Townplaza.
Beams of light continued to blast into the group of undead creatures.
"Hold your ground!"
The leader shouted as he drew his sword and cut the first undead to reach the top of the steps.
The scepters were effective but took some time to charge. And there were not many of them compared to the hundred or so undead.
The leader stepped up. His skill with the sword was amazing.
Somewhere behind, hidden in the darkness, Ronan watched the ongoing battle. Seeing the skilled clerk he frowned.
"Avery, stop controlling all hundred creatures. Let the weaker ones act like fodder. Focus on five strong ones and engage the clerk in front."
Avery nodded and his skull-shaped mark pulsed, releasing more streams of darkness. The streams melded with the night and flew to the group under his control.
They had gathered the bodies from the teams, killed in the mountains by the berserk beasts. There were a few with the power of double Blessing. Avery focused on those corpses.
The darkness surged into them, increasing his control over them. He left the others with simple commands.
Under his control, the five chosen corpses sped up, running up to the clerk. The sudden change shocked the old man.
The pressure on him increased. He was still stronger and more skilled than his opponents but it was still one against five.
He struck three of them down but was hit from behind. The other clerks saw the dire situation he was in. But just as they wished to help him, they heard shouts from the other side.
"Who are they?" One of them asked in shock. The survivors had fled the plaza as soon as the clergy had taken charge. The clerks tensed up, causing them to be pushed even further back.
"Keep attacking!" The leader shouted. His white armor was dyed red but he held on. One more corpse had fallen.
He had a grim look on his face but his voice still held the commanding tone it always had. His grievous wounds didn't slow him. On the contrary, he seemed to be burning with more vigor.
Ronan chuckled at the sight of the old man.
"A flame…about to burn out," he commented with a shake of his head. "It's a pity but the Temple is still as good as always in turning their clergy into dumb believers."
Just when the old clerk started to attack the undead, Herman reached the plaza with the mob of people behind him.
They stopped in front of the steps. The leader wasn't sure who they were but knew they would be troublesome. He felt his body weaken but he gritted his teeth and held on.
"My son!" A woman in the crowd pushed others out of her way and ran up to an undead squirming on the steps. Its legs were missing. Smolders could be seen at the fringes of what was left of his trousers.
After the woman, more cries erupted from the group. People searched for their loved ones in the crowd of the undead.
"Father, hold on!" A young boy screamed, running up the steps. He joined an undead - a middle-aged guy who resembled the boy - and started to fend off the beams of light.
"Stop! Get back!" The leader of the clerks shouted, with a worried look. The beams of light were fatal for dark creatures but humans would suffer mild burn wounds.
But his cries only drew more attention to the boy's actions. Emboldened by his actions, more people joined the undead, fighting against the clergy. The old clerk's heart sank.
"Your Excellency," he shouted with a desperate gaze towards the inner hall, "please help. I don't wish to kill the innocent."
The other clerks pleaded in unison. They spend their lives in servitude to the Heavens, considering helping the innocent as their fate.
"Fools," the Templar cursed when she heard them. She understood their scruples but it would only help her opponents.
For a moment, she fell into a dilemma. The screams and cries from outside kept assaulting her ears.
"I guess I am a fool too," she cursed. Before exiting, she walked up to the monolith and wiped some of the lines of runes clean.
When she exited, the mob was already at the clerks' throats. Their superior numbers weren't something the already hesitating clerks could face.
"Chains of Silver!"
She didn't hesitate. She activated her powers of judgment, making silver chains appear out of the floor. The chains wrapped around the humans and the undead.
She then clenched her fist. The chains jerked hard on the bodies and pulled them back.
"Let us go!"
"Monsters!"
The humans tried to break free from their bonds but the chains didn't budge. They screamed and cursed but the Templar didn't budge.
The clerks scrambled back on their feet and stood hurriedly behind the beautiful Templar of Justice.
"Swords of the Pure."
The Templar looked cold at the undead. After she activated her Technique, silvery swords appeared above the heads of the corpses.
"Spare him."
"Have mercy."
The humans were in despair. They were more concerned about their dead ones than their own lives.
The Templar didn't pay them any heed. She raised her arm…and then made a downward slash.
The swords struck the undead, inflaming on hit. The silvery flame spread rapidly over the bodies. Their screams and growls, coupled with the cries of the humans, caused a horrifying symphony of pain and despair.
The clerks all bowed their heads and mumbled their prayers. It was their job to appease the fallen, guiding them to the Heavens.
Suddenly, the Templar sensed something and looked at the bottom of the steps. A middle-aged man with an amiable smile on his face appeared beside Herman.
"Ronan!"
"Hallo Silvera," Ronan said, his smile deepening. "I had never thought I would meet you here. It was you, right? Disguised as the priestess?"
Seeing the friendly manner Ronan was behaving, irritated Silvera even more.
"Why are you doing this? You already abandoned the Heavens. Are you also abandoning your humanity?"
"It was really you!" Ronan laughed out loud, having an entirely different focus. "I wondered how the Priestess of an old rundown Temple at the edge of the living world knew me."
"Ronan!" The Templar had trouble containing her fury. She wouldn't admit it but part of her anger stemmed from the fact that the enemy she was after all these years, was her old friend and colleague.
"Okay, okay," Ronan said, acting like he was scared of her. "You are still as fun to irritate."
"Oh yeah? You are still as dumb as always. Don't think of getting away after revealing yourself. I have already adjusted it to sync with your energy wavelength. I am not sure if you remember but once it's synced, it will not lose you till your waves are erased from existence."
Silvera had a vicious smile on her lips. Friends or not, she was resolved to finish Ronan today.
Ronan, however, still stood at the bottom of the steps, with his playful smile.
"I hope you haven't forgotten I was once part of the same clergy," he said, causing Silvera's smile to vanish. "Do you think I would plan a horde to attack, only to have you kill them? I admit it hurts my ego that you consider me so dumb."
Ronan looked like he was upset. Silvera felt a sense of unease come over her. She knew him. He was obnoxious when his plans worked out as he wanted them to.
"The monolith is the greatest power you can control. But it's also the greatest weakness. You had to deactivate the runes controlling the connection with the Heavens. Or else using your judgment chains on innocent believers would have unleashed Heavens' fury upon you."
"What did you do?" Silvera knew something was wrong. But she had kept an eye on the monolith. She was certain no one had tampered with it.
"Nothing. Like I said, you were the one who did something. Not me," Ronan said, putting his hands in front of him, claiming his innocence
"Now, if I don't use this opportunity then that will be dumb, don't you think? Thanks for syncing our energy waves by the way. It makes doing the following thing easier."
Ronan lifted his hand, revealing his mark. The mark had a circular shape glowing in golden light, making it appear like a miniature sun.
"What…," Silvera's heartbeat accelerated. Her confusion turned into shock. It was not the sight in front of her that caused it. No, it was coming from inside.
She sensed energy fluctuations appear in the temple. Her gaze penetrated the walls.
"The crystals…! She started to shout but the beast crystals all turned into mini suns.
BOOM!
The Temple exploded. The people chained on the steps burnt to cinders. The hill quaked like never before. Cracks appeared in the ground. The night sky was lit up as if the sun appeared.
The entire plaza was damaged beyond repair. It took a while for the heat and residual chaotic energy to disperse.
When Oron exited the arena, he was shocked. He forgot about Hex, lying on his shoulders, and sprinted towards the temple. Adgar was supposed to be there.
Hex wasn't aware of the situation outside. He was battling inside his consciousness.