How the Cult Saves the World-Chapter 144

Leaving the Rovel branch of the Kyros Church, Revelof headed straight to the stables. With his hood up and glasses off, almost no one recognized him as Revelof—as the ailing noble confined to his bed, and not Leviathan, the leader of the Church.

‘This is comfortable though...’

Strolling through the peaceful streets of Rovel, Revelof soon reached the stables. He borrowed a horse, mounted it skillfully, and took the reins. His destination was, of course, the Holden Mansion.

Gallop, gallop—

He swiftly left Rovel. By the time the sun had completely set, he had already arrived near the Holden estate.

The once-crowded streets were now empty. Confirming that no one was around, Revelof slipped on the cognitive dissonance glasses he had removed earlier.

‘I should meet my mother as the leader of the Kyros Church first.’

Pressing forward for a little while longer, he reached the Holden Mansion. The guards at the main gate stepped forward to block his path.

“Where have you come from at this hour?”

Familiar faces greeted him. Revelof smiled faintly and lowered his hood. As his face was revealed, two of the guards immediately recognized him.

“Oh, Church Leader?”

“Church Leader! What brings you here?”

Then other guards came and asked,

“Are you really the leader of the Kyros Church?”

Revelof responded with a businesslike smile.

“Yes, that’s right.”

While he had never interacted with these guards personally as the second son of the Holden family, he knew them well—they had often visited the Rovel temple in the past.

“But why have you come here?”

One of the guards, a follower of the Kyros Church, asked Revelof who was in his form as Leviathan.

“I need to speak with the lord of the estate regarding an urgent matter.”

“Ah, I see. Alright then, please come in.”

Wherever there was a Kyros Church, Revelof’s authority was substantial.

So, without any further security checks, he was allowed entry into the Holden Mansion.

***

Holden Mansion – Leira Holden’s Office.

“These are the documents I signed today.”

As night fell, Sevenus reported the day’s affairs to his mother, Leira Holden, the lord of the estate.

Leira glanced over the documents he handed her. Having trained as her successor for years, Sevenus was now fully prepared to take over at any moment.

“Thank you for your good work, Sevenus.”

“Not at all, Mother. I’ll take my leave now.”

Just as he finished his farewell and turned to leave—

Knock, knock.

The door opened, and the butler, Paul, stepped inside.

“Master, the leader of the Kyros Church has come to visit.”

For a brief moment, Sevenus’s face lit up. But just as quickly, he erased the smile, schooling his expression into calm neutrality.

Though it lasted only seconds, Leira caught it instantly.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly.

‘How cute.’

She had recently learned that her eldest son, Sevenus, had joined the Kyros Church—following in the footsteps of his younger brother, Revelof.

And of all places, he had revealed it at the dinner table.

As usual, before the meal, they prepared to pray to Diego, but Sevenus refused to join in.

‘Mother, I’ve decided to follow the god Kyros, like Grandma and Levi.’

With that being said…

When she first heard that, though she was a little surprised, Leira didn’t say much.

Since both her mother and Revelof had already become followers of the Kyros Church, it wasn’t a big issue for Sevenus to do the same.

After all, wasn’t it the Church of Kyros that had saved their lives?

‘But… Why did the church leader come all the way here?’

While he certainly meant goodwill for them, for the incident that happened for the first time, Leira felt something was unusual.

“Alright, let him in.”

“Yes, Master.”

A moment later, with Paul showing the way, the leader of the Kyros Church entered the office.

“It’s been a while, Leader.”

“Yes. How have you been?”

“Please, have a seat.”

Leira gestured toward the sofa in her office. The three of them sat down—Leira Holden, the estate’s ruler and head of the family, at the head of the table, with Sevenus and Leviathan across from her.

Meanwhile, Paul soon returned with tea, filling the room with its warm, fragrant aroma.

Leira took a slow sip before speaking.

“So, what brings you here today?”

Leviathan—no, Revelof—met her gaze. Unlike his usual composed, businesslike expression, his face was serious.

“A few hours ago, I received a revelation from Kyros.”

In truth, it wasn’t a revelation but a quest. However, Revelof couldn’t speak openly about that, so he framed it as divine revelation.

“So you’re here because…?”

“In three days—or rather, around seventy hours from now—the Demon God will attack Holden Estate.”

Leira and Sevenus’s expressions hardened instantly.

“What do you mean, Church Leader?” Sevenus asked, visibly shocked.

Revelof answered slowly.

“…Exactly as I said. The Demon God has declared war. As a result, a barrier of the Demon God’s power is now surrounding the territory, preventing anyone from leaving—or entering.”

Silence filled the room as Leira and Sevenus absorbed his words. Then, after a moment, Leira spoke.

“…Why? I know there are three rifts within the Empire, but why target Holden Estate next? And why go so far as to seal off the entire territory so no one can escape...”

