Chapter 37

POV Daeron

"How do I find this woman? And more importantly, how do I stop these fanatics?"—these troubling thoughts raced through my mind.

"Daeron, has something terrible happened?" Diya asked me.

"Sigh... I've messed up somewhat... And it's likely that the entire city will become our enemy," I replied, causing the Arphenians to look at me in bewilderment and simply say, "Go on." "A dreadful entity, regarded as a deity by this city, seeks to enter our world."

The family, beginning to comprehend what I had said, gasped in unison:

"The Black Goat."

With a nervous smile, I added, "Exactly, I would prefer to ignore all this... But I cannot allow such a cruel being to enter our world." Looking into their eyes again, I continued, "I apologize for dragging you into this adventure and..."

"Daeron, we will help you," interrupted Avus's wife. "We too wish to live in a world not dominated by a terrifying creature."

All I could say was "Thank you," feeling grateful for such strong support.

"Perhaps we can make this work?... No, with them, I'm sure we can solve this problem!"

Looking at them, I felt a bit more hopeful.

"Where do you suggest we start?"

Avus, stroking his chin thoughtfully, asked, "Do we have any leads on how they are searching for this woman?"

I just nodded, and he continued, "Then I think we need to capture a cultist to find out who the hell they are looking for."

"In that case, we need to go after the leaders of these fanatics, as I doubt the rank-and-file members know much," I said.

"Are you sure just capturing the leader will be enough?"

To which I responded, "Doing that might save us a lot of time searching for someone who knows about the girl."

Avus nodded in frustration, recognizing the challenge we faced.

"And let's not forget that we four will be virtually fighting against the entire city."

"Ah, this seems to be the most difficult part of our task."

"I agree, the Immaculates, if they get involved, will make it incredibly hard for us to fight back; it might even be impossible."

"Indeed, if only the city guard were our only concern. They barely manage to maintain order. But the Immaculates are a different story..." I pondered deeply.

"Let's try to capture one cultist first, and if we learn nothing, we'll go after the leaders," suggested Diya. "We don't have time to ponder; we must act."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," I replied, and we quickly moved into the city. "Let's split up and cover different areas," I suggested, handing out bracelets I had been working on. "Through these bracelets, we can communicate with each other."

This was an Arphenian invention that I had enhanced with my experience communicating with Tuna. Now, in addition to sound, this artifact could transmit images directly into the user's mind. The main requirement for using it was having enough magical energy in the body to power the artifact.

After explaining how the bracelets worked, we all dispersed to find the fanatics. First, I sent images of the fanatics I had captured to everyone through the bracelet. I also monitored the cityscape from the air, watching for people moving suspiciously.

"There might be fanatics in these directions," I transmitted through the bracelet.

"Wow, this is so strange..." Diya commented.

"I agree, but it's very handy... It also seems one of them is quite close to me," said Avus. "I'm going in for the intercept."

"I'll support my husband," said Diya's mother.

Then I watched as Avus and his wife quickly captured a fanatic, unseen by the city guard's eyes. Soon, Diya and I were on our way to join Avus with his captive.

In a nondescript building where Avus and the fanatic were located

CRACK

A harsh crunch sounded as the captured fanatic's arm was broken.

"AAAAAH!!! IT HURTS!" the man screamed in agony.

"We just want to know if you're aware of the woman you're looking for?" Avus asked, clearly displeased with the situation but seeing no alternative.

"I TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW!" the man shouted, his face now unrecognizable. It was doubtful that anyone from his family could recognize him after this.

Avus looked at me for confirmation of the man's words, to which I shook my head, sensing the man was lying.

"Well, I asked you to tell the truth... So we'll continue..." Avus said, preparing to break another limb.

CRUNCH

"AAAAAH!" the fanatic first screamed, then sobbed, "I ALREADY TOLD YOU—" BAM—I cut him off before he could repeat the same line we'd heard dozens of times.

"Will you tell the truth? Hah, we've heard enough for a long time."

"Avus, may I finish with him?" I asked Avus, and after receiving a nod, I approached the man, summoning a dagger from my arsenal. "Well, if you're not willing to speak the truth, then there's no reason for us to keep you around, is there?"

Seeing the realization and fear in his eyes that I was not joking, I felt I had carte blanche for further pressure.

"In that case, after your death, we might as well kill your family too, right, Sheiz?"

I had learned about his family through animals that had fortuitously found a painting in a house where this man's likeness was. Naturally, I had no intention of killing them or doing anything to them, as that was not my style. But the fanatic didn't know this; in his mind, I was a sadist capable of anything to achieve my goals.

"H-how do you know?"

