[This... bloom, leads beneath the church. That must be the source.](Kor'Tha)

"That should be the Boss Room, then."

[We'll follow the same plan. Michael uses his minions to tank the damage, and we dish out everything we have from the sides.](Gonk)

[Sounds good to me.](Amurin)

[Got it.](Kor'Tha)

"No problem here."

Nodding, the Necromancer sent his minions to clear out the infection blocking the way. This opened up a corridor infested by flesh tendrils, similar to what he previously saw in the fallen Tristram illusion shown by the Demonic Wolf.

Signaling for the others to be careful, Michael ordered all his minions to storm the Boss Room while they followed closely behind.

The MAP identified this place as Kor Dragan's Archives, and as soon as all four of them were inside, a barrier blocked the exit.

Surely enough, a Boss figure in the form of a Blood Mage stood in the middle of the room.

[ Nilcar, Forgotten Bishop (Boss) - Level 52 ]

Four groans broke the silence upon seeing the Boss-type, but everyone went into full battle mode.

Four especially large javelins formed from water, air, fire, and earth skewered Nilcar, but before Gonk could smash it good, it turned into a group of shadow bats and relocated to a different spot in the room.

Kor'Tha went next and summoned three pillar-like totems, which blocked the Boss from moving, while Gonk turned red and activated his Ultimate Skill. Three more blood clones of him appeared around the Bishop and started clobbering the poor creature without mercy.

At the same time, Michael kept stacking up Corpses and exploding them, finally confirming that his damage increased quite a bit, seeing ticks of 1,800+ damage pop up continuously.

[Gonk, keep it in place! I'll use my Ultimate!](Kor'Tha)

The totems surrounding the Boss crumbled, and just as it was preparing to transform into bats again, Gonk aggroed it with a taunting skill.

It lasted only a second, not enough for Kor'Tha to finish his preparations. Michael supplemented with his Golem's taunt, forcing the Bishop to kill the poor Quarterback in anger.

The deep and ancient voice echoed through the room again, and a bolt of lightning as thick as Gonk smashed Nilcar into the floor.

"Jesus fuck! What the hell was that!? It took a quarter of the Boss's Life Points!"

[Hehe! Massive damage, massive cooldown. I can use it once per hour...](Kor'Tha)

"Fuck... still... That's insane."

[Shit! This bastard ran away again.](Gonk)

Watching the Boss retreat in the middle of the three conspicuous-looking Vampire Incubators, the party prepared for the worst.

The Bishop's Life Points were already at less than 50%, so even if three Unique Elites joined, it wouldn't pose too much of a problem.

[ Sanguine Adherent (Elite) - Level 51

*Poison Enchanted: All attacks create a poison puddle on the ground. Enemies affected by poison are dealt 550 damage per second for a duration of 7 seconds. ]

[ Sanguine Inquisitor (Elite) - Level 51

*Multishot: All ranged attacks are mirrored by three more attacks dealing 200% of the initial damage. ]

[ Sanguine Knight (Elite) - Level 51

*Supressor: Create a ten-meter range force field that blocks the use of spells and prevents ranged attacks. ]

Except they did...

"What the fuck are those ridiculous modifiers!?"

[Shit! 550 poison damage for 7 seconds!? I don't have that many Life Points!](Amurin)

[That Knight... it fucking covers the entire Boss Room! How is that ever remotely fair!?](Kor'Tha)

[Well... it's not that bad. At least they only have one modifier each.](Gonk)

This remark earned the tankiest in the group three middle fingers in response.

"I'll use my Golem to draw the three Elites and focus on them with my minions. Gonk, can you keep the Bishop busy for a while?"

[No problem. Just hurry up. This thing flees too much.](Gonk)

Without hesitation, Michael used Corpse Tendrils, which grouped the three resurrected church members on top of a pile of 'explosives.' Then, using the resurrected Quarterback's taunt, he kept them in place for six seconds while they enjoyed the miasma.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Kor'Tha contributed with his lightning totem, while Amurin used his Ultimate Skill again after drinking a strange purple potion.

