Ch.225Chapter 225 – The Demon Cult’s Withdrawal

# Demon Cult

They were a religious group and terrorist organization that served the Demon God, having been taught by demons and demonic beings under the Demon God’s command, rejecting the Great Goddess and other deities of this world.

The Demon Cult and its followers moved with a single purpose.

That purpose was the “Advent of the Demon God.”

The Demon God had been defeated by the Nameless Hero, losing his physical form and becoming a malevolent yet powerless spiritual entity.

However, though powerless, he merely lacked a physical body.

Even as a spiritual entity, the Demon God could still intervene in the world.

The proof of this was Eldran, a corrupted elf and the first demonic being.

Eldran was the first demonic being whom the Demon God had directly contacted and led down the path of corruption. Just one encounter with the Demon God’s presence was enough to secure his loyalty until now.

This was how the Demon Cult managed to survive and expand despite countless persecutions.

Like weeds that stubbornly survive and spread their roots even in extreme environments, the Demon Cult grew stronger the more persecution it faced.

Through its survival, the Demon Cult spread its influence widely, to the point where even high nobles and leaders of various countries numbered among its followers.

Given these circumstances, completely eradicating the Demon Cult was practically impossible.

At least until a Demon Cult follower killed Count Pathos Severio with a bomb.

Count Pathos Severio.

Known to the public as the savior of the bald, the saint of hair loss, and a walking human elixir, news spread that he had been killed in a bombing by a Demon Cult follower.

When Demon Cult followers heard this news, they rejoiced.

It was as if the greatest obstacle to the Demon God’s advent had been removed.

Pathos had already been the Demon Cult’s number one assassination target since he thwarted their grand plan to steal the corrupted holy sword and resurrect the Demon God.

The cult followers believed that with Pathos dead, the Demon Cult could now begin its activities in earnest.

They thought the world would be shocked by their power, which could even kill a high noble.

However, the Gelebrio Empire demonstrated through action just how wrong their thinking was.

Emperor Decatro IV of the Gelebrio Empire declared war on the Demon Cult while simultaneously joining forces with every religious order across the world.

This was because they discovered that the holy power possessed by priests was the perfect counter to the demonic energy wielded by the Demon Cult’s people.

Without question, Etherna was the most active collaborator in this effort.

For Etherna, Pathos was the only person she could accept as a companion.

Moreover, she had already developed feelings for him from the moment he recognized her true identity at first glance, and as they lived together here and there, she gradually fell for him.

However, since he had the outstanding woman Regina Blasteria by his side, she had been content to be second in his life.

But when all of that was reduced to nothing by the Demon Cult, Etherna was genuinely enraged.

Thus, she actively cooperated in finding and “crushing” the Demon Cult’s pawns.

With permission from the Solar Order and the Sun God, Etherna officially declared herself a saint to the entire world.

While working as the Chief Inquisitor was good, operating officially as a saint would allow her to more actively help uncover the Demon Cult.

Indeed, the moment Etherna revealed herself as a saint, countless people who had received her help began assisting in rooting out the Demon Cult.

Through this, the Gelebrio Empire was able to locate numerous Demon Cult branches, and despite the empire’s usual policy of rehabilitating criminals, they showed absolutely no mercy to members of the Demon Cult.

“I am not merciful enough to extend compassion to those who have harmed my subjects.”

Emperor Decatro IV publicly emphasized that Pathos had been in a lord-vassal relationship with him.

“I will consider attacks against this great person blessed with abilities from the Great Goddess as treason against both the Great Goddess and the Sun God!”

Etherna Lumio Sol, the saint of the Solar Order, emphasized that Pathos’s abilities came from the Great Goddess, highlighting that the Demon Cult were traitors who had rebelled against the Great Goddess.

“We elves will also help you destroy these wicked beings.”

The elves, guardians of the World Tree, having heard of Pathos’s death from Regina, also joined the war against the Demon Cult to avenge their benefactor.

Additionally, many others who had received help from Pathos’s abilities actively participated in the war against the Demon Cult…

“Now that everyone’s gathered, let me ask. How many branches are we still in contact with?”

