Chapter 37: Chapter 34

“That’s our cue. Come on.”

The two ran down the hallway, and the darkness closed around them. They reached another door that was just ajar. The sound of the chanting seemed louder as they approached the doorway, and they both wondered why they couldn’t see the cultists. The two walked up to the doorway and peered inside.

Rinaldo had to lean forward to see into the room. He saw the cultists were performing a ritual, with several at the altar. There were no cultists near the door. Rinaldo peered into the room, wondering why the cultists weren’t paying attention to them.

“I think we made it.” Rinaldo pointed at the cultists and walked into the room, followed by Olivia.

They had made it, but it felt like they had walked straight into a trap for a moment. Rinaldo and Olivia had gone through a long journey to get there. Now they were right on the edge of victory. They had to defeat the cultists or face failure.

“They are focused on the ritual. We should be safe. Hopefully.” Olivia looked at the floor, and walked closer to the doorway.

The chanting had ended, and Rinaldo realised they were watching the cultists perform a ritual that he had previously thought only existed in fairy tales. They were standing around a stone altar. All dressed in ceremonial robes.

He suspected they had been there for a while. The air felt oppressive, and Rinaldo noticed a foul stench. He remembered an old story he had read about a cult that sacrificed virgin young women. The cult used young women to fuel the ritual because their souls were pure.

“We have to be cautious. We can’t do anything rash.”

They had come this far, and now that they were about to be victorious, Rinaldo wasn’t entirely sure what the cultists could do. Olivia nodded, and the two took a few steps back and looked at the cultists.

One cultist walked towards the centre of the room, and Rinaldo gasped as he saw what the cultists were sacrificing. It was Clarissa. She looked different, though. Her eyes were closed, and there was a look of peace on her face.

Olivia looked at Rinaldo. “We have to stop this.”

Rinaldo nodded. “I agree.”

“We will.” The Paladin drew his sword. “Let’s kill them.”

Clarissa seemed to be in a trance and didn’t even realise what was happening. Rinaldo could see the cultist had a small stone in his hands. Rinaldo’s mind raced, wondering what to do. They couldn’t leave Clarissa to suffer in such a situation.

He ran forward, jumped on the altar, and grabbed the cultist’s hand. He then pulled the cultist into the crowd of cultists, and pulled him along with him. They all screamed at once, and jumped at the paladin and Rinaldo.

The paladin swung the axe at the cultists and killed several of them in one swipe. Rinaldo drew his sword, and slashed out. He fought ferociously, swinging his sword around him. As the two fought off the cultists, Rinaldo realised the cultists outnumbered them.

Suddenly, the paladin drew out two long knives. Rinaldo watched as the paladin pulled out his weapon, and it was one of the long knives he had brought with him. The paladin held the two long blades and started attacking the cultists.

Rinaldo just watched in awe as the paladin took the entire crowd of cultists down with one, quick slash. “Do you have any more weapons?”

The paladin held up his sword and waved it around. “A dozen more.”

Rinaldo nodded. “Let’s just keep going.”

His sword had glowed blue. Rinaldo could see two symbols on his weapon. He pulled the weapon closer to him, and saw that the symbols were two circles. Rinaldo pulled his sword back out, and readied himself. He stepped up on the altar, and leapt towards the cultists.

He used the momentum of his jump and the sword as a jumping sword. Several cultists fell after he connected with them. He swung around them, slicing and cutting. When he was almost done, he swung down, and killed a cultist. He had come so far, and now, this would be his victory.

Rinaldo raised his sword above him, and readied himself. He would finish this cult. “How many more do we have?”

Olivia could see several cultists. She drew out her short sword. “We have time, but not much.”

Rinaldo nodded. He didn’t want to waste a moment. Rinaldo drew his sword and leapt over the crowd of cultists. He swung his sword through the air, and felt his sword glow with a brighter blue. “Let’s do this.”

A few cultists had got to the paladin, and the cultists were attacking him with long knives. A few cultists rushed at Olivia, but she easily killed them. “We can do this. Let’s hurry.”

Rinaldo fought on, swinging around the crowd of cultists, and when he came close to Olivia, he leapt down. He swung his sword around him, and then leapt towards the cultists. Olivia followed his lead, but getting in position took her a while.

Rinaldo’s sword started glowing brighter, and then he swung it down and used the momentum to leap at the cultists. He landed, and then jumped to another group of cultists. He raised his sword above his head, and prepared for the final push.

He had killed many cultists already, but there were many more of them. “There is only one way. Our time is almost up. There are so many of them.”

Olivia nodded. “Let’s go.”

Rinaldo could see that several cultists were running towards him. He took a few steps forward, and drew his sword back. He swung around the cultists, and cut down several of them, but there were many more.