Everyone was shocked when they noticed the Elite's Life Points gone so quickly, but even more so when they saw them remain standing like puppets with their strings cut.

Nilcar was angered by having his toys messed with, so it channeled a torrent of blood arrows at the group. With the party's Resources mostly used up, Michael quickly used his Blood Mist to tank the hits with his invulnerable state.

Cunning, the Boss waited for the skill's invulnerability to end, after which he quickly aimed for the moment when the Necromancer materialized. Five blood whips descended on him, but only the first one took 757 Life Points from him, while the protecting bubble negated the others.

"Shit! That's a third of my life gone! Fuck! I would've fucking died if only three of them hit!"

[Drink a potion! Less talking, more running!](Gonk)

The Bishop disgusted the group even further after it teleported behind the three Elites and swapped their 'batteries' with new ones, putting them back onto the playing field.

Luckily, Michael expected that, and he put them out of service using Corpse Tendrils, Decrepify, and Corpse Explosions again.

When Nilcar targeted him again, he used his ult Bone Storm and Blood Mist simultaneously, tanking three of the blood whips before using Evade to run from the other two.

With the four imprisoning totems off cooldown, Kor'Tha used them on the Boss again, and everyone used absolutely everything they had, finally dropping the former clergy member.

With its death, the 'puppets' disintegrated into three blood pools, leaving behind two Rare items each.

The Bishop was more generous and directly dropped four Legendary item boxes, putting large smiles on everyone's faces.

Seeing everyone slumping on the ground after exiting the Archives, Michael went on to re-ignite the Wanderer Shrine. After infusing some of his Essence into it, a warm shock pulsed through the fort, turning every monster's corpse into fine dust.

When they checked the time, it was only 10:22 AM. Considering their travel time, the Stronghold event took less than two hours.

[Running around the fort from one Vampiric Infection to another while dealing with the rabble took the longest. Even the Boss fight was less than 15 minutes.](Kor'Tha)

[This was... surprisingly easy.](Amurin)

Hearing the Spear Thrower's words, Michael alertly stood up and ordered his minions into battle positions, alerting the other three, who also stood up and looked around strangely.

After five minutes of nothing happening, the Necromancer dropped to the ground under the puzzled eyes of the trio. He didn't bother explaining the meaning of 'flags' and only asked if they could return.

Michael was the only one without a quick travel available in the group, so the Barbarians decided to walk back to Menestad. That's right! Walking, and not riding.

Seeing them abuse the Ice Clan goatmen and the undead in the wilderness made the Necromancer shake his head at them.

From Menestad, the group prepared to travel to Kyovashad until Michael saw a beggar carrying a bowl for alms, smiling at him from between two buildings. Nobody, not even the three Barbarians who now all underwent a Second Class Awakening, seemed to have noticed the man.

Sighing, he stopped.

"You three go ahead. I have something to take care of in Menestad."

[Quest?](Gonk)

"Hmm... probably? We'll see in a bit."

[Anything dangerous?](Kor'Tha)

[Need help?](Amurin)

"Nah. I think this one should be easier to solve. Don't forget about the barbeque tonight. It starts at 7 PM."

[Do we need to bring anything?](Gonk)

"Ugh... you should bring Connie and her father if they are available. I think the girls, especially Aylin, might've forgotten about her."

[Will do. Anything else?](Gonk)

"Nope. We have plenty of food and drinks. So just bring yourselves."

Seeing the trio teleport away, Michael's smile vanished without a trace as he calmly walked toward the back alley.

The beggar stood on the ground, and he followed his example. As for staying on guard, after looking at the man with his improved vision and seeing how he was radiating energy, he decided it was unnecessary.

[I've been waiting for you, Wanderer.](Potential Bigshot)

"Well... sorry to keep you waiting. I've been busy cleaning up after the Cathedral."

[Yes, I've seen. Nilcar... such a pitiful soul.](Potential Bigshot)

"It's a cruel world out there."

