Chapter 61 – Cultists

Talia came out of Lana's shop more than shaken.

If she couldn't trust Professor Iakopo not to be a Cultist, she couldn't trust anyone.

She had actually, genuinely thought that Professor Iakopo couldn't be a Cultist.

Even now, her hunch told her that it was so unlikely as to be crazy.

But maybe it was because he had been close to her mother.

Maybe a part of Talia wanted to believe that her mother would have noticed and dealt with the man herself.

But all the evidence she had in her hands up to this point clearly told another story.

She had found the same powder used for summoning circles used by Akua back in Solara in Iakopo's study.

She had heard from Lana that Iakopo was solely responsible for the catastrophe.

She had also remembered that Mano, the Secret Dealer that she had met back in the Market, had mentioned that he wouldn't divulge anything about Professor Iakopo since the man would gut him if he ever found out.

That didn't sound like the honorable behavior of a Water Rider.

Plus, Talia had seen the man skulking around the Leviathan's Hall with her own eyes.

If this had been about anyone else, she would have considered it pretty damning evidence.

But because it was Professor Iakopo, she hesitated.

Why?

Is it really because of Mom?

Why am I refusing to believe it?

She walked back to the dorms and looked up at the building, suddenly getting an idea.

There was one person she could trust, actually.

***

Talia led Nami and Lilo down the narrow staircase to the basement of the dormitory. 

The air grew cooler and damper with each step, and the faint smell of mildew permeated the air. 

At the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves facing a sturdy wooden door. 

In front of it stood a senior student.

As they approached, the guard's eyes widened in recognition. 

He straightened up even further, if that was possible, as Nami and Lilo came into view.

"L-Lady Nami, Lady Lilo," he stammered, bowing his head slightly. "What brings you down here?"

Nami stepped forward, her eyes cool and appraising. "We need to speak with the prisoner."

The guard shifted uncomfortably. 

"I'm sorry, but I have strict orders from Professor Iakopo. No one is to enter without his express permission."

Lilo moved to stand beside her sister, her usually cheerful demeanor replaced by a stern frown. 

"And who gave you those orders? A professor or the heir to the Moana family?"

The guard's face paled slightly. "I... I understand your position, my ladies, but-"

"But nothing, cadet," Nami cut him off, her voice sharp. "What's your name?"

"Koa, my lady. Koa Moana."

Talia smirked. 

She had asked around and found out that the guy guarding the crazy girl who had attacked Takai was actually part of the Moana Family.

So, she had brought the two sisters with her to put pressure on him. 

Nami's eyes narrowed. 

"Ah, from the West Deep branch, if I'm not mistaken. You and my cousin share the name. Tell me, Koa, how do you think your family would react if they knew you were refusing a direct request from the two heirs of the main family, the Chosen and her Shield?"

Koa swallowed hard, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 

"I... I don't mean any disrespect, but my orders-"

"Your orders," Lilo interjected, her voice uncharacteristically cold, "are ultimately from the Moana family. Or have you forgotten where your true loyalties lie?"

The guard's resolve was visibly crumbling. He glanced nervously between the sisters and the door behind him. "But Professor Iakopo..."

"Professor Iakopo is not here," Nami stated flatly. "We are. And we're telling you to step aside. No harm will befall the prisoner. We just need information on behalf of the family. Or have you grown into a traitor, too?"

Talia watched the exchange with a mixture of awe and discomfort. 

She had known the Moana sisters were influential, but seeing them wield their family name like a weapon was something else entirely.

Koa looked like he was about to protest again, but Lilo took a step closer, her eyes flashing dangerously. 

"Let me make this very clear, Koa. This isn't a request. It's an order. And disobeying a direct order from the main family... well, I'm sure you can imagine the consequences."

The guard's shoulders sagged in defeat. 

"I... I understand, my ladies. Please, go ahead." He stepped aside, fumbling with a key to unlock the door.

As the lock clicked open, Nami turned to Talia. 

"After you," she said, gesturing towards the door.

Talia nodded, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open. 

As she stepped into the dimly lit room beyond, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for the guard they had just strong-armed. 

