Ch.198198. Secret Cult (2)

Right after waking from a dream.

The agents each opened their eyes in their prepared accommodations, such as inns.

It was their daily routine—renting temporary lodgings, waiting for missions while disguised as day laborers to supplement their living expenses.

While the Assassination Order did provide some living allowances and dignity maintenance funds for their agents…

The amount was literally just enough to barely survive, and if one wanted to indulge in any personal luxuries, they had to earn extra money.

Having worked as simple day laborers near their lodgings for both disguise and income, they instantly packed their belongings, erased all traces of themselves from their accommodations, and moved according to the mission information that had entered their minds, as they always did.

Their destination was a specific temple mentioned in the information.

“Welcome, brother. What brings you here?”

“Red rabbit, I’ve come to buy a one-horned goat.”

“…Yes, confirmed. This way.”

After being warmly greeted by the priest—a support agent of the Assassination Order—and proving their identity through the password, they descended underground through a hidden door in the small temple of the Vengeance Order, where, as always, equipment necessary for various missions awaited them.

Swish.

The agents set down their belongings and immediately began changing into the prepared attire.

They wrapped their bodies with magical bandages that greatly enhanced regenerative abilities, then donned special black-dyed mythril bodysuits made through alchemy.

These bodysuits, woven from thread extracted from mythril, were lighter than silk and had exceptional elasticity like rubber, despite being metal.

Yet, being made of mythril enhanced with various magical properties, these bodysuits possessed defensive capabilities surpassing mediocre full-body armor.

…Let’s not think about the price.

Over the bodysuits, they fastened belts that could hold various weapons, securely attaching more than dozens of different weapons and tools.

Flap!

They attached black robes with hoods that had perception-hindering and invisibility functions, securing them to their belts so they wouldn’t fall off.

Finally, they donned white skull masks with information detection interference abilities, fixing them to the hood portion of their robes, completing their preparation as assassins.

“Since I can’t see you… I suppose you’re ready.”

Despite the agent having opened the door himself, the priest-agent couldn’t perceive him. Knowing he was invisible, the agent still greeted the priest before immediately leaving the room.

This was exactly three days before the mission date.

※ ※ ※

Three days later, the five agents quickly arrived in Algerica.

Though it would normally take at least two weeks even on the fastest express ship, using the Blood Sanctuary, a teleportation relay facility, made instantaneous travel possible.

Thus, having instantly moved to the back alleys of Algerica’s capital, they assessed the gradually darkening surroundings and immediately took action.

While the heretical Ma-Duk Cult had influence at the level of some shadowy power, it was still technically an illegal organization as a group worshiping evil gods.

Therefore, their hideout, located in the back alleys despite being untouchable in scale, was incomparably larger and more lavish than surrounding buildings…

It consisted of a massive outdoor hall—an assembly place enclosed by ornate walls with a closed structure—and beyond it, a temple, or more precisely, the cult leader’s luxurious private residence.

The agents entered silently without making even a footstep sound, finding a false gathering in full swing, characteristic of cult madness.

“Do you believe?”

“”””””””””””””””We believe!!!””””””””””””””””

“Do you believe?”

“”””””””””””””””We believe!!!””””””””””””””””

“Do you believe?”

“”””””””””””””””We believe!!!””””””””””””””””

“Do you believe?”

“”””””””””””””””We believe!!!””””””””””””””””

They repeatedly chanted slogans to envelop people in mob psychology, while burning special substances in fires placed throughout the assembly hall.

The magical-marijuana of this world, a native root plant from the desert near Algerica used as an anesthetic that dampened mood, was just the beginning.

Dream moth dust powder that made the mind hazy, spores of rage mushrooms—rage powder—that induced subtle pleasure and excitement…

They had combined various drugs or substances close to drugs into pouches, throwing them into the fire to make everyone inhale them as smoke.

””’………””’

Naturally, the agents, who had completed training to adapt to and counter drugs, and who wore masks with gas mask functions, had no problem even breathing directly in front of these substances.

But beyond that, the fanatic agents who witnessed this drug party conducted in the name of worshiping the god of vengeance quietly fueled their anger.

Being professionals, they didn’t openly display their anger, but seeing such acts done in the name of a deity…

‘We will succeed, no matter what…!!’

It would have been stranger if the agents hadn’t been angered by this.

So the agents quickly moved to their respective positions.

Maximizing the power of their equipment, they remained undetected even when walking right in front of people. With additional stealth measures, they reached their targets—the braziers burning with pouches full of mixed drugs—without any resistance.

There, the agents took out pouches attached to belts inside their cloaks and threw the contents—yellow bead-like objects—into the flames—

—Whoooooosh!

Immediately after, yellow smoke burst from the beads that had cracked in the flames, spreading throughout the entire outdoor assembly hall with incredible speed.

Due to the braziers’ design, which facilitated easier inhalation of drugs, the contents of the alchemically compressed gas beads spread even more easily.

Thud!

Crash!!

Thus, with minds already hazy, the followers who directly inhaled the yellow smoke succumbed to the sudden drowsiness flooding their minds and collapsed to the ground.

The effect of the sleeping gas created by Ben Gaitenping to showcase his alchemical skills was enough to put everyone to sleep with just five yellow spheres the size of beads.

However, even as the gas spread and turned the outdoor hall yellow, there were still some beings who resisted the sleeping gas and remained awake.

From beastmen or beastmen hybrids with high drug resistance, to cultists blessed by strange gods.

Even the priest in lavish gold-embroidered robes, who was hosting this gathering as the cult leader’s representative, maintained consciousness.

In other words, they were all targets who “could be killed without compromising the mission,” and some were even marked for execution.

So these assassins, after a moment’s hesitation, drew daggers from their garments, and shortly after—all that remained in the outdoor assembly hall were sleeping people and unidentifiable fluids.

※ ※ ※

Called a chapel or temple among the cult, but essentially just the cult leader’s lavish and frivolous mansion.

‘W-what is this…?!!’

A black panther beastman mercenary employed as security at this mansion froze at the sight unfolding before her eyes—

To understand this in more detail, we need to turn back time a little further.

She and her colleagues, guarding the mansion while exchanging jokes as usual, suddenly heard servants raising an alarm about intruders.

But when the servants’ voices abruptly ceased, the mercenaries, sensing their deaths, approached with weapons drawn—

—Slash!

Starting with the heavily armed mercenary at the front suddenly having his head sent flying, about 30 mercenaries were being attacked one by one in sequence by mysterious enemies.

Of course, these mercenaries were veteran fighters with ample combat experience, so the deaths of a few frontline members wouldn’t normally faze them.

Death on the battlefield comes even to those vaunted intermediate warriors.

But… this attack was different in many ways from previous ones.

First, the attackers themselves displayed bizarre characteristics.

They were not only invisible to the eye but undetectable even to beastmen’s senses, only briefly revealing themselves at the moment of attack before disappearing again.

Moreover, the glimpses revealed figures clad entirely in black with skull faces, with no other distinguishable features.

She was so panicked that she childishly imagined them to be evil spirits from her homeland’s legends…

But she didn’t have time to continue that thought.

Suddenly her vision slid downward, and she could see her own headless body with her eyes.

Only then recognizing her own death, the black panther beastman mercenary exhaled her final breath with difficulty—and moved no more.