As I walked back to the medicine shop from the bathhouse, I felt as though I was being watched. I began to inspect my surroundings underneath the pale moon. The solemn dirt roads and wooden buildings did little to ease my feelings. Really would have been nice if heroes were given night vision.

But I heard the distinct sound of rushed footsteps to my right. I spun to the side and saw a cloaked figure wearing a black iron mask. The ghoulish visage was complemented by two straight horns along the forehead, a ghastly imitation of the shades that served Ahriman. 

This did not add up at all with my expectations. Did the murderer get things wrong? The next attack should be in the southwest not the northwest. But I should probably focus on living before checking if this murderer got directions mixed up.

The figure lunged at me with a wicked dagger, thrusting straight at my open chest. I narrowly pushed aside the person’s arms, causing the dagger to only nick my side. With my assailant thrown off balance, I slammed the person into the dirt road. 

“Help!” I yelled. “There’s a murderer here!”

Though sprawled on the ground, my opponent swiped at my left leg with the blade. I slid the targeted leg aside and stomped on the prone person with my right foot. I dropped myself onto the figure and pinned both arms while breaking the right wrist to prevent the dagger from being used. 

Within minutes, townspeople had awoken and gathered around. Along with them were a pair of guardsmen, who were drawn in by the commotion while patrolling. 

“Can you two drag this person off for investigation?” I asked the two watchmen. “Remember to strip the person for any concealed weapons and check if inside the mouth as well.” 

The two men nodded vigorously as I handed them the assailant. I feel reluctant to entrust town watchmen with this matter, since they’re more of an all purpose security force than professional soldiers. However, I’ve already been out for quite a while so everyone might get worried about where I went. 

Just as I suspected I met Sekh on my way back. 

“Where the hell did you go?” Sekh nearly shouted when she saw me. 

“Sorry but I did some investigating,” I replied awkwardly. “Anyways, I caught a suspect that tried to kill me. Can you notify Sophie’s family that I’ll be out for a while? I’ll be helping with the interrogation.” 

“You already got someone?” Sekh asked with wide eyes. “Alright, I’ll let Sophie know. I’ll join you in a bit.”

“I’ll be at the jail in the western part of the town,” I informed her before leaving.

The jail where the suspect was being kept could best be described as plain. The dim brick building carried a foreboding monotony in contrast to the typical dread of other dungeons. I found the prisoner in a small room, tied to a chair in a new set of clothes.

“So the hero of the hour is here,” the man snarked when he saw me. 

“Did he tell you guys anything?” I asked the two watchmen who were guarding the room.

“All he told us was that he is a follower of Ahriman,” one of the men replied. 

At least my suspicions have been thoroughly confirmed.

“So what’s the point of committing all these murders?” I probed the prisoner.

“A sacrifice,” the man said with a wicked smile. “We offer the blood of mortals for Ahriman.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” I snapped. “Why offer blood to Ahriman? Even if you wiped out a country, that fucker can’t come back yet. At best you might be able to draw in a shade, but you’d have to kill another hundred or so.”

“Do you understand?” the man spat at me venomously. “Our lives have been miserable since the fall of Ahriman. The Iasor governors call him an evil god, but have they ever cared for us? They let the Myalo trade flourish and even imprisoned the innocent. And what happens when they find out they’re wrong? They just give out a little hush money and pretend that nothing happened.” 

“So you’re upset with the government?” I sighed. “I can understand that part. But how the hell did you end up committing ritual murders. Couldn’t you just protest, move somewhere else, or start a normal rebellion?” 

“That’s where you’re wrong,” the man snickered. “Our prophet knows that our efforts will be rewarded.”

“Prophet?” I questioned. “You’re part of a whole ass cult?”

“We may be few,” the man remarked. “But the power of our god will allow us to triumph over you heathens.”

“Yeah whatever,” I said while tapping my foot. “So can you tell me about your cult? Oh, and I’d like to know why you attacked me in the northwest part of the town. Wasn’t the next victim supposed to be in the southwest?” 

