The stairway lead to a hidden entrance in a building Kaden was certain he had, in fact, ransacked. The X carved in the door with Remembrance marked it as empty, which meant he’d missed the stairway due to the illusion

It was no longer empty. Four [Cultist] mages stood at the windows, casting spells out at anything that came near.

Kaden sank into [Stealth], slinking up on the Mages. Trinity was dead, so [MultiTasker] wouldn’t help. No, this would all be about timing. [BackSlash] took the head off the first one, and [Moment of Speed] let Kaden bury Remembrance in the second’s back right between the shoulderblades.

Crippling Strikes has delivered a Mortal Blow.

The other two Cultists had exactly a heartbeat to realized something was wrong, then one was missing the hand that she used to hold a wand, and the other slumped over as Remembrance caved in his skull.

These were level thirty cultists, and Kaden was carving through them like they weren’t even present. The handless woman screamed out a spell—into the Elderitch Shield, which absorbed it, redoubling its fear effect.

Carving a Cultist in two was disturbingly easy.

They had a five level advantage, Kaden should have been struggling to kill them. That would be something to discuss with Sara later. Maybe worshiping demons made them fragile, or, more likely, subject to [Planes Cutter].

For now, he used [Stealth Aura] to sneak out of the building and deliver a [BackSlash] to the side of a [Beserker] with Demon Runes carved all over his skin. Remembrance almost cut the man in half.

Everywhere, Cultists engaged in war. There must have been hundreds, but with every moment, there were fewer. Kaden hit a series of [Mages] with [Mana Drain], but before he could reach them, Cutter Karn leaped in to slice throats. “About time you got here. Polly and the Demon’s Daughter were fighting in the tavern.”

Kaden pivoted to bring Remembrance down on the skull of a [Swordsman] with a black flame blade. The skull exploded.

“Holy shit.” Cutter stared. “Did you mean to do that? They have mages holed up in the town hall. That would be handy.”

“You heard Sara. We kill them all.” Kaden activated the [Eldritch Shield] and stalked toward the Hall, letting it drink in spell after spell. Ten feet away, Mana began to overflow, and Kaden was forced to funnel some to Cutter.

Six feet away, the shield began to strain and groan.

Two feet from the door, cracks grew along the outside of the shield. At any moment, it would surrender.

A mage leaned out—and Kaden locked him with [Mana Drain], then yanked the man out the door and to the side, where he screamed three times before going completely silent. “Who wants to be next?”

“None of them want it. All of them will be.” Sara shouted as she leaped from the roof to land. Without warning, she unleashed [Anthem of the End].

Kaden’s health dropped.

Cutter’s health dropped.

Sara, too, bled from eyes and ears and nose, but she charged through the door. The screaming inside slowly died off before Sara’s pseudopods pushed the door open and she emerged. Her green armor was drenched in blood, with chunks of of flesh covering it. “We have Nasky. Eve is the one who needs our help.”

Kaden sprinted with Sara across the town. Outside what had once been a temple, a throng of demons fought and scratched and clawed to get through the stone doors. In the window where a Priest would once have stood, now a High Priestess of Nurav held court. “Yes! Come and get me! I bathe in your hate. I drink it to grow stronger. And now, I choose something else to bathe in.”

Eve held aloft her staff, the Bloood Moon staff, and from it a ray burst out that she swept over the throng. It caused random status effects by the dozen. Plague, Stun, Sleep, and more. Kaden didn’t wait.

He waded into the carnage, slashing. And damned if the Demons weren’t harder to kill than the cultists. It took four [Backslashes] to kill. Half a dozen blows to chop off heads, and that was with Sara and Cutter joining in.

Mostly Cutter, who was truly terrifying against this many opponents.

“Where’s Mara?” Kaden shouted.

Sara speared a pair of goatmen and drove them backwards toward Cutter. “Several of the cultists took off on demonic mounts. She’s chasing them down and killing every last one. Our forties are engaged with the Demon Lord they summoned.”

“He’s dead.”

Sara actually stopped her slaughter. “What do you mean, he’s dead? He ran north, straight through our line of Adventurers. Killed three healers, two [Shields] and a [Ranger]. We have to purge the cult or they’ll go underground for decades”

Kaden wanted Naski.

He wanted to chase her down, but trust was something Sara had earned. If she said Ashi had the Demon’s Daughter, they did. “Who do you want me to kill?”

“How many times do I have to say it? Everyone.” Sara pointed to all the buildings. “I have rangers guarding the town gates, but what remains is brutal, close up work.”

