone steps. The door shut on its own behind me. This was horror-movie cliché territory.

What's the worst that could happen?

This wasn't just anything — it was sitting right underneath the lord's statue. The whole thing felt completely bizarre. The stone stairs looked like they'd been built ages ago, and whatever those things hanging on every wall were — cloth? curtains? — they had to be a hundred years old at least.

At the bottom, a wide cavern opened up.

It's cleaner inside than I expected.

Clean to the point of feeling empty, actually. Pathways branched out in every direction. I thought I'd walked into an anthill.

Which way?

Four passages in total. If I wanted to figure out where I was, I'd have to explore. I scanned the area, trying to pick out wherever I could hear signs of life.

This way.

When I listened down the rightmost path, I could make out what sounded like human voices echoing. I headed that way. As I crept closer, the presence grew louder, and soon the sound resolved into something like a hymn being sung.

Hymns? Down here in a basement?

I cocked my head and made it through the rest of the passage. Peeking through a curtain that blocked the way, I looked inside.

"The Lord shall descend, and all sinners shall repent!"

"Those Who Recite Sins, heavenly agents of divine punishment! The world shall drown in a black flood, and from the outer cosmos the angels shall descend!"

I couldn't help but laugh. This was a hideout for Those Who Recite Sins? Should I even call it a church? They were a cult, so I didn't really want to give them that dignity.

Huh? What's that corpse?

Amazingly, a body was hanging from the ceiling above the hymn-singers. A middle-aged man in what looked like expensive clothes, but he was so covered in blood I couldn't tell who he was. The cultists all looked up at the corpse as one and chanted.

"We recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins, we recite the sins!"

Fuck, I was going to lose my mind.

I was internally freaking out when I heard footsteps behind me. Shit, I was going to get caught!

Ah, screw it. Hide here.

I ducked behind a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠curtain hanging on the wall. Even hiding here, if someone looked carefully they'd see my feet.

"Hmm..."

One of the believers was staring right at where I was standing. Should I silence him? Just as the thought crossed my mind, a voice called out from the hymn-singing hall.

"Brother, you've arrived?"

"Sorry, my stomach was acting up..."

"The Lord has forgiven you. Come, join us in song."

"Yes, Pastor."

The believer went in with the guy who looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a pastor. I was briefly speechless. Did you not see me? Or did you grit your teeth and pretend you didn't?

That's weird. Ah... the title!

The Epic-grade title, Presence Concealment. An infiltration-only effect that kept enemies below my level from detecting me. I never thought it'd shine here of all places. Damn, this thing actually delivers!

If I play this right, this could be fun. So even if I walk right behind someone, as long as they can't see me, they won't know? Infiltration mission, start! Assassino!

I licked my lips and turned toward another path. And right on cue, a quest popped up.

The rewards were unusual. Stats I could understand, but a Mental Immunity Potion?

A potion that makes you immune to mental interference itself for a full hour.

It'd come in handy either way. It'd sell for a pretty penny, too.

I started exploring. I skipped the singing hall and wandered the other paths, hoping to find anything useful — even a single line of information.

Combing through this anthill is going to take forever, but let's do it. It's worth it, right?

This was a cult hideout, after all. If I ransacked the place, something was bound to turn up.

So I kept wandering. After roaming for a long time, I figured it out. Those paths I'd seen from the cavern — each one had its own theme. Some were set up as worship halls or meeting places, others served as dining halls, and some were where the cultists rested or slept. And the last path was blocked by an iron door. I couldn't get in. I instinctively knew something was waiting on the other side.

Are the archives beyond this?

The problem was I couldn't open it and go in. It looked incredibly shady — the kind of place that would spit out a conspiracy if you ransacked it — and of course it was locked. If I smashed my way in, it'd cause a commotion. I might end up stirring up every last member of Those Who Recite Sins.

Plus the cult leader might find out someone's snooping around.

Based on the intel I'd gotten before, the cult leader was here in Weverpool Fief. Even I couldn't take on the entire cult plus that bastard by myself.

Besides, this is a stealth mission right now. Heh heh.

I tried to stay calm. First, I went back to wandering. Then I spotted the pastor from earlier roaming around alone.

Huh. That direction is where the believers sleep. Don't tell me?

The pastor cleared his throat for no reason and headed somewhere. I stuck right behind him and followed. He should've been able to hear my breathing, but the guy was walking like there was nobody there at all.

Fuck, this is actually kind of funny. Holy shit, I'm right behind him.

Following the pastor confirmed my suspicions. It was even a private room. He knocked on the door.

"Sister, are you in?"

No answer. The pastor smiled like a snake.

"Guess the drugs are working well."

He grabbed the doorknob and twisted.

So he was going to fuck a sleeping woman.

I could see the picture now. These bastards really had no creativity. How were they all like this?

