The dragon's harem

Chapter 948: Jack Vs The Cult

Jack pointed his hand forward, ”Charge!” He shouted, firing his last round at the middle of the cultists, forcing them to scatter around like terrified chickens.

As the paladins charged to fight, he retreated to the shadows and started reloading the cannon in his artificial arm. He could only hold four shots, yet that was still plenty as long as he planned ahead. And now as the paladins drew the cultistʼs attention, Jack stared at the chaos trying to figure out who is the cultistʼs leader as his hands worked by muscle memory.

Ten seconds later he had reloaded his cannon, yet he still didnʼt find any of the cultists to be particularly interesting or looking like a leader. Those bastards were at least that bit competent, hiding their commander. Or, it could be that their commander isnʼt in this cavern. That wouldʼve been even smarter.

Jack sneaked across the room, avoiding the chaos as he circled behind the cultists and found where they came from, a small hole in the ground enough to fit three people. He looked inside and immediately crawled in, slithering like a snake as he crossed the ten-meter-long tunnel. As he emerged, he found himself surrounded by even more cultists, the ones outside seemed to have been only the guards. Jack barely dodged a fire bolt to the face as he jumped out and rolled back, reflexively reaching for his dagger.

”Donʼt.” Pin said as she clung to his shoulder, ”Youʼll just make them stronger.” Using slashing weapons against the cultists of the severing demon lord would only grant them

power.

”What a strange person.” One of the cultists, a large muscular man with countless tattoos on his scared body walked forward, ”Taking a fiend as a familiar, are you a devil worshipper?” He glared at Jack, but immediately lifted an eyebrow.

He had no idea who Jack or Pin were, the man couldnʼt even guess why they were raiding his hideout.

”Strange, I sense Amaterasuʼs divine magic on you.” He lifted his hand, curious at the sight of a man with holy influence walking around with a devil on his back. Such blasphemy wasnʼt a common sight. ”Catch him. Heʼll make a fine sacrifice.” With those words, countless green vines burst from the ground like rampaging tentacles and flew at Jack, trying to entangle him.

The rarer, stronger, and better the sacrifice, the more power and gifts they would get back from Lunara. Jack seemed to be like a fine sacrifice. The cultʼs leader wonʼt waste the chance.

Jack growled as he barely dodged the jolting vines, ”Youʼre the leader, right?” He smiled and the spring on his artificial leg fired with a thud, sending him flying through the vines and kicking the large man in the guts, sending him rolling at the wall.

Jack could feel his foot tingling and his hips burning, the cultʼs leader was heavy and hard. Attacking directly is not wise, it felt like kicking a wall.

As Jack landed and pointed his cannon at the man to finish him off, the other cultists threw their arms forward and each of them fired a spell. In the blink of an eye, Jack was surrounded by a barrage of spells. Firebolts, acid splashes, ice spikes, stone spikes, and even some lightning bolts.

With how adamant the cultists are to protect the large man, it is clear he is the cultʼs leader. The spring on Jackʼs leg fired once more and he jumped into the air, latching onto the ceiling with his artificial arm as the magic exploded in a multi-colored light where he stood.

The cultists immediately aimed back at Jack in panic, but Jack wasnʼt willing to stand still and be an easy target. He swung across the room and landed on one of the cultists with a stomp, crushing his head to the ground.

Jack was too fast and nibbled for them to deal with, the moment they finished chanting for their spells, he wouldʼve already dodged their magic.

The other cultists picked their swords and daggers, rushing forward at Jack while chanting the ritual of the sacrifice. ”Severed from life, severed for blood. Beneath the nightʼs moon, a prey awaits!”

If he canʼt be caught with magic, theyʼll outnumber him. The cultists didnʼt fear death as only the embrace of their demonic mistress awaited them in the afterlife. They already signed their souls to Lunara and would resurrect as demons in her domain upon death.

Jack dodged most of their attempts to slash him, and the few attacks that managed to land were easily reflected by his armor. They are decent fighters but as a rogue, he was more accustomed to fighting in a dimmer environment. With only a few torches illuminating this chamber, he had the advantage.

Using the shadows to his advantage, Jack ignored the weak cultists and focused on the knocked large man. That should be the leader and the most dangerous of them all. If that leader is killed, this cult will disperse and Lunara will have no way of easily targeting Eris.

