Seeing the situation in front of him, Duncan was ready to step forward and boldly claim, "The traitor is me!" But he quickly changed his mind and quietly stepped back, choosing instead to watch the unfolding drama with a curious attitude.
It turned out he wasn't the only traitor in this gathering. The girl in the black dress had given him an odd feeling from the start. At first, Duncan thought her youthful and quiet demeanor clashed with the atmosphere of this cult meeting, but now he realized it was something more.
He noticed the leader of the gathering mentioned two terms: "Eerie Hound" and "Annihilation Cult."
The Eerie Hound clearly referred to the giant black skeletal dog summoned by the girl, while the Annihilation Cult sounded like a group that wouldn’t be registered as a legitimate organization in the town hall. So, this girl was not a follower of the Sun God; she belonged to another cult?!
How many strange dark cults were lurking in the shadows of this world?
As Duncan pondered this, the girl who summoned the Eerie Hound slightly raised her arm, the black chains on her arm clinking as she scanned the gathering with a mocking smile. "Annihilation Cult... Sorry, but I have nothing to do with them. Unlike you bunch who need to serve some evil god to sleep peacefully, I only work for myself!"
"You can't fool anyone with that. Only the Annihilation Cult knows how to summon the strange creatures from the deep sea. I advise you to give up, heretic. You stand in the territory of the Sun God, and even the curse of the Eerie Hound can't save you!" The leader at the center of the gathering glared at Sherry, his voice low and threatening. "Tell me, what do you want?! Annihilation and the Sun have never allied, but we have never been enemies. Why are you pretending to be one of us in our sacred gathering?"
"I just want to dig some information out of your not-so-bright heads," Sherry replied with a smirk. The chains connected to her body suddenly rattled, as if alive, slowly writhing. "And I’ve already said, I’m not with the Annihilation Cult...!"
Before she could finish, a series of cracking sounds erupted from all around. The oil lamps set up in the room suddenly ignited, burning brightly!
The bright flames lit up the entire basement, and small fireballs began to rise above each lamp, resembling tiny suns, radiating immense power. The leader at the center of the gathering had tightened his grip on his Sun amulet, the sharp flames at its edge piercing his palm, blood seeping into the amulet and igniting like oil, causing his entire hand to catch fire, echoing the sudden transformation of the oil lamps.
Clearly, this seasoned cult leader was just stalling for time with a few words. While Sherry was distracted, he had activated some extraordinary ability.
"Surrender, heretic," a threatening voice came from behind the golden mask. "The power of the Sun God has sealed this entire gathering. I know the abilities of your Annihilation Cult; you can borrow spells from the demons you summon and use them to harm others. The shadow breath of the Eerie Hound is indeed terrifying—but this place is sealed. You and your dog cannot draw any power from the deep sea!"
Duncan’s fingers moved slightly in his pocket as he contemplated whether to step in. Although it seemed like two groups of cultists were fighting each other, the girl named Sherry might know something important, and right now, she was clearly outnumbered.
Just then, the masked leader extended his burning hand, still gripping the Sun amulet, towards Sherry. His voice was low and seductive, as if an invisible force was mixed in with his words. "Give up resistance, convert in the territory of the Sun God, and then tell me everything you know. The merciful Sun will forgive your sins... Kneel, young sister... you can’t use spells..."
However, facing the threat from the Sun priest, Sherry seemed unfazed. She merely glanced at the burning oil lamps and then at the Sun followers around her, who were drawing short swords, daggers, and even revolvers, and calmly asked, "Maintaining this barrier must be quite exhausting for you, right?"
The Sun priest snorted coldly, "Hmph, the power bestowed by my master..."
Before he could finish, the girl in the black dress suddenly sprang into action!
Sherry stepped forward, her right arm ablaze with black fire, raising it high. The dark chains whistled through the air as she swung the Eerie Hound around like a meteor hammer—this giant dog, several times larger than an ordinary one, was sent crashing into the Sun priest's chest with a terrifying "bang!"
The sound of shattering bones rang out clearly. The Sun priest, who had been focused on maintaining the barrier, didn’t have time to react before he was sent flying like a rag doll, crashing into the wall on the opposite side, falling silent.
Duncan: "..."
He definitely didn't see that coming.
In an instant, the unexpected turn of events left all the cultists stunned. The Sun followers were waiting for their leader's command when, in the next second, they saw him fly out. Then, the sound of the chains whistling through the air cut through the atmosphere once more!
Sherry raised her arm again, the dark chains clinking as a strange force swung the Eerie Hound like a meteor hammer. The giant dog soared through the air, and with a series of loud crashes, several cultists were sent flying, spitting blood!
This time, the cultists finally reacted. Forgetting their shock, they all charged at the girl who was raising her chains again, a dozen daggers and swords flying through the air. In response, Sherry swung the Eerie Hound and shouted, "Go to hell with your master! Bastards!"
The giant dog tore through the air, sending cultists flying in all directions. Sherry expertly wielded the meteor hammer, and for a moment, all that could be seen were flying chains, howling dogs, and the girl twisting and turning, striking down her enemies.
Just then, several gunshots rang out!
The Sun followers with revolvers finally found their chance. Realizing they couldn't take down the powerful girl in close combat, they didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Brass bullets sliced through the air, two struck the chains, sparking brightly, while several others hit Sherry’s body.
"Ugh..." The girl swayed as the bullets hit her, the impact and pain causing her to momentarily lose her balance. However, the next second, just as the cultists thought they had turned the tide, the sound of the chains whistling through the air rang out again.
"Dog! Help me block the pain!"
The Eerie Hound, swung high in the air, let out a chaotic roar, and in the next moment, it slammed into a gun-wielding cultist, sending him flying. His head hit a distant pillar, instantly turning him into a mini version of Alice...
Meanwhile, the meteor dog in the center of the gathering became even more ferocious!
Duncan quietly took a couple of steps back, trying to lower his presence while waiting for all this to end.
Right now, he was mostly worried about getting blood on himself—he had just changed into this outfit today, and it would be hard to explain to Nina if it got ruined.
As for the girl who was expertly wielding the meteor hammer... she probably didn’t need his help.
She was doing just fine.
The whole battle didn’t last long. The black-dressed girl’s Eerie Hound was incredibly strong and fast. The basement, with no escape, was like a private hunting ground for her. Duncan stood in the corner, silently reciting the multiplication table for the second time, and before he could finish, the fight was over.
Once all the cultists were knocked down, the basement finally fell silent.
Sherry finally stopped, gripping the chains binding the Eerie Hound, breathing heavily in the center of the room. Suddenly, her gaze caught sight of a figure standing in the corner.
She finally noticed Duncan, the last "cultist" in the gathering.
Though she was taken aback by the calm demeanor of this strange "cultist," Sherry didn’t hesitate to approach him, dragging her dog along.
Her hostility was unmistakable.
(End of Chapter)