“I’m going kill that fucker.” Lith’s smile disappeared as soon as the call ended.
He didn’t understand everything, but based on what he knew about Zinya’s situation, it wasn’t hard to guess who the root of Kamila’s problem was.
‘Calm down. Making Kamila’s sister a widow isn’t bound to make her happy, especially if she finds out you are the culprit. She isn’t as morally flexible as you are and she isn’t stupid.
‘If what’s-his-face dies, she’ll understand the truth and you’ll lose her.’ Solus said, quenching his anger.
Lith looked out of his window, noticing that the intensity of the snowstorm had decreased enough to allow him to move safely.
‘Now that I have a mission, I can’t ask Friya to go against the interests of her client. It would ruin her reputation.’ Lith Warped outside and asked around for directions to reach the main temple of the Church of the Six.
Sorting out its believers from regular people was quite easy. Rangers were known to be mages, so whenever he met the former, they would either shudder in fear or call him names, whereas the latter would warn him.
“Be careful, son. Those nutjobs are a dangerous bunch.” Said an old man who was taking advantage of the temporary relief from the snowstorm to stock up groceries.
“They will try to beat the crap out of you at the first opportunity they get. To make matters worse, if you retaliate that idiot Count will hold you responsible for their injuries.” He spat on the snow as if Cestor’s name tasted like horseshit.
Unlike most cities of the north, Zantia wasn’t divided into rims, but into two districts. The eastern one, where Lith currently was, was the residential area. The Noble or rich households were the farthest ones from the city gates, whereas the poor people lived in its proximity.
The west district was the commercial area, where one could find shops, hotels, and restaurants. The main Church of the Six was located in an old warehouse near the center of the city.
Lith shapeshifted his clothes into a commoner civilian attire before proceeding any further.
‘It would be a good idea to not stir unnecessary trouble. I’ll get in, check out the most notable members of the church, and get out. If not for the Griever and the Count’s support, this would be an open and closed case. Let’s hope things keep being so simple.’ Lith thought.
When Lith reached his destination, his mouth almost fell on the ground from the surprise. The temple was exactly as he expected it, a simple rectangular shaped building made of wood with a sloping roof.
What stunned him for a couple of seconds was the insignia hung above the double doors. It represented a handsome young man with silver hair and seven eyes, arranged exactly like those which appeared on Lith’s face during a world tribulation.
Yet they weren’t yellow, but each one was a different color with the exception of the seventh eye in the middle of the young man’s forehead which was completely white, with no pupil nor iris.
‘If it wasn’t for the seventh eye and the pink skin, I’d think the Church of the Six venerates the Balors.’ Solus thought.
“Agreed. The question is: how do they know what an ancient Balor looks like? What does the seventh eye mean?” Lith pondered.
Despite the bad weather, a lot of people were entering the building. Lith waited outside, using Life Vision and mana sense to check on them. He soon noticed they could be sorted into two different kinds of people.
Those who had a really weak mana core and looked really angry, and those who had a normal bright red or yellow one but looked to be in anguish.
‘I can’t feel any magical aura coming from the temple. It has no defenses nor arrays.’ Solus pointed out.
Lith only had so much time before he was forced to get inside. The snow had turned the city white, making any passerby stand out. The sloping roofs didn’t offer any cover, while patrolling from the sky limited his field of vision due to the still ongoing storm.
He didn’t want to go inside before whatever ceremony or ritual they were about to perform started. He suspected they would use it to spread the Griever with magic, yet he couldn’t afford to do small talk with the Church’s believers.
‘If they see a new face, the ones behind the scheme might get spooked and just spout bullshit, wasting my time. I’m too easily recognizable as a stranger. It’s better to wait for all eyes to be on the altar. It will be easier to go unnoticed.’ Lith thought while hiding behind a corner.
‘From above!’ Solus’s warning made Lith dodge to the side with a roll. Nothing was falling from the roof over his head but a piece of snow, yet he knew Solus wouldn’t yell like that without a good reason.
He was right.
A split second later, two deep footprints appeared in the snow and a thud could be heard. Someone almost invisible had just landed. Lith could see the air in front of him slightly distorted, but it was otherwise unnoticeable.
“You’re better than I expected, Ranger Verhen.” Said a male voice quickly closing in to him.
Lith activated Life Vision and took out the Gatekeeper Sword from his pocket dimension, making it shrink to the size of a short sword to more easily maneuver it in the alley they were in.
Thanks to Life Vision, the distortion was now evident enough to see the human figure hiding behind it.
‘Whoever this fucker is, he’s not on par with Zolgrish.’ Lith struck forward with the Gatekeeper, too fast and too close for the opponent to dodge his lunge.
The moment their blades touched, a young man with blue eyes in his early twenties seemingly appeared out of thin air. He wore what seemed like black assassin garb, covering him from head to toe and leaving only his eyes exposed.
He was wielding a couple of long daggers. One of them had just deflected the Gatekeeper, while the other was aimed at Lith’s heart.
His first instinct was to grab it with his free hand, but his paranoia stopped him.
‘Solus, analysis!’ He thought while taking a step back and a dagger out of his pocket dimension. Lith had no idea how to dual wield, but at least he could parry with it.
‘Red core, normal weapons, and great life force. At least on par with Orion after you rejuvenated him, if not better.’ She replied.
‘Something is off with his blades, though. I can see they are coated with something viscous but colorless.’
‘It can’t be a simple poison. He knows I’m a Ranger, normal weapons can’t even put a scratch on my uniform. He’s hiding something!’ Lith thought as he kept being forced on the defensive.
He had already infused himself with all the elements but the enemy was incredibly fast, plus he had the poison and was better suited to fight in such confined space. Lith suspected that there was more than a trap waiting for him.
He was careful not leaving an opening that a second camouflaged enemy could exploit.
To add insult to injury, the assassin had taken him by surprise, so Lith had no spells at the ready. He quickly jumped back, gaining the split second of respite he needed to Blink behind the enemy and finish him off.
Lith was flabbergasted when the enemy turned around, deflecting the Gatekeeper with inhuman speed as his second dagger, positioned exactly in front of Lith’s exit point, skewered him using his own momentum.
