《Your Not So Ordinary Villain》


 Chapter 1 He Is Evil

    ?Smoke rose from every corner of thend as the fighting continued. Spells and weapons never stopped from creating destruction. People from all over the world banded together to take down the enemy that killed so many of their own. Ever since his appearance, they had gone through many wars and lost many lives but they did not stop, they pursued this viin to defeat him and to avenge those who have perished.


    The person who sat on that dark throne chuckled at how these people persisted on fighting against him when they were clearly aware of what he was capable of. It was amusing how these people who called themselves heroes continued to confront his minions without fear.


    His head rested on the palm of his hand as he fell into deep thoughts while he watched as those so-called heroes continued to fight their way towards his domain. The door to the side of his throne opened and a man dressed in a suit entered with a tter of food on his hand but the person who sat on the throne did not react at his entrance.


    The butler noticed that his master was smiling so his curiosity got the best of him, "What got you smiling master?" He stopped a few centimeters away from the person he called master.


    "I''m thinking of ways on how to make those heroes suffer for intruding into my domain," he casually answered then he snapped his fingers and a projection of his domain''s map appeared before him. There were red dots on the map surrounded by dark dots and slowly the dark dots disappeared then the red dots started to move forward. "What should I put there next?" he mumbled to himself, "what would you suggest?" This time he looked at the butler with a grin.


    "Why don''t you send your ck goblin generals to see if they can defeat them?" the butler dly suggested without blinking.


    "Yes, you are right. I''ll let them enjoy to their heart''s contents." The personughed loudly while the butler was confused on who his master was referring, was it the heroes or the ck goblin generals who will enjoy? But even so, he did not dwell on it and shook his head. The butler instead moved to prepare the meal for his master.


    The person''s finger tapped on a specific location in front of the red dots and summoning circle was drawn on the map. At the same time, the heroes who assembled to defeat the enemy encountered several monsters on the way to the ''demon king''s'', as they have called the enemy, castle to defeat him. They just defeated several feral wolves and had just moved a few meters forward when a magic circle appeared in front of them then a horde of goblins appeared.


    These goblins were not ordinary and instead of having green skins they had ck skins and their eyes were shining red, full of blood lust. Each one of them were holding a scythe on their seemingly flimsy arms but as people who had encountered countless monsters, the heroes knew that those arms were nothing but flimsy.


    "Be ready," a man with blonde hair and holding a shield on his hands took a defensive posture followed by the others behind them. Each of them raised their weapons, ready to attack anytime.


    Loud shrills came from the goblins before theyunched an attack with no intention of defending whatsoever. The first wave of attack was stopped by the man''s shield which was reinforced by a wide range protective spell that covered him and hisrades.


    The man tightened his grip on the shield and pushed it with all his might. This action caused the goblins to be pushed back while some of them hit the shield so hard that they bounced off it. This chance was not wasted as the people behind the man took the chance to attack. A barrage of long distance and wide ranged spells rained down on the goblins followed by arrows enchanted by magic that will explode once itnds on an enemy or the ground. There were also flying bullets covered in a white light that urately hit those that attempted to give them a sneak attack.


    "Oh, they are quite good," the master was impressed at the teamwork they were showing and even at the power they wield. "It seems that these humans really invested everything on these bunch of heroes just to defeat me. Ha, how human like."


    "Why don''t you have some food first master while it is still hot?" The butler looked at the man and gestured at the table that was already set up.


    The person looked at the food then at the map before he decided to stand up and eat first. While he was enjoying his food, the group of heroes were able to defeat the goblins that he sent. Now they were facing off against an army of undead he prepared beforehand.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The group slowly progressed and defeated all of the monsters that the enemy prepared for them until they finally reached a grand door with carvings of two swords crossing one another and a crown engraved on top of those two swords. The man who acts as their leader pushed open the door and was to stunned to speak.


    The enemy they were about to y was enjoying his meal and looked like a normal human being. He does not have monstrous features as how those books and stories depicted. "Are you the demon king?" the leader asked with a frown because they were the only ones in the room and it was a bit difficult for him to ept that a young man who looked innocent was the enemy.


    The man immediately lost his appetite and stopped eating. He gestured for the butler to take away everything, "I was enjoying that meal and yet the likes of you dared to trespass in my territory. You even ask if I am the enemy, is it because those old people did not tell you that the final boss you were looking for is also a human like you?" He turned around and slowly walked up to his seat then swiped away the map and it disappeared.


    "Don''t be conceited, you are not human just a monster pretending to be one." One of them spat in anger. He did not care if the man was human or not what matters was that they were there to defeat him and end the grudge.


    The man stopped on his tracks when he heard those words. "I am human. I''m just a bit different from you all but if you want to believe that I am a monster, then I will be one just to satisfy your ego." The room was suddenly filled with different monsters that attacked them.


    The man watched as this group of people defeated the monsters one by one until the whole room was filled with the stench of monster blood. Now, their focus was on the man who sat on the throne. "Why don''t youe and fight, don''t just send your minions to deal with us because they can''t defeat us. Stop acting like a coward." The same man who insulted him spoke out loud with his head held high. The sense of superiority around him disgusted the man on the throne and before the man could speak once again, several magic circles appeared behind the man''s throne then people who were bound appeared.


    The heroes gasped in surprise when they saw this scene because some of the people who appeared were familiar to them. They were people who fought with them and the people who sent them to this mission to defeat the enemy.


    "It is indeed interesting that you can call me demon king when in the first ce I was not the one who started this boring war. I was merely spending my days in peace and yet one day you came knocking to my door while using me of things I did not remember doing. If I were right, one of them was massacring a whole town and sacrificing them so that I can gain power." At his words, screams started to echo inside the room. Their eyes widened as one person suddenly dropped dead.


    The heroes were about to go and rescue them only to bump to an invisible wall. "What?" the arrogant man eximed and tried to break through the wall several times but he did not seed and by now one fourths of the people already died.


    "Why are you all surprised? Didn''t you say I cause all the misfortunes you suffered? Yes, I caused them," he grinned and stood up. "I sent all of those monsters to destroy and kill your people because you were arrogant enough to challenge me."


    He slowly stepped down from his throne and the room suddenly swayed like a flimsy stic until it returned to its original state. The ce was actually dpidated, there was not castle nor a throne room. It was just a ce with burnt ground and dead trees but the change did not faze the leader and instead theyunched an attack to destroy the invisible wall. The man watched all of this without moving and even after they destroyed the wall, he did not move.


    "Die, you monster!" the arrogant man shouted then heunched a barrage of destructive spells but the man was not even scratched by it. He raised his hand and with a snap of his finger the person who attacked him died on the spot with his head twisted in an odd way and before anyone of them can attack once again, he waved his hand which sent them flying and hitting the dead trees with a thud.


    "You view me as the enemy, then I will be that enemy for you. You view me as evil, then I will be that evil."

 Chapter 2 Low Key

    ?The shopping district was buzzling with activity as more and more people came to buy and look around since it was a market day. Just like everyone a young man of around seventeen years old walked through the sea of people towards the fruit stand where he always bought the fruits that his uncle wanted. After sessfully reaching the stand''s location, he greeted the owner after catching his breath.


    "Oh, you are here, busy day huh?" a gruff voice asked the teenager who was standing in front of his fruit stand.


    "Why do I feel like that there are a lot more people today?" he shook his head then took a deep breath. The struggle of buying things during a market day was enough to make him tired even though he would only spend a couple of hours outside.


    The fruit stand owner chuckled, "You should have gotten used to it already. So, what are you going to buy today?"


    "My uncle wanted some oranges and peaches today. Can you give me the sweetest ones?" he nodded as he pointed at the batch of fruits that he wanted. It has be his routine toe to the market and buy sweet things for his uncle because every time he tasted anything sweet, he would immediately want to have it again. His uncle was like a child who would sparkle when they try something new and at the end, he will want to try it again and again until he gets used to it.


    The owner let out a loudugh while cing the fruits in the bag, "That uncle of yours is really an odd one."


    The teenager scratched his head and gave the other a sheepish smile. He could not refute the man''s words because he whole heartedly agreed with him. "He''s still cool though."


    Another burst of loudughter, "Yes, you never fail to praise him." He handed him his fruits and the teenager paid then bid the owner goodbye.


    He went to various shops to buy the things listed on his list and when he got to thest item, he could not help but shake his head but the smile on his face never left. It seems that he needed to learn how to make cookies. At the end of the list was a detailed description of a certain cookie that his uncle wanted and even the exact location of the shop where he could buy it was listed.


    The shop was in the far corner of the shopping district, the ce was a bit secluded which made the ambiance a little bit peaceful. Even after he entered the shop, he could not stop himself from feeling rxed while he admired the simple and warm decoration inside. The walls were lined with wooden panels that at the same time served as frames to the pictures that made the ce brighter because of their vibrant colors that broke the seemingly monotonous look of the walls. There were also nts in every corner and the lighting was just enough to give the ce a glow.


    He looked around and saw a disy cab where a variety of cakes, bread and cookies were ced. It was a feast to the eye indeed. A haven for any people who like pastries. All choices were mouthwatering that he had a difficult time choosing what he should buy until he remembered his uncle''s preference, he almost forgot about it. After finding the cookies, he also chose some tasty looking bread for himself so once he made a selection, he went to the counter area but saw that there was no one was there to receive his order. He looked around but still did not find anyone until his eyesnded on the announcement board where the words ''instructions on ordering'' were written.


    He became curios and read what was in it then to his surprise it was a detailed step on how to ce an order since the owner of the shop was working alone. The teenager looked to the side of the announcement board and saw a stack of paper and a quill so he took them and wrote his orders then ording to the instruction he needed to ce the paper on the small box beside the board then press the small red button below it.


    There was rustling behind the curtain covered entrance behind the counter before a man stepped out to receive his order form. The man, the owner and baker, he assumed read the contents of his form before nodding. "Are you going to eat them here or are you going to take them home?" the man asked after putting some mark on the paper.


    While he was still wondering how the man knew that there was customer, he heard the owner asked so he hastily replied, "Ah yes, I will bring it back for my uncle." He answered with a smile but the owner only narrowed his eyes which made the atmosphere a little bit cold.


    "Are you Jagan''s nephew?" the owner suddenly asked while he kept his expression neutral.


    The teenager nodded, "He asked me to buy cookies from your shop and even wrote down the specific location of the ce that sells it." He raised his hand and showed him the list with a grin. "I''m Ezio by the way!"


    The man frowned at the sudden action but still gave him a curt nod before leaving to pack his orders. "You are as what your uncle had describe," he muttered to himself just as he disappeared behind the curtain and Ezio stood there stunned.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He did not need to wait long because the man came back with a bag full of the delicious treats that he ordered. He took them and paid but he did not leave instead he was looking at the shop owner with eyes that was full of curiosity. "How did you do that? I just pressed the red button and you magically came out! Are you a mage?" he asked. His entire body was vibrating with excitement at the thought that he might have met a person who can use magic.


    Mages were a unique existence in the continent of Prisma and Moonvale was only a small in town in the kingdom of Lunaira so mages or even magic itself in that ce was scarce. It was a town that has not produced any magicians for the past decade that was why it remained unknown and isted. But even so, the town was still thriving because there were travelers who would asionally drop by and through them tales about the heroic deeds of these mages were spread and heard.


    As a child who grew up hearing those, whenever the word mage was uttered, he would definitely get excited because it was his dream to be one but it never happened and he never manifested any magical powers but he was not discouraged and still admire those people he only heard from stories so when the thought that the person in front of him right now was a mage made his heart thump.


    The shop owner was not able to stop himself from raising a brow at how excited the child was while asking him many questions. He was like a puppy begging for food. "I am not a mage but I do know how to cast simple spells and yes you are right that red button was designed so that I can know that someone has ordered and I''m the only one who can hear the sound that it produced."


    Ezio''s eyes widened and he even almost dropped the bag of goodies in his attempt to get closer to the man but because of the counter in between them he was not able to give the owner a hug. "Wow! Can you show me more magic?" he asked with wide eyes and even sped the man''s hand tightly.


    The shop owner frowned, "No and I am busy. I have more customers to entertain so if I were you leave this ce and go home because you are disturbing my business." He gestured at the teenagers back so he looked behind him and there were already people lining up to buy.


    He felt instant embarrassment before carefully retracting his hand and sheepishly looking at the owner, "I''m sorry," he muttered before hastily leaving the shop.


    "What an annoyance," he spat before snapping his fingers and the line of people disappeared. He returned to the kitchen while he kept mumbling, "I should not have told him that I could use magic." He rubbed his head as he could already feel a headacheing.


    "Oh, this is the first time that I have seen you annoyed master," a mechanical voice spoke from behind him.


    "I might have done something stupid butler," he sighed before taking a seat and epting the cup of coffee that was offered to him.


    "That might be because you were disappointed because you found nothing fun again today," the mechanical voice continued as it stood there with its hands behind his back.


    "What do you think?" he gave the butler a short nce before going to back to savor the bitter taste of the coffee.


    "That child might add a little bit of color into you''re a little bit dull life master, why don''t you let him be and see how this scene progresses." The butler suggested and it took him a couple of seconds to nod.


    "You are right. My original intent was to make my life more exciting but I found it so troublesome that I decided to live normally but as usual, I am bing bored." He squinted at the cup of coffee before letting it drop on stone floor. There was loud cracking noise but he did not care and instead it made him grin. "I should live my life to the fullest!" followed by a loud almost maniacalugh.


    The butler who was watching on the side could not help but think, ''Ah, my master has gone a bit crazy again today.''

 Chapter 3 A Simple Life

    ?After the grueling battle, Ezio reached their home that was located a little bit on the outskirts of Moonvale. It would take him approximately an hour to walk back and forth because it was expensive to own a horse. From a distance, he could already see the house that was surrounded by a flower garden as well as a vegetable garden where they grow most of their food.


    He pushed the wooden fence door that would always sway back and forth every time it was touched. Ezio shook his head and noted to himself that he should fix it before itpletely fells. The wooden door of their simple abode creaked open with his push. The sound was loud enough to wake anyone who was in a deep sleep, luckily, they don''t have any neighbors so it was alright.


    "Is that you nephew?" a booming voice came from the kitchen. Still holding the full bag, he went to the kitchen and saw his uncle cooking.


    "I thought I was going to cook?" he ced the bag on the table and brought out the things he bought.


    "You don''t have to worry about that. Of course, I can''t let you cook when you already went to shopping district to buy what we needed here in the house," his uncle stopped mixing the pot and instead patted the teen on the shoulder then he spotted the bag that contained his guilty pleasure. "Oh, you were able to buy it! That''s great! This is great!" he was about to grab the bag but it was snatched away by Ezio.


    "You can''t and besides you are still cooking, we can eat thister while drinking a cup of coffee," he grinned as he hid the bag of pastries behind his back. "Since you volunteered to cook, I''ll leave you be for now." He rushed out of the kitchen because his uncle might snatch back the bag.


    Jagan raised a brow at his nephew''s words and before he could reprimand him, the teen was already out of the door. He sighed and instead finished what he was cooking so that he can eat the cookies his nephew bought.


    The two of them ate in a peaceful silence and after their hearty lunch, Ezio finally brought out the bag and opened it. He observed his uncle''s expression and surely, his eyes were wide and sparkling at what he saw. The cookies were given to him while the other kind of bread was left for Ezio.


    It was afortable silence which made the teen eager to tell the story to his uncle and he was not disappointed because Jagan noticed that his nephew became fidgety all of a sudden. "What''s the matter?"


    At his uncle''s words, he could finally let out the excitement that was building up and thus came the question. "The owner of that shop knows you, are the two of you friends?"


    Jagan shook his head, "We aren''t exactly friends but I can say that I''m already acquainted with him since I have been to his shop a couple of times now and that man is a little bit weird." He stroked his chin before continuing, "and ording to him, he only came to this ce a couple of months ago but I only discovered his shop a few days ago, isn''t that weird?" He looked at his nephew and instead of a frown he was surprised to see that this teen was smiling at him widely. "What happened to you?"


    "Nothing and that man is not weird well maybe a little," heughed then grinned like he knew some kind of secret that his uncle doesn''t know.


    "What is it? Just spill it out, I don''t like being left in the dark." He demanded with a serious face, even his cookies were now forgotten because of his nephew.


    Ezio was a bit surprised at how fast his uncle''s mood changes so he decided to just tell him, "Well, that shop owner uses magic! And I could guess that he is a mage, isn''t that amazing?" He eximed in excitement. His grin reached from ear to ear because he felt that he discovered something big but his uncle retained his cold face, clearly, he was not amused at Ezio''s statement.


    The once happy atmosphere turned awkward the longer Jagan remained silent and the grin on Ezio''s face slowly faded.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''ve told you so many times that mages don''te to ces like this. They only stay in the capital and would visit neighboring towns but the chances that theye to a small town like ours is zero. That shop owner might only be able to use some basic spells but he isn''t a mage, since it is beneath a mage''s reputation toe in a secluded ce like Moonvale and even bake cookies to sell." He slowly exined because he did not want his nephew to be disappointed.


    Since Ezio was a child, he was already interested in magic but sadly he did not have enough mana to manifest even the simplest spells let alone bing a mage but even so, he remained fascinated with the idea of power and magic. He did not stop reading books about magic and listening to stories about mages which in his uncle''s opinion was not healthy any longer. This obsession might someday hurt him if he discovers that not all mages were righteous.


    Ezio narrowed his eyes towards his uncle, "Uncle, why do you keep talking about mages like you knew them personally?" it was a question he was dying to ask his uncle because he noticed that his uncle''s expression would always be gloomy when the topic was about mages or magic.


    "All I knew about them are things I heard when I was traveling and it is not good for you to be fixated too much on them. Why don''t you look for other things you can do instead of talking about mage or magic all the time?" His words came naturally like he had practiced it for so many times already.


    The teen knew that his uncle was avoiding the topic so he let it slide for now but it doesn''t mean that he''ll forget it. "Alright, alright, I relent!" He raised his hand. His uncle was about to speak but the moment that his mouth opened a cookie was stuffed in and he could only give his nephew a re.


    The next morning, Jagan was rudely awoken by the loud ''bang'' of a pan being hit by a woodendle beside his bed. He opened his eyes and even let out a string of curses. "Do you really need to do that every morning?" He rubbed his head before looking at his nephew who was currently enjoying the show.


    "It''s to make sure that you won''t oversleep because our vegetable garden needs some attention today and I found a letter on our door step, I was not sure if I should open or not and figured out that it is better that you should look at it." He handed him the letter before he left the room to give his uncle some privacy while he read the letter.


    Jagan stiffened when he saw the letter that his nephew had and even hesitated to take it but he did not want his nephew to get worried so he still took it reluctantly. He stared at the letter for a while before he decided to open it. Even though there was no name from the sender, he already knew who sent the letter.


    He trembled and the veins on his neck and arms were bulging at how tight he was holding that piece of paper. His lips were set in a straight line as he crumpled the paper. Jagan took several deep breaths before he could finally calm down before he stood up from his bed. He rummaged through the cab and when he found what he was looking for, he went straight to the window and directly burned the abominable piece of paper. He would not let those people enter his nor his nephew''s life, never, he promised himself.


    At the kitchen, Ezio was busy cooking for their breakfast oblivious to the cmity that was brought by that simple letter. His life willpletely change in ways that he never imagined.


    "What''s for breakfast today?" he heard his uncle''s voiceing from the doorway and when he looked at his direction, he was already seated and ready to eat at the dining table. Ezio''s forehead scrunched up but he could only shake his head in disappointment because of his uncle.


    "Meat stew since I bought some yesterday and we have left over vegetables," he simply exined while he was scooping a generous amount of the stew and carefully cing it inside the bowl. He then carefully carried the two bowls towards the table and ced one of it in front of his uncle then the other on the opposite side of the table. He also served the cooked rice before he too took his seat.


    Before he could even savor the vor of the meat stew he cooked, his uncle suddenly asked a question which surprised him.


    "Are you happy and satisfied at living in a ce like this?"

 Chapter 4 His Name

    ?Ezio raised his head and looked at his uncle in confusion. It was him who told him that this ce was a good ce to settle down now he''s asking him this kind of question. He narrowed his eyes and stared at his uncle without speaking. He then returned the spoon on his ce and leaned on his chair.


    "What are you talking about?" he crossed his arms and waited for this uncle of his to speak.


    Jagan coughed and almost spilled the ss of water he was holding at his nephew''s reaction to a simple question he asked. He wiped his mouth with his hand and carefully ced the ss on the water. After coughing a few more times, he managed to straighten himself to give his nephew an answer.


    "Nothing, I''m just asking you if you are okay in this ce, is there something wrong with that?" he brushed off his question as something ordinary but his nephew''s suspicious stare did not disappear and instead, he felt that the child might not let this one go.


    Ezio did not speak which made the atmosphere a lot more ufortable for Jagan. "You told me when we first move here that we will not be leaving this ce and change houses no matter what happens." His statement made Jagan''s face red in embarrassment before he sighed and relented.


    "Okay, okay, I understand and besides I was just asking." He mumbled before finally shoving a spoonful of rice in his mouth.


    Ezio looked at this big man who was acting like a child and shook his head before he too continued to eat. He got used to living in different ces and did not dream of having a permanent home because for some reason his uncle would always take him away not until they reached Moonvale where he finally told him that they will settle down in that small town. He was ted when he heard that and now, they had been living in Moonvale for seven years now so he was shocked when his uncle suddenly asked that question. He can''t help but to feel upset at the thought that his uncle might leave Moonvale with him and travel to another ce.


    After the somewhat awkward meal, Ezio prepared to work on their vegetable garden when he saw his uncle who was all dressed up and ready leave. "Where are you going?" he stood in front of their wooden gate with the hoe on his hand.


    "Oh, I''m going to the town center. I''ll be backter." He grinned and patted him in the head before he walked past him. "Don''t worry I''ll help you tomorrow in nting." He waved his hand and was even whistling while walking away.


    Jagan did not visit any shops and instead went straight to the bake shop where his favorite cookies were. He directly went to the counter and wrote his order before pressing the red button. Not long after he ced his order, the owner appeared from behind the curtain.


    "I wasn''t expecting your visit today," the man picked up the piece of paper and chuckled at the contents of it and without any hesitation he burned the paper using magic.


    "It seems that you told my nephew that you are a mage," his face became grim and gave the man a re. He did not know this man but if he poses any danger to his nephew then he won''t tolerate his existence. "Who are you?"


    The man shook his head then looked at Jagan with a grin, "Can you even ept the fact if you ever knew who I am?"


    Jagan was taken aback at the sudden change of demeanor from the man and even his smile was enough to make him shiver in fear. He did not feel anything from the man but the pressure from just his words was enough to almost suffocate him. He sighed and shook his head, "I won''t ask then."


    The man''s pressure suddenly disappeared and he was back to that seemingly warm owner of a bake shop, "I did not tell your nephew that I am a mage, he came to that conclusion himself because I just told him that I can use some simple magic. And if you know who I am, I''ll give you the honor of knowing my name," he then paused and his smile widened, "Cygnus Altair."


    Jagan clenched his fists and took some deep breaths, even though he was not familiar with the name, it still made his heart beat fast and the urge to run away almost overcame him. It was just a name but the power behind it was too much for him to bear. "Did you add a spell to that name?" he forced himself to speak but just speaking made him break into cold sweat. This person was someone definitely dangerous.


    "Why don''t you try calling my name out to test it," Cygnus was now interested to see if the man would actually say his name. "Come on try it, I want to see if you can do it." He stepped away from the counter and walked towards the man because he wanted to know what would happen to a person in that world if they speak his name.


    Jagan''s body stiffened with his eyes glued at the man''s intimidating gaze. There was like a rope binding him in ce as he could not resist the other''s influence. His mouth opened to say the man''s name, "Cyg-" he was not able to continue because blood suddenly filled his mouth then he copsed on the floor with his body still twitching because of too much stimtion until he lost consciousness.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Tsk," he turned around and came face to face with his butler.


    "You are doing it again master, you should stop ying with them." The butler''s mechanical voice was a bit reprimanding but Cygnus ignored him.


    "It''s only the first syble and he was already vomiting blood, how disappointing. I thought he can withstand at least saying my first name because he was a bit impressive from his mana to his physical strength and yet he passed out withoutpletely saying it. I''m starting to get the feeling that this ce will be as boring as the others." He walked away and left the butler to deal with the mess. The butler shook his head and looked at the unconscious man with pity. He did not understand why humans always tries to court death. They were truly extreme masochists.


    He carried the man andid him on the long bench inside the shop then diligently cleaned the blood to avoid it staining the floor since it would be ufortable for their customers. The butler let the man rest for a while and did not bother him any longer.


    When Jagan opened his eyes, he realized that he was still in the shop and abruptly sat up. He looked around and saw that there was no one and that he was on a bench. He rolled his shoulders then used his palms to cover his face while he took several deep breaths.


    "Oh, you are already awake," it was the butler who came out to check on him. He ced the food of cookies on an empty table before facing the man. "How do you feel?" he asked kindly while shing his business smile.


    "Who are you people? And what kind of name was that?" he was a bit disoriented as he continued to massage his head. "Only saying a syble of that damn name has made me unconscious."


    "Mr. Jagan, I advise that you should not get to curios about me especially about my master. We came here to have a normal and quiet life as per my master''s preference so if you could hear this request then I willpensate you generously." He pointed at the cookies on the table and then beamed at him.


    Jagan could only look at the man, stunned at his words. He was left speechless. The other he considered dangerous while the one in front of him was in weird.


    "Is there something wrong, Mr. Jagan?" The butler cocked his head to the side clueless as to what the other''s expression meant.


    He sighed once again then bowed his head before he finally willed himself to stand up and walked towards the table. "There''s nothing wrong and I won''t even ask anything about you guys. How about you, do you have a name? I just hope that yours is normal."


    The butler raised his eyebrows and was silent for a while before he answered, "I was called CB001-A but the master just calls me butler. So, there would be no problem when you call me butler."


    "What? Is that even a name? Those are only a string of letters and numbers." Jagan was not sure if the man was joking or serious since his face remained unchanged even after he asked those questions.


    "I don''t understand what you mean Mr. Jagan, it is what they called me thus I believe that it is my name, it''s just that my master was toozy to say my name and just called me butler." The butler stated with a straight face. He could still remember his master''s look of disgust at the name CB001-A before he decided to just call him butler. Simple, easy to pronounce and that was his job.


    Jagan could not understand this logic so all he could was just ept it. "Okay, I understand. I''ll just call you butler then." He finished all the cookies in the te and stood up, ready to bid them goodbye.


    "You caneback anytime, I''ll wee you with open arms." The voice made him shiver and when he looked behind him, the owner of the shop was grinning at him.


    "Thank you but I''ll pass." He gave them a nod before he left in a hurry.

 Chapter 5 He Is Blunt

    ?Cygnus watched the man until he disappeared out of sight. Initially his purpose for moving to this far-flung ce was to find something fun but the longer he stayed the more he becamezy and now his only goal was to live peacefully and away from any conflicts but when he saw that man, his curiosity was suddenly sparked because it seemed that the both of them has the same motive as to why they relocated to a ce so far from the kingdom''s capital and when an opportunity came, he made sure to have fun teasing the man.


    "What an oddity," he can''t stop himself from smiling. It seemed that this was a smiling day for him. He even started humming while mumbling about baking a cake to celebrate that good day but before he could fully celebrate his butler suddenly spoke.


    "Yes, he is a bit different from the ordinary ones who have visited our shop. I could clearly tell that was a well-trained warrior based on the standards of the humans we have faced before. He is slightly stronger than them." The butler agreed because he ran a quick scan on the man while he was unconscious and he was actually impressed at the data he got. "Mr. Jagan is not only a warrior but also a mage, which ording to my information is very rare in thisnd. People with this kind of talent are working for the royal family or the kingdom''s military, so it is a wonder why someone like him is out here in this secluded ce."


    Cygnus watched as his butler spoke like what he normally does when he was informing him of the enemy''s information. "Do we really need those things? I though we agreed that you''ll be an ordinary butler while I''ll be an ordinary shop owner. You don''t have to know those kinds of things because I''m not nning on getting involved with the mess of this world."


    The butler stayed silent. It seems that his master''s mood was ruined. "I understand, I will remember that."


    His master narrowed his eyes then left without saying a word while the butler was left in silence. If he could feel headache then he might be feeling it right now, luckily, he was not as fragile as those humans. From then on, he decided to be careful in his words and just tell his master words that will surely make him happy.


    Jagan returned to their house just after sundown and even though he only went to that shop, he still felt very tired because of what happened. He had no time to digest the situation when he was standing inside but the moment he walked out and put a significant distance from that shop did he feel relief and his muddled head slowly started to clear.


    He was just relieved that those people were not from that organization. When he heard from his nephew that the man was a mage, he just brushed it off but when he received that letter, he thought that they were sent to monitor them but it seems that he was mistaken. Now that Ezio did not want to leave, Jagan must think of a way to protect him the clutches of that filthy organization.


    "Where have you been all day?" he heard his nephew''s angry voice and saw the young man''s ck face and sharp gaze that was directed at him.


    "I just had a stroll around the za and forgot about the time," he made an excuse in order to not make his nephew think of anything suspicious about it.


    "Are you sure?" Ezio was not buying it. He was not a child anymore that can easily be fooled and he already knew his uncle''s mannerisms so he knew that he was lying.


    "Oh, and I also went to that bake shop to have some cookies," he hastily added to make it a little bit truthful. Well, it was true that he visited the shop but he can''t tell his nephew that he passed out for a couple of hours just because of a simple name.


    Ezio took a deep breath before he finally let it go because he knew that it was useless to force his uncle to tell him the truth. He would only shrug it off or make excuses just to avoid answering. Jagan saw his nephew''s downcast look and the guilt in his heart grew but he did not have the heart to tell him of the truth. The lesser he knew the safer he would be.


    That incident certainly created a rift between the uncle and nephew but because they were family Ezion decided to just understand his uncle even though he was clueless about what his only rtive was hiding. Their interaction became a little bit awkward but Jagan knew that his nephew will slowly warm up to him again.


    From that day too, Ezio started to visit the bake shop often to buy bread or cookies or just to sit down and have some cup of coffee. He would also engage the butler in a conversation to which the man would dly answer. Ezio also got to slowly know that people in the bake shop well except for the owner who seemed to be always busy. He wanted to ask about magic but the man rarely showed up and when he did, he would not answer him seriously.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "The shop owner, is that how he always was?" he asked the butler one time that he visited again. He was looking at the direction of the kitchen and the butler had a slight smile on his face.


    "Yes, he is a bit difficult to please but when something catches his attention, he will be like a child." The butler kindly answered which caught the teen''s attention. He retracted his gaze from the curtain covered entrance and focused on the butler.


    "Then how do I get his attention? I just want to learn more about magic but he doesn''t want to talk to me," he pouted with his head resting on the palm of his hand. It was frustrating that the person was not even willing to talk to him. He was already ufortable because of the situation with his uncle and now his life became a little bit depressing because nothing was going his way.


    "Should I talk to him?" the butler kindly suggested which was heard by the man himself.


    "Don''t go around helping everyone and besides this child is so ordinary how can he catch my attention?" Cygnus appeared beside the butler and looked at Ezio from head to toe then shook his head. "No talent whatsoever." He continued to shake his head as he returned to the kitchen.


    Ezio was too stunned to speak at the sudden appearance of the man and more so because of his words then his expression became grim and he totally lost all of his appetite. He stood up and bid the butler a goodbye then left.


    "Was that really necessary master?" The butler turned around to look at his master who was now standing behind the counter.


    "Do you have anyints?" He returned the gaze but his was more of reprimanding. It was never his style to cover his words with a fa?ade. If the person was offended, he did not care and if the person was hurt, it was not his problem and if the person wanted to hit him then he will wee it. He was never good at changing his attitude.


    Ezio walked home with the harsh words still echoing in his mind. It was the first time that he heard those kinds of words that were directed at him and it made him upset because it touched a sensitive part of him. He was not like the other kids he met, some of them were able to use magic and was recruited to learn at an academy while the others were good at fighting while him was just ordinary. He did not have any talents that can stand out, an average kid out of a bunch of talented ones.


    He could only sigh at his own misfortune and returned home with a frown on his face. Jagan noticed that his nephew was in low spirits and as the adult, he approached him and sat beside him. "What happened?"


    Ezio sighed once again and refused to answer his uncle. He was not in the mood to talk about it but his uncle remained sitting and waited for him to speak. It took Ezio a long time before he relented to face his uncle and looked him in the eye.


    "It''s because I was told that I''m ordinary and that I don''t have any talents," he answered with a frown on his face. Thinking about those words was making him sad again.


    Jagan was taken aback because no one had ever said those words to his nephew, yes, he was normal but being normal was better than having those talents and being bound the chains of ruling ss in thatnd. "Who told you that? There is nothing wrong with being normal. Actually, I am d that you don''t have any aptitude in magic or fighting because you are free from the control of the royal family or any other noble families out there." The more he spoke, the more his voice rose and the agitation in him could be seen. "Who was the person who told you that nonsense?"


    "The owner of that bake shop where you always buy your favorite cookies."

 Chapter 6 In White Robes

    ?The next day, Jagan did not hesitate to retirn to that bake shop. He stood in front of the shop and took a deep breath before he entered. The bell rang as he opened the door and as usual he saw no one inside the shop. He looked around for a while and waited for the at least the butler because he knew that that man was not fond of meeting people.


    But his expectation was again crushed as he heard an abnormally cheery voiceing from behind him. "What a rare sight, what does a warrior if your calliber don''t ng here?" The voice asked and he could do nothing but to turn around and face Cygnus.


    "Where is your butler?" He did not meet the man''s eyes and instead tried to look around.


    "Oh, I sent him on an errand," Cygnus chuckled when he saw how the other was avoiding his gaze. "Why don''t you take a seat while I go and prepare a cup of coffee and a te of cookies for you?"


    The gaze from the man made him shiver but he did not have the power to resist the man''s words. He wanted to leave but his feet had started to walk towards the usual table that he takes whenever he visited the shop.


    Jagan silently sat down while he obediently waited for the man to return. He looked outside the window and wondered why there were no customers whenever he visited but before he could think more about it, a te of cookies and a cup of coffee was ced on the table.


    "Thank you...Wait, what are you doing?" He looked as the man took the empty seat in front of him. He thought the man would leave after giving him the cookies and cookies since it was his style. He never spoke to anyone and would stay in the kitchen, so this action was out of character for him.


    Cygnusughed out loud and even tapped the table while doing so. "You are really amusing, I can read everything from your face alone. You must be wodneeing why I am being out of character, am I right?"


    Jagan''s eyes widened but he did not answer the man''s question. He stood up and was about to leave but after only one step, he stopped. His body could not move then he was slowly pulled back by an invisible force until he was sitting down again, face to face with the man who was smiling at him.


    "Where are you going? I thought you came here to talk to me? Is this about your nephew yesterday?" Cygnus picked up a cookie and took a bite. The crunch echoed through the silence that persisted between them.


    "Howe you are suddenly asking me so many questions?" He did not answered as he asked him with gritted teeth even his fists were tightly clenched on the table. He should have note here but it was already toote for that now.


    "Because I am curious why a person of your aptitude is not serving the royal family and is instead living in this remote ce with your nephew?" For some reason his voice softened at the end but the fear he felt from it was real. With his voice he could only nt  this hideous feeling in his heart.


    "You don''t have to, my family''s affair is of no concern to you," Jagan steeled himself and resisted the control that was being exerted to him. He was a amage and a warrior, it would be a blow to his pride if he could not even defend himself from the controlling words of this person. He would not let that incident happen again.


    Cygnus leaned on the chair with the smie on his disappearing. This man was stubborn and even had the will to fight his control, exemry. "Alright." He raised his hads in surrender and stood up. "Yes, you are right, this is not my concern but I''ll be watching this y until the end."


    He disappeared behind the curtains again while Jagan was left staring at his muddy reflection on the coffee before he too stood up and left, leaving his favorite cookies behind.


    That day, Ezio was able to get over from what happened yesterday and was now watering the vegetables that his uncle nted. There was only the tomatoes left when he was suddenly interrupted by a voice calling out his uncle''s name. He put down the watering can and went around the house towards the front and found three people wearing white robes.


    "Uhm who are you and why are looking for my uncle?" He asked while cautiously looking at the people but he could not clearly see their faces because the hood of their clothing was covering half of their faces.


    The people in white robes was a bit stunned but their hidden eyes were now locked on the teen that was also curiously looking at them. It was good that they finally found this person.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "We are his colleagues and we are here to visit him," the man in front answered with a soft voice.


    Ezio looked at them and the man''s voice gave a positive impression to him. Although they looked mysterious, they were still his uncle''s colleagues and this was the first time that some other people came to see him.


    "But my uncle is not here today and I''m not sure what time he will be back." He answered      because he was unsure of what to do. He could not let them enter their home easily as instructed by his uncle, no matter who they were.


    "That''s okay, we will just wait here. Can we ask you some questions while waiting?" The same man asked, they knew why he was hesitating and they could not afford to be pushy if they want this child to warm up to them.


    "That''s okay, but do you wantt oe in for a while?" Ezio offered even though he was still unsure since it was rude to turn away any guests but the man shook his head.


    "You don''t have to, we are okay with waiting here since your uncle might not befortable to see us because it has been a long time since west saw him." The other two behind him nodded and Ezio can''t just force him so he agreed.


    The other reason why they can''t enter Jagan''s home was because it was surrounded by a barrier that rejects them. It was so like Jagan to set up something like this just to keep them at bay.


    "Have you been living with your uncle ever since you were child?" He carefully asked because he needed to know if this was that child.


    "For as long as I can remember and he is the only rtive that I have," Ezio did not hesited to answer because to him it was only an ordinary question so there was no harm in giving them an answer.


    "Your parents, where are they?" He again asked but the teen did not give him any answer.


    Ezio''s parents were already dead and his uncle never talked about them. He had asked him so many times in the past but  Jagan was firm with not telling him what really happened. The only time he can remember was that time when his uncle slipped up and told him that his parents were killed bad people so whenever he was asked that kind of questions he instinctively remained silent.


    The man noticed this so instead of pressing the teen for an answer, he instead changed his question, "Can you use magic?"


    Ezioughed and shook his head, "How I wish I could answer you with yes but sadly I''m an ordinary person and even my fighting skills are average."


    A frown appeared on the man''s face amd the other two looked at each other. If he can''t use magic then he was not he child not unless Jagan has found a way to hide the teen''s potential but the man in front had obswrved him the moment he appeared and he could tell that the teen was indeed of no talent.


    Before they could continue to ask him questions, a loud voice bellowed from the side. "What are the lots of doing here?" Jagan''s eyes were red with rage and the veins on his head were popping up.


    He walked towards the group of white clothed people then took a stand in between them and his nephew. Jagan turned around to look at his clueless family and could only close his eyes in frustration.


    "Go inside the house!" Hemanded. Although he controlled out his voice it still came out a little bit rough. Ezio was stunned at the sudden turn of events and of his uncle''s fuming visage. He did not have the heart to argue any longer so he took a step back then turned around to leave them be.

 Chapter 7 Arrogant

    ?Ezio entered the room but he was still curious so he looked outside the window and saw that his uncle and the people in white were speaking. His uncle looked pretty angry and his gestures were being forceful. It looked like he was pointing at the people and asking them to leave but they did not move an inch.


    Jagan looked behind him and saw that his nephew was peeking through the window. He frowned but he let him be and faced the people again. Subtly he snapped his fingers and the space around the house shifted then ayer of an opaque barrier appeared before it slowly faded and became invisible.


    "You really are persistent, I''ve already told you before not to look for me but here you are knocking on the door of death," his hand was ready to attack with a ball of lightning that he he had already conjured. "Do you really think that I will allow you to approach my nephew like that again?"


    The air around him started to vibrate and his anger towards these uninvited guests cannot be hidden. He raised his hand and released the ball in his hands towards them. The man in front was not fazed, instead he defended against the attack by summoning a blue dome around them.


    "We are not here to fight you, Grand Mage Jagan," the man started but before he could continue, another ball of lightning exploded in front of them.


    "Don''t call me that. I have long since buried that title in the past," he spat before conjuring a series of lightning that struck the group.


    Smoke rose from where the lightning boltsnded but after it subsided the three men remained standing without any injuries. The blue dome was still protecting them.


    "Grand Mage Jagan, stand down. If you continue to attack us we will have no choice but to retaliate," the leader spoke and the friendliness in his voice disappeared. His mana started to show and collided with Jagan''s.


    "You''ve grown stronger, Siron." Jagan eyed the man, he could feel that his mana was alreadyparable to that of a Grand Mage even though his rank was not yet there. "That snotty brat in the past is already ready to be a Grand Mage."


    "Yes and if you insist on fighting us, it is not a guarantee that you can defeat us. Times have change, master. The Magic Tower is now more powerful and if you do not abide by it, then you will be destroyed." Siron retracted his mana and so did Jagan. He removed the hood covering his face and stared at his former master.


    Jagan could tell that this brat who once followed closely behind him was now stronger but the arrogance shown in his eyes never vanished instead it became more pronounced now that he had risen in ranks. The older man admitted that Siron was talented but his personality was not that great. He had the tendency to look down on others just because they appeared to be weak and that in itself was a fatal weakness that can bring him destruction.


    "It seems that you have forgotten my teachings," his eyes wondered around the other man''s body before he sighed in disappointment. "You might be looking down on me now but even so, in my eyes you are still not worthy of that power and talent you have."


    Siron''s eyes twitched at Jagan''s words, he thought that he had gotten over how overbearing the man was but even after many years, he was still getting into his nerves. When the man became his master, he gave him the same look and even shook his head like he was someone of no importance even though he was the most talented apprentice the Magic Tower has and even his achievemennts never impressed the man. It was frustrating, so when he left the Magic Tower, he was actually relieved and poured all his time in improving his strength until he could surpass his master. Now that he was as powerful as him, the man still looked at him like he was nothing, the condescending look was enough to make him hate the man even more but he controlled himself. It was not the right time to show Jagan what he could do.


    "It seems that Grand Mage Jagan is not ready to talk, so we will leave first but this will not be thest time we will be seeing each other. We will be staying in this town for next couple of days while waiting for your response to the letter we''ve sent but if you still refuse, then we don''t have a choice but to subdue you. This will be your first and final warning." Siron gave the man a nod before he and the other two with him disappeared which made it impossible for Jagan to refuse them.


    Siron and hispanions appeared in a corner of the town''s za after teleporting away from Jagan''s house. They have been tracking down his master for quite a while now and everytime they found a trace of him, they were always one step behind so now that they caught up with him, he decided to give his former master a chance for time.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you sure about that Siron? They might take this chance to run away again." One of the men with him asked then he removed the hood of cloak.


    "If they really wanted to run then he should have done so the moment he received that letter but he did not which only means one thing, they won''t go anywhere," Siron smiled. The one who asked shook his head after he saw this sinister smile. He had known Siron ever since they were still apprentices and his sadistic tendencies had gotten worse over time.


    "Are you really going to pick a fight against him? He is not only a Grand Mage but also a warrior. He know how to fight people like us if he ever runs out of mana." His intention was to remind the other that the person they were dealing with was not just somebody. Grand Mage Jagan was regarded as the best of their generation and he believed that no matter how many years has passed, his talent and skills will never wavered. Aside from that he was also an experienced fighter and mage, which they can''t bepared with.


    Siron frowned at his subordinate''s words. He did not like his tone so he turned around and grabbed the man by his cor. "Astrophos, surely you did not forget who you are talking to. No matter who the person is, they will never be a match to me. Even if Jagan has the experience, I can still overwhelm him with my power. His era ended long ago, this time is mine. I will show him how different I am from him." He let him go as he pushed him back. "I don''t even understand how a person with mediocre mana got the title of Grand Mage. Mine is more superior than his, so he did not have the right to look down on me. Did you see how he gazed at me?" His voice dropped a few octaves with his fists clenched tightly when he remembered how Jagan stared at him. "I will make him regret every humiliation I suffered because of him."


    Astrophos looked at Siron in disappointment. The man was so full of himself that he never listened to anyone. On the other hand the other person witht them was nodding to whatever Siron was saying which made Astrophos even more disappointed.


    "Of course you can defeat that guy, ording to the other mages your mana is more potent and more powerful since it allows you to use powerful spells, so no matter how experienced the other person is, it cannot work against you!" He cheerfully supplimented which only added to Siron''s ego.


    He was Xavion, he entered the Magic Tower right after Grand Mage Jagan left, so he doesn''t have any idea how strong the man was, if he knew Astrophos doubts that he would say those words.


    Siron slowly rxed after hearing Xavion''s praise and the smile on his face returned, "You are right. Let''s look for a ce to have a seat first." He looked around and saw an inconspicuous shop that sells pastries. He walked towards the ce followed by the other two.


    They entered and was met with the aroma of freshly baked bread so without hesitation they chose bread of their own preferences and followed the instruction on how to ce the order. They did not even notice that the shop was using magic.


    "Oh, look at that I''ve got some interesting visitors." Cygnus looked through the surveince mirror he had with the grin on his face widening.


    "Master, please control your expression. Our customers might get frightened if you showed them that devilish grin of yours." The butler walked through the door then ced a cup of coffee in front of Cygnus.


    "But my expression looks fine," he turned around and looked at his reflection on the mirror. He even angled his face from side to side before shaking his head. "I look especially handsome."


    "Master," the butler interrupted because he already know where this was going, "you should decide what to do since they are already waiting."


    Cygnus raised an eyebrow at the butler''s question, "You should already know what to do."