[Indeed it is...](Potential Bigshot)

"I don't think I caught your name the first time we met."

[That's because I didn't give it, Michael Corbett. Strange how you humans place such importance on a trivial matter such as one's name. Even Inarius fell into this trap and lost his grace. If only you could see the tapestry of the world. Then, you could realize how infinitely small we are in the grand scheme of things.](Potential Bigshot)

"..."

The Necromancer kept quiet after hearing the pretentious words but tried to remember as much as possible. Later on, he would draw some conclusions based on this conversation.

[You can call me Itharael.](Itharael)

Michael's eyebrows rose, and he barely fought the instinct of standing up.

He knew this name. It wasn't knowledge he had from Earth but one he recently acquired after reading Lorath's letters.

[It seems you know my name.](Itharael)

"And you seem surprisingly proud of that, even after talking about the trap Inarius fell in."

[Aren't we all imperfect beings?](Itharael)

"That's not what I've heard. I heard that only the purest vibration created from Anu's Spine could create an Archangel. Upon its creation, it embodies an Aspect of Anu and becomes one of the protectors of the High Heavens. Isn't that so, Archangel of Fate?"

[You don't seem that impressed. I am a bit disappointed, I must admit.](Itharael)

"Well... you're not the first angel I've met. However, if Auriel had come instead, I might've been more surprised. I heard that she's beautiful beyond words."

[That's indeed true. But with the mess caused by our two rebellious brothers, she now needs to keep things in line.](Itharael)

Slightly annoyed and amused at the same time, Michael looked at this Archangel with curiosity. One of the angels capable of seeing the inner workings of fate, but couldn't see anything about the past, present, or future of humans due to their 'unnatural' creation.

"Since you're here, you must either seek information from me—which I seriously doubt as there must be more capable informants out there, such as a certain giant World Tree—or you need to inform me of something. I seriously dread the second option, as I barely got five days of rest."

[Please don't joke around... As if I would ask that stingy old tree for anything. Its prices are ridiculous even for me. As for my goal, it is indeed to provide some much-needed knowledge.](Itharael)

"As expected..."

[Lilith is in Scosglen, but not for long. If you postpone your meeting with Donan, you might not have to meet him anymore.](Itharael)

"That's oddly... specific. I thought you couldn't see the future of men."

[After millennia, it would be shameful if I haven't mastered even the slightest bit of my Father's Aspect.](Itharael)

"Aspect, huh? Are they related? The Aspects inscribed on Legendary or higher grade items, as well as the ones we get from the Sanctuary through clearing Dungeons?"

[Haha! Where do you think the power of laws that manipulate energy comes from? All the Sanctuary does is inscribe a lesser form of a full Aspect onto them. Anything more, and the item would shatter into millions of pieces.](Itharael)

"I see... Well, this has been incredibly enlightening. I would invite you to our barbeque party, but I doubt you'd be interested."

[That sounds tempting. I would like to try the dishes of a different world.](Itharael)

Looking at the serious Archangel, Michael scratched his head and wondered if Helen and her sisters would kick his ass after bringing such a VIP to the party.

After seriously considering it for a moment, he nodded and looked at the beggar.

"That sounds fun. Please change your clothing, though. I don't discriminate, but you would stand out too much going like this."

[Haha. No worries. 7 PM?](Itharael)

"Yup."

[Do I need to bring anything?](Itharael)

Realizing that the Archangel eavesdropped on his previous conversation, Michael shook his head.

"Any High Heavens specialties that go well with grilled meat are welcomed. Feel free to bring a plus one also. After all, the more the merrier."

Itharael, the Archangel of Fate, disappeared in a flash of golden light, leaving behind a slightly confused Necromancer.

For some reason, he was starting to doubt inviting the High Heavens resident was a good idea.

Shrugging, he wondered if Itharael also spied on him when the Horadrim guided him to the Gate since he took the same appearance as they did back then. As for everything back then being orchestrated by the Archangel, he sincerely doubted it since he had too few encounters with other bigshots to put him on his radar.