Chapter 68: Cult

Within a secret underground base somewhere, a couple of people showed up wearing black priest robes with hoods covering their faces. Some even wore veils which further made it difficult to discern their features.

The atmosphere within the underground base was gloomy and tense. Well, considering its theme, anybody could expect this, but today, in particular, the atmosphere was heavier.

Nobody spoke, those who came just sat in their respective seat. Some were meditating, others were busy reading or doing something to pass the time.

There are at least twenty seats here. So far, only eighteen seats have been occupied. This means that they're waiting for two more members to arrive before they start this gathering.

Of course, it wasn't just the black-robed priests here. There were servants here as well as other...creatures that most people wouldn't want to see roaming around the streets.

Those who would witness this event might think that these people were fond of each other because none of them were even trying to talk to each other. And in a sense, that might be true. But that's mostly because they didn't want their respective identities to be at risk.

They might be members of the same cult, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they trust each other. And for people like them, that's to be expected.

A small commotion broke the silence of the venue, announcing the arrival of the last two members the group was waiting for. Without any further ado, the last two members sat on their seats, and one person who was sitting at the far end of the table lifted a wooden mallet and slammed it, creating a noise that signaled the start of this gathering.

"You're all gathered here for a rather alarming development recently." The guy who looked to be their superior/leader stated.

"Are we safe to assume that this has something to do with the recent raids we experienced at the hands of the Shadow Runners?" One of the members pointed out.

"Yes, indeed." The leader nodded in agreement. "For some reason, the Shadow Runners were able to locate most of the bases we have at the Black Thread City, capturing many of our members. As a result, we are facing a risk in our development there."

The so-called 'Shadow Runners' were the organization that Arishem was a part of. They're a bunch of talented assassins who were raised by the government and took an oath to protect humanity. They're also the ones launching an offensive against the Cult of the Demon Saint.

"Do we have any ideas how they managed to do that? As far as I remember, you told us that your operations were guaranteed to be covert." Another member questioned.

"That's right. But I also distinctly remember telling all of you that that's not a total guarantee because Humanity as a whole is a highly progressive race." The Leader replied, "As for how exactly they did it, our spies couldn't come up with the complete intel. All they knew is that someone developed a tool which helped the Shadow Runners bypass the Mental Barriers we placed on our members."

"How very thorough of you." Said by another member, and the Leader just snorted at that.

"Well if that's the case, then I guess we could offer our support. Some of my men are idle anyway and frankly, they're looking for action. However, I won't be sending them unless we receive the tool that would counter that rune first. I don't want the Shadow Runners after my tail if they somehow captured them." One member proposed.

"That raises another concern though." Another member commented, "If the Shadow Runners got their hands on that Rune, that must mean that they're already distributing it to other cities as well. How long since they've started hunting our branch members, anyway?"

"As far as I know, they started a week ago." The Leader replied.

"That's plenty of time to get a head start on the Rune production." The same member added, "Not that I'm skeptical about the skills of your spies but that much time is enough to make dozens of functional Runes to be distributed. Did you send your men to monitor that too?"

"No." The Leader sighed and massaged his temples. He tapped on the armrest of his chair a few times. "I'd tell them now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's already too late for that."

"This means that we have to stay cautious for the rest of the month and observe the movement of the government closely." Another member stated, "Although we have laid out our foundations, we still don't possess enough strength for a direct confrontation."

"Sad but true." The Leader commented. "I ask you all to do the same. Be cautious for the rest of the month and closely observe the events happening around your respective territories. We don't want a direct heat on us right now."

"...so, about the operation? Should we iron out the details for that?" The female member who suggested it brought up the topic once more.

"Right, let's brainstorm everybody."

What followed was the cult members ironing out the details of their plan to save the Black Thread City branch.

They continued their discussion until they filled out all the holes they could currently think of about the operation. Since there were 20 of them brainstorming for ideas, they finished rather quickly and once they were satisfied with it, they signed it off and continued to discuss other things such as their development directions and their main goals.

Once their time was up, the leader ended the gathering. The head figures of the cult went back to acting as if they didn't know each other before returning to their respective territories, leaving the Leader there at the meeting venue.

Resting his back against the chair, he massaged his temples due to stress.

"I hope this operation fixes things or else, my neck will be at risk."