Modern World Warlock-Chapter 260: [Terra] The Church’s Pursuit

In the depths of an enchanted forest where the trees glowed blue and the grass was illuminated at night by pink fireflies, a large building could be found in the center.

The building's facade made it look like an ancient structure. However, the inside was tidy and organized, with large bookcases filled to the brim.

"Hey, Faelyn… Are you sure the church won't look for us here?" Sylas, the assassin, asked.

"We should be fine here for a few weeks. Let's just gather the books we need and scram," the elven mage replied.

Dante's old party had been hiding from the people of the church after an encounter they had during their research of the portal taking to another world.

Faelyn, Soren, and Sylas had traveled to Ozin's library in search of clues, and they discovered that many other mages in their world were researching the same thing.

When the party left the building and traveled to a neighboring country, they were intercepted by a Holy Knight and a couple of priests, who wanted to have a word with the party after finding out that Dante's name had been erased from the holy text.

The holy text was a magical document made by Goddess Aelara. In it, the names of all the individuals who had received a blessing from the goddess were written.

Even if the person on the holy text perished, their name would persist on the document. However, after Dante's disappearance, his name had also been erased from the text, which prompted the church to investigate the rest of the party.

After the group stated that they didn't know the whereabouts of Dante or the reason for the erasure of his name, the priests at the church doubted their words, and before they could order their arrest, the party escaped the city.

Not wanting to stop their research, Faelyn decided to travel to the enchanted forest, knowing that the church would take longer to look for them there. Moreover, the ancient elven library was located there.

When the party found a tome that told them about the peak of a mountain where the convergence happened every few months instead of years, they had their new destination set.

Still, the notes of the previous researchers made it clear that a catalyst was needed in order to open the portal. Otherwise, the convergence that appeared at the peak could kill a person, as it wasn't a finished portal.

"Hmm, a catalyst? What could we use as one?" Faelyn pondered, placing a hand on her chin.

Wolfram's research notes talked about using the heart of a Sacred Beast, but the party was on good terms with them, and they didn't want to make them their enemies.

Asphodel was mentioned in some documents, but the vampire didn't seem to leave any personal notes of her experience. However, when the party reminisced about the time they helped Asphodel kill Nicodemus, the previous Father of her clan, they remembered that the woman had taken his heart.

"I know we haven't heard of Asphodel in years… But, do you really think she used Nicodemus' heart as a catalyst to travel through the convergence?" Sylas pondered.

"We can't be too sure… The only way to know is by doing it ourselves," Faelyn replied.

Soren, the strong warrior of the party, listened to his companions sharing ideas until he felt a sudden, powerful presence approaching the library, making him stand up with urgency.

It took a few seconds for Faelyn and Sylas to discern, but once they sensed the individual traveling towards them at high speeds, they realized they wouldn't have enough time to escape.

As the trio stood outside the front door of the library, a man fully clad in golden armor appeared flying above them.

His extended, majestic wings looked like strands of golden energy that shaped their frame, and his golden helm entirely obscured his face.

The hovering man had a long, golden spear in his hand, and the aura emanating from him was beautiful and intimidating at the same time.

"Faelyn, Soren, Sylas… Hmm, it seems the priests were right," the man said as he slowly descended to the ground, standing a few meters away from the group.

"Have the angels lost their sense of direction?" Faelyn sarcastically asked.

"What are you doing here, Gabriel?" She continued, sharpening her gaze and glaring at the angel before them.

"There is no need for hostility. I was summoned by the priests at the church…" Gabriel said, his tone calm and serene.

"I was told one of your members was erased from the holy text… Could you tell me what happened?" the angel continued, and even though his voice seemed calm, it still sent shivers down the trio's spines.

"We already told the priests that we don't know," Faelyn replied.

"Why don't you ask the goddess? Surely she has more answers," she continued.

"Inquiring the goddess about a mere warlock's whereabouts…? No—that won't be possible," Gabriel said with a condescending tone.

As the angel scanned his surroundings, he glanced at the extensive library behind the trio and wondered if the group could share their research with him.

"No, that won't be possible… This library is reserved for the elven race and their friends," Faelyn commented.

"As vassals of the goddess, are you saying I'm not a friend of the elven race?" Gabriel asked.

Faelyn didn't reply with words. Instead, she just glared at the angel with apparent disdain in her eyes.

"I see… Then I suppose I'll have to take it by force," Gabriel continued, waving his spear and preparing himself to battle the trio.

At that moment, Faelyn snapped her fingers, and the elven library behind them instantly caught on fire from the inside, burning every single piece of evidence.

The angel was taken aback momentarily, perplexed at how easily she decided to destroy hundreds of years of information that had been kept in the library.

"Tell the church to leave us alone. Our party is out of commission," Faelyn said, waving her arm and casting a spell that covered her and her companions in a thick mist, making them disappear.

The trio was teleported to Ozin's tower, one of the first places they searched for information.

Fortunately for the group, Faelyn had found an old spell that had been left on a tome, which allowed her to teleport to the location of the book.

"Argh, we are back here!?" Soren asked, seemingly annoyed.

"I didn't have any other options. Did you prefer fighting Gabriel?" The elf asked.

"You know we might have to fight him someday…" Sylas interjected.

"Then let's make sure we have our whole party when that time comes…" Faelyn said.

With the information they had gathered up to that point, it was only a matter of time before the party found a safe route to the other world. However, with the church pursuing them, they would have to be much more careful with their movements.