[Escort. Time remaining: 19 hours 37 minutes.]0

I had defended the door for thirty minutes, waiting for Comet, and was now surrounded by a battlefield littered with countless corpses. I had thought he would come out quickly, but nearly an hour had gone by with no sign of him. 0

At first, I waited near the bodies, but then the stench grew unbearable, forcing me to move away.0

I should have used Master of Shadows more precisely against the greatworm.0

As I sat there, mentally replaying the battle, Doppy suddenly crossed my mind.0

Doppy’s probably fine, right?0

I had drawn all the heretics toward me, so it shouldn’t be in any danger. Still, I couldn’t help but worry about the survivors. Although I had spared some mercenaries, hoping they would stay out of trouble, mercenaries were generally opportunists. If they realized I wasn’t around, they might try something.0

Plus, who knew what Doppy was up to. Sure, I had given it a signal device, but it loved to nap. What if something happened while it was asleep?0

No, I am overthinking. Doppy always comes through when it matters.0

It might be lazy in the waiting room, but it never slacked off during a trial.0

Just then, a faint pulse of magical energy rippled from where the blue door once stood. An instant later, a green aurora flashed across the sky, only to fade as quickly as it had appeared.0

And there, bathed in the fading glow of the aurora, stood Comet.0

“Comet!” I called out, and he turned...0