Cucking The Demon King
Chapter 71: Hypnosis

Chapter 71: Hypnosis

But then, he suddenly felt something unusual, and his gaze sharpened.

His fingers hovered over the golden seal, pondering just what kind of mission might he in the letter.

However, he couldn’t waste too much time on opening it, lest the church might begin to suspect him.

He finally pressed his thumb against the wax, breaking it open.

The moment he did, a dim golden halo flickered around his body, casting a faint glow.

But this time, there was no notification from the

The same golden light reflected off the others in his group, each of them experiencing the same phenomenon. Liam’s eyes flickered toward Elsa and the rest, noting their reactions.

Some looked in awe, while others, like Rex and a brown-haired boy at the far end, seemed a bit uncertain.

Pushing his curiosity aside, he unfolded the parchment and read its contents.

Mission Directive: Willowbrook Village

Objective: Locate and eliminate the heretic residing within the village.

Secondary Objective: Purge the village of Willowbrook, did they have been found guilty of harbouring a heretic.

They have sinned against the kingdom by protecting a great sinner and the enemy of the Holy Church.

—Failure to comply will be considered an act of defiance against the holy church.

Liam’s face darkened. His grip on the parchment tightened slightly as he read through the rest of the details.

Heretics.

The word alone carried weight in this world.

According to the church, heretics were individuals who had forsaken the light and aligned themselves with the god of demons.

By doing so, they gained the ability to wield dark magic, an unforgivable crime in the eyes of the holy church.

Those who did this were no longer considered human, as they were said to have sold out their soul to the demon king.

Due to this, there were meant to be eliminated on sight, regardless of the reason why they sold their soul.

However the part about the mission that unsettled him most was the secondary objective.

It wasn’t just the heretic they were after. It was the entire village!

The reasoning?

The people of Willowbrook had supposedly been harboring the heretic, and their village, which bordered demon-infested lands, had seen a strange period of peace in recent weeks.

The church deemed this as proof that they were colluding with the heretic and, by extension, the demons themselves.

Liam clenched his jaw, his face twisting into a frown.

This wasn’t just an investigation to find the heretic, it was a massacre order!

His mind raced as he processed the situation. It was already suspicious that the church would assign them such a brutal mission, especially since this was their very first assignment. They weren’t seasoned knights or inquisitors. They were just students.

His first mission... and they were being ordered to slaughter an entire village?

His fingers tightened around the letter.

His eyes darkened.

Even without knowing the truth about the Church, he would have found this disturbing.

But now?

It just confirmed what he already suspected—

There was nothing ’holy’ about the so called Holy church, it was nothing but a monstrous organisation.

Sending teenagers on a mission like this, expecting them to murder innocent people without hesitation?

It was cruel.

And evil.

Liam’s jaw clenched.

He knew that not everyone in Willowbrook could be guilty.

There would be children there.

Families.

People who had probably never even seen a heretic before.

And yet, the Church expected them to kill every last one of them.

His stomach twisted.

He was a demon, but...

He had never taken a life before.

Not once.

And the thought of murdering innocent people—

He hated it.

His gaze flickered toward Elsa and her friends.

How were they feeling about this?

Surely, at least some of them would hesitate.

And then—

A hand slowly went up.

Liam turned his head.

A short, brown-haired boy stood near the front of the group, his fingers trembling as he raised his arm.

His voice was timid.

"D-Do we really... have to kill them all?"

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Something about the boy... reminded him of old self, back when he was still a complete weakling.

The priest turned to him—

And smiled warmly.

A gentle, kind expression.

The kind of smile a teacher might give a student.

However, despite the smile on his face, Liam still felt chills crawling down his spine.

He wasn’t sure why, but something about that smile seemed strangely demonic.

And then—

Liam’s system flashed a warning.

[Hypnosis Wave detected!]

[Hypnosis Wave countered!]

[Root of strange mark found!]

[’Divine mark’ removed!]

Liam’s eyes widened slightly in realization.

They were being manipulated.

He quickly stole a glance at Elsa and the others.

Their expressions softened, their eyes becoming hazy.

"You might think is cruel... but such is the fate that befalls sinners." The priest said, spreading his arms wide.

"Those who go against the goddess, harbouring the corrupt sinners who sold their souls... are no better than them, and don’t deserve any less than death." The priest continued, the smile on his face widening slightly.

The brown-haired boy, asked the question, suddenly let out a choked sob.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he clutched the parchment to his chest.

"The goddess... she is so benevolent," he muttered, his voice trembling with reverence.

Liam’s lips pressed into a thin line.

’What bullshit. I can’t believe what I’m hearing...’ He thought, gnashing his teeth.

The funniest part about it all was that the others seemed to be buying into the priest’s words.

However, it wasn’t that surprising, as they were all being brainwashed by the church.

They were being conditioned into believing their actions were right, even though it wasn’t.

For him, however, the hypnosis had failed. His system had countered it before it could take effect, removing the strange mark that must have been planted on him at some point.

But what about the others?

Elsa and her two other friends didn’t seem as affected as the other six, but they still had that longing look in their eyes.

That desire to satisfy the goddess and the church wishes was still there, even if it wasn’t as prominent as the other six.

’Damn it... I’ll have to find a way to free them.’ He thought, his brows knitting.

He forced himself to stay calm, pretending to be just as entranced as the rest.

If the priest noticed that his hypnosis had failed on Liam, things could get complicated.

The priest continued to speak in a soothing tone, reinforcing their belief that this mission was necessary, that the goddess willed it, and that the people of Willowbrook had already been forsaken.

Liam lowered his gaze, hiding the storm raging within him.

So this was the true face of the holy church.

If they were willing to manipulate and deceive their own people so effortlessly, what else were they hiding?

One thing was certain—he wouldn’t be blindly following their orders.

Not now. Not ever.

As the priest finished his speech, the students nodded in unison, their eyes filled with newfound conviction. The brown-haired boy wiped his tears and straightened his back, his previous fear completely gone.

The priest handed them their final supplies—rations, maps, and a few enchanted weapons—before dismissing them.

"May the light guide your path," he said warmly.

Liam bowed his head slightly, concealing the bitterness in his eyes.

As they exited the room, Elsa turned to Liam, a determined look on her face.

"This is our chance," She said. "We can prove our worth to the church."

Proving her worth in the mission would cause her family’s reputation to increase again.

However, if she couldn’t even pass the mission, then the name of the Grande house would be soiled.

Liam didn’t respond immediately.

He glanced at the parchment in his hand, then at the others who walked ahead, oblivious to the truth of what had just happened.

’Prove out worth? To the... church?’ He thought, clenching his jaw in annoyance.

No.

This was their first step into darkness.

And whether they realized it or not, they were already walking the path of the damned.

His gaze drifted down to the pair of swords hung at his sides, and his lips curled up slightly.

That was what the weapon he had chosen to carry out this mission, the same kind of weapon he was most used to—Dual swords.

’At least, they have some pretty cool weapons.’ He thought, gently tapping the swords hilt.

Meanwhile, back in the room where the priest granted them their mission, Kurt remained, staring at the man with a frown.

"Was that... necessary?" He asked, resting his hands on the table.

"Isn’t that mission a bit too much for a bunch of kids to carry out?"

"One question at a time Kurt... one question." Priest Tenny said, wagging his finger.

"As for the mission, I didn’t choose it for them." He continued, his brows furrowing slightly.

"That order came directly from the Silvagold house... from the knight king himself." He said, his lips curling into a wide smirk.