The Abyss Cult was the last remaining organization of dark wizards on the continent.

As the name suggested, the cult was organized around a leader, with the cult leader, Bialom, currently in a particularly foul mood.

The moment of bloody revenge against those who had scorned them, and the task of summoning the demon they worshipped back into the world to plunge the continent into chaos, was nearly at hand.

Yet, his foolish subordinates were dragging their feet with all sorts of excuses about gathering the necessary sacrifices.

It took all of Bialom's self-control not to drain these pig-headed fools of their blood and offer it to the demon instead.

As much as he wanted to do so, he knew that without them, the great work would be delayed even further, so he had no choice but to tolerate them.

“Leader! We have intruders in the cult’s hideout.”

As Bialom was trying to calm his anger, one of the cult members burst in with an urgent report.

“Intruders?”

“Yes! There appear to be fewer than ten of them.”

Ten people? They must be ignorant fools who stumbled upon the entrance dug by the tunnel worms, driven by curiosity.

At best, they were probably adventurers or mercenaries.

They might have entered thinking it was a dungeon filled with treasures, only to end up as sacrifices.

“This is perfect. We’ve been short on sacrifices lately. Capture them and bring them to the storeroom.”

“W-well, several of our members have already fallen to them.”

“Pathetic fools!”

To think they had been defeated by such insignificant opponents—could these people still call themselves members of the Abyss Cult, servants of the demon?

Of course, there were adventurers and mercenaries with decent skills, so it wasn’t entirely impossible, but it was still disgraceful.

“I’ll handle this personally. Where are they?”

“I will guide you, Leader!”

Although Bialom was irritated that his subordinates had failed to handle this, he also felt a slight thrill at the thought of personally tasting blood again after so long.

It was a different kind of pleasure from killing peasants or his own subordinates.

Adventurers and mercenaries, while they did put up a bit of a fight, were still nothing more than bugs to him.

This wasn’t overconfidence—it was a fact.

Only someone like Yustaf, the greatest wizard on the continent, might pose a threat to him.

Or perhaps the Imperial Knights, the so-called superhumans of the Empire, might be worthy opponents.

Anyone else was just a plaything for him.

“Ha… even I find that funny.”

Bialom chuckled to himself. Yustaf and the Imperial Knights, indeed.

Maybe it was because he had always wanted to face Yustaf, that living legend who had been called the greatest wizard on the continent since Bialom was a child.

Although Bialom might lose in pure magic, now that he had the power of the demon, he felt confident he could win.

But this was all just idle fantasy.

Yustaf, who was practically half-retired, teaching at the Academy, wouldn’t show up in a place like this.

And the Imperial Knights? Even more impossible.

They hadn’t even participated in the last war. They were dogs of the Imperial family, prioritizing only the safety of the Imperial family.

Although they were the only ones who could threaten him, they had no reason to be here. Bialom had no need to worry.

“Well, time to hear some fresh screams.”

Bialom followed the subordinate who was leading him to the intruders, his steps light with anticipation.

“Damn, what the hell is going on?”

Venom was hiding in the bushes, holding his breath.

After leaving the hideout to gather sacrifices on the leader’s orders, he had encountered soldiers surrounding their base. Venom immediately hid in the bushes to observe the situation.

The entrances to the tunnels, dug by the tunnel worms that the cult used as passageways, were all under control.

And somehow, the soldiers had been gathered so quickly that any of Venom's comrades trying to escape were being slaughtered.

‘That one over there seems to be their leader.’

A black-haired young man was directing the soldiers.

Even from a distance, it was clear he was of high status, probably the one in command of the soldiers.

If Venom could kill him, chaos would surely ensue, and with the help of his escaping comrades, they might break through the encirclement.

Of course, Venom’s own skills weren’t enough to fight through the soldiers and the knights guarding the area.

But he didn’t have to do it himself.

Venom pulled out a black stone about the size of a fist.