“…Twelve.”

“Twelve? I clearly remember there were over sixty just last month.”

Within just a few months of declaring war, of the more than sixty Demon Cult branches that had existed in the Gelebrio Empire, only twelve remained—the rest had vanished without a trace.

“I heard that those who had just been promoted from followers to devotees couldn’t contain their zeal and acted rashly. That’s how the branches’ identities were discovered and annihilated.”

“Damn it. Why isn’t the empire showing us any leniency?”

The branch leaders of the Demon Cult expressed their outrage.

They were angry that the Gelebrio Empire, which rarely imposed the death penalty even on heinous criminals, was specifically and decisively killing only them.

“This is one-sided slaughter! Some of our devotees have only just joined…”

“The empire’s stance is clear. If you have even the slightest connection to the Demon Cult, they kill you first and ask questions later. I believe this is the first time the country has carried out such a large-scale massacre.”

One of the Demon Cult priests expressed doubt.

Why must we suffer such persecution? he wondered.

Historically, many cults and heresies had emerged, but none had faced such harsh treatment as they were experiencing now.

“I guess that Pathos fellow was that important to the people of this empire.”

“I heard even the headmistress of Glesius Academy fell head over heels for him.”

“Damn it. As if the situation wasn’t difficult enough, we keep hearing worse news.”

If they were already struggling with just Etherna’s additional participation, it was clear that if Regina Blasteria, respected by all magicians, also joined the fight… the Demon Cult would truly be uprooted and disappear.

“The bigger problem is… Cheonma, the leader of the Cheonma Divine Order who’s been exterminating all our followers in the Eastern Continent, has crossed over to this continent.”

“What?”

“Is what you just said true?”

Everyone was startled when the whereabouts of Cheonma, the leader of the Cheonma Divine Order, were mentioned.

The followers of the Cheonma Divine Order possessed exceptional abilities in tracking down the Demon Cult that had been expanding in the Eastern Continent.

And Cheonma was the one these followers served.

In an actual battle with the Cheonma Divine Order, when Cheonma joined and simply pressed his foot firmly on the ground, all Demon Cult devotees within that range lost their lives.

In the face of such formidable power, the actions of the Demon Cult followers were nothing more than futile struggles.

“So what should we do?”

“If it’s true that Cheonma has appeared… I think we should withdraw from the Gelebrio Empire.”

Learning that Cheonma had also appeared on this continent, the Demon Cult priests responded as if the inevitable had finally come.

Until now, they had been fighting against humans to some extent, but now they faced a monster who transcended human limitations.

It was already difficult to deal with humans; facing a monster at this point was a thought only a fool would entertain.

“We should… withdraw?”

“Lord Eldran would be deeply saddened to hear this…”

“We have no choice. If we all die here, we won’t be able to influence the Gelebrio Empire anymore. We must think of this as taking five steps back to advance ten steps forward.”

“Hmm…”

Everyone nodded in agreement with one priest’s words.

As important as spreading the Demon Cult was, it wouldn’t protect them from beings that could erase their existence.

In the end, one had to protect one’s own life to have hope for the future.

“Then we agree to withdraw. It seems we must postpone our plans for the Gelebrio Empire.”

“I agree.”

“I agree as well.”

All the priests expressed their agreement, and finally, the Demon Cult began to gradually disappear from the Gelebrio Empire.

“If everyone vanishes at once, they’ll be suspicious, so I’ll sacrifice myself. While my branch’s forces launch a large-scale surprise attack, you all must escape without fail.”

“…I’m counting on you.”

“We won’t let your death be in vain.”

While one branch of the Demon Cult in the Gelebrio Empire carried out a surprise attack to draw all attention, the rest successfully escaped from the empire.

“We’ll see. We will definitely return.”

The eyes of the Demon Cult priests looking back at the Gelebrio Empire were extremely fierce and sharp.

They still had not given up on the Gelebrio Empire.

Someday, they would return.

Without fail.