"What are you?"
"This is a very rude question. Besides, what makes you think that I am not human?" Cate asked the Temple Master while looking directly into her eyes. The woman felt her breath catch.
"I am not ready for the world to know who I am just yet. I am sure that we will meet soon enough. After all, you lot have something I have longed to hold for centuries." Cate lifted the Temple Master's chin. The woman took a step backward.
Cate could already feel powerful auras moving toward this hall. These were Sacrifice Warriors. Cate was well acquainted with them. For a little over two hundred years, Cate's severed head was used by the Divine Temple as a weapon against supernaturals. During that time, Cate got to learn a lot about the Divine Temple. By the time she left, she knew a lot of this organization's secrets, including the fact that they had three of the Keys of Chaos.
The Twelve Keys of Chaos were divided into four sets of three. There were the three keys of the past, the three keys of the present, the three keys of the future, and the three keys of destiny. The Divine Temple had the three keys of the future. This was the reason for the rapid rise of this organization, apart from the blessing of the Supreme Deity and the Sacrifice Warriors.
With the three keys of the future combined to form the Key of the Future, the Divine Temple had the ability to peer into future events, allowing them to strategically place their cards. They had held onto the Key of the Future for over seven hundred years now. It was no wonder that they were the most powerful mortal organization in the world.
Cate wanted to get her hands on the Key of the Future. She had known where this key was for hundreds of years, but even after she was reborn, Cate did not choose to go after the Divine Temple. She understood that to get her hands on that key, she needed far more power than she currently had.
The security with which the Divine Temple kept this key—that had become central to their rise—was truly something that even Cate had to accept was impressive. The Divine Temple had hidden the fact that they had all the keys of the future. This was their most kept secret, only known to the highest echelon, with the key's location being known only to the Divine Gate, the supreme leader of the Divine Temple.
Cate believed that the only chance she had at getting her hands on the Keys of Future was through a spell that she could only cast if her magic comprehension reached the Legendary level. With that legendary spell, Cate believed that she could lie to the heavens, confuse the gods, and move beneath the notice of the Supreme Deity. Only that spell could give her this chance.
"Long ago, I ran into people from your Divine Temple. You could even say that we worked together for a few hundred years. That era in my life was neither good nor bad," Cate said.
"What do you want from us?" The Temple Master was the only one with balls large enough to allow her to speak in Cate's presence.
"What I want from your temple, no one can give me. I will have to take it with my two hands. Fortunately for you, I do not plan on taking it by force, and not today. The only reason our paths ended up intersecting so soon is because of your human curiosity. You wanted so much to understand why the vampires were disappearing from your Sanctified Map that you ignored all caution. You dare spy on me, and so I decided to come pay you a visit. To tell you the truth, I would have killed the lot of you in fun and new ways if you were not part of the Divine Temple."
The hall was silent, with only Cate's heels making any sound. She could see and smell the fear coming from these humans. Still, she respected them for what they stood for. These people braved death and fought against vampires and werewolves, not to mention other creatures so evil and hell-bent on the destruction of humanity that normal people would rather not think of them, let alone acknowledge their existence.
In this hall, Cate could count 231 Sacrifice Warriors. Fortunately for both sides, the Temple Master had given subtle signals for everyone to stand down. Cate felt that she could take on all these sacrifice warriors without breaking a sweat. If she were still only a sorcerer, she would have to flee immediately.
"Before I leave, I must warn you about using your cameras and other technologies to spy on things like me. I recently noticed and accepted that technology could develop to rival my power, and after I accepted this fact, I began creating new spells to counter technology. That is how I was able to move through your camera and reach this place through the screen. Since I noticed the rise of technology, I am sure that many other supernaturals have already reached the same conclusion. Take note on this matter, or next time you spy on something, it may not be as benevolent as I am."
With these words, Cate entered the screen. She appeared like a normal image before she walked into the distance and returned to the rooftop. The people in the hall saw her through the feed. The Temple Master ordered the camera to be shut down immediately.
After having her fun with the humans, Cate resumed the hunt, and by dawn, all the vampires in New York City were prisoners inside the Wandering Palace. Cate returned to the palace and moved it through space until they reached above London. Ion had been clued in on the plan, and even though he did not understand why they needed so many vampires, he did not ask any questions. The vampires were placed in the dungeons.