Leria Holden asked with a slightly stiff expression.

Revelof answered honestly.

“That’s because…the Kyros Church is in Holden Estate.”

At his words, Sevenus’s brow furrowed slightly. Leira’s eyes also narrowed in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure.

“But there are other Kyros temples—Rovel isn’t the only one. There are churches in Bahano and Merilseus as well.”

“Yes, you’re right. But, the reason the Demon God targeted this place specifically is likely because Rovel is one of the Church’s strongholds, nearly as significant as our main headquarters.”

“…Then let me ask you this: why is the Demon God attacking the Kyros Church?”

Revelof hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should reveal the truth, but after a brief pause, he spoke.

“Kyros Church has been closing rifts to protect the world. We’ve also been eliminating the ‘Children of the Demon God’ that emerge from them. Because of that, we’ve drawn the Demon God’s attention.”

Throughout his explanation, Leira remained silent. Her expression didn’t change. She took another sip of tea before finally speaking.

“…So, what you’re saying is that, in the end, the people of this land are suffering because of the Kyros Church.”

The Church had undoubtedly done much for Rovel—stopping the Goblin plague, eliminating the infiltrating Rizes Church—but this time was different. This time, they were facing an all-out war against the Demon God.

As Leira fell silent, Revelof spoke again, his voice measured.

“…I’m sorry. But I promise I will protect the people of this estate.”

Leira ran a hand through her hair. Watching her, Revelof continued.

“The attack from the Rizes Church—no, I mean the Demon God—will last for a full day. During those twenty-four hours, the Kyros Church will do everything in its power to protect the people and minimize the damage to Holden Estate.”

“…So, you came to me, the Lord of this land, to ask for help?”

“No. I don’t expect any help. I came here simply to apologize.”

Of course, it’d be nice if he could just ask for help, but his main goal was to inform her of the situation in advance as she was the lord of the estate.

And above all, Revelof sincerely regretted that innocent people would suffer because of the Kyros Church’s actions.

“I’m sorry.”

“…Alright, I understand. But let’s end the apologies here.”

With that, Leira rose from her seat.

“Now is the time to focus on how we’re going to save the people of this estate.”

***

I gazed out the window, lost in thought. I hadn’t expected to leave the Holden Mansion so late after sunset. Thanks to my mother’s consideration, I was able to return home in a Holden family carriage.

The meeting, which started in the evening, had stretched through the night and into the early morning.

It wasn’t just me, Sevenus, and my mother in attendance—my grandmother had joined us after receiving my message, along with the Captain of the Knight Order of the Holden family.

“I’m sorry. This might be my fault...”

“No, what are you saying? This isn’t because of you.”

When Grandma heard about this, she was worried that this might be her fault, but I reassured her. After all, I, too, had played a part in eliminating many Children of the Demon God.

The Knight Order Captain, upon learning that the Kyros Church was the reason behind the attack, had sighed deeply. But in the end, he accepted it as his duty to protect the people.

‘And the good news is…’

During the discussion, I no longer needed to reveal my true identity.

My mother was a wise ruler—she didn’t blame the Kyros Church for the crisis. Her only priority was protecting Holden Estate, including Rovel.

After what felt like an endless meeting, I finally got into the carriage alone, leaving my mother and grandmother to continue their due private conversation.

‘I’m exhausted…’

I hadn’t slept in almost two days, and the fatigue weighed heavily on me.

-Child, you look exhausted. Why don’t you rest for a while?

‘…First, I need to relay the meeting details to the senior members.’

Of course, even if I took a break, I couldn’t just lie around and do nothing.

I opened the quest window and checked the countdown to the invasion—57 hours remained before the Demon God attacked.

There wasn’t much time. I planned to get some sleep, then immediately set things into motion.

‘At least the meeting went well.’

The Holden Knights and the Kyros Church had agreed to cooperate in defending the territory. It was also decided that all the residents would take refuge in Rovel.

This decision had been made entirely under my leadership.

Holden Estate was divided into four main districts, not including Rovel, which was located in the back alleys of Elwin.

The total population of the estate was just over 40,000.

It made the most sense to gather everyone in one place for protection—especially since Rovel was close to the temple which had Kyros’s blessing.

The most vulnerable residents would take shelter inside the temple, while the rest would remain nearby.

Meanwhile, the Holden knights and Kyros Church senior members would focus on defending Rovel.

The estate itself was fortified with walls, divided into eight large sections, each to be guarded by knights and Kyros Church senior members from towers.

‘I can roughly predict how the attack will unfold.'

A rift would likely open in the sky above the estate. Our objective is to defeat the monsters pouring out of it, eliminating them in each area while ensuring Rovel, which was at the center of the estate, remained secure.

‘…And lastly, command.’

That responsibility was left in my mother’s hands.