Bang! Bang!
White motes of light flared, and two lance-wielding Guardian Angels materialized at Adam's side.
"I know some of Khajiit's abilities, but what he's shown may not be his full arsenal. After all, he has extraordinary combat experience." Adam said, his face serious, though his eyes glinted with excitement and focus.
This was a man who, in the future, would clash head-on with the Pleiades maid Narberal. Granted, Narberal, at Level 63, had been toying with him, while Khajiit was around Level 21. Surviving even briefly against such a gap proved Khajiit's worth to Zurrernorn.
"Camouflage!"
Adam's eyes flashed as he produced another scroll, casting it on the left Guardian Angel.
Green mana shimmered, and the angel's form blurred, soon melding into the night.
"In this dark environment, the effect's nearly as good as in a forest." Adam noted, nodding at the now-invisible angel.
Using a second-tier scroll for a first-tier spell was wasteful, but for Adam, who could craft scrolls independently, it was trivial.
Under his control, the cloaked angel advanced about 50 meters, then moved laterally, offsetting from Adam's position.
From above, Adam and the dilapidated temple formed a straight line, with the invisible angel positioned to the left, creating a triangular formation.
Swish!
Adam summoned another Guardian Angel with a second-tier scroll.
He'd now used five of his ten second-tier scrolls.
"Go. Enter the temple." He commanded, directing the new angel toward the structure.
Adam slipped behind the un-camouflaged angel, his form flickering.
"Stealth!"
His body blurred, melding into the angel's shadow.
This skill, gained from fighting an Eight Fingers thief, reduced his presence and let him blend into shadows.
The newly summoned angel flew swiftly into the temple. The open interior offered no hiding spots; a single glance revealed its contents. The only notable feature was a stone sarcophagus at the center, unremarkable amidst the cemetery's tombstones, like mere decor.
Whoosh!
The angel's wings beat, and it hovered above the sarcophagus. Its radiant lance smashed down.
Boom!
A muffled explosion shattered the silence, cracking the sturdy sarcophagus. A second strike followed.
Boom!
The sarcophagus shattered, revealing a dark underground passage.
Under Adam's command, the angel dove into the tunnel without hesitation.
Outside, hidden in the angel's shadow, Adam waited patiently.
His order was simple: enter the passage and destroy everything.
Adam had no intention of risking himself in a necromancer's lair. His goal was to lure Khajiit out.
Rumble! Rumble!
The underground chamber beneath the temple soon echoed with intense vibrations.
But the sounds came and went quickly.
Within moments, the tremors ceased.
No need to guess, Adam knew the angel had been dispatched.
Silence reclaimed the area, but not for long.
Shambling low-tier zombies, clad in tattered rags and reeking of decay yet relatively intact, crawled from the passage.
"Hiss!"
"Groan!"
"Hiss!"
"…"
The dozen zombies swayed, roaring but moving with purpose. Rather than scattering, they surrounded the passage's entrance.
Khajiit, controlling them, was probing and observing.
Peering through his angel's cover, Adam squinted toward the temple.
So cautious.
He'd briefly considered summoning all his angels to storm the chamber, hoping to overwhelm Khajiit.
But that was the best-case scenario.
Khajiit, hiding in a temple vulnerable to being cornered, surely had contingencies, perhaps an escape route. If he fled, tracking him would be nearly impossible.
"Second-tier Guardian Angel?" A cold, low voice echoed from the chamber. "This isn't something common guards or Adventurer's Guild small fry could muster."
Though soft, the voice carried clearly in the cemetery's oppressive quiet.
Slow, deliberate footsteps ascended the stairs.
A figure emerged: an old man in a blood-red mage robe, bald, with ashen, sickly skin, appearing in his fifties or sixties. A necklace with three skull motifs hung from his chest. His left hand gripped a long black staff, his right dragged a black stone the size of two fists.
He exuded danger and grandeur.
The moment Adam saw him, he withdrew his gaze, sinking fully into the angel's shadow.
Despite his aged appearance, Khajiit was only in his forties. Negative energy's corrosion had ravaged him.
Living beings wielding undead powers inevitably suffered negative energy's toll.
To escape it, one could abandon humanity, becoming an immortal undead, free of racial or lifespan limits.
Or succumb to the corrosion, dying and rising as a mindless undead.
***
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