Swish! Swish!
Two bursts of radiant light erupted, illuminating the darkness.
In their wake, two Angel Guardians materialized beside Sakeer, each gripping a gleaming spear.
His expression remained serious, though a subtle flicker of excitement and caution danced in his eyes.
"I may have some knowledge of Khajiit's abilities, but what he's shown so far may not be everything he's capable of. Regardless, one thing is certain—his combat experience is extraordinary."
Though Khajiit's level was only around 21, there was something worth noting.
In the future, he would find himself battling head-on against the battle maids of Nazarick—a clash that should have ended instantly. Yet, even though Nabe had merely been toying with him at first, she was a formidable opponent with a staggering Level 63.
For Khajiit to have lasted even a moment in such an overwhelming gap in power…
It was proof that his skills were not to be underestimated.
This alone was enough to justify the respect he had earned from [Zurrernorn].
"Camouflage."
Sakeer's eyes gleamed as another magic scroll appeared in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he activated its power—
A green aura shimmered before surging toward the Angel Guardian on the left.
Immediately, its form began to blur.
Within seconds, the angel's luminous figure had faded, seamlessly merging into the surrounding darkness.
"With this level of concealment, the effect should be just as effective here as it would be in a dense forest."
Sakeer nodded slightly in approval.
Using a Second-Tier Magic Scroll for a First-Tier spell might seem wasteful—
But for someone like him, who had an independent supply of magic scrolls, it was nothing more than a trivial expense.
Under his precise control, the stealth-cloaked Angel Guardian advanced silently, stopping approximately 50 meters ahead before shifting laterally to the left.
From a bird's-eye view, their formation had taken shape—
Sakeer remained aligned in a straight line with the temple, while the invisible Angel Guardian positioned itself midway to the left, forming a triangular setup between them.
A tactical spread.
Swish!
With another fluid motion, Sakeer pulled out yet another Second-Tier Angel Summoning scroll.
A third Angel Guardian descended.
In a matter of moments, five of his ten Second-Tier magic scrolls had been deployed.
"Go. Enter the temple."
His command was calm and decisive.
The newly summoned Angel Guardian soared forward, gliding toward the ruined structure. Meanwhile, Sakeer himself took a step behind the Angel Guardian that remained visible, his body shifting.
"Stealth."
His form blurred and melted into the angel's shadow, as if becoming one with it.
This was a specialized skill he had acquired during a battle with the Eight Fingers' thieves—a technique that erased his presence and allowed him to slip into shadows unnoticed.
The Angel Guardian glided swiftly into the dilapidated temple.
From a single glance, it was clear—
There were no hiding spots within the structure.
The entire interior was exposed to view, its emptiness making it eerily conspicuous.
The only notable feature—
A sarcophagus stood at the temple's center.
In a place overflowing with tombstones and crypts, it blended in naturally, resembling nothing more than ornamental décor meant to match the cemetery's ambiance.
Yet—
Sakeer's sharp gaze locked onto it.
His instincts told him otherwise.
"Destroy it."
With a single command—
Fwoosh!
The Angel Guardian's wings flared, propelling it toward the sarcophagus with astonishing speed.
Its radiant spear pulsed with holy energy as it struck downward—
Bang!
A thunderous impact shattered the silence.
The once solid stone trembled beneath the force, a visible crack splitting across its surface.
Not hesitating for a second—
Bang!
Another devastating blow followed.
The resounding explosion of stone and debris echoed through the abandoned ruins.
The sarcophagus—
Shattered completely.
And beneath it—
A dark passageway lay revealed, stretching downward into the abyss.
Without hesitation, the Angel Guardian plunged into the passageway, vanishing into the unknown depths below.
Outside the Temple
Concealed within the shadow of the Angel Guardian, Sakeer waited patiently.
His instructions were simple—
Enter the underground passage and destroy everything inside.
He had no intention of risking his life by stepping into the lair of a necromancer. His true objective was clear—
To force Khajiit out.
Rumble!
Bang!
From beneath the temple, deep within the underground chamber, a series of violent tremors erupted.
The ground quaked.
The air shuddered.
But just as quickly as the disturbance began—
It vanished.
Silence settled over the area once more.
Sakeer didn't need to guess.
It was obvious—
The Angel Guardian that had stormed into the depths had already been eliminated.
For a moment, everything remained still.
Then—
The silence shattered.
"..."
One after another, low-level undead began to crawl out of the passage.
Their bodies were draped in tattered rags, their decayed flesh exuding a putrid stench. Yet, despite their ghastly appearance, their forms remained mostly intact—a clear sign that they had been preserved through necromantic means.
"Shhh…"
"Grrr…!"
"Shhh…"
A dozen or so zombies emerged.
Their bodies trembled, emitting low, guttural growls, but—
They did not act chaotically.
Instead, the moment they surfaced, they immediately formed a perimeter around the entrance to the underground chamber.
It was a test.
Khajiit was observing.
A cautious predator, ensuring the threat had truly passed before making a move.
Sakeer, still hidden, peered toward the temple ruins through the eyes of the Angel Guardian standing before him.
His gaze narrowed.
"He's careful…"
Indeed, he had considered a different strategy—
Summoning all his angels at once and ordering them to storm the underground chamber in a full-scale assault.
Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could have cut Khajiit down in one decisive strike.
But that was only in the best-case scenario.
Khajiit had spent years entrenched in this place.
If he dared to hide in such a vulnerable structure, where he could easily be surrounded and cornered, then he must have a plan in place for exactly that possibility.
Perhaps—
There was a hidden escape route somewhere in the depths of the underground temple.
And if Khajiit managed to slip away now, tracking him down again would be far more difficult.
"Second-Tier… Angel Guardians?"
A cold, deep voice echoed from within the dark chamber.
It wasn't loud—
Yet in the unnervingly silent graveyard, it carried effortlessly through the air.
Then—
Footsteps.
A slow, deliberate rhythm, accompanied by the soft creak of stairs.
From the depths of the basement, a figure emerged—
An old man draped in a blood-red mage's robe, his bald head, ashen skin, and hollowed features giving him the appearance of someone far older than his years.
He looked frail, perhaps in his fifties or sixties, but that was merely an illusion.
A deception.
For Sakeer knew the truth—
Khajiit was no older than forty.
His ghastly appearance was the result of years of exposure to negative energy, its corrupting force slowly eating away at his body.
Across his chest, a magic necklace dangled, adorned with three skeletal figures carved into its surface.
In his left hand, he clutched a slender black staff.
And in his right—
A black stone, roughly the size of two fists, radiated an ominous presence.
Even at a glance—
Khajiit exuded danger.
The moment Sakeer saw him, he immediately withdrew his gaze, sinking further into the Angel Guardian's shadow.
There was no need to reveal himself just yet.
Khajiit's frail body was merely a consequence of his power—
A cost paid by those who sought to control the undead.
After all—
To wield necromantic magic as a living being meant inevitable corruption.
There were only two ways to escape this fate:
Abandon humanity entirely and become immortal—a being freed from the limits of lifespan and race.Succumb to death and transform into an undead, losing all self-consciousness in the process.
For Khajiit—
That choice had already been made long ago.
(End of Chapter)