Chapter 86: Rag Against Time

  Too slow.

  Standing oar, the man in the bck robe gazed down at the bustling cultists below, his face dark and brooding. He extended his hand, watg the flickering fme in his palm, its shifting glow mirr his uled mood. The dark red light between his fingers grew steadily brighter.

  Acc to the pn, that fool should have already brought the captives to this ruined city. So why was there still no sign of him? Could something have happened? Was there a dey? That shouldn't be the case. The fool had his unication spell; if there were any problems, he should have tacted me immediately...

  What the Destruage didn’t know was that the bald-headed mage Charles had iried to tact him, but his mind had been locked by Ikaros' interference, preventing him from using any magic at all. This was why the Destruage remained pletely unaware of the events unfolding at the camp.

  But it was almost reag the limit.

  Snap.

  The Destruage stood up and snapped his fingers. A small demon flitting through the sky immediately flew down, kneeling reverently before him.

  "Go find out what happeo that idiot."

  Hearing the and, the demon screeched, spread its wings, and soared into the sky, cirg once before flying toward the mountains.

  "Trouble's brewing," a voice muttered.

  At the same time, Alex received an update from Ikaros.

  "It seems they’re suspicious. They've sent a demon to iigate the camp."

  "Holding them off this long was already impressive... What should we do? Should I send someoo intercept the demon?" Stone asked.

  "You better not," an elder in a bishop’s robe replied, his expression stern as he shook his head.

  "The demon was summoned by a spellcaster. There's a psychik between them. Even if you kill the demon, the moment the Destruage se, everything we've worked for will be in vain."

  "So what’s the pn?" Stone frowned.

  "We ’t just let it go and iigate the camp..."

  "I’ll ha," the elder cut him off.

  "I’ll deal with the demon. That should buy us some time, but..." He g the sky. "If the guiding star appears and the reinforts haven’t arrived, we’ll have no choice but to act. Ohe Destruage realizes something’s wrong, things will get much more plicated."

  "Alright."

  After thinking it over, Stoantly nodded.

  "That’s our only option. Please be careful."

  "Don't worry." The elder’s cold face twisted into a grim smile. "I’ve lived far lohan you. This kind of thing is easy for me."

  Swoosh!

  Suddenly, a pair of dark, bat-like wings sprouted from the elder’s back. His thin, frail body began to swell, and his once-white hair darkened. In a matter of seds, the old man, who had looked withered and a, transformed into a tall, handsome man. His expression softened, and he now wore a gentle smile that made him appear approachable.

  The now-youthful "elder" smiled warmly at Alex, nodding before spreading his wings and shooting into the sky like lightning.

  What the hell?!

  Alex stared in shock as the "elder" flew off, mouth agape and unsure what to say. He blihen looked over at Stone.

  Clearly, he needed an expnation.

  "Surprised, aren’t you?" Stone grinned, clearly enjoying Alex’s rea, before finally an expnation.

  "Don’t be fooled by Bishop Karl’s strid serious demeanor—he’s actually a vampire t and a devout follower of the Temple."

  "...The Temple has vampires?"

  Alex felt like everything he had read before was a lie.

  "Of course."

  In respoo Alex's questioning, Stone nodded.

  "The Temple of Order upholds the principle of order. We wele all who share our values and are willing to join us in the fight to protect order. It doesn't matter what race, profession, or background they e from. As long as they are willing to stand against chaos and protect order, they are our friends."

  "But... aren't vampires supposed to drink blood?" Alex was pletely fused at this point.

  "Of course, typical vampires do need blood. But someone like Bishop Karl, a devout believer, draw enough power from the Holy Light. Unless he’s in areme situation, he doesn’t o e blood."

  "So, does that mean there are a lot of vampires iemple?" Alex was stunned by how far-reag the temple's influence seemed.

  "Of course not." Stone shook his head in respoo Alex's question.

  "Iy, only a small number of vampires resist the temptation of blood and joiemple. Most vampires are uo give up the strength and pleasure that blood provides. They're uo abandon such wicked behavior, so we only accept those vampires who share our beliefs and are willing to abandon their evil habits."

  "And... you're not worried that they might pretend to follow your rules but secretly do something else?" Alex asked, raising a brow.

  "Not at all. When these vampires gain strength through the Holy Light, they also take a sacred oath. If they ever break that oath, the Holy Light ihem will turn into fire and buro ashes. And it's not just vampires who face this."

  "I see..." Alex nodded as he finally uood Stone's expnation. It seemed that the Temple was, in a way, like a rehabilitatioer for vampires—helping those who wao "kick the habit" of drinking blood. The Temple only accepted vampires who actively sought the guidance of the Holy Light, as Sto it, while those who tio indulge in blood and power were their enemies.

  "And what about liches?" Alex asked.

  "Liches are different." Stone’s face turned serious at the mention of liches.

  "Vampires be fiven because many of them were turned against their will. But liches are different. They willingly forsake their lives to bee undead. Liches toy with the souls of mortals, preventing them from resting in peace. That’s something we ot allow. This is why neancers and liches are always our targets."

  "I see..." Alex finally had a clear uanding of the Temple's sta wasn’t simply about judging individuals based on their identity in, but rather their as. The Temple fought against liches and neancers not because of what they were, but because they itted the heinous act of disturbing the dead... Thinking of this, Alex made a mental o hide Malthael and Arthas' soul stones deeper away. It seemed that using them in the main world was no longer an option.

  The vampire bishop moved quickly, and before long, Alex and Stone saw him return. However, this time, the elder had a small demon following behind him. The demon no longer had the ing and malicious look Alex had seen earlier—instead, it had a dull expression, almost like a puppet. sidering the bishop was a vampire, Alex felt he had a pretty good idea of what the elder had doo it.

  For now, the crisis had beeed, but the situation was far from resolved.

  As time ticked by and night fell, the reinforts finally arrived just before the st possible moment.

  However, they brought even more shog news.

  The Fortress of Order was in grave danger!

  (End of Chapter)

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