At this moment, the Cult members hadn't noticed the approach of another figure.
The Cultists busied themselves clearing away the bodies left by the robbers.
Meanwhile, the Cult contact who had dealt with the robbers stood guard beside the cage.
Less than 100 meters away from the hidden figure, the contact person's gaze lingered on the children the robbers had captured.
These children all had varying degrees of rotting flesh or growths like tumors on their arms, necks, and other areas.
The crimson pustules looked both disgusting and terrifying.
These phenomena, in this world, were known as "Possession."
And those who exhibited such symptoms were called the Possessed.
The little girls who had been brought here were undoubtedly all Possessed.
Most were children whose families, upon seeing these symptoms, had either abandoned them or half-abandoned them.
That's why the robbers could so easily capture these children—the families often chose to look the other way.
Most people in this world held an attitude of abandonment toward the Possessed.
This predetermined the fate of these children being cast aside.
And this allowed the Diabolos Cult to exploit the situation.
For the Diabolos Cult, these Possessed weren't cursed individuals or devil-possessed people.
They were walking research materials, vital components for achieving endless life and power.
Because they knew exactly what "Possession" truly was: a magical overload caused by the blood of heroes.
That's why they extensively collected these Possessed across the world, taking them back for experiments.
The contact person here was quite satisfied with today's batch of Possessed.
However, what surprised him most was the large spherical object also inside the cage.
He was puzzled why the robbers had brought this meatball-like thing.
"What were those robbers thinking, bringing this thing along? To pad the numbers?"
"Such greedy bastards."
The Cult contact couldn't help but retort, feeling that killing the robbers after receiving the goods was the right decision.
Actually, it wasn't entirely the robbers' fault for putting a meatball-like object inside.
In their impression, these Cult members liked collecting strange and unusual things.
This meatball was something they had found abandoned in a derelict warehouse while capturing people.
So they thought to bring it along and give it to the Cult, hoping to gain some favor and secure more collaboration opportunities in the future.
But the robbers never imagined this trade would be their last.
No matter how he looked at it, the Cult contact couldn't make sense of this large meatball, so he finally gave up.
"Hey! You few over there, come help me get this big meatball out of the cage and toss it aside."
The contact person called to his other companions.
Hearing this, two of the Cult members handling the bodies put down their work.
"Sir Envoy, you called...?"
The two Cult enforcers approached, but their words trailed off halfway.
Their expressions instantly turned to horror, and they immediately drew the swords at their waists.
"Who's there?!"
"Sir Envoy! Behind you!"
The two enforcers shouted, leaping forward to position themselves in front of the contact person.
Startled by their sudden movement, the contact person quickly reacted and turned around.
Only to see that, at some unknown time, a man with a perfect physique and stunningly handsome features had appeared behind him.
The man wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt for them, which angered the Cult members.
"Who are you?! Why are you here?!"
The enforcer demanded. The other enforcers handling the bodies, alerted by the shout, immediately abandoned their work, drew their weapons, and rushed to their companions' side, confronting the stranger.
"Those damned robbers! Couldn't they even notice they were being followed?!"
The Cult members cursed the already-dead robbers, shifting all blame onto them.
However, upon hearing this, the stranger's lips curled into a smile. With an arrogant glance, he looked at the Cult members.
"If you're so dissatisfied with them, why don't you go settle accounts with them yourself?"
"Arrogant!"
Hearing the stranger's words, the Cult members' faces flushed with anger.
"Attack!"
At the command, the Cult enforcers instantly struck, raising their weapons and charging at the stranger.
Yet the stranger made no move. He merely raised a hand lightly, pointed a finger in the direction of their assault, and gently tapped the empty air.
Pop—!
A strange sound echoed, followed by a ripple spreading through the air in a circular wave.
When the ripple enveloped the Cult enforcers, they all froze in place as if turned to ice sculptures.
Then, rapidly, all color drained from their bodies, as if they had turned into gray stone statues. Immediately after, like sculptures of sand caught in the wind, they crumbled into piles of dust.
Witnessing this scene, the Cult contact person's eyes widened in disbelief at such a bizarre spectacle.
But he quickly snapped back to reality, angrily addressing Yuki:
"It's an Artifact! You must have used some Ancient Artifact!!!"
He believed the stranger before him couldn't possibly possess such terrifying power; it must all come from an Ancient Artifact.
Because in their view, only Ancient Artifacts, demons, or Demon Kings possessed such dreadful power.
"Unfortunately, wrong answer!"
The stranger regretfully shook his head.
Then, he sent the contact person on the same journey, letting him experience turning into a stone statue and crumbling into sand.
After dealing with all the Cult members, only the stranger and the children in the cage remained.
The man walked up to the cage, opened it, and revealed a gentle smile.
"You're safe now."
The man smiled, indicating they could come out.
But perhaps because they had already been kidnapped once before, the children in the cage were still somewhat timid. Not a single one dared to step out.
Seeing this, the man was both amused and exasperated.
"My name is Yuki. I'm not like those bad people who captured you earlier."
"So don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Yuki smiled helplessly, then spoke to them gently and kindly once more.
This time, Yuki's words had an effect.
A few children tentatively stepped out of the cage, and the others soon followed.
After emerging, they thanked Yuki repeatedly.
"Thank you, Big Brother."
"Thank you for saving us, Big Brother."
Yuki waved a hand, his face filled with tenderness as he patted the heads of a few cute little girls.
"No need to thank me. What are your plans from now on?"
"Going home?"
"If you want to go back, I can send you home!"
Yuki smiled as he asked the children about their future plans.
However, upon hearing this question, all the children fell silent.
They lowered their heads one after another, faces filled with hesitation and dejection.