How the Cult Saves the World

Chapter 45

Of course, there were people who found the cave behind the waterfall. It was the same in HSAW.

However, the fact that this place existed was not widely known, because everyone who entered the cave died.

But, Terdius was alive. Although he was unconscious.

---This kid, he's the snake's child that I saw last time.

'That's right.'

---The deadly poison that fills this cave makes it hard to survive for humans... But he seems to have some immunity to a few poisons because he's a snake's child. Although, it won't be long for him.

Kyros was right. If he was an apostle of Diego Faith, he would have immunity to several poisons. That's why he was still holding on, but his breath would soon disappear.

But how did he get in here?

Well, I have to ask him when he's awake. I had no choice but to take out one of the spare antidotes from my inventory.

---

Beon Mountain, where Khalid and his men left. Terdius searched the mountain alone. He didn't care about the time, and he wanted to solve the mystery of why he came here.

He killed every monster that caught his eye as he moved. Then, he found some treasure hunters who came here after hearing rumors of a 'treasure' in this place.

Most of them were from the north. Their number was less than ten, but it quickly decreased.

The treasure hunters were blinded by greed and lost their lives fighting each other or fighting monsters. When the commotion subsided, only three of them survived.

Terdius watched them. He wondered if they would find something. Then, by chance, the treasure hunters discovered a space hidden behind the waterfall.

He immediately followed them. A cave big enough for people to pass through. Inside, a poisonous mist was flowing out.

And when Terdian chased after them...

The treasure hunters were all dead from the poison.

"Those who don't know how precious life is because of money..."

Terdius looked at their corpses with contempt for a moment and then went inside. He could feel it clearly as he entered, there was something powerful and amazing in the lair.

Although there was enough poison to kill people easily, he thought he would be fine because he was an apostle of Diego Faith, and had immunity to some poisons.

But as he went deeper inside, his body became harder to move. He didn't realize that there was an unknown poison mixed in the air.

"Cough!"

When Terdius realized it, it was too late. He grabbed his throat and fell to the floor.

He couldn't even open his mouth to scream in pain.

It was hard to breathe, his throat burned, and he felt his organs twisting. Terdius endured the agony with difficulty and slowly closed his eyes which were blurred by vision.

'Am I going to die like this because of these poisons? Will I never see Ivan again...?'

He lost consciousness in an instant. When he was only feeling pain in the endless darkness, some liquid flowed into his mouth.

"Will it work if you give it to him when he's half-dead?"

"Maybe."

He swallowed the liquid unknowingly and heard a familiar voice in his ear.

Gradually, his consciousness became clearer from the darkness.

"Huh? His eyes moved just now. It seems to work?"

"That's right."

When he barely lifted his eyelids which felt like they weighed a ton, Terdius found Leviathan squatting in front of him.

---

When I gave him the antidote diligently, Terdius finally opened his eyes. I smiled as I saw his eyes focus slowly.

'The universal antidote' is the best in this world. It could save him even in such a poisoned state.

Of course, since Terdius didn't drink the antidote before entering like me and Zain, he had to recover his damaged organs, so it would take some time for him to return to normal.

The antidote only detoxifies the poison, not heals it.

But I couldn't use healing potions recklessly either.

'I only have about three healing potions left that I made. I don't have much spare energy either, and I don't have any obligation to take care of him... He's strong enough to recover on his own by the time the antidote wears off.'

By the way, why is he here? It turned out that Zain was right about an apostle of Diego Faith being on Beon Mountain.

But, I didn't expect Terdius to be here, let alone in this hidden dungeon.

I looked at Terdius blankly and then turned my gaze to Zain. He seemed to not know that Terdius was an apostle of Diego Faith.

Zain hated Diego Faith so much that he despised it.

So, there was no good reason to tell him Terdius' identity right now.

Anyway, Terdius was wearing a black robe, and since the emblem of Diego Faith was not visible inside, he seemed to be wearing casual clothes instead of apostle clothes.

That's good.

But, what if Terdius pretends to know me?

"You are... Leviathan?"

Terdius stared at me with his eyes open and called me.

"Long time no see?"

I reached out to him with a business-like smile. He grabbed my hand and got up. He seemed to be wobbly, probably because he was still not in good shape. Terdius staggered and leaned against the wall. Then, Zain came to my side and whispered,

"Did you know him?"

"Well, a little bit?"

I knew him very well, but I didn't bother to explain.

"Thank you."

Terdius, who was breathing heavily and leaning against the wall, spoke to me in a small voice that barely reached my ears.

