Fortunately for Ravenna, the combat she was prepared for didn't pass. When Samael and Isadora attempted to raise their fists, a mysterious force struck their mind, terrorising and freezing the duo. Their movements were impaired, and their heads began to throb. A sudden heat permeated in the middle of their eyes, and the headache intensified.
Clouded and confused, both the Apostles reached for their heads and gasped for air. Angered, Isadora charged up her mana and broke the spell forcibly, sending shockwaves flying throughout the throne hall. At the same time, Samael clenched his fist, unleashing a torrent of demonic mana that cracked the ground beneath him.
The two of them's anger had now moved to another direction, or to be specific, to another person.
"As expected, I can't expect either of you to be professional."
A tattered hooded figure emerged from the throne's shadow and approached the other Apostles with an arrogant scoff. The hood was large, casting the person's face in an eerie obscurity. However, if one peered closer, the man's striking features began to emerge.
A mess of dark purple hair that was combed to chaos, as if it were gelled by dark magic itself. Its colour was a stark hue of violet with purple, making him look like the embodiment of chaos itself. His eyes were glowing in a haunting red, drawing anyone who locked eyes with him into an unyielding vortex of control, draining their willpower and bending them to his will.
Two sharp, wicked horns protruded beneath his hood like an ancient Treant's crown, and they weren't simply for decoration. Acting as a conduit for his dark magic, the horns pulsated with an ominous energy, giving the impression of an arrogant being standing over the masses.
"Kieran, if you get in my head one more time, I'll kill you!"
Isadora, the belle of the Apostles, gritted her teeth and cursed. Not only was the lustful Samael aggravating her, but the pretentious Kieran also subjected her mind to pain. It was no wonder she was engulfed with rage.
"Motherfucker, you sure know how to make an entrance!" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⦿fire.net
Samael, the rashest member of the Apostles, derisively applauded the man while clenching his giant fists.
However, even though the two mighty Apostles felt irritation and anger toward the newcomer, neither dared to do anything. They knew the only person they couldn't beat in the chamber was the hooded man with the sinister horns.
Well, him and another...
"Kieran, you shouldn't be too rough with your friends. We are all comrades in the name of our King."
An ethereal voice beckoned to the Apostles as a grey mist descended on the throne. The fog was light and mystical, making it look like the being it harboured was descending from another dimension. Congregating into a physical body, the mist turned into a middle-aged man whose appearance seemed to test the boundaries between the living and the dead.
He stood tall, with a posture that conveyed wisdom and an unnerving sense of inevitability, as though he existed beyond the plane of existence. His hair, perhaps once dark, now hangs in straight strands of ghostly grey, giving him the appearance of a distinguished gentleman. And his well-stitched three-piece white suit drove the image home.
Looking like a herald for a majestic emperor, he took his spot on the throne with dignified poise. He placed his elbow on the armrest and rested his pale white, hollowed-in cheek on his fist. But the true mark of his majesty wasn't his attire or appearance... but his unnerving eyes.
Ghostly, hollowed without irises, yet full of ashen wisdom. Pale mist swirled beyond the whites of his eyes, giving a sense of domination and superior judgment. It was as if those eyes could peer into the annals of history and peek through time to predict the future.
Also, it felt like those who challenged him would have to deal with the fact that their fates lay entirely in his hands. Like an arbiter of truth, his sole discretion could manipulate reality and change the course of destiny.
As he was the one... who controlled the Demon Cult.
The first to acknowledge his appearance was Malachi, the Demon Swordsman. Jumping from his seat, he fell to the ground with both knees, addressing the Prophet with the utmost reverence. Ravenna followed suit shortly after. She gracefully fell onto one knee and bowed her head with respect. Kieran was the next to show his respects. Folding both his arms together, he bent his waist and gave the Prophet a solemn bow.
Only Samael and Isadora were left.
The handsome man's anger calmed down after observing the atmosphere, and he, too, let go of his frustrations to give a bow. Though it wasn't as respectful as the others, he showed his will to cool the room's temperature by stepping back an inch.
