The elder ordered one of the survivors to guide us to where the excavation was taking place. It was impressive how our guide could navigate the night relying solely on the moonlight.
It didn't take long for the three of us to reach our destination. Hidden behind a large rock atop a small hill, I could see a massive stone door. Emerging from it were several men, women, and children carrying dirt, all looking malnourished and with their heads bowed. They were being overseen by several armed men, some wielding whips to "motivate" the slaves.
Beside the temple, I noticed a pile of bodies stacked on a small mound. They were the corpses of those who had tried to flee, left unburied as a warning to others.
I didn't see any men wearing capes and wielding magical staffs like the ones who attacked the tribe. They must be inside the temple. The good news was that they hadn't yet obtained the artifact. I couldn't enter the temple with them inside; I might fall into a trap.
(Then I'll draw them all out.)
"General, let's draw the attention of those inside the temple," I commanded.
I looked at our guide. "You'll take advantage of the distraction while we deal with the soldiers to lead all the slaves away."
"Yes."
"Wait for the armed men to attack us," Nordur drew his sword, ready for another battle.
"I'll go left."
"Then I'll go right, sir."
Descending the small dirt mound, I walked calmly toward the ancient temple. When I was twenty meters from the doors, I plunged Sigel into the ground, releasing a bright golden light to attract everyone's attention. I didn't want to start the fight too close to the slaves; they might get caught in the crossfire.
Everyone seemed surprised to see a golden light in the middle of the night, followed by me standing alone. Two of them approached me.
The first one to reach me attempted to thrust his spear into my stomach, but I grabbed the shaft just below the blade and snapped the spear in half. Ignoring the man's astonished expression, I used the blade as a makeshift knife and pierced his throat.
"Enemy!" the one behind him shouted and then threw something at me. I caught it before it could hit me. It seemed to be an old-fashioned hatchet, with a blade that looked more like stone than iron.
I threw the hatchet back, hitting him right between the eyes. I approached the second man's body and yanked the hatchet out of his skull. It would be a bit of an overkill to use Sigel to kill these pawns.
On the other side, Nordur had also begun his movements, albeit more elegantly than I.
Several of them attacked me, but the hatchet was a cruder weapon compared to my spear. Each blow I struck caused blood to spray on my body, leading to a somewhat grisly sight.
The slaves were now all frozen in place until our guide appeared behind them, calling out to them. The soldiers were so busy dying that they didn't notice their retreat. I plunged the hatchet into the chest of my tenth enemy.
"Who dares defile this sacred place?" From the temple entrance emerged five men wearing capes. The one walking at the front seemed to be around fifty years old, with a beard and a slightly stooped posture. He held a staff, entirely red, with a black crystal on top. Unlike the other four, he wore a white cape. The other four seemed similar to the one I killed in the village, all with simple staffs and red capes.
The soldiers halted their attacks and were now merely observing their masters' movements.
"Finally, it was getting tiresome killing these pawns," the eldest, who appeared to be the leader, said angrily, looking at me.
"Tell me why you're interfering with the discovery of the divine?" he demanded.
"Please, old man, we all know you're doing this just to gain a little more power," I retorted.
The four men behind the eldest began descending the stone stairs toward me.
To my right, General Nordur was in an attack position.
"Take care of the soldiers, General. I don't want any of them to escape," I ordered.
"Yes, sir."
I ignored the soldiers and approached the remaining three men, who pointed their black crystals at me, releasing four beams of dark energy, similar to the one the man in the village used. The beams hit me square in the chest, causing no damage whatsoever. These guys were truly unlucky to be fighting someone practically invulnerable to heat and fire. The energy beams enveloped me entirely.
"HAHAHAHA, what a fool, trying to fight those with the power of a god," the old man laughed.
When the energy beams weakened, I threw my hatchet at the one in the middle of the trio. Seeing that I wasn't harmed and had killed one of them easily, they stood there in shock.
"Power of a god? I truly despise people like you. When they gain a little power, the first thing they do is feel superior and treat others like ants."
"Demon!" one of them shouted.
Seeing that I had easily killed one of their masters, the soldiers began running in the opposite direction. I didn't care; the General would take care of them.