"It's okay. I didn't treat you to get a thank you. But, why are you here?"

"..."

Terdius didn't answer even though it was a question from the one who saved his life. What a rude guy.

"What about you? Why are you here?"

He didn't answer but asked me instead. What a cheeky guy.

"Just because."

You didn't answer either, so why should I?

Then, there was silence in the cave. I didn't care, but Zain didn't seem to like it. He looked between me and Terdius and cleared his throat. He reached out to Terdius.

"I'm Zain."

Zain also smiled like me and asked Terdius for a handshake. But Terdius turned his head away and ignored him. Zain's eyebrows twitched.

---You, you snake bastard! How dare you ignore my child's greeting!

Kyros was also angry at Terdius' rude attitude.

"Don't mind him. He's always like that."

I whispered softly to Zain. His expression relaxed slightly.

We couldn't stay here forever, so I slowly moved my feet. Zain immediately followed me.

But...

'Why is he following me?'

Before I knew it, Zain was on my right side, and Terdius was on my left. They were walking side by side with me. What did they want?

"Why are you following me?"

I asked Terdius, who looked at me impassively without any expression.

"My destination is inside here."

So he came here to look for the treasure too. Diego Faith in the original novel didn't care about the treasure. It must be because of the damn hidden route.

"Wow. You must have a very important mission. You're going there right after you regained consciousness from almost dying. And you don't even know what's in there, especially when the poison mist is getting thicker."

"...What about you? Aren't you going to a place where you don't know what's in there? Or... do you know what's inside here?"

"Well, isn't that none of your business?"

He had already promised not to kill me. So I answered him casually, feeling somewhat defiant. Then, I felt a sharp gaze from the side. It was Zain.

"What?"

"Why do you seem so friendly with him?"

Zain whispered to me, sticking close to me. I shook my head.

"Not at all. We're not friends at all."

"But he doesn't talk to you politely."

"He's just a rude writer."

"But hey, everyone respects you when they know you're the leader of the Kyros Faith."

"He knows that, too."

"Really?"

I nodded, and Zain tilted his head and muttered to himself, 'What kind of relationship is that?'

I wondered how Zain felt that Terdius and I were close. I didn't understand it either.

"...Leviathan."

As I glared at Zain, I heard Terdius' soft voice. I turned my head to him, and he raised one eyebrow. What?

"Am I rude?"

Oh no, did he hear everything I said? I was a bit flustered. It sounded like I insulted him openly.

But he had promised not to kill me, so...

"A little bit."

I answered honestly. He was not in good shape anyway. Maybe I could fend him off if he attacked?

"...I see."

Fortunately, Terdius seemed to accept it humbly. Phew. I almost got hurt somewhere.

Come to think of it, he only swore not to kill me, but not to hurt me. That means he could injure me as long as he didn't kill me... No. I should be careful with my words.

He looked calm now, but he might change his mind since he joined Diego Faith, unlike in the original novel. I should be cautious.

By the way, I couldn't believe I had such thoughts about him. In the original novel, Terdius was like a bright sunshine.

As I continued walking with these thoughts in mind,

"Haah."

I felt Terdius' breathing getting rougher next to me. He must be recovering from the poison slowly, but his body was not fully healed yet. And he was still inhaling the poison mist constantly.

"Lean on me."

I had no choice but to support Terdius, so I approached him. But, he stepped back.

"I'm fine."

He said that, but I could clearly see him limping on one leg.

"If you don't want to fall, lean on me."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. He reluctantly leaned on me with his sturdy body that was a head taller than mine.

But, why was he so heavy?

I offered to support him, so I couldn't let go of him now. But my pace slowed down too.

...Damn.

I couldn't say that I couldn't support him anymore.

That's when it happened.

"Hah."

Terdius let out a sigh mixed with annoyance and then his weight became lighter. He must have noticed that I was also struggling.

It wasn't because I was weak. Well, maybe a little bit. But it was mostly because his body was like an iron.

Anyway, I stopped supporting him and opened my inventory to get my mace out.

Ssssh---

The scorpion started crawling quickly towards us.

"Eek!"

Zain let out a terrified scream at the same time.

Between the light of the torches, something appeared in front of us.

It was a red scorpion as big as a person.

"What are you so scared of?"

"No, no. It's a bug. A giant bug! I hate bugs."

"Oh, okay."

I wasn't surprised because I knew this place was a scorpion cave, but if I didn't have any information like Zain, I might have been scared too.

Anyway, I took out my mace and got ready to fight.