Chapter 24: Hades Cult

"Well, did you complete your mission?"

Thomas smiled when he heard Uta's question and adjusted his glasses. "That's none of your concern."

A frown appeared on Uta's stern face for a moment. "If we're your partners, it does concern us."

"After all, we're all servants of the God of Darkness..."

"Uta is right," Lykon interjected. He was a man in his 50s with a scarred face, gray hair, and blue eyes.

Lykon's eyes opened, and he looked at Thomas emotionlessly. "Everyone here has completed their mission, except you, Thomas."

Thomas sighed and chuckled. He turned his eyes to Lykon. "Sorry, sorry, my task is really tough..."

Vespara narrowed her eyes, looking at Thomas with a stern expression. "All you had to do was kidnap the Duke's daughter..."

"I don't see anything difficult in that."

Thomas rolled his eyes. His gaze was calm, in contrast to Vespara's harsh stare. "Don't teach me how to do my job, little spider."

"Can everyone stop being so aggressive?" Urson cut in, his eyes gleaming with a hidden sadistic light. Looking at Thomas, Urson cheerfully said, "After all, Thomas has the lowest failure rate among us."

"I agree with Lord Urson," said Leonis, who had long red hair and a thick beard. "Lord Thomas's mission is not that significant anyway. There's no need to create tension."

"Still, Thomas should answer." Uta's stern voice drew Thomas's gaze. Thomas looked at Uta with narrowed eyes and a thin smile formed on his lips.

"Do you think you're worthy enough to question me?" Thomas's question made Uta raise her eyebrows and narrow her eyes. "What are you trying to imply?"

Thomas laughed and leaned back in his chair. "You talk too much for a man who would die from a single blow."

"If you don't want to die, keep your mouth shut, chatterbox."

"Oh, oh, is this a sign of a fight?" Urson brought his hand to his lips, and a cute smile appeared on his face. "How interesting."

The veins in Uta's arms bulged, and his chair creaked. A flash of red appeared in his eyes for a moment. "Do you want a fight, kid?"

Uta gripped the table and spoke angrily. Thomas just chuckled, but his eyes showed disdain. He adjusted his glasses and mockingly said, "I'd like to see you try."

Uta looked into Thomas's eyes and felt his body tremble for a moment, the air around him distorted.

Shaking his head quickly, Uta regained his composure.

"Don't fight," This voice belonged to Vireon. His eyes were sternly fixed on Thomas and Uta. "This isn't a fighting arena, don't be childish."

After a moment of staring at each other, Uta and Thomas calmed down.

Then Vespara continued, "I've completed my mission. The elf elder is now in our hands."

Urson chuckled. "Are we going to blackmail the Elf Queen?"

A wicked smile appeared on Vespara's face. "She's been provoking us a lot lately. She should pay a price."

"Unlike you, my mission was more fun," Urson said. "I fucked the Pope's daughter."

Licking his lips, Urson laughed happily. "Who knew the Pope's daughter was a whore. Then I got some intelligence from the Church."

Leonis's expression turned ugly at the mention of the Pope, while Corvinus raised his eyebrows with curiosity. "What kind of intelligence is this?"

Urson looked at Corvinus. "The Pope plans to put more pressure on the royal family."

"They're planning to sabotage the Duke's daughter for this."

Thomas's eyes narrowed at the mention of Morrigan. "This Church is as hypocritical as ever."

Corviona bowed her head in sadness. "How tragic..."

"They don't even care about an innocent girl."

Corvinus agreed with his sister. "That's one more reason to destroy them."

Then one of those on duty, Canis, spoke up. "I failed. I couldn't find the mercenary."

Leonis's eyes widened in surprise. "Weren't you supposed to be a good tracker?"

Canis shook his head in frustration and anger. "He's covering his scent well. I can't even smell his aura."

Even Vespara looked surprised. "This man is no simple target. Escaping Canis's nose is almost impossible."

Canis's ability is to track anything by scent, including Aura and Mana. Even Vespara and Thomas couldn't hide from Canis.

Hearing Tigris growl, Canis became angry. "Don't mock me, muscle head!"

Tigris laughed mockingly. Due to the Madness Magic, he had no ability to speak and not much intelligence. "Hrrrrgg!"

When the saliva dripping from Tigris's mouth landed on Rattus's head, Rattus shouted angrily, "You empty-brained oaf, stop drooling!"

Despite his dwarf-sized body, Rattus shouted at Tigris, who had a giant frame. It looked quite amusing.

"Hrrrr," Tigris bent slightly as an apology. Rattus calmed down and wiped the saliva from his hair.

