How the Cult Saves the World

Terdius's expression changed subtly. As if he noticed what the silence meant. I answered Terdius briefly.

"Let's enter for now."

"...How do you plan to open this door?"

Terdius spoke as if lamenting while looking at the huge door whose size couldn't even be easily gauged. I smiled at such Terdius then lightly tapped the huge door.

Rumble—

Then the huge door slowly began pushing inward. Because its size was considerable, quite a long time was needed for the door to open.

Rumble—

Though the door was still opening, I moved inside one step at a time. Because it had already opened enough for one person to enter.

"Let's go."

I spoke to Terdius and entered inside. Then a dim interior was visible. When Terdius finally stood beside me.

Whoosh—

Along with the sound of fire lighting, the interior began brightening gradually. Where we arrived was, in a word, a huge corridor.

Moreover, it was a corridor with gargoyle statues lined up in rows, and torches were attached here and there. And bizarrely, the torches lit by themselves, and the lined-up gargoyle statues overflowed with vitality as if they'd come alive any moment.

—Quite a goosebump-inducing space.

At Kyros's words suddenly heard, I almost burst out laughing.

'Even Lord Kyros gets goosebumps?'

—Of course, naturally.

'Interesting. To think even the omnipotent God gets goosebumps.'

—Well, naturally. Because humans were created based on Gods.

At Kyros's words, I was a bit surprised. I didn't know this world's mythology had such parts.

'I see. It seems there are more parts I didn't know than expected.'

—Really? Then I'll tell you more sometime soon. Talk anytime when free.

I thought that time probably wouldn't come until quite a distant future.

'Yes. Understood.'

Still, seeing Kyros's sincerity, I answered that I understood. Meanwhile, Terdius who finished looking around slightly approached me. Then he spoke secretly.

"Leviathan. I've seen this before in a book."

"What?"

"...Usually gargoyles in such old temples look like statues on the outside, but in reality are alive."

Looking at Terdius who spoke like that, I slowly moved my steps. Right then.

Crack—

A sound like something breaking was heard from a gargoyle statue. When I turned my gaze, stone dust was visible, having fallen around the statue that had been clean.

"That book has quite proper information."

I spoke to Terdius while looking at the gargoyles. The statues that had been obediently crouching had already awakened and were watching us with fierce eyes.

"...As expected."

Terdius's sigh-like words were heard from behind. I immediately opened my inventory and took out my mace.

"Then shall we try statue hunting?"

As soon as I said that, dozens of gargoyles in the corridor awakened.

"Kieek—!"

Along with bizarre cries, the gargoyles flew at us like bats. I immediately swung my mace.

Pow—!

Fortunately, thanks to the holy power contained in the mace, handling the gargoyles wasn't that difficult.

Thwack, pow!

While earnestly beating down gargoyles rushing at me.

Tap—

I saw Terdius take flight beside me. Terdius who lightly flew into the air immediately swung the Poison Dragon Sword.

"Kiek!"

Though the gargoyles moved nimbly trying to avoid his blade, escaping the flying Sword Energy wasn't easy.

Thud thud—

Terdius's Sword Energy quickly chased gargoyles trying to flee swiftly. Because of that, the gargoyles plummeted to the ground.

'As expected, it's easy with Terdius.'

Because if I just stood still swinging my mace, Terdius would handle the stragglers by himself.

"Cleanup is all done."

The quickly started combat ended faster than expected.

"Good work."

I left a word to Terdius and looked at gargoyle corpses sprawled on the floor. Though I looked wondering if there was anything more to collect, as in the original, there was nothing to obtain from these guys.

'Because the guys in this temple were all useless without exception...'

After roughly finishing cleanup, I headed toward the corridor's end with Terdius. At the corridor's end existed a huge wooden door without any patterns. As before, when I lightly tapped the wooden door, it began opening.

Rumble—

Watching the huge wooden door slowly push inward, I thought.

'Really needlessly huge.'

Well, since the owner of this place was 'that thing,' it couldn't be helped.

Anyway, entering inside, another huge space appeared. This time a space more splendid than the corridor, like a banquet hall. Though it wasn't like chandeliers were hanging and such.

Whoosh—

Like in the corridor, fire lit on torches here and there. Then this space's owners inside, two huge statues shaped like wyverns with two wings and two legs, revealed themselves.

'Strictly speaking, this side is also dragon-type but...'

In HSAW, wyverns appeared as a lower tier than dragons. Because dragons in HSAW possessed intelligence, but wyverns didn't possess intelligence.

