Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1172: To The Purity



Somewhere north of Pelian...

"How much farther?"

"Be quiet! I don't need you pestering me with that question every ten minutes. I already told you we are close!"

"He's right. Have a little more patience."

"Don't tell me how to feel!"

The four figures - well, three, and one (unconscious) lugged over another's shoulders - sprinted as blurs past the clearing, over the gorges and through the woodland in less than a minute.

The speed with which they travelled was quite impressive for the average top tier combatant, but to Revia, who was simply keeping up with their pace, it was dreadful.

She wished she had known their destination so that she could simply sprint over towards it quickly, leaving the others in the dust.

Unfortunately, the individual leading her and Alaris, wouldn't tell her the location of the Purity headquarters, thus she could only suffer in silence, allowing the burn of her fury to build up within her like magma.

Ruhrees turned to Revia's scowling face.

"Should I remind you that I can simply go back on my word, mark you as a criminal and cast aside my already reluctant desire to find justice for your objective? If you would prefer that, ask me 'how much farther?' once more," he threatened.

Revia scowled, but she didn't dare to ask again.

Ruhrees was the key.

Only the first to third-ranked Paladin Champions knew the location of the Purity headquarters even though the rest had been brought to it at one point - when they got sworn into service - before.

A short glance towards Alaris made Revia simmer down.

It was all because of him that the senseless conflict from five days ago had ended after all and that Revia was actually getting what she had wanted all along.

Revia had been with Fulina, Cyne, Reon and Milissa in Eofel, where they had decided to establish as a territory for Actuass' plans after he returned from Edagon. Of course, their peaceful wait had been interrupted by the approach of two Paladin Champions - Ruhrees and the woman he was lugging on his shoulders right now, ranked sixth among all the Paladin Champions - who had either sensed the massive presence of Undeath in the city or had come to find if there were any survivors. Ruhrees and Alaris, both of whom had been one of the few to escape the mess at the Venue of the Premium Age Royale, had made it a point to wander around the nation, saving as many lives as they could, after all.

Revia had immediately begun fighting Ruhrees and the other champion as soon as they approached closer, heavily wounding the latter while keeping a powerhouse like Ruhrees at bay. In the midst of their battle though, Alaris had arrived, disarming them both.

The Bloodless Steel Phantom had commanded a great degree of respect even among all the twelve Paladin Champions since the rise of his fame. Thus, Ruhrees and Revia hadn't dismissed his call for them to stop fighting.

In the lull, Ruhrees explained the circumstances to Alaris while Revia raved on about her own side of the story - how the Purity was corrupt and how she was willing to get some answers and see it burn before she paid the hefty price for deciding to help the necromancers.

Fulina, Reon and Cyne, who had been watching from within the city of Eofel didn't react to the sudden shift Alaris had brought on, and this allowed the Bloodless Steel Phantom to give Revia a stern look and say a few words that made her shut up.

"I wouldn't say your rage is misplaced. Your doubts aren't unwarranted. Believe me when I say, I've been in a situation where my powers have spoken more than my sense of purpose, which therefore clogged my judgement. You are struggling with the transition to put one on top of the other," he had said before turning at Ruhrees.

"I also have reasons to doubt the Purity. I want answers. The world is falling apart yet I have hardly seen any Purity knights marching out, colluding with the Capital Service knights to protect the people. I would hate to start believing that the Purity is as weak as the kind of royalty we have entertained in Pelian. Could you, sir Knight, allow me and her to have an audience with the Higher Authorities?"

It had taken Ruhrees a minute to decide whether what he was hearing was better carried as blasphemy to the leaders of the Purity or as reasonable concerns that deserved an audience with the highly secretive elders.

In the end, given that Ruhrees had seen the utter devastation that had been wrought both by the Premium Age Royal and the Great Rumbling, he himself found him questioning if the Purity was truly expending all its resources to help with the effort. He had to meet with the Higher Authorities and speak to them at least.

This switch in the Paladin Champion's thought process was how and why the group was heading north right now.

It hadn't been easy for Revia to leave Fulina and the others behind.

She had found herself locking sights with Fulina from the distance.

There were hints of mockery in Fulina's eyes. She seemed to say, "I knew you were merely biding your time" without moving her lips.

In the end, Revia didn't care.

She viewed her immortality as a sign that she had soldier on and finish what she had started. She had to confirm Elita's fate and confront the real truth behind the doctrine she had been conscripted into from a young age.

As the group rushed on, Revia suddenly gave a great wheeze.

She buckled and nearly stumbled to a pathetic fall.

"Are you alright?" Alaris stopped and looked at her with concern.

"I'm... fine..." Revia said, an unsure look on her face.

What was that?

Her body had suddenly grown weak just now. Her strength fluxed randomly, alternating between vibrant and feeble.

Her fingers were twitching irritatingly and her body was growing colder than usual.

'Get a grip!' Revia told herself and she tensed her muscles as best she could.

"Let's go," she said to Alaris and she resumed pushing on in a fierce sprint. Alaris gave her a look of suspicion before following on.

He had heard the gist of what Revia was. An undead. A special one that never actually died and didn't reek of the same foul energy as ordinary undead minions.

It was bizarre. He had never heard of anything like it.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMM!

Suddenly, as the group retained its pace, the world rumbled. It shook just as it had done nine

days ago when the ominous towers that spilled varying assortments of the Carven climbed out of the ground, standing tall over all settlements in Pelian.

What in the world was going on?