 Chapter 8 Whisper Of Truth

    ?The butler left his master in high spirits to attend to the orders of the men whom he found interesting. He should treat them warmly as per his master''s request. He came out from the kitchen and wore his business smile then greeted the customers.


    "Thank you for ordering, will you be eating the bread in here? If you do, we also serve coffee and tea while you enjoy your food," he offered since his master wanted to observe them more.


    Siron''s group was a bit surprised when they heard that they could eat the bread in the shop so they agreed to the butler''s offer without thinking much about it. Each of them got a cup of coffee then the butler escorted them to a three seater table in the corner of the shop.


    "Please make yourselves at home while I go and prepare your coffee and bread and while waiting, you can try our blueberry cookies, courtesy of our baker," he ced a tter of freshly baked cookies on their table which sessfully caught their attention. They did not even ask a question as to where the butler got the cookies when he was not holding anything.


    The butler left them on their own while he prepared their orders. Cygnus watched as the man was carefully cing the bread they chose on the te. He even wiped the edges of the te where crumbs were scattered.


    "You really are good at doing this," hemented after thest bread was ted elegantly.


    "Indeed I am master, so please observe them as much as you like," he nodded then he gave his master a smile. He carefully lifted the tray and left to serve them their food.


    Siron watched in anticipation when he saw the man with their orders in his hands. The butler ced the tray on the table and served them their food.


    "Enjoy your coffee and bread," he waved his hand then bowed before he left to give them privacy.


    "Are we really going to stay here?" Xavion asked out of the blue afte the butler left.


    "Yes, until my Master changes his mind," Siron took a bite of the bread and appreciated it''s soft texture and creamy filling by nodding his head.


    "The Grand Mage would not change his mind," Astrophos interjected. The man was stubborn and he managed to out run them everytime so he was sure that he will not do as the Magic Tower requests.


    "Let''s see if his stubbornness can work when his nephew is involved," Siron smirked. Astrophos could already see through him and the thoughts in his mind. He closed his eyes and shook his head, this time he chose not to speak any longer.


    On the other hand, Jagan who was now seated on the couch in their small living room. After he confronted Siron and his group he entered the house only to be met by his nephew who silently stared at him.


    "What do you want to ask?" He could only resign to his fate.


    Ezio looked straight at his uncle''s eyes without blinking. "Will you even answer me once I ask the questions that are now currently roaming around my mind?"


    Another sigh as he nodded to his nephew''s words which now led to the currently awkward situation they were in. Ezio waited for his uncle to voluntarily start talking because he did not want to push him any further.


    "Those people are from the ce where I used to work and they are the reason why we kept on moving from one ce to another and now they found me," Jagan started. His head was bowed as his eyes were staring at the ground.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why are they chasing us?" Ezio asked this time because this was the right time to ask his uncle for the reason behind their every move.


    Jagan was silent for a while because he was not sure how to answer that question. Ezio waited patiently and did not urge him. "That''s because they wanted me toe back." He simply answered but this time Ezio was not satisfied.


    "Are you a wanted criminal? Did you do anything that made them chase you all the way here? They did not even give up even after how many years," hemented as there were holes from that answer his uncle gave him. If he simply left without problems then they would be living peacefully in a different ce right now but based on what had happened and from the appearance of those people, his leaving was not a simple matter.


    Jagan chuckled and lifted his head to meet his nephew''s eyes, "The people behind those who were chasing me might as well thought that I am criminal because I took something important from them." His gaze never wavered and it made Ezio ufortable. There was something from his uncle''s gaze that made him uneasy.


    "What-what do you meam by that? If you stole something then can''t you just return it so that they will leave you alone?" Ezio deliberately avoided his uncle''s gaze. He instead stared at his hands that were ced on hisp.


    "If it was as simple as that then I could have returned it but I can''t. I''ve promised that I won''t hand it over no matter what happens, even if it costs me my life," his words were firm. Ezio raised his head and saw that there were no traces of his yful uncle to be found. The man in front of him was like a stone general who was not moved by anything.


    Ezio felt nervous all of a sudden because of those words and the previous questions in his head disappeared. His uncle''s gaze made his heart beat abnormally fast with a foreboding feeling rising within him. The teen stood up and turned around to leave.


    "Is-is that so. I just remembered that I was not done watering the nts. Let''s continue this conversation some other time," he started to walk away but his uncle''s piercing gaze did not leave his back. He did not understand why he suddenly did not want to hear anymore answers from his uncle.


    Jagan only looked at his nephew''s receding back. He could understand why Ezio suddenly did not want to stay anymore. The child was sensitive to these things ever since he was young, he tended to avoid everything that might hurt him because his instincts would tell him to do so but that was not the only special thing about him. He was much more than a child who can predict danger.


    "In the future, if something unexpected happens, I want you to go to that shop owner." He stood up and caught up with Ezio. He then patted the teen''s shoulder, "I don''t know if that man is someone good but I''m sure that he will find you interesting once you tell him his name." Then he leaned forward and whispered the shop owner''s name in his nephew''s ears.


    Ezio did not turn around after hearing the name and instead continued walking towards the door. Jagan did not move, not until he saw Ezio closing the door behind him did he doubled over and clutched his stomach with his other hand covering his mouth to stop the blood froming out but it was no use because it still spilled.


    He did not expect that the pain of just whispering that man''s full name was not evenparable to the pain he felt the first time. This time he could not even pass out even though he wanted to. He was awake and tortured by the unbearable pain, like his insides was being burned and torned apart. The metallic taste of the blood in his mouth did not disappear as it continued to flow out. He could even feel a hot liquiding out from his eyes and nose and that''s when he cursed silently while going through the intense pain.


    He did not know how much time had passed while hey on the floor bearing all the pain from a mere name when he heard the door opening again followed by frantic footsteps and his nephew''s worried voice. After that everything happened in a daze, he did not even know if he answered Ezio''s questions, all he knew was that he kept on mumbling.


    This was the worst and he did not even know if it was worth it to receive all of that damage just to let his nephew know that man''s name when he himself was not sure if the man himself will really help Ezio when the timees. He did not know and was too tired to think about it now then after a while, the pain subsided and he could finally close his eyes.


    Ezio watched as his uncle slept. He finally felt relief after tending to him and seeing that his breathing was even. He was really shocked when he saw his uncle sprawled like that on the cold floor with blood all over the ce. Luckily he was strong enough to carry the man twice his size towards his room.


    Slowly, he wiped the dried blood on his uncle''s face then changed his sweat soaked clothes into fresh ones. There seemed to be no external injuries and as far as he knew, his uncle was healthy. Before his mind could wander even further, he stood up and left the room. He''ll leave the exnation to his uncle once he wakes up.

 Chapter 9 Out For A Stroll?

    ?Moonvale, a ce at the northern border of the Lunaira Kingdom has always experienced bright nights but there were rare moments when the moon would disappear and during this time, no one would leave their residences during the night. It was long believed that when the moon disappears a cmity or misfortune will befall Moonvale and to avoid any of that from happening, the residents agreed to not step out from their houses when the moon does not appear in the sky.


    That was their belief but at a certain home, this did not matter because not even curses can work on him. Cygnus was humming while looking at the mirror to check what he looked like and to make sure that he doesn''t appear scary.


    "The sky already turned dark so where are you going master?" The butler watched as the man fixed the cor of his coat.


    "I''m going for a stroll," he casually answered before turning around to look at his butler. "It''s a moonless night, isn''t this a great opportunity to take a look around," he even grinned and patted his butler''s shoulder. "I''ll returnter."


    Cygnus bid his butler goodbye before stepping out of the bake shop''s front door. He inhaled the air and was satisfied with it. For a moonless night, it was good to visit a ce where ghosts might appear so his first destination was the cemetery.


    He walked around the ce and checked every tombstone while humming but he found nothing exciting. Everything was as normal as the ghosts roaming around, even an evil spirit was a wee distraction to him but there seemed to be nothing in that ce but he did not stop walking though until he heard it, a familiar sinister whisper.


    At that sound his grin widened, so with a skip in his step, he went to the direction of the whispers and slowly peeked through the bushes. There a person was sitting on the ground like he was meditating and there was a magic circle below him. He was mumbling foreign words followed by the whispers of spirits that started to gather around him. They were vicious but once they came in contact with the mana wave created by the magic circle, they disappeared, the spirits were absorbed into the man''s body which strengthened his mana energy.


    "So this was where all those evil spirits were," Cygnus mumbled to himself. "What an ambitious person."


    After watching the other for a while, he stood up and left in high spirits. "It seems that I''ll be witnessing something fun." Heughed at his own words and for a moment there, a part of his mana leaked which darkened the surroundings and killed a couple of birds and animals that were unlucky enough to be caught up within his mana''s scope.


    When he realized what happened, he immediately hid his aura and fixed the darkened ground and summoned some normal looking animals to roam around. After exploring the town at night, he finally returned home with the butler waiting for him.


    "Have you found something interesting?" He asked once he saw the carefree expression from his master''s face.


    "Yes, the plot is developing quite dramatically, now all I need to do is wait for something to actually happen." He massaged his chin and narrowed his eyes at the thought of a free show that might happen anytime in the future.


    "I advice that you don''t meddle with it, master." His butler kindly advised because he knew that his master had the tendency to take matters into his own hands which in turn creates more problems for them.


    Cygnus looked at his butler in astonishment, "I won''t do something as troublesome as that. I''ll just be a bystander and watch from the sides. I''ve already told you that my aim now is to live as normally as I could." He shook his head and even showed his butler a sympathetic look.


    If the butler could feel any emotion, then he would surely be dumbfounded at his master''s words but still he thought that his master''s words were a bit outrageous. "Then I will be watching with you from the side."


    Jagan woke up in the middle of the night with his heart beating fast like he ran through a marathon as his eyes wandered around the dark room. He clearly felt it, a mana energy that was beyond his, it felt dangerous and ominous.


    He stood up from the bed and wiped the sweat on his face from that nightmare, before he went to the kitchen to get something to drink when he saw that his nephew was sitting in a daze on one of the seats.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It''s already midnight what are you still doing here?" He asked, intentionally raising his voice so that the teen can hear him.


    It was effective because Ezio reacted at his uncle''s voice. "Oh, I was awoken for some reason so I decided to pour myself a cup of water."


    Jagan narrowed his eyes and observed the teen. He looked normal but he might be affected by that mana energy that disappeared as fast as it came. "Then go back to sleep."


    Ezio nodded his head then he stood up and went back to his room like nothing happened without even greeting his uncle before leaving. The man frowned so he made sure that his nephew really went to bed. He followed him and watched until he got inside the nkets and fell asleep.


    A sillhouttended on the entrance of the cemetery, the man whose entire body was covered in ck except for his eyes looked around but found nothing out of ce. He took careful steps inside the silent ce while keeping his attention to any changes in his surroundings. The fluctuation of mana he felt came from the direction of this ce so he decided to investigate. The appearance of Siron and hisckeys were already expected but a mana energy that can influence him and his nephew was out of the question. Whether it was coincidence or not, he needed to make sure that no other variables will put them in jeopardy.


    He stopped then started walking back and forth on the same ce. He though he felt something but everything within the area was fine, there was nothing a miss. "How can this be?" He mumbled but no matter how he try to feel or see no one and nothing will answer his question.


    After having no idea, he decided to give up but before he would leave, he continued to walk around the cemetery first to make sure that nothing was out of ce. He had only walked a few feet away when he felt traces of a sinister magic around. He walked around the bush and cursed after he saw traces of dark mana in the area, even the burnt grass was a proof that someone did a forbidden spell in this ce. Dark mana when used often leave behind burnt or destroyed traces in the ce where it was performed and its users usually, rather, would always cover up its traces to avoid being found out. In this case, the user might have forgotten, which was unlikely, or he might have been startled by something so he needed to leave in a haste.


    Users of dark magic were considered evil since they can use unconventional spells that causes destruction and death. Aside from that, continuous use of dark mana can corrode one''s mind ultimately leading to self destruction or the user wreaking havoc all over the ce. Whoever used dark mana in the cemetery must have something to do with evil spirits coupled with the timely disappearance of the moon and strangely enough Jagan already had a person in mind.


    He was not sure if it was pure coincidence or not, but the fact that he needed to catch the person did not change. He shook his head then extended his right arm forward, a green glow slowly appeared in his palm followed by a small magic circle then he crushed the circle and dots of green light descended from the sky as it covered the ground. Slowly, the burnt marks were gone and was reced by a whole new batch of grass. Even the traces of dark mana dispersed and disappeared.


    The cemetery returned to its usual tranquility and both the man and the dark mana disappeared. What happened that night was bound to be forgotten but not everything can be buried deep.


    "You''re already awake!" Ezio was surprised when he saw that his uncle was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand.


    Jagan looked at him before shaking his head, "Yeah, I woke upst night and saw you sitting on this same chair in the middle of the night."


    Ezio frowned and even tilted his head to the left, "What do you mean? I did not wake upst night."


    "Yeah, I figured that you won''t remember it because you were pretty out of itst night. You were in a daze the whole time I was talking to you then you went to sleep like nothing happened." Jagan casually stated like it was not a big deal but Ezio was horrified at what he was hearing.


    "Am-am I sleep walking?" He asked with wide eyes then he immediately reached out and held his uncle''s arm.


    "Tsk, it''s not like you''re going to die. It was just one time and it might be the effect of the moon disappearing." He shook of his nephew''s hands and ruffled his until it was a mess. "So stop thinking about it."

 Chapter 10 Unexpected Revelation

    ?Even though his uncle already told him that he should not think about it, Ezio was still bothered by his sleep walking. It was the first time that it happened but for some reason it was making him unsettled. Although it might be the influence of the rare phenomenon that happened in Moonvale, he still felt like it was not normal.


    He sighed once again which caught Jagan''s attention. The frown and deep crease on the teen''s forehead did not escape him as well. "I told you to stop thinking about it, so you should stop thinking about it. You''ll get old faster if you keep on worrying about worthless things." His voice was stern while looking at his nephew with a serious expression. Ezio could not help but sigh again which earned him a p on the back from his uncle. "I told you to stop thinking about it!"


    "But uncle..." He was about to protest but was cut off by his uncle''s re. "Alright! I''ll just forget about it! I''ll leave you here then!" He stomped away without looking back then mmed the door behind him.


    It was expected but Jagan was still taken aback by his nephew''s actions. He would throw temper tantrums but never had he walked out on him before, this was the first time so he was a bit too stunned to react and before he knew it, that child was already out of the door.


    Ezio stood outside for a while, a little lost as to where he should go and he became even more upset because his uncle did not even ran after him. Without nowhere to go, he decided to go at the town center instead and roam around, hopefully he won''t ran into those people who visited his uncle yesterday.


    He reached the ce and saw that every corner of it was busy. Luckily it was market day so there were a lot of people and a lot of shops so he did not get bored while looking around.


    "Aren''t you Jagan''s nephew?" A calm voice came from the side. He was about to ignore the person who was clearly speaking to him but the man was fast and tapped his shoulder. Since he can''t escape, he had no choice but to turn around to greet the man.


    He forced a smile, "Hello." He was hopping that he would not meet them but clearly luck was not on his side because he even met the leader of the group. He felt a bit ufortable at the other''s presence that he wanted to leave right away.


    Sironughed at the teen''s expression, "You don''t have to force yourself. Your uncle might have told you something about us which I totally understand. The way he left was a bit shocking to us and we did not have the time to talk to him before he disappeared."


    "Is that so?" Was the only answer he could give because the man was not as friendly as he was yesterday. "I-you know I should get going, my uncle must have been looking for me." He smiled and he really wanted to leave immediately so he turned around but after a couple of steps he was stopped by the next words from the man.


    "Grand Mage Jagan, I would like to talk to him again so would you kindly pass a message to him?" Siron was still smiling but there was a sh of sinister glint in his eyes.


    Ezio looked back and Siron returned to his gentle self. "What did you say?"


    Siron acted as if he was confused because of his question. "The message, can you pass him my message," he repeated.


    "No not that one, what did you call my uncle?" Ezio walked forward, the anxious and ready to flee teen was reced by a frowning one.


    "Ah do you mean, Grand Mage Jagan, that''s how we all called him back at the Magic Tower," Siron answered and saw that Ezio''s expression became dark. The glee he was feeling intensified when he verified his suspicions. "Didn''t he tell you?" He even frowned. "Wait he really didn''t tell you about him being a mage? He was even a well-known fighter during his time at the Magic Tower, that''s how he got his title as Grand Mage..." He was not able to continue what he was saying because Ezio suddenly left but for him it was enough.


    He turned around and grinned, it seems that Jagan did not tell the child about his past. "What a fool," he mumbled to himself beforeughing out loud. The people around looked at him like he had gone crazy but he did not care. What''s important was that he was able to put a wedge between the uncle and nephew.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ezio walked as fast as he could to escape the crowd. He felt nauseous and his vision started to get blurry, the information he just heard made him so angry and at the same time confused. How could his uncle be a mage? And even a Grand Mage at that? He did not know, he has no clue because he knew nothing about the person he called uncle.


    Once he got out from the sea of people he went to an empty alley and leaned on the wall with his head tilted up as he closed his eyes. The disappointment and frustration of being kept in the dark for so long was too overwhelming for him to bear to the point that all he wanted to do was cry.


    A tear slowly streaked down his cheek but he immediately wiped it dry. ''He was not going to cry''. He repeated the mantra to himself for so many times that he lost count of it in the end.


    People continued to walk past him as they went on with their own lives like they had no problems. Some may have noticed him but no one was really willing to ask if he was doing fine so he stood there alone for who knows how long. Once the sun started to set did he leave but instead of going home, he went to that bake shop.


    The ring of the bell alerted the butler that someone entered. He looked back and was about to send the person away because they were about to close but stopped when he saw Ezio who was just standing there with his head bowed. "I didn''t think that you would be returning here after my master''s words yesterday," he started which the teen answered but his mumbling was not understood by the butler.


    Instead of asking him again, the butler instead ushered the teen to a table and quickly served him a cup of milk. He then went to the kitchen and brought out some muffins that his master baked.


    "Why don''t you drink that cup of milk and eat a little bit of muffins to at least lift up your mood. Based on my master''s personality, strangely enough, the pastries he bakes have the ability to improve one''s mood." The butler urged then he stood beside the child and watched him slowly drink and eat.


    After a couple of sips and bites he stopped then lifted his head to look at the butler. It was a little bit surprising for the butler to see Ezio in that kind of pitiful state since he always appeared to be a very cheerful child.


    "Can I stay here for the night? I-I don''t want to go home," he gathered his courage to ask but as he finished his words, his voice softened because he realized that these people were not even close to him. They were neither his rtive nor his friends and asking them this kind of a favor was a bit out of line. "I''m sorry, I should not have asked that." He pushed the seat and stood up, he was ready to leave but the butler stopped him.


    "No need to worry about such small matters, you can stay here for the night. It is better for you to stay with us, that way your uncle can easily find you." The butler''s smiling expression remained the same but Ezio felt relieved andfort at that moment, well not until another voice interjected.


    "Don''t just let any stray kids stay in our ce, he has his own home, so he should go," Cygnus had his arms crossed on his chest while looking at them albeit a little bit coldly.


    The relief he felt vanished in the blink of an eye. He stared at the owner of the shop but he could not say anything because he was right.


    "I''m alright, thank you for the offer but I''ll be going home then," he looked at the butler apologetically and even bowed his head then he started to walk away. He was walking slowly with his dropped shoulders, looking like a pitiful animal who was kicked out from his favorite ce.


    The butler looked at his master, Cygnus also stared at him until he closed his eyes because of his annoying butler. The butler then urged him through their eye contact to stop Ezio from leaving.


    Cygnus frowned but with the butler boring holes into him, he could do nothing but call out the child. It took them only a couple of seconds to settle matter before Cygnuspletely gave in. "Tsk, you can stay here, just don''t cause any mess."

 Chapter 11 He Is Meddling

    ?The butler escorted Ezio to a vacant room at the second floor of the bake shop. It looked simple and typical but Ezio was not the kind of person toin. He was already allowed to stay so he was already thankful about that.


    "dly the master is in a great mood that he allowed you to stay," the butler was smiling after he opened the door of the room for him.


    "Is that so?" Ezio had a look of doubt which was understandable in the part of the butler. "I thought it was because of you?"


    The butlerughed, he neverugh because it was somehow forced even though it was a genuineugh. He looked at the teen and shook his head at how naive he was. "My master''s temper is not that good, in fact it is terrible that many had fallen on their knees after encountering him. You are lucky that you haven''t seen what he''s truly like and I hope that you stay oblivious of his true nature."


    Ezio was even more confused at the butler''s words but he did not ask any longer because he was not close enough to them that he can just ask any questions about their personal lives. Aside from that, that person will not appreciate it.


    "Alright, uhm I think I should go to sleep now before the owner changes his mind again." Ezio scratched his head before bowing his head in embarrassment. He sounded like he did not want to talk to him any longer but truthfully he just wanted to be alone for a while.


    "I understand, then I will not disturb you any longer." The butler waved his hand then he turned around and left.


    Ezio sighed before entering the room and closing the door behind him. He went straight to bed and lied down where he spent time staring at the ceiling. He slowly processed everything he learned with his emotions tumbling around. Unable to hide the pain anymore, he curled himself on the bed and started to softly cry. His no crying rule was broken but it was alright because he promised that this would be thest time.


    "I don''t really like when people just starts crying," Cygnusmented while sitting in his room with a book on his hand. He could clearly hear those hups he was trying to hide.


    "Well that is because he is still considered to be a child," the butler ced a ss of wine on the table then he took a step back and stood on the side.


    Cygnus only hummed then took a sip, "If Jaganes to find that stray nephew of his, I trust that you will deal with it ordingly." He raised his head and a glint of excitement shed through his eyes.


    "I understand," the butler bowed and left the room. He went downstairs to wait because any minute now an uncle will surely show up on their doorstep looking for a certain stray child.


    Not long after he went down, there was a knock on the door. He took his time to open the door and acted a bit surprised when he saw who was their visitor. He was about to wee the man but Jagan was faster than him.


    "Is my nephew here?" He immediately asked, his gaze instantly focused inside the room but he found no one there aside from the butler.


    "Well, good evening Mr. Jagan. I didn''t expect to see you here thiste," the butler kindly greeted him. He even took a small step to the side to amodate the man.


    "Yes, well I am looking for my nephew because he has note home yet and I was wondering if he is here," this time Jagan fixed himself and looked at the man. "I''m sorry if I was disturbing you."


    The butler waved his hand, "No need to worry we just closed and it was not like we are resting already and if you re asking about that child, yes, he is indeed here but it seems like he doesn''t want to talk to you." His voice softened as if he was concerned. He even slightly shook his head and sighed.


    "What do you mean? Yes, I know that he is upset but it''s not enough for him to ignore me," Jagan frowned. He knew how his nephew was whenever he was angry and he wouldn''t stay mad all the time.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I don''t know the details since he did not tell us the whole story but from what I can understand, someone approached him and told him some things that might have upset him. When I tried to ask what were those, he was unwilling to tell me," the butler became thoughtful for a moment before he continued, "but he mentioned that the person was someone you knew."


    Jagan''s face darkened at what he heard. His mana energy also started to leak even though he was holding himself from exploding right there and then. He clenched and unclenched his fists while taking some deep breathes to calm himself.


    "I''ll leave Ezio in your care for now. When Ie back I''ll exin to him everything, can you tell him that?" Jagan stepped back and looked at the man. He saw the butler nod then he turned around to walk away. He looked behind him one more time, into the second floor before he finally left.


    "How touching, he''s not even sure if he coulde back," Cygnusmented once the butler closed the door. He was now standing behind the counter with his chin resting on his palm.


    "I thought you are not going to meddle in this matter?" The butler has his eyebrows raised at the man who just recently said that he would only stand and watch from the side.


    "It is not meddling, I just gave them a small push, small push..." He emphasized on the word. He was bored so why not make it happen now.


    The butler could only shake his head as he was once again rendered speechless by his master. He could do nothing even though his master''s mind would change every now and then since he always has the final word. So as a loyal butler, he could only indulge him in his every whim.


    Jagan hid his mana energy and presence as he approached the inn where Siron and hispanions were staying. He then slowly spread his awareness to see if the man was in, but only the other two were in the inn. He narrowed his eyes and when he was about to leave, he noticed it, a trace of dark magic. It was small but enough to incur his wrath.


    He stayed outside the inn until another man entered the room. He could already tell who it was and even the trace of dark magic in him. "That bastard," he whispered in anger.


    Jagar did not confront the group and instead waited until midnight before he made his move. He used a stealth spell to enter the room where Siron was staying and stood in a dark corner to wait for the man to wake up. He slowly revealed his mana energy which alerted the sleeping Siron who immediately woke up at the threat.


    Siron looked around and finally noticed the person who was watching him from the dark. "It''s you, what are you doing here?" He acted surprise even though deep inside he was d that Jagan delivered himself to his doorstep.


    "Don''t y dumb, you talked to my nephew and told him things you should not have," Jagan''s voice was nd as he nkly stared at the person sitting on the bed.


    Siron suddenlyughed and shedded all pretense he had. "Was he angry at you?" He asked followed by anotherugh. "Well you deserve it for hiding things from him!"


    Jagan narrowed his eyes but he did not openly show what he truly felt because he was going to show it by beating this wayward disciple of his. "That''s a small matter because no matter how you try to destroy our rtionship I can still save it. What concerns me the most is your hidden secret, a secret that will destroy you when the Magic Tower discovers." He smirked because of Siron''s shocked expression. "I''ll let them know so that you''ll be stripped off of your beloved title."


    The mage had his eyes widened but he immediately calmed himself. "What nonsense are you talking about?" Heposed himself and stood up to face the man.


    "Dark magic is a nasty business and you should have not touched it. Is this how you got your power and rose through the ranks? Is this the talent you were bragging about? You are not only a weak but also azy one, that''s why I never liked you as my disciple," every words were heavy as a boulder but Siron was not fazed. He had nothing to fear because he believed that he could defeat  Jagan and when he''s gone, his secret will be safe.


    "You will not have the chance to tell them because this ce will be your grave," in the blink of an eye a barrage of sharp pieces of rock appeared and attacked Jagan.

 Chapter 12 Versus

    ?Jagan''s eyes became cold at the attack directed at him. He raised his hand and a yellow magic circle appeared in front of him followed by the loud rumble of lightning that met the shards of rocks and exploded them.


    The explosion destroyed the room where they were and created a lot of dust but both were not fazed by this. Themotion attracted a lot of people and the customers of the inn ran out in a panic. They stood a few meters away from the now half destroyed inn to see what was going on.


    Siron continued to attack Jagan without a care to the destruction he was causing while theter continued to negate his attacks. He wasn''t attacking himself which made Siron irritated.


    "Are you looking down on me?" He angrily asked. He stopped attacking and red at the man and with a flick of his hand, a red hot light descended to where Jagan was standing. The magicsted for at least a minute as it incinerated the wooden floor all the way down to the first floor. He was grinning widely while walking forward to look at his masterpiece. That was his most lethal spell, a fire spell that can burn anything on it''s way.


    He looked down in anticipation to see the man''s burnt body but the moment his body leaned towards the hole, a lightning rushed towards him. If not for Siron''s fast reflexes, he would have been pierced by that lightning.


    "Do you really think that something like that can bring me down?" Jagan''s clear and deep voice came from below. He slowly floated up toe face to face again with the man. "I thought you got strong but seeing you now, I can clearly tell that you have be incredibly weak."


    Jagan did not hold back and casted out a lightning spell simr to the one''s that Siron created. "This is how you should do that spell." Then he released it.


    Siron put up a shield around him but the force of the attack was too much for him to bear. He was being nailed down and the damage he was taking was to much for his body and that moment the floor below him also gave up. Astrophos and Xavion came and gave him a timely help. With the three of them, Siron was able to survive but after the lightning disappeared he vomited blood. Jagan floated down to the first floor where the three were.


    Astrophos and Xavion took a stance in front of Siron to hide from Jagan. They were both ready to fight the grand mage even though they knew that they couldn''t win. "What do you think you are doing, grand mage?" Astrophos asked with a frown on his face. As far as he knew the grand mage was a reasonable person and he would not attack without a reason.


    "Why don''t you ask your leader?" His gaze was still focused at the man who was still kneeling on the floor.


    Siron was still coughing but he managed to talk. "He attacked me first and even used me of using dark magic. He really wanted to kill me!" His sorry state made the other two believe his words and because Siron was one of theirs, and they had been with him at the Magic Tower, so it was impossible for him to use dark magic, if he did then the people at the top would not let him go.


    "That''s a heavy usation grand mage, Siron would have died by now if he was really using dark magic. The Magic Tower doesn''t tolerate mages that turns to the dark arts." Astrophos''s words were firm and he never wavered while looking at Jagan.


    "How naive," the sky slowly darkened with the sound of thunder echoing through the horizon. He raised his hand towards the sky, "If you don''t believe me then I will force him to show you how hypocrite he is."


    The rumbling in the sky got louder and louder when it suddenly stopped. The three men did not waste time and created a barrier to protect themselves from the attack.


    "Strike," he brought down his hand and a bright sh really stroke down. The sh almost blinded everyone who were spectating the fight. Jagan did not hold back at all and used up a lot of his mana energy just to force Siron to use his dark mana and he seeded in doing so.


    An unstable dark mana energy slowly overwhelmed the white sh and extinguished it. Siron was now standing with the malevolent energy around him. The other two with him were not injured but they were repelled and were pushed away from Siron.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Astrophos who talked about how impossible it was struck dumb at what he was seeing while Xavion, who idolizes Siron, could not believe that he was really using dark mana. Both looked at the man with wide eyes.


    "What did I tell you? Even a small trace of dark mana can be detected by anyone within my rank and I am sure that the Magic Tower knew about Siron, its just that they turned a blind eye to it because they can still use him." Jagan started walking towards Siron and on his right hand a whip was summoned, it was covered with a yellow light the produces lightning whenever it touches a surface. "If I were you, you should get out of this ce and help those people to get faraway as possible."


    Jagan leapt in the air with his hand bending backwards in order to give his arm more force then he snapped his arm forward with the whip that was aimed at Siron. The whip made contact but it did not touch Siron''s body but instead the dark mana that was now acting as a shield for him. Once hended on the ground, he did not stop attacking. He run around the enemy while using the lightning whip to strike but each strike was repelled.


    Not only did he use the whip, he simultaneously conjured attack spells to distract the enemy and inflict damage but it seems that his n was not working. Before he could attack again, Siron also took the chance to retaliate. Several ck magic circles appeared around Jagan followed by beams of dark light that came out from it. Everything those beams touched were riddled with holes, luckily Jagan was able to protect himself and deflect some of them.


    The attack did not stop there though because Siron was slowly regaining his consciousness. "I will end you here!" The bloodcurdling voice that did not belong to Siron made ground shook as several gooey creatures started toe out from the ground.


    Jagan jumped back and created a distance between him and Siron. This was different from what he was expecting, it seems that the dark mana energy has already taken root inside Siron''s mana core. It''s now beyond the level that Siron could control, it was bing out of control.


    "Grand mage!" Astrophos came to his side, ready to fight.


    "I told you to leave, why are you back? Did you evacuate everyone?" Jagan asked when he heard the other''s voice.


    "Yes, the authorities who came to stop you are currently helping in calming and transferring the people to a safer ce." Astrophos did not hesitate to answer. "As a Mage, I have a duty to protect the people."


    "Tsk, how heroic, just make sure that you don''t die because I don''t have time babysit you." Jagan did not look back, he just moved forward and attacked the out of control Siron.


    Astrophos followed behind and coordinated his attacks with Jagan''s. They attacked the ck blobs and made it past them to where Siron was but before they could release an attack,rge dark spike made of mana energy appeared from the ground. Both managed to evade some but they were still hit and wounded. Jagan jumped away with a heavy flow of blooding from the wound on his arm. Astrophos was also not doing good because he was hit on his right side.


    Siron''s demonicugh echoed as the sky waspletely engulfed in darkness. The moon and stars disappeared with whispers from their surrounding started to get clearer and louder. "This will be the end." They could here those words echoing in their ears.


    The wind became colder and the enemy before them disappeared. "Be careful," Jagan warned but it was a bitte because he heard a gasp from the direction where Astrophos was. He wanted to go and help him but he felt it, a pure killing intent directed at him.


    He relied on his senses to avoid the attacks but he can''t always do that. He used thest bit of his mana energy to give them light and vision. Just exactly as the light manifested, Siron was about to attack him and thanks to the light he managed to dodged the beam of dark light.


    Jagan looked around and saw that Astrophos was still alive so now he could focus on Siron. Since he had no mana energy left, he could only rely on hisbat abilities to try and defeat the enemy. Yellow bands appeared on his wrists and ankles, they were relics that increases one''s speed and attack power duringbat. These bands were one of the few ''unique'' ranked equipments that were given to people by royal family as a show of acknowledgement. Jagan would be giving his all for this fight even though that means using an equipment he vowed never to use again.

 Chapter 13 He Was Called A Coward

    ?Jagan closed the distance between him and Siron while avoiding dark beams and defending against the summons. The attacks never ceased together with Siron''s unending maniacalugh that stirred the surrounding air. Every wave from the man''s voice was putting pressure on Jagan but it did not stop him.


    "Don''t even think of stopping me from putting a whole on you." He sidestepped to avoid another st then using the relic, he boosted his speed and appeared before Siron with his fists already angled for punch.


    His punch bypassed the protective shield that the dark mana created around Siron and directly connected with his chest but because of this, the force he put into that attack was reduced as his enemy was just pushed back by a few feet. Even though he was pushed, the dark mana did not let go of Jagan''s hand. The mana crawled on his skin like a slime and it has only one intention, to destroy Jagan. He could not allow it, once again activating the lightning band on his wrist, he forcefully pulled out his hand free then took several steps back.


    The skin on his hand turned ck like it was burnt and he could already start feeling numb from it. He raised his head and saw that there were not only those disgusting blobs, the enemy also summoned growling hyenas with their bodies made up of an unknown liquid and with every move they make, these ck liquid falls on the ground and burns it.


    Jagan cursed, "A worst case scenario." He stood up and took a deep breath, even for a Grand Mage like him, fighting a fully corrupted mage would be difficult and judging by the dark mana he was using, it seems that he had been using dark magic for a long time now.


    It was not his dream nor his desire to be a hero but he can''t let this monster continue on his rampage. He looked down at his palms and remembered the words he left to the butler before he left. It seems that he won''t be able to keep that promise, he just hopes that Ezio can forgive him. He looked at the enemy again and the thought of running away crossed his mind because he can just run and let that monster go on a rampage. It was not his responsibility anymore to defeat these kinds of enemies, he was done forgot about it when he left the Magic Tower. All he wanted was to live a peaceful life with his nephew but the past would alwayse to haunt them and now it caught up.


    Too many what ifs passed through his mind but it was already toote to have regrets. He clenched his fists and steeled his resolve, "I hope you grow up strong." He once againunched himself to fight the berserk Siron.


    "How heroic, humans do really like to sacrifice themselves for the supposed to be greater good." Cygnus shook his head, disappointed that Jagan continued to fight instead of running away. There''s nothing wrong with running away, it was not cowardice instead it was the preservation of one''s life. It''s not wrong to choose yourself first before others, that''s not called selfishness, it''s a way to survive.


    "It is because of their sense of responsibility or ountability, especially in Jagan''s case. He has the power so he should be the person to do it," the butler was also watching the fight with his master and only answered based on his observation of how humans lived.


    Cygnus looked back gave his butler a look, "Are you taking their side, sense of responsibility? ountability? I only knew a handful of people who had that but most I have encountered wants to be a hero because if satisfies their ego. Please do not generalize them, those people who really had that sense will be offended by you."


    The butler bowed his head, "I apologize master, so where do you think Mr. Jagan will fit?" His master has this habit of categorizing people he met. Some of them were for disposal while some of them were interesting and there were rare ones who he could show a degree of appreciation.


    Cygnus hummed while drumming the surface of the table with his fingers, "Let me see, he is not particrly annoying nor likable but I can say that he is different from thosemon folks I have met before."


    This evaluation can be put on the category of rare ones he could show a degree of appreciation to which the butler agrees. "Then what shall we do?" he asked as he expected his master to do something about him.


    "Let him be, he chose this himself and I wanted to see him fall. Should I go there personally?" Cygnus looked at the slightly ajar door and smirked. The butler noticed this and followed the direction of his gaze, there he saw Ezio as he stood there with a pale face. He must have heard their conversation thus the reaction.


    The butler was about to talk to him but Ezio took a step back then turned around as he ran down the stairs and out of the bake shop.


    "Did you know that he was there?" the butler turned to his master and asked.


    He heard no answer from the man so he did not press about it. Cygnus stood up from his seat, "I''m going out. Are youing with me?" He gave the man a quick look before he walked out of the room. The butler has no reason to stay and it was his duty to always stay beside his master.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ezio ran through the streets that were packed with people who were leaving their houses because of themotion. He was going to his uncle. He was the only family he had and he would not know what to do if he was gone. He can''t let his uncle die. He can''t let him die.


    By this time, Jagan was already exhausted. He didn''t feel good and his vision started to go blurry due to blood loss. His wounds were not helping him too. Even with his lightning bands he could do nothing to defeat Siron. His fists clenched with his lips set into a line at how powerless he was. He spat out blood but still managed to suddenly grin at his current situation. "What Grand Mage, I really don''t deserve that title, not then and not now. Hah, how weak! I couldn''t protect you and now I couldn''t even protect him." He shook his head then his grin disappeared. "If I am going to die, then I will at least make sure that you get what you deserve."


    As hisst struggle, he poured out his remaining mana until thest drop into strengthening his body and squeezed out everything from his mana core to release another spell that he hoped could damage the enemy. For the nth time, he once again tried and approached the enemy using the fastest speed he could manage.


    Threeyers of magic circle appeared above Siron the moment Jagan started to run towards him. "Pierce through, my lightning dominion!" A loud rumbled shook the earth followed by a searing light from the sky that struck down at the location of Siron and his summons. It created a loud explosion that carved the ground and incinerated every dark mana creature that Siron called forth. Jagan did not let his guard down as he retracted the bands on his feet and hands. He then remolded the relic into a sword.


    As the smoke from the explosion slowly subsided, he could see Siron and the dark mana surrounding him was partially destroyed giving him an opportunity to attack. The dark mana was still wriggling around Siron''s body and were slowly enclosing him but Jagan was faster. He lunged at the enemy and pierced him through with the lightning sword then he exploded his mana that was he infused in the bands earlier.


    Ear-piercing screams echoed through the darkness because the enemy was wounded. Jagan grinned at the thought that he was able to injure the enemy but it was short lived because he was pulled and mmed on the ground. Followed by a sharp spike from the dark mana that pierced through his body.


    "No!" Ezio reached out his hand but he was pulled by someone. He struggled to get free from the person holding him but the other held him tighter. "No! Let me go!" He struggled and kicked around but the other person was not fazed.


    "You can''t go or your uncle''s sacrifice will all be meaningless," Astrophos who was able to recover some of his strength tactically retreated from the battlefield because he knew that he would only be a liability and when he saw Ezio he pulled him back.


    Ezio could only watched helplessly as another dark spike stabbed his uncle. It felt like he was being stabbed himself then there were already tears from his eyes. His knees felt weak as his body slowly knelt to the ground. There was nothing he could do. He could only watch as that monster killed his uncle.


    The shrieks continued like the monster was in pain and Ezio thought that it deserved it. He was angry and mad, that thing killed his only family so how could he stand there without doing anything? He would kill that monster! It was the first time that he felt so much anger that there was something inside him that wanted to explode but before he could take a step forward a familiar voice broke the depressing silence in his mind.


    "How pitiful," Cygnus was looking at the gruesome scene but he wasn''t fazed by it. He was only shaking his head. "There''s nothing much to see here. Let''s return."


    Ezio looked at the man then his uncle''s words came back to him. "Aren''t you going to destroy that thing?" he asked.


    Cygnus stopped then turned around, "Do I have any reason to do that?" His voice was cold, his expression only showed disinterest in the matter.


    "My uncle said that if something happened, I can go to you because he said that you are powerful," Ezio did not back down from the chilling gaze instead he stood his ground and shed with his gaze.


    "If I destroy that thing, how would it benefit me?" he was impressed that this child was able to contend with his gaze. Ezio did not have any answer to that because he felt that no matter what reason he would give, the man would still walk away. Since he had not answer, Cygnus and the butler turned around and started to walk away.


    "Why?" Ezio whispered. "Why can''t you help me? You brush me as someone insignificant and yet still allowed me toe to you," his voice started to get louder, "Cygnus Altair, you coward!"

 Chapter 14 With Just A Wave

    ?How many years has it been ever since he heard his name as clear as day? He could not remember because the memories were hazy and now, he heard it again. His name that can''t be spoken since it had be a curse to anyone who tried to say it out loud. He had tried so many times to remember the feeling of hearing his name but no matter how many times he closed his eyes to grasp that feeling, it never came.


    Cygnus stopped on his tracks as he closed his eyes then he took a deep breathe and as his eyes opened, the world in front of him has gotten brighter. He turned around then gave the teen a grin and, in a sh, he disappeared from where he was standing only to appear in front of Ezio.


    "To be able to say my name and remain standing, how magnificent!" The glint on his eyes undoubtedly frightened Ezio. Cygnus leaned forward to then moved his gaze around the person but he saw no anomality in Ezio''s body.


    Ezio took a step back but the man''s gaze was still on him, "What-what are you doing?" he felt ufortable because Cygnus was still looking at him.


    He was about to answer the teen''s question but the monster''s shrieks interrupted him. Cygnus stood straight and his face returned to it''s originally nk look but this time, Ezio could feel that even his demeanor changed.


    "You''ve asked me to help you, is it perhaps to destroy that thing?" the man was now looking at the muttedbination of a human and dark mana.


    Even though he was not looking at Ezio, he could tell that the shop owner was not in a good mood. The only difference he could see from the man was his changed in demeanor. He used to be uncaring and generally cold to anyone, he was still the same but this time Ezio could feel that the way he was staring at the monster was like looking at something insignificant. It was the look that someone arrogant will show to people they look down.


    This time he hesitated, "I-I¡­" he stuttered because he was already regretting his actions and words. He was only ovee by emotion and was not thinking straight now that Cygnus''s strong presence could be felt from the air, he woke up.


    "What should I do? Should I do this?" he raised his hand then snapped his fingers and the monster exploded on the spot, creating a pool of blood mixed with dark mana.


    Ezio''s face paled at the brutal scene he was seeing but before he could even recover, he once again heard Cygnus''s impatient voice. He snapped his head to look at the man only to see a frown on his face.


    "It''s a bit messy, should I do it again?" he was still focused on where the enemy was once standing then a dark magic circle appeared on the part where that monster was once standing then it lit up and the monster was revived in an instant. Cygnus then waved his hand and the monster was sliced into two before it suddenly caught fire. "Are you satisfied with my help?" he returned his gaze to the teen who was as white as ghost while staring at the burning monster.


    Everything only happened for a full minute but everything that happened was engrained on his brain. The bloody scene and even the scent of burning flesh, Ezio knew that he would have a difficult time moving on from this incident.


    He stiffly turned his head to look at the man but he panicked when he saw that Cygnus was already walking towards him. "Don''t-don''te near me!" He closed his eyes out of reflex and his voice resonated in the silence. He was breathing hard like he ran a marathon as he waited for something to happen but nothing came.


    He slowly opened his eyes only to see that Cygnus has stopped a few feet away from him and he could finally take a deep breathe. "I don''t know how you did that, but that is not something a human can do, so who are you?" He calmed himself to met the man''s gaze, and even though he started to shiver again, he did not retract his gaze.


    Cygnus chuckled and shook his head, "Still na?ve even after what you saw. I even willingly helped you take a revenge but the way you are looking at me right now is irritating. If not for your ability to say my name without you dying, I would have killed you too."


    Ezio flinched at those words but he still did not give up. Heforted himself by repeating the words ''do not cower'' over and over again in his mind like a mantra to keep him safe. They stared at each other but Ezio never answered the man.


    When he saw that the fire had subsided, he made his way towards the ce where the monster was in hopes that his uncle''s body was still there. He did not care whether it was whole or not, he only wanted to give him a proper burial.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus was ignored. "Ah how courageous of him." He left the ce without speaking to anyone.


    "Master, are you sure that you are going to leave him like that?" the butler sighed at how human like this butler of his was acting. Sure, he was intelligent but whenever he acted like a human, Cygnus doesn''t like it.


    "You have been acting too much these past few days, don''t y like a human because it doesn''t suit you," he tapped the butler''s arm then walked away, "as for that child, he wille to us."


    They left without dealing with the aftermath of what had happed but Cygnus did not care. It was not his work to clean up somebody else''s mess.


    Astrophos silently helped Ezio retrieve whatever was left from the grand mage. It was a pity but as a lower ranked mage, he could not possibly do anything even if he joined that fight. They moved Jagan''s body towards their home. Along the way, Ezio never spoke. He was only looking straightforward.


    After the rush of the incident, everything was settling in. Astrophos concluded that the person Ezio called Cygnus was dangerous. He came to a sudden stop and covered his mouth but the metallic taste of blood still invaded his mouth. He doubled over and feel to the ground but he managed to use his hand to brace himself as he started to vomit blood.


    Ezio noticed this and immediately ran to the other man''s side after carefully cing down what he was holding. "What happened?" he asked then he touched the man''s shoulders to support and prevent him frompletely falling over.


    "I don''t¡­" he coughed once again, "know." He continued to wheeze and vomit some more before he was finally able to breathe a bit easily. "I just thought of that man''s name and this happened."


