Chapter 359: Temple

Band Street, Aurora Land, First District, City of Red.

There stood a towering Temple at the end of the street.

The front wall of the Temple had an entrance gateway in its center and beyond that was an entrance.

The entrance to the Temple was the colonnaded hall that incorporated space for a large number of believers. The believers mostly use that hall to practice ritual dances, meetings, and other entertainments.

Beyond that colonnaded hall was the sanctum sanctorum.

It was the area where the Deity's statue was placed.

At this moment, a hooded shadow came from the nearby alley, looked at the towering Temple, and removed his black hood.

The figure had a muscular body, mixed brown hair, 185 cm tall, and scarlet eyes.

That figure also wore a unique white mask on his face and appeared mysterious.

With a single look, anyone could tell that this mysterious person was a male.

Yes, he was none other than Alder Firetoe!

Alder met with his Lord's subjects during the past few days and created an organization called 'Vipers.'

Although there were only 11 members in this organization, all of them were Rank-4 Warlocks and could pose a significant threat to ordinary citizens.

Currently, their Vipers organization's main job was to kill the sinners and warn everyone for worshiping a Sacred Human!

Today, he officially started the cleansing mission and thought of doing the management work.

But his Lord suddenly contacted him an hour ago and told him to switch places with a member named Brian.

Although he was confused by his Lord's action, he didn't say anything and obeyed.

That's how he ended up coming here!

Alas, he had a strange suspicion that some powerful member might be lurking in this Temple!

'Brian is weakest among all of us… Did our Lord foresee something?' He thought to himself.

Like him, the other ten members went to different Temples in Aurora Street and started doing their allocated missions!

'Today is just the beginning. There are more than 90 temples located in the First District, and each Temple has 5 to ten Templar Knights, five clerks, and one priest. Although most of them are around Rank-3, our Lord warned us that there are some Rank-4 Warlocks hidden among them. But why did he send me here? Is there a Rank-4 Warlock hiding here?' Shaking his head, he looked at the Temple's tower and soon zeroed his focus towards the peak.

The next instant, his heart started to beat faster.

A strange anxiousness appeared in his mind.

It was a feeling of being spied by something or someone.

He instantly halted his footsteps, glanced around warily, and soon got confused.

'There is no one nearby. Someone is monitoring me from afar?' He tilted his head, looked up at the towering Temple, and studied its structure.

The Temple's tower was 200 meters tall, and it looked more like a pyramidal shape.

On top of the tower was a dome-shaped structure, and above it was a crown.

It was the shape of an octagonal cupola and seemed to be made of silver metal.

Somehow, Alder knew that the mysterious octagonal cupola-shaped thing was the main reason for his anxiousness.

'Is this the reason why I feel a feeling of being spied? Wait, I read about that thing in the library! It must be the Divine Crown! But I heard that this Divine Crown doesn't have such ability, right? Hmm, something feels off. Is that why 'He' sent me here? To destroy that thing?' A strange thought appeared in his mind.

'No… There must be other reason behind our Lord's action.'

He organized his thoughts and continued to walk.

Even though it was night, the Temple's tower and dome radiated a dim red light and illuminated the nearby surroundings.

A flag with a crimson bird symbol hung at the peak and was constantly fluttering in the wind.

Alder soon went near the front wall and moved his hand towards his waist.

At the same time, he looked at the four Templar Knights who stood at the entrance, gripped the hilt, and unsheathed the curved sword.

Meanwhile, the Templar Knights also noticed his action and gripped their spears.

But before they could even blink, Alder sprinted towards them at an incredible speed, slashed his sword on both sides, and entered inside.

On the other hand, the Templar Knights felt a sharp pain in their neck and soon noticed that the whole surroundings were starting to spin!

At that moment, their heads separated from their bodies and sprayed blood in all directions.

By the time those heads fell on the ground, Alder had already walked into the colonnaded hall.

He soon saw a few Templar Knights and Clerks were resting in the hall and killed them without any difficulty.

After that, he moved towards the sanctum sanctorum and soon stopped as he saw a 70-years-old man suddenly appeared at the sanctum's entrance.

He had unique red hair, amber eyes, a sharp nose, and long ears, and he looked more like a half-elf.

He wore a black cassock and also held a golden crozier in his hand.

'High Priest? Also a Sacred Human?' Alder's expression turned grim.

He instantly knew that the person in front of him was a Rank-4 Warlock!

'But why would a Sacred Human appear in this old temple?' Doubt appeared in his mind.

'If Brain came here, there is a high chance that this High-Priest would have captured him. As expected of the Angel of Fire, he can even foresee this future.' He couldn't help but praise inwardly.

On the other hand, the red-haired old man also stared at him for a moment, then turned his gaze towards the clerks' and guards' corpses and soon sighed.

"A rogue half-paragon, huh. Did the Royals send you here to test our patience? Why are you always opposing our Lord's rule?" He asked while shaking his head in disappointment.

But Alder didn't say a word, though.

No, he didn't hear a single word that came out of the High-Priest's mouth!

Alder knew that the Sacred Humans were always good with words and could even turn their enemy into allies.

Although the Paragons hadn't confirmed if that was one of the Sacred Humans' unique traits, they clearly warned their descendants about this ability.

So, when he walked into the entrance hall, he completely sealed his ears using some strange wax!

Although it would affect his movement, he had many experiences in these types of battles.

Alder cast a Rank-3 [Flame Spike] bloodline spell and attacked the High Priest without wasting any second.

Simultaneously, he raised his other hand and muttered.

"Magma Storm."

A second later, a raging storm of lava shot out from his hand and moved forward like a volcanic eruption.

Meanwhile, the red-haired High Priest squinted his eyes and soon showed a shocked expression on his face.

"You dare to attack your master?" He asked in an icy tone and tapped the crozier towards the floor.

The next instant, a sunshine layer appeared around his body, covered him completely, and blocked the lavas.