[Vol. 7] Chapter 95: Moving Forward Together
This place was the headquarters of an organization called the Church of Truth.
By secretly listening in on the conversations around her, a certain little dragon girl who had infiltrated the den alone quickly figured that out.
By the way, if her guess was correct, she was no longer in the real world. This place was likely a subspace, created by some special power and attached to the main plane of existence.
The ritual performed by those traffickers earlier wasn’t a sacrifice. Instead, it was a gate-opening ritual that temporarily connected the real world to this space, transporting everything within its range.
The rules and magical energy here… felt strange. The little dragon girl was still young and didn’t have much knowledge, so she couldn’t fully explain it. But if she had to describe it in her own way, it felt kind of like being inside a giant creature’s… stomach.
As she silently pondered, the golden-haired young girl, who had been pretending to be unconscious on the ground, cracked open one eye and cautiously scanned her surroundings.
Even though they had been transported to another space, the area still looked like the same manor from before. However, the moment they arrived, the bright daytime sky was replaced by an eerie night, with three moons and countless stars shining overhead. Yet she felt unsettlingly off.
Compared to the vast silence of the real world, this side was much busier.
Inside and around the manor, even within the distant forest, figures in strange robes and metallic masks moved about. A gray mist seeped rhythmically from their bodies, drifting into the night like breathing shadows, making the whole place feel even more eerie.
Soon after they arrived, another group of cultists, who had stayed behind in this space, approached. They had a brief, hushed conversation with the traffickers before ordering their followers to carry all the captured children away on stretchers.
They spoke quickly, and since the little dragon girl wasn’t fluent in their language, she didn’t catch every word. But she did pick up on certain phrases being repeated, words like “truth,” “expansion,” and “saint”. That was how she realized this group was called the Church of Truth.
Strangely, they didn’t seem to treat her any differently from the other children. She was taken inside the manor along with the rest. Despite having forcefully abducted them, the cultists handled the young ones carefully, as if afraid of hurting their delicate bodies.
The little dragon girl didn’t fully understand what was going on, but that was fine.
If these foolish lower creatures tried anything reckless, Xiao Guang couldn’t guarantee she’d hold back her temper. She might just burn this entire den of thieves to the ground with a single dragon breath.
That would be satisfying, but... it was risky.
Unlike those insignificant ants, this subspace contained something truly dangerous to her.
A dragon’s ability to sense an opponent’s strength never failed. The gray mist surrounding these cultists seemed to originate from a higher existence, one that had projected its power into this space in a unique way. Perhaps the former Xiao Guang wouldn’t have feared it, but in this still-growing body, she wasn’t sure she could win.
But that didn’t matter. Her master was already on the way.
As soon as she arrived, every enemy would be annihilated by the light.
For now, Xiao Guang just needed to wait.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, the sound of many footsteps suddenly stopped.
The cultists had brought them into an underground chamber inside the manor. After setting the stretchers down, they quickly left, locking the door from the outside.
Xiao Guang perked up her ears, listening carefully.
Outside, she could vaguely hear their conversation.
“Stay alert! The ritual is happening soon, guard this door properly! This batch of vessels has great potential. They could produce a Saint. Don’t mess this up and disappoint the High Priest and our God. Understood?”
“Yes, Bishop!”
The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
After lying motionless on the stretcher for so long, the golden-haired young girl finally sat up. Her brilliant golden slit pupils fixated on the chamber’s main door for a moment before she quickly scanned the room.
It was a simple storage-like space. Clean with no unnecessary furniture. The high windows were sealed with thick steel plates, leaving no chance of escape.
Finally, Xiao Guang’s gaze fell on the unconscious children lying nearby. Their ages seemed close to hers.
“A ritual… and vessels… huh.”
At this point, she had a pretty good idea of why the Church of Truth had taken these children.
It was indeed a sacrifice, but not exactly the way she had initially expected. It seemed more like a large-scale ritual to filter out a select few who met certain criteria, then using them to achieve some unknown goal.
It looked like their preparations weren’t finished yet. There were probably many more children being taken from different places and transported here.
Since she was already here, she might as well find something interesting to do before her master arrived.
A small, knowing smile appeared on the little dragon girl’s lips, a look far too calm and mature for her age. A golden light flashed in her eyes, and in the next moment, her entire body turned into a stream of light, blending into the faint rays seeping through the cracks in the window before vanishing completely.
……………………………………
“I see… The Church of Truth is trying to summon something, and they’re collecting power through this process. So, what exactly are they trying to summon? And for what purpose?”
Inside the deep crater, a battered and broken figure lay struggling for breath.
The half-bear man was in much worse shape than before. His blade was completely shattered into several pieces, and a massive golden-furred beast had him pinned firmly to the ground with one powerful paw. His single eye flashed with fear and helplessness.
“That’s… all I know. As for what exactly they’re summoning… and why… only the High Priest knows. Cough… Even if you kill me, I won’t have the answer.”
“Hmph…”
The priestess had already jumped off her pet, but since the half-bear man was lying deep in the pit, she still towered over him, looking down with an evaluating gaze before giving a slight nod.
Based on both what she had observed through her [Yin-Yang Eyes] and her own judgment, this former soldier wasn’t lying. The area he was in charge of didn’t seem like a key location for the cult’s operation.
Despite how Marcelo had seemed like some kind of Super Saiyan earlier, unleashing a power so overwhelming that even legendary adventurers would have been on high alert, that was only because he had received a temporary boost from this place, known as the [Shadow Realm].
He had been granted the blessing of some deity, and by channeling the power gathered from the Village 192, he had managed to achieve such an explosive surge in strength.
That kind of power shouldn’t be transferable to the real world. Even within the [Shadow Realm], it couldn’t be maintained permanently.
So, the Church of Truth wasn’t as powerful as it seemed, at least for now.
But there were still a few things she needed to figure out.
"You mentioned that several groups of adventurers came here before. Where are they now?"
"......"
Seeing that Marcelo turned his head slightly and didn't answer immediately, the golden-haired giant dog standing on his chest let out a dignified and angry snort, and its paw immediately increased its force by a few points, bringing with it a series of bone groans and the crisp sound of shattering.
Yet, the old soldier didn’t make a single sound of pain.
Violet, however, had no intention of making things too difficult for him.
"Forget it, Little Fang."
[Understood.]
Upon hearing its master’s command, the beast lowered its head respectfully, then lifted its paw, sparing Marcelo from having his chest completely crushed.
Even if he didn’t say a word, his reaction, combined with what they had encountered so far, was enough for Violet to piece things together.
The adventurers were dead.
Marcelo’s decision to report the incident to Adelaide City had likely been a trap all along. Bait to lure in more sacrifices.
In other words, from the very start, he had been working with the Church of Truth.
Violet continued, her voice steady:
"The strange lights and sounds in the mountains. Those were part of the ritual nodes you set up to create this space, weren’t they? I’m guessing that back then, the nodes weren’t fully connected yet. That’s why the villagers got trapped temporarily and were able to escape."
"This entire plan is massive and extremely meticulous. It’s not something a mere cult could have orchestrated overnight."
She narrowed her cold silver-blue eyes at him.
"Marcelo, as a former imperial soldier, how did you come into contact with the Church of Truth? Why are you helping them?"
Marcelo met her gaze, his jaw tightening.
"No comment… Just kill me."