Grey and Hope stood frozen like statues before the two mutilated bodies. For a full minute, the rest of the world lost all meaning as they disappeared into their own thoughts.
Hope finally came back to her senses fifteen minutes later.
She looked around and finally realized the position she was in.
A dense forest surrounded them, her eyes were red from crying, about fifteen teenagers stood around in silence, afraid to disturb her, and Grey was still holding her as if she were the girl he loved, trying to comfort her.
The young girl, who had only recently reached the age when interest in the opposite sex began to awaken, blushed deeply.
That didn't mean she had romantic feelings for Grey. To be honest, Hope herself didn't know how she was supposed to feel about him. He meant a great deal to her, but not in that way.
He was her savior, someone she admired, he cared for her like a little sister, and acted as her mentor. He had even helped her avenge her mother, even though only a few months had passed since they first met.
Hope's feelings were in complete turmoil.
Grey had done far too much for her. She couldn't help asking herself, 'What have I ever done to deserve this kind of care?'
Hope knew she would never be able to repay that debt. All she wished for was to grow stronger as quickly as possible so she could help her benefactor. She didn't care in the slightest how Grey intended to use her strength.
'If he wants to build a powerful organization, I'll become his right hand. If he wants me to protect him, no one will dare lay a finger on him while I'm still breathing. If he wants to become the devil, I'll fall together with him.
If he tells me to go right, I won't dare look left. If he says the sky is pink, I'll create magic that changes the whole world.'
At that moment, Grey earned Hope's absolute loyalty, one that bordered on obsession.
But that didn't mean Hope stopped feeling embarrassed. With every passing second, the gazes of her "companions" felt more and more scorching. For such a shy and reserved girl, being the center of attention was anything but easy.
So Hope quickly slipped out of his tight embrace and stepped back.
"I'm okay... I feel better now... T-thank you for being there for me." Her quiet voice brought Grey back to his senses. He shook his head, trying to cast aside the dark thoughts about his own mother's fate.
'How embarrassing! I was supposed to comfort Hope, but in the end, I was the one who needed support... I still don't have enough self-control.'
He scratched his nose and looked at his subordinates, who were still standing there with their mouths hanging open.
Junior Grey was completely hopeless when it came to reading the mood. He simply assumed everyone was just as worried about Hope as he was.
Maybe it was Senior's influence, or maybe it was his own embarrassment, but he suddenly wanted to beat them senseless for being so nosy.
The poor girl had only wanted to cry her heart out. Was it really that hard to understand how she felt? These guys had completely forgotten their manners. How dare they embarrass his subordinate like this?!
"What are you idiots staring at?! Don't you have work to do?! Get moving and start digging! Clean up every trace of this battle. I want this place spotless within half an hour, as if immortal fairies had lived here... I'll beat the hell out of anyone who dares slack off!"
The teenagers scattered in every direction as if something had bitten them in the ass. They could tell their commander wasn't joking this time. His fierce gaze and detached tone promised suffering to anyone who failed to carry out his orders.
"Did you notice? The boss seems different today..."
"Shut up! You've really got the guts to talk about him. Didn't you see how he handled that interrogation? A real butcher. Brutal and completely merciless. I'm definitely not getting any sleep tonight..."
"What do you know? Isn't he doing all this for our sake? Did you see how he comforted Hope? A heartless man wouldn't care about how she was feeling. I'd rather follow a captain like him than go back to hiding and starving."
"That's true."
"Hey, don't you think 'sir' suits the boss better? He's a true gentleman with big ambitions, not the leader of some criminal gang. The way he comforted Hope was so sweet... It made me wish I were in her place..."
"Shut up, Miranda! (x2)"
"Ugh, you boys are such idiots! I shouldn't have bothered helping you. Deal with these corpses yourselves. I'm going to check on Cheryl and Lily and treat their wounds."
The teenagers got to work while quietly talking among themselves. None of them realized that they had already begun to sincerely respect their commander.
Although no one had dared defy Grey before because of the contracts they had signed, deep down they still resisted the thought of entrusting their lives to him.
But today's events swept away every trace of doubt and hesitation. Seeing something with their own eyes really was better than hearing about it a hundred times. Grey was ruthless toward his enemies and genuinely cared about his allies. A leader like that deserved their trust.
While everyone was busy with their own tasks, Grey leaned against the trunk of a tall tree and began putting together the results of today's operation.
Everything had gone far better than he had expected. Not only had they eliminated a potential threat and taken their revenge, but they had also obtained valuable information about the enemy.
After the interrogation, Grey was able to make a preliminary assessment of the cultists' strength, connections, and objectives within Thorn's Cloaca.
