Immortal Paladin-142Outsourcing Heaven

142 Outsourcing Heaven

There was silence. Not the kind that came from awe, but the confused, stunned kind… like a crowd who blinked and missed the finale. My dear audience stood frozen in place, eyes wide, and mouths half open. A few rubbed their eyes like they were trying to reboot their retinas.

Yeah, I moved that fast.

The lower realm cultivators hadn’t seen anything. To them, it probably looked like I stood still, blinked twice, and seven monsters just exploded into divine fireworks. But those with higher cultivation, like Captain Xue, General Bai, and a couple of the Imperial Phoenix Guards, had watched it happen in real-time. Their eyes followed me now. They were quiet, wary, and calculating.

Then someone finally spoke; it was a nervous and almost hopeful voice.

“…What was that?” asked Han Lun, his hand still clenched around the reins of his bird mount as the creature hovered in and landed just beside me. "I mean, I am impressed, Lord Wei, but that was strange in so many ways."

I turned to face him, letting the wind tug at my robe like a dramatic movie poster.

“You’ll find out,” I said calmly, “in the coming World Summit.”

That shut everyone up real quick. Name-dropping the ‘event’ like that ought to bring the gravity of the situation to the forefront of their minds. The Imperial Phoenix Guards and the Falconeers exchanged glances. Jin Wen looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but he bit his tongue.

I appreciated that. Still, part of my mind wasn't here anymore. It was back in a different world. Back in my gaming chair, back in Lost Legends Online. Back when the Heaven faction had been introduced as one of the Great Enemy. To the average player, “Heaven” sounded like the good guys. Pearly gates, golden clouds, maybe a few harp solos, and holy smites.

Wrong.

They were corporate-tier manipulators with divine branding. Outsourcing everything to local agents, cults, and “blessed chosen.” Half their campaigns felt like you were fighting mind-controlled Karens who just discovered holy fire. And with an online 'gf' with the same name (allegedly), I knew how tough it was to get in an argument with them.

And when 'outsourcing' didn’t work? They brought out the big guns. The Legion of Angels. At first, everyone thought they were mid-tier trash mobs. Shiny, dramatic, and preachy. They came in squads, with low aggression range. But then… players started disappearing and getting booted off the game for weeks. NPCs too. Whole cities would go dark. No warning. Just silence.

It turned out, those angels… especially the lower-ranking ones… had an ability that broke the damn meta.

Absorption.

If your level was a certain percentage below theirs, they could just… overwrite you. Like Agent Smith from The Matrix, they’d touch you, twist, and boom: another angel. Same model, same stats, now stronger. It was a cascading infection mechanic. You lose one town, you lose a hundred. And if even one angel made it to a population hub, it was game over.

Entire servers had to rebuild civilization from scratch. I remembered the forums: people arguing about optimal architectural layouts so we wouldn’t get wiped again. We literally built buffer cities just to slow them down.

So yeah.

I didn’t like angels.

Didn’t trust anything that tried to steal your soul with a glowing smile or messages promising the divine. I glanced back at the battlefield. The seven I killed were nothing compared to the actual invasion squads from LLO… but if even one of them showed up here?

It meant something was stirring.

Ah shit, it looked like listening to Nongmin was my only choice.

I turned back to the group. “Stay alert,” I said, loud enough for all to hear. “Falconeers, return to your Falcons. No foot patrols from now on. Say the same to your Queen… After my business here is done, I’d be rushing back to the Empire, so I won’t be able to help you with these freaks. These things are dangerous, trust me. None of you would like it if just one of these things gets to you.”

They hesitated, but my tone brooked no argument.

“And keep the ships skyborne,” I added to my companions. “Remain warp-ready. If I say go, you fly immediately. No hesitation.”

Xue Xin and the others saluted.

I looked toward my own people: the Formation Specialists, the transport crew, and the Imperial Phoenix Guards.

“This isn’t a joke,” I said. “Stay in the sky. Stay aboard. Don’t leave unless I say so. If we need to retreat, we’ll do it by warp.”

No one objected.

“What’s that? Anyone heard that?”

I felt something stir. A faint ripple at the edge of my Divine Sense, like a whisper caught in a sandstorm, faint but urgent. It didn’t match the signature of an angel, nor the twisted presence of the Wyrmed Worm that just died. It was… subtler. Fainter. But alive. I raised a hand, gesturing for silence.

“Everyone, stay put,” I said, not loud, but firm enough that no one dared move. “Something’s still down there.”