    The teen frowned, if that was true then why hasn''t he experience it yet. He shouted the man''s name but nothing happened to him. Only because of this, the shop owner showed interest on him. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts because he didn''t want to think of that man.


    "I''ll help you. Can you stand up?" Ezio saw the man nod his head so he assisted him to stand up. When the man got his bnce, he waved his hand so Ezio let go and he picked up what he was holding a while ago.


    They finally reached their home but the sight of the house where he stayed for almost half of his life made him realize that everything was real. The surge of emotions he was holding back hit him hard at the truth that he was now alone. No family not even friends to whom he could lean on.


    Tears once again flowed down on his cheeks as each drop fell on the ground. Despite his blurry vision, he started to walk again. Past that wooden gate, into the front yard where the vegetables and flowers were thriving and finally into the home that was once filled with warmth.


    He released the sack he was holding and it fell on the stone floor with a ng. He stood like that for a while and Astrophos did not have the heart to disturb him so he stayed outside to patiently wait for Ezio.


    He did not know how much time had passed ever since he stood there but he knew that he can''t keep crying forever so he wiped his tears and kneeled down to pick up the content of the bag that was spilled. There was his uncle''s sword, which survived even after being incinerated by that me. It was a bit charred and chipped he did not mind. He picked up a ne then stroked it gently before clenching it within his palms.


    The pain was still there, it never dulled. The memory remained and it will remain he was sure of that. He stood up and looked around once more as if he was memorizing everything inside the house, from the corners to the furniture. Every memory he had of his uncle in that house, he promised himself that he would not forget.

 Chapter 15 His Uncles Instructions

    ?Astrophos looked at the now bright sky as he rested his body from the fight. That was a long night and he did not even know what happened after they left, even the whereabouts of Xavion.


    He sat on the bench outside of the house and checked his body. It was only then that he noticed how he probably looked. Torn clothes with blood with traces of ash on his skin. He shook his head then leaned on the wall behind the bench.


    "What a way to start the day," he mumbled to himself followed by a soft chuckle.


    He was about to fall asleep while sitting when he heard the door opening. He sat straight and looked at the direction where the sound came from. The teen calmed down but the red and puffy eyes were still there.


    "What are you going to do now?" He stood up from where he was sitting and approached the teen. He tried his best to give him aforting smile but the teen only scrunched up his forehead so he could only give up.


    "I will be following my uncle''s instructions," he simply answered. His eyes fell on the vegetables and flowers but he did not have the time to take care of them now. He grimaced then returned his attention to the other. "Why don''t you go and fix yourself first?" He changed the topic as he turned around and stomped inside the house.


    Astrophos followed the teen and took a bath, changed clothes that he grabbed from his dimensional pouch. Before he could ask a question, the teen was already out of the door. He had no other choice but to follow behind him.


    "Where are you going?" Astrophos run and slowed down to walk beside the teen.


    "Doing my uncle''s instructions," he did not give the man a look and answered rather coldly.


    "What instructions?" He asked again then he grabbed the teen''s arm. Both of them stopped walking.


    Ezio looked to his side then gave the man a re before he pulled his arm from the man''s grip. "Why are you asking so many questions? And who are you to keep following me? Ah, now I remember, you were with that monster who killed my uncle, are you here to kill me again?" His voice rose by the end of thest question he uttered. His fists were tightly clenched as he stared daggers at Astrophos.


    It was his mistake so Astrophos took a step back to give the teen a space. "I''m not here to kill you, if I were I should have done it already. I am Astrophos, a mage from the Magic Tower, and yes, I am with Siron but unlike him, I did not use any dark magic." He observed Ezio while introducing himself but the teen was still ring at him.


    Ezio did not care who the man was and he did not care about that exnation. He simply ignored the man then continued to walk but he could still here the man''s footsteps following from behind.


    "Will you stop following me!" He spat. It was making him ufortable.


    "I just want to make sure that you''ll be fine," Astrophos genuinely cared about the teen''s well-being after goomyg through that tragedy.


    "Don''t," he turned around, "don''t show me your concern because if it weren''t for you and that guy, my uncle would have not have died." Every word he spoke was apanied by a step and a finger pointing towards the man. Each word wereced with so much disdain.


    Ezio clenched his jaws after pointing out what he wanted to say. He did now know why he even let the man follow him home, he must have been confused but now that everything was clear, he did not want to be associated with the ma any longer.


    "Stay away from me or I won''t be kind enough to you. I don''t care if you are a mage, I can still fight you with my fists." He warned before he finally left. He quickened his steps almost like he was running just to get away from Astrophos.


    He finally reached the town center where he saw nomotion. He gaped at how normal everything was looking.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He tapped one of the passerby and asked, "Why are you calm? What happened to the destruction herest night?"


    The passerby looked at him confused, "What are talking about? Destruction? Last night was very peaceful, never heard any destruction happening."


    The answer only made him more confused and speechless. The man he grabbed walked away, leaving Ezio staring around with wide eyes.


    He gulped and continued towards the direction of his destination with awe and at the same time, uncertainty. The bake shop was the same as always, there were still customers going in anding out like nothing happenedst night.


    It took Ezio a couple of several deep breathes before he finally had the courage to enter the shop.


    "Wee," the butler greeted him as usual.


    With the butler''s usual wee, Ezio''s nervousness ebbed a little bit but it was short lived. The voice of the owner of the shop came from the kitchen''s doorway.


    "Took your sweet time huh," Cygnusmented. He then pushed himself away from the side of the door to meet Ezio.


    "I-I didn''t and how did you even know that I''ll being here?" Another stutter but he was inwardly d that he was able to talk to the man after the initial fear.


    "Guess," he shrugged his shoulders. "Also saved me the time of going to you."


    Ezio was a bit shocked from the man''s words. "Why? What do you need from me?"


    "Am I really the one who needs something from you or is it vice versa?" Cygnusughed then he took a seat at the stool behind the counter.


    He looked at Ezio and tantly showed him his glee. Ezio figured out that the man was enjoying his current situation but he did not have time to indulge the man.


    He straightened his back as he inhaled and exhaled before speaking, "My uncle told me to go to you if something happens to him then he told me your name, Cygnus Altair, told me to tell it to you."


    Both of Cygnus''s hands went up in the air as he pped loudly. "Fascinating! You did it again and I can confirm that there was no retaliation against you. Your uncle was right to tell you my name."


    Ezio''s eyes suddenly lit up when he heard thest sentence, "Will you help me then?"


    "I''ll let you follow me until I find out the reason why you can speak my name without feeling any bacsh," Cygnus agreed immediately. He was even nodding his head in satisfaction. "I will know the secret behind you."

 Chapter 16 Master Or Uncle Or Big Brother

    ?After those words, Ezio wasn''t able to ask anymore question as he left once again. The butler who remained silent at the side, took the job of weing him and answering any of his queries.


    Ezio watched as the man disappeared behind the curtains without looking back at him. Hisst words left Ezio baffled because now the man who said that he was someone normal was showing interest to who he is.


    Even he himself was also curious to know who he really was and who his uncle was. He also wanted to know what happened in the past. He decided to cling to the man then until he could learn what led his uncle to leave the Magic Tower.


    "What was it that you wanted to ask my master?" The butler smoothly took over  the conversation that was cut off because of his master''s unpredictable actions sessfully interrupting Ezio''s thoughts.


    "The town, what happened?" He pointed outside where the residents of Moonvale were going on with their normal daily routine like nothing happened.


    The butler looked outside before he returned his gaze to Ezio who was looking at him with anticipation. "It was the master''s doing."


    "So he really is a mage?" He looked at his hands that were clutching the ends of his shirt as his voice softened.


    "If that is what you want to call him." The butler did not move nor left. He remained standing while waiting for Ezio''s other questions.


    It was rare to see his master allowing anyone to follow him especially if that person was a child. His master has always thought that children especially teenagers were annoying. It seems that his master was not the only one who would enjoy this new world.


    With the butler''s vague response, the mysterious air around the was not cleared. Ezio was thrilled at the thought of uncovering Cygnus''s mystery but it would take time.


    "Is your master part of the Magic Tower too?" This was a question he needed to ask because he wanted to make sure that these people would not harm him.


    The butler shook his head, "My master would not involve himself to any Magic Tower."


    Ezio waited but the butler did not speak beyond that. He sighed and found a chair for himself. It was disappointing that the butler did not even give an exnation but that was okay, he still have the chance to know more.


    He thought of not asking anymore questions when he suddenly remembered his situation, "How-how should I adress the shop owner then? Should I call him master too?"


    The butler hummed, "Yes, how should you address him, you can call him master or uncle but I think big brother would be more appropriate."


    Ezio''s face paled at the butler''s suggestion then he fervently shook his head. He refused to call Cygnus uncle or big brother. He felt that if he ever tried calling him with those, he might lose his life.


    "I''ll-I''ll just call him master then," he announced to deter anymore ridiculous suggestion from the butler.


    After their conversation, Ezio left first to pack some of his clothes then he encountered Astrophos again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you sure about your decision?" He asked Ezio with a serious face.


    He followed the teen until he reached the bake shop where the man who defeated Siron was. After seeing Ezio enter the shop, he realized what the grand mage''s instruction to his nephew.


    "Yes and that does not concern you." Ezio was displeased at the man''s appearance once again nut he still answered his question.


    "You do realize that that man is more dangerous than what we facedst night right?" The man''s lips were set into a thin line. "Even if it was your uncle''s instructions, you should still think more about it. You saw what he can do and he was able to wipe out the memories of all these people!"


    "It''s better than being dragged by the likes of you." Ezio did not flinch and calmly refuted the man. "So leave me alone." He walked past Astrophos and never looked back.


    The door to the shop once again opened but this time it was Astrophos who entered.


    "An unlikely guest hase to visit us again, are you going to order now orter?" The butler was in his business mode as he ignored the man''s dark face.


    "I want to talk to that man," he demanded instead. "Come out!"


    "So noisy, what do you want?" Cygnus came out again to give his rude visitor a re of his own.


    "I''m just here to give you a warning. This incident will surely reach the Magic Tower. Xavion the other mage who came with us escaped and I''m sure that he had already contacted the tower so if I were you, you should be ready. I don''t know how strong you are but you should not underestimate the power of the Magic Tower." He was supposed to leave them be but when Ezio came to the man for help, he could not let them be harmed by the tower. The best thing he could do was to warn them instead.


    "Is that all you came to say?" Cygnus only raised an eyebrow and brushed of the warning as nothing.


    Astrophos narrowed his eyes but the man was unaffected so he decided to back down. It doesn''t really matter to him what they would do as long as he gave them the warning.


    "I''ll be leaving then. I hope you can protect Ezio," he turned around to leave only to be stopped by the butler who stood in his way.


    "Before you leave, I would like to ask a quick question," Cygnus walked to where the man was and stood a little bit to the side so that the man can see him even though he was facing his butler. "Why is the Magic Tower so obsessed with Jagan and his nephew that they even sent a group of mage look for them?"


    Astrophos was not willing to answer but the pressure from the butler was making him dizzy, "I am not clear of the real reason too. We were only told to track them down and convince them to return. If talking to the grand mage was deemed ineffective, we were given permission to engage in battle then inform the Magic Tower if the grand mage refused."


    Cygnus touched his chin before walking away from them, "I''ll look forward to your Magic Tower then."

 Chapter 17 Potential Excitement?

    ?Ezio easily integrated to his new life inside the bake shop and every now and then, he would still visit the fruit stand. Many people had expressed their condolences at his uncle''s passing even though they were not sure of he had passed. Ezio would only tell them it was a long time sickness that he had feeling.


    The fruit stand owner smiled at him, "Perfect timing, I have a batch of freshly picked pears and dragon fruits, would you like to buy some?"


    Ezio''s eyes sparkled at the plump fruits but after a while, the sparkle faded. "I''ll take one kilo each."


    "Alright," the vendor weighed the fruits then handed it to Ezio. " By the way, where are you staying now?" There was a hint of concern on his voice while asking this.


    "Oh, I''m staying at the bake shop just around the corner. My uncle knew the owner so it just happened," Ezio smoothly answered. No one needed to know that it was only because the master was interested him that he was able to stay there.


    He could not help but feel depressed at the thought. The master has never failed to make him feel flustered and awkward with all the staring and grinning being sent his way. He was like an interesting animal and if the master could, he felt that he would have dissected him already.


    The owner of the fruit stand was relieved after hearing that Ezio has someone to take care of him. "That''s good then. I''ve met the owner of that shop a few times whenever I go and buy some cookies for my kids. He''s a bit weird but I think that he is a good guy."


    Ezio awkwardlyughed because the truth was, he himself doesn''t know if the man was really good. The way he killed that monster was beyond anything he had experienced, especially at how coldly he looked at that time. He was not even sure if he was hallucinating, but he thought he saw something dark embracing the man that night.


    He shivered at the thought and chose to chase it away from his mind. He bid the owner goodbye then he returned to the bakeshop only to frown again. That mage was there again.


    "May I ask, why are you alwaysing here? Aren''t you supposed to return to that Magic Tower?" Ezio wasn''t able to control himself and ask.


    The man has beening non-stop and would even ask him if he was okay. It was already five days from the incident but he was persistent.


    "I''m just here to make sure that everything is fine," he simply answered without reacting much to the teen''s irritation.


    "He must have had some enlightenment during that fight and decided to look after you," Cygnus hollered from the back, where he was baking. "Or he must have been feeling guilty." He whispered as he suddenly appeared beside Astrophos with a wide grin on his face before disappearing again.


    Astrophos raised his hands in the air before bringing them down on the table. He gazed at his scar-ridden hands for a moment before he was able to look at Ezio again.


    "The Magic Tower has never been good, it has its dark side and I never got to know that not until I joined them. Like everyone else, I dreamt of bing a mage and saving people. That dream came true and here I am now but along that I''ve seen things," he paused for a moment to see if Ezio was still listening to him before he continued, "it was not all roses."


    The teen was silent. He did not know why Astrophos was talking about this thing to him but he was stillpelled to listen.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Your uncle was a righteous man. He would save anyone no matter what the circumstances were and this did not please some people. He would always get on an argument against the other mages because of this and then it happened. I am not clear of what really happened but he suddenly left without a word. I looked up to him. He was a precious mentor and taught me many things so, when I finally saw him, I was actually relieved that he was fine. Then, I saw you and how he protected you form us. I could see how he valued you so." Astrophos stopped and Ezio could pretty much understand what happened next.


    "Thank you for the concern but I''m not really fond of mages any longer. And what you just said, that might be the reason why my uncle would frown at me whenever I talk about them." Ezio left but Astrophos actually felt at ease after telling him all of that.


    "He is a naive child and still carries some kindness of sorts," Cygnus once again appeared in front of Astrophos, "but what do you think would break him?"


    Thest statement lit the anger inside Astrophos but he calmed his heart. "You won''t be able to break him."


    It was firm and full of resolve. Cygnus could see from his eyes that he fully believed that Ezio would remain kind for the rest of his life.


    "You know I used to believed that phrase too but it was never true. Humans will always face a situation that would break them, not only break them but also destroy their very being." Cygnus was only casually saying those words but the darkness in his eyes says otherwise.


    Astrophos stood up, as he cannot handle how ufortable the atmosphere had turned. "No matter what, I still believe in Ezio." He left after saying those words.


    Cygnus sat on the chair without moving so the butler decided to approach him. "Is there something wrong master?"


    He leaned on the chair with a nk expression on his face, "I was just reminded of some unsavory memories."


    "Do you want to eat something sweet then?" The butler readily offered. Whenever his master was in a bad mood, sweet food would ay least lighten his mood.


    "Hmmm, I want that chocte cake I baked a while ago and give me some hot chocte too." He stretched his hand then waved the butler away.


    While waiting for his sweet escape, a wide grin broke out from face followed by a boomingugh. Ezio and the butler walked out from the kitchen and saw tat Cygnus wasughing like crazy. He was eve pounding the table so hard.


    "Master, what''s the matter?" Ezio asked because this was the first time that he was seeing this man acting crazier than usual.


    "They''reing."

 Chapter 18 No Ruining His Mood

    ?Astrophos was on his way to where he was currently staying when a white bird flew andnded on his shoulders. He petted the bird then took the piece of paper attached to its leg. He rubbed the bird''s feather again before sending it away.


    He opened the piece of paper after he entered his room and sighed. As expected, the Magic Tower was informed of the incident so they''ve sent other mages to Moonvale. What''s more disturbing for him was that they sent three Grand Mages.


    "Aren''t they taking this too far?" He mumbled to himself while looking at the wooden dusty floor. He closed his eyes and thought that maybe it was because dark magic was involved. He hoped so, that the real reason was Siron using dark magic and nothing else.


    There were still three days before they would reach Moonvale, he still had time to prepare and warn Ezio. He was not sure if giving them a warning will be of any use because of that person but he still needed to try. He stood up and left the inn again.


    "Master please control yourself, you are in front of the child," the butler ced down the cake and drink on the table while reminding Cygnus of his image.


    He actually stoppedughing before picking up the fork and taking a bite of the cake. He was still smiling though.


    "Who ising?" Ezio asked. He couldn''t stop his curiosity from showing. Inorder to make the masterugh like that, the people who wereing might be extraordinary.


    Cygnus looked at Ezio, "The people from that ce that you hate."


    Ezio scrunched his forehead not knowing what the other was saying but after a while, he strangely understood the meaning behind Cygnus''s words.


    He staggered back after he realized who the people the master was referring to, "What-what are they doing here? Are-are theying to kill me too?"


    He was not ready to see any mages right now especially if they have bad intentions towards him. His heart started to beat fast and he vision started to get blurry.


    The butler was fast to react and immediately supported Ezio. "Rx, if they try to do anything to you, I''m sure that master will step up and protect you." He consoled the teen them smiled at his master who was now frowning.


    "I''m not a person with such aesthetics." Cygnus ignored the look that was being thrown his way. He instead returned to savoring the sweetness of his cake and hot chocte.


    Ezio was still a bit dizzy but thanks to the butler''s support he felt a bit better. As the silence was about to settle down, the door to the shop was opened a bit forcefully followed by Astrophos''s loud voice.


    "They''reing," he announced. He was expecting a more shocked expression from the people in the shop but only found them looking at him.


    "We-we already know." It was Ezio who spoke up to break the unwee silence. He supported himself by leaning on the edge of the counter while looking at Astrophos sheepishly.


    "How?" Was the only word he could speak of that awkward moment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ezio slowly pointed at Cygnus who remained unfazed. He was still eating the cake slowly while taking small sips from the hot drink.


    Astrophos maintained silence while boring holes at the man''s back. He only received the message just a while ago, so it was impossible for them to know before him. The silence endured not until Cygnus has had enough of it.


    "Astrophos, I am not obligated to tell you everything. How I know it, this matter is none of your concern." He was displeased and because of that his pressure slowly leaked out. It immediately affected the mage who came to disturb them.


    He slowly took a step to where Astrophos was standing and every step consisted of a force that created an invisible weight on the mage. Unable to bear the weight, Astrophos was forced to kneel down.


    "If you still want your life then I am giving you the chance to leave." His voice offered no room for discussion not to mention the fear that made Astrophos shiver.


    Despite his situation, Astrophos still tried to spoke up. "Don''t-don''t be too proud of your-yourself..." His words were interrupted as he suddenly vomited blood but he still continued, "I don''t know how s-strong you are but those grand mages are not to be underestimated." His voice trembled and even cracked at the end but he did not mind ass long as he got his message across.


    "It''s up to me if I want to underestimate them or not. Now, you may leave." He flicked his finger which created an invisible force that hit Astrophos and send him flying outside.


    Astrophos hit one of the walls of another building before he dropped on the ground. He wheezed and coughed for a few times before he was able to steady his breathing. It took him a couple of times before he could stand up straight.


    He gave the shop oncest nce while wiping his mouth before he left with a limp. The damaged building was immediately fixed with a spell that the butler used after Astrophos left.


    "Now do any of you have questions?" He turned to lool at the butler and Ezio but none of them talked. Especially Ezio who was still shivering after the altercation.


    He was now questioning his uncle''s decision of sending him to this man. Yes, his uncle mentioned that he was not sure if Cygnus was good but still he was better than just anyone. But after seeing what had happened, Ezio was now sure that the master was dangerous.


    He gulped at the thought and promised himself that he will never get to the master''s bad side or he might not survive.


    "Good, because I am not in the mood to speak." Cygnus left the both of them since no one was speaking.


    Once he was out, Ezio slumped on the ground, it was like the energy was sapped out of him.


    "You need to get used to him, or else, you might not survive." The butler patted his shoulder as he also left to follow Cygnus.


    Ezio gathered his legs and put his arms around them before resting his head on his knees. He didn''t know if he can even get used to everything that was happening. He felt that he was being overwhelmed and he was even unsure if he really wanted to stay with them. He truly didn''t know.

 Chapter 19 Unusual Visitors

    ?Life was strangely silent for Ezio. After the incident with Astrophos, nothing really changed as he continued his daily routine. The butler was still the same as usual and its even more surprising to see that Cygnus was also acting like nothing happened. He thought that he would remain angry for a couple more days but it seems that he was wrong.


    The man would still be early to wake up and bake in the kitchen and Ezio has fallen into the routine of helping him prepare the dough they would be using. At first, he even thought that the master was using magic to create those delicious delicacies only to be stunned, when he saw him working diligently like any other working people out there.


    There was even a time when he almost forgot that the man was dangerous because inside the kitchen, Cygnus was quiet and every action he did spoke of his proficiency in the art of creating sweets. He was even particr with the taste and details of everything he bakes and at some point, Ezio realized that he was truly a perfectionist.


    While helping him, the master would not yell at him when he made mistakes instead, he would only stare at him with his signature nk face. It was more intimidating than being yelled at. Cygnus would not even teach him so he had to rely with the butler. The butler would teach him then he would apply it the next day while helping Cygnus.


    It almost felt like he was really working in a regr shop that he was even learning things from there. Then came up that wake-up call, something that told him that the people whom he was living with were not ordinary and that he was no longer ordinary.


    Exactly three days after the incident, three people wearing blue cloaks that bears the insignia of the Magic Tower appeared not far away from the entrance to Moonvale. The mayor was waiting for them with a wide smile stered on his face. These guests did not hide their presence, they came in broad daylight and even got the mayor toe and greet them.


    "Ugh, why is it so hot in here?" One of the magesined after they arrived at the entrance to the town. She was constantly fanning herself and revealing an expression that screams ''I don''t want to be here''.


    "I''m sorry about that, our ce rarely experiences rain during the summer season so please bear with it for the mean time. Once we reach the municipal hall you''ll feel better," the mayor was smiling even though the woman was already ring at him at the middle of his statement.


    "Was I talking to you?" the woman was displeased and showed a face of disgust. "Why are we even meeting with this¡­thing?" Her attention went to the man in the lead.


    "It''s an order so we should do our job and leave. It''s better to directly talk to the one who is in-charge so that we can find what we are looking for. Unless, you want to stay here longer?" The man''s handsome face gave off an angelic vibe but the woman knew that it was all a fa?ade.


    The woman could only mumble herins as they rode the carriage that was waiting for them. "Well at least, they have a carriage!" She eximed as she took the lead to enter and have a sit inside.


    The man entered next and sat in front of her, "Are you perhaps alluding something to me?" He kindly asked but the woman only shook her head and refused to look at the man.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Arean like toin, haven''t you already gotten used to it?" another voice came from the outside as the other member of the group entered the group and took a seat beside the woman who entered first.


    "And you have been spoiling her too much Meliore." The man crossed his legs with his folded hands on top of them. "I am just d that you are not like her and that you can keep her disciplined."


    Meliore lost her smile at those words and closed her eyes. She hated everything about the man. His pretentious smile and his overly friendly actions. Everything about him made her want to vomit but she can''t deny that the man was talented. He might not be like Grand Mage Jagan, but he was as powerful and more so now, after seven years since the other left. The carriage fell into silence as the mayor closed the door. It was an uneventful ride with Arean was looking outside while Meliore was resolute in ignoring the man.


    They were ushered inside a special room for guests after the ride and were offered refreshments and snacks. The mayor also took that chance to sit down and finally address the reason why the mages were in Moonvale.


    "If I may Grand Mage stor, I would like to know why you decided to visit Moonvale?" He got to the point as he did not want to make the mages ufortable with his presence. The atmosphere inside was too much for him to bear as an ordinary human being and he felt that the man was not that weing of him.


    "You don''t have to be so nervous mayor, we are just here to look for our missing brother and also to look around a bit," Grand Mage stor was still smiling but he was not going to reveal anything to this lowly person.


    The mayor gulped at the intimidating gaze he was receiving from the mage so he decided to just end it and leave. "Then I hope you enjoy your stay in our small town." He did not stay to any longer to hear an answer and left in a haste. He felt that he was about to suffocate inside the room but before he could even step out, stor spoke again.


    "Ah yes, if a person called Astrophoses please guide him to this room," he looked to the side where the mayor was standing. The mayor shivered at the man''s unusual gaze, like he was about to devour him whole.


    The mayor gave a curt nod, "I understand." He leapt the remaining distance from where he was standing to the outside of the room and scurried away in fright.


    "Now that he is gone, contact Astrophos and let hime here." Themand was received so Arean disappeared from where she was sitting and appeared outside the municipal hall. She navigated through the streets while following the distinct mana signature of Astrophos until she reached the inn where he was staying.

 Chapter 20 Here Comes The Interrogation

    ?These past days, Astrophos was able to heal perfectly and as the day of the arrival of the Grand Mages, he remained at the inn so as not to idently make his mana signature appear at the bakeshop. He was meditating inside his room when he felt it, a distortion in the air and the presence of another person inside his room.


    "Diligent as always but you can''t even rise in ranks even after all of that hard work." Arean held his chin high with both of her hands crossed on her chest after she intruded in the man''s room.


    Astrophos opened his eyes and did not give much reaction at the other''s appearance. He had already gotten used to it, ever since they were still apprentices the woman has been too proud just like Siron. The only difference was that, Arean only bes haughty in front of those who were weaker than her and cowers in front of those who were much stronger and superior than her.


    In Astrophos''s case, he belonged to the first. They were actually of the same age and entered the Magic Tower at the same time but Arean was fast learner and adapted easily until she was taken in by one of the Grand Mages at that time. Thus, she became stronger in a short amount of time which undoubtedly got into her head.


    "I never thought about that," was his only answer because he was not in the mood to chat with the woman. "So, are we leaving or not?" He raised his brows and waited for the woman to answer but what met him was an icicle that flew towards him.


    He managed to dodge the attack but it seems that the woman was not satisfied, "You think you can talk to me like that just because we are of the same age, mind you, I''m in a higher position than you."


    Those words were followed by several more icicles that attacked him. He dodged and defended against relentless assault but his room was not spared. The walls, the floor and even the ceiling were riddled by holes after each attack she made.


    "Stop! Are you nning on destroying this ce? Grand Mage stor won''t be happy if we keep him waiting!" Astrophos shouted amidst the confrontation then the icicles suddenly melted. He let out a breath after Arean stopped her attacks.


    Her eyes were narrowed in his direction as she gritted her teeth, "Consider yourself lucky. Come to the municipal hall, we will be waiting for you."


    Astrophos watched as the woman''s body melted like ice as the particles were blown by the wind. Themotion attracted some people and even the inn owner came up to see what was going on. He was almost passed out when he saw that the room was full of holes but after Astrophos assured the owner that he will pay for the repair of the room, he was relieved.


    The tall structure loomed above Astrophos as he stood outside of the building. He had passed through this ce so many times before but this was the first time that he felt intimidated by its size. Without no other choice, he stepped in to face these people and be done with it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He was led to where the three guests were resting, the person leading him knocked on the door and opened it for him. Astrophos took a step inside then the atmosphere changed. He felt an invisible force pressing on him but he ignored it until he heard the click of the door closing behind him.


    Large drops of sweat appeared on the side of his face and he could feel that his body was starting to tremble but he still continued to walk forward. This much pressure was no match to what he had experienced three days ago. After he was a few feet away from where Grand Mage stor was seating, he stopped and ced his hands behind his back.


    The invisible force disappeared followed by the sound of pping but Astrophos was still busy calming his heart. "Impressive that you were able to withstand that pressure," Grand Mage stor looked at the man with interest and his smile appeared genuine for a short while.


    "I was merely pushing myself too hard." Astrophos was unable to ept the praise and he did not want to be associated with the man longer than what they hade for.


    "Hmmm, is that so. Well, I get that you are shy but next time you should be d that I am even given you praise." The message behind those words were clearly received by Astrophos so he could only bow his head and apologize. "Now that you are here, please give us an ount of what happened to Grand Mage Jagan and to Siron as I am saddened by both of their passing. Grand Mage Jagan had been a good friend of mine while Siron was a talent that the Magic Tower values and then this tragedy suddenly happened. What a shame, so please enlighten us."


    Astrophos actually doubted the man''s words. With Grand Mage Jagan''s personality, he would never get along with Grand Mage stor and he heard rumors that it was this man who caused the former Grand Mage to leave, but he can''t be sure. He took a short nce at the other two who were with them in the room, Grand Mage Meliore was a woman of principle, simr to Grand Mage Jagan but most of the time she was not in the Magic Tower so he was a bit surprised to see her here.


    "High Mage Siron has used dark magic and when it was revealed, his mana core has been corrupted which caused him to be overtaken by the dark mana. He went berserk and caused destruction, and in the end ended up killing Grand Mage Jagan." He briefly told them what happened purposely leaving out some details but he already prepared himself once they asked him what happened to Siron.


    "Then what happened to Siron? We were informed that he was killed by someone, have you seen who killed him?" Meliore was the one who asked the question, since she was only interested in knowing who killed Siron, well the three of them were curious.


    "He was killed but I didn''t see who killed him. I was injured during the fight and decided to step away from the battle to recover then Grand Mage Jagan was pierced through and then Siron was attacked but I wasn''t able to see who attacked him. Everything happened so fast that when I tried to see who it was, the person was already gone." He said all of it while minding his expression because he did not want to give away anything. He might bebelled as a traitor after these but it was already his fate ever since he decided not to report to the Magic Tower after the incident.


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 21 Another Agenda

    ?stor contemted for a while after hearing the exnation while Meliore was silent, there was not much expression on her face. Arean was different though, she jumped up from where she was sitting and marched towards Astrophos. Icicles appeared around the man at every step she took towards him.


    "Do you take us as fools?" She sneered with her hand on her hips. "That exnation is toome, don''t you have any other believable statements?" The re aimed towards him intensified, like she was actually going to kill him.


    "I''ve only said what I saw and if you find any lie in my exnation then you are free to punish me. What I said was what I saw, nothing more and nothing less." His voice was steady and the other Grand Mages did not detect any fluctuation from his emotion.


    Meliore narrowed her eyes but remained silent, she had been observing the man ever since he entered the room. Every action and every word he did and said showed no indication that he was lying. She looked at stor but the man was still focused on Astrophos.


    "Hah! If you won''t tell the truth, then I''ll just put holes in your body!" The icicles started to move towards him and just as they were to graze his skin, all of them melted.


    "I''ll believe you for now but we will still conduct our own investigation regarding this matter." stor stood up from where he was seating and went to stand in front of the man. He patted Astrophos''s shoulder as he leaned forward and whispered. "Whatever you are hiding, I''ll eventually find it out."


    Astrophos did not flinch, he held it in. stor stepped back and returned to his seat, he gave Arean a look and there was nothing she could do but to follow the man.


    "Are there any more questions you have for me?" Astrophos was ready to leave the room but it would be suspicious if he seemed enthusiastic to get away from them.


    stor intertwined his fingers and rested then on his crossed legs. "Yes, now that we heard your side of the incident, we will move on to the other matter that we came for. Grand Mage Jagan''s nephew."


    Astrophos closed his eyes, as expected they also knew about him. He doesn''t have a clue why the Magic Tower was obsessed with Grand Mage Jagan and even his nephew. He had been hoping that, they won''t bring it up but they still did.


    ''What was so special about that child?'' He could not help.but wonder. Based on his observation, Ezio was not that extraordinary, he did not have enough mana to be a mage and he has mo outstanding skills as a fighter. The only special thing about him was his ability to say that name without taking damage.


    The change in his expression and the sudden fluctuation in his mana indicated that he must have met that nephew. "I guess you''ve met him already, we are also here to take him with us. Now that his uncle is dead, he had not other family to take care of him. We are the closest to family he will have." stor spoke of those words like it was easy to coax the child.


    Astrophos could only internally shake his head. He already knew that it would be difficult for them to convince Ezio because right now, he hated mages. And undoubtedly, that man will not allow it since he found the child amusing.


    "Yes, I have met him and he doesn''t really like my presence," he opened his eyes and answered. He returned to his usual demeanor and showed no other reaction from then on.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "And why is that?" The other man asked again, he was now looking at Astrophos. All of his attention was now given to the man.


    "I am not sure myself. I have tried to approach him so many times but he insisted on not having any connection with me," he simply answered. He could feel their gazes boring at him but he endured.


    "Do you know where he is now? I might be able to convince him," stor retracted his gaze and went to being like an amiable person. "Or better yet, you could show us the way."


    Astrophos had no other choice but to lead them to the bake shop. Four pair of eyes looked at the two-story structure and the simple sign board with the words ''Vergessen Bakery'' hanged on the front. They could also see people going in anding out of the ce.


    "This ce seemed popr, why don''t we go im and take a look." With stor leading them, they entered the ce.


    They were greeted by the butler, "Ah new faces,e,e what kind of pastry are you looking for?" He acted enthusiastic upon seeing them. He even led them to the disy rack where their freshly baked goodies could be seen. Then he noticed Astrophos, "Ah, Mr. Astrophos! I''m happy yo see you again here, are they your acquaintances?"


    Astrophos nodded, "Yes, they came here because they wanted to meet Ezio." He did not hide the reason for their visit because he knew that the butler already knew about the situation.


    "Oh, are they porhaps acquainted to Mr. Jagan also?" He acted ignorant but Astrophos could tell that the butler was only pretending.


    "Yes, so could you please call Ezio here?" There''s no way of avoiding it anymore and he can''t hide Ezio''s whereabouts long because he was sure that people of Moonvale were already aware that Ezio was under the bake shop''s owner.


    The butler''s face slightly lost its mile then he threw a look at the curtain covered door leading to the kitchen, "I think you should wait for a while. Ezio and the master are still baking and the master doesn''t want to be disturbed." He exined after giving them an apologetic smile. "If you would like, you can have a seat on the vacant table on the corner while you wait fort them to finish." He pointed at the vacant space.


    "Alright, then we should order while we are here," stor gestured for them to pick out any treats they want.


    While the butler was preparing their ordered sweet treats, the four of them went to sit on the empty space. Their order swiftly came and they started to eat in silence.


    The kitchen was busy but the presence of the visitors did not escape Cygnus''s notice thus his mood improved. Ezio noticed the change so he looked at the butler who just entered to take some more cookies. "Is there something wrong, young master?" He asked after noticing Ezio''s gaze on him.

 Chapter 22 Boss? What Happened?

    ?He did not give the butler an answer and instead pointed at Cygnus who was happily humming while kneading the dough for the bread. The butlerughed and ced his finger on his lips. He also gave Ezio a wink which confused the teen even more.


    Finally after almost an hour of waiting, Ezio emerged from the kitchen and he was told by the butler that some people were looking for him. He pointed at where Astrophos and the other were sitting then patted and gently pushed him to their direction.


    Ezio was frowning as he approached the table. "What is it?" He asked in a rather cold voice.


    "Ah, I can see where this temper hase from," stor smiled and attempted to make a good impression on  him but Ezio was not impressed.


    "And?" Was Ezio''s only word. He did not want to stay any longer with them. He could already tell that they were mages since they were with Astrophos and they might want to talk about his uncle again.


    Arean was already on her feet and grabbed Ezio''s cor after that statement. She also did not like the look that Ezio was giving them. "Why are you being rude?" She tightened her grip on his cor.


    "I''m not rude, I just don''t like people like you." He also gripped Arean''s arms and tried to pull it away from him but the woman was much stronger than him.


    Instead of relenting, she tightened her hold on him. "You are in no position to talk to us like that." She sneered and bu using purely her strength, she lifted Ezio and was about to throw him down.


    Ezio''s eyes widened when he felt himself being lifted and when he thought it was his end, he felt a hand pulling him down and supporting him.


    "You know, it is a bit rude of you too, to do that inside my shop. You see I don''t exactly really care who you are," Cygnus  met the woman''s gaze and in a split second, Arean staggered back with her body shivering.


    Cygnus steadied Ezio and patted him on the back. The teen was smart enough to take a step back and hid behind the man.


    "Oh where was I, yes, I was telling you all that it doesn''t matter who you are because in my shop I am the boss and all of you are mere customers." He swept his gaze on the four person group. "And what I dislike the most are people who bring trouble inside this ce."


    stor was impressed at the man''s outstanding presence and those eyes, those were not the eyes of a simple shop owner. "Yes, I apologize for my subordinate''s rude behavior. As forpensation, we will pay double for what we have ordered today."


    At the mention of money, Cygnus''s eyes suddenly twinkled and the aura of a dominating boss disappeared. "Oh, I like that," he grinned and even rubbed his palms together, "I like your attitude, rich sir, so would you like to add more cakes or breads to your order?"


    The shop went silent, the people were gawking at the man like he had lost his mind. They were too stunned to speak at that moment.


    ''Where was the domineering boss a while ago?'' ''Why was he grinning like a dumb opportunist who only wanted money?'' ''Where was his dignity as the person who killed Sirion?''


    Several questions ran through their minds, especially for Ezio ad Astrophos who had seen what he was capable of. stor who was amazed a while ago has now lost his interest in the man. It appears that he was just someone who liked money.


    "No this is alright," he looked at Meliore and gestured for her to pay. "We will return again, and I hope that you can have a peaceful conversation with us." His gaze went to the person behind Cygnus but Ezio did not give him any acknowledgement and chose to remain hidden and stay silent.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus happily counted the money they paid and was even urging them to get bread that they can take home but stor passed. Cygnus did not stop though and pestered them that they shoulde back, every action of his was screaming of wanting to take more money from them.


    Once they''re out of the door, the grin on the master''s face disappeared as he burned the money they gave. "That was fun," he turned around and looked at Ezio, "they clearly came for you."


    "Are we going to do something about them?" The butler asked with already a broom on his hand.


    "Nothing, let them do whatever they want," Cygnus shrugged. He returned to the kitchen like nothing ever happened. He was now in the mood to bake some chocte cupcakes.


    Ezio who remained silent, followed behind and when they were the only ones left, he let out what was in his mind. "Thank you for saving me a while ago."


    Cygnus faced the child who seemed to be embarrassed by what he had said. "I did not do it for you. I just want to see their reaction and how strong they were. I don''t go out of my way saving people."


    "But still thank you." He insisted, it was what he owed him for the help he gave himst time and letting him stay with them.


    The master looked at the teen. "You are too kind."


    Ezio did not know if that was apliment or not but he felt like there was a hidden meaning those words. He was about to respond to the man but the master chose to ignore him as he got back to his work.


    After leaving the bake shop, stor let Astrophos leave while the three of them returned to the municipal hall where the mayor was once again waiting for them. He led them to where they were going to stay during the time that they will be in Moonvale after that he also left.


    "It was just a re but you got scared? What kind of Grand Mage are you?" stor was not happy at Arean. "You are an embarrassment to the Magic Tower." Every word he spoke carried malice that made Arean cower and unable to speak.


    "Enough, she was already humiliated, so stop pressing her." Meliore came to her defense and stood in front of her.


    stor narrowed his eyes, "Then, don''t show your faces to me for the rest of the day, leave."


    Meliore was walking on the front followed by Arean who had her head down. "That was no ordinary intimidation. It was real," she suddenly spoke which made Arean flinched, "next time don''t be too rushed, or I won''t be able to save you from stor''s anger."


    Arean balled her fists as she answered, "I understand."


    Meliore took a peek behind her and saw that the woman was giving off a dangerous aura. It seemed that she still needed some discipline.

 Chapter 23 His Bakeshop Is Gone

    ?A person wearing a hooded cloak roamed around the dark streets of Moonvale. At first, it seemed like the person was going no where in particr and was casually strolling but after a while, the figure threaded to a particr direction. The mysterious person did not stop until they reached their destination.


    The bakeshop was silent. It was already in the middle of the night so the people in there were sure to be sleeping. A sinister smile appeared on their face, it was time to take revenge.


    Several magic circles appeared around the the shop followed by the formation of icicles that aimed at the structure. The mysterious person''s smile widened as they snapped their fingers and the icicles moved to hit the bakeshop. Before they could reach the building''s surface though, the icicles broke and some kind of liquid came from the inside of the broken icicles. The liquid hit the bakeshop instead.


    When the person saw this, an orange and red magic circle appeared and produced a small fire, which they aimed at the wet parts of the bakeshop. Turned out that liquid wasbustible and the moment the fire made contact with it, it ignited.


    Everything happened so fast that Cygnus, the butler and Ezio only had time to save their lives. The sky was lit by the mes that devoured the bakeshop and by the time the fire was stopped, the bakeshop was no more.


    Ezio looked at the now destroyed bakeshop then he looked Cygnus who was standing beside him. The man remained strangely silent and he can''t see his face so he had mo idea what the other was feeling right now. There were already spectators around and were speaking in hush voices, some came up to them to express their sympathy.


    "Who could have done this?" The owner of the fruit shop that Ezio usually visited also looked at the aftermath. He was shaking his head and he had a frown on his face. He looked at the master, "What are you going to do now, mister?" His question was directed at Cygnus.


    The master was silent for a while before he answered, "Of course I''ll make them pay, who ever did this terrible thing!" He threw his hands in the air while shaking his head. "We''re lucky that we came out of that alive." He continued which earned him a nod from the fruit shop owner.


    "If you need any help, you can alwayse to my shop and we''ll help you rebuild the bakeshop. What would happen to us if we can''t taste your sweet  creations!" The fruit shop owner eximed, he even puffed his chest with his chin held high.


    "Thank you for the offer, we will contact you if we ever need one. For now we will be staying at an inn and will not be selling any pastries for now," the butler informed the other man. For now, his master was in a bad mood and if they continue to talk about the bakeshop then he might go off and destroy the whole town. The fruit shop owner nodded then he bid them goodbye.


    "Aren''t we going to report this to the authorities?" Ezio asked. Cygnus was strangely quiet while the butler looked like he was not concerned at all.


    "I''ll take care of that for now, you should apany the master to this inn," he gave him a card with the inn''s name engraved on it, "make sure to keep the masterpany, if you fail to do so, then you should be preparing for a few funerals."


    Those were so casually said that Ezio thought that the butler was joking. He was about tough it off, but the butler was not giving him his usually friendly smile. "Are you serious?" He could not help but ask.


    "It doesn''t matter if I am serious or not, what matters is that the possibility of my master doing so has risen to about 78% and it will rise even more if you continue to dawdle." The butler opened his eyes and lost his smile. Ezio stood in attention then nodded several times before he went to the master''s side and convinced him that they should go.


    It took him a couple of minutes before he eventually persuaded the man. He looked back at the butler and saw him smiling again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The next morning, the news of what happened travelled fast and wide. By the time it reached the Grand Mages, people were already flocking the municipal hall. They were filingints and expressed their concern that this might happen to any of them and that they should immediately arrest the perprator.


    "What''s the result of your investigation?" Meliore asked after they met the mayor who has just finished pacifying the people.


    "ording to the captain, they found traces of oil around the shop. There were also traces of broken pieces of ice that have not melted a few feet away from the ce of incident." The mayor did not hesitate to tell her, since he had been wanting to ask them for help.


    After hearing the mayor''s words, Meliore''s eyes nced at the woman behind her. Arean was also shocked at the mayor''s words.


    "Are you sure about that?" She stepped froward with a frown and bypassed Meliore. "You must be wrong!" Her voice went up a notch which startled the mayor.


    "Arean, are you nning on causing a scene here?" stor''s displeased voice made Arean stop. She was still visibly angry but she took a step back. "We will help you find the perprator, if you find any more information, fell free to tell us."


    The mayor was relieved at the Grand Mage''s words and the fear of yesterday was gone. He thanked them profusely before excusing himself.


    "Is it because the man scared you?" stor red. He had calmed himself downst night and now something like this suddenly happened. "Have you forsaken your pride as a Grand Mage? And acted out of petty?"


    "You''re wrong! I did not do that!" She defended, she even looked at Meliore for help but the woman did not speak.


    "I should have not brought you here, if not for your master''s request, I would have left you at the Magic Tower." stor stared her down, his eyes full of disdain. "If you really didn''t do it then don''t act by yourself from now on. Stay with Meliore, if you dare disobey my words then I won''t be as forgiving as yesterday."


    stor left the both of them standing in the middle of the hall. He also lifted the anti-spy barrier he set up after the mayor left.


    "Do you really believe that I did that?" Arean turned around to look at the other Grand Mage. She did not expect that the woman would not even side with her.


    "I''ve already told you yesterday to behave yourself, but you did not listen to me, now you should face the consequences." Meliore turned around and walked away.


    Arean red at her back but afterwards she followed her. Whoever was doing this, she promised to make their life full of suffering.

 Chapter 24 Someone New

    ?Ezio looked at the sign on the inn''s front door and looked at the card on his hand once again then he took a step back. The inn was too shabby and it was even located at a shady location where one would usually see people who could assault you anytime.


    He fell into a dilemma as he looked back and forth from the card to the inn and to his surroundings then back to the card again. While he was still debating, he heard the master''s irritated voice.


    "Aren''t youing? Or are you waiting for a knife to be embedded in your body before you decide to enter?" Cygnus gave him re and did not wait for him. He directly went inside so Ezio had no other option but to follow.


