Chapter 2: People Here Are STRONG!
The nauseating stench of death welcomed Nex.
It assaulted his nose, making him feel like he'd been thrown into a putrid pool of decomposing corpses...perhaps he had.
He threw up, only to instantly swallow it back.
He was gagged, blindfolded, bound, naked, and he could hear low chanting progressively getting louder and louder.
"Oh Bloody Emperor, grace us with your presence and cleanse this world of the filth that inhabits it!"
"We offer you these souls. We simply ask to be blessed with the honor of serving you!"
"Let us witness your unlimited power!"
He understood it all, yet there was no way this gibberish was English!…nor any earthly language!
'C'mon, Nex. No need to panic. Just treat this as a raid.' He encouraged himself.
1. Magic was real
2. This probably wasn't Earth
3. He was surrounded by cultists (?)
4. They wanted to summon a being called the Bloody Emperor
This was a horrendous case of mistaken identity!
"Mmmmm!" (You have the wrong guy!) He protested, a wet, bloody hand landing on his face in response and removing the blindfold.
He could finally see!... Oh CRAP!!
His heart stopped for a second. The place was dark, rocky, altar-housing, painted crimson, and messy….'severed limbs all over the place' messy!
It was almost as bad as that Hack'N Slash game he'd just been playing.
It was BAD!!!!
There were about 30 ish robe-wearing, bloodied old dudes staring at him in anticipation while holding their breaths.
A handsome Nex corpse would soon adorn the cave floor at this rate. How could he prevent that?!
They wanted a god, right? He would bloody give them one!
Nex's eyes quickly regained clarity, showing incredible depth as if a deity (of gaming). He slowly frowned, glancing at the cave and the cultists with disdain.
"Mmmm!" (Seriously? You summoned me to this shithole?!)
"Mmmm!!" (Not even a welcoming party?!)
The cultists jerked in shock, looking at one another in confusion. Was this mumbling fool really their god? In any case, he seemed very displeased.
A middle-aged man came forward, quickly removing Nex's restraints with a silver bone dagger while carefully observing him.
"My lord, why are you…."
"So handsome? That's a given!"
"Ah? I meant, why are you so…."
"So devilishly charming and charismatic?"
"T-that, no. I meant, why are you so—"
Instead of cowering, Nex showed an evil smile as he whispered in the man's ear:
"Currently so weak? Was that what you meant to ask? Whose fault do you think this is? Hehe, are you worried about my future?" Nex made sure his tone reeked of arrogance.
Would anyone other than a god be so confident?! (Yes, a crazy person with an incredible poker face)
Gulp! "All hail the Bloody Emperor!" The cultist shouted as he threw himself to the ground. "What are you all waiting for?!"
The sea of cultists followed suit.
'Good, now how do I proceed? Exploit them and risk exposing my identity? Run ASAP before they figure out I'm faking?' Nex needed info about this world.
Since there was magic…
'Status!'
'System!'
'Kame-ha-me...'
While Nex tried a few things in vain, the cultists got squirmy. They awaited his next words with bated breaths….this was already a pain!
For now, the more mysterious he sounded, the better it would be.
"All of you, listen well! There—"
— BOOM! —
Burning light invaded Nex's vision.
The furthest cave wall exploded, shattering to pieces.
That's when THEY showed up…
"Brilliant Light's Hammer of Justice!"
"Go, Behem! Trash those filthy cosplayers!"
"Oh? The worms are already on the ground? Stay there and die!"
The last guy cackled as he summoned an enormous dark-hole-looking sphere in the enemy's midst! Afterward, he jumped into the fray while dual-wielding short spears.
It was a massacre, the cultists getting decimated like flies.
That's when Nex's knees gave up…
Not because of the scantily-clad elf priestess. She swung a ginormous Light Hammer of Doom while relying on a see-through magical full-plate armor for defense.
Not because of the green fluorescent gigantic elephant either. It sprayed acid out of its three trunks as it followed the directives of a cloaked figure in the back.
No, it was because of that one dark sphere!
