“This isn't a good place to talk, follow me,” Said Farley before leaving the room.

“Wait, where are we going? It's already late, there will be guards patrolling the streets.” Viers grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Relax, I got it handled. Such a worrywart, ufufu.” Farley let out a laugh.

“...”

Viers followed her out of the dorm. Both of them went to a nearby alley before Farley who walked ahead of Viers stopped.

“Uncle Gavin...” Farley called softly.

“Lady Farley, congratulations on the successful recruitment.”

A man’s voice came from behind Viers. He was shocked, there was no indication of someone following him at all. He was highly alert but he still did not detect the man before he spoke. He turned and saw an old man with white hair wearing clothes similar to an English butler.

“Yes, I expect he will be useful to our cause. I wish to go to that place.”

“Certainly, please put this on.”

The butler gave two hooded cloaks for Farley and Viers before disappearing again. Viers felt a soft gust of wind enveloped the butler before the butler slowly turned transparent, before long, it was as if he had vanished into thin air. Viers reached out his hand to touch him but he didn't feel he grasped something. Whether he really made contact or the butler simply dodged Viers’s grab, Viers didn't know.

“Put this on.” Farley wore the dark-colored cloak and continued walking. Viers followed her without question, they moved closer to the town outskirts. They passed the guard’s checkpoint and went out of the town borders without a hitch, the guards did not prevent them in any way, one of them even gave a silent nod to Farley.

First the butler then the guards, that old guy is definitely stronger than me, was he in my room when Farley and I were talking? Quite a shuddering thought, the cult also seems to have some sort of influence with the guards. This cult have quite a presence in Luxore.

They went to the stable to borrow two horses but Viers told her he couldn't ride. Farley rolled her eyes and sighed before letting Viers hop on her horse. They rode into the night, as beautiful the night was, Viers couldn't appreciate it. He was fully aware that he was still in a dangerous situation.

They didn't go far, only about ten minutes riding before their destination was in sight. It was a manor, not very big nor regal but it gave an antique feeling. The manor was old but well maintained, there were hundreds of wine trees near the manor, a vineyard.

“This is my family’s, Styra household’s manor,” Farley explained.

“Why they built the manor outside the town’s walls? Won't they be attacked by monsters and beasts?”

“Many rich people have some sort of assets outside the walls, see that building over there?” Farley pointed out a big simple two-story wooden building near the vineyard. “We also make beverages there from the wine we harvest, it was quite popular among the upper classes. We got a barrier type magic tool for protecting our homestead, so no problem being outside the walls.”

I guess the rich can do whatever they want… Viers grumbled within his head.

“And the manor also serves as our cult’s base for this region, we wanted to be away from prying eyes.” Added Farley in whispers.

They get off the horse after reaching the main entrance, a servant greeted Farley then led the horse to the stable. Viers saw that the three-story manor had a touch of a European building and silently approved. The butler Gavin opened the main entrance and led them inside but Viers wasn't surprised by the butler’s presence since he expected as much.

The inside of the manor wasn't very luxurious but it still gave an upper-class feeling, tidy carpet on the floor, vases and other art like objects on display, the walls were adorned with paintings and tapestries. All in all, very ancestral-home like.

I thought Paina was a noble rich lady but it turns out Farley is the one with the bling, make sense since she was a member of an evil cult. Most likely her family had already been a cult member for a few generations.

“Sister Farley~”

A cute voice calling Farley’s name caught Viers’s attention.

“Gwennie!! I missed you, my cute little sis. Have you been a good girl?” Farley hugged the little girl gleefully.

“Un, I ate all the vegetables today.” She said proudly.

“Good girl… see this person here? He’s a guest, offer him your greeting kay?”

“Kay… Hello, I’m Gwen Styra, the fifth child of Styra family. I’m ten years old this year, pleased to meet you.” She said with a lady-like bow.

The small girl wore a blue dress with many frills, her face had some resemblance to Farley. Her brown hair was at shoulder’s length and a cute blue ribbon was tied to her hair. She offered her introduction splendidly although a bit nervous speaking with a stranger.

“Nice to meet you, little lady, I’m Viers Isuel. My family status isn’t high, so no need to be nervous.”

“Gwennie, he’s here to join our cult.”

“Really? He will help us fight the bad people from the church?” Gwen’s face lit up brightly and made a happy expression.

“Yes, we are a bit busy so we will meet again later, okay? Uncle Gavin, please escort Gwen and prepare the entrance ceremony, I will explain things to him while waiting in that place.” Farley said.

“Okay, bye-bye big sis.” While giving Farley’s thigh a goodbye hug.

“Yes, Lady Farley. Lady Gwen, please follow me.” The butler led the little girl away.

Indoctrination since a young age, very… culty. Not my problem though, I had my own problems.

They went into a room with a fireplace inside. At first glance, it was just a comfy room but after Farley tilted a painting, a portion of the wall sunk into the floor and a set of stairs that leads underground could be seen inside.

Neat, I want a secret entrance too if I have a lair someday.

Viers followed Farley through the stairs, the descent felt like going down into hell itself. After the stairs, Viers was guided through confusing narrow corridors. The light from the candles on the walls added the ominousness of this place. Finally, they arrived at their destination, a chapel. An underground chapel illuminated only by lights from candles.

“We are here, quite a walk wasn't it? We got some time before the preparation of your ceremony is done, I will answer some of your questions here. See that? That's the statue of Dumuzin, a Greater Devil.” Farley pointed at the white statue behind the altar.

