Chapter 96: You’re More Hardcore Than the Cultists

You’re More Hardcore Than the Cultists

“Deton Manor has really fallen on hard times... Look at these requests on the notice board? Find Baron Hastings’ daughter’s cat? Distribute cures for the Redemption Society? And this one... Assassinate members of the North Ansu Brotherhood active in Berren City? Anonymous too... When did you guys start posting requests with such obvious political leanings?”

“Aren’t there any more challenging requests? Like finding some cultists, busting a ritual summoning an evil god, or something.”

In the requester hall of Deton Manor, a woman with messy pink curly hair scratched her head, rambling nonstop.

However, the people around her ignored her. A man wearing a green chip mask standing opposite the counter, after a moment of silence, finally asked:

“Miss Goodwin, do you wish to accept another request? If not, please make way for the person behind you.”

“Heh heh, not accepting anymore. I’m never coming back to this Deton Manor.” The pink-haired woman, addressed as Goodwin, snatched the membership card from the attendant’s hand, flipped him off, and turned to leave.

But when she turned and saw the scene behind her, she froze.

Three people, clearly of the “Gambler” path, stood at the exit. They seemed to be discussing something with their heads lowered. The sharp-eyed Goodwin noticed all three were loading bullets into their pistols.

Inside Deton Manor, why were these “Gamblers” loading bullets?

This was the requester hall, not the death roulette hall.

A strong premonition of danger made Goodwin frown slightly, but she acted as if she hadn’t noticed anything, turning her head to shout at the attendant, “Hey, where’s the washroom?”

“It’s in the corridor to your left, just ahead. Open the door and go to the end.” The attendant, seemingly unfazed by Goodwin’s attitude, continued calmly with the directions.

“Alright, thanks.” Goodwin waved dismissively without looking back, turned left, and headed straight for the corridor, avoiding the three guarding the entrance.

Just as she turned, about to step into the side corridor, a deep voice sounded from the entrance.

“Goodwin.”

Goodwin subconsciously turned towards the source of the voice and saw three dark gun barrels aimed directly at her.

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Click, click, click—

“Shit!” Goodwin cursed under her breath, quickly stepped into the side corridor, pressed herself against the wall perpendicular to the entrance, and peeked out slightly towards the doorway.

Three empty shots...

But Goodwin, familiar with the traits of “Gamblers,” felt no relief that they had fired blanks.

She had teamed up with cash-strapped “Gamblers” for requests before and knew their strongest state.

Individually, a “Gambler’s” performance wasn’t particularly outstanding.

But with support, a “Gambler” could recklessly load only one bullet, leaving the rest empty, until a teammate stalled long enough for the “Gambler” to fire that final shot, instantly turning the tide of battle.

Goodwin bet that among those three gamblers, one definitely had only a single bullet loaded in his gun.

If he fired that shot, she was finished.

When did I provoke Deton Manor? Isn’t this place supposed to be the safest trading spot? Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

The sound of running footsteps grew closer. Goodwin bit her lip, reached into her waistband, and pulled out two daggers with sharp knuckle dusters attached.

Running away... solves nothing.

Only risky actions can make an “Adventurer” stronger.

With almost no hesitation, Goodwin gripped the two daggers in a reverse hold and stabbed them fiercely towards her shoulders.

The dagger tips accurately pierced the shallow skin and muscle, severing blood vessels and causing significant bleeding from the wounds.

The pain heightened Goodwin’s adrenaline secretion; her mind paradoxically became calmer.

As the footsteps neared, she rolled almost flat against the carpet, then leaped directly towards the fastest approaching “Gambler.”

Thud—

Closing in, Goodwin threw a powerful right punch. The spiked knuckle duster dagger pierced straight through the “Gambler’s” cheekbone and skin, knocking him unconscious to the ground with just one blow.

As the “Gambler” fell, two dice tumbled from his hand, rolling to a stop at Goodwin’s feet.

Two six-sided dice, landing on double sixes at Goodwin’s feet.

“Goodwin! We mean no harm, we just want you to come with us!” The “Gambler” on the left spoke while simultaneously pulling the trigger of his revolver, aiming precisely at Goodwin’s arm.

Bang—

The bullet, trailing an exaggerated vortex of air, flew towards Goodwin, piercing straight through her left arm.

The “Gambler” on the right also pulled the trigger at the same time.

Bang—

Another bullet came flying, but this time Goodwin was prepared, raising her right dagger in a token block.

Clang—!

A crisp sound rang out. Goodwin’s heart leaped with joy.

She had just raised her right hand on a whim, never expecting to actually block a shot...

Luck is on my side.