“My kind of work,” Cutter said. “Pick a building, Hammer Man.”

Kaden assessed where they were. “There. That corner. Then we work our way north. How will we know if there are illusions?”

“Eve. Gaze of the Ancients.” Sara called up. “Eve, it’s clear-ish for you.”

A moment later, the stone temple doors swung open and Eve stepped out. “As long as I stay near Kaden, I’ll be fine.”

Kaden didn’t wait, leaping in through an open window. “Archers!”

“Not without me!” Cutter yelled, following. “You do not kill all the easy ones. Oh, hell, we’ve got children, three of them.”

“No glow, not demons.” Kaden shouted.

Sara quickly sent birds and arranged an evacuation Portal.

As Kaden broke a man’s sword and split his skull, a Portal opened. Ashi stepped through. “It is good to see you, Kaden Birch. Where are the innocents?”

“Downstairs. There’s a decent chance I killed their parents in front of them.” Kaden felt terrible about that part. Less terrible because the woman had stabbed him three times with a poisoned dagger that Kaden now had in Inventory. Less terrible because the blackened skin on his hand had come from a fireball the archer launched after Kaden split his bow in two.

Ashi paused and handed him something from Inventory. A black oval with veins of silver light through it.

[Disowned Daughter Naski].

“You killed her?”

“I do not show mercy to those who threaten Dungeon Masters. She will reform. This is the Demon, not the flesh she wrapped herself in.” Ashi headed downstairs, while Kaden activated [Binding Mark].

[Binding Mark] has activated. Binding process is underway. To reduce binding time, increase your will or reduce target health.

He delicately placed it into Inventory. And set to killing a cult. “Eve, house is clear, check for illusions?”

“Including the basement?” Eve asked.

The next question would have been ‘What Basement?’ Eve wouldn’t have asked. “I can’t see a door.”

Eve poked her head in. “I can’t either, but there’s an illusion to the right of the cooking station.”

Kaden made sure there was a pile of wood splinters next to the cooking station. “Oh, shit. Some kind of feeding station. It’s full of bodies.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Leave it for a cleanup Party,” Sara said as her Horror tripped a Graht that came charging for Eve and began to methodically tear it apart. “I want to contribute, but every time I turn around there’s an emergency.”

*All archers report status on the hour. At the conclusion of this message, take a mana potion.*

Kaden looked to Cutter. “We’re never going to get them cleared out at this rate, and when night comes, there’s almost no chance one won’t escape.”

“Truth. My Party’s holding the breached gate. I could probably pull two of them and sweep with you.” Cutter wiped her knives and jumped out the window. “Where are the others? Your forties I get it. The [Ranger], I get. You had twenty five others on roll.”

Sara took out her frustration on the dead Graht, chopping it into chunks for the Horror. “The moment a Demon Lord showed up, I lost contact with half of them. And then I mistakenly broadcast the truth about the situation.”

Cutter swore under her breath. “Then get contact. Leading isn’t just about asking. Leading is about telling. Do it. Do it right now. It doesn’t matter what people think of you. Do you want to be popular, or do you want to know the cult is dead?” Cutter waited, tapping her foot.

Kaden knew what it was to be on the receiving end of a smackdown. “You took this on, it’s yours to see it through. This is a business. Run it. Those adventurers accepted a contract. Enforce it.”

“You’ve never had a problem being impolite before,” Eve added.

*All Adventurers who do not report to staging postions for final assault will be penalized on return and assigned to run Jungle Hell for the next two years. Acknowledge receipt of my message and state your arrival time within two minutes.*

Sara grimaced.

“Why didn’t you do that to start with?” Cutter asked.

“Because I don’t actually have authority. I can only hope no one checks.” Sara pointed to another building. “Eve, you’re with me until we’re sure there are no more demons loose.”

“Not yet.” Eve activated [Life Endowment]. Kaden’s health shot upward, pausing only a moment at 1600/1600, and then climbed further, stopping at just over 2100. Then ticked down a point. And another. “Go!” Eve shouted.

Kaden kicked in the door to a house and activated [Moment of Speed] to dive under a swarm of daggers that sailed through the door. Inside a pair of [Knife Throwers] lurked, with a [Mage] backing them up.

The Mage whispered, and [Chilling Blast] errupted in the room, slowing Kaden. The air had turned to honey, and even with [Moment of Speed], the [Knife Throwers] had just enough time to realize they’d missed.

