"Magnolia used to be a pretty wholesome place, but that doesn't really seem to be the case anymore, son, you know? I've heard rumors, pretty nasty rumors that there's some weird organization that is being formed here within this very town. Cultists. There, I said it. Like I mentioned, Magnolia is known as a pretty wholesome town so the headquarters don't really think they need to station too many rune knights around these here parts. A mistake, I'm telling you, son, but that there's the truth. So, there you have it. There might be some weird group forming up in this town, and I haven't had the necessary manpower to go and check it out to confirm whether it's true or not. I told you that I had a job that you might be qualified for, right? Well, that's the one, so what do ya say, so?" Captain Devon finally finished; Houren hadn't actually seen the guy in a while since the last time he had done a mission with him, but strangely enough, after the Fire Dragon Slayer's encounter with that middle aged Rune Knight from Orchidia, Houren could not help but compare the two in their way of speaking and mannerisms. To say the least, they were actually pretty similar to each other or maybe that was just something that all Rune Knights had in common. It went without saying, of course, that Captain Devon was younger than the middle aged Rune Knight from before, and was a considerably higher rank. Captain Devon may not have been much in the grand scheme of things, but here in the Magnolia station, he was in charge of the whole company, and as far as Houren saw it, this guy was a pretty big fuck if there was any big law enforcement fuck in Magnolia.

The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail thought about it for a moment before deciding that he would actually take this job on. It seemed interesting, and if there was anything that he had learned from before, it was that cultists could be very, very dangerous, and to think that they would be in his beloved hometown of Magnolia? They had to be stopped. Of course, Houren didn't intend to stop them by himself, but that didn't mean he was willing to play his part. All he had to do right now was confirm to Captain Devon and the Rune Knights that these cultists existed, and once he did that, he could let the law enforcement guys do their job and take out the damn cultists in any way they saw fit. And the Fairy Tail mage knew Captain Devon quite well as well, he knew that he would be compensated handsomely for doing this job. After all, it wasn't as though it wasn't dangerous; if these cultists found out that he was investigating them as a spy, Houren knew that they would probably sacrifice him to whatever God it was that they worshiped in private. The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail nodded, his own way of telling Captain Devon that he was accepting the job that he was being given before turning around heading to the streets to find out more about these so called cultists.

542/3000

The first person that the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail spoke to didn't seem to know much, which was to be expected since Magnolia was just as big as Houren remembered it. The thing about cults was that they were secret, and not too many people were supposed to know of their existence. Going by that logic, it was obvious that the Fairy Tail mage wouldn't find anything out after asking the first person; in fact, if you wanted to talk about it rationally, it was unlikely that he would be able to make any efficient progress by simply asking people in this kind of manner. Still, what Houren needed right now was even the vaguest of tip offs so he would have at least a clue of what to do. All he had right now was Captain Devon's rumor, and even then, there may not have been any truth in what he had said. Houren didn't to hear it from another source, and preferably from somebody who knew more than just the fact that there was possibly a cult forming in Magnolia. Truth be told, it just wasn't enough to work off of. The second person Houren talked to seemed to actually be aware that a rumor like this was building up in Magnolia, but that was about it. He didn't pay it any heed, and he advised the Fairy Tail mage to do the same without giving him any useful hint or anything like that. Houren implored him to tell him anything he might have known, even if he didn't believe it, but the second guy didn't seem interested, or perhaps it was because he genuinely had no idea. The third person Houren asked was more or less cut from the same cloth as the first guy. He didn't know anything about the cult at all, but unlike the second guy who was actually somewhat aware of the rumor, the third guy just shrugged his head and murmured something along the lines that he didn't know a single thing, nor had he heard of such a silly rumor.

When the third person dismissed him, the Fire Dragon Slayer could only sigh and accept it; that this person knew absolutely nothing and to probe further into it would be a waste of time and effort. After parting with the third person, the Fairy Tail mage began to look for yet another person, but was more selective. He ignored the normal looking people who just seemed to be going about their day, instead deciding that he should target people who openly looked like cultists. Of course, that wasn't the best course of action since there was actually no telling who was apart of what faction at any given time and of course, there was the saying that you should never, ever judge a book by its cover. He decided to follow this kind of philosophy as the next person he questioned was probably the plainest looking middle aged man you could find. However, upon the Fire Dragon Slayer's first question, the middle aged man's features changed as he began to ask questions of his own, and like that, Houren knew that he had found his man; a person who knew something, or perhaps was actually a member of the cult group that Captain Devon had asked him to investigate.

