Chapter 15 - The Cult

It's been a week since my journey began, and I don't know the exact location of Wakanda, so we have to fly across Africa. I don't mind hopping from one place to another, I'm treating this journey like a vacation.

During this week, I've been fortunate to see thousands of wild animals running across the African plains, a unique sight since most of the animals from my previous life were extinct.

The tribes we passed by were astonished by what they couldn't even describe. Some even shot arrows or threw spears at us, but we ignored them all.

I hope to have the opportunity to visit Egypt after Wakanda, as there are many magical artifacts there. I'm not sure if the Egyptian gods exist in this universe, so I have to be cautious.

"Sir, it seems like something is happening."

We're currently flying over a vast green plain. When I look down to my left, I see a child running, and behind her, three black men. Two of them are only wearing a small cloth covering their private parts and wielding spears. The third is walking slowly behind, wearing a black cloak covering his entire body.

The child seems to be in panic, running away from the three. I don't intend to meddle in others' affairs, but a panicked child is my limit.

"Lower the ship, General."

As the general steers the ship to the left, descending towards the child, one of the men throws a spear, hitting the child squarely in the back. It's too late. The three men notice the ship approaching and become alarmed.

"Sir."

The general is only waiting for orders. As Asgardians, we are a warrior people, but not savages. Honor has been instilled in us since birth. Now, in front of us, a child has been killed, and how can we not be furious?

"Kill the two armed men, leave the other one alive. I want answers."

"It will be done, sir."

As soon as the ship touches the ground, the general rushes towards the three men. The two armed men point their weapons at the general. Drawing his sword in a swift motion, the general cuts through both weapons, their wooden handles so fragile they can't withstand a blow from a sword forged in Asgard.

With a second stroke aimed at their necks, two heads fall to the ground, followed by their bodies. The third man, with a look of terror on his face, tries to run away. The general picks up a small stone from the ground and throws it, hitting the back of his head, causing him to fall unconscious.

In those few seconds, while the general does what I ordered, I reach the child's side. She's still alive. I remove the spear from her body and place my hand on her chest, attempting to heal her as I did with the general once before.

It doesn't work. I don't actually have healing powers; I can only enhance a person's natural regeneration to a certain extent. Humans have weaker regeneration abilities compared to Asgardians. Unlike me, using the runes has a limit on how much I can heal myself. Healing others has its limits too. The child's heart was destroyed by the spear lodged in her back. I place my hand on the child's neck, making her look at me. She's around 9 years old, with brown eyes, and she's crying in pain.

"Mom... home..."

After two words, I see the light fading from her eyes. I lay the child's head down on the ground and close her eyes.

"It's okay, child. I'll take you to your mother."

I walk towards the cloaked man, with the general staying by his side the whole time to prevent his escape. I kick the man to make him face me, then press my foot forcefully onto his chest.

"Who are you?"

The man seems furious that I'm stepping on him, unable to rise due to my foot on his chest.

"How dare you injure me, I am a servant of the true god."

I lift my foot to deliver another kick, and this time the man spits blood, likely from a rib puncturing his lung.

"Then you're part of some kind of cult. Where is this child's tribe?"

I put more force into my foot, breaking more ribs, causing him to writhe in pain.

"NORTH!"

"I see. Thank you. Now go apologize to her in the afterlife."

I press my foot further, causing it to sink into the man's chest, killing him and leaving him with a look of agony.

It's the first time I've killed a human. I feel nothing; to me, this worm is no different from those ice giants.

I look at the general beside me and see a look of pride in his eyes.

"Let's go, general. We have to return this child to her mother."

"Yes, sir."

The tribe is only ten minutes away from where we found the child. We land the ship at the entrance. The houses are simple, made of mud and covered with thatch, and the ground is covered in blood with bodies scattered around.

As we approached the center of the village, we heard screams. In the village center, I saw twenty people tied in a circle with wood at their feet.

"They will burn alive."

Other men surrounded them, all with simple spears. One of them, wearing a red cape and holding a staff with a black crystal on top, turned to face us.

"General, leave the one in red to me."

"Yes, sir."

Nordur drew his sword and swiftly dispatched the first of the enemies, catching the others off guard. It was like children fighting against a grown man; it only took one blow to end their lives.

The man holding the staff looked scared as he watched his men die so easily. I stood in front of him, expecting some answers.

"How dare you interfere with divine work."

He pointed his staff at me, and a black light began to emanate from the crystal.

"Feel the power of God, you infidel."

The crystal discharged a black beam towards me. I felt no threat from it and defended myself using the palm of my hand. The black ray was similar to my power but much weaker.

The attack lasted only a second, leaving him with a shocked expression at how easily I defended myself. This attack was nothing to me, but it could kill an ordinary human.

His attack also surprised me. I wasn't expecting a cult with magical powers. Perhaps they were truly following some deity who granted them powers.

Not wanting to risk it, I shot him using Sigel. The golden energy beam pierced his heart, killing him.

I looked around for another person wielding a similar staff but only saw Nordur surrounded by mutilated bodies on the ground.

"It's all over, sir."

"Release them. We need to talk."

While the survivors were being freed, I examined the staff. It was made of ordinary wood; the only mystical thing about it was the black crystal. I felt that the crystal was a conduit for releasing the power of another being.

They may have made a pact with an entity to gain this power. There are many entities in the universe, some of which feed on mortal faith and use it to fuel their powers. The problem with this method is that when mortals stop worshiping the entity, it becomes greatly weakened, even ceasing to exist.

I destroyed the crystal to prevent it from being used by another fanatic or fool. Then I returned to the ship to retrieve the body of the deceased girl. A woman seemed to recognize the girl; she ran towards me and took the girl from my arms, then fell to the ground, crying and embracing the body. She must be the girl's mother.

An older man approached me, aided by two young men. Nordur stood beside me in silence, cleaning the blood from his sword.

"My name is Akin. I am the elder of this tribe. I never expected to be saved by a demon."

(Demon?)

I remembered that I was in the past; perhaps I was the first white-skinned person these men had seen.

"I am not a demon, elder. Just a traveler from a distant land."

The old man seemed relieved by my response.

"Then I only have to thank you for saving my people."

"The elder can thank that girl; she's the one who brought me here."

The elder looked at the lifeless child in the mother's arms.

"Elder, can you tell me what's happening here?"

"Come with me."

The elder led us to a simple hut on the edge of the village. He sat down by an extinguished campfire and gestured for us to do the same.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"They came a week ago. First, they stole some of our youth, then the women. The elders gathered to save them, and they discovered they were being used to excavate an ancient temple of their god. We attacked them at night and joined forces with those who were taken. We were winning until the sorcerers arrived and started killing everyone. Those who managed to escape came back home. Unfortunately, the sorcerers followed, wanting to set an example by sacrificing us all with fire."

I had initially thought they were just a bunch of fools worshiping a false god, but now they possessed magical weapons and were excavating an ancient temple, perhaps in search of an ancient relic. The black crystals weren't a threat to me, but the problem was if they gained more power, this land would turn into a river of blood.

I've said I won't interfere much in history, but the idea of letting thousands die knowing I could prevent it will drive me crazy.

I'm also interested in the crystals. Their powers are similar to mine, releasing fire and heat. I have no intention of making a pact with an entity, but if I have the chance to study the crystals and how they work, it could be a great opportunity.

"Elder, where can I find them?" I asked.