    To his surprise, the inside of the inn actually looked and felt normal. Everything inside it was how typical inns looked like and one would even forget that they were in the shady part of the town. If one could disregard how the inn looked outside, then it was by far one of the coziest and simplest ce that Ezio had visited.


    "Ah master, you came! I heard about your bakeshop, it is a pity that it had to burn down. Have they found the culprit yet?" The manager, Ezio assumed, came to them. She was a tall woman with a puffy hair of small curls that suited her darker skin tone. The warm smile on her face made her even more beautiful which awed Ezio.


    "They''ll be dead once I find them," was his only answer before he left and climbed the stairs to the second floor where the rooms were located leaving behind a confused Ezio.


    "Oh well I guess the master is not in a really good mood." She ced her palms on her cheek as she sighed. Then, she finally noticed the gawking child. "Ah! Are you perhaps the child that was picked up by the master?" She suddenly gripped his shoulders and shook him a little bit.


    "I-I, can you please let me go miss?" Ezio spoke after he was shaken a couple more times.


    "Oh, dear me I''m sorry. I''m just excited to finally meet you!" She stretched out her hands in a hand shake then introduced herself, "I''m Nina, the one managing this inn."


    Ezio looked at the outstretched hand then looked at her smiling face before he reluctantly epted the hand shake while introducing himself, "My name is Ezio Constantine, nice to meet you Miss Nina."


    Nina couldn''t help raising a brow at the child''s introduction but she immediately changed her expression with a smile, "How refreshing to finally see a positive person like you beside the master. Come have a seat first. I''ll take you to your roomter." She pulled him to an empty seat on the waiting area of the inn, where a small table was also ced. There were already cupcakes and a tea set on the table.


    Ezio was not sure how those things suddenly appeared their in a short amount of time so he looked at the woman again. "Are you also using magic?"


    "Yes, and I''m a good one too but the master, he is on a different level." Nina nodded as she handed him the tea and pushed the te of cupcakes towards him.


    "Have you known the master even before we came in?" Ezio became even more curious ad now that there was someone who was willing to answer his questions, he won''t holdback.


    "You can say that and now he even left me the task of managing this inn!" Sheughed at Ezio''s enthusiastic gaze. "Actually this inn is owned by the master."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ezio did not expect those answers. He did not expect the master to own two businesses at the same time. He nced at the stairs again. Ezio''s attention was pulled back to Nina''s when he heard her speak again.


    "Enough of me, I heard from Mr. C that you can say the master''s name without feeling like your insides were being twisted and pulled apart." This time it was Nina''s turn to get excited.


    "I only said his name," Ezio shrugged his shoulders like what he did was no big deal. "Oh and by the way, who is Mr. C?"


    "Mr. C is the butler. I don''t want to keep calling him mister butler all the time so I gave him that one. And saying the master''s name is not easy, and it is a big deal because everyone who tried, died. Yet, here you are perfectly fine after saying his name." The atmosphere turned awkward all of a sudden and the woman''s voice became stern.


    Ezio has always wondered why the master has shown interest to him when he heard him say his name. So hearing the woman say those words made him a bit skeptical nut before he could ask further the master''s voice interrupted them.


    "What are the two of you talking about?" Cygnus appeared behind Ezio with a frown on his face. "I''m hungry, can you cook something?" He looked at Ezio for the first question then shifted his gaze towards Nina at the second question.


    "We were talking about how he could say your name so easily and no, you know that I am not a good cook, why don''t we let Ezio cook?" Nina smiled at the master even though she knew that he was in a bad mood.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes at the woman but he had no energy to deal with her, "Go and cook some food then bring it up to my room." Hemanded with him pulling up Ezio to his feet and pushing him in the direction of the kitchen.


    Ezio wasn''t able to make any protests when he noticed that the atmosphere changed. The master was also looking at Nina without speaking. He decisively left because he did not want to get caught up between the two.


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" Cygnus touched the edge of the table as he braced himself to be able to lean forward. "Don''t even think for one second that you can stand above me." It was only a whisper but it already made her broke into sweat.


    "I''m sorry master," she immediately apologized. She then felt the master''s body moving back but she still couldn''t stop herself from shaking. She embraced herself to calm her pounding heart but it was still not enough because of the master''s piercing gaze was still aimed towards her.


    Cygnus stood there for a minute before he finally spoke, "So, what made you think that you have the upper hand against me?"


    Nina had a difficult time speaking because of how shaken she was but she can''t keep the master waiting or else something more terrible might happen to her, so even if she stuttered she still gave him an answer. "That-that chi-child his s-surname is Consta-" she gulped as she felt the air around her dropped lower but she still said it in the end, "Constantine."

 Chapter 25 Shaken

    ?At the mention of that name, the whole inn shook violently without warning. Nina clutched the table to support herself and avoid falling to the ground. Ezio who was in the kitchen also braced himself by gripping the sink and trying to bnce himself.


    The earthquake only happened for a couple of second but it felt like an eternity for the whole town. Themon people panicked and left their homes in a hurry. The streets were crowded with people but the Grand Mages who were among them were unfazed.


    Mr. C, the butler, who was still with the people in-charge of catching the perpetrator could only close his eyes and sigh. He already knew who caused the earthquake but he can''t leave the ce yet so instead he focused on cooperating with the authorities to make the process much faster.


    The shaking ground slowly came to a stop and thankfully there were no aftershocks that followed. But inside the inn, the air still remained suffocating especially so for Nina. She still needed to suffer from the master''s unrelenting gaze.


    "It''s been so long since I heard that name, what a coincidence that I''ll be able to hear that again in this world." His voice was calm and yet it was still filled with so much mocking that the other person with him felt like she was the one being mocked.


    The silence after those words were already killing her that she started to pray to any other gods out there for someone toe and rescue her. Then it came, Ezio''s worried voice while he was running towards them. "Master! Are you alright?" Out of worry, he touched the master''s arms and looked around if he was fine only to sigh in relief after he saw that the master was fine.


    Cygnus pushed him away and patted his clothes, "Do you really think that a small earthquake can injure me? Even if this building copses, I''ll be fine but you on the other hand will be eventually squashed to death."


    Ezio shrugged his shoulders as he did not really care about the master''s words. Then he remembered around Nina so he turned around to look at her, "Why is your face pale Miss Nina, are you okay?" He even approached her but the woman shook her head.


    "I''m fine don''t worry, I just got dizzy because of the shaking but I am fine." She made an excuse then she gave the master an unnoticeable nce. She felt calmed when she saw that the master returned to his usual attitude.


    She reminded herself never to provoke the master again or else she might really die. If not for Ezio''s timely rescue, she was already a goner. Nina looked at the teen and sighed in her heart, the teen clearly did not know who the master was.


    "Where is my food?" Cygnus ignored the looks Nina was giving him and instead looked at Ezio who was still wearing a worried face. "Or are you going to keep standing there? She already told you that she was fine, so go and cook."


    Ezio gave the woman an apologetic smile before he nodded to the master. "I''ll be going now."


    "How lucky of you, there would be no next time after this." Cygnus took his leave and returned to his room without making any more fuss.


    Eziopleted his task swiftly and delivered the food to the master''s room without any more dys for he was afraid that the master might get angrier if he took too long to make him some food. He wasing down from the stairs when he finally saw the butler.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Mr. C! How did it go? Did you find the culprit?" He asked after reaching thest step and made his way towards them.


    The butler raised an eyebrow at what he called him but nheless he had nothing to say about it, "I see that you finally learned a name to call me. I want to congratte you little master."


    "That''s because it is easier to call you Mr. C than always calling you butler." He grinned then he felt a little bit shy at the man''sst words. "Don''t call me little master, I''m morefortable if you call me Ezio."


    "Alright, why don''t you go and eat too, I believe that you set aside a portion of what you cooked?" Mr. C gently sent him away. "We will eatter as I have some things I need to talk to with Miss Nina and here, this is the key to your room."


    Ezio epted the key but he could not help but look at the two of them in curiosity. He wanted to ask but looking at Miss Nina''s serious face, he swallowed his words. He gave the man a nod before he left for the kitchen.


    Mr. C and Nina went to thetter''s study to have a chat as he wanted to know what caused his master to be that ruffled. Nina closed and locked the door behind her after they entered the room. Mr. C then found a seat for himself and waited for the woman''s exnation.


    "First of all, I apologize. It was not my intention to irritate the master further." Her opening speech totally did not move Mr. C. He remained nonchnt and silent because he has nothing to say. "I just teased him and the next thing I knew was that I''m being crushed so I told him what I learned and then the earthquake happened!"


    She started to pace back and forth while biting her nails. What she had gone through just minutes ago was enough to traumatized her for many years toe.


    "What did you tell him to set him off like that?" Mr. C was now more interested in what this woman told the master. She already knew that the master was not in a good mood but she still went and teased him.


    "I told him that the kid''s surname was Constantine." Her shoulders slumped down as she felt defeated. All her energy was suddenly depleted after she told him what she said to the master.


    The room fell into a tense silence as Mr. C seemed to have be deathly silent. Nina looked at him but only someone who had his eyes closed. He looked like he had shut down as he was not moving to the point that he seemed to have stop breathing.


    "Mr. C?" Nina called out but she still did not hear an answer from the man so she decided to see if he was still okay. This was a much better reaction though, than what the master had done, she thought.


    The moment she was only a few inches away from him, she heard him sigh then he spoke, "As it turned out, coincidences do really exist."

 Chapter 26 They Need To Work Hard

    ?After the earthquake and the surroundings calmed down, Meliore nced at Arean and gave her a nod before they left. They disappeared from where they were standing and appeared above one of the buildings overlooking a part of Moonvale.


    Not long after, stor also appeared. "That was quite a shock." He removed the hood that was covering his head and showed a happy expression. "That was not caused by something natural." He was not specifically talking with the other two but the creepy grin on his face undoubtedly made them ufortable.


    He was like a dog that saw meat and ready to devour it. Meliore narrowed her eyes and looked at a distance. stor was right, all three of them felt it. The earthquake was created because of a sudden fluctuation from a mana user nearby and judging by the area it affected, whoever released that mana energy was no ordinary.


    "Are we going to look for that person then?" Arean asked. If they did, then she would be free to do whatever she wanted. She would look for that person who impersonated her and destroyed that shitty bakeshop.


    "It would be fun if I can meet that person but right now, we have more important things to do, since the Magic Tower had contacted me. They''re already asking me about the progress of our mission." The mad dog expression was reced with a frown followed by a grimace from him.


    "We only got here yesterday and they are already asking for our progress? Why are they so anxious to have Grand Mage Jagan''s nephew join the tower?" Meliore could not understand the Magic Tower''s motive and their unnatural actions regarding the matter of the Grand Mage. "I''ve already observed the teen yesterday and found no traces of mana in him. He is just a normal young man."


    stor turned around and rolled his shoulders back, "Don''t ask me because even though I am in a higher position than you, I still don''t know everything about what those old people are thinking."


    "Then what are we going to do now?" Arean asked again and she could not hide the trembles of her hands. She felt excited that everything was going along with her.


    Now that the Magic Tower was asking them of their mission, it only means that stor will have no time to mind her. Arean flinched when she met the man''s eyes, so she averted her gaze and looked at her hands instead.


    "Don''t assume that I have forgotten your blunder, once we return to the Magic Tower, I will personally speak to your master. As per to your question, we will look for that nephew and talk to him again." stor disappeared first followed by Meliore who did not give the woman a second nce.


    Arean had her head still bowed down even after the two left. Her fists were clenched that her nails pierced her skin and drew out blood. She felt humiliated before those two and her ego could not ept it but she still needed to hold back because she knew that she was not a match for them.


    She raised her head and tried to calm herself before she also disappeared. For now, she would focus on their mission but will still keep an eye on any clue as to who implicated her in something she did not do. She will make them pay for tarnishing her name.


    The three mages started to ask around if someone knew where the owner of the bakeshop was staying at that moment. It took them at least an hour to finally have the address, so they met up and looked at the inn in the same manner as Ezio did.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Even the surrounding was suspicious and gloomy, they never thought that the owner of that shop will relocate to a ce like that. Meliore took the lead this time and pushed opened the door to the inn.


    "Well at least, the inside does look decentpared to the outside and its location," Arean mumbled after they all entered.


    A tall woman weed them with a smile because she thought that they were customers, "How many rooms would you like to get?" Nina asked while shing her smile.


    "We are not here for a room, we are looking for some people and somebody told us that they are here," Meliore answered while her eyes subtly looked around.


    Nina''s smile faded for a bit as she noticed that they were busy looking around, "Is that so, may I know who are you looking for? I may be able to help you."


    "Ezio and the owner of the bakeshop," storzily answered from behind. "They are here so please go and call them, we want to speak with them."


    Before they even entered the inn, he already spread his magical sense around and inside the inn so he knew that the people they were looking for was there. He had not patience left to engage in this needless chatter that Meliore was doing so he simply told the woman what to do.


    Nina was annoyed at how the man was speaking but she maintained her professionalism, "Alright, please have a seat there and I will call them for you." She pointed at the reception area where several couches were ced for visitors before she left and went up the second floor.


    They didn''t need to wait long though, as Mr. C came down to meet them. He greeted them politely but stor was not happy with how they were treating them. Sending an insignificant person to meet them only means that they were looking down on them.


    "Is this how you treat your guests? We are only here to talk to the child and besides, you are not even the legal guardian of Ezio," stor sent a re to the man. He crossed his arms and stretched his neck as he asserted his power over them.


    "I apologize for that. My master has been in a bad mood since this morning because of what had happened so he cannot meet you. On the other hand, Ezio doesn''t want to meet you, ording to him, he doesn''t need to meet you because he will remain in Moonvale no matter what happens. I can''t force him to be here, I''m sorry." Mr. C bowed his head towards them to show his sincerity but they did not believe it.


    "If that''s the case then, we will be leaving." stor stood up and gave the man nod. As he could see it, these people have no intention of letting them meet Ezio for the second time. If that''s the case then they needed a different course of action.

 Chapter 27 Annoying

    ?For the next three days, Ezio had met the Grand Mages who would suddenly appear wherever he went. They tried to talk to him and convince him that he should return with them to the Magic Tower.


    At first, he tried to politely decline them and tried to exin that he did not want to leave. He also told them he was perfectly fine with living in a secluded ce like Moonvale.


    Ezio exined and thought that they wouldn''t approach him anymore but to his annoyance, they persisted. If it was not the man who looked like a pervert with his creepy grins, it would be that woman who tried to kill him and if both of them were gone, the other woman who looked cold wille to him.


    The woman, Meliore, as he learned her name through their conversations, was a lot better than the other two. She would talk to him and even tell him of his uncle''s great deeds. It was fun but at the end of the day, she was still there to convince him.


    "You''re frowning again?" Nina came up to the front of the counter that was used to wee and check-in guests.


    Ezio sighed, "That''s because they won''t let me go! I take it that it was some kind of a task but they''ve bing annoying!"


    Nina chuckled as she tried to empathize with him but she stillughed after it. "Why don''t you ask the master to do something about it? I''m sure that he will help you."


    It was a very tempting suggestion but how could he even do that? He already did it once but he had no courage to do it again. He was even turned away but luckily Mr. C was there to help him this the master epted him.


    The door to the inn opened, so Ezio readied himself to greet the guest but only saw a familiar face. The man was smiling at him and even gave a nod to Nina.


    "Are you here to convince me too?" Ezio asked in a sharp tone. Astrophos was with those people thest time they visited Vergessen before it burned down.


    Astrophos shook his head, "No, I am here to visit and see if you are doing fine, after what happened to the bakeshop."


    Ezio frowned at the smile on Astrophos''s face, he always felt that the man has been sincere ever since the beginning. He could even say that the mage was different from the others who came to coax him. He was like Meliore in some sense. They felt like good people, but at the same time, he can''t be that sure.


    "I''m fine and can''t you tell those people to stop talking with me. I already told them that I won''t be going with them but they are relentless." His frown deepened as he leaned on the counter with his head resting on his palms.


    Astrophos actuallyughed, "I can''t do that. They don''t exactly listen to me since they are at a higher rank than I am."


    "But you are the person that told them about me, so you should take responsibility," Ezio did not relent and instead put the me on the man.


    "They already knew about you, it was only for confirmation that they asked me. Besides, that person will be backing you, if something went wrong with the Grand Mages." Astrophos shrugged his shoulders and cleared the incident as he did not want the child to hate him more.


    Two sses of juice was suddenly ced in the middle of the two and Nina''s pleasant voice pierced through the awkward situation, "I hate to break it to the both of you, but you can''t exactly talk here right? What if other guestse?"


    Ezio stood straight and gave the woman a sheepish smile with his cheeks turning red. "I''m sorry, don''t worry we''re already done here."


    Astrophos only smiled and took the juice that was served then he looked at the woman, "Can I stay here for a while then? The bakeshop is gone and I don''t have any ce to go."


    "Of course!" Nina pped her hands then she went on to pat the other''s shoulder before leading him to where the couches were. "I''ll bring you some snacks as a treat since you are friend of our Ezio."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "He is not my friend! And why are you calling me ''our''?" Ezio shouted from the counter as he clearly heard the woman''s statement.


    His voice that was filled with indignation andint made Ninaugh, so when she was within Ezio''s vision, she gave him a wink before she disappeared to the direction of the kitchen.


    Ezio ignored the both of them instead he focused on greeting guests. Even though he was not giving them any attention, Nina''sughs were still loud that he could here it and even their conversations would distract him every now and then.


    "Alright, you cane visit us again anytime." Nina walked beside the man until they reached the counter.


    Astrophos gave Ezio a nod before he left while Nina was waving from the back. Ezio could not help but stare at the grinning woman.


    "Is there a problem?" She asked when she saw that he was looking at her direction.


    "You really get along well with Astrophos," he could not help butment.


    "Well he''s fun to talk with," Nina gave him a grin before she left.


    Ezio was left in confusion. He did not understand what the woman was thinking by being all friendly with Astrophos. He immediately shook his head when he realized that his thoughts were going astray. He then returned to his job and focused onn it instead.


    Meliore watched as Astrophos left the inn, she was about to go and talk to the child once again but she changed her mind, instead she followed Astrophos.


    The man stopped walking when they reached an alley, he then turned around and greeted the woman who was following him.


    "What can I do for you, Grand Mage Meliore?" He asked as he hid his expression once again.


    Meliore only stared at him for a minute before she answered, "You seemed to be close with Ezio."


    It was not a question but a statement. He did not know what the woman was implying, but he needed to be careful.


    "No, although I visit him from time to time, he doesn''t really like me. He doesn''t really like mages," he answered. He knew that they were having a difficult time to convince Ezio, but it was not his problem any longer.


    "If he really disliked mages, then why would he agree to stay in that ce? That woman is a mage," Meliore asked. If it was really the reason then it doesn''t support Astrophos''s im.


    The man sighed, "The child was close to his uncle. He was the only family he had. I don''t know what Grand Mage Jagan told him but he started to avoid us then it happened. His uncle died and that was because of a mage, a mage sent by the Magic Tower." He paused to let her absorb what he had said. The woman was intelligent and he knew that he understood his meaning.


    "Then there would be no way for us to convince him no matter what we do. I understand then." She turned around and left.


    Astrophos looked at the spot where she stood before he also disappeared. He must make sure that nothing bad happens to Ezio.

 Chapter 28 Change Of Plans

    ?Another message came from the Magic Tower again. They were already waiting for the child to be brought back to them and if they couldn''t bring him back, they will receive a punishment.


    stor crumpled and burned the piece of paper. He did not understand why the people of the Magic Tower valued that child too much. He has no mana, and was just an ordinary person, so why?


    He narrowed his eyes in thought then leaned his body on the couch where he was sitting. He was back at his room in the Municipal Hall after a fruitless endeavor.


    ''If the Magic Tower wanted that child even though he had no mana, then there must be something special in him. Perhaps, his mana was sealed? But he did not detect traces of a sealing spell on him.'' He closed his eyes and hummed, ''Then what is it then?''


    These thoughts constantly revolved in his mind but he seemed to have no answers to it as well. Then he thought of that time when Jagan suddenly disappeared. He tried to recall any notable events during that time but he remembered nothing.


    A knock interrupted his thoughts and through his magic sense, he let the person in. Meliore closed the door behind her, went ahead to the seat opposite of where stor was seated.


    "What is it?" He asked without opening his eyes.


    "We won''t be able to convince Ezio toe with us," she went straight to the point. "It is useless and a waste of time to continue on coaxing him."


    stor opened his eyes and sat up straight, "Then there''s no other way but to drag him to Lamier, the Magic Tower has yet again sent a message. We need to bring him back whether he likes it or not or else everything we have worked for will go to waste."


    Meliore was not surprised at the man''s suggestion. She already anticipated this to happen and if stor''s words were true, then they might face some bacsh if they can''t bring Ezio to the Magic Tower.


    "When do we make our move?" She did not disagree. Although she felt a bit sorry for the child but she can''t sacrifice everything she''s built just because a some child doesn''t want to be coaxed.


    The man grinned, he knew that Meliore has a soft heart but when all her precious research materials were at stake, she wouldn''t hesitate to even break thew.


    "Let''s prepare for tomorrow," he answered. "Don''t forget to inform Arean because she might do something stupid again."


    Meliore gave a curt nod before she stood up and left the door. It is a pity that he wasn''t able to meet the mysterious mage who caused that earthquake but he had a feeling that they will meet in the future. He chuckled, "I''ll be waiting for that time."


    Cygnus opened his eyes with a wide grin on his lips. Something was about to happen, and the anticipation in his heart bubbled. "What a great day!" He eximed as he left his room.


    They had been staying in the inn for four days now but the culprit to the arson has yet to be found. It did not matter though because something else was going to happen.


    "What a cloudy atmosphere," he smirked at the people in the inn from the second floor. He was looking at them with azy expression on his face.


    "What made you so happy this time?" Nina asked from where she was sitting with a book on her hand. She lifted her head when she heard the master speak.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "None of your business, just be d that my mood has improved." He stood up from his slouching position and walked to the stairs.


    His footsteps echoed inside the empty hall which made Nina and Ezio a bit tense. On the other hand, Mr. C remained calm. Ezio didn''t understand how the man could stay calm whenever he faced the master, even though the master was angry.


    "Those mages, are they still pestering you?" He asked once he reached the reception area which became like a lounge area for the three. He sat down and tilted his head to the side while waiting for Ezio''s answer.


    "They''ve already stopped, thankfully." Ezio answered, unconsciously straightening his back while answering the man.


    Cygnus did not answered, he ced both of his hands on the armrest of the chair and satfortably. "Don''t be toofortable though, they might be nning something different for you."


    An ominous feeling swept through the room. Ezio shivered and he suddenly felt anxious for no reason. He looked at the people around him, but they all looked so calm. It felt like they did not feel the sudden change in the atmosphere.


    "I-I''ll be careful then," he stuttered but he still remained nervous.


    That night, Ezio could not sleep. He tossed and turned on his bed as he kept on remembering the master''s words. He can''t help but think that he might die or  something bad might happen to him.


    He tried to close his eyes but the images of his uncle being killed reyed in his mind. It was still as clear as day, even the smell of smoke and the sensation that something was prickling within him all returned just because of those words from the master. He was terrified.


    While Ezio was in conflict and unable to sleep, two shadows leapt through the roofs as they chase each other. Blue magic circles were simultaneously drawn by the two as ice spears collided with each other.


    The collision created an explosion that destroyed the structure where the both of them were standing. The other one, who was wearing a blue cloak ran again while the other, who had a blue hair chased the other.


    "You''ll never get away with this!" The blue haired woman, Arean, shouted in anger as she continued to chase the blue cloaked person. As per fate, she had encountered the person who had impersonated her.


    It was pure coincidence that she met the person. She was roaming around when she felt mana being used and when she followed the direction where the mana energy came from, she saw that the other was about to destroy another shop.


    Arean was able to stop the person but they immediately escape. How could Arean pass that chance to capture her impersonator? So she decided to chase them.


    The blue cloaked person looked behind them and sent a fire ball towards Arean which she countered with an ice barrier. She then expanded her ice barrier sessfully trapping the person she was chasing.


    "You won''t be getting away!"

 Chapter 29 Fairies Under The Moonlight

    ?Moonvale has the brightest nights among the towns in Lunaira thus it was named such. And that night, the moon was particrly glowing with a silvery glow thus the ice barrier was particrly attention grabbing because it was glittering in the darkness.


    Some people who were still awake that night were in awe of the particrly beautiful image it created. They did not know that within that barrier, a fierce fight was happening.


    While they were still mesmerized, the ice suddenly shattered into sharp pieces that pierced the ground and some of the houses and buildings within a twenty meter radius.


    Several icicles appeared in the air which flew towards the blue d person. Yet they easily dodged and melted the icicles that were sent their way. But Arean did not stop there, once her enemynded on the area she wanted, w like ice appeared from the ground and engulfed the enemy.


    She did not waste time and created another ice w that came from above and enclosed the first ice w she made. Arean walked like she had won the battle towards the frozen enemy and gave them a smirk.


    "Going as far as copying me, who told you to do that?" She asked yet her surroundings remained silent. "Ah yes, I forgot, you are frozen in there and must be losing your breathe now."


    Sheughed like a maniac at the satisfaction she felt from her own words. She tapped the ice to mock the person who can''t get out and when she made sure that the other was not moving she turned around to leave. She decided to leave the ice like that just to make sure of her kill.


    Arean had her hands behind her back and while she skipped away from the battle. She was thoroughly satisfied and she stopped. She turned around and defended from a roaring fire that was trying to devour her.


    She created a dome of ice around her but the fire has a life of it''s own, as it surrounded and slowly melted the protective dome. Arean did not hesitate to reinforce her dome from the inside. She then stomped her foot and created a wider magic circle below her which created an ice w outside of the dome. The w managed to stop the mes that were going to devour her.


    Arean then hit the dome with her right palm and it cracked then evaporated it in the air. She stared at the person who was looking at her.


    "You are too full of yourself, Grand Mage from the tower." The voice was deep and raspy, nothing like she had ever heard before.


    "Who are you? And why are you doing this?" Arean asked, her fists were ready to attack anytime.


    "You don''t have to know," the person simply answered.


    Arean could not even identity if the person was a man or a woman, but that doesn''t really matter to her. "Then I''ll force the answer from you!"


    Sheunched herself into the air and with her fists covered in a blue magic circle, she punched the person. Arean finally engaged in a closebat battle and every punch she released froze the air and even froze the enemy''s cloak. The mysterious person also started to attack and defended against the ice magic.


    They were like faeries dancing under the moonlight. The sparks and lines created by both fire and ice made the scene magical when in truth it was a deadly battle. Blue and oranged crossed paths and with the moonlight''s glow the streaks of color glistened, this beautiful scene will be recorded in the Moonvale history as an enchanting phenomenon that will never repeat itself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Arean can''t believe that her enemy was able to parry all of her attacks and she was even being pushed back. She tried to continue and defend herself but the longer they exchanged attacks the more difficult it was for her to recover.


    The mysterious person noticed that Arean''s movements slowed down so they took that chance to sneak an attack. They saw that the woman was going for a punch aimed at their upper body so they ducked and covered both of their hands with me.


    They stretched back their hands pushed forward then both palms collided with Arean''s chest and stomach. The force from the palm and the fire magic sent Arean flying then she hit the wall of a particrly tall building.


    Areanid on her back at the room where shended and when she sat up, blood came out gushing from her mouth. She stared with wide eyes at the blood on her hand, she could not believe that someone was able to injure her.


    "You''ll pay for this!" She shouted in anger. The woman leapt to her feat and in the blink of an eye, hundreds of icicles were already aiming at her enemy. "You dare injure me! I''ll let you taste my power when I''m angry!"


    Several ice spears also appeared around the blue cloaked enemy, there were even magic circles in every direction so that they can''t escape but they remained calm. Without regards to her surrounding, sheunched a wide ranged attack that was focused on her enemy.


    A grin appeared on the enemy''s face, "Too naive." Before the attacks could reach her, she already summoned a set of her own icicles that collided with Arean''s.


    After they saw that the icicles broke, a red magic circle appeared above her and at her summon, shooting stars of fire appeared from the circle. The attack did not target anything in particr and was scattered but the effect was still desirable.


    The glow of the moon was suddenly changed with the glow of fire, as mes slowly ate through the houses and buildings that were made of wood. The panicked screams from the people also filled the silent night, it was pure chaos.


    Arean looked at the destruction, she could already feel her heart pounding fast. This was not because of her, it was her impersonator. She lifted her head to look at her enemy but they were nowhere to be found.


    "Grand Mage Area, what do you think you''re doing?" The angry words brought her back to her senses. She looked behind her only toe face to face with stor''s rage filled eyes.


    "I, that''s not my fault, it was my impersonator!" She tried to defend herself but stor did not believe her. Even Meliore was a bit shocked at Arean''s actions.


    "Not you? Then what the heck are those?" stor pointed at the shards of ice that was scattered around the area and the obvious traces of fight.


    "No! That person can use the same magic as me and they can even use fire magic! I really, this was not my intention! I was just going to capture them." She exined angrily because they seemed to not believe her. These people were really dumb to even believe that she could do this kind of destruction by herself.


    "Enough of that, let''s just help them stop the fire first," Meliore turned around then she floated up and mumbled a spell that gathered rain clouds. The fire was sessfully stopped but Arean''s fate wasn''t that clear.

 Chapter 30 Shes Become Crazy

    ?No lives were lost during the fight but the people became wary of Arean. Many saw her creating spells and before they knew it, their houses were already burning down. Some business establishments were also not spared.


    The mayor who was woken up by themotion feltplicated when he heard the full ount from the witnesses. He looked at three Grand Mages then his gaze lingered a little bit longer on the woman who caused all of this destruction.


    "My subordinate''s action were uncalled for thus I am apologizing in her behalf. She''s still young andcked experience. The Magic Tower will bepensating everyone who had suffered damages from her unscrupulous behavior." stor made his voice and expression as amiable as possible while speaking with the mayor.


    They were in front of many people so he can''t get angry. Even though the mayor had a frown on his face, he can''t really get angry because they were still mages. There was no other choice but to ept the other''s office.


    "I understand, why don''t we settle this tomorrow. I''ll let the affected people stay at an inn for the night then we will meet at the municipal hall for the talk." He relented as it was the only option he had. He then looked at the Moonvale Knights, who kept the peace and order of the town, and gave them a nod.


    The knights started to usher the people who lost their homes to different inns that can amodate them. stor also offered to pay for their expenses which made the people easier to lead away.


    After the mess was dealt with temporarily, they returned to their amodations. Once they were in an empty room, stor set up a barrier.


    "Once we return to Lamier, your master will deal with you." stor''s calm voice was particrly calm, he did not shout but the cold nce he gave to Arean was enough to convey his anger.


    "Why? I didn''t do anything wrong! It was my imposter''s fault!" She couldn''t not ept the man''s words. She only wanted to clear her name and yet she was the one being med. "The real culprit was that person!"


    Meliore and stor only looked at her without speaking. She has been speaking about an imposter which was not impossible, but there was a reason why they had a difficult time believing her. stor ordered Meliore to see if there were other traces of mana on the remnants of destruction or around it.


    Meliore did what the manmanded but found only traces of Arean''s mana signature. She kept on iming that she was fighting someone, but based on the witnesses and on the traces of mana left on the battlefield, she was alone.


    "We swept through the area, Arean, and only your mana signature was there. Even the traces of magic used has your mana in it," Meliore looked her in the eye and told her what they found from the scene.


    "Are you telling me then, that the person I fought yesterday was an illusion? Are you saying that I am crazy?" Arean took a step back while shaking her head. Her expression changed from shock to anger then to confusion. "It was real, there was really a person there fighting me!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    She clutched her hair as she looked at the floor, while mumbling to herself. stor frowned at how Arean was acting so he gestured for Meliore to take care of it. He didn''t need this drama right now because they still had the Magic Tower''s orders on their shoulders.


    Meliore could do nothing but try and pacify the woman. "Arean, although we found no traces of other mana in the scene, we are not blind as not to see that the destruction was not caused by only you. For now, you need to stay here and we will deal with the aftermath. Gather yourself, you are a mage of the Magic Tower. Looking at how you are acting right now, you seemed truly crazy."


    Arean froze at the other''s words. She did not want to bebeled as crazy so she immediately fixed herself and stood straight. Thought the words were a bit unpleasant to her ears, she knew that she needed to bear with it because she still her pride as mage of the Magic Tower.


    "What are we going to do now?" She asked after she finally calmed herself. She can''t be weak and breakdown in front of these people who already thought of her as an additional baggage.


    "Good, now that you are calm, we can proceed with the n. We will be leaving Moonvale tomorrow night and along the way we will be snatching Ezio. We can''t fail the Magic Tower, once we are in Lamier, no matter what that shop owner does, he won''t be able to touch Ezio in that ce." It was theirst resort so Meliore emphasized the matter to Arean. If they fail, then it would be their end.


    Although it was not her style to force people and she felt a little sorry for Ezio, she was still part of the Magic Tower. Anyway, this kidnapping will be covered by the Magic Tower and nobody would really think any of it when Ezio disappears. She was only concerned about the people who were with the child because her instincts were telling her that they were not ordinary.


    She wanted to tell stor to be more careful but she knew that the man would not heed her warning. It was no use in wasting her efforts, she should worry about herself for now and how she should escape if the n failed.


    "What if the person who caused that earthquake or the person who fought me chose to interfere?" Her question has a point so the woman looked behind her at stor who was leaning on the wall with his eyes closed.


    "They will not interfere and if they did, we only need to be faster than them." stor did not move from where he was. "I''ll be acting as the diversion while Meliore will grab Ezio, you on the other hand will be waiting for us with the teleportation spell that will directly transfer us to the Magic Tower."


    Arean nodded, although she will not be able to deal with that imposter, no one will really pay attention to something that happened in a faraway town like Moonvale. Sooner this incident will be buried like it never happened. She felt indignant about what she was thinking but there was nothing more important than finishing their mission.


    "What about the discussion you promised with the mayor?" Meliore asked the man again. They can''t forget about that as well.


    "The two of you don''t need to attend. I will personally handle it. What the two of you need to do tomorrow is to prepare what we need." stor left the room and lifted the barrier after he left. Both Meliore and Arean also returned to their room with different thoughts in their minds.

 Chapter 31 Commence

    ?Early that morning, stor dealt with the people who were affected by the fight using money and sweet words. He promised thempensation in the name of the Magic Tower and the people were pacified. They believe that the Magic Tower was faithful with their promise and the man who talked to them was very kind.


    He smiled and talked to them in a gentle way that immediately caught their hearts so it was not difficult to make the people trust in him. After the town''s people left, stor had a final talk with the mayor as he apologized again for themotion that their youngest had done.


    "I brought her here, so that she can gain experience but I did not expect that it would turn out like this. I am really sorry, mayor." He had a frown on his face and the mayor became sympathetic to the man.


    "No need to apologize this much. You''ve already promised uspensation so you can rest assured that this incident will not get out of Moonvale." The mayor kindly smiled at the Grand Mage and after a few more words were exchanged between the both of them, the mayor left.


    The smile on stor''s face disappeared as he disappeared from where he was standing to check on the progress of Meliore and Arean on preparing the teleportation spell. He arrived at a secluded ce outside of Moonvale, where Meliore and Arean were busy chanting. The ce was surrounded with thick and tall trees with boughs that stretched out that crossed with the other trees. The crown of these trees created a perfect enclosure that hid what they were doing.


    He stood just a few steps away from the magic circle that was being formed as the women continued to chant. The outer circle of the magic was now formed, they only need the inner formation toplete the circle, once the pentagram appears the circle will be ready to use. He closed his eyes and also started to chant. Their words were slowly incorporated on the inner circle and the pentagram was slowly formed.


    While the three Grand Mage suddenly disappeared from Moonvale, Astrophos once again visited the ''Estraviat Inn'' because of the recent incident. The inn was silent after he pushed open the door. He looked around but Ezio was not behind the counter and Nina was nowhere also. He still entered and walked around the reception hall while he waited for someone toe out.


    "Mr. Astrophos, what brought you here?" the butler came from where the stairs were and walked towards the man.


    "I only came to visit. I did not encounter any people when I entered so I just invited myself in," he turned around to face the man.


    "Ah yes, Nina and Ezio went to the shopping district to buy some ingredients that we need in the inn and my master has been gone this morning." Mr. C answered as he gestured to the couches behind Astrophos.


    The man went to sit while the butler proceeded to pour him some tea. "I guess you are here because of the incidentst night?"


    "Yes," he confirmed, "it appears that the person who destroyed your bakeshop was Grand Mage Arean." He stared at the brown colored tea for a short while before he continued, "I knew that she was a little bit crazy but I did not expect that she would burn your shop just because she was humiliated."


    "Mr. Astrophos, you don''t need to worry about that. Many people do much more than destruction just because of petty things and besides, we were told that we will bepensated generously by the Magic Tower." Mr. C was smiling while telling the others about the good news that came to them early morning that day.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Instead of being happy with him, Astrophos has the opposite expression, "Are you sure that they will reallypensate you?"


    Mr. C was startled at the question, "What do you mean by that, Mr. Astrophos?" His hands stopped midway of serving the man the cupcakes that Ezio baked.


    "I don''t know about how urate information has been in this town, but the Magic Tower is not exactly a benevolent organization like many of you knew, after all they are still an organization of hierarchy," Astrophos tried to exin. He was not directly smearing the tower''s name since not all people affiliated with it were like the core of the tower.


    The butler ced the cupcake on a smaller te and pushed it towards Astrophos, "I''m surprised that you, of all people, would say something like that about the ce where you work."


    "I also don''t know what came to me, these past few days I seemed to have betrayed the tower many times," he touched the cup''s surface as he clutched then unclutched it again. This behavior repeated before he spoke again, "Anyway, I''m already considered a traitor. Once the Grand Mages return to the tower, they will surely report my unusual behavior and I can pretty much predict the decision they will be making regarding my case. So, I guess I don''t really care."


    "Does that mean you are not returning to the tower again?" The question made the man silent for a while.


    He took a sip of the tea but still did not answer. His feelings about the matter were a bitplicated. He wanted to return but at the same time he did not want to face the people of the tower and their ridicule. It has been his home for many years so it was a bit difficult to let it go.


    "Even if I want to return, I would not be epted and besides, the Grand Mages had not said anything about me returning to the tower," was his simple answer.


    Both of them fell into silence, Astrophos drank his tea and enjoyed the cupcake while Mr. C returned behind the counter to wait and greet customers. Nina and Ezio came back with bags of ingredients on their hands. Astrophos who saw this stood up and did not hesitate to go and help them.


    "Are you here to check on Ezio again?" Nina asked after they''ve put all what they bought in the kitchen.


    "Yes, since the person who destroyed the bakeshop was Grand Mage Arean. I just want to make sure that he is fine." He nodded and helped her bring out the contents of the bag. He even helped her organize what they bought.


    "He was shocked and was also feeling a little bit guilty because he thought that it was his fault but the master did not me him so, everything''s actually great." Nina informed him, "Since you are here already, why not join us for dinner?"

 Chapter 32 Explosives And Messy Thorns

    ?The dinner went well, although there was a bit of awkwardness between them but nothing major happened. Cygnus only gave Astrophos a look but he remained silent. After the dinner, they went their own way and enjoyed the rest of the night.


    Mr. C was silently wiping the counter while Nina was on the couch and was reading a book. Ezio went up to his room and so did Cygnus. The night was finally silent even after the chaos that happened the night before, so they were particrly rxed and calm.


    Outside the inn, two silhouettes were watching from afar, they were waiting for the right time to attack. Kidnapping may be below their ranks, but it was the only solution they can think of before the tower made their own move.


    As darkness descended inside the inn, stor and Meliore made their move. One of them went straight to the window of Ezio''s room. She broke the window without creating a noise because of her magic. She entered the room and was about to grab the sleeping boy on the bed but someone grabbed her hand and pushed her away.


    "It''s already midnight and yet the Grand Mages are still busy," the voice sneered towards the woman who tried to abduct a child. The candles on the walls lit up. Meliore and Nina came face to face but there was no Ezio.


    "How did you know?" Meliore stood up straight then she stretched her neck and her arms. "Did Astrophos tell you anything?"


    Ninaughed, "The man doesn''t even know about this n of yours, so how could he tell us anything? He is too cowardly to do that but he will be helping us to stop you."


    A magic circle of the darkest magenta Meliore had ever seen appeared below her followed by an explosion. Meliore avoided the explosion by jumping up andnding on the side wall but the moment her foot touched the wall, another magic circle was activated followed by another explosion.


    Every surface of the room was rigged with magic circles that exploded whenever someone other than its creator touched them. Meliore had no other choice but to step on one of the magic circles in order to propel herself out of the room. She braced herself from the impact and surrounded herself with a barrier as she hit the wall beside the window where she came from.


    She was expecting for the wall to break judging by how strong the explosions were but to her surprise she only bounced off from the wall. Nina watched all of this nonchntly, she appeared to be even bored while looking at the woman.


    "It would be difficult for you to escape this ce, so you should give up on it." Nina told her kindheartedly although she was looking at Meliore with a mocking nce.


    The woman did not let Nina''s words deter her, instead she let go of her cloak and reinforced the body shield she surrounded her body. With her magic, she summoned vines covered with thorns that attacked Nina. This vine covered thorns moved at a fast speed and aimed at her. Nina dodged and exploded the vines but Meliore did not stop there, she raised both of her hands then a green magic circle appeared above them where thorns appeared and flew to every direction.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    A purple-colored dome appeared around Nina that helped her defend against the attack. She also ced her exploding spells around the dome which in turn exploded the thorns. Nina did not remain passive, as she sent explosive spells towards Meliore.


    The room was filled with explosions and sharp thorns piercing through the walls and floor but the room still remained enclosed. Meliore frowned at the magic they used to seal the room, what she needed to do was to break it by force. Without hesitation, Meliore summoned arge tree and modified its branches and leaves to fill the room, then she added more mana to expand the size of the tree. She also made sure to add thorns on the tree she summoned.


    At the pressure of the power, the barrier that was surrounding Ezio''s room broke and so did the room. Now Meliore had more space to move. She then let the branches of the overgrown tree enclose the dome that was protecting Nina. Once the branches covered every inch of the dome, she let her palms meet and with that action the branches tightened around the dome.


    "Don''t underestimate my explosives!" Nina did not waver and exploded the dome that was surrounding her. She escaped the sticky situation with only scratches but she was still smiling. "You should be more careful of your surroundings."


    Meliore was about to fly away from the woman but her feet were nted in the air. She looked down and saw that there were chains attached to her ankles and in that short moment multiple explosions happened around her. She raised her hands to protect her head because the silvery-white barrier that she surrounded herself with was not able to withstand the impact of the explosions.


    stor, who was acting as the decoy, came face to face with the butler and Astrophos, whom they thought had already left. He only smirked and shed all pretenses since he was already discovered.


    "I didn''t expect to also see you here," the question was directed to Astrophos. He then held the cor of his coat and pulled it away from him. As the cloak reached the ground, stor disappeared and appeared before Astrophos with his fist pulled away and ready to hit him.


    Mr. C moved in front of the mage and crossed both of his hands in front of him to defend from the blow. The punch created a smoke after it touched the butler''s arms but the butler did not move nor fall. stor''s serious face showed a crazy wide grin after the man remained standing after taking a blow from him.


    "Aren''t you great?" He remarked. Without leaving any gap, his right hand went for another punch covered with red lightning then followed by another until a barrage of such punches rained on him.


    The butler did not bat an eye even after the attack. He was already being pushed back but he still stood his ground and even his clothes were already torn from the attack. stor did not stop though. He did not care if the man would fall or be pushed back forever.


    Astrophos did not stay idle, from the side he opened fire with metal bullets towards stor. The man didn''t flinch, he just fortified his body with red lightning to defend against the outside attack. Astrophos did not stop though, he continued with his attacks and even added some twisting bullets with sharp ends to the attack. His attack was now focused on one spot on the Grand Mage''s body.

 Chapter 33 Mr. Durable

    ?Mr. C waited patiently for a chance for him to attack and when the metal bullets from Astrophos finally pierced through that red lightning which made stor lose form, he attacked. With a punch of his own, he hit the man''s unprotected stomach and hit again. He released abination of cross punches that hit directly on his stomach and chest then he gave the man an uppercut that sessfully hit his jaw.


    Blood came out from stor''s mouth but this did not faze him. He suddenly released a jab that caught Mr. C off guard as he was hit on the chest that caused him to take a few steps behind and lose his bnce.


    stor spat the blood that was on his mouth before giving the butler another grin, "I did not expect that the butler to be such a good fighter. You surprised me since I have not felt any mana from you, so to be able to withstand my red lightning, you are someone exceptional."


    "I do not deserve such praise, as I am still a bitcking and without Mr. Astrophos that was distracting you then I might not be able tond those punches," Mr. C shook his hands before returning to his fighting stance. His right foot was ced forward, his hips were bent, right hand extended forward with the other hand on his waist. "My arms actually hurt."


    stor looked at the weird stance which he had not seen before but it was not of importance because he was enjoying his time. "Alright, let''s see how long you can defend against me even with a traitor aiding you."


    Something red shed above Mr. C followed by several red lightning that fell from above. Mr. C easily avoided the lightning using some kind of gliding movement that allowed him to swiftly move between the lightning that hit the ground.


    stor moved behind the butler and sent another wave of red lightning towards him. This one was a direct shot and the lightning even looked like a tiger ready to consume his prey. The moment the lightning was about to hit Mr. C, Astrophos summoned a thick chain below stor''s feet which he used to pull him down.