"Don't tell me we have to fight those things too?"

Terdius's sigh-mixed words were heard beside me. I patted such guy's shoulder.

Perhaps noticing my action was the answer itself, Terdius drew his sword by himself. And this time I transformed the mace I was holding into a holy sword.

Grrr—

Then our gazes met with two wyverns that had already awakened. The wyverns glared at us while shining their red eyes. Then soon spread their folded huge wings.

"I'll take this one."

I spoke while pointing to the black wyvern among the two wyverns. Then Terdius nodded and approached toward the red wyvern.

Actually, both weren't greatly threatening, but this black wyvern was a guy 'holy power' worked on in HSAW. So it was a choice to handle it more easily.

Because Terdius was a guy with excellent individual skill even without holy power.

Tap—

I immediately leaped. Though it was imitating Terdius's movements, I flew higher using minimal holy power.

Crunch—

And when I immediately swung the holy sword toward the wyvern flying at me, the wyvern's teeth blocked the holy sword. Fortunately, its strength wasn't as strong as expected.

I smiled and aimed my left hand not holding the sword toward the wyvern. And I gathered power at my fingertips.

"Holy Power Emission."

Flash—

The sacred holy power flowing from my hand immediately blew away the wyvern's head and neck.

Though the aftermath reached even the holy sword, the holy sword full of divine power from the start didn't receive any damage from Holy Power Emission.

Though I consumed quite a lot of holy power in one attack, I defeated the wyvern in one breath.

'Because this is more comfortable than wasting time unnecessarily.'

And because I could quickly recover about the amount of holy power I consumed, it was fine.

"As expected, you're fast."

Just in time, Terdius also approached me as if he finished handling the red wyvern. The wyvern's corpse was visible behind him.

"This much..."

Since entering here, we met gargoyles and wyverns, but combat wasn't that difficult.

'The real combat will soon start.'

I confirmed the wyvern corpses collapsed behind Terdius and me, then moved my steps again.

Entering inside, a huge black door appeared. As before, when I lightly tapped it, the door opened easily.

Entering through between the huge doors, a somewhat bright, huge space appeared.

Light incomparably brighter and warmer than previous torches. Only one thing could produce such light.

—Oh, we finally found it!

Simultaneously, Kyros's shout was heard. I smiled while looking at an object a bit far away yet still brightly shining.

That object was precisely a necklace, one of Kyros's holy relics. Moreover, a necklace with a pure white, fist-sized gem, an item possessing abundant holy power.

"That's...!"

Terdius's eyes who discovered the necklace widened slightly. Perhaps he too noticed Kyros's energy felt from the holy relic.

"Yes. That's right. We came all the way here to find that."

As soon as I said that, Kyros began raging.

—There it was, my necklace!

It was the moment I tried to take one step while hearing Kyros's voice.

Boom—

Along with a roar, the ground shook. Simultaneously, another huge door inside opened, and an existence as huge as the door revealed itself from within.

It was a dragon made entirely of jet-black scales from head to toe.

"...So it really was a dragon."

Terdius's resentful voice was heard beside me, but I didn't have time to care. Because this was my first time actually seeing a dragon too.

"What are you? For what reason did you wake my deep sleep?"

And that huge dragon spoke while glaring at Terdius and me with sharp eyes. But I spoke back to such dragon without losing.

"To take that thing over there."

When I spoke with a smile, the dragon shouted strongly.

"That is my treasure! You dare come to steal my treasure!"

The dragon's shout echoed in the huge space. To the degree my ears hurt momentarily. But I responded calmly.

"Strictly speaking, that treasure isn't yours but belongs to the omnipotent Lord Kyros."

It wasn't the dragon who was surprised at my words. Terdius standing beside me tapped my arm.

"...Leviathan, are you crazy now? What are you trying to do by provoking a dragon?"

"I have my reasons, so don't worry."

I answered Terdius then turned my gaze toward the dragon.

"By the way, why is this treasure yours?"

"Well, because I picked it up, it's mine."

"But this treasure has a separate owner."

"Such things aren't important to me! If you dare try to steal my treasure, I'll dismember your limbs."

At the dragon's threat, I snorted. And asked back.

"Do you happen to know what happens when you mix Perda scorpion blood and venom?"

"...What?"

At my sudden question, the dragon asked back. I answered with a smile.

"The answer is, it becomes deadly poison that can even kill dragons."

"So what about it?"

That guy still seems not to know how the situation is turning.

I kindly answered such dragon.

"Because that Perda scorpion's deadly poison is currently inside your body, Lord Dragon."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!