"Did you say cult, lad?" the middle aged man's features were stiff, and he didn't look anywhere near as jolly as he did before. He began to play with his facial hair, but not in a natural way. Rather it seemed like he was forcing it. "Yes, I think I might, just might have heard something about that before. Of course, I'll talk and tell you what it is that you want to know, but may I ask why you want this sort of information? Hmm, my boy?" the middle aged man's voice dropped to a slight whisper.

The Fire Dragon Slayer rubbed the nape of his neck and began to chuckle as naturally as he could. This other guy was definitely suspicious, and if Houren didn't know better, he'd probably have written this dude off as a member of that cult. No, what was he saying? This guy was almost  pretty much, a hundred percent a member of the cult that Captain Devon had tasked him to investigate, and because of that, the Fairy Tail mage needed to tread carefully. These cultists were almost always in cahoots with each other, and once this guy realized that Houren was looking to shut them down, he would quickly get word to the rest of his comrades, and after that, Houren would be shunned, or even worse, targeted by these damned fanatics. If that happened, Houren would have a hard time living in Magnolia and working as a normal citizen. He decided that he would proceed with caution. "Ahahaha..." it was a nervous chuckle as Houren put on his best acting and inched closer to the middle aged man, dropping his own voice to a whisper now. "Can I trust? Well, between you and me, I'm actually interested in joining. Do you know where I might... sign up?" the words almost caught in Houren's tongue but he managed to get something out. How exactly did one sign up for a cult anyway? Wasn't there some sort of initiation process or something? It wouldn't be ideal if Houren would have to do all sorts of messed up things to get into the cult, just for the sake of not blowing his cover and keeping his identity and intention a secret from the rest of these cultists.

"You want to join? I think I get it, boy. Then next question, do you believe in God?" the middle aged man's question didn't put Houren off at all. He had clearly asked if the Fire Dragon Slayer was a believer in God or not, no plural, but singular to denote that this cult was a monotheistic one, which meant that there was only one divine guy or deity  in their pantheon. Either that or they were actually a polytheistic cult that believed in many Gods, and this was just a question to throw Houren. In any case, he needed to go for broke here. His cover would probably be blown here if he acted like he was too sure of him, so he had to appear as though he were a weak, indecisive guy. It was these types that cults tended to go after anyways, so if Houren conveyed an image of himself that this cultist thought his cult could corrupt, then he would be sure to let Houren in.

"I...don't know, that's sort of why I'm interested in joining, you know? I wasn't raised with any particular belief, see," the Fire Dragon Slayer tried to sound as convincing as possible, and it seemed to be good enough to convince the middle aged man who began to play with his facial hair once again, as he contemplated Houren's replies and what his next course of action should be. Eventually, he let out a sigh, turned around and began to mumble to himself as though he were afraid that Houren had some sort of strange magic that let him read lips or thoughts, before turning back to face the Fairy Tail mage. He gave the Fire Dragon Slayer a quick examination from head to toe before inching ever so closely to him and muttering something in his ear, although he had difficulty doing so due to the sheer height difference between the two.

"OK, I think I can trust you, maybe. Don't make me regret this, OK, boy? Alright, I want you to head down to the store, huh, what store? You know the place that appeared in that magazine a few weeks ago? They said it sold the sixth best bread in all of Fiore? Yeah, yeah, that one, but it's actually the antiques store beside it that the meeting is being held. Just enter that store, go to the counter and say the password to the old man behind the counter. The password for tonight is 'Illucifan Nagar'." the middle aged cultist said with a serious expression on his face.

"Illucifan Nagar," the Fire Dragon Slayer repeated.

