The sunlight over the Clover Kingdom felt unnaturally dim that morning.
Kael stood on a rocky outcrop overlooking a quiet village near the border. It was a place he barely remembered from the manga of his past life—insignificant, until now. But the System had flagged it.
> [System Alert: Event Trigger – Hidden Devil Cult Activity Detected in "Brenfall Village."]
[Investigation Recommended. Difficulty: Intermediate.]
He clenched his fist, crimson eyes narrowing. Devil worshipers. Even in this peaceful-seeming world, there were always shadows creeping under the surface.
"I'll handle it," he whispered.
And he vanished in a flicker of light.
---
Whispers in the Church
Brenfall Village was unusually quiet. Children stayed indoors. Merchants packed up early. But one place bustled with activity: the local chapel.
Kael walked through its gates disguised in a long hooded cloak. His presence barely registered as anything more than a traveler. Inside, villagers knelt in eerie silence while a pale, robed man at the altar chanted in a forgotten tongue.
Kael's system pinged rapidly.
> [High Demon Energy Detected – Sealed Residue Presence: Class C.]
"Blasphemous flame… dark womb… awaken what sleeps below…" the man intoned.
Kael's body tensed.
This wasn't worship. This was summoning.
---
Interrupted Ritual
The man raised a dagger, poised over a bound girl—barely ten years old, tears streaking her dirty face.
Kael moved.
In an instant, the entire room burst into radiant light as Kael dropped his cloak. His Lightborne Fusion form activated, wings half-flared behind him, his glaive humming in his hand.
"Let. Her. Go."
The cult leader hissed like a snake, his eyes glowing faintly red.
"You bear the mark of light, but your soul stinks of shadow…"
"You know nothing of my soul," Kael said, his tone low and sharp.
He slashed through the ropes binding the girl and caught her before she fell, then placed her gently behind a pew.
"Stay down."
---
Devilbound
The cultists erupted into motion. Black magic runes spiraled from their grimoires, conjuring cursed chains, bone spears, and writhing shadows. The leader's face twisted, demonic energy leaking from beneath his skin like molten ink.
Kael didn't flinch.
> "Luminous Stride."
He flickered from cultist to cultist, disabling them with precise, non-lethal blows—leg strikes, arm disarms, a pulse of anti-magic here, a flare of solar light there.
Then the leader roared, a horn emerging from his skull.
"YOU DARE INTERRUPT OUR ASCENT?!"
A pillar of crimson-black fire exploded from the altar. The temperature dropped.
Kael's expression hardened. "You made your choice."
---
Radiant Judgment
> [System Ability Activated: Solar Lance – Overcharge Mode]
Kael summoned two spears of blinding light in both hands, spinning them as he stepped forward through the flames.
The demon-possessed cult leader unleashed a barrage of cursed hexes—but the Demon Veil absorbed the impact, Kael's cloak pulsing black in contrast to the radiant glow of his attacks.
> "Solar Lance: Twin Halo Burst!"
He hurled both lances into the core of the altar, not just striking the man—but the sealed demonic energy behind him.
The room exploded in golden-white light.
When the dust settled, the leader lay unconscious, the altar shattered, and the residual devil energy vanished like smoke in wind.
---
The Girl's Smile
Kael turned back to the young girl, who peeked out from behind the pew.
"Is it over?" she whispered.
Kael nodded and crouched beside her. "It's over. You're safe."
The girl threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.
He held her gently.
> [System Alert: Morality Flag Achieved – "Protector of the Innocent"]
[Passive Resistance to Mental Corruption +10%]
[Checkpoint Synced – "A Light in the Dark"]
Kael stood and handed her over to the arriving town guards, who had been summoned by his prior signal spell.
The village was safe.
For now.
---
Back at the Bulls' Base
Later that evening, Kael returned to the Black Bulls' hideout, dirt and blood still on his cloak. Vanessa raised an eyebrow from the lounge.
"You were gone all day. Where'd you sneak off to, handsome?"
Kael offered a tired smirk. "Just a village issue. Nothing serious."
"Your 'not serious' involves demon energy again, doesn't it?" murmured Secre from the rafters.
Kael looked up at her.
She stared him down, her expression unreadable, but… concerned.
"Yeah," he admitted. "It does."
Noelle entered the room behind him, instantly noticing the wear on his clothes and the strain behind his eyes.
"You're taking too much on yourself."
"I'm the only one who can," Kael replied softly.
---
Shadows Yet to Come
That night, Kael sat atop the hideout, Lyra floating beside him in her spirit form.
"They were trying to bring something back," Kael murmured. "A devil. Lower rank… but it felt wrong. Too soon. Too coordinated."
Lyra nodded. "It means the cult is active beyond what's recorded. Possibly preparing a host."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then we find them first."
Far to the east, beyond the forest and rivers, a figure cloaked in black watched a rising moon from atop a crumbled tower. In his hand—an ancient grimoire written in blood.
"Soon," he whispered. "The Crimson Vessel will awaken fully. And then, the world will burn."