Just then, they heard a voice. They turned to see where it was coming from and spotted a man with a disfigured face.

  "You have seen something you weren't supposed to... And you have awakened us before our time. Before we could be saved..."

  He was dressed in strange garments, like a cultist. Unlike the others, who wore normal clothes, he had a deep wound in his chest, but it didn’t seem to have bled much.

  "This is bad, very bad... Time and time again, something gets in the way of our success... But it doesn’t matter, we’ll deal with this just like the other times..."

  The others were crawling toward the group, barely able to stand, unlike the first two. They also made strange noises.

  "Oh... Do you see them?" the man said, writhing. "They're hungry... Even I am... Very well, the ritual can wait. It's time for breakfast."

  Despite how odd his words were, even with his eerie voice, they sounded threatening now that they could feel his aura. He was just as terrifying as the others.

  But that didn’t matter—Erin, Misaki, and the soldier defeated them with ease. Even though those creatures were fast, had superhuman strength, and could slash with their claws—those that had them—they were no match.

  Erin had created a speed-enhancing ability, along with another one that made her attacks accumulate damage until the fifth strike, at which point all the accumulated damage was released at once, even electrocuting the enemy. She could also electrocute without stacking attacks, but it was weaker. However, for the stronger version, she had to charge up, which... was painful, since she had to plug herself in. What an amazing ability (sarcasm). Still, she didn’t use it much, relying mostly on one of the guns she had been given.

  Oh, by the way, she had another ability she rarely used. It allowed her to play specific melodies on either instruments created from aura or real ones. These melodies enhanced her allies’ abilities for one minute, but only by about 15%. Her Aura Points didn’t allow for a stronger version, and she wasn’t sure what to sacrifice to improve it. People told her it was a bad ability and that it wasn’t stealthy, so she kept it and only used it for everyday things—like sweeping or cleaning faster.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Misaki, on the other hand, as already seen, was agile. Her natural ability allowed her to cut with her hands or arms as if they were blades. She also had a secondary ability to create optical illusions, though she rarely used it.

  Both of them were of the Darkness element, which enhanced their abilities. Misaki had also increased her physical strength, endurance, and agility—something she could do more efficiently than Erin due to her better control over Makt. She also carried a weapon but chose not to use it, wanting to save ammunition.

  While everyone was fighting off the creatures, the cultist silently approached the soldier and attacked him while he was off guard.

  "Ah!" the soldier cried out.

  *Slash*

  Misaki sliced the cultist in two—and also severed the soldier’s arm.

  |||||

  "Huh? But how—? Ah..." Eliah murmured.

  |||||

  Misaki acted fast. The cultist had touched the soldier’s arm with his crystallized limb, and almost instantly, the area he touched began to crystallize and spread. That’s why she did it.

  Now, all the creatures were dead—except for the cultist, who, despite being cut in half, was still alive.

  "You... have witnessed the miracle of our Lord, and yet... Even after we abandoned our humanity in an attempt to transcend it, you still defeated us... Who are you?"

  Erin was trying to suture the soldier’s wound using the medical supplies they had been given. No one answered him.

  "I see," the cultist said. "But it doesn’t matter. Eventually, the world will receive salvation, and you won’t be able to stop it."

  "Hey, wait!" Erin shouted.

  "Ah!" Misaki gasped.

  He slit his own throat with his hand.

  "Are you all okay?!" Mónica called out.

  "We are, but..." Misaki glanced at the soldier. "One of us lost a limb. He needs help, fast."

  "Understood! Oh, right. Reinforcements have arrived, but... I suppose you don’t need them anymore. I’ll tell them to analyze the area instead."

  The other group arrived.

  "Are you all okay?" James asked.

  "We got here as fast as we could... Ah... Sorry for being late," Andrew added.

  "Don't worry," Misaki reassured him.

  "Yeah, yeah, it’s fine," Erin said. "Though he’s not doing so great..."

  "I see..." Andrew said, noticing the soldier was still bleeding. "I’m going to cauterize the wound with fire. Is that okay?"

  "Y-yeah, do it," the soldier said.

  Andrew summoned Specter and sealed the wound. It was painful.

  In the end, they all left, but not before checking for anything else. About half an hour later, the investigation team arrived to analyze the area and recover the bodies for identification. They discovered that they were missing persons from the region.

  The group left a couple of hours later.

  ...

  YGGDRASYL discovered more places across different countries—and even other planets—worshipping the same entity.

  Its name was Rhan Tegoth.