Lusian called Albert over and stepped a few paces away from the others.
"I need your opinion."
Albert looked over the ruined village before answering.
"I don't agree with this, my lord."
"I expected as much."
"This is a matter for the king. We were only supposed to escort you during your holiday."
Lusian sighed.
"I know... but I already gave Emily my word."
Albert remained silent for a few seconds.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Well...
You've only been engaged for a few days, and your fiancée has already convinced the young lord to throw himself into an operation against a demonic cult."
Lusian looked at him with resignation. The frustration in his voice was unmistakable.
"Are you going to help me, or are you going to keep making fun of me?"
Albert's expression changed instantly. Every trace of sarcasm vanished, replaced by complete seriousness.
"Of course I'll help you, my lord. And if this mission is so important to winning your fiancée's heart... then I'll make sure it's a success."
Lusian let out a relieved sigh.
"I just need your help convincing the other knights to support us."
Albert smiled faintly. The teasing expression was gone, leaving behind only genuine loyalty.
"You don't have to convince anyone, my lord. You give the order, and the knights will obey. It is our duty... and our greatest honor."
He paused briefly.
"Even if the order were to march to our deaths, many would do so without hesitation if it were for your sake."
Lusian held his loyal knight's gaze.
He appreciated those words, but he couldn't accept them.
"Thank you, Albert. But we won't be marching to our deaths."
His voice became firm.
"Help me make sure no one gets hurt."
Albert nodded solemnly.
"I'll do everything in my power."
Then his expression grew even more serious.
"But you'll need to speak with the adventurers. Three Liches capable of summoning the undead are a considerable threat, though not an impossible one to face. When they reached this village, the Liches fled before we had the chance to engage them directly."
Lusian frowned.
"That means someone is controlling them."
Albert nodded slowly.
"The Demonic Cult."
The name lingered heavily in the air.
"They normally use human sacrifices to summon demons. A high-ranking demon requires an enormous number of lives... far too many for a village this small."
Lusian understood immediately.
"Then they'll be trying to summon a lesser demon."
"Exactly."
Albert kept his eyes fixed on the ruined village.
"It wouldn't pose a threat to the kingdom as a whole. But for small villages or even medium-sized towns..."
His voice dropped.
"It would be an absolute nightmare."
Lusian thought quietly for several seconds, reviewing everything he knew about demonic summoning rituals.
"To perform a demonic summoning, the sacrifices have to be alive. That means the villagers are probably still being held somewhere."
Albert nodded gravely.
"Most likely. But don't expect this to be easy. The cultists aren't ordinary bandits. They've almost certainly prepared traps around their base to protect the captives and delay any rescue attempt."
Lusian frowned.
"So it'll be extremely dangerous... won't it?"
Albert didn't answer immediately.
His silence was answer enough.
Lusian lowered his gaze.
If it truly was the Demonic Cult, then the situation was far worse than he had imagined.
Keitaro had lost Iris in the future he remembered. If he intervened at the right moment, perhaps he could change that fate.
But to do that, he would need more than information.
He needed allies.
And if he earned the heroes' trust... if Emily remained by his side...
His chances of surviving would increase.
While Lusian was lost in thought, Albert began organizing the knights.
A short while later, he called the adventurers aside.
"My lord has decided to organize a rescue operation to recover the missing villagers."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"What do you intend to do?"
Cain stepped forward.
His expression remained stern, but the anger had faded. Only determination remained.
"We'll help, sir."
He clenched his fists.
"We can't bring our companions back... but we won't allow their deaths to have been in vain."
Albert studied him for a few moments before nodding.
"Good."
His voice became firm.
"If you choose to participate in this operation, you will follow orders without exception. Don't act on your own, and don't separate from the group."
He looked at the other adventurers.
"I don't want any of you getting caught in crossfire, nor do I want a reckless decision to cost one of my knights his life."
He paused.
"Understood?"
The adventurers nodded, ready to coordinate under Lusian and Albert's command.
Deep within the mountain, dozens of torches illuminated a massive cavern.
Magic circles covered the ground.
Dozens of villagers remained chained around an altar, guarded by men dressed in black robes.
Standing before them, Jerges studied a map spread across a stone table.
One of the cultists came running and dropped to one knee.
"My lord... one of the watch posts has stopped responding."
Jerges didn't even look up.
"How long?"
"About ten minutes."
The silence lasted only a moment.
"Then they're already here."
The subordinate swallowed nervously.
"Should we deploy the Liches?"
"No."
Jerges calmly shook his head.
"Keep them hidden.
If we use them now, they'll only delay the enemy for a few minutes."
The man hesitated.
"And the sacrifices?"
Jerges glanced toward the chained villagers.
"We still don't have enough.
The ritual can't be completed."
A second cultist appeared.
"My lord... should we prepare to retreat?"
Jerges nodded without showing the slightest emotion.
"Activate every alarm circle.
If the kingdom's army arrives...
we'll abandon the mountain."
The subordinate lowered his head.
"Even if we have to abandon the ritual?"
"Our objective was never this village.
It was merely a stop along the way.
There will be others.
There will be more sacrifices."
Jerges slowly lifted his gaze toward the darkness of the cavern.
"The prophecy has already begun.
Nothing will stop us."
As they climbed the mountain, Albert, Lusian, Emily, and Adela walked near the center of the formation.
Umber prowled several meters ahead, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. He followed no one's orders. He simply patrolled the surrounding area on instinct, alert for any approaching threat.
Aureus remained beside Adela, guarding the right flank.
Lusian looked down the mountain trail.
"Do you think we're on the right path?"
Albert closed his eyes for a few moments.
"The trail of dark mana continues upward. I don't think we're far away."
At that moment, Umber stopped.
The wolf's ears perked up.