"The 12 Great Kings of Anti-Light have gathered, so let's finally begin..."

As this voice echoed in the room, a skull slowly appeared on the table. Green flames burned in its eye sockets, and a miasma of green and black swirled around it.

This skull was none other than the master of the Cult, Helion Leif Anshem Valthor, but in a projection form.

Projection Magic was a spell that was a lesser version of the Gods' Avatars. It had no physical form and served only as a means of communication.

There were many such spells like Projection Magic. These were derived versions of the abilities that the Gods possessed, tailored for human use.

Mana pressure is a skill derived from the God Aura. Additionally, there are Forbidden Spells derived from the skills of the Evil Gods.

Life energy draining, flawed immortality, necromancer spells—all of these are derived from the skills of the Evil Gods.

Morgana is the most famous person when it comes to forbidden spells. Even though most forbidden spells have been lost, the master of the Cult is highly knowledgeable about them.

"Today, new assignments will be given," Helion said, the voice coming from the skull was distorted and creaky. Everyone except Thomas fell silent.

"Finally, I thought you were dead, old man." Thomas's mocking voice caused the skull's eyes to flare.

"It's still 2000 years too early for me to die, Thomas."

Vespera was angry at Thomas for speaking to the master of the Cult like that, but she remained silent.

After a moment, the skull turned its eyes to Urson. "Well done, Urson, you performed your task exceptionally well."

The Lord of Flies chuckled and bowed his head gracefully. "I am very proud, Master."

The skull's eyes then turned to Canis. Instinctively, Canis trembled and lowered his gaze. His body shivered lightly.

As Helion's eyes stayed on Canis, the green flame in the eye sockets turned red. "Do you have an excuse for your failure, Canis?"

Canis lowered his head in fear. The terrifying aura emanating from the skull scared him. Realizing he couldn't lie to Helion, Canis shook his head. "N-no, Master..."

The skull trembled with anger for a moment. "All you had to do was find a clue about the Mercenary..."

"And yet, you couldn't even manage that." Helion's voice became even more distorted, darker. "And you still find the nerve to laugh? Canis."

"You seemed very happy while mocking Rattus. Do you think failure means happiness?"

"Canis? Answer me..."

The terrifying Mana pressure emanating from the skull enveloped everyone. Even Uta could feel the cells in her body trembling.

Canis whimpered like a dog and lowered his head. His eyes shook with fear. Even Rattus beside him didn't dare to mock him.

"I-I'm afraid I can't, Master."

The skull stared at Canis for a while. "Capture the Mercenary and bring him to me, Canis."

"Then you will have redeemed yourself."

Canis quickly nodded. "I won't disappoint you, Master."

The red flames in the skull's eyes turned green again. Then the skull turned to Vespera. "You succeeded in your mission, Vespera..."

Vespera nodded with pride, but Helion's next words ruined her expression.

"But I didn't ask you for a simple Elf Elder. I wanted you to capture all the Elf Elders. Why did you bring me only one Elf Elder?"

Vespera's eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head. "You told me to bring an Elf Elder?!"

The skull looked at Vespera calmly. "The Elf Elder you brought is easily expendable. I would have expected you to bring me the father of the Elf Queen."

Realizing her simple mistake, Vespera cursed herself. How could she have made such a foolish error?

Helion continued. "Still, this mission will be considered a success."

Vespera quickly nodded. Her eyes finally fell on Thomas, who was still lounging comfortably in his chair. "Thomas, why did your mission take so long?"

Thomas adjusted his glasses, a thin smile on his lips. "Because I felt like it," he said.

For a brief moment, the skull flared with red fire, but it extinguished before anyone could notice. Helion continued, "That's not a valid reason."

Seeing that Thomas didn't want to speak further, Helion continued. "Your mission has been updated."

"From now on, you will constantly observe Morrigan and try to invite her to the Hades Cult. This mission is indefinite."

As Thomas nodded and accepted the task, Helion continued, "I hope you won't disappoint me, Thomas..."

After one last look at Thomas, the skull's projection disappeared, leaving a deep silence in its wake.

The first to stand was Canis, still trembling with fear. "I'm leaving..."

Then Rattus looked at Tigris. "Let's go, blockhead! Let's take a walk!"

After Tigris and Rattus left, everyone else gradually began to disperse. In the end, only Thomas and Vespera, still angry and upset, remained.

Thomas stood up and, in a friendly tone, said to Vespera, "I wish you success in your mission, little spider."

Vespera's only response was a harsh glare. "Screw you!"

She said and then left.

Thomas chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "I shouldn't keep my lady waiting any longer."