I, Valon, am frantically searching for my mother.

The blinding torchlight instantly flooded the dimly lit cage, illuminating the sleeping faces of the children, as well as the cult guards outside the cage, their faces hidden in the shadows of their hoods, dressed in dark cloaks.

The guards didn't say much; their movements were swift and brutal.

After a brief inspection, the prison van was quickly placed into a cave-like structure, and then all the children were thrown onto the hard floor of the underground hall.

"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!"

As they entered, dozens of metal discs, suspended in mid-air and burning with pale or dark purple flames, lit up one after another on the walls and beside the pillars of the hall, illuminating the entire hall in a stark white light.

Immediately afterwards, in this dim and oppressive environment, the purple-robed leader began chanting some kind of difficult incantation.

As the incantation ended, the children who had been unconscious began to wake up one after another, and the once quiet hall was filled with their cries.

"Waaaaah..."

"Mommy and Daddy, I want Mommy and Daddy!"

"Help! Mom and Dad, where are you...?"

Seeing this, Wayne also started howling and calling for his mother, pretending to be okay while observing his surroundings.

First, there's the lobby.

The entire underground hall is an irregular circle. The floor appears to be dark red rock, polished relatively flat, but you can vaguely see countless crisscrossing, darker grooves, like dried blood channels, which eventually converge into a sunken stone pool in the center of the hall, about the size of a bathtub.

Then, naturally, the worshippers here are the most eye-catching.

They all wore wide, purple robes that concealed their figures, and their hoods hung down low, covering most of their faces, revealing only chins and lips of varying shapes, all exuding indifference and fervor.

Judging from their posture and the faint aura they exuded, most of them were likely low-level followers or guards, with varying levels of strength.

At the innermost part of the hall, on a slightly elevated stone platform, stood five members, all dressed in purple robes.

This should be a role like an elder.

The one leading the group, holding the staff, is probably the fifth-ring mage; he just cast a spell to awaken the children.

Another noteworthy feature is the walls here.

It is covered with huge murals with colors so intense they are unsettling.

The men and women, twisted and entangled, looked like white maggots writhing in a cesspool!

Finally, they all exploded together, blasting out clumps of blood that flowed into the center of the blood pool!

In the final part of the mural, in the center of the blood pool, a terrifying monster with three ferocious heads, covered in colorful scales, and eyes burning with endless greed and flames of destruction, slowly rises from the blood pool and suddenly opens its six malevolent eyes!

Wayne thought to himself.

This thing they worship is obviously not a good thing.

Although the mural is abstract in style, the features of the three-headed monster gave Wayne a vague sense of familiarity.

Why does it feel like I've seen it before?

The three-headed monster in the mural was also carved into a miniature statue using some kind of black wood that seemed to absorb light.

Then they were placed before the shrine and the sacrificial fire, like bloodthirsty beasts waiting for tender flesh and blood.

This is clearly a scene of evil god worship.

Wayne glanced at it a few times but couldn't make out anything more, but the nauseating sense of evil and blasphemy was undeniable.

After observing for a while, Wayne focused most of his attention on the Five Rings Mage on the high platform.

Wayne's muscles tensed slightly, his dragon breath already brewing, searching for the most opportune moment to deliver a fatal blow or severely injure his opponent.

However, at this moment—

The blonde girl next to him, who had kept her eyes closed, finally opened them!

This is completely different from Wayne's strategy of blending into the environment, observing discreetly, and waiting for the right opportunity.

When the girl opened her eyes, there was no feigned fear or confusion on her face. Instead, she quickly glanced at the wailing children around her.

Immediately afterwards, the girl, like a mature older sister, magically produced a handful of candies that looked very high-end.

After quietly sharing the produce with the children around her, the girl softly comforted them:

"Don't be afraid, don't cry~"

"Don't worry, your older sister is here."

She patted the head of a terrified little boy and said in a soft but loud voice that the nearby children could hear:

"Your sister will definitely protect you~ We'll all be alright."

Wayne watched from the side, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Oh my god! You fucking...how could you be so mean?!

If you have soldiers but don't replenish them, then you'll be the one to fill the gaps.

Wayne could imagine that if the other party could successfully rescue the children, this tender and sweet scene would definitely be featured prominently in the news.

A ray of light in dire straits! A noblewoman bravely and resourcefully infiltrates a demon's lair to save a child!

A Hymn to Sugar and Sword! Faced with evil, she chose to soothe fear with gentleness!

Surrounded by evil spirits, they scattered candy; with chivalry and tenderness, they subdued the wicked.

Even in hell, her heart yearns for light; she is the only light in the children's despair...

Such beautiful and sentimental phrases would inevitably be everywhere, one after another!

Damn it, I should have brought some candy too.

What should have been a scene where he showed off was instead stolen by someone else, which made Wayne even more unhappy, and his gaze toward the girl became increasingly hostile.

Damn it! Where are the cult members?!

Come out and help!

Those five old men in purple robes on the stage must be blind to their true nature.

More than those raised.

There were only about thirty people in total. If someone wasn't crying while they were handing out candy, you wouldn't even see them.

With that kind of intelligence and eyesight, he's practically guaranteed a place in a cult for life.

Wayne suggested that these people should just sit at Daphne's table as soon as possible.

Just then—

The five core members in purple robes who had been whispering to each other on the high platform, seemingly conducting a final confirmation ceremony, finally stopped talking.

The leading Five Rings Mage suddenly took a step forward!

The twisted staff in his hand, inlaid with a pale white skull, slammed heavily onto the stone platform beneath his feet, making a dull thud.

Immediately afterwards, he raised his withered arm high, and two eerie green beams of light suddenly shot out from the skull eye sockets at the top of his staff!

"Quiet!"

A hoarse, cold sound, like rust scraping metal, clearly entered every corner of the hall, directly imprinting itself on the depths of everyone's soul!

All the children who had been crying stopped moving and could no longer make a sound.

Wayne could sense that the other party seemed to have cast some kind of sound-silencing spell.

Then, the mage slowly turned around to face the hideous three-headed monster wooden sculpture and the blazing sacrificial fire in front of it.

Then, raising his staff high, he began to chant in a hoarse, fanatical voice:

"Praise!"

Following his movements, all the cultists in the hall, dressed in purple robes, as if they had rehearsed this a thousand times, turned in unison to face the wooden shrine carving.

Everyone knelt down, heads bowed low, foreheads touching the cold ground.

The hoarse and fervent chants converged into a chilling wave of sound, resounding uniformly throughout the silent hall and echoing between the stone walls:

"All colors return to emptiness—"

"The Evil Scales Shine Forever—"

"Five-Colored Dragon Heads—"

"Mother of Evil Dragons—"