Over and over, Kaden poured Mana into [Moment of Speed] but the [Mage] understood his life was on the line.

A silver blade appeared in one cultists’ hand, and like magic, sailed unaffected through the air to tear into Kaden’s arm. The second bounced off of his metallic chest.

Kaden’s mana burned toward zero just to keep [Moment of Speed] active.

Across from him, the [Mage]’s eyes had burst and blood gushed from the sockets, but he continued to shriek out incantations. Every use of [Chilling Blast] cost more and more mana.

Both knives this time threw sparks and sliced through his armor as Kaden pushed relentlessly forward. If he was alone, [Sole Survivor] kicked in. In a group, [Last Man Standing] gave him the power to keep going.

Remembrance begged to be unleashed. To slice and cut, but now, their only prayer was to keep [Chilling Blast] active.

Hard to Kill has given you a new resistance: Resist Slow.

Your skill with Resist Slow has Increased.

Like forcing his way through sludge, Kaden began to move, ignoring the flashing warnings that his health was critically low.

The [Mage] dropped dead without warning, his corpse slumping forward. [Chilling Blast] ended. Kaden struck, meaning to bury Remembrance in the [Knife Thrower’s] chest. Instead, it split the man wide open from crotch to chin.

You have slain a Cultist.

You have gained experience.

You have gained a level.

You have attribute points to distribute.

Health gushed into Kaden as the level up healed him. He didn’t want to assign the attribute point, not without knowing what would affect [Binding Mark] best. This close, Kaden couldn’t use Remembrance for a full swing, so he stored it and drew the Levicon Blade in a single motion.

“[Infernal Sacrifice]!” The Knife thrower shouted—stabbing himself in the heart.

Cultist Ian Johanson has used Infernal Sacrifice. Entity [Asmodius] cannot receive power at this time.

Kaden shoveled all the corpses into Inventory, looting them as he went, dashed upstairs and back down. “Need an illusion check.”

“Patience, please, there were three hidden rooms in Cutter’s.” Eve came running. “Nothing. Nothing. Oh, level twenty six?”

Kaden nodded. “What next?”

“Next, we get our questors to do their gods-damned jobs like I should have at first. That’s on me, I won’t lose control again.” Sara stepped aside as portal after portal opened. “Mara killed the last flier, she might not make it back in time. The [Drake] she’s riding is hard to control since we got it on loan from Beast Control.”

Kaden didn’t mind. Chasing down the runners and preventing the Cult from spreading like a disease was the key. All around him, Rangers and Swordsmen, Shields, Healers, even a [Spearman] and a pair of [Electrocutionist], which was obviously a specialization of the [Mage] class.

*All of you form up and start clearing buildings. Healers stay in the streets, Rangers take to the roofs and provide cover. Border Parties hold your position, call out any runners. We have a [Huntress] and a [Stalker] should any attempt stealth.* Sara’s commands were clear, clean, and unquestionable.

“Kaden, Eve, stay close. Cutter does as she wants, but I need to be able to direct you if we hit hard resistance, and of course, [Mages] will be mine.”

The next three hours were bloody and hot and disgustingly hard work, as the Adventurers steadily cleared the town. And all along, Ashi portaled in to grab the few children hidden behind Illusions. Always young girls. Eve resurrected a few corpses from the feeding pits, and found to her horror, they were willing food.

Kaden found the [Eldritch Shield] was a near perfect way to motivate them for questioning, and over the hours, he learned exactly how Demon Cults operated. It began with an Adventurer hungry for power.

It progressed with offering a young girl as a sacrifice to become a Demon’s Daughter. Next, the Cultists proved their commitment by hosting a newly-birthed Demon’s Daughter, who would judge their worthiness.

And when the Daughter was grown, it would either vouch for the faithfulness of its hosts or kill them, before returning to one of the Hells for training. Only after training were they unleashed to guide a Cult in the appropriate sacrifices that would unleash a Demon Lord.

Darkness neared when the message finally came.

You have purged a Cult: (Cult of the Dark Moon #2,947, Northern Continent, Western Half, Bead Wearers, Blue Pendant Wearers with Red Dots, not Green Dots).

You have completed a Quest: No Surrender, No Retreat - Purge the Demon Cult.

You have failed a Quest: Punish the Wayward Daughter - Destroy Naski’s Core.

You have gained: 3x Faction Tokens (Stateri).

You have gained Faction Favor (Stateri).