But she hadn’t anticipated that the bullet, after being deflected by the dagger, would slightly change trajectory.

The bullet originally aimed at her arm, now slightly diverted, flew straight towards her cheek, penetrating her right cheek, shattering teeth in her mouth, breaking through her left cheekbone, and tumbling out.

What kind of shitty luck is this?!

The intense pain momentarily stunned Goodwin, but soon, the threat of death stimulated all her body’s potential. Eyes bloodshot, like a mad dog, she lunged directly at the “Gambler” on the left.

With her left hand, she punched the revolver out of the “Gambler’s” grasp, raised her right hand high, and prepared to stab down towards his heart.

Drip... drip...

Goodwin’s blood continuously flowed from her mouth, dripping down her chin onto the carpet.

But her raised right hand remained unable to strike down.

“Miss Goodwin.” A detached female voice came from the entrance.

Goodwin’s vision blurred. She looked up and saw a woman shrouded in a black uniform dress, wearing a black chip mask, standing at the entrance.

The administra... tor?

“We are merely inviting you to a small gathering... Please grace us with your presence, don’t make things difficult for me.”

The administrator wearing the black chip mask stood calmly at the entrance speaking. A white shadow holding a vial of red potion slowly walked towards Goodwin.

Goodwin used the last ounce of her strength, rolling her eyes to look at her raised right hand.

Her wrist, at some unknown point, had been gripped by a white shadow. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

Despair spread through Goodwin’s heart. She never imagined that after nearly digesting the “Adventurer” potion, she would fall here, in the supposedly safe Deton Manor.

Goodwin soon slipped into semi-consciousness. Only when a potion vial was shoved into her mouth and she subconsciously swallowed the scalding liquid did her awareness gradually return.

“Three against one and almost got counter-killed...”

“Forget it, completing that lord’s task is more important...”

“Watch her, don’t let her die...”

In her daze, she seemed to hear the administrator saying something.

Goodwin was lifted by two maids wearing red chip masks, one on each side, and led towards the entrance.

Hazily, Goodwin saw the carnage in the other halls.

Most of Deton Manor’s members seemed to have gone mad, attacking anyone around them, even their own colleagues.

Members fled in all directions, but none could escape the main entrance. They were bound one by one and dragged away like livestock.

Whether they were transcendents digesting potions or completing rituals in the transcendent gambling dens, or ordinary people spending money in the regular casinos, everyone was dragged away in the same direction as her.

The entire manor had become a living hell.

The potion began to take effect, stopping her bleeding and restoring some energy.

But she knew that once the potion wore off, she would fall into an even weaker state. She had to find a way to escape before the potion’s effect ended...

Goodwin endured the intense pain in her mouth, squinting her eyes, memorizing her current location.

Heading underground... to the exchange area?

But soon, Goodwin realized something was wrong.

She had accepted many requests here and occasionally played a few hands at the gambling tables; she was familiar with almost the entire manor layout.

The path these two maids were taking her down clearly couldn’t lead to the exchange area.

The exchange area was on the first basement level... but the spiral staircase they were taking her down continued descending even after reaching the B1 level.

A secret room?

Goodwin was slightly astonished. She never knew Deton Manor had an underground secret chamber.

As the temperature gradually dropped, Goodwin was finally brought to the bottom of the spiral staircase.

She slightly raised her eyes and looked forward, her pupils constricting.

This is...

A vast underground church, an emblem of a circle nested within a semicircle, faceless statues carved everywhere...

An intense sense of crisis washed over Goodwin.

A sanctuary!!! This is a cultist sanctuary!!!

A cultist sanctuary! Right beneath Deton Manor?!

-

In the center of the sanctuary, over a hundred people were already bound and kneeling.

Cries, curses, and prayers filled the air. Occasionally, someone would let out a gut-wrenching, despairing shriek, frantically tearing at their hair and the flesh on their faces.

Squish—

One of the maids beside her seemed to step on something, making a sound. Goodwin looked down and saw a crushed eyeball.

“Is this everyone...” The administrator’s voice sounded from behind, completely extinguishing Goodwin’s hope of escape. Despairingly, she watched a white shadow walk up to her, grab her collar, and drag her forward.

In Goodwin’s vision, she could only see the white shadow dragging her and, ahead of the shadow, the intensely oppressive, terrifying administrator.

Only after she was dragged to the front of the crowd and thrown to the ground did Goodwin slowly prop herself up with trembling hands and look around.

Around her... were other heavily injured transcendents captured just like her.

“Milord... everyone has arrived.”

Goodwin slowly looked up and saw the previously imposing administrator now respectfully bowing her head, walking to the front of the altar, removing her mask, and kneeling before it.

