Modern World Warlock

In the world of Terra, it had been a little over a year since Dante's disappearance.

Faelyn, Sylas, and Soren—the warlock's previous party members—were considered rebels of the church for showing insubordination to the goddess' orders.

Since the trio focused on researching the means to look for Dante, they completely ignored any direct order given by Goddess Aelara. As a result, angels, holy knights, and priests were sent to hunt them down.

Fortunately, the warlock's party was wise and powerful enough to escape from the goddess' minions while searching for the information they needed.

During their quest, they found a crucial piece of information that talked about an ancient catalyst that could be used to force open the convergence, and noticing that it wouldn't require them to kill an innocent Sacred Beast, they decided to look for it.

The catalyst was called a "lightning stone," and the party found it inside a massive cave underwater, where they had to fight dozens of monsters to get to the stone. Even so, they were veterans, so clearing the cave wasn't that big of a deal to them.

Once they successfully obtained it, the party made their way to the top of a rocky mountain that was depicted in Ozin's studies, where the convergence supposedly had a higher chance of appearing.

By the time the trio reached the peak, a powerful thunderstorm had struck, and the winds it produced made it difficult for the party to keep their balance. Still, the warrior Soren believed that a bit of wind and water would be inconsequential to him.

When the trio stood on a small plateau at the peak of the mountain, they had a perfect view of the darkened skies that were illuminated every few seconds by the strands of lightning it produced.

The wind and the rain kept blowing against their bodies, and sensing that the storm was at its most potent state, Faelyn brought out the lightning stone and raised it over her head.

"Oi, Fae! Are you sure that's how it works!?" Soren asked, yelling his question as the rain overwhelmed any other sound.

"How am I supposed to know, meathead? I've never done this!" Faelyn replied.

While the wizard and the warrior discussed, Sylas, the assassin, placed his hand on his chin and delved into his thoughts.

Even if he didn't have as much talent in magic as Faelyn, Sylas had read hundreds of magical tomes when they had to research the convergence, and he believed that it would be better if they were all making contact with their bodies.

"The lightning stone is meant to attract electricity to it, right? What if you get sent through the convergence and leave us here!?" Sylas loudly asked.

"Good point. Okay, let's hold hands!" Faelyn replied with a more commanding tone.

As the trio made a chain with their hands, Faelyn was about to raise the stone above them once again when the three of them felt a familiar and powerful presence approaching their location.

"Fuck… That's Gabriel," Sylas muttered with annoyance.

"Whatever happens, do not let go of my hand…" Faelyn commented, prompting the two men to sharpen their gazes.

"You would have me come all this way to look for you in the middle of a monsoon…!?" The voice of the archangel could be heard in the distance.

Faelyn maintained the stone above them, and as Gabriel reached the peak and glanced at them, his eyes widened in surprise.

The blonde man wore his sleek golden armor, keeping his blade in its sheath so as not to show any aggression.

'Hmm, what's happening here…?' Gabriel pondered, continuously switching his gaze from the party to the lightning stone.

"Ah, I see! It's that stone you have!" The archangel exclaimed, sensing that the lightning stone was accumulating energy within.

With a somewhat casual demeanor, which looked strange for someone in the middle of a powerful thunderstorm, Gabriel asked the party to hand over the stone and peacefully go with him. However, the trio ignored his words as if he wasn't even there.

"If you can't hear him, he doesn't exist," Sylas muttered, making Gabriel frown with irritation.

'Come on, come on, come on…!' Faelyn thought with urgency while keeping the stone raised in the air.

"Have I not made myself clear!? The Goddess commands you to show up at her temple! You should be glad she didn't ask for your execution!" Gabriel exclaimed, though once again, his words fell on deaf ears.

*Tch* "It's come to this…" he continued.

Realizing that he would have to use force against the party, Gabriel's golden angel wings appeared on his back, which looked like tendrils made of light.

As the archangel rushed forward at an incredible speed, the trio prepared themselves for the attack without letting go of their partner's hand.

Gabriel intended to steal the stone first to lure the party out of the mountain. It was the perfect plan to avoid fighting them as much as possible, and knowing that they would follow him to get it back, he was reassured that his scheme would work.

Nevertheless, in that split second that Gabriel made contact with the stone, numerous strands of lightning struck their location.

The lightning stone seemed to absorb the electricity with a swirling motion, and while the event didn't even last over a second, time felt as if it had come to a sudden halt.

In the blink of an eye, the four had utterly vanished from the peak of the mountain without a trace, leaving nothing but a burnt mark on the ground where they had stood.

The following day, the people of Terra began hearing rumors about the party disappearing and taking an archangel along with them.

Most people believed they had all died in their battle, while others thought they were hiding from the goddess, as they were well-known rebels.

However, out of everyone in Terra, there was one person to whom Gabriel's disappearance posed a big problem—Goddess Aelara—who commanded dozens of other angels to look for their senior, along with the warlock and his party.