Chapter 79: One Person Short |
Before anyone could answer his question, the sound of orderly, heavy footsteps came from the direction of the passage entrance.
The Kirin Tor battle mages filed in, their staffs raised high.
They formed two lines, stretching from the passage entrance all the way inside, surrounding the entire hall in an airtight circle.
Every passage was sealed off, every exit blocked, every possible corner of escape covered.
The hall descended into chaos. Someone screamed, someone collapsed to the ground, someone raised their staff to resist but dared not move.
Even as the Kirin Tor battle mages bound them with arcane chains, everyone still couldn't believe that the Cult of the Damned had an informant among them—it was obvious, someone must have sold them out.
Someone wailed, "Master Ner'zhul! He's not here! He's the informant! He's the Kirin Tor's informant!"
But another person refuted him excitedly, "Bullshit! How could Master Ner'zhul be an informant?"
Someone else suspected, "It must be Kel'Thuzad—he was jealous of Master Ner'zhul, and he betrayed us!"
Allen watched expressionlessly as one person after another was taken away, until the last one remained.
Since he had changed back to his original appearance, no one recognized him.
But he let out a sigh.
Amy Marlin was quite excited. She had only just arrived in Dalaran, and already she had made such a big contribution—it wasn't easy. When she got back, her father would probably look at her with new respect.
She secretly glanced at Allen's profile, a complex emotion surging in her heart. This liar... didn't seem so bad after all.
"Why are you sighing?" she asked.
Allen said, "One person short."
Amy paused for a moment, then comforted him, "We did our best. Most of them were caught. One or two slipping away or running into accidents—that kind of thing is unpredictable. Don't blame yourself."
She paused, then added, "As long as the main figures of the Cult of the Damned are captured, that's fine."
Speaking of which, Amy suddenly chuckled to herself, because when it came to the main figures of the Cult of the Damned, the cult's founder was right here, chatting with her.
Allen shook his head. The missing person was none other than Kel'Thuzad.
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"You want to apply to continue pursuing Kel'Thuzad? His name isn't on the leadership list of the Cult of the Damned."
Archmage Ansirem Runeweaver looked at Allen, a questioning tone in his voice.
He was also one of the members of the Kirin Tor's Council of Six, specifically assigned to oversee the operation to eliminate the Cult of the Damned this time.
The other archmages had all gone to reinforce the defenses against the supposedly imminent attack, leaving him to handle these trivial follow-up matters.
Ansirem fell silent for a moment.
He had heard a few days ago that this young man in front of him had been touted as the Guardian's successor, the one chosen by Medivh.
Even Krasus, that elusive figure who was as mysterious as a dragon, had expressed considerable admiration for him.
He had originally thought it was a bit exaggerated.
Until today, with Allen Prestor's help, they had so easily wiped out the evil cult lurking in the shadows of Dalaran.
Allen believed that with Teron Gorefiend dead, Kel'Thuzad must be shouldering the critical task of stealing the Eye of Dalaran.
"Allen——! You must go to Dalaran and protect the Eye of Dalaran——!"
Remembering Wen Laisa's words to him, Allen shook his head. "I must capture every member of the Cult of the Damned."
"Alright, alright, I'll give you Kel'Thuzad's address and files. Be very careful, young man."
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Allen stood in front of Kel'Thuzad's residence.
There was a small garden in front of the door, but the flowerbeds contained no flowers—only meticulously trimmed low holly bushes, each one shaped into a perfect sphere, the spacing so precise it looked like it had been measured with a ruler.
Not a single fallen leaf lay on the flagstone path, and not a single weed could be found in the cracks.
Allen pushed open the iron gate of the garden.
Morgan, Stella, and Amy followed behind him, their eyes sweeping across the overly tidy garden, unable to resist muttering under their breath, "This is just too..." She couldn't find the right word.
Allen didn't respond. He walked to the door, used the Knock spell to unlock it, and pushed it open.
A dark gray doormat lay at the entrance, its fibers all brushed in the same direction.
The living room was small, but everything was in its proper place.
In one corner of the room stood an exquisite cat tree, and next to the cat tree sat two bowls.
A small square cloth was placed under the bowls, its four corners folded into identical triangles, neatly pressed beneath them.
But there was no cat.
The bowls were empty, and the cat tree was empty too.
Allen crouched down, wiping his finger across the floor.
[Perception Check: Success]
[Your eyes sweep across the bookshelf, the desk, and the empty bowls. Everything is too tidy, as if afflicted by an illness. Yet, in the home of someone who has carried tidiness to its extreme, there is dust on the floor—clearly, he hasn't been back for several days.]
Amy was rifling through the desk, and in the bottommost drawer, she found a locked box.
Allen used the Knock spell to open it. Inside, over a dozen letters were stacked neatly.
Every single envelope bore the same pattern—a bleeding eye.
He picked up one letter with his fingers and tore it open.
The letter paper was made of fine parchment, smooth and thick to the touch, with edges cut perfectly straight.
"To the esteemed Mr. Kel'Thuzad: Your exposition on the nature of necromancy is most impressive. We share a common goal—to break through the boundaries of life and death, to explore realms that mortals should not tread. If you are willing, we can engage in deeper exchanges on this matter. Teron Gorefiend."
Allen put this letter down and picked up the next one. The tone was far warmer than the first. In his reply, Kel'Thuzad expressed cautious interest in the cooperation Teron Gorefiend had proposed.
The third, fourth, and fifth letters—the dates grew closer, and the tone grew more familiar.
In his letters, Kel'Thuzad detailed his theoretical ideas on necromancy, while Teron Gorefiend replied with specific spell guidance.
In the last few letters, words like "cult," "organization," and "recruitment" had begun to appear.
So it really was Kel'Thuzad.
He was the true leader behind this gathering, the one directly contacting Teron Gorefiend, obtaining orthodox necromantic knowledge from that death knight.
And that impassioned "cult leader" at the meeting was nothing but a puppet pushed to the front stage.
But the date on the last letter stopped half a month ago.
That was only natural, because half a month ago, Allen had killed Teron Gorefiend.
[Side Quest: The Bleeding Eye (Completed)]
[Quest Objective: Uncover the truth behind the bleeding eye mark at Menethil Harbor, 1/1]
[Rewards: 1 Random Low-Level Spell being drawn, 2 Free Attribute Points distributed, Profession Level increased by 1...]
[...]
[Draw successful. Congratulations, you have obtained the spell: Animal Friendship]
[Animal Friendship]
[Spell Level: 1st Level]
[Effect: Target a beast you can see within the spell's range. The beast must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, or it will be charmed by you for the spell's duration.]
[Warlock Level 2 → Warlock Level 3]
[Unlocked new Metamagic spell and 1 2nd-level spell!]
For his Metamagic spell, Allen chose Silent Spell this time.
[Metamagic - Silent Spell: You can cast spells while silenced]
For the 2nd-level spell, he chose See Invisibility.
[See Invisibility]
[Spell Level: 2nd Level]
[Effect: Gain the ability to see invisible creatures, with the possibility of revealing their presence to others.]
Having selected his rewards, Allen refocused his attention on Kel'Thuzad's room.
Just then, he suddenly noticed that there was a hidden compartment on the inside of that drawer.
He pulled open the concealed compartment on the inner side, looked at what was inside, and felt a flicker of surprise.