“What do you mean about southwest?” the man shot at me. “The next sacrifices were supposed to start from the northwest.”

"You sure?” I persisted. “Did you hear that from your prophet?”

“Of course,” the man replied, evidently a little confused. “Our prophet knows the very whims of our god.”

I can’t believe I bumbled the starting location. That or this prophet was the one who jumbled the locations. At the very least I was lucky enough to be at the scene of the incident. 

“I’m here,” Sekh announced out of nowhere. “You learn anything?”

“Yeah, turns out the murders are the actions of a cult,” I replied. “They even have a prophet. Talk about upscale.”

But when Sekh saw the prisoner, she went silent. Now that I think about it, the man was complaining about the mistreatment of the falsely accused. Based on Sekh’s reaction, they were most likely coworkers.

“Strange seeing you here Sekh,” the man remarked mockingly. 

“So you joined a cult?” Sekh replied in both shock and disappointment. “Why?”

“Someone like you couldn’t comprehend our reasons,” the man spat. “You’ve already slept your way to a better life. The hardships I and many others have been through just don’t matter for you.” 

“You're the one whose misunderstanding,” Sekh growled. “I’m back to working as an adventurer and what have you been doing? Did you even try to work your way back up or did you get snared by false promises?”

As the two of them began glaring at one another, I decided to insert myself back in the situation.

“We can discuss your reasons for joining later, but I’d like to know where your buddies are hiding out.”

“You really think I’ll tell you?” the man snorted derisively. 

“Nope,” I chuckled. “However, that can be changed.”

I turned to the watchmen who were observing the situation. “Can one of you bring me a bucket of water and a large cloth?”

“So you’re going to wash my back?” the prisoner taunted.

“Looks like you're uninformed,” I replied absentmindedly. “Did you know that you can experience drowning with just those items?”

Within a few seconds, my statement clicked with everyone in the room. The prisoner still seemed defiant, but the other watchman and Sekh seemed uneasy.

“Azel I have an idea,” Sekh advised. 

“What is it?” I inquired.

“I might have an idea where their hideout is,” Sekh suggested. “Since I used to work with him, I think they might be meeting at a certain pub.” 

“I think we can try that,” I concluded. “Can you try using his scent as well?” 

“Sorry,” Sekh replied. “I can already tell that he masked his smell with something.” 

“Gather around a dozen men by the barracks,” I ordered the remaining watchman. 

“Sir I got the things you asked for,” the other guard suddenly chimed in. 

“Yeah just leave that by the side,” I dismissed. “Your job is now to watch over this prisoner. Stay vigilant.”

Sekh and I quickly departed back to the medicine store that we were staying at. The two of us began putting on our armor and taking out our weapons. 

“Sekh can you wait a bit?” I asked while sitting over my glaive in a prayer. 

“What for?” Sekh inquired.

“I’m changing the form of my divine arm,” I replied. “I don’t think this current form is the best in a confined environment.”

After ten minutes, the glaive began to glow faintly. The shaft shrunk a little and the weapon’s head morphed like quicksilver into the form of a winged spear. 

“Alright let’s go to the barracks,” I declared. 

By the time the two of us arrived, fourteen soldiers from the town watch were present. Compared to most militias they were well armed; each man possessed a gambeson and metal cap, along with a shield, spear, and sidearm. 

“Alright Sekh, lead the way,” I announced.

Our group marched under the night sky, the light of the moon reflecting off the spear points and helms of the soldiers. 

“Looks like it’s closed,” Sekh remarked when she reached the pub. “What should we do?”

The soldiers looked a little conflicted. Although this was a critical investigation, breaking and entering was still unlawful. 

“Everyone turn around,” I ordered. “The worst thing you’ll get charged with is complicity.”

I immediately kicked the door open. Probably should have used my shoulder since that was one thoroughly locked door. 

“Any normal pub should still be open at this time,” I added after entering the room.

The building looked like a regular pub. The counter, stools, and shelves looked regularly used and the stench of cheap alcohol lingered in the air. 