The Merciful Flame's Cult had been founded only a few years ago. It was a ragtag group of petty criminals who had sworn loyalty to a relatively unknown deity.
The deity sought to gather new believers and generously rewarded its earliest followers with blessings in exchange for spreading its name and offering regular sacrifices.
The cult's leader, as well as its strongest fighter, was a man known as the Ashen Shepherd. With his god's blessing, he had reached the rank of Saint Adept (Level 4). His true strength matched Grey's estimates, and Grey was genuinely relieved that he had judged the risks correctly.
The cult's recruitment methods were far from complicated.
The Shepherd's recruiters wandered through local dens, slums, and underground arenas, searching for people who were desperate, greedy, or simply foolish. They offered them one simple thing: power. The kind of power an ordinary mortal on the continent of Pratos could spend an entire lifetime chasing and still never obtain.
Pratos was nowhere near as advanced as Alaz, the continent that was home to humanity's four great empires: the Roman Empire, the Magic Empire, the Empire of the Six Pillars, and the Empire of the Plebs under Spartacus's rule. Ordinary people on Pratos had no right to undergo the Awakening Ceremony, while every other path to power was reserved for a select few. On this continent, becoming stronger without swearing loyalty to someone was simply impossible. Power was a privilege.
Within the cult, however, people were told that the Merciful Flame Deity never withheld its gifts from those willing to serve with unwavering faith. A few simple rituals, blood spilled upon the altar, a sincere prayer, and even the lowliest beggar could take the first step toward power.
The support of a god, even one that wasn't particularly powerful, meant a great deal.
Around the Ashen Shepherd, a small but formidable force gradually took shape. Among his closest followers were no fewer than twenty Centurion-level (Level 3) fighters, former mercenaries and strays whose blessings had granted them frightening power.
There were also around a hundred other followers, ranging from ordinary mortals to Legionaries. They weren't particularly talented or devoted, but they were more than capable of handling the cult's day-to-day affairs.
On the scale of all Eridania, or even the entire continent of Pratos, such a force was almost insignificant. The cult was still too young and too weak for anyone outside its sphere of influence to take it seriously. But things were different in Thorn's Cloaca.
To the local lord, they could become a useful ally in his political struggle against his newly emerged rival, King Orion's Ninth Concubine. He entrusted them with tasks that were never meant to see the light of day, and in return, he turned a blind eye to their activities.
Even so, the cult wanted more.
The grand sacrificial ceremony involving a hundred teenagers was meant to become their turning point. A ritual on such a scale promised generous rewards for every follower. The Ashen Shepherd believed that once it was complete, the cult would grow so powerful that even the city authorities would have no choice but to reckon with them.
But nothing went according to plan.
Some of the sacrifices escaped, while the rest were killed. As a result, the ritual failed, and the promised blessing never descended upon them.
Discontented whispers spread among the followers. It was easy to ignore the cult's dark side when the benefits outweighed all the drawbacks. But once those benefits disappeared, the seeds of doubt began to take root. Now, everyone feared the consequences.
Finding and secretly abducting an entire hundred teenagers with pure souls was no easy task.
Friends, family, orthodox religions, and even ordinary citizens would become their enemies the moment they learned about such a large-scale massacre of children. There was a reason this practice was considered so sinister and condemned by society as a whole.
The lower-ranking followers who had been assigned this mission had sacrificed a great deal to make the grand ritual possible. But ever since it failed, they had lived in constant fear that their actions would become public knowledge.
Thanks in no small part to Grey, the news was slowly spreading.
The consequences were devastating. Many of the cult's operations had to be suspended, yesterday's partners refused to cooperate, and even the city's lord was forced to cut off all contact, afraid of being implicated.
The cultists had no choice but to retreat back into the shadows.
To restore their damaged reputation and avoid drawing even greater hatred, the cult had no choice but to eliminate every single escapee. Dead witnesses couldn't testify.
The Ashen Shepherd mobilized every resource at his disposal. Every member of the cult, from the lowliest hired thug to the leader's direct subordinates, was sent out to search the surrounding area and kill the fugitives the moment they were found.
Only then would they be able to bury the growing scandal and keep their losses to a minimum.
When his thoughts reached that point, a crooked smile appeared on Grey's face.
He had never imagined that spreading rumors through the girls from the Embraces of Venus would be so effective.
The priestesses of love didn't need evidence or undeniable proof to stir sympathy in their clients. A few casually spoken words and a frightened expression were enough to make every man feel like a righteous hero who had to live up to his lover's trust.
Grey hadn't even needed to lift a finger to seriously undermine the cult's influence.
On one hand, he had dealt them a heavy blow. On the other, he had forced them to act immediately.
He wasn't sure whether to consider the outcome a success or a miscalculation.
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