It took quite a bit of time to bury those guys.
To make sure no smell or traces leaked out, I had to dig pretty deep.
Besides, I didn’t have a shovel at the moment.
Who would have thought that something like this would happen when they went out?
“Ah, I should have brought a shovel since I might have to bury someone today,” is a thought that’s just too strange.
Thanks to that, I had no choice but to use the round shield the orange-haired girl left behind to dig.
Damn it, if this was the case, I shouldn’t have made a hole in the shield.
No matter how I dug with a shield, dirt just kept leaking through the hole in the center, making it quite inconvenient.
“Damn you, past me.”
Thanks to that, I cursed my past self while I worked.
It was a day when I especially missed my neighbor’s friend, the Owl Bear.
If that gluttonous friend had been around, I wouldn’t have had to dig at all.
Still, after about two hours of work, I was finally able to finish.
“Hoo…”
Wiping my sweat, I glanced around, noticing that the forest had already darkened into night.
Of course, Chaerin had already returned to the city.
The expression she made when we parted was quite enigmatic. It was like the demeanor of a common citizen who pretends not to have seen a crime scene.
…Yeah, it’s my first time burying someone, so I’m a bit fascinated. I didn’t know I’d ever do something like this.
‘…Is it okay? Am I alright?’
I briefly questioned my humanity.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been living here for 23 years, but I feel like I’m gradually forgetting modern emotions.
Yet, it’s not like my heart aches or I’m sweating cold, so my humanity seems to be telling me it’s still okay.
…Unless it’s already dead and can’t speak anymore.
Anyway, all my tasks were finished.
However, an unsettling feeling still lingered within me.
The fact that these guys came here in the first place was already problematic.
They didn’t come to see me, nor did they escape from something outside.
They had come on orders from their group, ‘Lemegaton’, and happened to cross paths with me, planning to have a go at me.
Thanks to that, I had to do the labor of digging for two hours.
Not to mention, I now had to go home and clean up the mess I made.
“Damn these fucking bastards.”
In a moment of rage, I spat toward the ground where that guy was buried.
If it were up to me, I’d want to relieve myself right there, but unfortunately, I didn’t need to pee, so I had to hold it in.
Seeing how my humanity didn’t react, it probably meant that he was okay with it.
What a shame.
Anyway, now’s the time to lay low.
‘Lemegaton’ will be visiting this forest a few more times in the future.
As Yoo Chaerin mentioned, they were currently desperate to find the ‘Hood NPC’.
So they searched the city, and when they couldn’t find it, they widened their investigation to this forest.
‘It’s going to be annoying for a while…’
I felt a headache coming on. I really hope they don’t find my hideout.
Fortunately, I had done a little bit of camouflage, which was a relief.
Even though it was an easy camouflage to detect if you got close, it was still better than having nothing at all.
If I hide well for a while, they might just give up looking and leave.
With that in mind, I went back to the cave to clean up the blood I shed.
…And that complacent thought was shattered just a week later.
“Finally, we meet. It’s a pleasure.”
While exploring the forest, I encountered a woman.
She had long white hair that flowed down to her waist and a cold demeanor.
As she saw me, she slowly bowed to me as if in prayer, which felt oddly formal.
Soon, she raised her head and began to introduce herself.
“I am Sephir, the 5th Tribe Leader.”
“…Hoo.”
I let out a long sigh.
It seemed a particularly troublesome figure had appeared this time.
*
What’s the hierarchy of ‘Lemegaton’?
Although it was a suddenly appeared cult, the power of these guys could not be underestimated.
The very act of worshipping demons is already a problem, and they keep popping up that can tear apart Imperial Knights.
With a force this big, they surely must have some sort of system in place.
There were a lot of secrets surrounding the group, so information was somewhat scarce, but surprisingly, the hierarchy was easy to get.
After all, a few users who had joined ‘Lemegaton’ had shared their hierarchy charts.
‘Lemegaton’ operates on a strictly vertical relationship.
At the top is the General Assembly Chairperson, and below them are Tribe Leaders, District Leaders, Team Leaders, and Laypeople.
As expected of cultists, their hierarchy looks pretty groundless.
However, the ‘Team Leader’ position shouldn’t be looked down upon.
Some individuals become team leaders for specific purposes.
In some cases, a Tribe Leader-level figure might take on the role of a Team Leader… at least that’s what Chaerin told me.
It was a long explanation, but the conclusion was simple.
The second-in-command of the cult is right in front of me. The highest-ranking member next to the Chairperson.
I hadn’t seen how strong a Tribe Leader was, but there was something a dimension dweller affiliated with Lemegaton had once casually said about them.
[Unbelievable, just; not a normal person, for real.]
Of course, that was something Yoo Chaerin had passed along.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but raise my guard.
While I hadn’t seen their abilities in person, the mere fact that someone of Tribe Leader caliber was here was problematic.
I decided to ask her.
“…What’s going on?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. Please join our cult. Oh, Manifestor.”