“Alright try find a hidden door or something,” I continued as I began poking around the room.

Although a little appalled by my conduct, Sekh and the soldiers quickly began assisting my search. 

“Found it,” I declared after barely a minute of looking around. 

The secret entrance was a lazy hidden door concealed by a sliding shelf.

“That was fast,” Sekh remarked. “I don’t ever remember seeing that door before.”

“Probably because you weren’t one of the men,” I suggested. “I’ll enter first, since I’m the most armored out of all of us. Now can someone let me borrow a shield?”

This time I was prepared and busted the door open with the full force of my body instead of my foot. When the door opened, I saw a gathering of generic black robed figures in a room that was half the size of the pub. 

“Intruders!” one of the masked figures pointed out. Glad to know that someone has working eyeballs.

“Drop all your weapons and surrender,” I proceeded. “Those who don’t comply will be met with death.”

Suddenly the central figure rose and spread her hands to calm down the rabble. 

“I have a proposal,” the figure arrogantly declared. “I challenge you to a duel.”

“Huh,” I unintentionally spoke out. “Why?”

“I do not desire unnecessary bloodshed,” the feminine voice replied.

I guess blood sacrifices to an evil god are considered necessary.

“What do we get out of it?” I inquired.

“If you win, my followers will stand down,” the woman offered. “If I win, let us leave the city in peace.”

“Yeah sure,” I immediately replied. “Where do you want to do this?”

I could sense the shock and disbelief from the guards accompanying me.

“Are you sane?” Sekh demanded as she grabbed my shoulders. “You think she’ll just challenge you without any hope of winning?”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said while brushing Sekh off. “I can handle whatever she throws at me. More importantly, her followers don’t seem like they’ll stand down. This offer might be the safest method for us.”

“Let’s take this fight outside,” the woman declared.

Shortly after, both groups had left the small room and were now inside the pub. Almost like a bar fight if you think about it. 

“Any rules?” I asked. “I won’t agree if it’s ridiculous.”

“Oh don’t worry about that,” the woman cackled. 

“Hey you’re the prophet right?” I inquired.

“Well aren’t you well informed,” the woman snickered. “That doesn’t matter however.”

Wrong. This completely changes things. Since I heard that this prophet can supposedly hear the voice of Ahriman, there’s a possibility that she has a particular trump card. If I’m right, she can offer her body as a temporary vessel to a lesser spirit in service of Ahriman. This will result in her gaining physical abilities beyond a human. However, her body will still be human and not divine. So just an extra hurdle for me. 

Just as I had suspected, her body began to writhe in an inhuman fashion. In an instance, the woman slung a volley of small knives at me from her sleeve. 

“Azel watch out!” Sekh panicked.

As the knives soared through the air, the woman was already flanking me from the opposite side. I blocked the knives with my shield and simultaneously thrust my spear at my approaching opponent. 

To my surprise, she narrowly slid aside and slashed at my face my face with her shortsword.

However, I knocked her aside with the shaft of my spear. Immediately after, I slammed my shield into the woman as she regained balance. The hammer blow from my shield sent the possessed cultist into the counter. Before she could recover, I stabbed my spear into her throat.

“What an idiot,” I remarked as I pulled out my spear and thrust it into her heart. “Really overestimated the power of a possession.”

A number of people looked at me with disgust, probably because they thought I was just beating a corpse. However, Sekh and a number of guards just brushed off my brutality. Most likely they had seen possessed humans during the war and were well aware of the absurd durability of these things.

“Alright you better start surrendering,” I informed the shocked cultists. “Death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you.”

The six hooded figures looked at me apprehensively. Perhaps they intend to go down fighting. 

“You better drop your damn weapons,” I snapped. “If the name Butcher of Beroea rings any bells, you better know that things can only get much worse for you.”

Upon recognizing my name, the cultists quickly surrendered. Did they not hear Sekh the first time? Maybe they don’t know my actual name or they were too focused on watching the duel.

“I’ll leave them to you guys,” I told the somewhat astonished guards.

