Chapter 31: Secret Meeting

The danger passed. Arthur and Kai sat near the campfire to warm themselves and to talk. Arthur explained to him who these people were, and it shocked Kai greatly.

"They plan on attacking the village? We can't let this happen, Arthur!"

"I know. It won't happen. These people have a secret meeting spot and I'll infiltrate in it."

Kai sighed in relieve, "Good, good. Will you need my help?"

"There's no need. If things go on the opposite side, Sully's here."

"Yeah, I forgot about that. You have a huge, strong as hell beast."

"That I tamed, which means I'm stronger."

"You have a point."

They talked for a while, but Arthur was too tired to keep going. He needed to rest, and Kai let him. The so-called secret reunion would happen in a few days, so Arthur had enough time to recover his strength before breaking in.

The days passed swiftly. Arthur did not have many things to teach his disciple, Kai, but there was one thing he was an expert, and that was surviving in the wilderness.

"The priority should be water, and you should always boil it before drinking."

"Hm, I see. Where can I search for water?"

"Look for rivers, and if there isn't any, you could try to get water from the root of plants. I don't mess with unknown plants. You never know."Arthur said.

He taught Kai how to look for water, make fire, and find shelter. Kai hunted a lot in these woods, but he never stayed over one day. He went, hunt, and returned to the village.

These informations, although beginner ones, proved to help a lot Kai. The hardest part for him was to learn how to make a proper fire. Arthur knew how to do it, but preferred to use magic to light up, making things easier. Kai did not have that luxury, at least not yet.

The process of friction fire was tedious, but Kai persevered, and learn it. Their routine comprised that until the day finally came. The day which Arthur would infiltrate inside the secret meeting of the Demonic Cult.

"Kai, go back to your home. It is safer there, and you should start packing your stuff for us to leave in a few days. Pack only the essential, as we will not use a ship but Sully's back."

"Okay, okay. Shouldn't we tell the villagers about this?"

"No. It will only make them panic."

They parted ways. Arthur had a stony gaze as he changed his clothing to the ones these cultists used.

"Let's see what you can do against me."

~~~~

All members of the Demonic Cult met in the same cave as before. Each one of them had the same clothes, but a few had different masks. It was their way of identifying who had the higher ranks.

Amidst all these people, there was one who shouldn't be there. He wore a mask, the same as the low-ranked members, so no one paid attention to him. It was Arthur, who began his plan of killing all members of this Demonic Cult.

"The Doom Order my ass. There are humans chasing me already, now demons? Dream on, bitches," thought Arthur.

He scanned everyone to see if there was someone with a high level, but it was the same as before. It should be easy for Arthur to deal with them, as he was back at his full power, and not in the same weakened state as previously.

Everyone whispered to each other, but it all stopped when the leader came. It was the person with the highest level among all of them, level 15.

"I'm sorry for being late, but we encountered some problems."

The leader went to the locked door, opened it, and waved, calling everyone inside. These problems he was referring to could only be the members Arthur killed, so he prepared himself to fight as soon as he entered inside the room.

"It appears some of our members are missing. The only possibility should be that they are," the leader stopped for a while, "dead."

It was a shock for them. They knew it this forsaken island should not have someone strong enough to deal with them. So who could it be? Was a traitor among them?

"If there's a traitor among us, we can't do anything. It is a rule that no one inside The Doom Order shows their actual face. Which means we can't know if there's someone new in our order,"

"The only thing we can do is continue with the plan. Our members who have gone missing were probably alone, so we should stick together, making sure there's no way this will happen again."

"Now, let's start our reunion."

~~~~

The only ones who spoke in the reunion were the high-ranking members. Everyone else stayed still and listened to their command. Arthur waited for the reunion to be at the end to make his move.

"Sully, I've unlocked the door. Come!"

Arthur stealthily unlocked the door so Sully could enter inside their meeting place. Arthur was strong, but it was dangerous to fight alone against that many people. He did not know about the high-ranking members' level of power. Sure, he could see their level, but level itself was not a precise way to measure strength, and he knew that.

The plan was to Sully attack first only to create a distraction, and let the rest to Arthur. Sully alone was enough to kill all the cultists, but Arthur wanted some fun for himself. In the end, Sully was all but a distraction, and would not take part in the fight directly. Only if things got bad.

"Hey, leader!" Arthur said.

It surprised all the others. A low-ranking member talking without permission never happened before.

The leader said, "Who gave you permission to talk? Are you seeking death?"

"I'm sorry, but I have some clues about the missing members."

"You do? Spill it out."

"So, I was walking through the woods as usual, but then I saw a few douchebags wearing pathetic masks. I laughed, like a lot, and that made them try to kill me. I thought I was in trouble, but it turned out they were trash. Hm, if I remember correctly, I beheaded a few, but I'm not sure how many."

The room was silent. It took them some time to realize that Arthur was saying, and when they did, all of them grabbed their magical books.

"Everyone, kill him!"

It was easier saying than doing it. Arthur was near a few other low-ranked members, which served well as a meat shield. Different spells went flying towards Arthur, but none of them hit him.

He swiftly dodged most of the spells, and the ones he couldn't, he grabbed a cultist to act as a shield. Arthur's body was beyond ordinary, and these mages could not lock their eyes on him at all. He was strong, like a beast in human form.

"Who the fuck is this? How can he run so fast?" one cultist said.

As they everyone focused on Arthur, no one paid attention to their surroundings. They wanted to kill him. That was all that mattered.

The once locked door went flying across the cave. It was Sully who heard the commotion inside and took part. Arthur thought he could come earlier to do a distraction, but he was late. It didn't matter, though. Most cultists were dead, and it tainted the cave red.

Some had missing limbs, others their heads or heart. The low-ranked members did not last long before perishing to Arthur's hands, but the high-ranked members did.

They gathered themselves at the opposite side of the cave, away from Arthur and Sully. The situation looked critical for them, but they still had something up their sleeve.

The leader drew a circle on the ground using his blood. The other three high-ranked members recited a chant in a language unknown to Arthur.

"Hahaha, you're dead now, kid. With these bodies, we can summon the demon."

As the leader said that, a portal opened up above the circle he had just drawn. Two hands grabbed both edges of the portal. Arthur saw the claws and the black substance all over the limbs of the creature. It was a demon, just like the one Arthur saw inside the palace.

The demon got out of the portal. First the hands, then the head, and finally its entire body. It looked similar to the one Arthur saw at the palace, but it was smaller and less muscular. Which could mean it was weaker than Barion.

Arthur hoped so, as he was far behind the level of power of that crazy old man. He gazed at the demon and saw it was level 35. It was strong, and Arthur was unsure if he could win against it.

"Oh, mighty demon. You have come to our rescue. We are so gl-" before the leader could finish, the demon cut his body in half.

In a fierce voice, the demon said, "Useless. Almost all members died to one person, pathetic."