    The action made stor lost his bnce thus weakening his red lightning. Mr. C was able to take the attack with less damage and he also used that opportunity to attack. Using the tip of his right hand, Mr. C attacked with a thrusting motion forward that made his hand like a spear with the pure intention of piercing through the enemy.


    stor saw the attacking and felt the powering from it. He knew that if he got hit by that one, he would definitely suffer some internal damage even with the lightning protection around him. The attack wasing fast and in thest moment, he willed his legs to bend down. Mr. C''s hand hit through air while stor used the force from him bending and propelled himself up thus breaking the chains.


    Astrophos was not done yet, sharp metal bullets started to rain down on the Grand Mage once again followed by chains that continued to chase him. stor ignored the metal bullets but it became annoying as these things kept on obstructing his vision. The chains were preventing him from getting a good positioning on the ground.


    The butler used all of the distraction to his advantage and ran towards stor. He gave him a series of punches that went straight to stor''s body or on the side. His punches also alternated between a closed fist attack to a spear thrust attack with his fingers.


    stor felt that he was in a disadvantage thus he created a distance between him and Mr. C after that, he dodged all the attacks from Astrophos and when the second round of attack came his way, he let his palms met in front of him to create a red lightning explosion around him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The lightning reached Mr. C and blew him away. On the other hand, the lightning destroyed all of the metal bullets and chains then made its way towards Astrophos. The man was also pushed back by the lightning that hit him.


    "Finally, the both of you became silent," storughed. He was patting the dust that was on his clothes and frowned at the cuts on it. "You even destroyed my clothes and dared to enjoy me."


    Astrophos groaned from where he was because of the attack. He couldn''t move his body because the lightning was still coursing inside his body. Mr. C on the other hand was not moving but stor knew that the man was still alive, he must have lost his consciousness.


    "If I have more time, I would have yed with the two of you longer." He had already wasted time and dyed their mission. He needed to take the child and leave.


    stor disappeared from where he was and directly went inside the inn, breaking the barrier that was ced around it. With his magic sense, he found where the child was. He also felt another person in the room with him, it must have been the shop owner. This time he can''t be reckless, if the butler has that kind of ability, then the shop owner was not someone ordinary.


    Looks can be really deceiving and his acting was also good which only means that what he showed them during their first meeting was not a fluke. "Bastard," he mumbled to himself. He needed the fastest speed he could have to catch the child thus he covered his entire body with his lightning for protection and additional speed.


    He flew across the room and became like a moving mess of colors because of his speed. His target was the room where Cygnus and Ezio were. stor locked on the target, he then grabbed the child who was surprised then broke through the room''s windows.


    His eyes also found Meliore who was trapped by the woman who manages the inn. He did not hesitate to also pull her away and inevitably save her from another explosion then he teleported them to the designated location.


    Arean who had been waiting could finally breathe in relief after she saw that they appeared. She started to worry since it was already past the time that they agreed upon but Meliore and stor had not yet arrived. Just by looking at them, she already knew what dyed them. It seems that a fight happened.


    "Who interfered?" She looked at the two Grand Mages. Meliore was in a worse state while stor was in a much better condition but he was strangely quiet. "Are both of you, okay?" she asked again.


    "Enough, chatter. Let''s just go!" Meliore was in a bad mood and she did not want to be asked. She red at Arean so the other could onlyply. She then looked at Ezio who lost consciousness along the way and shook her head. They were able to fulfill their mission but they also got an enemy for themselves. She just hoped that this won''t cause a wave at the capital.

 Chapter 34 Sounds Like A Plan

    ?A bright light engulfed the whole forest and the people who were supposed to be there disappeared, leaving no trace behind. A few minutes just after the spell was activated, one man appeared from behind the woods and looked at the empty space.


    His expression remained neutral but the glint in his eyes said otherwise. After Ezio was abducted, he followed closely behind and saw everything before they disappeared.


    "The capital city, I haven''t been there ever since we came to this world." He chuckled and started to walk around that empty area.


    "Are we going to follow them master?" Mr. C asked. After he was knocked down and the Grand Mage grabbed Ezio, he stood up like nothing happened and followed behind them. Like his master, he also kept his distance since he had no way of hiding his presence.


    Cygnus stopped walking to look at him, "Well, yes, of course! We can''t pass up this great opportunity!" He eximed followed by a crispugh that echoed through the forest.


    Mr. C sighed and shook his head. He could not understand his master, he said he wanted to live like a normal human being but here he was still plotting his next move.


    Cygnus saw the disappointed look on his butler''s face. His eyes involuntarily narrowed in his direction, "What? Why are you sighing again?"


    "Master," this time ye butler looked conflicted, he wanted to say it but at the same time he can''t.


    Cygnus was starting to get annoyed by how his butler was acting, "What is it? Just say it now!"


    The butler sighed again, "I was just thinking that when we came here, you specifically told me that you wanted to settle down peacefully and yet, you''ve already nned your next move."


    "Have I said that?" Cygnus feigned ignorance and even tilted his head a little bit to the left to look innocent.


    The butler could only look at him in silence. He lost all words to say. He should not have been worried about this matter since his master has always been fickle ever since he had met him. There were even times that he could not understand him at all, not his words nor his actions, and this was one of those.


    "Are we going to use teleportation magic too?" Mr. C decided to ask instead since he did not have the power to stop his master from whatever he wanted to do.


    Cygnus grinned, "No, let''s take our time."


    "I understand, then I will leave first to prepare for our journey," Mr. C bowed his head and left.


    The grin on Cygnus''s face disappeared after the butler left. His gaze went up to the sky with his hands behind his back.


    "They must have known what your ability was," he whispered and only the breeze of the wind answered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He knew from the beginning that Ezio was not a normal child. There must have been a reason why Jagan was protective of him thus he became interested. Then people from the Magic Tower appeared and he learned that the child was actually named Constantine.


    At that thought, Cygnusughed. Constantine, a name time had forgotten but he had not. It was a bit unexpected to here such a name in this world where he decided to settle down. The butler was right, he wanted to stay as amoner for the rest of his life but fate had something else for him.


    "No matter what, this is a great opportunity to pass time," he spoke again then he started to walk. "I will thoroughly enjoy it."


    A capital city was a good ce to start and he might find a worthy opponent where he can test his powers. He suddenly stopped walking, "Speaking off, it has been a long time ever since I used my full strength, will I be able to use it here?" He once again spoke but as usual his surroundings remained silent.


    He started to walk again as he started to hum a tune that seemed to haunt the whole ce. It sounded eerie and cold yet he did not notice the effect it had on his surroundings.


    Mr. C returned to the inn and saw that Astrophos was already awake and recovering with a healing potion. Nina was as energetic as she could.


    "Where is he?" Nina asked in anticipation at the butler who just entered.


    Mr. C adjusted his expression and appeared to be sad as she shook her head, "We weren''t able to catch them. When we reached the ce, the teleportation was already done and there were no traces of them left."


    "They must have teleported to the Magic Tower," Astrophosmented with a frown. It would be difficult for them to get Ezio back now that he was taken to the Magic Tower.


    "And the master? What did he say?" Nina asked again while looking behind Mr. C but she did not see Cygnus.


    "He told me to prepare for a journey. We will be going to the capital and knock on the tower''s door," the butler casually answered. Although the master only said to prepare for the journey, Mr. C was sure that the capital will not be peaceful thus he added thest bit of information for them.


    "Are you sure? The Magic Tower at Lamier is practically untouchable because of the power they have. We can''t just barge in and take Ezio. We can''t even get a nce at him even if we wanted too!" Astrophos was doubtful at the butler''s statement. Yes, he saw that these people were actually good at fighting and that the master has actually power, but they are no match for the Magic Tower''s forces.


    "Mr. Astrophos, you do not have to worry about that. I''m sure that my master has a n once we reach the capital." The butler was unaffected by the man''s statement.


    Astrophos was already used to it, the butler seemed to have no fear and the other person in the room was exuding an excited aura. One could even see pink heartsing out of his eyes. Instead of thinking of this as a problem, she was instead looking forward to it.


    "Alright! Let''s go and prepare then!" Nina eximed with so much enthusiasm. It was her first time to travel and it seemed so fun that she couldn''t wait any longer.


    Astrophos looked at these people and the unease in his heart slowly disappeared. When Cygnus appeared looking the same as always, he felt oddlyforted and that everything was going to be fine.

 Chapter 35 Inside The Magic Tower

    ?A group of four people appeared in the Hall of Fire. Arean looked up and saw thet her master was waiting for them.


    The old man with graying hair and wearing a green robe had a serious face while looking at them. Grand Mage stor had informed him of their n thus he was there to wait for them.


    "You are a bitte," his deep and slightly gruff voice echoed inside the hall. He only gave Arean a nce but his focus was on stor.


    "A little mishap happened, but we still managed," stor stood up and gave the old man a bow. "Thank you for your patience with us, Archmage Ragus."


    The archmage gave him a curt nod and turned around, "Let''s go and bring that child, we''ve prepared a room for him." He walked towards the door that slid open without the man touching it.


    stor used a floating spell on Ezio and followed behind Ragus. They walked in silence inside the halls of the first level of the tower. Only their footsteps that echoed on the stone floor could be heard.


    Even though it was her master who came to see them, Arean did not dare to speak because she knew that she would be getting an earful from him after this. Meliore on the other hand was not close to the archmage and preferred to stay silent.


    By the end of the hall, they entered a room which was a little bit extravagantly decorated. stor could not help but raise a brow at how well they were treating the child.


    "Lay him on the bed, the people from the Hall of Time will take care of him. stor and Meliore the both of you can leave. The other elders will be calling you tomorrow for a report. To my disciple, go and wait for me in my study," Ragus ordered. He could see that stor and Meliore were shocked at what they heard but it was not within their authority to question orders.


    After recovering from their surprise, stor and Meliore bowed and then left. They tracked down the direction where they came from, when Meliore couldn''t help but voice the thoughts in her mind.


    "Hall of Time, really? Is he that important, that the elders are willingly sending an elite group to take care of him!" She could not hide the surprise in her voice any longer.


    The Magic Tower was divided into seven different halls. The Hall of Songs, mes, Conquest, Vestige, Time, Knowledge and Saints. The Hall of Time sat as the third highest level wherebat mages that reached the Archmage rank were concentrated as they also acted as guards for the Hall of Knowledge.


    Mages from that hall were elite with thebat ability of warriors, so to let them take care of Ezio only meant that he was given the highest priority.


    "It is a bit suspicious but we can''t do anything about it. Once we give our report tomorrow, we will no longer have any connection to Ezio or to this incident so I suggest that you keep your thoughts to yourself." stor gave the woman a side nce after his words and saw that she was frowning. Even he himself was curious but they can''t defy what the people above hadmanded.


    Arean remained in the room for a while before she decided to leave since her master was ignoring her. She traced back the path they took but turned left at the first intersection. The view was already familiar to her as she got near her master''s study then her mood hit rock bottom.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    She pushed the door open but hesitated to enter. Arean stood there and only stared at the inside of the study. It was the same setup ever since she could remember and now she was terrified to even set foot inside.


    "What are you doing? I told you to wait inside." She flinched at her master''s voice then she turned around to give way to her master.


    Archmage Ragus entered his study followed by Arean whose head was bent down. She can''t face her master like this.


    "Do you intend to continue looking down despite my presence here?" Ragus was already in a bad mood and now his disciple was not cooperating.


    Arean raised her head but she still couldn''t make eye contact with her master. Ragus watched as Arean fidgeted in front of him.


    "I''m sorry master," she immediately apologized without even hearing the man.


    "Oh what are you sorry for?" Ragus did not remove his gaze from the mage he had taken under his wing.


    "I was impulsive and caused trouble for the other Grand Mages during our mission," she didn''t go into detail about her wrong doings but it was enough for her master to understand.


    Ragus maintained his calm while speaking, "I''ve picked you amongst your peers because I genuinely thought that you can seed. I seem to also remember that I have warned you several times to watch your temper and yet you forgot." He did not have time to deal with any of the mess that Arean had made, thankfully the ce was very far from the capital. "Be d that I am the only one who knew of your foolishness. If the other elders knew about this, you won''t be standing in front of me right now."


    Arean shivered. She did not even want to think about it. She''s seen mages being punished ording to the elders and she did not want to end up like them.


    "I will let this slide but next time, I won''t be covering for you. You are already and Grand Mage, so you should be responsible for your mistakes." His tone was firm and his actions were firm. Arean knew that he was not joking.


    "I understand. Thank you for your generosity, master." She bowed her head again because she had no other choice but to ept her master''s words.


    Ragus let her leave as he focused his attention on the child they brought back. Now that he was ready at the Magic Tower, the tower''s elders would surely be happy and satisfied.

 Chapter 36 Raucous Master

    ?Cygnus sat inside the carriage with a satisfied grin on his face. The tune he was humming gave off a vibrant vibe that made the surroundings a little bit more bright. He was watching as the scenery changed from forest to ins.


    They have been traveling for five days now and yet hispanions were still in great spirits. Nina was bbering about how she was so excited to finally visit the capital city. Astrophos on the other hand was not that excited, the relief he felt before the journey was gone. He felt apprehension instead.


    "Why are you so tense?" Nina frowned when she noticed that Astrophos was not talking. "We still have a long way to go." She pped the man''s shoulders but the other was not having much reaction.


    "Nina, don''t disturb him. He has a lot to think about. His betrayal and showing his face to the Magic Tower. He is also feeling guilty a little bit now." Cygnus spoke from the other side of the carriage without even looking at them but they could still see his grin.


    Astrophos frowned. He could only avoid the man and try to ignore him. At times, the man seemed to be reliable but there were times that he could be overbearing or just inly mocking you.


    Nina looked at Astrophos then hooked her hand on his shoulder, "Why are you thinking of nonsensical things? You are already a traitor in their eyes, so why worry about it?"


    "He''s got quite a wonderful personality, Nina. He does things his way and by the end of it he regrets it then doubts if his decision was right," Cygnus interjected. He did not wait for Astrophos to answer since the man would not even dare to speak.


    Astrophos''s face darkened but as Cygnus predicted, he remained silent. The master chuckled and finally left them alone.


    The remainder of the journey was silent until they reached the first town just as the sun had set. The town''s night life was very different from Moonvale. It was already dark but the town was still alive. There were many activities going on and Nina''s eyes sparkled at the view.


    The carriage stop on the side of the road and Mr. C opened the door, "Do you want to go out first and look around, while I go and look for an inn where we can stay?"


    "I want to go!" Nina immediately raised her right hand then she hooked her left hand on Astrophos''s arms. "I''ll go Astrophos here."


    "What!?" He looked at the crazy woman. "I don''t want to, I''ll go with the butler." He snatched his arm back and alighted from the carriage.


    Nina raised her brows. She also got down from the carriage, "Alright, suit yourself." She flicked her hair and left without looking back at them.


    "Thedy already invited you and yet you denied her? You don''t have any tact withdies." Cygnus also came down and shook his head at the man. He gave him a disappointed look before he also left.


    "Enjoy the night, master." Mr. C bowed his head then he looked at the man who stood beside him. "Shall we go then Mr. Astrophos?"


    The man nodded his head as he sat in front of the carriage with the butler. They went around the town until they finally found a suitable inn, ording to Cygnus''s taste.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "How will they find us?" He suddenly asked after they got the rooms.


    Mr. C looked at him, "They will find us. You don''t have to worry, you can go ahead and rest for now."


    Since he had nothing to do, Astrophos took Mr. C''s advice and went to rest. The butler also went to his room to do who knows what.


    Cygnus walked around the town. He took his time to look at the different products they were selling. He even saw some magic items and took time to observe them.


    When the shopkeeper saw this, he went to entertain him. "Ah yes young man, are you looking for some good items? Here why don''t you look at this side." He gestured to Cygnus''s right side where all shiny and brand new things were ced. "These are all items from the capital, rare and can increase your fighting prowess to the max!" He enthusiastically exined.


    Cygnus only gave that pile a nce before looking at the oddly looking ones that were in front of him. Seeing that the young man was ignoring him, the shopkeeper frowned. He thought that the man doesn''t know how to pick weapons and since he was looking at the cheap stuff, he must have no money.


    After looking carefully, Cygnus picked-up a ck ring, a rusty bracelet and a dagger that can''t be pulled from its scabbard. The shopkeeper lost the smile on his face and red at the man. He was wearing fine clothes and yet he only bought cheap things.


    "How much is this?" Cygnus asked and showed him what he picked. He ignored the shop keeper''s frowning face and even waved the items in his hands.


    "Give me three silvers," his voice became harsh as he sneered at Cygnus. The price of the items were actually lower than three silvers but he still asked for it nheless.


    Cygnus patted his pockets and got three silvers. He gave it to the man and took the items before he left. The shopkeeper happily kept the silver coins and went to sit down again.


    He continued to walk around when he heard a terrified scream. Cygnus smirked and just left with a hum. In the shop where magic items were sold, a man was trembling while kneeling on the blood covered ground. He was clutching his hand that was suddenly gone and was reced with only blood that continued to pour out.


    He was screaming in pain and the people who came to look around were horrified at the scene. They were covering their mouths and whispering. Luckily, there were some people who were willing to help him. They immediately bandaged the man''s hand to try and stop the bleeding but it did not work.


    His face slowly turned paler by every minute that they couldn''t stop the bleeding. No matter how many ways they tried to stop the bleeding, no way worked. They could only watch as the man slowly lost his breath.


    "Such a greedy person," Cygnus mumbled to himself. He then walked away leaving the bloody scene behind.


    The death of the man became a mystery to the town and even the authorities who did the investigation never found the cause or the person who caused the death.

 Chapter 37 Save?

    ?After the ruckus, Cygnus continued on his spree before he decided to return to the inn. He was weed by Mr. C with a bow and the other people who were at the inn looked at the young man.


    The shopkeeper who saw this was full of joy because he seemed to have hit the jackpot. He remembered that the person who bowed was the one who booked four rooms and one of the rooms was the most expensive they could offer.


    "Dinner?" Cygnus directed his gaze towards Mr. C who waited for him.


    "I already ordered and sent it to your room," the butler answered. He stretched his arm and gestured for the master to go first.


    Cygnus walked first followed by Mr. C. The innkeeper was about to approach them and make some good impressions but he stopped midway. He only met the man''s eyes for a brief moment but it already froze him in ce.


    They were already walking up the stairs when he finally got out of his trance. He looked surprised but after a short moment he felt disappointed because he failed to approach them.


    "It seems that you created such a raucous situation while you are out for a walk." The butler served Cygnus''s dinner and stood on the side to wait for him.


    "Oh, how did you even know that it was me?" Cygnus picked-up the utensils and started to eat.


    "The signs couldn''t be mistaken," Mr. C answered. He heard some of the guests talking about what happened and by their description, Mr. C already knew that it was his master''s doing.


    If he is bored, he could do something like that and even if he is not, he can just do it the same. Cygnus was more brutal and merciless the first time they met. He didn''t blink nor react whenever he took a life.


    Mr. C even asked him one time why he became the way he was but the master only answered with ''I lost it along the way''. That answer, he did not expect but based on the master''s long life, it was possible. He must have forgotten it along the way.


    "That man cheated me. I only bought three ugly looking magic items and yet he charged me with three silver coins! Hah, as if I would let someone cheat me again." The master mmed the spoon he was holding on the table. Remembering that man started to irritate him.


    Seeing that the topic was not making his master''s mood better, Mr. C stepped up and changed the topic. "May I see the items you bought?" He reached out his hand and waited for the other to put the items on his hand.


    Cygnus let the items float andnded on the butler''s open palms. Mr. C looked at the items and was impressed by their quality.


    "You''ve found some great items in here, the ring is at S-rank, the bracelet is at A-rank while this dagger is quite a find. To be able to spot a Unique-ranked weapon is indeed great." Mr. C was nodding in satisfaction after inspecting the items. His master only goes around once and a while and this was the first time that he brought items of this quality.


    "Because that shopkeeper was blind, all he knew were those shiny and useless things." Cygnus answered with his brows scrunching up. "Keep those in my storage, I might have some use for them someday."


    Mr. C nodded, then he ced them on the corner for now. "What do you n on doing after we reach the capital?" He asked out of the blue.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Nothing, we are only there to observe. I just want to know why they are obsessed with Ezio." The simple answer was followed by silence because the butler knew that his master will not stick to the n.


    "Are we setting off tomorrow then?" The butler asked again.


    "No, we will leave the day after tomorrow." It was a time for the others to explore, and besides the town seemed to be enjoyable.


    "I understand I''ll ry your message to the others." He bowed, then picked-up the tes and ssware that was used. He then bowed and left.


    Right after he left the master''s room, the butler bumped into Nina who had a wide grin on her face. "Mr. C!" She did not hesitate to walk towards him. "Have you heard of the news?"


    The butler chuckled, "Yes and I even asked the master if he was the cause of the murder."


    Nina''s eyes widened, "What did he say?"


    "He confirmed it," the butler grinned and Ninaughed out loud which echoed through the second floor''s balcony.


    The butler then ryed the reason why the master did that. Nina listened attentively and nodded after she heard the whole story.


    "What an unlucky person to meet the master," Nina''s voice softened but the smile on her face did not disappear.


    "What are you talking about?" Came Astrophos''s voice behind Nina. He came out from his room and found them talking to each other.


    "Master said that you should take this time to rest. We will leave the day after tomorrow." The butler informed him of the n and yet a frown was the only reaction they got from Astrophos.


    "Are you sure?" He asked in a low voice and when he saw that they remained silent, he could not do anything about it, except to ept.


    "If there are no other things then I will be taking my leave." The butler gave the both of them a curt nod before he left. Nina on the other hand chose to ignore the butler.


    Astrophos was left on the balcony all alone. He hadints but he can''t just voice them out. He also noticed that they were not in a hurry to save Ezio. It felt like they were only going for a vacation but before his thoughts got a bit more out of line he heard Cygnus''s voice.


    "Who said that we are going to save Ezio?"

 Chapter 38 Unfortunate People

    ?Astrophos turned around only to see a frowning Cygnus. After the shock, the words finally sunk in. Looking at the other''s expression, he immediately knew that he was not joking. He joined the journey because he thought that they were going to save Ezio but it seems that he was wrong.


    "Aren''t you going to the capital to save Ezio?" He asked to confirm his suspicion.


    "Don''t act like a hero. Do you really think we will go there to save him? Do you really think we will risk our lives and fight the magic tower for a brat?" Cygnusughed while shaking his head. "What a ridiculous thought."


    He finally realized that the person he was talking to did not have an ounce ofpassion in him. Astrophos always thought that he cared for Ezio even just a little bit but now, he lost that thought. Never did this person cared for anyone and he was not even sure if he could do that.


    With these thoughts in his mind, he walked past that man without answering. "If you are not going to save him, then I''ll at least go and see how he''s doing."


    He intended to just walk away. His emotions were a bit of a mess that he even failed to notice that Cygnus was reading his mind. Astrophos could not face the man any longer. There were only a few steps left before he could reach his room when he heard the man speak again.


    "You know, I''m not a caring person but I do hold grudges."


    Astrophos looked back but he was no longer standing there. He straightened his back and instead of going to his bedroom, he went down to also eat his dinner. Never mind, he decided to just go with them and will part ways after they reach the capital.


    The next day, Nina went out again and Cygnus was nowhere to be found. The butler left with Astrophos to buy supplies they would be needing along the way. "I heard that you confronted the masterst night?" The butler suddenly asked.


    Astrophos looked at him twice before he answered, even though he was not sure if their conversation that night could be called a confrontation, "I''m not sure. We only talked and that''s it."


    "Then, that''s good because if you ever argue with the master, you won''t be able to win so I advise that you avoid any kind of conflict with the master. If you can, keep it inside ore find me instead."


    Even without the butler looking at him, Astrophos got the feeling that his words bear heavy consequences if he did not heed the advice. Unconsciously, he nodded his head with the butler smiling in his direction.


    They departed from the town before the sun could even rise without muchmotion. This time the inside of the carriage became a bit awkward as the three people who were inside haven''t talked to each other ever since they left the town.


    Cygnus had his eyes closed while Nina was glued to the book she was reading. Astrophos on the other hand was meditating since he was not going to start any conversation. Mr. C, who was driving the carriage, remained in a good mood because he was not with them inside.


    They passed through the ins and entered a rocky path that led to the road that passes through a mountain. The ride suddenly turned bumpy which woke Cygnus and knocked over the book that Nina was reading.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''m sorry for the bumpy ride master," Mr. C apologized from the outside. He tried to make the carriage a bit steady but it was no use since it still rocked back and forth every once in a while.


    Cygnus looked out the window but did notment. He returned to napping instead while Nina picked up her book. They were not fazed by the interruption but the next stop was a little bit difficult to ignore.


    Mr. C looked at the group of raggedly dressed people standing in their way. They haven''t halved the journey on the mountain road yet but bandits already appeared in front of them. The bandits were sneering at Mr. C while brandishing their weapons.


    "Master, what should we do with these people?" the butler asked without taking his eyes off from the bandits.


    After asking that question, he heard some noise from the back and when he looked back, he saw that bandits also appeared behind the carriage. He returned his focus to the front and finally noticed a decent looking man standing behind the gruff looking guys.


    They were already warned that the way traversing through the mountains was more dangerous because of the bandits. It was already a norm to expect bandits suddenly appearing to rob you if you decide to travel through these paths. There were even people who offered to guard them on their journey but Mr. C turned them down. They were even looked down on because they thought they were too arrogant for their own good.


    "Why do you need to ask me, when you already know what to do?" Cygnus was now wide awake and had his head on his palms.


    "It is just for confirmation, master. How about the mage should I leave him behind?" Mr. C asked again which only earned him a sigh from the master.


    "Leave him be, as for the others," he looked at Nina who was looking at him with bright eyes. She was exuding this relentless aura that was a bit difficult to ignore, "you and Nina can deal with them the way you like."


    After he gave the go signal, Nina kicked the carriage''s door which effectively broke it off from its hinges and leapt out then gave a summersault in the air then shended gracefully on the ground with her hands lifted up.


    Cygnus massaged his head at what the woman did while Astrophos who finally opened his eyes had a look of shock on his face. They have to be grateful that Nina was not like any otherdies who always wore dresses or skirts. She was more into pants and short sleeves tops that hung a bit low but still stuck to her skin to show the curves of her body.


    There were several whistles that followed after she revealed herself. Some of the bandits started to whisper and betted on who will get her after they kill the others. While everyone was celebrating their luck, the young man behind the bandits remained silent. His attention was on assessing the strength of the remaining people on the carriage.


    "Should we start now?" One of the bandits nced behind him specifically at the young man. This subtle nce did not escape the butler''s eyes.

 Chapter 39 He Is Savage

    ?The young man gave the bandit a nod. He already ascertained that the other people were not that strong and even if the woman looked weak that they could easily take them all down. With the man''s signal, the bandits attacked.


    Nina easily dodged the oing swords towards her. She was swaying and moving from left to right to avoid the weapons that were aimed at her. Her sleek and graceful movements made the bandits mesmerized which made Nina smile.


    Instead of seriously attacking her, they made their attacks miss on purpose while their gazes were actually focused on her body. Astrophos''s face reddened when he saw this scene after he alighted from the carriage with the intention of helping her. He covered his mouth and diverted his attention to the side.


    While he and the bandits were distracted, Nina activated the bomb spells she nted on the ground while avoiding their attacks. The explosion injured the bandits and caused some of them to scream in panic as they scrambled away to avoid getting blown up but Nina was always prepared. No matter what direction they went, her spells would activate and explode on them.


    The bandits in front were startled at the explosion. They were trying to injure and even kill the butler but none of their attacks worked. He was like a stone and would parry their metal weapons with his bare hands.


    The young man behind did not expect this turn of events so he also joined the action. He floated in the air and sent stone projectiles around the area. He perfectly aimed at Nina and Astrophos in the back while simultaneously attacking the carriage and Mr. C.


    Everyone defended themselves from the rain of sharp and heavy stone projectiles while the young man looked with satisfaction at the destruction he made. The projectiles thatnded on the ground created a cloud of dust that partially covered his vision but despite that he was still proud of his work.


    "Is that it?" A cheerful voice spoke from behind him.


    The young man was startled that he turned around so fast that Cygnus thought he was about to break his neck. The young man looked at Cygnus with wide eyes. He did not even feel the man''s presence even though he was already behind him.


    "Ho-how did you get here?" The young man''s voice trembled and his heart started to thump in fear as he looked at the man''s dead eyes.


    "Me?" He looked below him and then at the young man, "of course I used magic, you are not the only one who can use magic in here."


    "Tha-that''s impossible! I scanned the area while none of you possessed a lot of mana! Although that woman appeared to be strong, you, I don''t feel anything from you!" The young man reasoned out and he even pointed a finger at Cygnus.


    "You know I don''t like anyone pointing their fingers at me, so I''ll give you a special treatment and show you what you didn''t see." Cygnus disappeared from where he was floating and appeared before the young man. He then touched his shoulder and whispered, "This is a level that your cheap scanning cannot detect."


    A small surge of Cygnus''s mana entered the young man''s forehead and after only a second, the young man was already screaming in fear and pain. Cygnus held his arms while he struggled and trembled to get away from him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    All the screaming caught the attention of the people who continued to fight after the young man''s attack. They all looked up and saw that he was squirming and with saliva dripping out from his mouth. They were stupefied at what they saw and didn''t expect that their leader was defeated by the other man.


    Cygnus pulled the man''s cor, "Come on, you need to bear with it since you thought that I was someone weak." He spoke again but the young man did not understand what he was saying because of the vision he was seeing.


    After a while, the mana that Cygnus put inside his body came out and returned to him. He then released the man and he plunged down without stopping. Cygnus watched as the young man hit the ground hard.


    The bandits that were still fine ran towards their leader. He was still twitching on the ground with blooding out from his mouth, nose and eyes. All the bandits who saw this looked at the man who was still floating above.


    Sensing the res sent his way, Cygnus granted their wish so he went down. A smile was what he answered to the angry res sent to him. "It seems that you people easily underestimate your enemies just because you have a mage on your side."


    "You bastard! What did you do to our leader?" One of the bandits shouted as they stood around the young man to hide him from the man.


    Nina and Mr. C went behind Cygnus and Astrophos only followed them. He had been watching from the side with fear even though he was controlling his facial expression. He did not see what exactly happened but based on the leader''s state while hey on the ground, the fear was genuine.


    "I just showed him what he failed to see. He even dared to point his fingers on me." He tilted his head when he suddenly remembered something, "I should have cut off his fingers! Ah, how sloppy of me that I even forgot to do that." He lightly smacked his head and shook it in disappointment but after a while, another scream tore through the space.


    Everyone looked behind them and saw that the leader was bleeding from his right hand. "Wha-what happened?" One of them asked as he stared at their leader. Everyone then looked at Cygnus in fear. He did not even make a move.


    Astrophos, who was looking from behind, was also shocked at what happened. He did not see anyone from his side making a move and the young man was hidden behind the bandits yet he still got injured.


    "If you want to do something evil in front of me, be sure to do a better job of doing it. Don''t be half-hearted because I feel embarrassed by your ridiculous actions." Cygnus removed his hand from his forehead and put them again inside the pockets of his pants. "If you want to be evil, be evil don''t act like cowards just because you experienced a setback. That''s why the likes of you never win."


    Ninaughed when he saw that the bandits started to tremble at his every word. She really liked it when the master was acting like this, his charisma wasing out and he looked so charming. Mr. C on the other hand had no opinion whatsoever from everything that has happened. It was a normal urrence.

 Chapter 40 This Is How I Do It

    ?After what they saw, the bandits knew that they won''t be able to win against them so they decisively abandoned their positions and ran away. They did not forget to take their leader with them as they escaped.


    The group watched as the bandits scrambled to get away from them but Cygnus has other ns in his mind. When there were no bandits in sight, he flew upward again and followed their movements.


    "Are we pursuing them?" Mr. C asked after the bandits were gone. He looked up and saw that the master was already gone.


    "Guess we are following them." Nina chuckled as she made her move. She leapt forward and with mana, she elerated her steps to follow the bandits while keeping her distance so that she won''t alert the enemy.


    Mr. C did not make a move, "Aren''t you going to follow them?" He looked behind him to ask Astrophos who was frozen in ce.


    "I-I will," he stuttered a bit before he also left. He caught up to Nina and matched her pace.


    The butler remained where he was because he knew that they were enough to deal with them, the master was enough to deal with them but he was sure that Cygnus will give Nina and Astrophos the chance to fight before he would intervene. He looked around him and sighed since he needed to clean the area before they return or else the master might throw a fit.


    Cygnus floated in the air while following the bandits, his arms were crossed in front of him while he stared below. He was amused, because they looked like ants that he can easily squash with a palm. Stirring trouble was not his style but if the troublees to find him, he doesn''t mind ying with it.


    From a distance, he also saw two shadows following the bandits, it seemed that Nina and Astrophos also followed behind. He thought for a while before he made a decision that would eventually shock the butler.


    The bandits ran for almost two hours when they reached a fairly hiddenmunity. It was surrounded by walls of mountains and hidden behind sky rising trees. Behind those trees was a stone wall where several bandits stood. They were holding bows and spears while alternating their positions as they kept watch on the forest in front of their base.


    From a distance they could already see multiple people running towards the metal gate. One of the escaping bandits was holding up a white g with an eagle printed on it, which was the symbol of their bandit n. The patrolling guards immediately signaled for the gatekeepers to open the gate.


    The bandits were panting and slumped on the ground after they were finally inside their camp. They felt relief that they were able to escape that man. Theirrades who came to meet them were confused at the disheveled look of their strongest group. They also notice that their number was reduced.


    "Dex, what happened? Why were you running as if there were monsters chasing you?" One of the men who came to meet them asked.


    "Don''t mind us! Call the doctor immediately!" Dex shouted. They parted and brought forth their leader who was already unconscious.


    Gasps filled the air when they saw the leader''s state. The man who approached them first did not waste time and ran to where their doctor was. The doctor came within minutes to check the leader and they waited with bated breath for the doctor''s diagnosis.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "He is fine. He just suffered some shock and will be able to recover after an extended period of time." The doctor finally spoke. The bandits were d to hear that the leader would be fine.


    "What happened?" one of them finally asked.


    "We encountered an unusual group. We thought that we could take them on and the leader even confirmed but after fighting them, we were defeated. As you can see, many of us died." Dex briefly exined what happened to them. It was a miscalction maybe because they got used to defeating weaker enemies.


    "We are lucky that we escaped before he could kill us!" One of the bandits interjected from behind. It was an experience that they would never forget.


    "Lucky?" A cheerful voice suddenly came from behind the man. "What do you mean lucky? There''s no such word as luck in my dictionary because I make sure that all of my prey won''t have that in theirs too."


    The people were shocked and some took a step back when they saw this young man inside their territory wearing a smile on his face while speaking to them. His eyes that swept through them were as cold as the wind in winter, it sent fear to their core.


    "How did youe here?" Dex shouted. He stood up and with one of his hands behind his back, he gave the others the signal to leave. "Outsiders like you are not wee here, the guards should have shot you down!"


    "Guards? Are you talking about them?" He gestured behind him. Dex and the others followed his hands only to see blood and hanging bodies on the wall.


    The women screamed and immediately covered the eyes of the children that were with them. Without a moment of hesitation, they carried their children and ran away from the man. Even the men who were not adept at fighting followed behind. Several bandits appeared with weapons in their hand, ready to face the enemy that stood in front of them.


    "Even if we die today, we will avenge ourrades whom you killed!" Dex dered which earned a roaring shout from the other bandits who were with him.


    Cygnus pped at the bravery they were showing, "Oh, I like that but the way you phrased it sounded a lot like those heroes I''ve killed in the past. You are bandits and you don''t even know how to properly threaten your victims."


    Dex frowned but he did not have the time to y word games with the man. They were serious and yet he seemed to be taking their words and moves like it was a joke. "I don''t care!"


    Cygnus smirked, "This is how you speak to your opponent. I will make you an example of my revenge." He disappeared from where he was standing and appeared before Dex. "First, I''ll make you suffer." He injected his mana to the man and watched as blood started to ooze out from his eyes, nose and mouth.

 Chapter 41 Settled For Now

    ?Dex did not even have the time to scream as he slowly fell on the ground, lifeless. The other bandits who saw what happened all trembled in fear; the others who already saw how merciless the man once was were already running for their lives but before they could reach far, they all dropped dead on the ground.


    "What-what do you want?" One of them asked while he took a step back. They all looked at the mysterious man with paleplexions.


    Cygnus tilted his head up without speaking. After a while, he looked at them with a smile, "If you serve me, I will spare this ce."


    Those words stunned the people but they knew that the person was not joking by what they saw, he was not a man whose words cannot be taken lightly. The remaining bandits let go of their weapons and kneeled on the ground to give respect to Cygnus.


    "Hmm, that''s more like it." He nodded his head in satisfaction because these people were decisive. "As for this young man whom you are calling the leader, I will let him live to manage this ce." Cygnus stretched out his hand above the leader''s body, and a ck circle appeared below him.


    His eyes gave a red glint then something dark slowly slithered from the ck circle, it slowly covered the leader''s body. Cygnus then created a small cut on his finger and let a small drop of his bloodnd on the covered man. The dark gooey liquid absorbed the blood as the body also absorbed the liquid.


    The whole process was witnessed by the bandits, then they saw their leader moving his hands and opened his eyes. He sat up while panting and looking around then he saw that Cygnus was standing near him.


    He jumped to his feet and backed away from him before he spoke, "You, why are you here? What are you doing here?" He looked around and saw that hisrades were kneeling on the ground. "What''s happening?"


    "This small vige of yours is under mymand now and so are you. I healed you and even gave you an incredible body so that you can continue to lead this vige, in peace," Cygnus answered. He ced both of his hands behind his back to grin at the man.


    The leader was still confused but when he met Cygnus''s eyes, he automatically recognized him as his master as he also kneeled down. "Master, I am sorry for my earlier statement directed at you. I failed to recognize your greatness and generosity."


    Whatever happened during their first meeting all disappeared and all that was left was the man''s loyal gaze to the master. He was alive and although the fear did not leave him, the man was still the person who saved him.


    "That''s what I was talking about!" He pped his hands then all of them finally stood up. "So, what''s your name? It''s a bit inconvenient to keep on calling you the leader."


    "I''m called Fhen master." Fhen was standing in attention while waiting for the master''s reaction. He might not like his name so he was ready to change it to whatever the master wants.


    "Alright, that''s better. Now Fhen, I will leave this ce in your care. Yourrades had already surrendered and you don''t have to change anything. Just continue to live like how you used to be until the moment I call you." Cygnus was looking at Fhen then he nced at the bandits who had their heads bowed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I understand master. Do you have any more instructions for us?" Fhen epted themand and so did the other bandits. They don''t really have a choice at this point and it was much better toply with the person since he was someone they can''t defy.


    "Oh, be more aggressive when you do your bandit work and please train your men properly. They can''t even injure my butler. If any of you proved to be useless, I will personally eliminate all of you without leaving any single soul behind." Themand and reminder were heard loud and clear.


    "We understand master. I will make sure that all your requirements are met so as not to disappoint you." Fhen clenched his fist and made his promise. The others did as Fhen and simultaneously raised their fists in the air.


    After everything was settled, the bandits escorted Cygnus to the leader''s house where they prepared all kinds of food and wine to celebrate the fact that they were still alive and that their vige now has another leader. Fhen also exined everything to the other vigers and with no other choice, they epted that they have a new boss.


    While all of this was happening, Nina and Astrophos were stuck outside the vige since Cygnus erected a wall which prevented them from entering. They waited for over an hour before the wall was lifted and they were allowed to enter.


    Ninaughed at what they saw inside, the bandits were celebrating with wine and singing and dancing. Their faces that were stricken with fear were now full of smiles but what caught Astrophos''s attention was the leader who was supposed to be crippled by now. He was standing beside Cygnus and serving him wine.


    They walked towards the gathering of people and Nina did not hesitate to join them while the man with him decided to stand on the side. He could not help but nce at Cygnus a couple of times before he focused on the bonfire they just lit.


    "We will be staying here for the night," Cygnus came from the side and stood a couple of steps away from the mage. "Are you perhaps wondering what has happened? How can they celebrate in front of the person who killed many of their brothers? Are these questions perhaps torturing you now?"


    The mage closed his eyes and chose to ignore the teasing man. Even though he had some questions, he did not want to ask the master because he was certain that he will not give him the answers that he wanted.


    "No need," was his short reply.


    Since Astrophos was not willing to entertain him, Cygnus left him be. This time, the butler finally arrived in low spirits. He looked at the joyous asion and at his master who failed to inform him that such activity was currently happening. If not for him following them after his clean up then he would have missed the party.


    "Aren''t you going to drink wine too, Mr. Astrophos?" the butler stood beside him with a ss of wine in his hands. He was twirling it while his gaze was also on the zing fire.


    "I''m not in the mood."

 Chapter 42 Something Interesting

    ?The following morning, Cygnus talked to Fhen once again before they left the bandit vige. The people from the vige apanied them to the entrance to see them off. They happily waved their hands as the people left their vige.


    After they finally disappeared, the women and children left first while the men lost the smiles on their faces. Some of them were still a bit skeptical about what they have entered to. Fhen could feel their unease but they''ll change their mind soon.


    "Now that the master has left, do you have any concerns you want to say now?" Fhen asked. He took the chance that they were all there to know what they think about everything that has happened so far.


    "Can we really trust that man?" One of them asked what most of them were thinking. They could only agree to the man''s demand because of their fear but after everything subsided, the doubt came again.


    "Yes, although I almost died because of him, I was also saved because of him. ording to the master''s butler, his words can be trusted and we''ll just have to see if it is true." Fhen could somewhat understand their worry. They were doing fine by being bandits and robbing people but since they encounter that odd group, change came so fast.


    In one day, they lost many of their brothers then sumbed to the other''s power. Now, they needed to serve him and do whatever he would demand of them in the future. The only benefit they could get from that was they could live and continue with their lives like nothing happened.


    "But what if we can''t fulfill the promise and we can''t meet his demands when he calls for us? We don''t even know when he will be needing us? He did not give us any exact time to prepare," another from the crowd shouted.


    "Don''t worry, that''s the reason why I am here. The master has left some gifts for us to make sure that we grow strong by the time he will need out strength as for the time, I am not also sure but it will surely be a long time before he would need us." Fhen dly answered, he even gave a mysterious smile.


    The bandits were at least settled by those words since the master clearly stated that if they proved to be useless to them, then they will all die. They stared at Fhen who had changed overnight. They saw him talking back to the master when he opened his eyes but when he recognized the man before him, he suddenly turned docile. Must be the blood, they thought which was not that bad.


    He looked more reliable and stronger now that he was under the master''smand. The only reason why they recognized him as the leader was because he could use magic but his attitude was a bit unpleasant.


    "Alright, we will follow this kind of arrangement for now. Although we really hope that he won''t ever call for us so that we can continue with our lives," one of them sighed. The others chuckled at the wishful thinking but it was not wrong of them to even think about it.


    "Time can only tell." Fhen looked up and saw a shimmer in the sky, it seems that the master has done his part. Before they left, the master told him that he will be cing a barrier around their vige. As long as they stay inside, they will be safe but once they left, they''ll be responsible for themselves. "As for the master''s first gift, he ced a protective barrier around our vige to keep us safe. So when we go out, we need to be responsible for ourselves."


    The group reached the ce where the carriage was left and Mr. C did a good job of repairing their ride. It was pristine like it was not damaged by the fight. Nina and Astrophos went inside first while Cygnus took his time in walking since he was in an awfully good mood.


    "Master, why did you take those bandits under your care?" Mr. C finally asked. He had been wondering the whole night but he did not want to disturb the master''s mood.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Nothing that you should be concerned about," Cygnus gave him an odd smile that gave off a mysterious vibe. It was a simple smile but carried meanings that he could not understand.


    "Then, do as you please," the butler did not probe any further. They rode the carriage and continued with their journey.


    People wearing gray buttoned coats with red cors and red folded cuffs appeared on the site of where the fight happened after Cygnus and his group left. A tall man looked around the area with a serious face while the other soldiers started to look around.


    "Major Ginehart, are you really going to take this case personally?" A woman wearing the same uniform spoke beside the man. Her face showed a frown and disgust at the ce where they were.


    Major Linius Ginehart looked at his captain, "Are you questioning my decision, Captain Cazal?" He stared at her with cold eyes but the woman was not fazed.


    "I am not. I am just wondering what made you decide to take this bandit case?" Captain Violett Cazal shrugged her shoulders.


    "Then why don''t you ask your father about it? I''m sure that General Cazal will personally tell you why I epted this assignment," he simply answered. There was no mocking from his voice but the woman could still feel the major''s dislike towards her.


    She was aware of her position and how the other soldiers looked at her but that didn''t really matter to her. She could always brush them off. "I won''t talk about this again then."


    "A piece of advice captain, watch your words and your actions. I know that you are aware of how people in this field look at you, so you should also be aware you won''t be able to stay here in peace if you continue with that kind of attitude." The major turned around and left the woman. He''d rather spent time talking with the other soldier than to continue speaking with the captain.


    Violett clenched her fists then red at the major''s directions. Ranks don''t really matter for her but the way that the major has been talking down to her was bing more and more unbearable. Even though he was in a higher positionpared to her, that doesn''t give him the right to look down on her.


    Since they did not wee her presence there, she decided to leave the ce instead and wait for them in the next town. She did not ask for permission nor let the major know that she was leaving, she simply did not care.


    Major Ginehart stared at the woman''s back then closed his eyes for a moment before he returned to continue talking with the soldiers. It was not his problem if the woman didn''t want to heed his advice and it was better that she left, that way they can concentrate on their investigation.