Following the administrator’s head upwards, she saw a stone throne placed upon the altar. And reclining on the throne was a red-haired girl.

The girl’s head rested on one stone armrest, her legs draped over the other. Her body lay casually on the seat, legs swinging back and forth, as relaxed as if lounging on her own sofa.

Hearing the administrator’s words, the girl turned her face slightly towards the crowd below. At that moment, Goodwin saw the other half of her face.

A violent spiritual alarm screamed in her ears. She instantly lowered her head, yet was still eroded by a sliver of darkness.

She felt the already assimilated potion within her begin to boil restlessly. Incomprehensible illusions started appearing before her eyes.

“Milord, do you require me to recite the prayer for you?” Administrator Kitty lowered her head and asked respectfully.

“No need, I can do it myself.” A sweet girlish voice sounded from the throne. Just listening to her words, one could almost picture the smile on her face.

“Thank you for your hard work, Kitty.”

A brief flash of silver-white light, followed immediately by a loud gunshot.

Boom—!

Administrator Kitty’s body was thrown back two or three meters by the immense impact, landing face-up before Goodwin.

Goodwin stared in horror at the administrator, whose face was now a bloody mess, lying right before her.

Clusters of blood-red Laurel flowers bloomed from the flesh of her cheeks, the gory blossoms vibrant and delicate, swaying gently before Goodwin.

“Priestess Kitty!”

“Administrator!”

“Milord, you?!”

The cultists nearby also saw Kitty’s corpse and began to stir restlessly.

“Silence!” The girl’s voice from the platform became commanding. Goodwin’s gaze gradually shifted from the corpse with the blooming head.

This... cultist infighting?

“Kitty joined this sacrifice willingly... Don’t worry, the Mother Goddess will come to collect her soon.”

Thump—

In Goodwin’s vision, the girl leaped down from the platform, landing steadily beside the corpse. Goodwin didn’t dare look up, only keeping her head bowed in her kneeling position, staring at the faceless female corpse.

“I***”

A string of never-before-heard words came from the girl’s mouth. The whispers in the minds of almost all transcendents present began to run wild.

A ritual... an evil god summoning ritual?!

Whispers and fear surged continuously in Goodwin’s mind. She instantly made up her mind, abruptly turned her head, and crawled towards the kneeling, trembling crowd.

“Get away... Get away!” Goodwin struggled to her feet, pushing aside the people behind her one by one, running towards the stairs she remembered coming from.

But just then, the girl’s voice sounded again.

“I*****”

The girl’s murmurs exploded like thunder beside everyone’s ears. People in the crowd began descending into madness, turning and fleeing in the opposite direction.

“Ah!!!”

“Ugh ahhh!!!”

Countless blood lines danced rapidly through the air, forming a massive ritual array that encompassed everyone within.

Those closest to the blood array tried to run outwards, but as they crossed the array’s boundary, the parts of their bodies that crossed were instantly corroded away by something unknown, not even leaving a drop of blood behind—as if they had run into the mouth of an invisible monster.

The entire underground sanctuary transformed into a living hell.

Goodwin felt her life force rapidly draining away, death approaching step by step. Despairingly, she looked back towards the culprit responsible for all this.

That girl, holding an antique silver pocket watch, stood at the edge of the inner array, her body withered, completely devoid of blood.

And the blood drawn from her body, along with the blood lines from everyone else, sketched out a massive blood-red vortex in the air above the sanctuary.

The vortex spun in mid-air, but Goodwin no longer had the energy to pay attention.

Her vision was filled only with darkness, and at the center of the darkness was the nearly shriveled red-haired girl.

Madwoman...

Sacrificing everyone, including herself, just to summon an entity that only brings madness and destruction...

Madwoman!!!

Goodwin clamped her mouth shut violently. Broken teeth pierced her gums, causing the thinly scabbed wound to spurt blood again. This risky action granted her a sliver of strength to move and a precious second or two of clarity.

She abruptly crouched down, pulled a sharp throwing knife from her boot, and with all her might, flung it towards the girl.

Swish—

The throwing knife spun through the air and plunged directly into the girl’s heart.

Suc... success?

The entire array faltered slightly. Goodwin slowly raised her head. Amidst the darkness, the blood-red vortex above had stopped spinning.

And around her, besides the whispers, she could hear nothing else.

Did I... stop the advent of the evil god?

If I survive this... I’ve definitely exceeded the ritual requirements. I could probably drink the next stage potion without being assimilated...

Goodwin swayed, the darkness in her eyes slowly receding. She saw the colors around her again, and the ground littered with withered corpses.