To add a bit of drama, I grinned maliciously and continued:

"None of your business... Perhaps you wouldn't mind sharing your daughter and wife? Their names were Sheya and... damn, I forgot her name, that fiery brunette... Hmm..."

Before I could finish, the man yelled out in anger and fear.

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

Meanwhile, elsewhere

From a third-person perspective

To an outsider unaware of the details, the gathering of people in one of Qohor's buildings might seem like an elite city meeting. However, the reality was quite different. These individuals, aside from being the elite, were also followers of a terrifying deity known as the Black Goat. A momentous meeting was underway that could potentially affect not just the city but the entire world.

"Are you saying that the woman chosen by our God is Mobho Mott's wife?" asked a rather tall and youthful-looking man with streaks of gray.

"Yes, fortunately, Mobho is our brother, and he has gladly agreed to sacrifice his child in the name of our God," responded a younger group member, evidently inexperienced in the ways of the world.

The man with the gray hair was one of the leaders of the organization devoted to the Black Goat.

"What about our partners in other cities?"

Though little known, the Black Goat had followers not just in Qohor and Asshai but as far as Yi Ti and King's Landing in Westeros. However, it must be acknowledged that Qohor was the hub of this movement.

"They are all extremely pleased with the current developments and are reluctantly gathering back."

"Haha, I can certainly understand why," chuckled the leader of the group jovially. "When is Mobho arriving?"

"He should be here soon. I understand he's trying to persuade his wife of the righteousness of our actions."

The older man sneered contemptuously:

"Women never change, always failing to grasp the importance of these sacrifices."

He spat in anger to emphasize his disdain but quickly regained his composure:

"Any news of those who wish to thwart us?"

"So far, there have been no reports, but I've issued orders to report any oddities with our brothers or the city in general."

The man clearly frustrated that not everything was going according to plan, clicked his tongue and said:

"Let's hope we find these disruptors much before they can interfere with our plans."

The older man didn't wait for a reply as another member of the organization entered the building.

"We've brought the woman!"

The two men instantly became more joyful and quickly descended to the lower floor where the Mott couple was now present.

"Let's not keep our God waiting."

Meanwhile, at the same time, from Daeron's perspective

After our captive broke under pressure and sang like a canary, we now knew precisely who and where the cultists were searching for. Unfortunately for us, the woman turned out to be Syrelia Mott, Mobho Mott's wife.

Mobho Mott was one of the fanatics, and this fact alone put the odds against us.

"We need to somehow prevent the cultist's wife from falling into the hands of the deity he worships... And it's quite possible that she is as much a fanatic as her husband," I thought bleakly as we made our way towards Mobho's home.

The Mott family was one of the influential houses in Qohor, renowned particularly for their ability to reforge Valyrian steel. This skill brought them considerable wealth and power.

The reason reforging this metal was so important is that no one else could produce the alloy anymore. Valyrian steel was an extraordinary blend, crafted only by the master smiths of ancient Valyria. Swords made from Valyrian steel were unmatched in sharpness and durability. I had verified this many times over, owning a complete arsenal of various weapons made from this steel.

"Could Tobho Mott work with this steel because of his family? But then why did he leave this city? Surely, he would have been treated much better here?" I pondered.

Tobho Mott was a blacksmith in King's Landing, his home and workshop located on Steel Street. He was one of the few masters in Westeros capable of handling Valyrian steel, a craft he had learned as a child in the forges of Qohor. Tobho Mott was a renowned smith, enjoying the patronage of many noble lords.

When I investigated King's Landing, I made it a point to look up this man. Thanks to rumors, finding him was relatively straightforward. That's when I noticed that he employed a young man with blue eyes and black hair, who was likely a bastard of Robert Baratheon.

With these thoughts, we approached the Mott residence. Although guards stood outside, the owners of the building and our targets were not inside.

"They are not here," I relayed to my companions.

"Where are they then?" Avus inquired.

"I'm searching, it seems they just left here," and shortly after, I found a couple being escorted by three or four men.

"Found them... But we need to hurry, or we'll have to fight not just people but that damned beast."

"Hah, I definitely don't want to battle such a monster," Diya remarked.

Following the path I had discovered, we soon stood before a building where these people had entered. The guards also entered, likely to avoid attracting attention.

Thanks to Empathy, I could feel that there were many people inside, most of them wildly ecstatic. But I also sensed that one person did not share this extreme joy.

"Who might that be?" a thought slipped through, which I quickly suppressed as there was much to do. "Quite a few enemies, about twenty..."

"Hah, not that many. Especially considering that we fought that demon," Avus cheered me up.

"Then it's time to break in," I said, more cheerfully.

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Chapter 52 has already been published