Gravity magic?!
Nex was nowhere near the thing, yet felt like a drunken whale was crushing him!
As for the poor cultists, they were busy getting crushed, pierced, and melted. They would soon all be joining their earlier victims in the afterlife. F … ⎧ᴿᴵᴾ⎫
"How dare you!!!" Blood spikes suddenly exploded everywhere as the cult leader rose, sending the party tumbling back, giving the surroundings a nice swiss cheese finish.
The dual spear guy was hit head-on!
His rib cage was ripped wide-open, revealing his barely beating heart. This guy was doomed! He would die with a grimace of anger on his face while...
"Reversal." A murmur came from the back.
Nex finally realized the presence of the last party member. A shy halfling armored girl had been hiding behind the mysterious figure.
A glowing silver chain suddenly linked her and the dead-walking spear guy.
"ARRRGGG!" He screamed.
"Ahhh!" She screamed.
The man's body slowly returned to its previous state. It didn't seem to be healing but rather….time magic?! Wasn't this way too high-level?!
But, they weren't the only badass ones…
The cultist waved his hand, the blood of the fallen suddenly floating upward. The cave turned into a red sea, magical glimmers reflecting in the blood droplets.
This was so damn beautiful!
For an instant, Nex forgot the battle, the slaughter, and even the danger. This scene was so surreal and fantastic!
"Tch, you should have killed him first." The priestess spat out.
"You think I didn't try?!" The assassin growled.
The head cultist stepped up so powerfully that he deserved latin-chanting Last Boss Music! His back looked so broad, and his fury unequaled. It would have been even better if he wasn't naked…
"All. Of. You. SCRAM!" He thundered.
The blood droplets turned into bloody sharp daggers, rushing toward their target. As far as Nex was concerned, this was an Apocalypse-level spell!
— SWOOSH!! —
The shy girl chanted as a magical Silvery Shield that took half the room appeared, blocking many of the projectiles before shattering into a thousand pieces.
The elephant stepped forward, its body getting shredded by the second as it trumpeted in pain, its master shouting. "What are you waiting for, you bimbo?!"
The priestess reluctantly stepped forward, barely saving the creature's life as she used her hammer as cover.
But, even then, it was only a question of time before they fell. The cultist was just that powerful.
'No, there's something wrong.' Nex realized.
The assassin had disappeared!
But he soon revealed himself as Nex felt the man's cold spear tip on his neck.
"Hehe, what do we have here? This weak guy was the only one standing earlier, and you've destroyed everything in this cave but him. Who is he, I wonder." The assassin playfully chuckled.
The blood barrage came to a halt as the cultist slowly turned around with the three adventurers on the verge of death.
"So he is important!" The assassin exclaimed.
"Let him go, or I'll slaughter your friends…." The cultist readied a blood sphere.
"Kill them, and I'll end him. Either you surrender, or he's dead meat." The man retorted.
This was a stalemate, with each side asking for complete surrender from their opponent.
It didn't take long for the "friends" to start insulting their companion. He really didn't seem to value their lives much, nor Nex's.
This was going nowhere…
Nex slowly opened his mouth, sighing. "Leave. You're dismissed. Besides, why are you even arguing when your opponent is obviously buying time…."
"?!?"
The party shuddered, their plan seen through.
As they were getting ready for one last confrontation….the cultist bowed before melting into a blood pool that appeared below his feet. Just like that, he was gone.
"D-did we just survive a Cataclysm-Level Blood Cultist?!"
"Yes, but more importantly...."
That's when Nex felt the weight of their gazes on him. It was even heavier than the Gravity magic from before. He opened his mouth:
"By the way, I'm just here to buy soy sauce."
"…."
"…"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ClasslessAscension
ClasslessAscension I felt it would be safer to convince this party of my innocence than to risk everything to stay with the cultist. After all, he could very well kill me once he realized I had fooled him...
Bloody Journey! 🩸🔥🐥
Weakest SSS-Rank —> Top of the world All for a simple dream...
-- Gift
received