Isekaied Into An Ero Chapter 244: And Again

Chapter 244: And Again

Pulling myself up and wiping away some of the sweat from my brow, I tried to keep my breathing even and quiet as I joined the others on the small outcropping above a gathering of Cultists; real, dangerous Cultists when compared to what we had dealt with before.

Properly armed and armored, disciplined, focused... and currently in the middle of some sort of ritual that involved slitting the throats of some captured monsters in the center of some symbol drawn atop the stone in glimmering chalk.

Kha’Miero, Taji, Bo’Katari and another Professor student duo all stood beside me, staring down at these Cultists and preparing themselves for what was to come; in the dark of night and with some spells layered on top of ourselves, we were rather difficult to see, smell or hear right now, but even then we still were cautious.

Our gear had been smudged with some dirt to prevent the metal from being too reflective, our skin was covered wherever it could be or painted otherwise, and we were moving as little as we could to refrain from drawing their attention to us prematurely.

That first excursion we had done had yielded some interesting bits of information that - when paired together with what some of the others had learned - painted one hell of a picture about what was going on in these mountains.

What we had eradicated that first outing had simply been a decoy base that existed solely to distract us from these ’real’ Cultists that were far more hidden and many times more dangerous than what we had dealt with before.

Those grunts had been merely fodder for the Cult to churn through at their convenience, and their ’role’ was to abduct whomever they could, cause a ruckus and continue to attack the barrier at set intervals for as long as they could.

Those people that they kidnapped could be used however up until the real Cultists visited them and took them back to the main camps, where they were likely used for the same sort of ritual that we were overseeing now.

A bipedal wolf monster of some kind had its large, furry head yanked back so that the burly Orc could drag a serrated dagger across its throat, spilling its blood and causing the spray that erupted from the jagged gash to begin orbiting the body.

Another Cultist opened a thick leather clad book and began to chant something over the sacrifice, which was where the other Professor - a scaled woman with a long, forked tongue - looked to us and quietly asked if we were ready.

The heavy crossbow in her hands was aimed down at the Orc, so I nocked an arrow and took aim at the chanting Cultist, whilst the others prepared their weapons and calculated the quickest, safest route down.

After everyone nodded and we made one last sweep of the area, the other Professor and I nodded to one another again before shooting our targets, using that as the signal to start and immediately preparing a second shot before the first had even landed.

Her bolt struck the Orc in the side of the neck a moment before my arrow pierced the chanting Cultist’s temple, resulting in the Orc stumbling around in confusion as she grabbed at her neck whilst the chanting Cultist just dropped immediately, like a mariote that had its strings cut.

The remaining half dozen all spun around towards the cliff in shock, though unlike the amateurs that we had dealt with before they grabbed their weapons and grouped up, a shimmering barrier being erected to block our projectiles.

With four heading down to battle those six in close quarters, we needed to break that barrier as soon as possible, though while I loaded my current arrow with a lot of mana the Professor beside me took her current bolt off and replaced it.

Instead of a sharpened head that was meant to perate and kill, the bolt she laid on the string had a sphere attached to the tip, one that was promptly soaked in some foul smelling liquid that made my nose scrunch up even from here.

"Shoot after me and use fire. We need to be quick; aim for the center of the barrier!"

As soon as that order left her lips she pulled the trigger, sending that soaked bolt straight towards the middle of the barrier, arcing over the heads of our companions as they continued down the cliffside.

I let my arrow loose a moment after, engulfed in flames and streaking through the darkness towards that shimmering barrier; when the bolt exploded against the barrier it released a cloud of sparkling powder everywhere, which ignited instantaneously when my arrow struck right after.

That powder - combined with that liquid - enveloped the barrier in flames that began to chew into the mana of whomever was casting it, and not even a second later it fell, alongside one of the Cultists as they clutched at their chest and heaved, unable to deal with the backlash coming from that spell being decimated.

And yet the flames still lingered, seeping into the clothing of the Cultists and causing them to become disorganized as they tried to snuff the flames, giving our companions the opening they needed to rush in with their weapons raised and ready.

"That might’ve been too much..."

Seeing the effects of her liquid and powder combination, the Professor pursed her lips before slinging her crossbow onto her back, unbothered by the fighting below and instead crossing her broad arms as she watched from above.

"What was that, Professor?"

"Hm? Oh, that was a combination of Igneo Powder and Swift Light Oil; heavily flammable and very effective at blanketing an area in flames immediately, though it doesn’t linger..."

Even as she said that the fires were already dying out, but by that point the damage had been done; Kha’Miero was shoving a Cultist backwards while Taji jumped onto the shoulders of a Bearkin, plunging her sword straight down and twisting it with a grin on her face.

"You’re in Jezebyra’s class, correct? She won’t teach it like I would, but Alchemy can be used as a weapon as well. Some combinations can prove to be... explosive. Volatile. Deadly. Poisons are fun, potions are incredible, but making explosives or gasses that chew away at flesh is what I specialize in."

Giving me a grin that matched the sadistic one on Taji’s face, the Professor winked at me as she began to slide down towards the others, leaving me there for a moment as I just contemplated what had happened only to shrug and follow suit.

Everyone has their interests, after all... even if they involve flesh eating gases, I suppose...