"Finally, the demolition is done. That was exhausting."
Amid the ruins of the Holy Religion.
Leon had made a great commotion, tearing down the once grand and glorious cathedral and reducing it to rubble.
Hundreds of corpses lay scattered across the ground around him. They were all members of the cult who had come out from the church.
Along the way, he had also rescued several girls afflicted with [Demonic Possession].
After all, the number of members in Night Raid was more than ten times fewer than those of the Cult of Diablos—or even dozens fewer still.
An elite organization composed of descendants of heroes, Night Raid maintained the highest degree of discipline and purity, with each member capable of defeating at least a hundred enemies on their own.
But the downside was always their small numbers.
Even if they won every battle against the cult, they couldn't completely prevent the cult's simultaneous conspiracies across the world.
These girls with Demonic Possession must have been discovered in areas of the compound currently unsupervised.
The terrible marks on their bodies were enough to show that the cult had placed "great expectations" on them.
After all, Night Raid was growing more powerful by the day.
More and more areas were being infiltrated now.
It was already a fantasy for the cult to capture demon-possessed girls as easily as they had more than ten years ago.
"Mother, why did you abandon me?"
"P-please, don't hurt me…"
Even after being healed and restored to human form, their mental states remained dire.
Leon's magic could only heal their physical wounds, but the hearts of these girls could not be mended so easily.
Since experimental materials were extremely rare, the cult had carefully preserved them for their twisted research—subjecting them to inhuman experiments without killing or destroying them outright.
Allowing them to live until now was, in fact, a cruelty a hundred times worse than even Esdeath's most extreme tortures.
Because they didn't even have the right to choose death for release.
"What a pitiful girl. It's all right now. You're safe. What awaits you is a bright future—I promise."
Leon's arms easily embraced all of them at once.
The trembling girls shook uncontrollably.
They looked up at Leon in disbelief.
That warm embrace was like a powerful medicine, something they could not possibly resist in that moment.
"Ah… are you… a god?"
"So warm…"
"Please… save us… please."
They were like starving little animals that hadn't eaten in who knows how long. They clung to him desperately, greedily soaking in the warmth radiating from his body.
In their endless days of pain, they had long since forgotten what another person's body heat even felt like.
Because even if they wanted to cling to one another for warmth, their own bodies had grown unbearably cold.
Now, these girls rescued by Leon were like victims freezing to death in ice and snow, who had finally stumbled upon an eternal bonfire at the very brink of death.
In the end, the girls fell asleep in his arms. But just as Leon was about to carry them away, something unusual occurred.
"Hm? Isn't that the sanctuary gate?"
A massive red magic circle appeared before him.
It was an invitation for him to enter the sanctuary.
Leon hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to ignore it—
But the sanctuary gate followed him wherever he went.
"Tch. Guess I've got no choice but to step in and take a look."
Scratching his head, he muttered to himself.
But before that—
Leon opened a spatial gate and sent the girls in his arms to the hotel where he was staying.
He had grown fond of the hot springs there, though he was dissatisfied with the décor, so Gama had gone ahead and purchased the hotel outright earlier that day.
The building had been remodeled according to Leon's preferences, and now several Night Raid members worked among its staff.
"I'll leave them to you. Take care of them."
"Yes, Master."
The other girls immediately nodded solemnly, fully aware of what needed to be done.
But when they tried to remove the rescued girls from Leon's arms, they realized the captives were clinging tightly to Leon's slime outfit.
In the end, it took considerable effort to separate them.
"Master, behind you…"
"Ah, don't worry. I'll be back shortly."
"Even though I don't know the situation… good luck."
And with that, Leon stepped into the red magic circle.
After a dazzling flash of white light—
He arrived in a completely white space. The sky and ground were both blindingly white, but in that blank void stood a witch.
"Hi~"
"Hello."
"It's been a while."
"Yeah, haven't seen you in a few minutes."
Aurora, the Witch of Calamity, was bound there, her entire body restrained, yet she still greeted Leon with a smile. She remained as elegant as ever.
Leon had a good impression of this witch—she had left him satisfied and content, and he hoped to one day fight her with all his strength.
"Why are you here?"
"You won't believe this. I was being chased by a door. Couldn't escape it, couldn't destroy it. It was too flashy, so I could only step in and check it out… Was that your doing?"
"Not at all~"
Aurora smiled and shook her head.
"Well, since you entered anyway, shouldn't you be doing something now?"
"True. Miss Aurora, do you have any suggestions?"
"Yes, let me think… How about freeing the beautiful, pitiable witch tied up in front of you?"
"Good suggestion."
Leon raised his hand and struck with his sword. The restraints binding Aurora snapped instantly. The witch stretched her elegant body and showed a blissful expression.
Leon raised an eyebrow at this. He realized that the women around him often exaggerated their charm in front of him, constantly testing his sanity.
"Are you captivated?" Aurora asked playfully.
Leon crossed his arms. In his heart, he gave her a score of 98, but with his lips he only said:
"More or less."
"Hmph~ Such high standards."
"That's right~"
Leon shrugged.
In truth, 98 points was undoubtedly the score of a peerless beauty.
But unfortunately, the girls around him generally scored 95 or higher anyway.
---
End of Chapter
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."