Only Isadora was unresolved. She bit the bottom of her lip, and in defiance, she lifted her chin and sat back on her chair. That action raised some eyebrows, but before anyone could say anything, the Prophet cooled the room by raising his arms.
"Please, dispense with the formalities. I didn't summon you here to brush my ego."
The Prophet joked and gestured for the others to take their seats. Once they had settled down, he continued: "Now that everyone's present, we can begin the meeting."
"Ermmm, not to be rude, but I don't see Zuphil or the twins?"
Ravenna gingerly raised her left arm while adjusting her spectacles.
"The twins are on a mission, so they won't be able to answer my urgent summons. As for Zuphil, he's handling another task for me right now."
The Prophet answered with a sly smile. Hearing that, all the members nodded and didn't question their leader anymore. Timing his response to perfection, the Prophet continued:
"Thank you for answering my sudden summons. I know you've been busy with the tasks I assigned you."
"Please, we live to serve your will."
"Not my will, our King's."
The Prophet waved his finger, correcting Malachi's claim. The Demon Swordsman naturally nodded his head at the correction and didn't retort.
"Let me get to the point. The reason why I summoned you today is because we have encountered a particular problem. It seems that our existence has been discovered."
The mood in the throne hall became sombre. The revelation was new, but none of them were actually surprised. Over the past few years, it had become apparent that a mysterious entity had been hunting the Demon Cult, killing many cultists and even destroying entire bases.
Initially, they believed that the cultists were discovered by patrolling Knights that happened to chance upon their base. But as time went by, they strengthened their defences and hid their bases in more secretive location. Yet, even with the new measures, they were still targetted.
It could only mean one thing.
Their enemy knew the Demon Cult existed.
And they were actively hunting them.
"Well, we were prepared for this. Although it had come earlier than planned..."
The Prophet mused. Even with all his wisdom and foresight, he couldn't understand how the Demon Cult was discovered so quickly. They had been operating in utmost secrecy, and their plans were flawless. So, for an entity to discover their existence, it really threw a wrench in their ultimate goal.
"But, that's just the beginning of our problems. Not only does the enemy know about us, but they are hunting Greater Demons."
"What?! How would they know?!"
Isadora slammed her palms on the table and stood up with fright. She raised her voice and shrieked drawing the attention of all the Apostles. For outsiders, they may be surprised to see such a beauty channelling such fervour for Demons, but for the Apostles, they didn't react much. Rather, they sighed knowing that they would have to calm her down.
"Now that's the question, how?"
The Prophet smiled. He has a strange stillness, as though he exists in a perpetual state of watching, waiting, or calculating. And that was enough to give the Demon Cult a whiff of his thoughts.
"You think there's a spy?"
"No, I wouldn't go that far. I just think that our protocols have been compromised. How? I can't say. But it's clear that the enemy knows more about the Demon Cult than we're comfortable with."
While the forces they'd lost hadn't affected the Demon Cult's core strength, it was still a substantial loss—particularly the Greater Demons. Summoning a Greater Demon required many resources and sacrifices, so losing one was bad enough. Yet, they'd lost a handful.
"The loss that stung the most was Malgathor. He was a steward of our King, and he would have served us faithfully. But he died without us even finding his body. I must say, we've lost more forces than we're comfortable with."
"... what should we do?"
Malachi asked with an unwavering voice. He was ready to walk through fire if it meant serving his Lord.
However, the Prophet didn't seem to mind too much. He waved off the Demon Swordsman's valour and smiled: "There's no need to think that deeply. We must overhaul our protocols to protect ourselves from further breaches."
"... your will is my command."
"Kieran, can I entrust you with that task?"
"Of course, Prophet. I will create new security protocols."
Seated at the chair nearest to the throne, the sinister-looking mind-reader answered respectfully. The Prophet could move on to the main problem with the first matter settled. Crossing his fingers together, the ghostly man bent forward, and his thin smile disappeared. Seeing their leader in that mode brought shivers down the mighty Apostles' spines as they patiently awaited his next words.