-

“9...” A faint voice pierced through the layers of whispers, reaching Goodwin’s ears. She snapped her head towards the source of the sound and saw the dried-up, corpse-like girl mechanically opening her mouth.

“1...” A phantom image of an exquisite silver watch face materialized behind the girl. The second hand rapidly spun backward 10 seconds.

Click—

The phantom watch began ticking again. And the girl, previously resembling a dried corpse, rapidly filled out with flesh and blood. Even the dagger embedded in her chest was squeezed out by the newly generated flesh.

The terrifying summoning ritual began rotating once more. Goodwin, her last hope shattered, descended into infinite despair and completely lost her mind.

...

“Cough, cough...” Ciel coughed lightly at this moment.

She put away the pocket watch, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and looked at the now almost tangible blood-red vortex before her.

Good thing she had started the stopwatch. This summoning array nearly sucked her dry into a corpse.

She was supposed to recover in ten seconds, but getting stabbed by a throwing knife at the end, and not even dying from it, almost broke Ciel’s composure.

Fortunately, she had felt little pain by then; the knife stabbing her felt almost like nothing, as if she were already a corpse.

The blood-red vortex before her finally showed some movement.

The originally massive vortex was rapidly compressing, soon shrinking to about twice human height. The initial blood-red color condensed into a dark red, almost black hue.

“Why did it shrink?” Ciel frowned slightly.

Using just Kitty’s corpse alone had summoned a terrifying monster nearly large enough to break through the exchange area ceiling.

But after adding the corpses of so many transcendents and cultists, this massive array actually resulted in something smaller?

Ciel had expected to summon something terrifying enough to at least break through the roof of this huge underground sanctuary.

After all, bigger is better, bigger is stronger.

As Ciel pondered, tiny specks of shimmering dust began to drift out from the dark vortex.

The dust particles glittered, appearing like stars in the cosmos against the backdrop of the lightless, dark red vortex.

These starlight dust particles drifted about. Ciel couldn’t tear her gaze away until they floated before the relatively intact pink-haired corpse, paused slightly, and then began to settle onto the body bit by bit.

The pink-haired corpse instantly began to decay. The original wounds closed and bulged into pustules. Dark purple pustules continuously swelled and overlapped, completely enveloping the body, resembling a cluster of distinct grapes.

Gradually, the constantly pulsing pustules began to stiffen, as if frozen, their surfaces covered in white frost.

Crack, crack—

The giant, insect-egg-like sphere shattered. A human hand emerged from within.

Crack—

The egg split in two and dissipated with the wind. A half-human, half-insect “thing” was fully revealed before Ciel.

It was a monster with the physique of a young girl.

Its head had short, dark red hair, but its face was devoid of any features. Its body was similarly seamless, like a sheet of human skin wrapped around something.

Six pairs of translucent insect wings unfolded from its back. Four pairs of white, sharp insectoid legs were attached to its rear shoulders and waist, all slowly stretching out.

Four pairs of chitinous black horns curved and twisted on either side of its head. Viewed from the front, they resembled two symmetrical church emblems – a circle encompassing a semicircle.

Ciel: “...”

Ciel took several steps back consecutively.

The moment she saw the highly symbolic horns, Ciel felt a sense of foreboding.

The system had said that the summoned spiritual being depends on the items sacrificed.

Could it be that by sacrificing too many cultists bearing the “Sadhana Mark,” these marks attracted a spiritual being related to “Sadhana” that also held goodwill towards her...

Moreover, the insectoid limbs and wings of this human-insect creature... somewhat reminded Ciel of the appearance of “Radiance Bishop” Hugh she had seen during her moments of mental instability...

Hiss, hiss—

The sound of skin tearing echoed. The featureless human face began to split open. Lipless mouths filled with sharp teeth opened irregularly across the face.

Just as Ciel considered committing suicide to eliminate some cultists and try again, an ethereal voice sounded in her mind.

“Mother... God... Sadhana...”

The spiritual being lacked complex thought. It simply acted on instinct, staggering towards Ciel and slowly kneeling down before her.

Ciel looked at the terrifying half-human, half-insect spiritual being kneeling before her, momentarily unsure what to do.

She... seemed to be able to communicate with it.

It was also calling the Mother Goddess’s name, indicating its connection to “Sadhana.” It was highly likely a creature created by “Sadhana,” or perhaps even its offspring.

But its voice didn’t seem to affect Ciel, and for some reason, it mistook Ciel for the Mother Goddess.

Considering spiritual beings generally weren’t very intelligent, it probably just recognized the summoner, Ciel, as its master.

