A Reincarnated Demon’s Tales of Wonder (Prototype) - Vol 2 Chapter 26.2

Location Unknown. Aptrganga cult secret headquarter

“M-my Lord! My Lord!!” – Cult member

“Be quiet! It is too late on the night for yelling that loud. People are trying to sleep.” – Old Cult Leader

The old cult leader chided his assistance, despite himself working over the night.

“B-but my Lord! The temple-! The Empty Temple gave us a message!” – Cult member

“Oh, that. Did they already start the descent of Draugr?” – Old Cult Leader

‘That was faster than expected’ thought the old man to himself. The ‘descent’ was a simple bluff, as there existed no god named “Draugr”. He only called it that, so that he could lure more in sponsors into the ‘cult’.

The real identity of “Draugr” was a living-weapon, created through alchemy on several corpses. The result is a dead-flesh golem, which is the identity of the “Draugr”.

“No my lord. The message is about a different subject.” – Cult member

“A different subject… do not come here and tell me those amateur adventurers managed to take back the water.” – Old Cult Leader

The water returning to the region could stop the region-turn-undead plans. The easiest way to farm corpses was through undeads, so the cult leader had ordered the lower-ranked members to spread crystallized Death-attribute aether around the region. That, plus the drought brought by the so-called “Disaster of Water”, had created the perfect environment to allow weak, and only weak, undeads to spawn.

It was a surprise for even the cult leader when it was uncovered that it was a Disaster behind the drought. Until recently, everyone did not know what was the cause of the drought, but the theories and tall tales about it were countless. The idea about a Disaster being behind it was one of them, so many people was shocked over the news that the Disaster may have been hidden in a Dungeon that was located in the region.

The return of the water was a big monkey wrench in the cult’s plans, but the cult leader had predicted this. Through the very same Death-attribute crystals that had started to spawn undeads, the Aptrganga cult had created a special barrier, that trapped and led the water to a different location, under the sole control of the cult leader.

“No, my Lord. There are no problems on that part.” – Cult member

“Then what is the problem then?” – Old Cult Leader

“Well…, you see…, the temple was crushed.” – Cult member

……? What did he say?

The cult leader didn’t believe his ears. The Empty Temple, the lynchpin for the creation of Draugrs, destroyed? Just when they were so close to producing another real Draugr, instead of the pushover prototype Draugrs that they always got when using simple Skeletons?

The three real Draugr did need a Corpse Dragon, plus several Skeletal Dragons, so the production of another real Draugr had been halted. But the price was worth it, as the real Draugrs wouldn’t lose to some simple attacks that decomposed the fake bodies of the prototypes, nor did they have the crippling weakness towards large amounts of water.

The kidnapping of the various citizens of the very city the cult leader was in right now was the keystone for creating a new Draugr. Since simple undeads didn’t do the trick, they were going to use the freshly killed corpses of living humanoids. But now, the second most important piece of the puzzle, the Empty Temple, was destroyed?

“I-it’s true, my Lord. Before the temple was destroyed, one of the Shadow Guards positioned there sent a message. It seems the temple was overrun by a group of Bloodrush Bulls. There were no other messages after that, so the temple must have been trampled to dust. Err, my lord?” – Cult member

The old cult leader, a Migrant that had arrived at the world of Terra Sol 60 years ago, and a member of the criminal Belos Gang, didn’t hear anything else of what the cult member had to say. The news alone had knocked him unconscious.

The cult member wanted to go and wake the old cult leader awake, but he didn’t. Within the desk to the cult leader, an ominous, mechanical sound was heard.

*thump-thump* *thump-thump*

Greydra

Kigal-Note/Urban Legends: The Balos Gang

22 years ago, the world was witness to several impossible crimes. After that, several theories came up, trying to explain the crimes, but no answer was given.

One of the more popular ideas amongst the populace was the rumor of a group of 5 criminals, that had joined forces to create a criminal gang. However, this is only seen as a rumor without real evidence.

This fictitious criminal organization has been the scapegoat for various disasters that have plagued mankind, such as the Groxlia kingdom’s fanatic view of human-superiority over the other races, the war against the very same kingdom and the Avalar kingdom, the drought in the Velantas region, and much more.

These accusations do not have a root in reality, they are only tall tales told by drunks in downtown. However, the people operating in the underworld seems to have no intention to disregard this rumor. On the other hand, they seem terrified of the very name of this fictitious criminal group: The Balos Gang.

Chaos’ comment: Hey, Ria! Save me a front-row seat for this show! Ria?