I didn’t know they had that in them, Talia frowned, glancingly thinking about Keanu questions about nobles. 

But she pushed the feeling aside. 

There were more important matters at hand.

Inside the room, seated on a simple cot with her hands still bound by mana-draining cuffs, was Lilinoe. 

"Well," Lilinoe said, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "This should be interesting."

***

Twenty-Years Prior

Iakopo rapped his knuckles on the desk he was sitting at, surveying the maps of Placid City laid out in front of him, when someone opened the door.

He raised his eyes in a frown, only to dissolve the grumpy expression when he saw that it was Yalena.

“Hey,” she said. “News?” 

“I’ve stationed seniors at the shipyard, at the beach, and dispatched more to follow the first-year groups into the cave. But… there’s so many holes in this Dungeon. How? How is this possible? And if there are so many holes and so many monsters, there should be even more monsters than the ones we are seeing. This makes no sense.”

Yalena leaned against the doorframe. Her brow furrowed as she processed Iakopo's words.

"You're right," she said, moving to stand beside him at the desk. "The numbers don't add up. There should be far more monsters, given the state of the Dungeon."

Iakopo nodded grimly. "Exactly. And that can only mean one thing."

Yalena's eyes widened slightly as realization dawned. "Cultists?"

"I'm almost certain of it," Iakopo confirmed, his voice low and tense. "They must be controlling the monster population somehow, keeping them in check until..."

"Until what?" Yalena asked, though the worry in her eyes suggested she already knew the answer.

Iakopo stood up, pacing the small room. "Until they're ready to unleash them all at once. Yalena, I think something is about to go very, very wrong here."

He turned to face her, his expression grave. 

"Think about it. The unusual Mana concentrations you've sensed, the inexplicable gaps in the Dungeon's defenses, the strangely low monster count despite all the breaches...“

Yalena nodded slowly, her hand unconsciously moving to the hilt of her weapon. "A cult operation on this scale... it would take years of planning, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly," Iakopo agreed. "And that's what worries me most. We've stumbled into something big here, something that's been in the works for a long time. And I fear we might be too late to stop it entirely."

He walked back to the desk, pointing at various locations on the map. 

"Look here, and here. These are all potential weak points in the city's defenses—and it’s full of tunnels that go from the Dungeon right next to them. If the cultists have been manipulating the Dungeon's monster population, they could use these points to launch a coordinated attack on Placid City."

Yalena's face paled slightly as she followed Iakopo's reasoning. 

"And with the Dungeon so close to the city..."

"It would be a massacre," Iakopo finished grimly. "The civilians wouldn't stand a chance."

A heavy silence fell between them as the full weight of the situation sank in. After a moment, Yalena spoke up, her voice filled with determination.

"So what do we do?”

“Let’s call back the students from the Dungeon. We’ll go there ourselves. We need to kill as many of the monsters as we can. I’ll leave the city for Hi'iaka. Lukaloa and Kainoa will survey the weak points. The rest of the Retinue will stay among the students and the civilians. If cultists are here, we can’t let them know we’re aware of their presence. That would only force their hand.”

"Agreed. But Iakopo... what if they’re for the Dark Water Well?"

“And?” Iakopo frowned.

“Iakopo,” Yalena said with gritted teeth, going up to his desk and putting her hands on it. “We need the Dark Water Well. I have been studying everything—I need Dark Water for the ritual. It’s in the Kaimoro’s ancient texts—they were masters of Dark Water and it was involved in the creation of the Nā ʻAlo Aliʻi. The ritual to unravel its existence requires Dark Water. It’s not something I can do without.” 

“The safety of the civilians is the most important thing at the moment,” Iakopo frowned. “We’ll take care of the well once we’ve made sure no one’s going to die from this, Yalena. There could be Drakes inside the Placid Cave.”

“Iakopo! The entire archipelago might be destroyed if we don’t get to the well!” 

“I know,” he said, slowly getting up and matching the intensity of her gaze. “Everything is arranged, anyway. Let’s go inside the cave and let’s exterminate all the monsters inside—we’ll look for the Dark Water Well, too. I promise.”

Yalena pushed herself away from the desk and nodded stiffly. 

“Ok. Let’s go.”