Viers examined the statue, it was a human-sized statue of a man. Long-haired, and no bat wings on his back. His torso was well toned with some muscles but not too much, a stone tunic covered his body from the waist down. Viers felt as if he was looking at the statue of David, the face of the statue seemed ordinary but something felt off, Viers wasn't sure about what.

“Very human-like for a Greater Devil, whatever that is, the Church’s scriptures don't have information about them... and I don't have much knowledge about mythologies. I’m sure it's very interesting but that's a matter for another time. For now, I only want to ask the important ones.”

There were long wooden chairs on the chapel, all directed to the altar and the statue. Farley sat on the most front chair and Viers sat beside her.

“You’ve been patient, okay then, ask away.”

“This Dumuzin, what does he want and why you people worshiped him.”

“Well, he wants to fuck Estelle. The Goddess.”

“...You mean like mess up her world? This world?” Replied Viers, a bit baffled by her choice of words, very different from the Farley he knew.

“No, he wants to FUCK her... literally. No other meaning, that's what he always told us when we asked what are his wishes.” Farley grinned from ear to ear.

“...So he wants to make Estelle his wife?”

“I’m not sure about the wife thing, you can ask him when he shows up.”

“...What comes after the fuck?” Viers didn't mince his words.

“Don't know, it’s HE who don’t know so we don't know. He said he would think about it after he got her.”

“...Where is he?”

“Prisoned… well, trapped, in hell. He can't leave hell but he can use his ability to send messages, projections, and give powers to his followers from time to time.”

“...So the Cult of Dumuzin purpose is to free him from hell?”

“That's one purpose, we also have others. He wants us, his followers, to cause chaos in the world. Among the Greater Devils, Dumuzin is very fond of humans. He finds us amusing and enjoys watching how we humans living our lives, all of our happiness and sorrow, our struggle and tragedy, our love and hate, all the things we experienced. It's like entertainment for him.”

“So we sow chaos in this world for his entertainment? Can't he find something exciting to do in hell?”

“I never went to hell myself so I don't know, you can find out after you die and go to hell.”

“...You believe in this heaven or hell thing after we die?” Viers asked her with an ice-like gaze.

“Oh? Est Church's teaching wasn't it? Do good deeds so your soul goes to the embrace of the Goddess after you die while those who do bad deeds will be tortured by the devils in hell? Well, some part of it is true but it isn't as simple as it seems. It’s a bit complicated so it’s a topic for another time.”

“Yes, apologies, I admit I got a little sidetracked. Let us continue, you said cause chaos in this world. So make the world drown in suffering? Massacre millions, release plagues, make wars, cause starvations world wide?”

“Hehehe, that’s another Devil’s domain. I told you Dumuzin is fond of humans, yes? He wants us to make the world chaotic but not to the point of breaking it. Sow mistrust and lit sparks of war after a long period of peace, help the populace after a decade of strife and suffering, assassinate a king or two from time to time.”

“We advocate power, if you have power then you can do whatever you want, but you must deal with the consequences of your actions. One of our members created a harem of a hundred women, fighting the church with his ‘family’. One became a drug lord and spread narcotics in a city. One created an orphanage and prepare the innocent children to join our cult. One became a great healer but her patient must agree to do one of her requests after she healed them. One became a serial killer who only kill the son of his mark.”

This cult influence is bigger than I thought and its members aren’t to be underestimated…

“We do all kinds of things really, Dumuzin likes freedom so he didn’t restrict his followers as harshly as other Devils”

Like Loki? God of mischief? No… too early to tell.

“...Other Devils, you said, so there are other cults? They’re our ally or foe?”

“Foe, hell is a brutal place, or so I heard. Hell’s indigenous residents enjoy killing one another, and so are the Greater Devils, they fought each other A LOT. But the Greater Devils power's are mostly equal to one another so… unending conflict among hell dwellers who hates one another since the creation of hell. We and other cults… often had conflicting interests.”

“...The Greater Devils, they are the top dogs of hell?”

“Yep, Dumuzin is one of the seven Greater Devils.”

“What about the heavens side? The Goddess is the most powerful?”

“Sort of… but it will take a mythology lesson to tell you the whole story.”

“Make it short, so short that a five-year-old can understand.”

“War between one goddess and seven devils, the goddess is only as strong as one of the devil so she uses human’s faith as energy to make her minions, the angels, stronger. Time passed, the church's roots planted deeply on humanity's way of life and the goddess forces become stronger and stronger. If this goes on, the seven devils will be exterminated. They don’t want that so they reached out to humans to give faith energy to them and instruct their human followers to attack the humans faithful to the goddess, the church’s people. The thing is, they started late. Their cult's strength, influence, and foundations are way behind the church's. But our situation isn't a hopeless one yet. We can still turn this around!”

“Make it shorter, you can do better than that,” Viers said half-jokingly.

“…We, the Cult of Dumuzin is fighting the other cults because they get in our way. We fight the Est Church because we want chaos and they want order.” Farley entertained Viers’s idea of a joke.

“Eh, better. So what do I do? Specifically? Sneak into places and steal some shit?”

“That could work depending on the shit, but no, you are going to fight and kill other humans… We never ran out of enemies.”

“Fight? I’m weak you know, level 0 Path-seeker with tier 2 talent, remember that? You want me to become a meat shield?”

Farley put a hand on her left ear as if she was hearing something.

“Not really, you're no use to us dead. That’s why we will upgrade your aptitude first and the preparations are done, let’s go.” Farley stood up and tried to leave.

“…You didn’t answer one of my questions, why you people in the cult worshiped him.” He said to Farley.

“…He came to us in our moment of greatest need, he gave us reason to live after we lost it…” She met Viers’s eyes and spoke with a higher degree of respect in her voice than before.

...Now that... is certainly devilish.