I walked calmly toward the three remaining men, as if the wind were striking them. Finally realizing they couldn't harm me, they stopped their attack, but it was too late; I was already in front of them. Now, I tightened my grip on the necks of two of them with all my strength.
"Please, have mercy," they pleaded, knowing their fate.
"You showed no mercy. Why should I?" I replied.
CRACK.
I snapped both of their necks, letting them fall to the ground. The last one dropped his staff and tried to flee.
"Lance!"
Within moments, a spear flew past me, hitting the fleeing man in the back. Nordur had finished off all the soldiers and was now observing from his position.
(It's wonderful to have capable people under my command.)
I approached the cult leader. When I reached the stone staircase, he slammed his weapon to the ground.
"I invoke the flames of Balthakk to destroy my enemies."
Around me, a circle of black flames appeared, forming a whirlwind that grew over three meters tall. The rotation and temperature of the flames turned my clothes to ashes, evaporating all the blood from my body.
Another surprise. The way the old man invoked the flames was very similar to how Doctor Strange cast his spells when he used powers borrowed from cosmic beings.
"Prince Baldur!" the general shouted, seemingly coming toward me.
"HAHAHA, burn, you fool!" the old man laughed.
The whirlwind of flames extinguished, revealing me naked, without a scratch, much to the shock of the two men.
(Note to self: Create a fireproof armor and a way to fly.)
"That was refreshing, thank you," I said.
Seeing that I was unharmed, Nordur returned to his position.
"How is this possible?"
"What kind of idiot tries to use fire against the god of the Sun?"
When I called myself a god, the old man's eyes widened.
"Gooood..." he stammered.
I climbed the stairs, facing the old man. As he opened his mouth to try another spell, I covered it with my right hand, while my left hand grabbed his wrist, breaking it.
"AAAAAHH!" he screamed, muffled by my hand, and dropped his staff to the ground.
(He's not a mage; perhaps he luckily acquired the staff and the spells.)
I kicked his knee, shattering it. I could see the bone protruding from the back of his leg in an open fracture.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Don't worry, I won't kill you."
I slammed his head against the ground, rendering him unconscious. I wouldn't kill him; the people of the tribe deserved some justice for all the suffering they endured. I would hand this useless man over to them for judgment and condemnation in any way they saw fit.
I turned my attention to the leader's staff. Unlike the others, this one seemed to be a true magical artifact. Its handle had several characters written in a language I didn't recognize; perhaps these were the magical words the old man used to attack me. I would take this staff to Amora for study; maybe she could create a similar weapon.
I summoned my spear and then recreated my armor before sitting down to study the staff.
While I was studying the magical staff, our guide returned. He freed the rest of the slaves who were inside the temple. The slaves tried to kill the unconscious leader, but I told them to take him to their elder first; then they could do whatever they wanted with him. Without his staff and with a broken leg, he posed no threat.
The guide obeyed and dragged the cult leader back to his village. He also said he would return in the morning to give his dead a proper burial.
With everything resolved, only one thing remained: to find out what lay inside the temple.
"General, stay here. I'll take a look inside," I said.
"Sir, let me go first."
"No, stay here."
"Yes, sir."
The interior was massive but simple. It was illuminated by torches, and there was a lot of blood on the ground from the slaves.
There were no images or inscriptions on the temple walls. Normally, a temple or church would be filled with images of its deity or deities, but this place had nothing. The slaves said the second door leading to the center was almost unearthed.
The second door was over twenty meters tall, surrounded by earth on both sides. I threw Sigel at the door, creating a hole, and the interior was dark. I made the spear glow to illuminate everything.
The room inside had only a simple stone altar in the center. On top of the altar was a huge, red-cut diamond, hovering a few centimeters above it. It was larger than my hand.
As I approached the altar, the diamond began emitting a red and black light. From inside the diamond emerged a red mist with black spots that covered half of the room.
I could feel the power of that thing. It wasn't just a mist; it was a living being.
"Bow before Balthakk."
The voice seemed to be emanating from the entire room. This was my first encounter with a cosmic entity.