But, before Jack could reach him, the large man stood, growling, fur covered his already hairy arms, and his face twisted, elongating into a hideous snout. The magic gushing out of the man didnʼt resemble that of a druid but felt like a deeper, sinister taint, a curse cast upon the manʼs bones and flesh.

”A werebear!” Jack gasped as he lifted his arms to block. The werebear swung his claw, and a magical slash flew from its swing, hitting Jack who was over three meters away from him.

Like werewolves and weretigers, the large man was a werebear, a hideous monstrosity of the mixture of a bear and man, chained by the hellish blood of the rakshasa devils.

Jack gasped, some of his hair slashed, blood dripping from his shoulder, and a massive cut was engraved on the wall behind him. But... the werebear cried. ”Impossible!” He couldnʼt believe his eyes.

When the werebear took Jackʼs kick, he noticed that Jackʼs artificial limbs were a massive part of his power. With that knowledge, he looked at Jackʼs artificial arm and recognized it as a cannon, explaining the booms he heard earlier. With all of that, he decided to slash it off, using the blessing of Lunara that he received years ago.

[Lunaraʼs Slash] As a gift granted from the demon lord Lunara to her most devoted followers, this slash is hailed to be able to cut even adamantine.

The werebear couldnʼt believe his eyes, Jackʼs artificial arm that he targeted wasnʼt even

scratched.

Jackʼs artificial limbs were made by Cain, the old man living in Alina. For some strange reason, not even Lunaraʼs magic could put a dent on them.

Jack immediately recognized that his artificial limbs could block the slashes so he immediately got some distance away from the werebear and pointed his arm with a smile.

”BANG!”

BOOOM! The massive fireball burst from Jackʼs arm and illuminated the room as the cannonball flew at the werebear, aiming to burst his head open like a melon.

The werebear dodged the cannonball and charged forward, jumping in the air and swinging his claw at Jack with a roar.

Jack used his hook as leverage and blocked the werebearʼs claw with his artificial foot, using the power behind that attack to jump back and get some distance. By that time, the cultists were already about to fire another barrage of magic and Jack bounced off the wall like a pinball thanks to the powerful spring in his artificial leg.

To avoid being hit, Jack started jumping all over the large room, bouncing off the walls and

swinging with his rope as the werebear swung his claws, firing an endless wave of slashes. One slash would be enough to cleave Jackʼs body in half, but this wasnʼt the first time Jack fought this close to death. He was strangely calm, not even sweating as he watched the werebear move and thought of his next attack.

As the cultists started to move, they noticed strange glass bottles on the ground filled with black powder. It was too late when they realized that as Jack fired a cannonball at the ground, igniting all of the bombs he spread across the room.

Near half of the cultists died in that attack, enraging the werebear even further. He roared, the muscles on his arms bulging as he swung as hard as he could, generating an even stronger

slash.

[Lunaraʼs Demonic Severance] This attack was his ultimate move, getting this blessing from Lunara made him this cultʼs leader. For their demon lord to show him such love, such benevolence, and grant him that mighty power, he shall use it to bring victory to her name.

Jack swung his leg and kicked the slash back at the werebear using the spring in his artificial leg. Those limbs, something about them surged with power, being durable enough to deflect such a spell, no human could make such things.

The slash cut the werebear across the shoulder and he coughed blood, growling in rage and shock. He couldnʼt have imagined that a day would come when his mistressʼs gift would be defeated before his eyes.

As the werebear coughed blood, one of the cultists rushed forward, ripping her robe apart as she knelt half-naked before Lunaraʼs altar. She cried, praying as loud as she could, using her nails to scratch and slash her body.

Vicious and dark demonic magic started surging into the altar and exploded into a massive portal, cracking with Lunaraʼs magic as the womanʼs pleads turned into maniacal laughter. The ritual she just performed was a summoning one, using herself as a sacrifice to their demonic mistress, she will summon one of Lunaraʼs demons to aid them in battle. She looked back at Jack, ”Itʼs the end. Iʼll be dying first, see you in the abyss.” She smiled as the gate behind her sparked, and a massive muscular arm emerged, grabbing the alter.

Jackʼs face paled in shock as he looked at the massive being.

The woman turned back with closed eyes and a large smile on her face, she opened her arms, ready to be crushed by the demon of her beloved mistress. Yet, the hit never came. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up, finding herself between Aradʼs massive thighs.