    "Follow the direction of those tracks and report to me whatever you find. Let''s move!"

 Chapter 43 A Little Bit Of Intimidation

    ?After passing the mountains without encountering any more bandits, they were now inside a forest. The path became a bit smoother and they got used to camping out too.


    Normally any passerby that enters the forest would be immediately attacked by monsters but nothing happened to them. The butler wondered why there were no beasts but it was okay since they don''t need to deal with such things.


    "Why don''t we camp here tonight master?" The butler shouted from the outside. He saw a suitable ce where they could rest for the night, it has an open space and near a stream.


    "Alright," Cygnus agreed. Nina cheered from where she was sitting when she heard that. Her back and butt had been numb from sitting for so long and from all the bumps they encountered along the way. The carriage stopped with everyoneing out from it.


    "You can rest for now or roam about but don''t forget to return here for supper." The butler conscientiously reminded them.


    Nina took this chance to walk around and look for something they could cook for dinner. She was looking forward to roasting some meat and fish in the middle of the wilderness.


    Cygnus decided to stay after he walked around a bit. He returned inside the carriage and took a nap again.


    "Let me help," Astrophos once again volunteered.


    He followed Mr. C behind the carriage to carry the tents they''ve been sleeping for the past few nights and other things they would need for the night. They set up everything just as the sun was about to set when they heard the sound of another carriage passing by.


    They only gave it a nce since it did not stop and continued with what they we''re doing. Inside, Cygnus had a smile on his face just as the carriage passed by. He opened his eyes and stretched out his limbs before he got out.


    "Master,e and have some tea since the night is a bit chilly." Mr. C prepared a cup for Cygnus and handed it to him.


    "You should prepare a bit more tea," Cygnusmented after seeing the half filled kettle. He took a sip and sighed, "I don''t really get how you can make the tea taste perfect even though you don''t enjoy it yourself."


    The butler only had a small smile on his face at his master''s words. "I''ve had a lot of practice and that''s also thanks to my good memory."


    Mr. C did not hesitate to brew more tea and he even prepared a few more cups he got from the box of utensils they carried. He ced them neatly on top of a tray and even prepared stirrers and small tes toplete the set.


    Astrophos has gotten used to this kind of interaction between the butler and the master, sometimes he could understand what they were talking about but most of the time, he felt that their words were full of hidden meaning. He''d be curious but everytime he thought about asking, his mouth just ms up.


    "Why is Nina taking her time?" Cygnus frowned while looking at the tea.


    Anytime now, some visitors will being so they should prepare. It would be rude if they treat their guests poorly.


    "She''s already on her way here. It seems that she went hunting. She''s got quite a lot of prey on her hands." Mr. C looked behind Astrophos and he was right, Nina emerged from behind the trees dragging tworge sized boars.


    "We''re going to have some meat!" She dered then dropped her haul on the ground near the camp fire.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Mr. Astrophos, have you ever prepared meat before?" The butler asked. He stood up to check on their soon to be dinner.


    Astrophos stood up without words then went straight to boars. He helped the butler skin and butcher the animal. Their movements were so swift and precise that they finished in record time.


    Since the mage was not good at cooking, he left that task to Mr. C and Nina while he returned to where he was originally seated. He was silently watching the fire when he heard the master.


    "I thought you were going to leave after that conversation of ours," Cygnus eyed the man from the side while enjoying his cup of tea.


    He did not want to answer but the man was openly staring at him, "Would it be better if I left?" He retorted.


    Cygnus chuckled, "You know, I always get amused whenever I am talking with you." He continued tough which made Astrophos frown even more. "It would be a bit disappointing if you had left. I won''t find anything amusing in this journey."


    "Am I some kind of a pastime to you?" This time Astrophos looked him in the eye.


    "Sort of, since you''re so easy to provoke. You have courage at times but be coward when you find the situation difficult. You also get easily confused like a lost puppy." The master''s shoulder shook as he watched the other''s ever changing expression.


    Astrophos took a deep breath and showed an indifferent face, "And why do you even found that amusing?"


    "Human expression has always been amusing for me and when I see someone with so much of it, I get this urge to say eliminate those things." The master''s voice became low and cold.


    The mage felt the unmistakable killing intent directed at him coupled with the air around them that became cold. He snapped his head up and saw a red glint from the master''s eyes. Astrophos jumped away from where he was sitting, ready to fight anytime.


    "That was quite a quick reaction," Cygnus closed his eyes and the atmosphere around them returned to normal. "But if I were really going to kill you, you would have been dead where you were seated."


    The adrenaline that rushed throughout Astrophos''s body slowly died down and only the loud beating of his heart echoed in his ears. The man who was enjoying his tea in front of him was really dangerous.


    "Master, the food is ready." Mr. C came up to them but he noticed that the atmosphere was a bit awkward. "Master, what did you do?"


    Cygnus sipped thest drop of tea before he spoke, "Nothing, I was just having a little bit of fun."


    Mr. C looked at the mage''s direction and even with the fire''s dim light, he could tell that the mage was pale. "Mr. Astrophos, please go and help Nina prepare the food. It will also help you calm down."


    With shaky legs, Astrophos left without turning back. The butler spoke a few words to Cygnus but thetter didn''t really hear any of it.


    Seeing that the master was ignoring him Mr. C decided to stop and instead tell him of the news. "It seems that we have visitors."

 Chapter 44 Intruders Or Visitors?

    ?Astrophos could finally breathe a little bit after leaving Cygnus and the butler. His body that was shaking also stopped by the time he reached Nina. He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before he started to help out.


    They filled up four tes when Astrophos noticed that there was still a stack of tes left on the side. Even spoons were prepared beside it.


    "We''re only four, why did you cook too much food?" He could not help but ask Nina.


    Nina looked at the food and shrugged her shoulders, "I''m not sure. Ask Mr. C about it."


    Astrophos wrinkled his brows but nheless followed behind Nina. They brought the food to where the butler and the master were seated. After distributing the food, Astrophos choose a seat away from Cygnus but was still near the fire.


    Cygnus flicked his fingers and the area around them brightened. Orbs of white mana floated above them and gave the ce enough brightness.


    From afar, a group of people saw the light. Major Ginehart signaled for his men to stop. He looked behind him at his other captain and nodded his head.


    Captain Arc Lisbon alighted from his horse followed by four other soldiers. They stealthily moved towards the light to scout. They moved above the trees without making a sound until they came above the source of light. He sent the others to move below and check if they were genuine travelers.


    After making sure that nothing was suspicious, they left and returned to where the major was. Major Ginehart listened intently then gave a nod.


    They continued on the way but stopped when they reached the area where Cygnus and his group were camping. He came down from his horse and approached the group.


    The group noticed their presence as they stopped eating and stood up to see who their visitor was. The butler was the first one to speak.


    "Good evening sir, is there something wrong?" He asked in surprise when he saw that the person who approached them was wearing a military uniform.


    "Ah, nothing. We just noticed that there are travelers here, so we came to check since this ce is notorious for its monsters." Major Ginehart answered while eyeing the members of the group.


    "Ah yes, we were warned about that but ever since we entered the forest we haven''t encountered any monsters yet, that is why we assumed that the surrounding is safe, so we made camp here," he immediately exined. Mr. C seemed a little bit nervous too, "did we make a mistake?"


    "Don''t worry, we''ve already scouted the area and there are no monsters so you are safe." The major shook his head.


    Mr. C sighed in relief. "Ah, do you mind having dinner with us? It seems that we cooked a little bit too much and can''t finish it by ourselves. We also have some warm tea since the night air is a bit chilly."


    The major thought for a moment before he agreed. "Thank you."


    Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The soldiers found their own seats and sat down. Cygnus stretched his hand and using his mana, he moved the orbs of light around to maximize the space it can illuminate.


    "Are all of you perhaps mages?" The major asked after the light was settled.


    "Oh, Mr. C is not but the three of us are." She pointed at herself and at the other two.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you going to the capital to register at the Magic Tower?" He asked again. He saw how enthusiastic the woman was, so he assumed that they were going to register to be full fledged mages.


    Nina looked at him in confusion but before she could answer, Astrophos spoke. "Yes, since it''s already time for new apprentices to register."


    Major Ginehart narrowed his eyes at the confused woman and how she gave the other man a nce. The other one who remained silent sighed and shook his head.


    "I''m sorry about that, my sister is a bit slow and apparently she was not listening to me when I exined that we were going to register." He stood up and ruffled the woman''s hair.


    "Wait are you saying that I''m stupid?" Nina frowned and red at Cygnus''s direction. She even pouted then looked at Astrophos for help but thetter avoided her gaze.


    "Are the both of you rted by blood?" He then again asked. Cygnus stared at the man, he had been asking questions since a while ago like he was interrogating them.


    "You''ve been asking questions ever since you came here and yet we don''t even know your name," Cygnus turned serious. Nina''s smile disappeared with the atmosphere turning awkward.


    The major did not expect the man to change attitude so fast. "Yes, I''m sorry about that. I am Major Linius Ginehart."


    "So major, may I know why are you asking us so many questions?" Cygnus did not let the major go. Now that he had asked his questions, it was time for him to ask too.


    Seeing that the young man did not back off despite knowing at least his rank, Major Ginehart secretly smiled. "That''s because I am not sure if I could trust all of your words. There are many unruly mages out here, I''m just making sure that you are not one of those."


    "So what do you think now? Are we still suspicious?" He asked without hesitation.


    "As of now, no," Ginehart answered. "I''ll give you the benefit of the doubt."


    Cygnus gave the man a nod before he sat down. Mr. C also came and served tea and food in front of the major.


    "May I know your names?" He asked in return. He then looked at the food that was served and it looked safe so he took a bite.


    The soldiers saw that the major ate so they also took a spoonful of the stew. Exmations of surprise came from them, the food was actually delicious.


    "I''m Rigel Anzel and my sister is Nina Vestial. We are not rted by blood, but I consider her my sister. Now your question a while ago is answered." Cygnus introduced the both of them then he looked at the butler. "The man who served you the food is Mr. C, our helper."


    Before the major could open his mouth, Astrophos also introduced himself. "I''m Astrophos Fellier, a mage from the tower, and acts as their escort."


    Ginehart was a bit skeptical at the introduction so Astrophos showed him his identity card. Once the doubt was cleared the atmosphere eased a little bit but they were taken aback by the major''s next words.


    "Since you are going to the capital, we will apany you. We are headed there as well, it''s convenient and we can act as an additional protection to all of you." Ginehart put on a smile on his face after his words but there was only silence.

 Chapter 45 Mischievous

    ?Cygnus could not help but look at the major with a frown, the idea of traveling with these people was not that appealing to him. Astrophos was also notfortable with the idea.


    "What if we don''t want to? Traveling with soldiers will surely attract too much attention and we want to enter the capital in an unnoticeable manner," Cygnus argued. He narrowed his eyes and waited for the major to speak and convince them.


    "You have a point but traveling with us will be much safer than traveling on your own, even though you are all mages and you have a person apanying you from the tower, the road will still pose danger to all of you." The major intertwined his fingers and ced both elbows on his knees as he stared at Cygnus.


    The two of them stayed silent for a few seconds before Cygnus spoke again, "What danger can we face out there when we are just traveling like anybody else?"


    With this question, the major could not help but smile. It seems that these people were not knowledgeable about what was happening around the kingdom. Even the mage who was apanying them didn''t speak.


    "Once you pass through this forest, anyone can attack you and your group. Especially because you don''t bear any noble insignia, that alone can make anybody attack you." The major gave a small smile which irritated Cygnus, "And that will also be the case once they know that you are mages."


    Though irritated, Cygnus did not show it on his face and continued with the conversation. "Who would even attack people without any valid reason?"


    Ginehart looked at Astrophos but the man insisted on keeping quiet so he needed to exin this matter to them. "From what town did youe from?"


    "Moonvale!" Nina answered without thinking which only earned her a re from Cygnus. She bowed her head in embarrassment. She could only stare at the ground because she did not want to meet the master''s gaze.


    The major retracted his hands and rxed his posture, "As I have thought, you are from a pretty far ce so I understand theck of information. Aside from bandits and monsters, mages or aspiring mages or in general people who possess mana will encounter Mage Hunters and that is true in these parts of the kingdom."


    Hearing the word Mage Hunters, Astrophos sighed. He then felt a fierce re being sent his way but he refused to look at the man. Mage Hunters were people who kill mages for either fun, prestige or reward. They don''t appear in ces that do not have any mages, like Moonvale. The ce was miles away from the capital and no mages came from that ce for the past twenty years so they didn''t bother checking it out.


    These hunters preferred to stay in towns or any ce where they can hunt people with mana. There were also extreme cases where some mages were found dead and their mana cores missing but most of the time, these mage hunters were after the rewards.


    "Mage hunters are scattered around this area, since this ce is an entrance for anyone who wants to be a mage. Even if you hide your mana, they will still have a way to know if the travelers passing by have mana or not. That''s the reason why most groups who decide to go to the capital employ bodyguards, even if it is a bit expensive. And now I am offering you a good deal, you don''t need to pay yet I am willing to offer protection to your group." Ginehart looked smug like he had won already but Cygnus did not budge. He did not avert his gaze but the major saw how he had clenched his jaws.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Master, if I may," Mr. C stepped in, he looked at Cygnus and saw him nod his head. "The major''s proposal is reasonable. Since both of you and Nina are not yet mages and had little training, we could use their help. It will also be easier for Mr. Astrophos to protect us if he has some help."


    Astrophos snapped his head at the butler''s direction, he could only give a forced smile even though his eyelids were already twitching. What protection? Who iscking in training? What was the butler talking about? He moved his gaze towards Nina and finally on Cygnus who both remained silent.


    While seeing their reaction and what had been happening for the past hour already, a terrible thought was formed in his mind. If he thought carefully about it, Cygnus and Nina were not their usual selves but he only thought that it was normal because they were not normal people to begin with. One more thing, was that, Mr. C was acting normal and now he was speaking nonsense.


    ''Are they perhaps acting?'' He suddenly thought to himself and when he looked at Cygnus again, he received a smirk from the man which confirmed his guess. He inhaled a bit sharply but immediately calmed himself.


    "What do you think Mr. Astrophos?" Cygnus subtly changed his expression, his brows almost met with his forehead scrunched up.


    Astrophos wanted to shout in frustration but he was already embroiled in these theatrics they decided to y so with no other choice, he needed to go along with them. "Since magic hunters are involved, we can use their help. Although the kingdom''s militia is mainlyposed of non-magic users, they are trained to fight against any mage and I''ve actually heard of your aplishments Major Linius Ginehart, so we can certainly count on them."


    He specifically emphasized on the word ''aplishments'' to hint that they should not be deceiving such a person. Linius Ginehart was known to be ruthless, a mission is a mission, and if one would try to deceive or offend him, they''ll find themselves under his oppressive power. Some of them even ended up dead.


    As if he did not understand Astrophos''s message, Cygnus continued to frown while he appeared to be thinking. He was considering their words but before he would make his decision, he wanted to ask the major onest question, "Why? Why did you want to travel with us and even go as far as to offer protection for free when you only just met us for only over an hour?"


    "Because I find your group interesting and besides that we need a reason to return to the capital," was his simple answer. "For the other reasons, I am allowed to keep that to myself for now, right?"


    Since they were offering for free, no matter what their reason was as long as they reached the capital safely, then everything was fine. "If that''s the case, as long as you can promise our safety then I have no problems with that. But if any of us will be harmed during this journey, you''ll have to take responsibility."


    Major Ginehart could not help but feel an itch in his heart at the pressure that the young man suddenly emitted. It was only for a short while but the major knew that he was worth observing for the meantime.

 Chapter 46 An Enjoyable Charade

    ?Cygnus was still awake even after that grueling conversation. He could also feel that some of the soldiers were not asleep. He was shaking his head whileughing even though he was alone.


    "Master, you should rest already since we will be early tomorrow." Mr. C entered the tent and saw that the master was still awake.


    "I''ll do thatter. How about those soldiers?" It was a bit difficult to sleep because he was feeling giddy.


    "The major is currently inside his tent while some of them are patrolling around," Mr. C answered as he stood to the side. "Master, things are getting a bitplicated, are you really sure that you''re going to go through with this charade?"


    Cygnus thought for a second, "Yes. I think it''ll be fun and those magic hunters, I''m curios to see how strong they are."


    The butler stared at the master for a while without speaking. He could not help but reminisce about the past, when he first met the master.


    "What are you looking at?" Cygnus noticed that the butler fell silent and when he lifted his head he saw that he was just staring at him.


    "I was just thinking that you''ve changed a bit." The butlerughed with his slightly mechanical voice.


    "Tsk, how many times have I told you not tough? That mechanical voice you have is a bit irritating. I should have fixed that up back then." He stood up and walked towards the butler. "And what change are you talking about?"


    Mr. C looked at him from head to toe, the way he stood still radiated confidence. Never did he see him having any weakness and at times when he was about to be defeated, his defiant nature would make hime on top.


    "You''ve already done too much for me master and I quite like this voice of mine. As to your change, this is the first time that I have seen you actively participating in your ns. In the past you would always let the others do your bidding." The butler exined with a smile still stered on his face.


    Cygnus remained silent as he stared at the man. Mr. C was the longestpanion he had and he could not even remember how he met the man. What he remembered was that he was pretty beat up but after some modifications he was able to move and improve. Now, it has been so long but the man was still by his side.


    He leaned back a little and stood straight with his hands in his pockets. "Well, I discovered that doing things myself is more fun because I can do everything I want ording to my taste."


    "Yes, I could see that and I''m d that you are having fun." The butler left the master''s tent and went into his own.


    Inside the major''s tent, Lieutenant Lisbon was making his report about what the group had been doing after the dinner. As far as the report goes, there was nothing suspicious from their actions.


    "Alright, keep an eye on them, especially on that mage from the tower." Themand was received and the lieutenant also left.


    Thus the night passed without much issues nor monsters suddenly attacking. Before dawn, the group of travelers and group of soldiers departed. Inside the carriage Nina stretched her limbs then sighed.


    "Why do I have to act like a child when I''m already this old!" She eximed in frustration. She couldn''t believe that she had to adopt a pampered sister''s personality while they were on a journey.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Because it is necessary," Cygnusughed at the woman''s contorted face.


    "How did you know?" Astrophos suddenly interjected which interrupted their conversation.


    "Know what?" Cygnus looked at him in confusion. The man was a little bit slow on the uptake. The master shook his head at howte he had realized that everything they did yesterday was just an act.


    "Don''t y dumb! How did you know that they wereing?" Astrophos finally lost it. His voice went up and the anger radiating from him was enough to suffocate anyone who was inside a room with him.


    Cygnus did not talk, he only stared at the angry man. "Am I obligated to tell you? Even the butler and Nina don''t have the ability nor will to question me, and yet here you are, an unknown person talking like that to me."


    The aura of anger dissipated and was reced by the unmistakable pressure from Cygnus. Nina felt like she was being crushed by boulders at how dense the presence was. Astrophos also felt like his heart and lungs were being squeezed.


    As fast as it came, the crushing pressure disappeared. The atmosphere inside the carriage stabilized and finally they could breathe.


    "If you do not want to y along with it, then suit yourself but I assure you that you won''t reach the capital in one piece. One kind of people I dislike the most are those who ruin my ns. You''ve already done a good job yesterday so you should continue with it. Think smartly Mr. Astrophos." After those words, Cygnus did not say anything anymore. His focus was now on the outside scenery they were passing by until they came to a stop.


    This time it was the soldiers who hunted prey for their lunch while Cygnus''s group was in-charge of preparing and cooking the food. The cooperation between the group was smooth and surprisingly united.


    "It seems that your group has some sort of a misunderstanding," Major Ginehart observed. He was looking at Cygnus and Astrophos who had an awkward air around them.


    The butler looked at the direction where he was staring and chuckled. "That''s how they''ve always been. You don''t have to worry. The master is stubborn and so is Mr. Astrophos with their opinions always shing, awkward moments can''t be avoided."


    "Eat and rest, we will need our energy once we get out from the forest," Ginehart reminded them. The soldiers answered while the others nodded.


    "The area is clear," Lieutenant Lisbon reported after they patrolled the area.


    They had just eaten their lunch when a loud roar suddenly echoed throughout the forest and scared the birds from their nests. They flew away and even small animals started to run away, some of them even passed where the group was resting.


    "I thought you said that the area is clear," Nina stared at the direction where the roar came from. She took several steps back and stood beside Cygnus.


    "Yes, we''ve scouted the perimeter and even double checked." The lieutenant was also confused as to what was happening. They checked but there were no traces of monsters.


    "Monster urrences in this ce are spontaneous. For now, let''s prepare because the beast ising our way."

 Chapter 47 Theyre Here

    ?With every step that the monster took, the ground would also shake. The vibrations even caused some of the stones to be disced. Nina was already behind Cygnus while the butler stood beside them.


    "Lieutenant Lisbon, take some of our men and assess the current situation. Report to me immediately." Major Ginehart strode towards the other group. His face looked grim and yet there was still a sense of confidenceing from him.


    "What are we going to do now?" Cygnus asked while making sure that Nina was tucked safely behind him. He thought that they were already safe since they did not encounter any monsters since they entered the forest but now, they were faced with this kind of situation.


    "Prepare to leave. We don''t know what kind of monster ising our way. We will ride fast. Your carriage will go first and we will take the rear. We need to move fast." Ginehart pointed at their carriage so Cygnus nodded. He pulled Nina followed by the butler.


    "I''ll stay out. I''ll act as a support if that monster would reallye after us." Astrophos used a floating spell and floated beside the carriage.


    Once everyone was ready, they left. The horses were running as fast as they could and yet the roar''s distance seemed to being nearer. They only rode for a couple of minutes when one of the scouts the major sent returned. He rode one of the horses and guided the horse near Ginehart.


    "Sir, they are ogres and it''s not only one, ording to what we counted, there are five of them moving towards our direction and the lieutenant suspects that there may be others hiding," the soldier reported.


    The other soldiers remained calm after knowing what monster they were about to face. The only woman in the group on the other hand started to get hysterical after hearing that ogres wereing their way.


    "Brother! What do we do? There are ogres! I don''t want to die yet!" She started to yell and shook his brother who was a bit stunned at the information.


    Ginehart looked at the floating mage but he saw no reaction from him. "What do you think Grand Mage Astrophos?"


    "If it is a group of ogres, I believe that your men can take care of them. Although they can think for themselves, they''re still a little bit slow. Just hit them in the eye or in the head and they''ll be down." Astrophos shrugged his shoulders as he raised an eyebrow towards Ginehart.


    The major''s smile faltered for a moment before he sighed. He nodded at the soldier who reported the situation and the soldier left. He returned to where the lieutenant was to ry themand that they will fight the ogres.


    Roars from behind them started to get chaotic and the farther they got away, the lesser the shaking was. Lieutenant Lisbon together with his men fought the ogres. Just as Astrophos''s words, they easily took down three ogres. They were continuously jumping up and down on the ogre''s body while avoiding their attacks. Using their swift skills, they could easily reach the ogre''s head and inflict damage on their eyes with only swords.


    After thest ogre fell down, the soldiers were finally relieved and were about to return to the main group. They were about to leave when one of the soldiers was suddenly thrown and hit a tree so hard that they could hear his bones breaking.


    "Retreat!" Lisbon immediatelymanded. "Get away from those ogres now!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They leapt away from the supposedly dead enemies and watched as the ogres they thought they killed slowly stood up. They also saw how the wounds they painstakingly inflicted healed. Ogres do not have the ability to heal. They can defend against magic but they can''t use magic, so healing was impossible.


    "This is not good," Lisbon mumbled to himself as the five ogres they fought let out another roar which was stronger and more intimidating. He whistled twice and two of the soldiers came to him. "Return to the major and inform him that the situation has be dire." He addressed the first one who left after receiving the order. "And you, form a group of three and scout the area, find if there are any magic users around and dispose of them if there are."


    Once themands were received, they acted instantly without any hesitation. Lieutenant Lisbon together with the remaining soldiers, fought the ogres once again but this time no matter how they were able to wound the enemy, it heals instantly.


    After the silence, as they thought that the fight was already done, they heard the roars once again and this time it was louder and fiercer. They were already halfway from the exit of the forest but the monsters were not defeated yet.


    Astrophos who was floating turned around with a frown. He was looking at the direction of the fight. "Magic users or maybe mage hunters. Someone is using mana and is controlling those ogres." His discovery made Ginehart''s face ck.


    One of the scouts also returned and confirmed their suspicion. Ginehart looked at his remaining men and thought hard on how he would move. Before he could decide, Astrophos already made his move.


    "Where are you going?" Ginehart stopped the man before he could leave.


    "Stay here and I''ll go deal with whoever is controlling those ogres. If a mage hunter is here, I believe that you can deal with them given your reputation," Astrophos slightly turned around to give the man a look of ''you can do it'' before he left.


    "Mages of the tower are really willful," Ginehart rubbed his face before he addressed his men. "As you''ve heard mage hunters might be involved so sharpen your senses and be on alert."


    The soldiers scattered around the carriage as they continued to move but now, they were moving a bit slowly so that they could react when they encountered a surprise attack. Ginehart maneuvered his horse and stayed closer to the carriage.


    "Since mage hunters might be involved, you should prepare to defend yourself," he instructed, which earned him a harrumph from Cygnus.


    "I thought you were going to protect us?" He retorted. He was the one who promised them that they would protect them and now he was telling them that they should prepare themselves.


    "Yes, but we will need your magic powers as support since I don''t have my fullpany traveling with me and my men are currently divided into two." Ginehart gave him a big smile.

 Chapter 48 Display Of Their Powers

    ?Astrophos reached where the enemy was only to see them in a futile battle. The soldiers were attacking and yet the ogres didn''t take any damage. At this point, they''ll just exhaust their energy and strength.


    He used his magic sense to cover at least a mile of the area. With his eyes closed, he tried to find the magic user controlling the monsters. He found them and there were two of them, one was currently fighting three soldiers while the other one was focused on using magic to control the ogres.


    Using a short teleportation spell, he disappeared and appeared on the location with a spell ready on his hand. The moment he appeared, sharpened stones rained down on the magic user that was controlling the ogres.


    The magic user was able to block the attack at thest minute but his control faltered and so did the ogres. Lieutenant Lisbon saw this so they did not waste time and attacked the ogres once again.


    Astrophos saw that the enemy lost his bnce for a second and when he was about to use his magic again, the mage immediately used rock grip to lock his opponent''s legs then he followed it with his immovable prison which created chains made up of rock that coiled around the magic user''s body and prevented him from moving.


    Controlling a person or a monster needed precise control on mana usage and a lot of concentration. Once they''re concentration is broken the control magic will also disappear. Now that the enemy was immobile, the lieutenant and his men were able topletely kill the ogres.


    When he saw that his partner was subdued, the other one decided to escape. He thought of knocking out the soldiers with one st and when he was preparing to cast the spell, Astrophos used a needle like stone to knock him out. The needle hit the man''s forehead then he fell down on the ground.


    The lieutenant came to where they were and saw that the enemies were already taken care of. Mages were really different from those who can''t use magic.


    "Thank you for the assistance, Grand Mage." Lisbon gave the man a bow. Astrophos responded with a small nod.


    "What will you do with them?" He pointed at the two magic users they caught.


    "Are you giving them to us?" Lisbon was surprised. Usually, if a mage caught these kinds of people, they would immediately contact the Magic Tower and the tower would deal with them.


    "I''m toozy to contact the tower, so you can have them." Astrophos shrugged his shoulders. He was not keen on contacting the tower since he was not sure of his current status in there. He did not want to risk it and have theming after him before he could enter the capital.


    Lisbon looked at how nonchnt the other was, then he sighed. ''The major was right, mages do tend to be willful,'' he thought to himself.


    "I''ll leave them to you then, I''ll go and burn those ogres so that no one can use their bodies again." Without waiting for an affirmation, Astrophos left, leaving the lieutenant dumbfounded.


    After burning the corpses and making sure that there were no mana traces left behind, Astrophos returned to where the others were. The ce was a mess with the trees around them damaged, the ground was full of dents and cracks, the grasses were scorched, everything was just a mess.


    He could see the soldiers fighting against people who looked like bandits but their weapons were a bit better than those of the bandits they fought. There were also magic users mixed with the group and some of them were fighting Cygnus and the others.


    Astrophos stretched out both of his hands and a gray magic circle appeared above them. The magic circle covered the entire area where they were fighting.


    "Avoid!" He shouted. Cygnus and the others raised a shield around them. The soldiers went out of range just before needle-like rocks rained towards them. The enemies who weren''t able to avoid the attack were pinned down and pierced through by the needles.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    One of the hunters used fire magic and attacked Astrophos. The mage created a wall of rock to protect himself. Cygnus and Nina also took the chance to attack the enemies who escaped.


    Ginehart and the others subdued those who didn''t use magic. The mage hunters put up a fight and none of them backed down.


    "They''re already at a disadvantage, don''t falter and attack them!" Ginehartmanded. His men once again brandished their weapons even against the magic users.


    "Be careful!" Astrophos warned. There was suddenly a mana fluctuation not far from where they were. "They''ve got back up!"


    Before they knew it, ogres came rushing to them from every direction as they roared in unison. These ogres were so aggressive that they used their bodies to tackle their targets. Their arms were also trying to grab and squeeze them.


    "Scatter! Don''t let yourselves be caught by those monsters!" The majormanded with his men instantly acting on it.


    As the soldiers tried to get away from the ogres, they were suddenly blocked by different elements. The situation was slowly turning against their favor.


    Nina ced her hands on the ground and mumbled a spell, several purple magic circles appeared in front of the elements blocking them followed by loud explosions. This created a cloud of smoke which served as a distraction to the enemy. Astrophos summoned mean looking stones while Cygnus summoned wind scythes.


    Both attacks hit the ogres but they didn''t wend down and their wounds closed. "Don''t stop attacking!" Astrophos shouted. He then looked at Cygnus before returning his attention in the fight.


    "I''ll leave them to you guys," Cygnus disappeared from where he was standing and appeared in a hidden area where he saw five magic users. One of them was seated on the ground while the other four were surrounding him.


    He whistled into the air then several wind scythes attacked the group of magic users but none of them were hit. "Who''s there?" One of them asked.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes before stepping out from behind the bush where he was hidden. He slowly walked towards the group, like he owned the ce.


    "Sending those many mage hunters, it seems that we are not your target and when we die in this attack, the investigation will only say that the act was done by mage hunters." He recounted what he thought ever since the fight started.


    "Clever but you''ll die here," one of them wasn''t fazed by the man. Even though there was a domineering auraing from him, it was not enough to intimidate them.


    "This is interesting, the major seems to have offended quite a lot of people," Cygnus chuckled. He untucked his hands and pped them together.


    The air around the ce suddenly changed and a dense power came down on them. The mage hunters fell on their knees but the one controlling the ogres didn''t feel anything. His eyes were still closed as he continued to control the ogres.

 Chapter 49 Contradictions

    ?Cygnus looked at the kneeling magic users then he looked around and found a t stone, suitable for sitting. He sat down with his legs crossed while he watched them gasping for air. It took him a while but the other magic user who was using control magic finally noticed something wrong.


    He opened his eyes and saw that the others were on the ground. They were already coughing blood and having a nosebleed. He looked around and saw Cygnus who was casually sitting not far away from them.


    "What did you do?" He stood up with the full intention of attacking the man. He took a step but was pushed back by an invisible wall. He clenched his fist then punched the wall but it only created a ripple on its surface. It was like he was hitting a jelly.


    "It took you so long, I was about to fall asleep while waiting for you." Cygnus stretched out his arms and even yawned after that before he returned to his previous position.


    "Who are you?" The man asked once again while he continued to beat the wall that Cygnus created. He even used magic but the wall only absorbed it.


    "Who am I? Well, that''s surprising, you attacked my group and yet you don''t know who I am?" Cygnus touched his chin and paused for a moment before his eyes widened. "Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about it, we were not your original targets. We were going to be just casualties. Yourrades who are kneeling on the ground confirmed it a while ago."


    He stomped his feet and the pressure around the other four people disappeared but the invisible wall remained. Another stomp and the pressure that disappeared reappeared inside the wall. This time it was the controller''s turn to feel like his body was being torn apart by an invisible force.


    Looking at them, Cygnus started to alternate the appearance and disappearance of the pressure he was applying on the enemy. He did this for over a minute before he got bored and released them.


    "You in the center, continue with what you were doing a while ago. If not, I''ll send you straight to hell, then call you back again." He tilted his head to the side while waiting for the other to do what he had ordered but the man did not move. "Are you ignoring me? Or perhaps you don''t believe what I just said?"


    The man gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. He did not want to follow the man''s words. His pride could not let him and he''d rather die than to takemands from a person aside from their boss.


    The smile on Cygnus''s face disappeared, "Alright, if you won''t do it, then I''ll show you the consequence of not following me." He stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards them. He stopped at a spot that was only a meter away from them.


    He pointed his finger at one of them and a drop of something like water appeared then it flew towards his target and entered his body. Cygnus then snapped his fingers and the man suddenly exploded leaving nothing behind. Another snap, and the man returned to where he was kneeling alive and well but with a bewildered expression on his face.


    Cygnus repeated this process to the other three and finally to the controller. They stared at him like they had seen the demon, no he was much more than that. They have been hunting for a decade now and had enough experience to dere that they were veterans in their line of work. Yes, they faced dangerous situations and deadly enemies but this was the first time that they were faced with an unusual enemy.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    His gait and even the way he spoke to them was nothing like they have ever seen. He was smiling and yet his eyes were looking at them like they were already dead. In that short while, they already saw too many contradictions within him. Their ten years of experience gave them the skill to differentiate their enemies from someone they could take on to someone they should avoid.


    The man who was smiling in front of them right now originally belonged to thetter category but when they looked at him closely, he appeared to be someone they could take down. He was indeed a demon in a human''s skin.


    Cygnusughed, "Comparing me to a demon now but thinking of it now, I was once called a ''demon king'' but do you know, they''re much eviler than I am. So you should be thankful that you are facing me right now and not those demons."


    The controller trembled as the red glint in Cygnus''s eyes became more pronounced. He wanted to back away and so did the others with him but they were unable to move.


    "Now are you going to do what I want or you''re just going to sit there like a scared child?" Cygnus raised a brow and smiled when he saw the man getting into position. He started to control the ogres once again so Cygnus took a step back and went to sit down again.


    Astrophos and Nina were doing their best to defend against the hunters and the ogres that were surrounding them. A minute ago, they thought that the ogres were going to be defeated because they started to falter but suddenly, they were full of energy once again. It confused them but they can''t retreat now.


    The exchange of blows from both parties continued, flying sharpened rocks and bombs struck the enemies but both sides were good at defending, especially the magic hunters. It only showed how experienced they were when facing mages or other magic users. Ginehart was also holding his own against these magic users.


    He was proving his strength and showed that his reputation as one of the strongest knights in the kingdom was not just for show. He was brandishing his anti-magic sword and cutting through the magic attacks smoothly and even inflicting injuries to the enemies. His every step was firm and forceful, even the shing and slicing movement of his hand were perfectly in sync with how his body was moving.


    He stabbed to the right and urately pierced through the enemy''s abdomen and after pulling his sword he took a step back to turn around and shed the iing enemy that was about to hack him with an axe. After the sh, he immediately ducked down to avoid a beam of fire that was sent his way, then he easily stood up and kicked the nearest enemy who attempted to stab him.


    These series of movements amazed Cygnus as he watched a projection that he created of the fight that was happening on the other side of where he was. He was very impressed that he even had the time to p his hands and nod whenever the major killed an enemy.


    "He is good." He started to mumble again. Thoughts started to form in his mind as another mischievous smile appeared on his handsome face. "This is good."

 Chapter 50 His Deception

    ?Cygnus thoroughly enjoyed watching them fight and he was also satisfied with how Astrophos and Nina fought well. It''s already been ten minutes and it was time for him to return or they might get suspicious of him.


    He swiped the projection he was watching then he stood up and patted his clothes. "Alright that''s enough, thank you for your cooperation." After he said those words the controller and hisrades were relieved but that relief was short-lived.


    Their skin started to feel hot and when they looked down, they started to scream in horror. Their bodies started to burn, one of them even used water magic but it did nothing to calm down the throbbing pain from their skin being burned. Slowly all of their body turned red and no more voice came from their mouth.


    Cygnus looked at the men who slowly became statues of blobs and he couldn''t help but frown. They were a mess and now he regretted burning them because even the smell was too much for him. He swiped his hand from right to left and the blob returned to their original form but the men were already dead. Cygnus shook his head as he decided that he won''t do that method again.


    He turned around to return to where the others were and as he walked a wave of his power covered the area turning it into a battlefield. This power also gave him the appearance of a person who went through a difficult fight. His clothes were torn and there were wounds on his body. Some of them appeared to be serious.


    Cygnus suddenly stopped, then he heard a familiar voice. It was Lieutenant Lisbon and the soldiers who went with him. "Who are you? You are not just an ordinary magic user."


    Those statements made Cygnus chuckle before he turned to face them. "If I were to tell you who I am, you won''t be standing where you are now. Or are you interested in giving it a try? I only heard of one person able to say my name without dying. Do you want to try?" He slowly leaned forward then he suddenly appeared before Lisbon. Their foreheads were only inches away and the look in Cygnus''s eyes made the lieutenant flinch. "It is better for you to just know me as Rigel Anzel."


    He took a step back with a frown but aside from that he remained passive. His fists were tightly clenched but his instincts were screaming at him that the man was not someone he could fight. "I won''t ask then." He decided in the end, he even looked at his men and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.


    "Tsk, you''re such a stiff man. So have you seen my prowess?" Cygnus also took a step back then ced his hands behind his back. He waited for them to answer so that he could adopt the best way to resolve the matter.


    "That is not something to brag about. What you did to those men are pure torture." The lieutenant gave the man a re.


    After they finished tying up the magic users who controlled the ogres they fought, they left and identally saw that Cygnus was facing off against five magic users. The lieutenant decided to help him but what followed next made him shudder. He saw how Cygnus killed those men and somehow brought them back again.


    They also witnessed how he easily burned them alive then at a short moment everything around them suddenly changed. The untouched earth became ck and full of cracks even the surroundings appeared to be burnt and the man was full of injuries. This illusion was not something an aspiring mage could do.


    Cygnus bent whileughing so hard, "Your thoughts are so fascinating to read. Are you even sure if this is an illusion or is this real?" He took deep breaths and stood straight again. "Lieutenant you must have been mistaken."


    Lisbon''s vision suddenly blurred and everything around him became fuzzy. He shook his head a few times to get rid of the dizziness that suddenly overcame him and after a while it subsided. He looked around in confusion when he felt himself bing steady. Then he saw Cygnus from a distance.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Sir Rigel! Are you alright? What happened?" He ran towards where he was to assist him. He looked at the person and saw that he was badly wounded.


    "I fought those men and managed to defeat them but I think I can''t stand anymore." His body suddenly lurched forward but the lieutenant caught him.


    Lisbon carried the unconscious man to the side to apply first aid on his wounds and make sure that none of them were not life threatening. After they gave him a temporary treatment, Lisbon instructed three of his men to stay with Cygnus. They also left the two magic users they caught with them before they left to help the major.


    They reached where the fight was happening but it was already done. All the enemies were disposed of and they were only doing some clean up.


    "Major!" Lisbon called out to Ginehart who was kneeling on the ground while poking his sword on the dead bodies.


    "How was it?" Ginehart asked. He stood and looked at his lieutenant.


    "We caught two of the magic users. We also found Sir Rigel but he is unconscious and needs medical attention. I left them with the others," he briefly reported.


    Nina and Mr. C heard the report so without asking they left without even asking for directions. They saw that Cygnus was lying on the ground with his eyes closed.


    "Brother!" Nina kneeled on the ground beside her brother. She held his hand and was about to cry but Mr. C gently patted her.


    "He''s fine, the lieutenant did a good job in patching him up." The butler also kneeled and checked the master''s condition. He was stable and there were no life threatening injuries on him. He just needed some rest.


    Ginehart also came and saw that the ce was thrashed. Five meny on the ground, all of them were dead. He inspected the bodies and all of them died of puncture wounds. It looked like a desperate attempt that Cygnus did, it must have been an instant burst of magic that caught them off guard.


    He then looked at the unconscious man, whose breathing was a bit ragged but nheless it was steady. "Let''s go. Carefully carry him, let''s find a ce to rest before we continue."

 Chapter 51 Motive

    ?They found a ce to rest near the exit of the forest. Since they were attacked while inside the forest the possibility of an ambush increased once they got out of the woods. The mage hunters who came after them surely had some of their fellows waiting for them just in case the others failed.


    "Can we even reach the next town like this?" Nina was shivering, she had no energy left and even her mana was running low. She had been staying beside Cygnus ever since they temporarily settled down in that area.


    "You don''t have to worry about that. We will reach the town safely once our back upes," Ginehart informed them. "I''ve already sent them a letter after the fight, now all we need to do is to wait here patiently."


    "How about my brother?" she asked. He was still unconscious and they didn''t have a doctor with them while the mage''s healing magic did not heal his woundspletely since Astrophos did not have the affinity with the element of light.


    "Regil is fine. He just needs to rest for a while, although some of the wounds seemed to be life threatening, they''re not so you can be rest assured." Astrophos came beside them and patted the woman''s shoulders.


    Nina looked at the butler and he nodded so she was a bit reassured. She was still worried but not as much after the words of reassurance. For the rest of the night, together with Mr. C they stayed with Cygnus. Astrophos joined in patrolling the perimeter of the area and hunting for prey that they could cook and eat.


    The next day, Cygnus finally opened his eyes and even though he was still weak, he was able to eat small amounts of food. Ginehart''s gaze did not leave the man throughout the day as he carefully observed all of his movements but he did not see anything out of ce. He was indeed weak and the blood from the bandages were real. After he had enough, he left to interrogate the other two magic users they caught.


    Cygnus smirked secretly after the major left. ''Ah how easy to fool,'' he silently chuckled.


    On the second day of their waiting, the major did not appear. He was busy asking questions to the magic users. He even asked Astrophos to restrain them so that they can''tmit suicide. He stood in front of the two with his stern face.


    "Who sent you?" he asked in a low voice. He had his arms behind his back while waiting for any of them to answer but to his disappointment they remained silent.


    "We''ve been asking them since morning but they still refuse to answer." Lisbon stood beside the major. They''ve tried using verbal conversation to get information but it seemed that they needed to employ other methods to make them speak.


    "Call the Grand Mage for me," he ordered to one of the soldiers who were standing behind him.


    Astrophos went to see them and based on how dark their faces were, they were not sessful in their questioning. "What do you need me for, major?" he asked.


    "Do you have any spells that can make these people talk?" the major asked without even giving the mage a look. His gaze was still focused on the two people who decided to stay mute.


    "I do have a truth spell but are you sure that you want me to use it?" Astrophos was not sure if the major would be pleased to see what that spell can do. "This spell can destroy their minds and you might not get any useful information from them."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes," he nodded and his voice was firm. "If we don''t get anything from them then that''s it. I can still find out who their master is even if it takes me years." They don''t have enough options right now, if they were back in their military base then he could have some other means than asking a mage for help.


    "Alright but I ask that you do not judge me when you see how this spell works," Astrophos told them. He stepped in front of the magic users then stretched his arms and touched their heads.


    A red magic circle appeared on the surface where he touched then he started to mumble an incantation which made the magic circle glow. As the glow of the circle intensified, the men started to scream too. Major Ginehart frowned when he saw what was happening but aside from that, he did not do anything. The soldiers who were on standby did not flinch at the screams since they were already used to it but the method was a bit ufortable to them.


    They torture their prisoners for information but what they mostly do was to inflict physical injuries. What Astrophos was doing right now was directly prating their minds and forcefully breaking through the mind''s natural barrier against intruders. This method was more painful than any physical method of making someone admit.


    This process took a whole five minutes of concentration to control the mana so that it cannot do any damage to the mind. Large beads of sweat started to fall down from Astrophos''s face while doing the spell. Slowly the magic circles lost their glow and finally Astrophos retracted his hands. He took deep breaths before he managed to step back.


    "Once they wake up, you can ask them anything but you can only ask important questions because that spell will notst. At most, it will take effect for an hour." Astrophos faced the major who only gave him a curt nod. "I''ll leave then since I also need to rest." He walked away without looking back since they might think that he was intruding.


    The magic users woke up after five minutes as they stared with wide eyes at the man who was hovering above them. "Now then, let''s try if that man''s spell will work. Who is the mastermind behind your attack?" Major Ginehart did not waste time and asked his first question immediately.


    "We don''t know. We were only hired through a third party and we haven''t even met the person whomissioned this assassination." One of them finally answered and at the mention of the word assassin, the major''s face turned ck.


    "Who is your target?" The question immediately followed but the answer they heard was not what they expected.


    "We were told to kill Major Linius Ginehart and everyone with him. We were instructed to make it like they were killed by monsters." The other one answered without even blinking.


    "It seems that my enemies really wanted me dead." He shook his head and even chuckled for a bit. "Who was the middle man?" he followed up.


    "We also don''t know. We only saw him a couple of times and during those meetings the other always wore a coat with a hood." The second captive answered once again.


    "Whoever they are I will find them and I''ll make sure to give them due punishment," he announced. After that they continued to ask them questions until the effect of the magic disappeared.

 Chapter 52 New Company

    ?On the third day, five squads finally appeared to support them. They also brought a new carriage with them because the one used by Cygnus was destroyed during the fight. They rode day and night when they received theirmander''s letter. The journey that should have taken them five days to travel, it only took them three days just to reach Major Ginehart''s location.