"My Apostles, I'm sure you've heard by now... But a new Hero has appeared."
"It was part of our calculations. The Goddess won't permit intruders into her realm. She must have noticed our plans and has chosen a champion to wield her sword. And as expected, the Hero has appeared in the Solaris House."
"Hoh... The Solaris House? Well, the past two owners of Ascalon are from that monolithic family, so it's not a surprise."
Malachi lauded the Solaris House. Even though he had given up his humanity, as a swordsman, he still had some lingering respect and reverence for the Solaris House. Creating generation after generation of powerful Knights, there was much to admire about that family.
But for the Demon Cult, the Solaris House was just an enemy that had to be defeated.
"Precisely. As we are now, we cannot go up against the Solaris House. We don't have the manpower for that yet. But, we can't leave the Hero alone. From what we know, he's a young Knight with plenty of potential. And recently, he'd even killed Qyriwirth, a potential ally of ours."
The Blood Demon real name was Qyriwirth, a Fire Dragon Sovereign that was corrupted by the Demon Realm and turned into the Blood Dragon.
If Qyriwirth had ressurrected fully, the Blood Demon would have turned into a massive ally for the Demon Cult, accelerating their plans to take over the world.
For the first time since descending into Hyades, the Prophet showed an expression of anxiety. The first Demon Invasion was soiled by the Solaris Saint, the previous owner of Ascalon and that generation's hero. Hence, even as a Demon, the Prophet respected the threat that a 'Hero' might bring.
"Hehehe, so are you sending us out to hunt him?"
Samael, the handsome young man brashly asked. He cracked his knuckles, yearning for a good fight.
"Yes, we will have to kill the boy." The Prophet answered without hesitation. "But we will need to prepare. The Solaris House is certain to give him ample protection, so we'll need to separate him from his security detail."
"From what I hear, he's a squire of a Knight only two years his senior. It shouldn't be hard to seperate them."
Samael laughed, fully underestimating his opponent.
"No, we can't execute a mission without gaining more intelligence. Malachi, can I count on you to investigate the Solaris House?"
The Demon Swordsman didn't hesitate with his answer.
"In the meantime, we will have to expedite our other plans. Ravenna, how is our development of the Magatama?"
"Y-Yes, we've been making good progress with it! Our contact in Alverton has been making good use of it and we can collect the results soon."
"That's Good. Prioritise its completion. Once the twins finish their mission, they will be assigned to you."
"E-Eh, must I really... A-Ah, I mean, thank you for your generosity!"
The bespectacled researcher hesitated for a brief moment before remembering who she was talking to. Nodding her head profusely, she accepted her master's orders, much to the amusement of Samael.
"Isadora, I assume your activities in Eshon has reached a dead end."
"... I apologise, but the Elune House has changed drastically. That little bitch has ruined the groundwork that we laid out all those years ago."
The blonde belle of the Apostles honestly reviewed her work. She was the person charged with corrupting the Elune House and turning Yue into a Summoner that would open a portal to the Demon Realm. However, with Yue regressing, there was no way Isadora's plot would succeed.
"It's a pity," the Prophet sighed. "However, we shouldn't beat a dead horse. Let's move your talents to something more productive."
"As for you, Samael... How's your task in Olavaguel?"
"Perfect! We're on pace for the awakening!"
The suave demonic human smiled brightly, revealing his pearly white teeth.
"However, are you sure you want to wake him up? From what we can tell, we can't be sure if he'll be on our side."
"Don't worry. Even if he doesn't stand with us, he won't join forces with the Republic either." The Prophet declared with complete confidence. "Proceed with the plan. The sooner you awaken him, the better."
The Prophet and his Apostles ended the meeting with added vigour, all approaching their new tasks with increased urgency. Alas, even with their new intensity, they had yet to identify the threat, the menace that kept throwing a wrench in their plans.