His entire body tensed.
Through the bond they shared, Lusian felt the warning.
Someone was ahead.
He immediately raised a hand.
"Halt."
The entire column froze.
Albert advanced a few steps through the vegetation and observed the trail from the cover of the trees.
A group was descending the mountain.
They wore black robes.
And they were escorting several villagers with their hands tied.
Albert returned to Lusian.
"It's them."
He paused.
"They don't appear to have noticed us."
Lusian peered through the trees.
"Can we rescue them?"
Albert evaluated the distance, the terrain, and the number of enemies.
Then he nodded.
"Yes."
His expression remained serious.
"But we have to prevent them from casting any spells."
A single hand signal was enough.
The captains silently repositioned the knights.
Within seconds, the trail was surrounded from both sides.
The cultists continued forward, completely unaware.
Then one of them stopped.
He looked toward the trees.
For an instant, he seemed to sense something.
"What is it?" another asked.
He never received an answer.
Albert slowly lowered his hand.
The knights burst from the trees like an avalanche.
The cultists' formation collapsed immediately.
Three knights surrounded each enemy, blocking every movement before they could organize themselves.
The dark mages raised their staffs.
But they had no time.
The knights struck their wrists, disrupting their spells before they could be completed.
Eight cultists fell in the very first exchange.
The others stumbled backward in panic.
One of them pulled a small black crystal from inside his robe.
"For the will of the Dark Lord!"
Before he could crush it, a shadow shot across the ground.
Umber appeared behind him.
The crystal fell to the ground, split cleanly in two.
The man stared at the wolf in terror before the knights subdued him.
The remaining twelve cultists were disarmed and captured.
Lusian surveyed the battlefield.
The victory had been swift.
Too swift.
"They weren't the main force..." he murmured.
"Charles."
"Yes, my lord."
"Take the prisoners somewhere secure. I want them interrogated immediately. I need to know how many cultists are on this mountain and where their base is."
"Understood."
Lusian turned toward the rescued villagers.
"We can't leave them here."
Albert nodded.
"I'll assign ten knights to escort them back to Dreville."
He paused before looking back toward the mountain.
"The rest of us will continue forward."
Lusian nodded slowly.
"We won't attack until we understand the terrain. First we'll find their base... then we'll decide what to do."
As night fell, the group paused among the trees.
Lusian approached Emily with a hint of concern.
"Are you all right?"
He glanced around.
"We won't be setting up tents. We can't draw attention to ourselves while we're this close to the cult's territory."
Emily smiled reassuringly.
"I'm fine, Lusian. I was trained to fight too."
She lifted her chin slightly.
"Don't underestimate me."
Just then, Aureus walked over and sat beside Lusian. The enormous white tiger appeared completely calm despite the danger surrounding them.
Adela arrived shortly afterward. Her black hair and golden eyes stood out even beneath the faint light of the night.
"Adela, what are you doing here?" Lusian asked.
She offered a small smile.
"I brought your meal, my lord. Miss Emily's as well."
Lusian raised an eyebrow.
"Did the food appear out of nowhere?"
Adela let out a quiet laugh as she held up her spatial bracelet.
"The knights always carry emergency provisions. You never know when a mission might last longer than expected."
"I see."
Lusian smiled.
"Thank you, Adela."
Emily walked over to Aureus and gently stroked his fur.
"Will Umber be gone much longer?"
"Probably."
Adela looked at the tiger with complete confidence.
"While he's away, Aureus can stay with you. I'll keep watch over the surrounding area."
"May I pet him?"
"Of course, Miss Emily."
Emily smiled as she ran her hand through the great feline's fur.
"He looks incredibly strong."
"He is," Adela replied with a faint smile. "Aureus is the strongest magical beast ever trained by a beast tamer in the kingdom."
Lusian sighed.
"Don't brag so much."
"I'm not bragging."
Adela answered with complete sincerity.
"I'm only telling the truth."
She absentmindedly patted the tiger's head.
"Aureus and I will become my lord's finest servants."
Emily smiled, amused.
"It seems you're very overprotective of Lusian."
Adela tilted her head slightly.
"It's my job."
"Just your job..."
Emily let out a quiet laugh.
"Of course."
Adela didn't understand the meaning behind that response.
"Did I say something strange?"
Lusian shook his head with resignation.
"Don't mind her."
Emily simply smiled, entertained by the young woman's innocence.
A short while later, Albert and Charles returned.
The expressions on their faces were enough for Lusian to realize something was wrong.
"My lord... we have bad news."
Lusian gave a tired smile.
"Let me guess.
Traps... undead... and somehow the day just got worse."
Albert shook his head.
"Much worse.
We found a Demonic Cult base.
It's not a makeshift camp.
It's fortified."
Charles continued the report.
"We also interrogated several prisoners.
They all repeated the same thing.
A prophecy.
And the coming of the Demon King."
Lusian frowned.
"Did they mention when?"
Charles shook his head.
"No. They only kept saying that 'the time is drawing near.'"
Lusian fell into thought.
So they know...
"They know what?" Emily asked.
Lusian remained silent for a few moments.
"I'll explain later.
Right now, we need to focus on this operation."
He looked at Albert.
"What's the plan?"
Albert spread an improvised map over a large rock.
"The mountain has several entrances.
If we all attack through the same path, all they'll have to do is block the main tunnel to stop us."
His finger traced several points across the map.
"We'll split our forces.
Charles, Leonidas, and I will each lead an assault group.
The adventurers will cover a secondary exit to prevent the cult from escaping."
Finally, he looked up at Lusian.
"My lord, you'll remain at the main entrance with Miss Emily and Adela. If we find any survivors, that will be the safest evacuation point."
Lusian nodded slowly.
"Then... we begin before dawn."