As he infused it with his magic, it began to vibrate slightly, and the ground far away started to rumble.

“What’s this? An earthquake?”

The soldiers and knights, who had been on alert, were startled by the sudden tremor, and they quickly realized what it was.

“Kreeee!”

As the ground caved in, a massive creature erupted from below.

It was far too large to be a snake, and too unimpressive in appearance to be a dragon.

“It’s a tunnel worm!”

The creature was indeed a tunnel worm.

Its hideous appearance was like that of a giant worm with scales, a massive maw lined with sharp teeth.

And its sheer size, like a moving hill, was overwhelming.

“Everyone, fall back! Only the Imperial Guard will follow me!”

The regular soldiers, paralyzed by the tunnel worm’s terrifying presence, couldn’t move, while only the Imperial Guard sprang into action.

The first to charge was Captain Cross.

With just a few steps, he leaped to the height of the tunnel worm’s head and swung his sword, the blade flashing as it traced a short arc in the air.

Sshhk!

The sharp scales of the tunnel worm, known for slicing through even the toughest underground rocks, were cleanly severed.

But Cross wasn’t the only one capable of such superhuman feats.

There were only five members of the Imperial Guard present, but as each of them drew their weapons and charged at the tunnel worm, it almost seemed pitiful.

‘What the hell are these maniacs?!’

Venom watched in disbelief.

He had assumed they were just ordinary knights, but they were far from it. Venom had never seen knights move like that in his life.

Of course, knights weren’t weak. Even a common knight from a rural estate could fend off dozens of armed peasants without so much as a scratch.

But this was a tunnel worm.

Considering how many lives had been sacrificed to control it, there was no way it should be defeated so easily.

‘Are they some sort of Imperial Guard?!’

Venom even began to wonder if these men were part of the Emperor’s own Imperial Guard, but quickly dismissed the thought.

The leader’s hair was black, but there were plenty of black-haired nobles in the Empire besides the Imperial family.

And the Emperor was old. If this young man were a member of the Imperial family, he’d be either the Crown Prince or the second prince.

Were those two, who were known as the wastrel and the womanizer, here to personally take out dark wizards?

That would be laughable.

‘Looks like I have no choice but to use my last resort.’

Venom pulled out another black stone from his pocket.

Chaos Crystal

This black crystal, which could be obtained by offering sacrifices to the demon, had the power to control demonic creatures created by the demon.

While a small Chaos Crystal, the size of a fingertip, could control a low-level demonic creature, a larger crystal, like this fist-sized one, was needed to control a creature as powerful as the tunnel worm.

Hundreds of humans had been sacrificed just to create this one crystal.

It was a precious item within the cult.

Venom had been entrusted with it because he was responsible for gathering sacrifices. In truth, it should have been a unique and treasured possession.

But Venom had two Chaos Crystals.

In secret, he had been siphoning off sacrifices to create this hidden asset.

He had intended to save it as a last resort, but it seemed he had no choice but to use it to escape this encirclement.

While the first tunnel worm was distracting those crazy knights, if he could attack the poorly guarded leader now, confusion would erupt, and he would have a chance to escape.

He had originally planned to escape with his fellow cult members, but trying to save them now would only get him killed.

Besides, the blood they spilled would eventually be rewarded by the demon, so Venom convinced himself they would die grateful.

As Venom prayed to the demon to give him the power to defeat these wicked enemies, he infused mana into the second Chaos Crystal.

Once again, the ground began to rumble in the distance, rapidly approaching.

“Is it possible there’s another one?”

The Imperial Guard, who had managed to drive back the first tunnel worm but hadn’t yet finished it off, were taken aback.

They hadn’t expected there to be another one.

The speed of the approaching tunnel worm, burrowing through the ground, was faster than a knight on horseback.

“Kreeee!”

Once more, a massive serpent-like creature burst through the ground.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!!!”

And it was headed straight for the Crown Prince.