The soldiers quickly moved to secure the cultists, most likely trying to make up for their perceived uselessness. But if they hadn’t been with me, I would have most likely been surrounded and overwhelmed by the cultists.

“Let’s go inform the Katepan,” I said to Sekh after the cultists were bound up.

As we were walking to the Katepan's office, Sekh began to talk. “Did you know that she’d do a temporary possession?” 

“More or less,” I replied. “Seemed like the most probable reason she’d agree to duel me. Looks like she really overestimated that power.”

“Tell me next time,” Sekh pouted. “I was worried about you, you know?”

I pulled off the leather glove on my left hand and began to gently stroke Sekh’s ears. “Sorry about that, but if I pointed it out that woman might have called off the duel. I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to prevent a few deaths.”

Sekh continued to silently pout as we made our way to the Katepan’s office. It was really cute, but I don’t think I should be deriving pleasure from angering her. 

“We arrested a whole cult,” I declared to Katepan who was waiting in her office.

“You really do work fast,” the Katepan remarked in amazement. "I can see why Zeno approves of you." 

“We work fast,” I corrected her. “I’m not sure I could have even found the cult if not for Sekh here.” 

Sekh began to smile happily. Guess she's not mad anymore.

“Is it fine if I delay your payment until we conclude the investigation,” the Katepan said nervously. “We might need more funds if there's more to the investigation.”

“Yeah that’s fine,” I answered. “I’ll leave the treatment of the cultists to you. I’d like to go back to sleep now.”

“Me too,” the Katepan grumbled. “Thanks for your help, I’ll send someone to notify you if we get any important information.”

“Wait,” Sekh chimed in. “I know this is unreasonable, but can you spare those people or give them a quick death? I hope you can understand that they only worshipped Ahriman out of desperation.”

“I’ll do what I can,” the Katepan replied. “But punishments regarding worshipping evil gods are conducted by the higher ups.”

“Thank you,” Sekh answered. “I appreciate it.”

“How are you holding up?” I asked Sekh as we were walking back to the medicine shop. 

“I’m alright,” Sekh told me. “It made me think about how lucky I am. If I hadn’t met you, then I wouldn't be doing so well.”

“I'm sure you would have been fine,” I responded. “I do believe that Zeno didn’t do much for those people. But I don’t think that they were doomed to fail. Most likely they were seduced by the whispers of that prophet while they were faced with hardship. They tried to take a shortcut.”

“Do you think they’re bad people?” Sekh continued.

“No. I just think they’re stupid or weak minded. The economic situation in Amorium isn’t bad enough that they needed to resort to an evil god. Still, I’ll have to tell Zeno that he was too greedy this time. Hopefully it'll be better in the future.”

“Anyways, what were you doing outside before that?” Sekh added.

“What do you mean?” I replied. 

“I don’t think you were investigating,” Sekh accused. “You’ve disappeared like that before. Then you always come back smelling a little different. Like the smell of sex but without the smell of a woman. This time you even had the smell of another man on you.”

“That’s because I was attacked by said man,” I complained. 

“Then what were you doing,” Sekh persisted.

“I went to jack off,” I told her.

“Oh…” Sekh mumbled as she gaped at me. “Why though?”

“What do you mean why?” I said in exasperation. “I get horny so I leave to bust a nut.”

“But why don’t you try to pick up women or buy a hooker?” Sekh wondered. 

“Well I thought it would be insensitive if I went after other women while you’re with me,” I told her.

Sekh went silent for a bit, then poked my right cheek. “I should have told you, but I don’t really mind. As long as I get enough attention I’m fine.”

“You’re making it sound like you’re a pet,” I remarked. “You’re more important to me than that.”

“That’s cute,” Sekh said with a smug smile. “ But I’m a little surprised you would show that much restraint.”

“Well I have personal experience,” I accidentally replied. 

“And you ruined it,” Sekh snickered. “Well don’t worry, I’m fine if you go after other girls. Just let me know before. Ok?”

“You want them to fill out an application form too?” I jested.

“Just make sure I can read it,” Sekh said jokingly.