How the Cult Saves the World

Chapter 70

'I have to kill as many intermediate monsters as possible while the buff lasts.'

I moved quickly towards the center of the square. There, I saw three intermediate monsters cornering about ten people.

Boom-!

I adjusted my direction and released my holy power. Then, the heads of two monsters vanished at the same time.

Swoosh-

As the two intermediate monsters turned into ashes, the survivors' pupils widened.

Then, I flew and smashed the remaining monster with my mace.

I killed three intermediate monsters in one breath and moved on without a pause. There were more intermediate monsters on the main street of the square.

The survivors stared blankly at my back.

"How is this possible..."

"Who is that guy?"

Their eyes on me were like looking at a hero.

Meanwhile, Arhen entered an alley where five low-level monsters were swarming, under Zain's cover.

Swoosh, thud!

Zain's arrow pierced through the head of one monster. And Arhen flew and slashed the four low-level monsters with her sword. Her movements were flawless.

Even though she had not held a sword for years, her talent was still shining brightly.

"Why are you here! Are you hurt anywhere?"

Arhen approached the survivors who were trembling at the end of the alley. They looked like a family and they shed tears when they saw Arhen.

"Yo-your Highness. Thank you."

"Waaah, daddy!"

Arhen felt a sting in her nose as she saw the couple hug their two children. But now was not the time to be sentimental.

"As long as you're not injured, it's fine. Hurry and evacuate to the Royal Palace. There are no monsters there, so you can go safely."

"Ah, okay. Thank you. Your Highness."

As the survivors headed to the Royal Palace, Arhen ran towards her next target.

"Aaah!"

Another scream rang out. When Arhen turned her gaze, the monster that was attacking the survivor was already taken care of by Zain.

And on the other side, Troy, who had transformed into a black panther, was tearing apart the monsters.

'If it weren't for them...'

Bahano might have been doomed. Arhen thanked them in her mind and held her sword more firmly.

While I was fighting another intermediate monster.

"Grrr!"

Troy bit the monster that was charging at him. As he cleared the way, he saw a huge intermediate monster waiting for them at the end of the road. It was twice the size of a low-level monster.

"Sa, save us!"

"Aaah! Mommy!"

The intermediate monster had a middle-aged woman and a child in each of its hands.

Crack-!

The giant black panther slashed the air at a fast speed. As a strong wind blew, the panther's large paw hit the head of the intermediate monster.

Splash!

Troy's attack made the intermediate monster disappear. Then, the bodies of the people who were held by the monster fell to the ground.

"Aaah!"

The scream continued. But their bodies landed safely on the black fur.

"Huh...?"

"Uh, mommy!"

The woman hugged her son and looked around. The black panther that saved them also caught them.

"Th-thank you."

She didn't know if he could understand her, but she thanked him anyway.

"I don't know who your owner is, but..."

She thought that such a smart beast must have been raised by someone very well.

A low voice came to her ears.

"I am a follower of the Kyros Church."

The woman was startled.

"I'm sorry. You're a beastman. Thank you for saving us."

"There's no need to thank me or be afraid of me. I'm just following the will of Lord Kyros."

The black panther, Troy, spoke casually, but the woman and her son felt differently.

The prejudice against beastmen that was ingrained in their heads disappeared, and the name 'Kyros' was engraved in their minds.

---

A village adjacent to the capital Bahano.

The black mist could not cross the capital, but the monsters were transforming at the border of the capital.

"Haha! What's this?"

They were mercilessly slaughtering the monsters. The crimson whip cut off the monsters' throats without mercy.

A man from Bana had a smile that reached his ears as he ran around and dealt with the monsters. His purple hair fluttered behind him as he sped up.

"Die, you ugly things!"

Khalid swung his whip wildly and made the monsters vanish. His body and face were splattered with the monsters' fluids, but Khalid was smiling brightly.

Terdius turned his head quietly as he watched Khalid, who was engulfed in madness.

He saw the Royal Palace of Bahano in his sight. Even though it was a village adjacent to the capital, the huge Palace that stood out in the middle was visible at a glance.

'I definitely felt a strong magic from the Palace.'

Terdius felt that filthy energy. It must have been one of the children of Maseen.

But that energy disappeared in an instant. And it was by a warm power.

'That power was definitely Leviathan's.'

That meant Leviathan had done something.

'...He said he would do missionary work.'

Terdius' lips curled up slightly.

'He didn't need the flute in the first place.'

---

The sun's rays pierced my head. It was late autumn, when winter was approaching, but sweat poured down like rain.

Splash!

I wiped the sweat on my forehead and smashed the last intermediate monster with my mace.

It seems like this is the end of the magic I felt from the capital.