The moment we face to face, she confidently called me a Manifestor.
Inside, I was a bit rattled, but I kept my cool on the outside.
“…Manifestor? What the hell do you mean?”
“Oh dear, you don’t need to play dumb. We already know everything.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You’re the one who cut off our Seere’s left arm a few months back, aren’t you?”
I flinched.
I managed to maintain my poker face, but controlling my physical reactions was impossible.
Even amidst that, her words continued.
The woman in front of me began to draw in mana and envelop herself in it.
As if snow had fallen, her once white hair turned a murky brown.
“You’ve used your head well, haven’t you? ‘Illusion’ magic… It’s not hard to guess considering how many difficulties there are in learning it, but it’s extraordinary for hiding your identity. Thanks to that, we were in the dark until recently.”
I slapped my forehead.
So they finally figured it out.
Well, it’s not as if ‘Illusion’ is some ancient forbidden magic; anyone could deduce it if they thought about it for a moment.
But I was still curious.
If that was the case, how did they figure out I was in this forest?
As if she’d read my thoughts, she continued to explain.
“Our cult has plenty of talented individuals. Among them, the 2nd Tribe Leader is skilled in communication and tracking.”
The mention of “communication” reminded me of something.
When I killed the believer named Rian, there was someone communicating across the blood-drawn magic circle.
‘Don’t tell me…’
“And just a few weeks ago, when we sent our believers here, we had a safety device in place. It isn’t anything grand. It was simply a life-and-death confirmation function.”
But those believers lost all traces of life here.
“How odd. They were not just any individuals. Their personalities were unpleasant, but they weren’t weak enough to be killed by monsters. One of them was a District Leader-level talent.”
So the answer was clear. They were killed by a human, not a monster.
But who on earth killed them?
Someone powerful enough to take down a District Leader who used sword energy and happened to wander around this forest.
Meanwhile, the cult was searching this forest for the ‘Hood NPC’.
They assumed that a Manifestor wouldn’t be living normally in the city.
Naturally, that thought led me down a certain path.
That a hidden Manifestor must be in this forest.
“I didn’t expect the person we’re looking for to be such an outstanding man…”
For a moment, her gaze lingered on me. A strange glance crossed her face regarding my appearance and physique.
Still, her expression remained notably expressionless.
Either way, I let out a deep sigh.
“Hoo…”
I thought I had hidden completely and that no one had seen me.
But the moment a cult member stepped into this forest, the problem began.
In short, I fell into a trap.
Confusion spread in my mind.
What should I do now? Could I hide?
Is it time to take care of this Tribe Leader?
“Ah, please don’t entertain any reckless thoughts. I’ve already shared enough with the higher-ups in our cult. No matter what you do here, the truth won’t stay hidden.”
Apparently, this girl seems to have some ability to read minds.
“Then once again, I’ll propose. Please, join our cult. Someone like you would be warmly welcomed by all.”
I responded to her, Sephir.
“I don’t want to, fuck off.”
“…Why not?”
“I don’t want to get eaten by a Seere.”
“…Your language is rather rough for a man.”
Sephir nodded.
“Right, if that’s the case, understood.”
“Wait? You’re accepting that a bit too quickly.”
“There’s no use in forcing someone to join if they’re not willing, right? I can’t speak for the others, but I, Tribe Leader Sephir, respect others’ wishes.”
I tilted my head.
“How surprising. I thought Seere had been searching for me all this time to eat me.”
“Eat… Hoo, don’t worry about Seere. While we do worship demons, we don’t blindly get dragged along.”
She continued.
What followed was quite shocking to me.
“And to be frank… Seere doesn’t have long left. The King of Fighters has deployed. That individual, who’s lost his left arm, will struggle to stop him.”
“…! Finally! That filthy gay bastard might actually be dying!?”
“…Please conduct yourself properly. It’s a request.”
Still, it was strange.
Even while attempting to recruit me, she willingly shared such information with an outsider like me.
Usually, this kind of information would be a secret even within the cult.
“But can you really tell me such sensitive topics?”
“Consider it a sign of trust. It means the cult desires you that much.”
She bowed.
Sephir greeted me once again.
For a high-ranking member of an evil organization, she was surprisingly polite.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. And please don’t worry about the information about the Manifestor spreading. In the Lemegaton cult, Manifestors are exceptionally valuable. There’s no reason to let them die at the hands of knights.”
That was the most fortunate thing I had heard so far. Although the situation was still undeniably dire.
“Well, I’ll come back next week. Ah, next time it might not be just me, so please be careful.”
No, please don’t come back, just don’t.
With that, she left the forest gracefully. I thought about grabbing her, but I couldn’t even catch her.
With a crash-
Ice crystals enveloped her and then shattered as she disappeared.
It was some sort of magic; it was a power I had never seen before.
Left alone in a daze, I briefly rubbed my temples.
It seemed like quite the big problem had just arisen…
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