Ciel saw that the six pairs of giant insect wings on its back were beginning to dissipate; its time in this world seemed limited.

Its... combat prowess?

Ciel had summoned it primarily to fight the third-tier “Radiance Bishop” cultist. If it couldn’t defeat that cultist, the effort would be wasted.

How could she test its strength?

Fight it herself?

Ciel mentally shook her head.

Although she hadn’t fought it, she felt she would be instantly killed.

There wasn’t enough time now to let it run into the city and catch transcendents...

Oh right, wasn’t Nia still outside?

She was a third-tier “Crown Guard,” probably quite durable?

Sorry, Nia. Please bear with me in this simulation, let me test its abilities.

Just need to make the spiritual being be careful, not deliver a killing blow.

This debt, I will definitely find a chance to repay in reality.

Seemingly sensing Ciel’s thoughts, the monster before her slowly turned and began walking towards the spiral staircase.

“Hey, wrong way, over here.” Ciel walked ahead of the spiritual being, guiding it.

Ciel didn’t notice that her own body had begun to distort erratically, flashing strangely at times. The negative status “Temporal Disorder” had started to take effect on her...

...

An hour has passed... what exactly happened inside?

Nia took out a bronze pocket watch, checked the time with some irritation, then clipped the watch back onto her waist.

Instigators truly couldn’t be trusted. Said she’d finish everything before the Lady woke up, but went silent after entering, and no one was seen running out.

The entire Deton Manor was eerily quiet, like a haunted house, exuding an aura that warned the living away.

Voom—

Suddenly, an abrupt buzzing in her mind put Nia on high alert. She quickly drew the sword and shield from her back, faint fluorescent blue light flickering within the gaps of her armor.

Under Nia’s tense gaze, a figure slowly walked out from the entrance of Deton Manor.

Is that... Ciel?

In Nia’s vision, the mask Ciel had worn was gone. Her red curly hair, slightly past shoulder length, swayed with her steps. Beside her followed four illusory black shadows identical to Ciel.

Nia: “?”

No?

Can “Instigator” switch to “Judicator”?

Ciel just drank the “Instigator” potion, right?

What’s with those black shadows? Aren’t those...

While Nia was puzzling over this, she suddenly recoiled sharply, thrusting her right shield forward. A honeycomb-patterned, fluorescent blue light shield materialized before her.

She saw, behind Ciel and the four black shadows, followed a terrifying creature whose form constantly distorted before her eyes.

Screaming whispers shrieked in Nia’s mind. As Ciel slowly raised her hand and pointed towards Nia, the terrifying phantom behind her flickered and vanished.

200 meters...

150! 100! 5...

In just a few flickers, less time than a single breath, the terrifying phantom materialized right before Nia’s face.

Nia stood stunned for a long moment. The fluorescent blue glow on her body gradually dimmed. After an unknown period, she supported herself with her sword and shield, slowly sinking to one knee before Ciel.

“Mother Goddess... above...” Metallic buzzing resonated from within the armor representing Nia.

Ciel’s black shadow submerged into the ground, emerging like a fish from Nia’s shadow behind her. Then, the black shadow solidified, and Ciel’s figure appeared behind Nia.

She looked at the kneeling Nia before her, her face showing a thoughtful expression.

Is this... like a super-enhanced version of a “Radiance Bishop”?

Regardless, Ciel felt it was worth running another simulation to try confronting that “Radiance Bishop” head-on...

Before the spiritual being dissipated, Ciel had it remove the Sadhana mark from Nia. It easily eliminated the “Sadhana Mark” on Nia.

In that case, she could also try removing the mark from the “Gambler” save file...

Anyway, in future simulations, as long as Kitty was still at Deton Manor during that timeline, she could come here and sacrifice some cultists to help herself.

Deton Manor in Berren City had effectively become Ciel’s secret farming spot.

For the remaining time, Ciel dragged the unconscious Nia into the bushes to hide her, then left Berren City, heading towards the surrounding towns, patiently waiting for time to pass.

Finally, the 24-hour limit expired, and Ciel was transported to a silver-white space.

Saving the “Instigator” file to No.1, overwriting the original “Avenger” save, Ciel exited the save space, engulfed by silver light...

...

【Reality】

【Saint Year 741, June 20, 16:20】

【Evaluation: You’re still incredible】

【Even the Divine Advent Church doesn’t know how to summon a divine servant, but you do. You’re even more hardcore than the cultists.】

【A pity. If you had taken down one more third-tier, I could have given you some more rewards ^^】

【Take it, you deserve this based on your performance.】

【Reward: Fate Points × 27, 【Art of Conversation Lv.3】】

【Fate Points: 153】