As soon as I thought that, a message appeared.

[Subquest 'Light of Hope' 9. <Salvation of the Kingdom of Bahano> cleared!]

[Subquest rewards will be delivered to your inventory.]

The quest did not continue any further. That meant that I had finally completed the 'Light of Hope' quest.

"Haah."

I read and reread the message as I breathed heavily. I had finally saved Bahano.

'Ah, damn. That was so hard.'

It took a long time to get from Rovel to Aldone. And from Aldone to Bahano, I had to fight nonstop.

I felt relieved as I thought that the month-long battle with the monsters was finally over.

'It's a good thing that the black mist didn't spread any further from the capital.'

Thanks to the measure of putting mandrake roots in the monsterization device, the situation didn't get worse.

I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes for a moment. It was really damn hard.

Honestly, it was more mentally exhausting than physically.

I had barely slept since I rescued Arhen, so that might have been the reason.

'My mind broke when I met Zarkel.'

But somehow I managed to finish the quest.

"Hoo."

I exhaled and moved my body. My destination was the Royal Palace where everyone was waiting for me.

'Now let's see the rewards.'

I opened my inventory to check the rewards for my hard work. Then I saw two items that looked golden.

"Huh...?"

And one of them had a familiar shape. It was just a bit more luxurious in color than the one I knew. I checked the information right away.

[Large-scale Purification Zone of the Kingdom of Bahano

Grade: Mythical Item

Description: It can purify the entire kingdom of Bahano when used.]

"Ah, really."

So they didn't give me this when I broke Maseen's blessing, but they gave it to me here?

I felt a bit angry as if I was played by the system... But I was glad that I had the Purification Zone now. Even if I had finished dealing with the monsters of Bahano, there must have been some survivors who were addicted to Happy.

And the next one was...

'What is this?'

The shape that I saw through the inventory slot was an arch-shaped door. And inside it, there was something that looked like a blue-black hole.

Based on my countless game experiences, that is, this looked like some kind of 'portal'.

'No way.'

They would give me a portal as a quest reward. As I thought that and checked the item information, my mouth opened wide without me knowing.

[Movement Portal

Grade: Mythical Item

Description: It can be installed in a desired place and move between the installed places. However, only the owner of the portal and the people designated by the owner can use it.]

That's crazy. Wait a minute. Is there something wrong with my eyes?

I rubbed my eyes just in case. But the letters still said that it was really a portal.

'That's impossible. A real portal?'

Then, if I install this portal in Bahano, and also in Rovel... I can go back and forth between those ridiculous distances?

This is really amazing. And the number of portals was not one.

"Five of them...!"

I felt my heart beating fast with joy.

I can move easily now, like the kids?

I can reduce the time it takes to travel between kingdoms!

And if I can make only the people I want to move, Zain and Troy can also use the portal.

Wow, this is really awesome.

'Mr. Administrator, I don't know if you're listening, but thank you. Really!'

I thanked him sincerely, even though the chances of him hearing me were low.

'A portal! A portal has appeared!'

I couldn't contain my joy and smiled brightly.

As I was doing that, I arrived near the Royal Palace. But the front of the Palace was very crowded.

'Huh, why are they all gathered here?'

There were survivors in front of the Palace. I saw some of the people I had saved, so it seemed right.

I didn't see any of the people who were injured by the monsters, so there must have been a separate place for the wounded.

But still, there were a lot of people for a capital of a kingdom. And thanks to the quick response, they all seemed to have only minor injuries.

'I don't know how many wounded there are... But this is better than the original situation.'

By the way, the population density in front of the Palace was high. I couldn't see them all at a glance, and the survivors were packed around the Palace.

'How many people are there...?'

More than ten thousand?

I gave up counting with my eyes and walked towards the crowd. As I stood at the back, I saw the person at the front.

It was Arhen who was standing on the podium. She was talking to the people from a higher position than them.

'But why are they so quiet?'

The people were silent, so it seemed that Arhen had been talking before I arrived. She must have explained what happened today.

Arhen looked at the survivors once and spoke calmly.

"The Rizes Church, which has been tormenting us, has disappeared from Bahano as of today."

Arhen's voice was filled with power. It was loud enough for me to hear from the back.

"We, the descendants of the great Bahano, have finally overcome the darkness."

Even though she was wearing a tattered robe stained with blood and monster fluids, Arhen was more dignified than anyone.

"We must not forget the sacrifices of many people until this moment. But we must not stop either. We must move forward towards the light. We are Bahano."

I clapped without realizing it. Then the applause spread among the people, and soon everyone cheered for her.

No matter how dirty and worn her clothes were, Arhen was the 'King' herself.