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Rinaldo’s sword started glowing again, holding the sword in his left hand. He swung it around, and cut down a few cultists. Rinaldo swung his sword around again, and saw that there were still a few cultists left. He didn’t have time to think.

He leapt to the cultist, landed in the middle of the crowd of cultists, and used the momentum to slay several more cultists. He leapt again; this time, he landed a few feet from the cultists. Rinaldo jumped forward, and swung his sword around him, cutting down several cultists.

He swung his sword around, and the cultists were running away from him, but he cut down several of them before they got away. They leapt into the air and landed far from the cultists, and as they landed, they saw a group of cultists running towards them.

Rinaldo had landed just in time. He had saved himself from the cultists by getting out of the crowd of cultists. He raised his sword and prepared to fight. His sword glowed with a deeper blue hue. “Where is this fungal root, anyway?”

“I don’t know.” The paladin turned around to face his assailants. “But it has to be here somewhere.”

He started walking towards the remaining cultists, and his sword glowed an even brighter blue. He swung his sword down, and he could hear the cultists screaming. A few moments later, Rinaldo had reached the final few cultists.

The cultists started screaming. Rinaldo swung his sword around him, and they tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. His sword had done so much damage to the cultists, that they had burned. They tried to get out of the way, but their movements seemed unnatural.

Olivia had been watching Rinaldo work his way through the crowd of cultists. She had leapt in, and slaughtered several more cultists. “This is so strange. What is happening?”

“They are being consumed by some sort of… fire.” Rinaldo dropped his sword, and looked at the cultists. The fire had surrounded the cultists, who were trying to escape. He didn’t know what to make of it.

He turned around, and walked towards the altar. Clarissa wasn’t dead yet. She lay on the altar, unconscious. Rinaldo had to do something. He had to save her. Rinaldo was about to rush towards her, but then he heard a noise.

The sound came from the altar, and he looked up. “Oh no.”

He backed away slowly, trying to get as far from the altar as possible. He saw the runes glow with a purple hue, and suddenly, Clarissa’s body twitched. She made a gurgling noise, and a black light emanated from her body.

A moment later, smoke poured out of her mouth. She coughed, and the smoke got thicker. Rinaldo moved closer, and could see that Clarissa had transformed. Her skin had turned black, and the bones were sticking out of her skin.

Her clothes were still intact, but she seemed to have become unrecognisable. The black liquid began pouring out of her, covering the altar. Rinaldo took a few steps back, but kept watching the transformation.

The paladin ran up to Rinaldo, and pulled him back. “She has become one with the fungal root!”

“What does that mean?” Rinaldo tried to pull away.

“This means that she is now under the control of the fungus, and it has Clarissa as its vessel.”

Rinaldo realised the seriousness of the situation. This was something he had not been ready to face. The thought of what might happen to Clarissa frightened him. Clarissa was slowly losing her humanity, and she was becoming something else.

He didn’t know what to do. Rinaldo just stared at the girl, who had become a monster. Her head had morphed to resemble a goat, and her arms had grown larger. Her skin seemed to split in half, and her ribs showed. She roared, and it echoed in the temple.

“She’s no longer Clarissa anymore. The fungus has taken her.” The paladin let out a long breath. “That’s the Black Goat. An apostle of the Black God.”

“I can’t save her, can I?” Rinaldo saw he had only one choice. “I have to kill her.”

The paladin nodded. “You must, if you want to destroy the fungal root.”

As he got closer, he saw that Clarissa had gained horns, and her hands were claws. Her legs had turned into hooves, and her hair had become a coat of black fur. She let out a roar, and turned to Rinaldo. He stood, and waited for her to attack him.

Rinaldo raised his sword and could feel a fire burning in his blood. He closed his eyes, swung his sword around, and aimed it straight at Clarissa. He stabbed his sword into the blackness of Clarissa’s body, and it sank in.

There was an explosion of light, and Rinaldo had to shield his eyes. When his vision returned, he looked up to the altar, and saw the runes. The symbols were turning black, and the purple aura was gone. Rinaldo couldn’t see the Black Goat anywhere.

However, he could see someone appear in front of him. He saw a woman dressed in a long white dress. She had long golden hair in two long braids down to her waist. The hair framed her round face and eyes. She smiled, and her sweet voice conveyed comfort and love. “I am glad you survived.”

Rinaldo tried to stand, but he fell over and looked at her. She helped him up. He looked at her again. “Clarissa? You are alive?”

“I am.” She held out a hand, and Rinaldo took it.

Rinaldo still felt numb. He couldn’t move his legs properly, but he could still walk. He looked at Olivia, who was lying there, looking like she was unconscious. Rinaldo turned around, and walked towards her. He held her and sat on the floor.

Olivia groaned, and then opened her eyes. “What happened?”

“It’s over, Olivia. The fungal root has been destroyed.”