The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 151 - The Cult of Lilithra (Patreon)

Zenos’ mouth went dry as he dashed toward the ragged line of cultists and demons standing in the road. A terrible creature with an arachnid body and the features of a bear had emerged from the forest, and it watched him coolly with inhuman eyes as he drew closer.

Behind him, he could hear the others scrambling away from the wreckage of the sleigh, while to his right, he watched the line of slaves being led into the forest. Every fiber of his being told him to free the unfortunate souls who would most likely meet a terrible end with the cult. But the need for vengeance burned more brightly than his honor.

“I want to join you,” he shouted again, stumbling to a halt. “Who’s in charge here?”

A man with a weathered face and wearing white robes with six eyes sewn on the chest stepped forward. He waved the other cultists onward, and they let out a war cry before surging after Piper.

As the howling cultists raced past Zenos, he flinched away, fearing they would strike him down with their weapons. But they ignored him as though he didn’t exist.

The elderly man stopped a few paces away, a gentle expression on his face. “My name is Ammon,” he said. “I see you do not serve the oppressive powers in Helidros. We, the followers of Lilithra, seek to free everyone from the yoke of tyrants. A powerful wind mage such as yourself would do much to bolster our cause.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” he spat. “I just want to kill Piper.”

The man’s expression cracked slightly. “Did you say Piper?”

“Yes,” he said, gesturing back in the direction of the sleigh. “She’s an infernal caster, or a demon—I don’t know anymore. I’ll do anything you want if you help me kill her.”

“I see.” Ammon slowly turned around and gestured at the eight-legged demon. “She is the one we seek. We must stop her at any cost.”

The demons, mostly idle up until now, charged forward. Dozens of the infernal creatures stampeded down the icy road in a wave of clawed limbs and misshapen bodies. In their wake, they revealed a beautiful woman with blond hair who had been hidden among them, also wearing white robes.

The woman strode forward, a smile on her face. At her approach, Ammon bowed and retreated half a dozen steps.

“My name is Tabitha,” she said in a throaty voice. “However, many people refer to me as Mother.”

“I’ll call you whatever you want,” he said bitterly. “As long as you let me kill Piper.”

Tabitha leaned forward and gently caressed his cheek. “I see your life has been difficult.” She squinted her eyes. “The loss of a sister. Yes?”

“Yes,” he replied slowly, his thoughts suddenly feeling muddy. “Piper murdered Alexandra in the most brutal fashion imaginable.”

“Why not join us then?” Tabitha continued in a soothing tone. “We plan to exterminate every last tyrant and bring freedom to the land. A skilled mage like yourself will be very useful in the coming days.”

Shaking his head, Zenos glared at the woman. She was trying to manipulate him with some sort of mind magic. “I’ll serve willingly,” he snapped. “As long as you promise that I’ll have my vengeance.”

Tabitha chuckled and withdrew her hand from his face. “My, don’t you have a strong will. Most succumb to my spells without any inkling of what’s going on. But you were able to resist them. I’m impressed.”

She strolled around him, inspecting him like a prize animal. “Your only terms are vengeance for your sister? Nothing more?”

“What else is there? Piper murdered my sister and deserves to die for it.”

“Piper is very dangerous, you know,” Tabitha smoothed down her robes. “She is the daughter of a tyrannical queen who seeks to impose her will over all of demonkind. While many people think demons are evil, they only yearn to be free like us.”

“I truly don’t care.”

“Yes, I can see that. I will happily allow you to join our ranks if you swear allegiance to Lilithra.”

“Whatever you want,” he said grimly. “I’ll do anything to make Piper pay.”

“Excellent. Now, will you accompany us on the hunt for this foul offspring of a dragon?”

Zenos tried to hide the shock from his face at learning that Piper was the spawn of a dragon. Not only was she a demon, but she was descended from the ruler of the Infernal Realm. His quest for vengeance had just gotten a lot harder.

Regardless, at this point, he was committed to his path. Either he would defeat Piper and allow his sister’s soul to rest in peace, or he would die trying. There were no other options left to him. And if he had to swear allegiance to a demon, then so be it.

“May I retrieve my weapon?” he asked stiffly.

“Of course,” Tabitha said. “I wouldn’t want you unarmed when we finally corner Piper.”

“I want to be the one to deliver the killing blow.”

“I’m sure we can arrange that.”

Zenos turned on his heel and walked over to the sleigh. He ignored the sight of Lysander’s bloody corpse and tried to put it out of his mind that he was now allied with the people who had killed his chaperone from the guild.

He reached the spot where Sarnyxia had wrenched the war hammer from his grip and bent down to search in the snow. After moving his hands back and forth, he bumped against something solid. He pulled out his weapon, covered in a dusting of frost.

Zenos spent a moment wiping the handle clean before hefting it across his shoulders. With grim determination, he followed after Ammon and Tabitha.

He would have to remain on his guard around the woman who called herself Mother. During their brief conversation, he felt tendrils of her influence trying to worm their way into his brain. A class that could influence minds was rare—and incredibly dangerous.

Still, most adventurers could resist the effect of mind control spells with their vastly superior physical and magical attributes. Those without a combat class were a completely different story. This woman could likely control dozens, or even hundreds of peasants with ease.