1924/3000

Well now that the Fire Dragon Slayer had the password that he needed in order to get into those secret cult meetings, all he had to do now was wait until nightfall and then he could go to the store he had been directed to, say the secret words and enter the secret room where the secret cult meetings were supposedly taking place. Once he was in, there was actually nothing left for Houren to do other than stick around and actually verify that these people were secret cultists and not anything else (lest it all actually be a huge misunderstanding which would have proven to be an incredible anti climax). Captain Devon had not instructed Houren to do anything further, so there was no need for him to actually fight anyone, his job was only to confirm that the rumors were true and that a secret cult actually was forming in Magnolia. After verifying that, he'd just need to get word back to Captain Devon and from there on, the Fairy Tail mage could let the law enforcing Rune Knights do their thing and settle the matter in whatever way they saw fit. The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail waited for a bit, hanging around the Magnolia streets until the sun had set, but just for safe measure, he continued to lounge around until the pale moon was clearly visible in the sky. It created a fairly haunting atmosphere, especially considering what it was that Houren was trying to do, but that actually added to the effect of the entire evening. After he judged an appropriate amount of time had passed, the Fairy Tail mage headed to the store that the man from earlier had talked about and went to the man by the counter upon entering, and without an hesitation in his voice, uttered the secret words that had been told to him. The person behind the counter did not move for a second, seemingly deep in thought before examining Houren from head to toe and nodding. Afterwards he directed Houren to a bookshelf full of plastic ornaments and began to push the shelf aside, revealing the secret door that had been hidden by the bookshelf. He muttered something underneath his breath, knocked on the secret door three times and opened it, before beckoning the Fire Dragon Slayer to follow in after him. Once Houren entered the makeshift tunnel, the other person, the man who had been working behind the counter began to address him and started to ask him some simple questions in a friendly enough tone to which Houren answered with a friendly tone of his own. He would have been lying if he said he wasn't even slightly unnerved by the whole scenario though as he began to delve deeper and deeper into the makeshift tunnel. Once he reached more or less the end, he realised that the place that he had been led to was actually a massive cavern, but it wasn't an unmolested cave, oh no, it was intricately decorated and there were many altars and statues everywhere. Even the dumbest of individuals would have been able to realise that this cavern had been specially designed for worship but the generic statues and altars did not give away the faith to which this area of worship belonged. The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail absorbed in this atmosphere before turning to look at the man who had been behind the counter, only to realize that he had disappeared somewhere along the way. Houren once again returned to face his front and in the distance, could see another man, different from the other two he had spoken to today in regards to the cult, and this man, who might have been a cleric of some sort, was beginning to approach him with a glint of a smile in his eye.

2571/3000

At first, the Fire Dragon Slayer thought that the person approaching him was doing so with hostile intent, but now that he was within reach of Houren, the Fairy Tail mage realised that was anything but the case. The man was friendly, a bit unnerving in that way, but nevertheless it did not seem like he meant any real harm to Houren at this point in time. The man, like the other two supposed cultists before him greeted Houren fairly rudely, not verbally with words mind you, but instead his way of greeting was observing Houren for head to toe, examining him as though he were some sort of strange and unknown specimen. The Fairy Tail mage was perhaps expecting some sort of meaningful greeting after that ''undressing me with his eyes'' moment, but such a thing, to Houren's surprise and somewhat disappointment, did not happen. Instead, the man began to question Houren, asking questions eerily similar to the ones that had been posed to him before. Houren did his best not to change the gist of his answers too much, but knew that he would be well and truly screwed if his answers now were too similar to the answers that he gave earlier in the day. When the hooded man asked Houren why he wanted to know about the whereabouts of the cult, the Fire Dragon Slayer explained that it was because he was actually interested in joining up and becoming a member to which the man nodded as though it was a satisfactory answer. When the hooded man asked if the Fairy Tail mage was a firm believer of God or not, the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail replied that he was not particularly devout but had heard good things about this cult and as such, was interested in seeing how things were for himself as a result of that. He was careful not to offend anyone, and this too seemed to satisfy the hooded man.

Seemed to was the keywords as the hooded man rubbed his chin before pointing his index finger at the Fire Dragon Slayer in an excusing manner. "I say you are a spy!" the hooded man exclaimed before turning and looking at his acolytes. At a click of the hooded man's fingers, the worshipers got up from their worship and began to chase after Houren who swiftly did a 180 degree turn and began to sprint away. The Fire Dragon Slayer ran all the way up the makeshift tunnel and out the store that was situated near the bakery that sold the delicious bread with the worshipers hot on his heels. Houren ran faster than he ever ran before, and once he turned back to find that the acolytes (or worshipers) had, for the time being, stopped following him, Houren deemed it appropriate to slacken his pace so that he would be able to reserve energy in case he would need to run again. He changed his direction and headed to where he knew Captain Devon would be patrolling, and spoke to him, panting all the while.

"Looks like you were right, Captain; there's a cult brewing in Magnolia. What's next?" he asked, as Captain Devon prepared the monetary reward.

3110/3000