    They got off from their horses and gave the man a salute which the major returned. One of the men approached the major. He was wearing the same uniform as Lisbon so Astrophos knew that the man must be of the same rank as the lieutenant.


    "Major Ginehart, we are happy to see that you survived," the man sincerely stated. He then silently moved his gaze around the major''s body before he nodded.


    "Are you done on checking me?" Ginehart was already used to how the man examines his patients. With only one look and he can already tell if the person was doing well or not.


    "Yes, you are as healthy as ever but among your men, some of them needed to rest. We can''t leave this ce with them not fully rested since outside this area, mage hunters are teeming." The person exined as he was looking around him. He then pointed at them one by one so the lieutenant had no choice but to tell them the doctor''s diagnosis.


    "Good, why don''t youe and examine one more person since he was badly injured during the fight." Ginehart turned around so the doctor had no other choice but to follow him. They passed through a cluster of shrubs and came to an open space where a tent was temporarily built.


    Astrophos also followed behind them. When he heard how the major addressed the other, he suddenly got worried that their lies would be discovered. Ever since he heard that Cygnus was injured, he already knew that the master was only faking it. They went inside but Cynus was asleep and the other two with him were currently having their breakfast.


    "Major, what brought you here?" Nina was surprised to see the man since he didn''te by yesterday so she assumed that he was busy. She also noticed a new face that was with them but she refrained from asking.


    "Myrades came and this is Doctor Sigmond Raugney, he is the doctor of my specialized unit. I brought him here so that he can thoroughly examine Sir Rigel." The major stepped to the side to let the doctor step forward.


    "Is that so, then please look at my brother." Nina nodded without hesitation so Doctor Raugney went straight beside the makeshift bed and looked at the sleeping man.


    Mr. C observed that the man only stood beside the master and was staring at him. He did not bring any equipment with him while doing an examination. Astrophos also watched with a slight frown on his face. How can he know if the master was really injured if he''s only going to stare at him?


    Doctor Raugney, slowly frowned while examining the body but other than that, they did not see much change on his face. He then looked at Nina then at the butler and finally at Astrophos then his gaze returned to the sleeping man.


    "He is fine, though he suffered some internal trauma. Aside from that, he was treated well before he can be moved from ce to ce." Nina was relieved that his brother was really recovering. "And the two of you also need some rest. You haven''t recovered your mana yet." He looked at the butler then finally at Nina.


    "Thank you doctor," Nina bowed her head but the man was already on his way out without giving them an answer. Major Ginehart inclined his head before he too left.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They returned to the ce where they were a while ago then started talking with each other. "Did you find anything abnormal in his body?" Major Ginehart finally asked after the made sure that they were already at a distance when he finally said those words.


    The doctor shook his head, "Everything is normal and even those wounds were true so my advice a while ago was also genuine. There''s nothing suspicious about him."


    Major Ginehart refrained from speaking a word. The doctor had already confirmed it but he was still a bit unreconciled. Sigmond turned around only to see the major being silent as if he was deep in thoughts with crease on his forehead.


    "You are thinking way too much, major. He will certainly reveal who he really is in due time, if he really is hiding something. What you need to focus on right now is the impending danger awaiting us once we leave this ce." The doctor reminded him so the major could only follow the doctor''s advice.


    "Alright, I''ll leave them be for now. It seems that someone hired a lot of mage hunters to try and kill me and I''m sure that they will be lying in wait for us to appear. If that''s the case we will use another path." He dered and his men started to move. They checked all of their horses and supplies before they neatly packed them for the journey.


    "Are you sure? That path is a little bit difficult to use." Sigmond looked at the man who only gave him a nod as an answer.


    After the two left the tent, Nina immediately dropped the act and slumped on the chair whileining. "Ah, I can''t take this anymore! How long should I keep acting like a stupid woman in front of them all! This is destroying my beautiful image!"


    Mr. Cughed, "This is the master''s orders so we can''t really do something about it. Once he has enough, he will surely end this farce."


    "Why is he doing this? Isn''t our goal is to reach the capital?" Astrophos sat on the ground with his arms crossed. He could not understand how the master''s mind was working and the butler nor Nina was unwilling to tell him what they know.


    "We will still reach the capital. It''s just that the master was being a little bored while on the journey and this is his way of passing the time while we travel." Mr. C kindly exined to him since he was a bit slow on everything except for fighting.


    Astrophos frowned, "Who are you really? And why are you doing this?" it was a question he had wanted to ask so many times but got to ask it just now.


    Nina looked at the man andughed, "The master will surely reveal it soon. You just need to be patient Mr. Astrophos and just y your part."

 Chapter 53 Encounter At The Valley

    ?Instead of exiting the forest, they traced back the path where they came from and with the help of Astrophos and Nina, they were able to travel silently. Ginehart also sent some of his men to act as decoys and take the usual path.


    Inside the carriage, Sigmond stayed with Cygnus since he was a patient and Nina who was not used to riding a horse. Astrophos refused to be cooped up in a ce where he could possibly die so he decided to just stay out and sat with Mr. C in front.


    "I heard that you are from Moonvale," the doctor started a conversation. "That''s a pretty far ce from the capital and yet you still dared to travel without knowing the dangers you might face."


    Nina frowned at how the man was talking to them. "Well, if we knew then we would not have continued with this stupid journey!" her voice rose as she gave the man a re.


    "I''m sorry, it was because we never informed our family that we were going to the capital. That''s why weck knowledge of how the road is. It was our negligence." Cygnus looked apologetic while he was holding back his sister who was looking darkly at the doctor. "My parents were against me registering as a mage at the Magic Tower but I really wanted to be a mage and learn more about magic, that''s why we left without informing them." His head bowed down because he could not look at the doctor who was clearly scrutinizing them.


    Nina held her brother''s hand then they heard the doctor sigh. "Then you technically ran away from home and now you''ve encountered these kinds of things. But I think you would have been better off on your own if you did not associate yourself with the major."


    Cygnus raised his head and met the doctor''s eyes, "What do you mean?" His voice suddenly trembled.


    "The major''s life and work is a bit chaotic and he attracts chaos wherever he goes," the doctor simply answered. He squinted at the man''s trembling lips before sighing again. "You should have not agreed with his deal."


    Cygnus was stunned for a while before he spoke. "It was for our convenience that we epted his offer since we also need protection. We have a Grand Mage with us but even he admitted that it is better to have more people protecting us, so we had no other choice but to agree."


    "There''s nothing we can do about that now. You''re already entangled with his affairs so we will make sure that you reach the capital in one piece." Sigmond moved his eyes from them to the scenery outside.


    Cygnus''s eyes widened when a realization suddenly hit him, "Are you perhaps saying that the attack was meant for the major?" He looked at the back of the man''s head but the doctor did not give him an answer. Nina was also stunned to silence when he understood what was going on.


    Cygnus leaned on the seat andughed. He could not believe that they were caught in the major''s mess when they thought that they were being targeted because they were on their way to the capital to register as mages. It turned out that that was not the case.


    After half a day of traveling, Major Ginehart stopped and so did the others. He looked behind him then guided his horse towards the window of the carriage. He knocked on it and the doctor parted the curtain. The major frowned so he peeked inside only to see that the other two did not even look at his direction.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "We will be entering a mountain pass that goes around the entire ins of Sufmis. It will be a long and ufortable journey and it would take us at least seven days if the weather stays dry but if it rains, it will take us longer to reach the town," Ginehart exined.


    "Alright," the doctor nodded. After informing them, the major rode around before he ordered them to move. The mountain pass was a way carved on the Hurmis mountain range which was used to avoid the ins.


    This path was often used but because of the number of idents that happened in that ce, travelers avoided taking the path and would instead hire bodyguards that will protect them throughout the journey and risk the Sufmis ins.


    The journey was indeed rough and they could not rest properly since they didn''t have a ce where they could spread out. On the fifth day of their journey, they finally reached the Hurmis Deep, which was a valley in between two mountains. They''ll be spending two days in the valley before they reach the town of Alfonso where the rest of Major Ginehart''s men were stationed.


    Not long after they stopped for a rest, a bird sounded from the distance and it slowly descended tond on the major''s arms. He petted the messenger bird and fed it a piece of bread before he took the piece of paper that was tied on one of its legs.


    His eyebrows furrowed after reading the content of the paper. He then burned the paper and went to look for Cygnus and the others. "They''ve found that the group we sent are decoys. Some of them might have already figured out that we took this route, so we will be moving fast and take short rests in between. If we encounter magic users that can use control magic again, we will be at a disadvantage because I''m sure that they will being for us with arger group."


    After he ryed the information, their somewhat leisure travel turned tense. The sound of hoofs beating the ground echoed through the valley as they did not rest for the night. Their goal was to reach the town in the shortest period before their enemies could catch up to them.


    At midday the next day, they finally saw the end of the valley but they also saw some people who were waiting for them and before they knew it, they were already under the barrage of different magic. Astrophos, in the nick of time, casted a wide range anti-magic barrier that intercepted the attack.


    Cygnus came out from the carriage to help reinforce the barrier. Nina also did not waste time and created several bombs on her hands then sent them flying towards their attackers. After the several explosions, Ginehart finally sent his men forward using the dust as cover. After the barrier was down, Astrophos did not waste time as he mumbled a spell which created the widest magic circle he could that covered the entire area where their enemies stood, then he let loose.


    Unlike his first attacks during the fights they had, this magic circle createdrge spear-like stones that shook the ground when it hit the ground. This gave the soldiers the opening to attack their assants. After the spell was executed, Astrophos fell and kneeled on the ground while gasping for air. Using two wide range spells simultaneously drained a lot of his mana.


    "Why are these people so persistent!?" Ninained while throwing explosion spells towards the enemy. Violet magic circles simultaneously appeared above the enemies followed by ck balls that dropped from them and exploded once it made contact with the ground.

 Chapter 54 In A Tight Spot

    ?They were making progress in front and defeated many of the enemies but before they could even celebrate, they heard roarsing from behind. And just as the major expected, ogres of different sizes were running towards them.


    "This is bad! Really bad!" Astrophos used another spell to create a wall of stone to stop the monsters froming and squashing them all. He did not hesitate to spent more mana and reinforced the wall with several walls in hopes of buying them time to kill everyone at the front and make a run for it.


    "Someone really, really hates you major," Cygnus could not help but exim once he was beside the major. "If we manage to survive, I think we will be fine on our own."


    The major chuckled before hacking one of the enemies who tried to sneak from the side. He watched as Cygnus also fought hard and tried his best to engage in a closebat fight. He was even impressed that Cygnus was holding his own against the enemies. He could also see that there was a distortion around the man''s hand and whenever he hit someone, a swirling power would destroy the enemy''s clothes and mark their skin with something simr to a spiral shape.


    The master was doing his best to defend himself and attack at the same time, even though his steps were a bit unstable he was still able to beat some of the enemies who tried to kill him. After thest one who came after him fell, he decided to get away andunch an attack but before he could do that someone blocked his path.


    A man wearing a mask stood in front of him and before he could even blink a lightning struck where he was. He was lucky that he dodged the attack but he was still injured. Cygnus hissed at the burning pain on his arm and saw that his jacket was burned and his skin turned red.


    He was still finding his bnce when the enemy appeared a few inches from his right with his hand that was covered in lightning was already centimeters away from his face and he could only watch with wide eyes as the fast attack was about to hit him.


    Ginehart saw that Cygnus was facing a magic user beyond his capacity so he decided to intervene. He ran towards them and before the enemy''s fist could hit Cygnus, he jumped up with his sword in the air as he went for a downward sh.


    The enemy felt the attack so instead of going for Cygnus, he twisted his body and let his fist hit the major''s sword which propelled them away from each other. Ginehart was knocked back while the enemy hit the ground but he got back up again.


    Ginehart looked at Cygnus who got away from the scene while clutching his arm. "Why don''t you go ahead?"


    Cygnus nodded then he turned around and left. The masked enemy did not care about Cygnus since his real target was already in front of him. Ginehart calmly faced the enemy who shifted his whole attention to him.


    "It looks like I am really your target," the majormented but the masked man did not answer. The enemy instead rushed towards him with his body covered in lightning. Sparks started to rain on the area where the two were fighting.


    With the speed of lightning, the masked man was hitting Ginehart fast and urate. There were also times where he would suddenly disappear and appear above, behind or from the major''s left or right side. He managed to evade and defend against all of it though.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus watched from the side with squinted eyes, he could not believe that the major could hold his own against a magic user of that caliber when he could not even see the attacking. A subtle smile bloomed in his lips but after that it was already gone.


    The major lunged forward at the right moment and stabbed at the man''s chest but the man was able to avoid the sword as he shifted his body to the side. The masked man then opened his fist and brought it down in a slicing motion towards the sword. The collision of the magic and the anti-magic sword created a fiction that resulted in both of them being thrown away.


    The master who was watching on the side took that chance to send wind scythes towards the enemy who had yet tond. The invisible wind sessfully hit the masked man which pushed him to the ground. Several wind scythes followed the first one which pinned the man.


    Ginehart who got his bnce back did not hesitate to follow-up the attack of Cygnus as he ran as fast as he could towards the masked man and in a one swift motion, he jumped and angled his de horizontally then stabbed hard at the man.


    He then twisted his sword to make sure that the man was dead. He stood up and pulled up his sword then flicked it on the side to remove the blood that was on it. Ginehart looked at the direction of Cygnus and gave him a nod.


    They looked around and saw that the number of the enemies were slowly dwindling down but the unmistakable cracking of the stone walls that Astrophos created could also be heard amidst the noise of the battle.


    "Move!" The major suddenly shouted and those who had their horses yet regrouped in a spear formation to pierce through the remaining enemies. The others followed and used the abandoned horses to escape. Ginehart remained in the rear to defend against the attack together with Astrophos and Cygnus. Mr. C and Nina together with the lieutenant were at the front supporting the formation.


    ''Boom!'' The sound of the rocks falling on the ground as the wall gave in was the signal that more enemies will being after them. The ogres that were trapped for only a few minutes were already enraged with their faces and bodies turning red. Their movements were faster than the first ogres they fought. They only took five steps and yet they already caught up to them.


    The ogres started to swing their arms without worrying about the arrows that were piercing their skins. All they could see were the enemies who were running away from them. A loud and rumbling roar came from the ogres as some of them started to run faster then theyunched their big bodies towards the group who were trying to escape.


    Even without the major''smand, the soldiers scattered and tried to avoid the bodies that were trying to squash them to death. Astrophos used piercing rock to prevent some of them from directlynding on the soldiers but the other ogres that were still running bulldozed through the piercing rock and continued with their mindless attack.


    "We won''t be able to stop them if we don''t kill the magic users who are controlling them." Astrophos gave the major a look. He could not leave to find the magic users since his hands were full but he can''t entrust that task to Cygnus because he was afraid that something bad might happen again.

 Chapter 55 On Time

    ?Ginehart didn''t look that disturbed as he was still calmly looking at Astrophos. Without giving him any answers, the major approached Cygnus. The Grand Mage looked with wide eyes at the major''s actions.


    "Sir Rigel, why don''t you join me in hunting these magic users?" Ginehart casually asked which put a crease on the man''s forehead. "If we don''t decide now, we will be killed by those monsters."


    "Tsk," he did not want to face those people again but he could not say no. Astrophos was busy holding the front while Nina was supporting the soldiers. With no other option, he nodded his head and followed behind the major.


    "Do you know how to use magic sense?" Ginehart asked. They bypassed the ogres while they were being distracted to go behind them because there was a high chance that the magic controller who was controlling the ogres would be there.


    Cygnus stopped for a while and closed his eyes, he let his mana flow into the surrounding when he picked up a mana signature not far from them. "To the right, at least five meters away."


    The major and Cygnus changed their direction and indeed found magic users guarding two other people who had their eyes closed. Sensing that there were intrders, the guards faced Ginehart and Cygnus. There were six guards and the other two were controlling the ogres.


    "Are you ready? You can support me from behind and don''t get caught." Ginehart unsheathed his sword and stretched his neck before he vanished from where he was standing and was teleported near the enemy group. In the blink of an eye, he shed his sword and two of the enemies fell to the ground.


    One of them tried to attack the swordsman but Cygnus sent several wind des towards them as several magic circles appeared above them which conjured a dust-colored small whirlwind with its pointed end directed at the enemies. Ginehart also took the chance to sh the enemies while they were distracted by Cygnus.


    The master did not stop there as he continued to use wind attacks to disrupt the movements of their enemies. This was noticed by the other side so they sent two of them to deal with Cygnus. The master saw that two of the guards avoided the major''s attack and was heading his way.


    Fire and sharpened roots simultaneously attacked him. Cygnus propelled himself up using his wind magic to avoid the attack. Both magic collided with each other and created an explosion that pushed Cygnus further. He got his breath knocked out from him when hended with his back on the rocky part of the area where they were fighting.


    The throbbing pain from his back after the badnding was not helping his case. He tried to sit down but his vision suddenly turned blurry. Cygnus still tried to stand as he shook his head to clear himself from the dizziness just in time when he saw something orange that was flying his way.


    In thest moment, he ducked down and was able to avoid the zing fire ball then he rolled away to avoid a root that was aiming to pierce him. He continued to roll right and left to avoid several of the attacks and put up a shield in front of him when one tried to sneak in. He whistled and several sharp invisible winds cut through the roots that were attacking him.


    Cygnus managed to stand up as he stretched both of his arms forward with his palms on top of each other facing the direction of the two magic users. A green magic circle appeared on his palms followed by a roaring whirlwind that suddenly split into two when he separated his right and left arms. The sudden attack caught the two magic users in surprise, one wasn''t able to defend and was hit right on his chest the impact knocked him back as he hit arge tree hard. He coughed up blood after the whirlwind disappeared.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The other one was lucky enough to be able to defend himself from the attack. He was also smart enough to set up a magic circle below Cygnus''s feet. The ground below him suddenly turned soft as he was slowly pulled down and when his feet were buried to his knees the soil hardened. Cygnus was trapped and he couldn''t move.


    A magic circle appeared above Cygnus and wood spikes rained down on the master. He had no way of moving so he did the next thing he could think of. A whirlwind covered his body which prevented the wood spikes from leaving holes in his body.


    Ginehart saw that the other was cornered but he could not move from his position. They were in an unfavorable situation but all they could do was bear and deal with it. Ginehart made a 360 degree turn which barely cut the four magic users that were ganging up on him.


    Cygnus spread his hands with the whirlwind around him also spreading which broke the magic circle and pushed his enemy back. He immediately used his wind to dig the ground to free him from the soil that was preventing him from moving. Another whistle sounded and more wind des rushed towards his enemy. These des also reached the enemies that were surrounding Ginehart.


    The major took that chance to stab the one who lost his footing after being hit by Cygnus''s wind des. His sword pierced the enemy''s chest all the way through his back and he dropped dead. Cygnus maintained his control over the wind des he sent out because he was already running out of mana.


    Beads of sweat were trickling down his face and his breathing was bing irregr. He had been fighting since the beginning and his control over his mana was not that perfect, add to that the fact that his stamina was not that good. He was easily exhausted and could lose focus anytime.


    Defending and attacking at the same time was not his strong suit. He could already feel the wind des disappearing one by one. This was also noticed by Ginehart so with a burst of strength he attacked the other three before they could attack him. His footsteps were firm and full power that was transmitted to his arm and to his sword.


    Two of the magic users were severely injured while the other managed to get away from him but he met with one of Cygnus''s wind des. The major took that opportunity to get near the enemy and shed his neck which instantly killed him.


    The wind des totally disappeared and Cygnus was left defenseless against his enemy. This opportunity was seized by the magic user but before he could attack arge piece of stone was already impaled in his body. The other magic users that were controlling the ogres met the same fate.


    Astrophos came rushing to them while panting. He was relieved to see that both of them were okay. "Luckily I was on time." He helped Cygnus to his feet and held his arm to keep him from falling down.


    "How can you be here?" Ginehart walked towards them, all ragged with his clothes torn and his face full of scratches, even his sword was a bit chipped after slicing through the elements that were thrown his way.


    "Well, a Captain Violett Cazal came to help, together with soldiers wearing the same uniform as the ones in your group," Astrophos answered.

 Chapter 56 Someone Rude

    ?The major''s eyebrows went up at the mention of the woman''s name. He did not think that she would reallye to their rescue of her own ord, well he could always confirm it once they returned. He sheathed his sword then they left the ce.


    "So, is that woman still there?" Ginehart asked.


    Astrophos could sense some dislike from that simple question from the man. "Yes, she was talking with your lieutenant when I left. Is there something wrong with her?"


    Ginehart suddenly stopped and looked back, "Once we return, do not get too close to her nor entertain any questions from her, that is if you want to livefortably in the future."


    "What do you mean?" Cygnus asked. He was limping while being supported by Astrophos and he was also curious to know who this person was and why the major was saying those things.


    "She''s a dangerous woman," was his simple answer before he looked forward and continued walking.


    Cygnus looked at Astrophos but the other shook his head. They figured out that it would be futile to continue asking the major since he was not willing to talk about it. It took them half an hour to finally reach the ce where the others were currently resting.


    Mr. C and Nina saw that the master was limping so they immediately went to support him. The lieutenant also went and gave the major a salute before pointing him to the direction of the captain. Even after the fight, the atmosphere was still a bit tense, add to that the major and the captain who seemed to be at odds with each other.


    Doctor Sigmond came to look at Cygnus and bandaged him up. "You''ll need to rest, all of us need to rest." The doctor mumbled after he did his job.


    "Why are the two of them not on good terms?" Cygnus asked with pure curiosity while looking at the two people from afar.


    Sigmond followed the direction of his gaze, "That''s because the captain has a bit of a difficult personality and the fact that she used her father''s status to enter the army."


    Cygnus''s forehead creased after hearing the doctor''s reply. "Well, is there something wrong with using your father''s status to enter the army? All she needs to do is prove herself then."


    "Easy to say but the army is not a ce where you can easily prove your worth when all you did was use your connection to enter the ranks. People inside that ce are unforgiving and they don''t really like how arrogant she was despite not having any results." The doctor gave Cygnus a hard stare which made thetter ufortable.


    "Status has always been the basis of how people will treat you especially at the capital. In the rural areas it could not be felt to the point that it doesn''t exist. But, if you have a low status or not part of any of the noble families, you will be looked down once you enter the capital." Astrophos interjected from where he was seated.


    "Are you speaking from experience?" The doctor shifted his gaze to the mage who had his eyes closed while leaning on a rock wall.


    "It also happens inside the Magic Tower, so yes, I am speaking from experience." He opened his eyes but his attention was now on Cygnus. "If you want to survive in the capital, you should at least have the title of a mage, at least people will think twice before messing with you."


    As those words faded, the major and the captain finished what they were talking about then walked in their direction. The atmosphere tensed a little bit more. Both stopped a few steps away from them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Report on the injuries and casualties?" Ginehart was looking at the doctor who remained reactionless.


    "We lost ten men and most of the injured are not that severe. I have already treated them so we can move out anytime," he simply answered.


    Ginehart nodded, "Alright, let them rest for a few more minutes before we leave. The three of you can still use the carriage while I request for the Grand Mage to remain in front and alert throughout our journey."


    Cygnus nodded since he did not have the energy to walk. Astrophos has noints too so instead of staying there, he left to help the others in preparing for their ride. The master''s eyes could not help but be drawn to the person behind the major.


    Ginehart noticed this so he stepped aside and introduced the woman. "This is my Captian Violett Cazal. She''ll be assisting us while on the road to the capital."


    "Oh, nice to meet you!" Nina was the first one to stand up and was excited to shake her hand. She walked towards her then stretched out her hands while introducing herself, "I''m Nina Vestial."


    Captain Cazal only stared at her hands but she had no intention of shaking it. Nina felt embarrassed that she could only bow her head and slowly retract her outstretched hand. She returned to Cgynus''s side and refused to speak any longer.


    The master showed an unhappy face because of how the captain acted but he couldn''t just straight away scold her. "I''m Rigel Anzel. Thank you for your help today."


    She still did not react to their introductions, instead she looked at them from head to toe. They thought that she would not speak but then her words came out like a dagger that made Nina flinch and Cygnus frown.


    "Do not thank me since it is my job and I hope that throughout the journey, you won''t be slowing us down. You can use magic and yet you can''t even contribute that much during a fight. How pathetic." She did not hold back with her words before she turned around and left them.


    "Well, now you see what I told you?" the doctormented from the side. He also left after that to fix his things for the journey.


    "Remember what I told you? Don''t get too close to her and don''t provoke her or else your life at the capital will not be peaceful." Ginehart muttered before he too turned around and left.


    Nina red at the woman''s back, "That woman, I can''t believe she would really criticize us like that! If I am not acting, I would have pummeled her already."


    Cygnusughed, "Patience Nina, that''s what you need and of course the right timing. People like her are bound to be destroyed at the end."


    Nina looked at the master only to see him with his scary smile which only appeared when there was some kind of a n running inside his mind. "Do you have a n for her, master?"


    "Maybe." His shoulders shook and there was the glint on his eyes that appeared for a second. "Why don''t we look forward to it, since I might not need to intervene this time."

 Chapter 57 A Little Rest

    ?After clearing the battlefield, the group moved out and continued to Alfonso. This time they encountered no ambush and reached the town in only a day and a half. The town of Alfonso was muchrger than the previous town where they stayed and they were even weed warmly by the town''s officials.


    Cygnus and his group were ushered to where they were treated as special guests. The rooms given to them were spacious and it even has its own dining area. Noints from the men while Nina was looking around with sparkles in her eyes.


    No woman could resist the charm of a high-end room with soft bed and couches and even a carpeted floor. Even the inn that she manages at Moonvale was nothingpared to where she was standing right now.


    "This ce is so beautiful!" She could not help but exim that she even raised her hands in excitement. The three men could only watch her fawning over everything inside the room. She even tried bouncing on the soft bed.


    "I''ll go to my room then and rest then." Cygnus turned around. He was not staying there to watch as the woman continued to giggled like a kid. The other two followed behind.


    The master took that chance to take a bath and fix himself. He stood in front of the mirror but could only sigh at the bruises on his body. If not for the fun of it, those bruises in his body would already be gone but because he needed to maintain this charade, he can''t do anything about it.


    A knock on his room''s door came followed by the butler''s voice. He gave the man permission to enter. He entered with a tray of coffee in his hand. The master sat down on the chair and waited for the butler to pour out the coffee.


    "Have you heard anything from the major yet?" He asked after taking a sip of the coffee. It''s been a couple of hours but the major hasn''te yet.


    Mr. C shook his head, "It seems that they are busy because of the attack. Last I heard from the soldier who came with us that they were still having a meeting about it."


    "A meeting." Cygnus ced the cup on the table as he started to tap his fingers on the table. He was even swinging his feet that crossed above his other feet. "I should listen to what they are talking about."


    He only blinked but the butler felt that something moved inside the room and left through the window. Not long after that, Cygnus tapped on the table and a projection of the meeting appeared. Even the audio was clearly transmitted.


    "Why don''t you get me some wine instead, I think that will suit this show," Cygnus waved his hand at the butler.


    Mr. C went to get the master''s wine while Cygnus put his attention on the meeting that was happening. The major was currently talking with the lieutenant and that captain. It seemed like they were arguing but mostly it was the major and that rude captain.


    "Are you really escorting those people to the capital?" she asked with a frown. "That is not the job of a person in your position." She continued to argue with her palms falling on the surface of the table.


    She was not pleased with the idea that they were traveling with people who she thinks were useless. When she learned that the major was being pursued, she was not worried but when she learned that there were magic users with him, she was pissed. Captain Cazal was not impressed with people who were yet to be mages. They were weak and needed to be protected.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I already made a deal with them and I intend to see it through. Besides, we are also going back to the capital so there''s nothing wrong with letting them go with us," the major defended. He knew that the captain would not agree but she could do nothing because he was the one making the decision.


    Captain Cazal showed a sour face but did not argue anymore. She did not want to waste her time talking about those people. She''d rather proceed to the most important ones.


    "How about those people who were after you? Did you find out any information as to who was behind them?" Violett asked. She was honestly shocked when she received the letter detailing what had happened. "For them to be able to send such arge group of magic hunters to kill you, then the mastermind must be someone powerful."


    "I''ve already sent some of my men to look into it but most likely, the person behind this attack must be from the capital. And, I think there is a traitor inside my own unit." He leaned forward with his arm on the table as he folded his fingers together.


    "Are you saying that a noble is behind the attack?" Violett asked with her brows raised. She even smirked thenughed. "Well, it''s just a matter of time. It''s no wonder that they could hire so many hunters just to kill you."


    "Captain!" Lieutenant Lisbon looked in horror at the woman. She was going too far and to talk like that in front of her superior was a show of disrespect.


    "Am I wrong? He''s been doing too much meddling with the matters of the nobles so you won''t me them if they sent a battalion of assassins just to kill him. Now you''ve even got some novice magic users in your care." The captain wasn''t fazed that she also gave the man a re.


    "Enough," the major interjected. "They are not useless and they''ve helped us so much to survive those attacks and Captain Cazal, please watch the way you speak. I may be tolerant but that doesn''t mean that I forgot everything you''ve done."


    Ginehart gave the captain a warning nce. She was really lucky that her father was the major''smander, if not he would have kicked him out from his unit already. He''s just extending his patience and trying to avoid contact with her as much as possible, because a time mighte that he would not be able to control himself.


    Cygnusughed at the major''s face and at his thoughts. If it were him, that woman would already be lying in a pool of her own blood if she ever showed him disrespect. Mr. C returned with a bottle of wine and a ss then he ced it on the table.


    Cygnus lifted the wine ss and swirled it gently before he took a sip. "This is exciting and I''m sure that when we reach the capital everything will be more to my expectation," hemented.


    "By the way master, what are we going to do with Ezio once we arrive there?" the butler asked. The master hasn''t told them any specific ns regarding the youth ever since they started with the journey.


    "Oh, let him enjoy his stay in Magic Tower. I''ll let him experience what it''s like to stay with people who have magic as well as ulterior motives. I am also curious if he could survive and if he did, I would like to see if he changed." Cygnus enjoyed the aroma and taste of the wine. It would be truly enjoyable if he could destroy that abominable tower.

 Chapter 58 A Festival

    ?For the next two days, they stayed at the inn with all of their needs being provided. ording to the major, they can''t leave for now because he has some matters he needs to attend to in Alfonso. Cygnus suggested that they go ahead first but the major firmly rejected his suggestion.


    His reason was that they still had that deal so he can''t let them go by themselves and there would be no difference since the registration can be done any time for the next three months to give magic users from every corner of the kingdom time to register.


    Cygnus looked at hisrades to know their opinion. Nina and Mr. C had no problem with it but Astrophos was a bit hesitant because he was still thinking of Ezio who was in the hands of the Magic Tower. He kept on frowning but at the end with much persuasion, he gave in. Thus, it was decided that they will leave after the Trade Festival.


    "Trade Festival?" Nina asked with much curiosity. It was her first-time hearing of such a celebration.


    "It is to celebrate the sess of the trading in Alfonso since this town is a center for trade. Merchantse here to deal with their products to be distributed to the other towns. They even call this ce a gateway for money and sess. There are even beliefs that if you offer money to the gods, they would grant a wish for you," Lieutenant Lisbon, who came with the major to inform them of the n, exined.


    "Is that so?" Cygnus''s eyes brightened at what he heard which made the three other people with him stare. They could tell that something would definitely happen now that he had expressed his interest in the festival.


    "Well, it is just a belief so you don''t have to be too invested with it. The highlight of this celebration is to showcase the different products of the differentnds under the rule of Lunaira." Lisbon immediately made it clear before they fully believed about that unnecessary practice.


    "For now, you can go around and take a look. Alfonso is a rtively safe ce and with the tight security because of the festival no magic hunter will try to attack us here. You just need to be careful of thieves because there''s a lot of them here," the major reminded. He then signaled for the lieutenant to bring out the envelope he prepared for them.


    "What''s that?" Cygnus asked after he saw that Lisbon was handing him the envelope that seemed to contain something.


    "It''s money. It''s my way ofpensating you for all the trouble you have gone through because of me, ept it," the major exined. Though it was not necessary, he still did it because right now he was intending to build a good rtionship with the man and the others.


    Cygnus blinked a couple of times before he realized what the major had said. He then shook his head and his hands while taking a step back. "I can''t receive that. It''s not right and besides we have money that we can spend."


    "I told you to ept it or is it that you don''t want to ept my goodwill?" Ginehart squinted his eyes at them. "Just ept it." He took the envelope and forcefully handed it to Cygnus who was still looking at him with wide eyes.


    With no other choice, he could only reluctantly ept it. After that, Ginehart and Lisbon left to do whatever they were going to do.


    "What a generous man," Cygnus waved the envelope then tossed it to Mr. C since he was the person in-charge of their money. "Let''s go."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They walked around the town and saw that there were already banners at every corner of the streets. The night was also lively with all the preparation that was going on. Nina also suggested that they visit the ce where they offer money to the gods.


    After asking for directions, they came to a cordoned corner of the za where a raised tform was ced. Behind it was a statue of a man in somewhat like ancient Greek styled clothing holding a basket in his hand while it bent towards the tform.


    "Hm, it is an impressive sculpture if I may say so," Mr. C praised the craftsmanship of the statue. Every line was defined to the point that it looked real if not for the fact that the whole statue was made of stone.


    "Should we offer some money and see that belief is true?" Nina asked while looking at the tform where arge basket covered with red cloth was ced.


    "Do as you like," Cgynus smiled. He turned around and left since there was nothing interesting about the statue nor its surroundings.


    Nina did what she liked and ced money in the basket then they went around a bit more before returning to the inn. After two days of preparation, the festival officially started and just like any celebration, different kinds of people came to celebrate with them.


    From morning until evening, the streets were busy. It was a joyous asion. There were also several people who went to the tform and ced money inside the basket coupled with a short mumbling which Nina assumed to be a prayer to the god of trade.


    They''ve pretty much saw each shop and every product as Nina pulled them around while buying too many things that she said could be useful. Cygnus on the other hand went to buy different magic items that he could probably use while giving a subtle nce at the direction of where their surveince was.


    He already noticed them yesterday after the major left. As much as the major doubted them, they were pretty much in the clear so these soldiers were not sent by him. He could only think of one person who was capable of giving them orders.


    They continued with their tour as if there was nothing wrong and brought many things, before they returned to the inn where they ate as usual. After that each of them returned to their own rooms, Mr. C would always visit the master to make sure that he doesn''t need anything before he will also rest.


    As the night deepened and when most people were already asleep, silhouettes started to emerge from the dark alleys where no light could reach. They travelled across the dimly lit sidewalks and they continued doing so around the town, it was like they were looking for something.


    A woman was walking home from her work as she shivered at the night breeze that crawled around her body. Her boss held her up and made her do somest-minute work to which she cannot say no since she needed the extra money.


    While walking, she started to feel uneasy because the shadows formed from themp posts seemed to be alive. In fear, she hastened her steps but before she could reach her home, a ck arm shot out from the darkness and pulled her in. She struggled but no matter how she fought, she was still pulled in and only her bag remained on the side of the road.

 Chapter 59 Thrilling

    ?A man standing on the roof grinned at what he saw. He was out for a night walk when he heard a rustling from the darkness, then he saw those silhouettesing out and pulling their victims into the endless darkness. Some of them struggled but s, they were still unable to free themselves from those slimy ck hands.


    "What a sight to behold," heughed with his eyes glinting blood from where he was spectating. He did not expect that these kinds of things also exist in this world.


    After the silhouettes disappeared together with their victims, he also left and floated in the sky while humming to himself. It was truly a pleasant night for someone like him who had been working overtime. He suddenly remembered something after a while, memories from the past came like a sh which only ignited augh from him.


    "If those things exist here, then those beings will surely be here too! If that''s the case then it will be good for me. The more bodies I leave on my path, the more thrilling this world will be, and what''s the best corpse to leave behind my trail, heroes!" Maniacalugh echoed through the night as he muttered those words to the wind.


    The next day came and as they went out for another exploration of the festival, they could already hear the whispers from the streets. The somewhat joyous asion turned somewhat bleak despite the smiles from people''s faces. Some of them were wary and at the same time tense but to those people who had not noticed this change still continued with their lives.


    "Eh, what happened?" Nina asked after looking around. She felt it, the thick stench of unease in the air. Even though the shops were already open and there were even more people than yesterday, the atmosphere was still a bit wrong.


    Astrophos suddenly appeared behind them, "Apparently several people disappearedst night. There are already reports being filed at the outpost regarding this incident."


    "You are really fast, howe you know what''s happening?" Nina looked back with a mocking grin on her face.


    Astrophos became annoyed at the woman''s look but chose to ignore her. "I went outst night because I felt an ominous presence but found nothing unusual. I then went to the outpost early this morning to see if something happened and indeed there was."


    His gaze thennded at Cygnus who was looking at them in silence. When he felt that the man was looking at him, he gave the other a smile that almost turned his eyes into slits. The mage shivered and immediately avoided his gaze.


    "Anyway, I''ll walk around alone for now. Let''s just see each other at the inn." After that, the mage left them. Cygnus has no desire to follow the other''s initiative. Instead, they took this chance to freely roam around.


    When they got tired, they returned only to see some people waiting for them. Lieutenant Lisbon was together with three other people while they sat down. They were whispering to each other and when Cygnus coughed the murmurs also stopped.


    "Lieutenant, I didn''t expect to see you here. I thought you were busy?" Cygnus approached them with a smile on his face.


    Lisbon could onlyugh as he stood up to greet the man. "Yes, well, we are indeed busy that''s why I am here. Something suddenly came up but we don''t have enough manpower to handle it, since we''ve sent some of the soldiers on a mission." He gave the master a big smile in hopes that he would not be intimidated by his next words.


    Cygnus could already tell what the other wanted to say. Aftering hearing it from Astrophos and seeing them waiting for them, it was clear that they''ll be involved in this case.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "May I know the reason then?" The master asked even though he already knew what''s about toe.


    "I know you''ve already heard about the incident that happenedst night. We suspect that the culprit might be a magic user and because the major is a little bit busy, he cannot do an investigation. So, on behalf of him, I request that you do the investigation instead," Lisbon was still smiling while he said those words. It would be a shame if the man would refuse.


    "Are you sure about that lieutenant? I am not a mage and I am not a soldier. I don''t even have any experience in doing that kind of work. If you want someone to do it, Grand Mage Astrophos will be more suitable." Cygnus shook his head to reject the offer. He did not want to be involved in anything rted to whatever incident that happenedst night.


    Lisbon''s gaze shifted to the Grand Mage that was with them. Astrophos gave a subtle nod before he moved forward to speak what was in his mind. "I''ll ept the job. Whatever or whoever is behind the disappearances, I will do my best to capture them," he then shifted to the side and looked at Cygnus, "of course Sir Rigel will also help me with the job."


    Cygnus was about to voice out his dissatisfaction but Lisbon was faster than him. "That''s great!" The lieutenant eximed then he pulled the three soldiers who apanied him and introduced them to Astrophos.


    The master lost the chance to speak as the conversation slowly and smoothly moved to other matters. He could do nothing but to listen to them and the circumstances of the incident. They were also told to start that night and see if they can catch a glimpse of the crime.


    "I''ve already instructed them to listen to you or to Sir Rigel so if they show any untoward behaviors, please report to me immediately," the lieutenant reminded. He then pointed at the three soldiers with him and gave them a warning look.


    "Alright, you don''t have to worry about them that much. I''m sure that they will eventually listen to us." Astrophos gave Cygnus a sideways nce before returning his gaze to the three soldiers who were stiffly standing on the side.


    Two of them were men while the other was a woman. It was rare to see any woman joining the military even though there were special cases like the Captain Cazal. To be able to enter and participate in battles were already enough to gain a reputation but she was able to enter Major Ginehart''s unit. This only meant that the woman was quite skilled.


    "I''ll be looking forward to the result of your investigation then Grand Mage, Sir Rigel," he spoke while shifting his gaze to the both of them.


    "We will report to you tomorrow whatever we find tonight." Astrophos nodded his head as they bid the lieutenant goodbye. The Grand Mage then stood in front of the three soldiers who remained stiff even after theirmander left.


    "You should rx, we won''t be able to finish a thing if you are like that," Astrophos tried to persuade them but nothing happened. They were still standing like they were statues and did not even give the Grand Mage any response.


    "They must hate the fact that a mage will be ordering them around," Cygnusmented as he sat on an empty seat. "I heard that the army is not on good terms with the magic tower."

 Chapter 60 Accusation

    ?"Well, I don''t really care if they had any grudge or hatred against the magic tower or the mages or the magic users. They should know that what''s more important right now is to capture whoever or whatever it is that took those people away." Astrophos gave the three of them a warning re. if they won''t cooperate then he can always report them to the lieutenant and kick them out from the group.


    Cygnus covered his mouth with a hand as he hid the smirk that appeared on his face. This was interesting since it was the first time that he saw Astrophos showing tant dislike to other people aside from him. It seemed that the army and the magic tower had a deeper grudge with each other than what was portrayed on the surface.


    "You don''t have to worry Grand Mage, we will prioritize the assignment over the misunderstanding between our organizations," one of the soldiers answered. He was the tallest of them and had tanned skin with ck eyes.


    "That''s good to know. Your name is Hwaquin right?" Astrophos asked. He looked at the man and could already tell that he had a good temperament.


    The man simply nodded at the question. Aside from that, he did not speak anymore. Since they did not want to say a word, Astrophos could only sigh. He even looked at Cygnus but the other man only shrugged.


    "Then I''m looking forward to working with the three of you." No reply so Astrophos could only wave his hands. "Let''s meet here again after an hour, then we''ll talk about what we are going to do tonight."


    Cygnus went up to his room followed by the three. Since Astrophos has epted the job for them, he should take responsibility.


    "I was supposed to enjoy our stay in this ce, so why did you even ept that job?" Nina red at the man who always likes to do whatever he likes without even consulting them. She walked up to the man and pointed at him, "You even dragged the master in this nonsense!"


    Astrophos grabbed the woman''s wrist and slowly pushed her back. "So that I can keep an eye on him." His voice was cold and even the look he gave to Cygnus was freezing.


    "Hah!" Nina shook her head, "Keep an eye on him!? Are you crazy? What, you think the master has something to do with those ignorant people suddenly disappearing?"


    "I can''t be sure since your master has the tendency to create chaos wherever he goes," Astrophos did not back down. He was still looking at Cygnus who was calmly sitting on one of the couches. Mr. C even handed him a book that he can read while waiting.


    "And why would my master even kidnap people? Yeah he is crazy but he is not that crazy to go to such lengths!" Nina was ready to burst now and she was only holding herself back but every word that came out from the man''s mouth was setting her off.


    "I don''t know. Why don''t you ask him? Because, I''m pretty much sure that he can do those things." Astrophos was so sure with his words and yet the man himself remained silent. Nina on the other hand was already pissed. A magic circle suddenly appeared below Astrophos.


    "I''ve tolerated you ever since I met you, but this time you are going too far." The woman was enraged. What she disliked the most was someone using her master of something he did not do.


    Astrophos tried to step back but to his surprise his feet did not even budge. It was like he was glued to the ground and the moment that the magic circle began to light, his movements became frantic. He very well knew how dangerous Nina''s magic was and he did not want to be at the receiving end of it.


    Before the magic could activate, the circle broke into pieces. Astrophos was free but the unease in his heart became worse. He looked at the direction of Cygnus and the butler with wide eyes.


    "You should have already known that humans are quick to judge someone with just a look." Cygnus was still focused on the book he was reading but the atmosphere inside the room was already dark.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Mr. C who always remained calm and collected in every situation they faced was now looking at him with no smile. His gaze was enough to give fear to anyone who would look at him.


    "Mr. Astrophos, I suggest that you watch your words, or else you''ll experience a miserable death," the butler''s voice deepened.


    It was a warning and Astrophos knew it. He would have not spoken hastily if he knew that these people would react like this.


    "I suggest that you leave now, Mr. Astrophos. We will see youter." Cygnus lifted his head from reading and sent a smile towards the surprised man.


    Astrophos did not think twice and left the room. He silently berated himself for suddenly speaking like that even though he clearly knew that he was speaking with people who have insane personalities. He vigorously shook his head to get rid of those thoughts in his mind. He decided to take a rest for a while to calm himself from that encounter.


    After he left, Nina looked at Cygnus while gritting her teeth. "Why did you stop me? You should have allowed me to kill that person!"


    "Nina," Cygnus sighed. He closed the book he was holding and handed it to Mr. C. "I''ve told you so many times before that we don''t just go around and killing people. Instead we should remember and let them pay it backter."


    The woman stilled as her body was unable to move. She trembled as she watched the master slowly walk towards her. Her mind was screaming for her to run and hide but the force that was holding her down cannot be broken.


    "Ma-master..." Her voice shook but Cygnus only smiled at her.


    He then reached out his hand and gently stroked her cheeks and her hair. The smile on his face and his silence made Nina more nervous.


    "Haven''t I reminded you already that you should reign in your temper? I don''t want something bad happening to you just because you can''t control your emotions." Cygnus''s dark eyes slowly turned red, like the color of blood, as he looked at the woman''s eyes. "I still view you as useful, so don''t fail me."


    Nina wanted to scream but she knew that the master didn''t like it. She tried to hide her fear but the red eyes staring at her stopped her from doing so.


    "I understand, master, ple-please let me go," she pleaded.


    Cygnus took a step back. "Alright, I''ll let you be for now but remember what I told you." He returned to where he was sitting and continued with his book like nothing happened.


    Nina slumped on the ground soaked with her own sweat while breathing hard. She did not want to experience that again.