The thought that the cultists were being controlled made him feel vaguely sick. How many people had been forced into service with the cult? As soon as the concern appeared in his mind, he immediately squashed it. No cost was too great to make Piper pay for what she’d done.

I will avenge you, Alexandra, he thought to himself. Before the sun sets, your spirit will finally find peace.

Zenos mentally prepared a list of spells to use against Piper. She’d proven herself capable in the past, and he’d have to strike with everything he had before she could react. A fast combination of attacks should bring her down.

“She has the ability to cast illusions,” he warned Tabitha. “It may be impossible to locate her in the forest.”

The blond-haired woman waved her hand dismissively. “There are numerous demons among my hosts who act as scouts. No illusion will hide her from them for long. Anyway, with this amount of snow, not even an illusionist will be able to completely hide her trail.”

Zenos frowned but didn’t disagree with Tabitha. However, he didn’t share her confidence. Then again, the woman had never witnessed the sheer power of Piper. She couldn’t possibly know what she was facing.

Why didn’t Piper kill me long ago?

He had no answer to the question, and the demoness must have known that he’d seek vengeance in the future. The only possible explanation was that she didn’t see him as a threat. The idea of accompanying him on quests had probably tickled her fancy. All this time, she’d been secretly laughing behind his back.

As they continued down the snowy road, occasionally catching glimpses of cultists and demons flitting among the trees, his thoughts returned to his time with Piper. His blood boiled with rage as he realized how she’d completely pulled the wool over his eyes.

All this time, she’d only pretended to be his friend. How she must have relished finally exposing herself as his sister’s killer. Right now, she was probably somewhere in the forest with that idiot Ophelia, laughing at his stupidity.

A roar followed by the cry of demons made him remember the wyvern accompanying the adventurers. His brow furrowed as he tried to understand why Sarnyxia had betrayed him. Together, they would have had a chance to bring down Piper. It was clear from the woman’s words that she cared about him—yet she wouldn’t help when it mattered most.

“They had a wyvern accompanying them,” Zenos said to Tabitha. “It might provide a way for them to escape.”

Tabitha grinned, her eyes shining with a dark light. “That was no true wyvern,” she replied. “It was an illusion hiding a dreadhulk behind it.” When his eyebrows quirked upward, she continued. “A dreadhulk is a type of demon inhabiting the Infernal Realm. Several of my more powerful pets are keeping it occupied currently.”

“I hate illusionists,” he muttered to himself. Then a terrible thought struck him. How did he even know if Sarnyxia was real? What if she was something else entirely? When someone was around a powerful illusionist, there was no way to tell reality from deception.

“We must make haste,” Tabitha said. “My pets have her cornered a short distance away.”

The idea of this woman referring to demons as ‘pets’ made his blood run cold. The cursed creatures rushing through the forest were anything but pets. Still, he’d thrown his lot in with the cult.

At least until he landed the killing blow on Piper. After that, all bets were off.

He lowered his war hammer from his shoulder and broke into a trot. Beside him, Tabitha did the same, though Ammon continued at a slower pace. At first, he wondered why, but then he realized the old man’s bent frame might not be capable of keeping up.

They rounded a bend in the road to spot a wyvern facing off against a group of cultists. They bore the crude weapons of a peasant revolt and waved them ineffectively against the massive creature. Behind them, demons closed in through the forest.

Tabitha stumbled to a stop and brought a hand up to her mouth. “What is that? That is no dreadhulk… in fact, I feel nothing from it.”

“She has the ability to make solid illusions.”

“Are they capable of flight?”

Zenos shrugged his shoulders. “I would have said no this morning. But she’s hidden much from me.”

“I see…”

“Slay the wyvern!” Tabitha called out. “Bring me its head—”

Tabitha was cut off as Piper charged out of the forest and bowled over a pair of cultists. Without slowing, the young woman leaped onto the wyvern’s wing and clambered onto its back.

Zenos raised his hand but then lowered it with a grunt. He was well out of range for his spells. Even if he tried, he doubted he could hit such a distant target. More likely than not, he would take out some of the cultists crowding around the beast. And he didn’t want to anger his new allies by accidentally slaying several of their number.

He quickly realized his concern wasn’t shared by the other mages among the cult's ranks. Flames and dark beams of magic hammered the wyvern. However, the winged creature simply shrugged off the strikes and then jumped into the air before flapping away.

His disbelief grew as he watched Sarnyxia burst out of the forest and engage the casters. A kick knocked a man away, and then she launched a flurry of blows at another magic user. As the caster sagged to the ground, holding her arms weakly above her, Sarnyxia simply blinked out of existence.

One second the adventurer was standing there, the next she was gone.

Zenos sagged to his knees, his world crumbling around him. Had she been nothing more than an illusion? No, he realized with building rage. She was most likely a demon summoned by Piper and hidden under layers of spells.

The woman he’d planned to court had been nothing more than a foul demon.

I truly am a fool.

“That was most unfortunate,” Tabitha said. She turned her gaze to Zenos. “Where would she go?”

“How am I supposed to know?” he said bitterly.

“Were you not her guildmate?”

“She deceived me completely.”

“Still, you must understand her motivations.”

“I think she would head to the villa,” he replied, feeling a sudden stab of guilt for knowing what he was about to do. “The Silver Hippogriff’s villa.”

“Excellent,” Tabitha said, dusting her hands together. “Our quarry will have nowhere to go to ground once we burn it all down.”