Without another word, I Flash Stepped. The world blurred around me in streaks of motion, and then I was standing back in the center of the crater: char and ash still hot beneath my boots, the air stinking of ozone and divine flame.

There it was.

Silver Steel was still embedded in my chest, right where it had been lodged during the fight. It was in the way, so I reached up and pulled it free with a smooth tug. A sharp breath left me as it slid out, blood hissing where it met divine steel. A resonant hum vibrated through my bones as the power of Heavenly Punishment remained in the blade, its edge glowed with divine wrath, etched in quiet thunder.

And then, a hand broke through the sand.

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Charred. Barely moving. I almost missed it.

The Wyrmed Worm’s massive lifeforce had masked everything nearby. No wonder I hadn’t sensed her. But now that the beast was gone, I could feel it… faint and flickering, but undeniably hers.

“Alice?” I murmured, lowering my sword and slipping it back into the Item Box. "Is that you, Alice?"

I knelt, brushing aside debris and grit. Her fingers twitched as I gripped them, and I pulled slowly and carefully.

Her body surfaced from the sand like a ghost unearthed. Half-burnt, skin cracked and exposed, gown incinerated into ribbons. Her once pristine white complexion was now marred with soot and blood. Her long, silky pink hair had darkened into a matte tangle of red-black, like strands of wine-drenched silk.

She was naked, but I didn’t flinch. Not because I wasn’t affected… hell, even scorched, she was beautiful… but that wasn't the point. It was because she looked so broken. Her lips were cracked, her eyes fluttering in delirium.

“…sorry…” she whispered, again and again. “…sorry… sorry…”

I leaned closer, brushing hair from her face. “Hey. Alice. It’s fine. You’re okay.”

She wasn’t okay. But I said it anyway.

Vampire physiology wasn’t something I could brute heal with a spell. My healing magic was tied to divine energy, the kind that burned her from the inside out. She needed blood. Real, living blood. And I only saw one option. I reached into my Item Box again, drew out a clean, curved ritual dagger. There was no hesitation in my movement. All it took was one smooth cut across my wrist.

I returned the dagger before the pain could fully register, then lowered my arm toward her mouth. Crimson drops beaded and dripped, the scent hitting the air like wine uncorked after centuries.

She twitched. Her body shuddered. Then her lips parted.

She latched on.

No ceremony. No teasing banter. Just raw need.

I could feel her fangs pierce my skin, not sharp like a predator, but aching, desperate, like she was apologizing even as she fed. Her breath hitched with every pull. Her cracked skin began to mend, the burns closing one heartbeat at a time.

I kept my other hand on her back, holding her steady.

“It’s alright,” I whispered. “Just take what you need.”

And still, she muttered between gulps, ‘sorry’ like the word was the only thing keeping her conscious.

So… question.

How the hell was a vampire drinking the blood of a paladin?

It should’ve burned her from the inside out. My divine essence was practically liquid fire to anything undead. If a normal vampire even smelled my blood, they’d probably turn to ash and start praying to whatever unholy mess spawned them.

But not Alice.

Her fangs dug deeper into my wrist like she didn’t care, or didn’t feel, the pain she should’ve been in. And I watched, amazed, as she didn’t catch fire or scream. No smoke. No sizzling skin. Only hunger. Raw, desperate, and all-consuming... hunger.

The charred blackness of her skin began to slough away, dead layers peeling off in flakes and strands like old paint. Underneath it, pristine white skin emerged, porcelain-smooth and untouched. She looked like she was being sculpted anew, right there in my arms, forged in blood and second chances.

And yeah… I knew the reason.

To make the long story short, she had some level of resistance against the divine.

Alice wasn’t just some random vampire with a hot model and tragic backstory. She was a special vampire, one with actual depth. A ‘Holy Woman’ of the Church in her former life, back when she still walked in daylight and prayed before meals. Her lore ran deep, tangled in forgotten prophecies and broken oaths. I remembered because…

Well.

I’d started playing Lost Legends Online back in high school. And like any other socially awkward teen with a preference for pretty digital women who could break his neck… yeah, I had a crush.

So, of course, I read her lore.

Front to back. Twice.

In her case, the Church didn’t just bless her once… they anointed her with divine favor. She was supposed to become the Holy Woman of the Church. A vessel for some long-forgotten goddess. But something went wrong: betrayal, corruption, and a forbidden love... I forgot the details. Just remembered the emotions. Her fall from grace. Her rise as a vampire who still retained fragments of her holy self.