Click. Creeeak.

I followed the pastor right into the room. I could've ended up watching some unexpected stranger-sex, but I don't care unless I'm the one doing the eating. A blanket was spread out inside, and a female believer was asleep — completely defenseless. The moment the pastor started to take off his pants, I put my sword to his neck.

"That's far enough!"

"Gah! What? When did you get here? Who are you?!"

"I've got some questions for you. I'd like you to answer them honestly."

"Who the fuck are you?!"

WHACK!

I drove a calf kick into him. He couldn't take it and went down. I'd gone easy so I wouldn't break his leg — and he still dropped? First I chopped the back of his head with a knife-hand.

"I ask the questions. You give the answers. Got it?"

"Y-yeah...!"

"Is this a hideout for Those Who Recite Sins?"

"Y-yeah. Are you an inspector?"

"Someone above that."

I lied. The pastor's face was a sight to behold. His eyes went as round as a low-ranking demon who'd just run into Michael in hell.

"Th-this is the Weverpool branch...!"

"Branch? So there's a main base?"

"Yeah."

He said that and clammed up. I sighed and grabbed him by the collar.

"You've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gotta tell me where the main base is too, you piece of shit. That's how this conversation ends and I let you go. Right?"

I sweet-talked him. The pastor wet his lips.

"I don't know where the main base is either. I may look like this, but I'm a grunt!"

"Then let me ask. Why is there a place like this right under Weverpool Fief? Who built it?"

"This is one of the underground passages that's existed since the old days. We just renovated it."

Underground passages. Of course that's all it could be. Every fief has underground passages. Still, they'd hidden it pretty damn well.

"There was a place blocked by an iron door earlier. What's that?"

"...The archives."

"Archives?"

"We mainly keep documents there, and there's a vault too. Not just anyone can go in. Including me!"

"Sounds like you're lying."

"It's true, I swear! I swear it!"

This bastard really did seem like a grunt. Of all the people to grab, I get this guy. He begged me pathetically.

"I told you everything I know, please let me go. Let me go!"

"One last thing. You've got a cult leader, right? Is that bastard here?"

"Yeah, he doesn't show himself often. He mostly appears at night."

"Alright, good work. I'll let you go."

I took half a step back. The pastor grinned, pulled his pants back up, and started to get up.

SLASH!

I cut his head off on the spot. The pastor collapsed, spraying blood, then turned to light and vanished.

"I'm releasing you from that disgusting life."

I left him behind and took a brief look at the female believer. A plain-looking girl, and her chest was small too. You call that a woman? I left a sneer behind and headed back to where the iron door had been.

This is the problem.

Worried someone might come, I hid behind a curtain and stared at the iron door. I was wondering how to open it when someone approached. I snuck a look — a pastor with half his hair gone walked right past me toward the iron door.

"O my Lord, dwell within my heart."

Amazingly, the pastor put his hand on the door and started injecting pitch-black energy.

Kahloom?

It looked like Kahloom at a glance. The pastor opened the door without much trouble and went inside. That pastor wasn't a grunt.

I hurriedly followed him in. Inside, there were indeed a lot of documents. Calling it an archive wasn't an exaggeration. There was even a massive vault. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What was in there?

Even if it's just gold and jewels, I could sit on my ass for the rest of my life.

The pastor looked around, then muttered to himself like he was in a bind.

"Ahh, I can't remember. Where'd I put the extra Kahloom..."

"I don't know about the Kahloom, but I'm right here."

I put my sword to his neck. The pastor flinched and froze.

"Alright, let's start the questions. I ask, you answer. Easy, right?"

"Y-you? Fine... I understand."

I asked a few questions. Answers came back. But it was disappointing. No different from the last pastor, except he confirmed this was the archives.

"Whatever. The stuff in here will serve as intel or evidence."

"H-hey. You're messing with the wrong people."

What kind of bullshit was this. A cult wouldn't talk like that unless they had state power in their pocket. The pastor trembled, but his mouth twisted into a sneer.

"Those Who Recite Sins have already grown as big as we're going to get. You think a two-bit mercenary like you can do anything? And by yourself?"

He seemed to be mistaking me for a mercenary. What kind of delusion was this? I grinned and shot back.

"Of course I can. If I wanted, I could even kill an evil god."

"What?!"

"I'm a Hero."

I drove my blade through his throat.

The pastor collapsed with a gurgling sound, then turned to light and vanished. I immediately started looting everything in the archives. Documents, materials that could serve as evidence — I swept it all into my ring. Among them were several iron cases containing Kahloom.

Finally I stood in front of the vault.

"Doesn't look like it'll open easily. Not that you can escape me either."

I snapped my fingers.

The vault vanished into my ring as well. Was I about to become filthy rich? I didn't have time to check, though.

I headed for the exit. Time to get the hell out of here!