Kaden was exhausted. Still burned from a [Fire Mage] who had surprised Sara before she could unleash [Anthem of the End], and the wounds, being mana reinforced, resisted Eve’s attempts at healing.

As Adventurers left by Portal, Ashi drank a Mana Potion. She hadn’t spoken to Kaden since handing over the Demon Core, but her wraps hung in tatters, and her hair was burned off on one side, while barbed spines stuck out in clusters on her other arm.

“What happens now?” Eve asked. “I’m not afraid of night spawns, but we should leave.”

That stuck in Kaden’s gut like a silver knife blade.

“Now we burn the corpses and I wait for sign off,” Sara said. “And Kaden, if you don’t mind looting. If you run into spell books, scrolls, artifacts, anything, assume it’s Demon-Tainted. The Mage Tower will handle them.”

“You said no loot,” Eve said before Ashi joined in.

“I trust you three. You know the danger. You won’t steal it and try to sell it on the black market.” Sara paced nervously. “Ashi, we need to burn the corpses. Would you mind helping?”

“It will be done.”

In the middle of the town square, every cultist corpse lay stacked neatly. Kaden had added his own kills to the pile, and now he set about clearing the town again, this time with Eve at his side.

He expected mounds of demonic equipment, but a trio of spell books, five wands, six swords and a slab of rock Kaden ripped from the ground, using Remembrance as a lever were the only real reminder. He threw them in a pile. “I guarantee you people stole from the cultists they killed.”

Sara nodded as the stench of burning corpses grew thicker and thicker. “My Quest doesn’t cover that. The FarPortal will reactivate temporarily for signoff and evacuation.”

A few minutes later, It lit up in a sequence of colors, every rune coming one after the other—then blazed into existence as Centurions stepped out, ten of them.

At the head came Captain Blanco, which surprised Kaden.

“Aren’t you a Justari representative?” Kaden asked. Sara’s disapproving look didn’t stop him. “I swear I thought this was a Stateri Quest.”

“I am.” Blanco turned to the others and gave them orders. “Some factions get along really well. The Stateri lack the conviction to do true good, but that doesn’t make them enemies and most of the time we count them as allies. Hell, the Mercari can be helpful. Not in this case, but they often are, because business is business. Yvet, pulverize the bones. Ursus, what do you want to do with the loot?”

Ursus was a woman with dark brown skin and short curly black hair in Mage’s robes. “That’s all of it? Barely worth—where did you get the rock?”

Kaden pointed. “Basement. I can show you the building.”

“Not demonic loot at all. It’s an early version of a FarPortal. Like, thousands of years ago.” She didn’t touch any of the rest as she sucked it into Inventory.

Kaden did the same with the rock. “Cults really like this place, and there’s a giant circle in a hidden basement with black rocks all around it. That’s where the Incarnation of Asmodius was.”

Kaden never got a chance to explain, the number of people shouting at him rose steadily until Captain Blank threw back his head and used [Thundering Shout]. “Enough!”

You have acquired a status condition: Deaf.

Hard to Kill has granted you a new resistance: Resist Deafness.

It took Eve several minutes and [Mana Well] to restore everyone’s hearing. Ashi took first turn. “It is not in your nature to run. Next time, I expect you to call for help.”

Kaden hadn’t expected her to back him up. “They broke the FarPortal the moment I came through. There were illusions hiding the only exit, and it wasn’t full-on Demon Lord Asmodeus. He took over a Minotaur’s body and demanded his eye. By the way, I have two of them now. The one I took from Darmando and the one I ripped from Asmodius’s ugly skull myself.”

“Hold on.” The Mage Centurion spoke out of turn, but Blanco didn’t seem to mind. “First, those ‘black rocks’ are demon summoning stones. No wonder a Cult got reestablished here this quickly. Second, show me the summoning circle. I want to know what level of Hell it goes to. Third, how the hell did you survive a Demon’s Daughter and an Incarnation?”

“He’s a gods-damned cockroach, that’s how. Surviving is what he does and he’ll only get better at it.” Mr. Dervish stepped through a portal. “Sorry I’m late, you ain’t the only ones with a Quest. Thanks for filling in, Dom.”

“Bodies are burned,” Ursus said. “Haven’t met a [PolyMage] but that was some quality immolation. Loot’s rounded up, town’s empty.”

“Perfect. Now burn this place to the ground,” Mr. Dervish said.

“No.” Kaden’s voice drew all the attention. “That is not what we’re going to do at all.”