Enough that divine energy didn’t kill her.

Maybe it even fed her.

Her grip on my wrist tightened, but her breathing slowed. Her lips moved less violently. Then she did something that would’ve normally thrown me straight into fight-or-flirt mode.

She licked my wrist.

Long, slow, and delicate. Almost sensual. Her tongue brushed over the puncture wound with practiced care, her saliva warm and tingling. The bite marks faded like they’d never existed.

Right.

Vampire healing.

I cleared my throat and tried not to focus too much on the imagery. “Alice,” I said quietly. “Where’s Joan? What happened?”

Her lips parted. Eyes fluttered.

“…Joan…” she breathed, voice paper-thin.

I leaned closer.

“Is she safe? Did she run? Was she taken?”

But the words never came.

Alice’s eyes rolled back, her body going limp against my chest. I caught her before she could slump fully into the sand. Her skin was warm now. Breath stable. Her wounds had mostly closed. But her energy was spent. She’d passed out.

I looked down at her and exhaled. “Yeah. You’ll be fine.”

I hoped Joan could say the same.

I carried Alice gently, cradled in my arms like something precious that might shatter if I held her wrong. Her skin, once burned and cracked, was smooth now. Her breathing was soft. Even unconscious, she clung to me like a frightened child who hadn’t yet realized the nightmare was over.

I walked toward one of the Soaring Boats, the wind tugging at my sleeves, the sand still crackling with residual divine energy. When I stepped onto the wooden platform, Captain Xue Xin approached quickly, a folded robe in her arms.

“She’ll need this,” she said quietly, handing it to me.

“Thanks.” I shifted Alice slightly and let Xue help wrap the robe around her. The fabric was thick, Imperial-standard weave, and it swallowed Alice’s body completely. I adjusted it carefully over her shoulders.

Around us, people were beginning to murmur again: too many curious stares and too many questions being loaded into the air like cocked arrows. I raised one hand. “Keep the boat steady,” I said. “No one’s to disturb us. I’m not in the mood for questions.”

The crew froze, then nodded quickly.

I carried Alice in a full bridal carry, because, honestly, there wasn’t a better way to keep her stable right now… and stepped into the center of the Soaring Dragon Boat. The platform there was flat and reinforced, meant for formation engravings and casting circles. It’d work just fine for what I needed.

“General Bai,” I called out over my shoulder, “I want you to watch the perimeter. You see anything weird, you shake me out, hard. Strike me with the intent to kill. Don’t worry, I won’t die. If it goes wrong, it might be you who’d end up dying, so be careful… only limit yourself to a single strike to wake me up.”

Any more than a single strike, my Reflect would kill him, even with all of my Willpower suppressing the skill.

He nodded sharply, drawing his war fan at the ready.

I turned to Hei Yuan, who was hovering nearby with his usual ghostlike presence. “You prioritize Alice. If anything happens, even if I blink funny, you get her out. Use every movement technique you’ve got.”

He nodded once. “Understood.”

“Captain Xue,” I added, “stay close. Guard us. No distractions, do you understand?”

She saluted immediately, stepping into a low stance beside the boat's railing.

I exhaled slowly, shifting Alice’s weight so she lay evenly across my lap. Her head rested against my arm, her fingers limp but warm.

“Alright,” I whispered. “Sorry about this.”

There was a combo I’d been thinking about lately. Something new. Something weird, but maybe brilliant.

Divine Word: Rest.

My palm hovered over her chest as I murmured the word. The effect was immediate. The skill ignored elemental affinities, meaning I didn't have to fear accidentally exorcising her. Instead, this spell would heal her, at least by amplifying her regen. But more importantly, it would deepen her sleep, making her more stable for what came next.

“Forgive me,” I murmured again. "This is for our sakes..."

Divine Possession.

The connection snapped into place… my soul reaching across the thread between us, weaving in, latching on. I felt her breath, her pulse, the tug of dreams and memory.

Then I dived.

One final move.

Soulful Guiding Fire.

Mana surged through me, channeled and shaped with intent. I’d practiced it for weeks now, mastering its subtlety. As I cast, the dreamwalking spell took form: a small, emerald flame blossomed in my palm, then shaped itself into a butterfly, wings shimmering with ghostly green fire.

It fluttered once, twice, and dove straight into Alice’s chest.

My vision blurred. The real world peeled back. I felt my soul stretch forward, drawn in by her unconscious mind.

And then…

I saw.

I heard.

I entered her dreams.