    "I''ll escort Nina to her room," Mr. C crouched and helped the woman stand up. They then left the room and Cygnus in peace. Mr. C knew that it was better to let him be for now than to continue staying with him.

 Chapter 61 Calm Before The Storm

    ?Cygnus continued to browse through the book he was reading but the lights inside the room continued to flicker. Even the ones outside were experiencing some malfunctions which made the people frown.


    Some of them even called for the stationed mages in the town to fix it but no matter how they used magic to stabilize the lights, those lights still continued to go off and on. With confusion, the mages tried to create new light using mana but even those were affected by the unexpected phenomenon.


    Mr. C stared at the flickering lights and could only sigh. The master was really annoyed this time, luckily, they did not experience another earthquake. He walked to the window of Nina''s room and looked outside. He was right, even the mana outside the inn was being affected.


    Judging by the extent of mana disturbance because of the master''s sour mood, if it caused another earthquake, the whole ce would already have cracked buildings and streets. There might even be casualties which never happened during the earthquake at Moonvale.


    "This is that man''s fault, if he did not open that mouth of his, then nothing like this would have happened." Nina stood up from where she was resting after they entered the room and joined the butler. She was extremely annoyed at the Grand Mage who did not know his ce.


    "It is inevitable and the Grand Mage doesn''t know about our master''s circumstances but as someone who has already seen how our master is, he should not have talked. It''s difficult even for me to calm the master in these kinds of situations." Mr. C did not remove his gaze from the outside as he spoke.


    Ever since that day when he destroyed a whole town just because he was pissed, Mr. C tried his best to calm down the master whenever he became annoyed. If Cygnus did not calm down during that incident, then it was not only a town that would have been destroyed.


    And with the help of that person, Cygnus significantly calmed down throughout the past years. Mr. C was actually happy that the master finally learned how to slow down but to his dismay, everything was only for a short while.


    When that person disappeared without a trace, instead of going on a rampage, the master became unfeeling. His humanity, his ability to feel emotions towards someone, that was already hanging on a thin thread was pushed to its limit. Sometimes Mr. C could see a hint of it from the master but it was only a short glimpse. There was even a time that he doubted himself and thought that he was hallucinating.


    The butler sincerely hoped that the master wouldn''t return to what he was in the past and that hope was ced in Ezio. If they can let Ezio stay beside the master, then Mr. C has high hopes that the master won''t seek destruction.


    "Still, I hope that the master is alright." Nina put both of her hands on the windowsill and leaned forward a bit to let the breeze of the wind touch her skin and also to calm her heart.


    After a while, the blinking lights finally stopped and stabilized which meant that Cygnus at least has calmed his anger down. They waited for the allotted time to finish before they met again at a room that Astrophos prepared for a short meeting they''ll have before they leave to investigate.


    Once everyone was seated, Astrophos started to ry to them the n. They will be divided into three groups, one soldier and one magic user, then they''ll go around the town to observe. For now, they''ll work separately then meet up the next morning to report anything that they found strange or suspicious.


    Nina and the otherdy from the soldiers were a pair, Astrophos paired with the other one while Hwaquin was pared with Cygnus. After that, Astrophos pointed at the ces where several people disappeared. He then grouped these ces and each team will check each cluster to find any clues.


    "But before that, we need to visit the mage outpost in this ce to ask them of some preliminary information regarding the incident." Astrophos stood up and waved for them to follow.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    From the inn to the magic outpost, it only took them a fifteen-minute walk towards the ce. They could see mages who were in a hurry around the ce. Astrophos led the way as they entered the building where a slightly chubby woman greeted them.


    The woman immediately ushered them to the director''s study where two other mages were already waiting. As the door closed to the study, the atmosphere instantly dropped to an awkward silence.


    The mages did not give the soldiers a look and instead talked with Astrophos only. They were even very respectful because the man was a Grand Mage. They talked for a while before the Grand Mage stood up.


    "Thank you for helping us even though this is not your job. We were willing to help you but were beaten to it by Major Ginehart''s people and as you can see our cecks manpower," the director spoke while shaking hands with Astrophos. The people inside the room knew that behind those words, there was a hidden meaning being directed at the soldiers who were with them.


    Astrophos also notice this but he chose to stay as he was because he did not want to create a misunderstanding between them. "Ah yes, we will do our best to uncover the truth behind these kidnappings."


    They left the mage outpost and with one more warning from Astrophos, before they departed to the assigned location where they''ll investigate. Cygnus looked sideways, at Hwaquin who hadn''t spoken a single word ever since they left.


    "How long have you been a soldier, Sir Hwaquin?" he asked just to start a conversation with the man.


    He thought that the other was not going to answer because he took a long time before he replied. "I have been a soldier for six years now."


    "Oh, that''s quite a long time already." Cygnus was nodding his head after hearing the other''s reply. "So, do you usually go around and take missions like this?"


    Hwaquin''s forehead creased at Cygnus''s question. "No, usually missions that are rted to magic users will be handled by the mage outposts that were situated around the kingdom. But even though that should be the case, there were times that those mages wouldn''t want to cooperate. So, the militia decided to intervene using their efforts."


    "That''s quite a difficult situation. Is that one of the reasons why the non-magic users don''t get along with the mages?" Cygnus was trying to be curious when in fact he knew what was happening around the kingdom.


    "Yes, but I think that this feud being disyed is iparable to a real fight happening between the two groups," Hwaquin exined. He was still focused on the task ahead while listening to the man''s questions.


    They reached the first area where a woman disappeared and the only trace that she was there was the shoes that dropped on the ground. The ce was still cordoned off to avoid anyone from entering.

 Chapter 62 Another Arrogance

    ?The ce felt eerie and Cygnus could feel a dark presence in there. It was in every corner of that dark alley. He suddenly felt nauseous so even before they could start investigating, he left the alley to catch some air a few meters away from it.


    Hwaquin looked at him but he did not say anything. He continued to look around the alley and looked behind the woods and boxes that were piled in there.


    He kept on rummaging around until he discovered something under a box at the innermost corner of the ally. It was a little bit difficult to see but he was sure that it was something the mages called a magic circle.


    "What is it?" Cygnus came up behind them and slightly bent to look at what the other was looking at.


    "Do you feel good now?" Hwaquin asked without looking back. He brushed the dust that was partially covering the magic circle.


    "Yeah, I''m a little bit fine now. That''s undoubtedly a magic circle and it''s not a circle that I have seen before." He crouched down beside the man and stared intently at what they uncovered. He repeatedly shook his head even though in reality that magic circle was very familiar with him. "Yeah, never seen that before."


    Hwaquin stood up and patted his clothes before he looked around again, "Alright, Sir Rigel, I suggest that we quickly visit the other areas and look if a magic circle like that is present at those ces as well."


    Cygnus has noints about it so they immediately left and visited the other areas in session to finally conclude that those magic circles must have something to do with the incident. After doing their rounds, they returned to the inn and waited for the others to arrive.


    "Why do you always look like you''re about to throw up when we are investigating those areas?" Hwaquin asked after they arrived at the inn and just entered the door.


    "Oh that, I don''t know, I think all magic users would feel that after visiting those areas. The dark magic in those areas is really saturated and it has a foul stench to it," Cygnus answered.


    The soldier looked at him, "Alright so, you are just sensitive with other magic is that it?"


    "Well basically yes," Cygnus answered. After that, they both fell into silence and found an empty table in the dining area where they sat down.


    "How did your investigation do, master?" Mr. C came up to their table and brought some tea and snacks.


    "It went well I guess." Cygnus picked up the cup of tea and naturally drank from it then he picked up a cookie and ate it. He then realized that the other was only looking at him. "What''s the matter? Aren''t you going to eat?"


    Hwaquin only stared at him then at the butler who stood behind Cgynus. "You are actually from a noble family, right?"


    Cygnus stopped mid-air with a cookie still in his hands while the butler raised an eyebrow from where he was standing. The master sighed as he returned the cookie in the te.


    Cygnus chuckled and shook his head, "Sir Hwaquin, you are a terrible guesser. I am not from any noble family. Well, yes, my family has some money but we cannot bepared to the nobles." He exined but the man''s gaze lingered on Mr. C. "We only managed to hire him because he is willing and he can be considered a part of our family."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Hwaquin did not answer and only nodded before he too picked up the cup of tea that was served for him. His eyes widened then he looked down at the tea that tasted nothing like he had ever tasted before. Without hesitation, he ate one cookie and like a child, his eyes started to sparkle.


    "Do you like it?" Cygnus was smiling while looking at how the man was eating the cookies with delight.


    "Well, these cookies are good and even the tea tasted better than the ones I had before." Hwaquin nodded although it doesn''t always show in his face. He was actually delighted with these simple things because he did not have them before he became a soldier.


    "What''s so good about a cookie and tea served by amoner?" a sharp voice came from the entrance of the inn. Astrophos with his partner entered with the Grand Mage looking too tired. The soldier with him was also scowling and gave them a re.


    Cgynus ignored the man instead, "That''s a recipe from our small bakeshop back at Moonvale and the tea is a secret that only my butler knew."


    Hwaquin nodded as he also ignored his fellow soldier. He continued to drink and eat without giving the other a nce and so did Cygnus. The butler also pretended that he did not exist.


    The man became indignant at how he was being treated, "Tsk, you really think that all of you have the power just because you can use magic! Ridiculous, all thesemoners acting like noble people just because they can use a little magic."


    "Will you stop it already? Why do you keep throwing tantrums, if you can''t bear to be working withmoners like us, then leave. I''ll let the lieutenant know." Astrophos was already losing his patience fast and he did not forget that the master was here. If this man continued to talk like he did before a few hours ago, then he might lose his life in the future.


    The Grand Mage slightly looked at the master then returned his gaze at the soldier who was acting like a child. A ''thump'' sounded in the inn as the cup in Cygnus''s hands was ced heavily on the table.


    "If you don''t stop speaking such nonsense, then you will inevitably face death faster than any of us in here," he lifted his head and looked at theining man, "haven''t you heard of the saying that all who talk too much dies early?"


    This retort further irritated the soldier and without warning, he walked up to Cygnus intending to teach him a lesson. He stretched his hand in an attempt to pull the other''s cor but before he could reach his target, his arm was tightly seized.


    Mr. C squeezed the hand as he gave the impudent man a re. "If you want to continue living, I suggest that you take a step back and better yet leave." He then leaned forward near the man, "Because believe it or not, I can kill you right here, right now and not even the major can stop me."


    The incensed soldier pulled his arm and also glowered at Mr. C. He felt fear but it was only there for a while. His pride as a noble was still much more dominant than any emotion he had right now. "Don''t think that this is the end. I will remember this day," he growled.


    The butler fixed his posture and returned to his stoic self after giving the other a warning. Astrophos also came to stand in between the butler and the man. "What do you think you are doing? If you are dissatisfied with me, you should have told us before this investigation started. And now you are going around threatening people."


    "Sir Ignus, this conduct is unbing of your status. If you continue with this kind of attitude, I will inform the lieutenant." Hwaquin, who also stood up because of themotion issued a warning.


    Even with these words of warning, Ignus was still unwilling to let go. He still looked at them darkly, "Tsk anothermoner. Go ahead then and tell that lieutenant for all I care!"

 Chapter 63 This Is Not Gonna End Well

    ?Themotion attracted some of the guests who were in there and even the inn keeper of the inn came to see what''s going on. Ignus was still fuming and gritting his teeth but all of them were only looking at him like he had lost his mind.


    "Dear guests? May I know what''s happening?" The manager asked but no one from the people involved was willing to answer him.


    The innkeeper was then put into an awkward position but he can''t let these people disturb the peace of the inn or else the owner would be angry if they continued.


    "It was that man," one of the people who saw what happened pointed at Ignus. "He was the one who started all of thismotion. He entered and started shouting for no reason," he added.


    Ignus saw that the person was pointing at him so he got even more angry but this time he controlled himself and instead left the inn which made the innkeeper relieved. The crowd of people also dispersed slowly.


    "What actually happened Mr. Astrophos?" Cygnus then asked after everything finally calmed down. To see that the other party was so angry after their investigation, something might have happened between the two of them.


    The grand mage could only sigh and rub his head that had been aching ever since they left to their designated areas. "It was no big deal. He was the one who suddenly startedining about why they should be forced to work with us. And when I told him to actually shut up, he suddenly went crazy."


    Cygnus cringed at what he heard and thankfully it was not him who was paired with Ignus because he might have killed him on the spot and just created a dummy that looked like him. "But you still managed to find something right?"


    The man gave another sigh and they instantly knew that their investigation didn''t go well. It was inevitable given the current situation so they let him be for now. This time, Nina and her partner arrived. The atmosphere around the two of them was also a bit stiff and awkward.


    Both of them had a frown on their faces and were not speaking with each other which only meant that their side had not found anything yet. This time it was Cygnus''s turn to let out a sigh. It was indeed a very bad decision to pair them up but there was nothing they could do right now.


    In order to not scare off the other guests because of the dark atmosphere around them, the butler conscientiously suggested that they move upstairs to the room where they had their meeting. All of them moved upstairs with the air still as bleak as how it was a moment ago.


    It took a couple of minutes before one of them finally spoke. The silence was broken by Cygnus''s crisp voice. "It seems to me that this group," he gestured at all of them, "is not working as expected."


    "I agree!" Nina raised her hand and squinted at the other woman in the room before averting her gaze and looking at the room''s decoration.


    Cygnus sighed, he felt like he had been sighing throughout this whole ordeal and that any moment now, he might have totally lost the ability to sigh once again. "So, I suggest that after this meeting we go our own ways and investigate separately. I''ll try to talk with the lieutenant regarding this matter. Let''s just not force it."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes, that''s a better idea. We can just directly report to the lieutenant if we find something. I don''t want to go through that headache again since I have a feeling that whoever will be sent to work with us, will definitely find the idea unpleasant," Astrophos voiced out.


    Now he was regretting letting the lieutenant decide. He should have just epted the mission and not the cooperation with those non-magic users. It was truly difficult to work with them, except for the other soldier who seemed to have gotten along with Cygnus.


    "Now that it is settled let''s proceed to what we found on our walk," Cygnus went straight to the point since he did not want to consume more of their time by going around the bush. "We found weird magic circles on the ces where the disappearances happened and the unmistakable feel of something dark was also strong in those areas."


    "Same with the other ces we managed to check out but we haven''t found any magic circle since my partner wasn''t that cooperative." Astrophos nodded his head as he brought out a paper where he wrote Cygnus''s observation. "But if all the ces you went to have those weird magic circles, then the ces we haven''t checked most likely have those too."


    "Then, is this really the work of a magic user?" Hwaquin finally spoke after his long silence. He was not a person who talks a lot but when he had something he wanted to ask, then he would definitely talk.


    "In a sense yes, but I think there''s something darker behind these disappearances. Can you draw the magic circle you found?" He pushed the paper and pen towards Cgynus.


    The master calmly took the paper and diligently drew what they saw in those alleys. The others waited patiently for him to finish and when he was done, he ced the paper in the middle of the table.


    No one talked but the grand mage''s face darkened like the night at what he saw. "No wonder those ces felt ominous. This is not a regr magic circle which a normal mage would use. Whoever used this circle has connections with dark magic, and what''s more this is not a regr dark magic circle. The symbol at the center of the circle represents a human being and connected to it are the symbols of sacrifice, death and power."


    The room once again fell into a deep silence after the information they heard, especially those who had not encountered this kind of magic. There was no visible reaction from the people inside the room but Astrophos was sure that he''ll get one after a short while.


    "That''s insane! Are you saying that someone was using magic to sacrifice people!?" The other woman stood up from her chair as her voice rose while uttering those words. "This is why I cannot trust any magic users. They could do this kind of wicked thing just because they had the power to do so."


    "Hey!" Nina also stood up and pointed at the woman, "Be careful of your words! Not all magic users are like that and haven''t you been listening! The mage said that it was the work of dark magic. Don''t lump us with those idiots who only know how to use that kind of nasty power!"


    "Hah! Don''t be absurd, dark magic or whatever, it is still categorized as magic. You can''t pass yourself as someone clean just because you aren''t using dark magic. Magic is magic and so are magic users. You are all the same!" The woman was not daunted by Nina''s words, instead she pushed back harder.


    "Wow so are you saying that you, people who can''t use magic are more righteous than us? When in fact all of you are the worst. Don''t be a hypocrite when you non-magic users can also sacrifice others just to protect your pride or your reputation or just because you find the other annoying!" Nina was not having any of it. She would not let this ignorant woman continue to run her mouth.

 Chapter 64 This Is Not Gonna End Well II

    ?The argument was bing more and more out of hand that Cygnus decided to intervene and stop the both of them. Hwaquin was already on his feet to stop his fellow soldier from going further.


    "Alright, enough already. We''ve heard the both of you so let''s calm down for a while." Astrophos stood up then he signaled Hwaquin to leave the room with the woman first.


    Hwaquin pulled the woman as they left the room while Cygnus was only standing in front of Nina without saying anything. Astrophos looked at the butler and saw him nodding his head so he gave the group onest look before he too left.


    "My dear Nina, I''ve told you already to reign in your anger so, why are you arguing with that woman again?" Cygnus asked. It was already unpleasant that those soldiers thought highly of themselves and now Nina was butting heads with them.


    Nina bowed her head, "I''m so sorry master. I''ve been holding myself back but that woman has been making these remarks that were getting on my nerves ever since we went out for the investigation." She was clenching her hands while exining the reason behind her actions.


    Actually, she had been holding herself back because she did not want to see that master''s look again. She endured throughout the time that they were together but she could not remain still once the usations from the woman''s mouth came out.


    Cygnus stepped back and sat on the chair once again, "Humans, you should have gotten used to how entric they are already. But this time that woman is indeed foolish. I did not think that the discrimination in this world is even more serious than those previous worlds."


    He started to drum his fingers on the table with a disappointed look on his face. He felt like the worlds he was visiting were bing more and more unreasonable. ''Will he ever find a world where he can live peacefully after this one?'' This thought suddenly crossed his mind.


    "Forgive me master, this will not happen again in the future." Nina apologized once again with her body now rxed. She had calmed down now as she raised her head and looked at the master who still looked serious.


    "Alright, I''ll let it pass for today since I also found that woman''s words to be offensive. For now, you should return to your room and rest. We should all go and rest." Cygnus finally stood up and left the room. He looked around but saw that the woman and Hwaquin were nowhere to be found.


    The night deepened but those creatures did not appear and the night passed peacefully. Came the morning with Cygnus and Astrophos standing in front of the major''s base. Hwaquin came to wee them and led them to where the major was.


    "Sir Rigel, you''vee so early in the morning, what''s the matter?" The major stood up from where he was sitting and walked up towards them. "Why don''t the both of you have a seat first?" He gestured at the couches inside his study.


    The two guests didn''t make a fuss and just epted the major''s gesture. The three of them sat down while the major waited for any of them to say the reason why they came so early in the morning.


    "Are you actually testing our patience Major Ginehart?" Astrophos spoke first after he saw how the major was smiling so casually.  He did not believe that the major had no idea of what happened yesterday.


    "What do you mean Grand Mage?" The smile on the major''s face disappeared at those words.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Don''t act dumb major. If I knew that you sent those people to annoy us, we wouldn''t have agreed to your request. We epted it in order to help but it seemed that we were actually being yed," Astrophos sneered.


    He was a coward but he wouldn''t run away just because he was at a disadvantage. The master had pointed it out so many times, so this time he will face the enemy without running away. Astrophos looked serious but Ginehart started to have a frown on his face.


    "If this is about the soldiers who were sent to cooperate with you, I apologize for their rude behavior. I have already told Lieutenant Lisbon to give them a punishment," Ginehart simply exined. He did not expect that the grand mage would react strongly to what had happened.


    Although it was not his intention, he still allowed those people to join them in the investigation even though he knew that they held malice against magic users. It was also his way of having a reason to punish them.


    "Major, if you don''t know how to control your people, how can we trust you in the future? We are not even sure if the people you will send to help us turned out to be people who will stab us in the back." This time it was Cgynus who spoke. He had been observing the major and reading his mind throughout his conversation with Astrophos.


    He was really impressed with how the major was thinking but he would not let himself be yed in the hands of a mortal. The right to deceive people was his exclusive hobby so he must put this major in his ce.


    Cgynus''sment made the room silent and for a moment, the major felt that the man was a different person because of how the atmosphere changed the moment he spoke.


    "Once again, I apologize for that and I will properly discipline my men in the future." Majro Ginehart cannot believe that he was apologizing agin. He frowned to himself but if disappeared immediately after he made eye contact with Cygnus.


    After that, Astrophos straightened his back and spoke, "We came here today to tell you the result of our short investigation yesterday and to tell you that after this report we will not participate in this mess any longer."


    Major Ginehart was slightly taken aback by the grand mage''s words. This was not the result that he was aiming for when he listed their help in the case. He was hoping that they would brush this incident off and still continue to investigate but before he could voice out his objection, Cygnus spoke once again.


    "If you want to enlist somebody else''s help, you can go ahead and contact the Mage Association. As for us, we will wash our hands of this case and besides it is not within our expertise to handle the case. Haven''t you forgotten that we are not official mages yet and the grand mage''s role was to apany us to the capital, not to solve cases that the military is handling." Those words made the major stop on his attempt to talk it out with them.


    He stared at Cygnus then he closed his eyes and tilted his head up for a while. "Alright, I''ll do that then and let you be until the day we depart from this ce."


    "Thank you for understanding our situation, Major. The truth is, I have been nervous since yesterday because of what we found out so I decided to back out and when I told the grand mage, he also agreed." Cygnus sighed with his hand on top of his chest.


    His shoulders slumped as he felt relief when the major finally agreed with them. The tense atmosphere slowly eased up and so did his fast-beating heart. Ginehart gritted his teeth and did not know what he should feel. Just a while ago, Cgynus seemed to be a different person but now he was back to how the major remembered him to be.

 Chapter 65 Ghost

    ?Just as the atmosphere eased up, the information ryed by Cgynus and Astrophos made the major silent. Hwaquin had already given him a rundown on the information they got yesterday but looking at how serious the other two were, this matter was not to be taken lightly.


    He listened intently without making muchment. After they told him everything that they inferred from the discovered magic circles, Ginehart called for one of the soldiers stationed outside the room. He gave him an order before he sent him away.


    "Thank you for that information," Ginehart nodded to both of them.


    "Now that we''ve told you everything we know, we will leave and as promised, we won''t have anything to do with this case any longer. So, we hope that you can catch the culprit." Astrophos stood up followed by Cygnus.


    "Please, can''t we talk about this a little longer?" Ginehart also stood up and wanted to stop them but the looks on their faces said otherwise.


    "Major, we are indebted to you but we are not obligated to do whatever you want." Cygnus was firm with his word and his gaze did not waver.


    Ginehart yielded and did not force them any longer. Astrophos and Cygnus left without giving the major a second look. They walked back but after a few meters, Cygnus could not hold it any longer and started tough.


    The mage stopped on his tracks and stiffly looked back only to see that the other was bent down whileughing his mind out. He did not know how to react to the other''s action and all he could do was look around to see if there were people looking at them.


    "Ah, that was so fun!" Cygnus straightened himself but his shoulders were still shaking. "You are too stiff, Grand Mage, no prying eyes can know what is happening here right now."


    The mage took several deep breaths before he was able to say a word to the man, "I don''t get why you areughing?"


    Cygnus chuckled while shaking his head as he walked up to Astrophos who was looking at him all confused. "Grand mage, haven''t you found the major''s reaction to be so funny?"


    The mage gulped at the sharp look being given to him by the other man. He did not understand the other''s humor and he was sure that he would not understand it even in the future. "I''m sorry, I don''t really get what you are talking about."


    "Sigh, alright then, I won''t bother you any longer with this matter. Let''s go." Hepletely lost his smile at how the mage responded to him.


    They returned back to the inn with Nina''s anticipating gaze directed at them. Cygnus''s mood was ruined so instead of telling them the good news, Astrophos took the job of informing them that they did not need to participate in the investigation any longer.


    Nina was thrilled at the news that she left the inn immediately and went out again. Without anything to do, Astrophos returned to his room to meditate. Cygnus stayed on the first floor and enjoyed his tea time as usual.


    "Now that you don''t have anything to do, master, what''s next?" The butler started the conversation since the man had remained silent ever since they returned from the talk with the major.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Nothing to do? I have plenty of things to do," Cygnus answered. He stared at his reflection on the tea before a small smile appeared on it. The festival needed something to make it more exciting and he wanted to know if those people would reallye.


    Mr. C thoughtfully looked at the master, "Master, what are you nning again? Does this have anything to do with the magic circles you discovered?"


    "You have been with me for so many years now and yet you are still asking these questions. You know that the people I hate the most in all of those worlds are people who use justice and righteousness as an excuse to justify their actions," the master instead answered.


    The butler froze for a moment before he got hisposure. His master has never liked any heroes. This has been a fact engraved in his mind because ever since he started to serve the master, he was already against heroes, especially those who abused that status.


    "I''ll be having a walk tonight, so, if someonees looking for me you already know what to do." Cygnus stood up from his seat, "I''ll be in the room for now so don''t disturb me."


    Night fell and as the second night of the festival continued, though it was not as lively as the first night, there were still a lot of people going around. The security was also tighter than before and any dark alley was closely guarded. There were even mages on patrol just to make sure that no kidnapping will happen again.


    As the night deepened and the people on the streets dwindled, the more eerie the surrounding became. The cold wind blew through the town of Alfonso and it brought an unnatural shiver to those who were still out. Even the guards who were patrolling suddenly felt uneasy but they couldn''t leave their posts and could only endure it.


    Ignus, who was out drinking with the others, left for a while to get some fresh air. He kept on mumbling and kicking everything on his way. Earlier that day, he was called to the major''s office and was given disciplinary action for his misconduct during the assignment that was given to them.


    He was suspended from duty until the end of the case and he was given a demerit which means that he would be having a difficult time to climb up the ranks. It was news that any soldier doesn''t want to hear and yet it happened to him just because of those magic users.


    He cannot ept and even tried to reason with the major but the man refused to hear him out. After that, the lieutenant even gave him a lecture which shattered his confidence even more. He was so angry but he couldn''t defy them any longer if he wanted to remain in his position.


    Ignus suddenly stopped on his tracks when he heard a rustling sound followed by some screeching that made his skin crawl. He looked back but there was no one behind him. Even his surroundings remained silent, so he shook his head as he continued to walk around.


    Not long after he made a round around the neighborhood, he decided to return and continue to drink. He hummed to himself and shivered at the night breeze when he heard it again, a rustling followed by a screech like something was being pulled. This time the sound was nearer and he could hear it clearly.


    He pivoted around but there was nothing and yet the sound kepting nearer and nearer to him. He started to break out in a run and yet the screeching sound did not stop like it was following him. Ignus was already sweating and breathing heavily but his destination seemed too far.


    He did not stop running though and in exhaustion he tripped on his own foot and fell on the stone pavement with a thud. The sounds also stopped and he was relieved for a moment. He pushed himself up and dusted his pants while standing up and that''s when he felt it. A cold breath on his skin that sent a shudder to his entire body.


    He froze for a moment as he fought the urge to turn around but he could not help it, he slowly twisted his body and at the final moment, he came face to face with what he could only describe as a ghost. The face was covered in blood with the skin all peeled off and the eye sockets were about to pop out. The teeth were sharp and when he looked down the ghost was holding an ax in its distorted arm.

 Chapter 66 An Unexpected New Year

    ?It was a new year celebration to end the year and to start the next year. Everyone in Moonvale were excited to finally move on to a next year of prosperity. Some of the houses and shops put up banners of festivity. The streets became lively as the colorful banners started to fill every corner of Moonvale.


    It was a busy day for every household and it was more so for the Vergessen Bakery as they were busy because of the sudden influx of customers who wereing to get their orders of cookies and cakes. Even the bread that just came out from the oven disappeared in a second.


    Mr. C and Ezio were busy with packing and handing out the orders. The line reached outside the bakeshop but luckily no one wasining since the orders were being served at a steady pace. By the time that the sun had set, the bakeshop had sold out all of their pastries and finally closed the shop for the day.


    Ezio sat on the chair after that tiring shift when a cup of hot chocte appeared before him. He looked at the butler and gave him a smile.


    "You did a great job today, thank you for your help." The butler smiled and patted the other''s shoulder. "Stay here for while I go and cook dinner for us."


    "Wait, uhm, aren''t we going to celebrate New Year''s Eve too?" He suddenly sat straight while asking the butler. He was actually expecting that after the bakery closed for the day that they will be celebrating too.


    The butler looked at the direction of the kitchen then back at the expecting teen, "I''m sorry, but the master isn''t keen on celebrating such asions. He''d rather sleep or read some books than to waste his time on something nonsense, well that''s ording to his words."


    Ezio bowed his head with a sad expression, "But, can''t we just do it just this time?" He was looking forward to it, especially now that his uncle was gone.


    "Are you a kid? Why do you need to celebrate such an asion? Do you have any reason to celebrate? It''s such a waste of energy." Cygnusmented after he came out from the kitchen while wiping his hand with a towel. He ced the towel on the counter and crossed his arms while looking at Ezio.


    "Well, it''s because I want to celebrate it with the two of you. It''s also a way for me to celebrate finding a home even after my uncle passed away." Ezio reasoned out as he lifted his head and looked at the master''s eyes.


    The fear that he always felt whenever he looked at the man suddenly disappeared at that moment. Strangely, he did not want to avoid the master''s gaze as the urge to stubbornly fight for his request continued to bubble inside.


    "Look at this kid! He can even talk back to me like that now!" Cygnus smirked and even pped his hands. This child was really surpassing his expectations. First, he was able to say his name and now he can look at him like that without flinching.


    He started to walk towards where the child was sitting but then a knock sounded on the door which distracted the three of them. Mr. C walked to the door and opened it. Astrophos was standing outside and when the door opened, he lifted up a bag of presents and there was a tray of food in his hands.


    "Mr. Astrophos, what brought you here?" The butler was a bit surprised to see the mage and was even confused as to why he had food and a paper bag with him.


    "I came to celebrate the new year with you all." He simply answered and shrugged his shoulders before he stepped inside even without the butler''s invitation.


    Before the butler could even close the door, Nina suddenly popped up and greeted the man with a grin on her face. "Miss Nina, are you here to celebrate the new year too?"


    Nina nodded, "Yes! Everyone has gone home to their families to celebrate the holiday so I decided toe here for a while and celebrate with you guys."


    The smile on her face was brilliant as she was also looking forward to this. The butler knew that the woman hadn''t let go of these celebrations yet even though she had stayed with them for years now.


    Although the master hated it, she still insisted on celebrating every asion on the calendar even if she had to do it alone. Now, she came to celebrate with them. The butler finally smiled and let her in.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It seemed that the new year would be different from now on. He actually liked the idea of celebrating it but because the master was not too keen on it, he refrained himself from asking the master to celebrate.


    Cygnus had a frown on his face after seeing the mage and now Nina was there too. "What''s the meaning of this? Who told you that you can juste in and do whatever you like inside my territory?" His voice was cold and the air around them suddenly became cold.


    "Master!" Ezio suddenly stood up and went to hold the other''s arm, "Let us celebrate the new year, Mr. Astrophos and Ms. Nina are already here so let''s just do it okay, just this time."


    Four pairs of eyes were suddenly looking at him and he couldn''t help but scowl even more. There''s no point in wasting his breath to stop them now since they were already here so after a while, he sighed and relented.


    Ezio smiled and looked at the other two with the strange feeling of aplishment in his heart. Astrophos and Nina gave him a thumbs up because he was able to convince the stiff master.


    "Then I''ll leave you be for now as I need to cook food if we are going to celebrate," Mr. C was smiling on the side. Cygnus red at the butler who looked very happy at that moment.


    "We''ll help you!" Ezio volunteered as he pulled the other two towards the kitchen where they immediately started preparing. Mr. C dly followed behind them then he also started cooking already.


    Cygnus who was left could only look at the direction of the kitchen with disdain. They were lucky that he was actually in a good mood because if he was not, they wouldn''t get any permission from him. Well, now that he had nothing to do, he might as well join them.


    His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when another knock broke the silence. His brows furrowed as to who it could be since they were not expecting any visitors and the mage and Nina were already there.


    He opened the door and saw that Major Ginehart and his lieutenant were standing there. Lisbon was holding two bags that contained wine they got from the famous brewery at Alfonso. Cygnus could already guess why they were there.


    "Are you kidding me? Why are the both of you here? Are you going to celebrate the new year with us too?" He glowered at the two uninvited visitors.


    "Yes, we happened to pass by and remembered that your bakeshop was here so we decided to visit." The major was smiling and yet Cygnus was not convinced.


    "Oh visitors! Master let them in!" Ezio suddenly popped out behind Cygnus. He then pulled the two inside even without the master''s permission.


    Since he already relented, Cygnus did not talk any longer and just let them be. The night was spent with so much chatter andughter as they ate the food that was prepared. They talked like they knew each other for a long time now.


    Ezio was happy that he could celebrate the new year with everyone. Even though the master was unamused all through the party, he was still d that he stayed with them until the new year came.


    Ezio walked up to the master and gave the man a smile, "Thank you so much master for letting me celebrate this new year and thank you for taking me under your protection."


    The master narrowed his eyes and just gave the child a simple nod which made Ezio even happier. This new year celebration will be forever engraved in his heart and he will cherish this memory for as long as he lived.

 Chapter 67 Meeting His End

    ?Ignus opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. He became more panicked as he realized that he had lost his voice. There was only one thing he was feeling at that moment, fear. Genuine fear as the cold tingles in his skin started to make him numb and firmly locked him in ce.


    His legs couldn''t move and when he tried to look down, his eyes widened as he saw faceless shadows clinging to him. Shaped as hands, these shadows continued to climb up his feet and unto his thighs.


    He turned and twisted to free himself from the ghastly unknown things that wanted to swallow him alive but no matter what he did, they remained attached to him. The ghostly face in front of him did not make things easier for him as he saw how those distorted arms slowly raised the ax it was holding.


    ''No! No! No!'' These thoughts repeated inside his mind as he was shaking his head vigorously. In an attempt to fend for himself, he raised his hand and punched the ghostly creature in front of him. This stopped it for a moment and even turned the head at 180 degrees creating a cracking sound that came from the creature''s neck.


    The mutted face that disappeared in front of him slowly appeared on the back of the creature''s head as those bulging red eyes were staring at it. The pupils even started moving and a sound came out from the ghost''s mouth. At first it was a whisper, then it turned into an ear-piercing shriek.


    He wanted to punch it again but this time he could not move his hand, the shadows were now holding his hand and the ax was now raised above the creature''s head. Ignus continued to shout but every attempt and every opening of his mouth, there was no sound.


    Tears started toe out from his eyes as he realized that he would die without even a fight. For thest time, he moved his head from and frantically looked around for a glimpse of hope when a man''s silhouette caught his eyes.


    Desperate, he pulled his hand from the clutches of those shadows and extended it to the direction of the person hoping that he would notice his situation. He was sessful and the moment his hand reached out to the man, he suddenly stopped. A sinister smile was all he could describe the one on the man''s face.


    He realized that the person was not there to help him. He was there to watch him die. When he realized it all, the ax came down and so was the anguished scream that tore through the darkness of the night.


    A crowd gathered at the opening of an alley early the next morning as they crowded to see what was going on. There were also soldiers and mages in the ce, some of them were crouched down on the ground looking at something while some of the mages were rummaging around the ce like they were looking for something.


    Astrophos passed by the scene with a frown on his face, he tried to get past the throng of people and finally came in front of the crowd. He pulled one of the soldiers to ask what was going on and to his luck the person recognized him from the major''s party.


    "Someone disappeared again and¡­" he looked around before he got near him to whisper, "it''s one of ours, we were only able to recognize him because of the name stitched on the piece of clothing that was left behind."


    Astrophos frowned, then he looked at the soldier, "Who is it?"


    "It''s Sir Ignus. He was dismissed from his post yesterday because of a misconduct and now he was found dead," the soldier shook his head, "so unfortunate."


    "Thank you for the information," the mage patted the soldier''s shoulder before he left. He returned to the inn with a pale face. His mind was busy with so many thoughts that he did not hear the butler calling his name.


    Mr. C was surprised that the Grand Mage was a bit out of it, so he went ahead and tapped the man''s shoulder to get his attention. Astrophos was surprised that he almost used a spell to attack the other person.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The butler immediately raised his hands and took a step back when he saw that Astrophos lifted his hand to point at him. "Sorry if I interrupted your thought Mr. Astrophos."


    "It''s you," he sighed, "I''m sorry. What is it Mr. C?" He rubbed his forehead with his other hand on his waist.


    "I was only going to ask if you are feeling alright because you looked pale and you did not respond to me when I called you." Mr. C assumed his usual stance and put his hands behind his back.


    "I''m sorry," the mage sighed. "I''m just a little bit bothered by the recent incident."


    "The kidnapping? Did something happen again?" Mr. C became curious why the mage would be bothered to the point that he became lost in his thoughts.


    "Yes, and one of the victims is that Ignus from the other day," Astrophos answered.


    Mr. C could see why he was bothered but it was only a coincidence, there''s not much to think about it. He happened to be in that ce and happened to be the person that was dragged to the depts of the abyss.


    "That''s a bit shocking but is that a cause for concern? It must have been a coincidence that he was one of the victims this time. That kind of magic doesn''t really choose whoever it takes as long as it takes a life." Mr. C chose to remain calm and pacify the man. And it was better for them to stay out of the case.


    "I know but something is bothering me the moment I knew that he was a victim, isn''t this too coincidental. He was just with us the other day and now he suddenly died after he got dismissed from his post," he frowned. He can''t be reconciled yet, not as long as the feeling of doubt in him didn''t disappear.


    "If that''s the case, then why don''t you go and ask at the mage outpost or the authorities who are involved so that you can ease your mind," the butler suggested since the man really looked disturbed as the frown on his face did not disappear.


    "Yeah, I''m already nning on doing that." The mage looked at the butler and gave him a nod.


    "Alright, I''ll go now since the master isn''t awake yet and I need to wake him up," the butler also nodded. He turned around and went to the stairs leading to the second floor. It was already past seven so he needed to wake the master for breakfast or he''ll stay grumpy throughout the day.


    "Mr. C, the master, was he here at the innst night?" He did not look at the butler and only clenched his fists while waiting for the answer.


    At that question, the surrounding suddenly turned silent. Mr. C stopped on his tracks then looked at the mage''s back for a while before he gave an answer. "Yes, the master has been here the whole night."


    Hearing that the answer, he still could not believe it and the suspicion in his heart grew. "Are you sure about that? You might be covering for him because you are his butler." He gritted his teeth but he still asked the question even though his heart started to beat faster.

 Chapter 68 He Wont Lie Low

    ?"Mr. Astrophos, I would suggest that you keep those thoughts to yourself. I''m not a person who always tolerates disrespect towards my master. Once is enough but if you do it the second time then, I won''t stay silent." The words were heavy and cold, different from who the butler normally talks and Astrophos knew that he might have crossed the line.


    He held himself from uttering any response because the blood lust being directed at him that moment was too much for him. His back was already drenched in sweat the moment that the butler responded. So many times, he was called a coward, and he knew it himself that he was because he can''t even face the butler.


    "If you want a definite answer, please go and visit the people who are actually involved in this case and don''t just use my master just because he has a terrible personality." After that, the butler left and Astrophos could hear his footsteps fading away.


    He was already this old and yet he still felt fear from a person who doesn''t even use any magic. A man of his status was suddenly crouching on the ground with both of his hands on his head while berating himself, was an unusual view even to those who don''t know him.


    After acting like a child, the grand mage left the inn once again. Mr. C, who was looking at the man from the second floor, assumed that he would be going to the mage association to inquire about the incident.


    "What took you so long?" Cygnus was sitting on the chair facing the door with his legs crossed and his head resting on his fists. He was still in his sleeping clothes as he looked at the butler ratherzily.


    "I believe that we will be having some visitors anytime today," Mr. C informed Cygnus but the master only replied with a ''hmmm''. He seemed to be not bothered by it. "Do you already know what happened?"


    "It''s been noisy for a while now, so I sent Ari to see what''s going on. That bastard finally died, isn''t that great, I won''t need to go and collect his debt." Cygnusughed and leaned on the chair while cing both of his hands on the chair''s armrest.


    "Master," the butler warned. They can''t keep attracting attention wherever they go. If this continued then they might just as well dere to the world their identities.


    "Why? Are you nervous?" The master stared at the butler who stopped him. He really didn''t care if they gained attention. He had long given up on that thought for now.


    Since things became interesting, he was keener on finishing this charade and smoking out everyone in this world that annoyed him ever since he became who he was now.


    "Are you really giving up on your dream life?" the butler then asked after seeing his master''s stern face and the red glint in his eyes.


    "Giving up? No, I''m not just done with what I must do. This world had something that did not exist from the past worlds where we have been and the name Constantine suddenly appeared, aren''t you curious too?" There was a yful hint in his voice while saying those words.


    Never had the butler guessed the master''s thoughts. There was a time when he never talked and all he would do all day was to stare outside his window. There was also a time when he would always disappear and return all bloody with a grin on his face. He had scared many with that appearance of his. Many more incidents of the like happened through the years he was with them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I am curious too, but I am a bit worried at how things are turning out this time," the butler voiced out his concern over the master''s matters.


    Cygnus stood up and walked towards the window of the room then he turned around and looked at the man, "What are you so worried about? Isn''t it more exciting when we don''t know when there are more uncertainties?"


    Mr. C clenched his teeth as he decided not to speak. He had already decided that he won''t disagree with whatever the master decided to do ever since he got his body. All he needed to do was to stay beside the master and support him no matter what happens.


    "Alright then master, do as you want. I''ll continue to support you from the side." The butler finally relented as he went to the cab where the clothes were kept to pick Cygnus''s outfit for the day.


    The master also did not speak while he waited for the other to finish picking out his clothes. Things like that don''t need to be talked about between the two of them and he knew that he can trust the butler.


    Nina, who was already in her best clothes that she bought, was waiting for them at the dining room of the inn. This time she ordered sea foods that she knew the master would enjoy. She even stood up and guided Cygnus to the head of the table.


    "Why are you being so caring?" Cygnus looked at the woman who was smiling at him sweetly and was even blinking her eyes. "What is it?" The master furrowed his brows instead.


    "Uhm, can I ask for additional money?" She started as she looked on the table with a red face. "I kinda used all of what I have on me right now."


    "Aren''t you tired already of shopping too much? How will you even bring all of those to the capital?" Cygnus could not help but wonder how the woman could shop nonstop. She was gone every day and every time she came back, she had so many things on her.


    "That''s because I enjoy it and this is the only time that I can be free while we are here. And besides, I can always let the butler keep my things in that dimensional pocket of his." she pouted and acted like a child in front of the master. This was her only happiness whenever they travel worlds since this was something she did not experience before the master found her.


    Cygnus gestured for the other to just give her money. Anyways, they have a lot and had no other ways of spending it so it was no problem. "Alright, as long as you are satisfied then that''s fine but when I tell you to do something, do it to the best of your abilities. Understood?"


    Nina immediately nodded, so the butler handed her a pouch of gold coins which made her eyes lit in excitement. "Oh, by the way master, do you already know that a soldier disappearedst night and that the crime scene was full of blood. The soldiers were now puzzled because of the sudden change of how the victims were kidnapped."


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes, "Is that so?" He picked up his fork and proceeded to eat some of the shrimps on the table. "A bloody crime scene, that must have been so exciting." His chuckled echoed in the room and yet the two people with him weren''t disturbed by hisment.

 Chapter 69 Let Him Talk

    ?Just as the butler predicted, Major Ginehart came with a mage in his group. They asked for a private room and called for Cygnus and his group. Astrophos was also present while they waited for the others toe. The room was too tense as the silence persisted because no one was talking and everyone was too serious.


    Mr. C opened the door and let the master enter first. He was surprised when he saw who were the people inside and at how depressing the air was inside the room. Cygnus immediately noticed the old mage who was sitting beside the major.


    His gaze that was directed at him made Cygnus shudder. The old man was clearly observing him and he must have been using some kind of magic too as he felt that there was a short disturbance in the mana inside the room. He was clearly probing him but the master did his best to calm down as he took the empty seat in front of the major.


    "Uhmm, major? What, what is happening?" Cygnus could not help but bite his lips as he slowly felt the pressure inside the room. His fists were now tightly clenched above hisp and his body stiffened as the boring gaze from the mage focused on him.


    "I''ve heard from the major that you are the one who discovered those magic circles and that you decided to pull out from this case?" The old mage rxed on his chair and retracted his mana that probed around Cygnus.


    "Ah y-yes," his lips trembled but he still managed to answer. He bowed his head to avoid the old man''s eyes while the butler conscientiously stepped forward and stood beside his master.


    "Ah I didn''t mean to make you ufortable. It''s just that the situation has escted a bit and we are looking at every possibility right now," the old manughed it off. He chuckled in an attempt to ease the atmosphere but it still remained awkward.


    "May I ask, what does these possibilities have to do with us right now?" he still asked despite how nervous he was right now. He couldn''t help but feel that the man was hinting at something.


    "Sir Ignus, he was among the recent victims of disappearances and ording to our investigation, you were the one who reported his bad behavior to the major together with the grand mage here," he answered.


    He then patted Astrophos''s shoulder while squeezing it a little bit too hard. Astrophos winced but he did notment nor stop the other from squeezing his shoulder. Mr. C who was observing from the side did not miss this detail as his eyes narrowed a bit.


    Cygnus nodded, "Well, yes. He was making negative remarks about us and our group naturally wasn''tpatible with their group, so, to avoid any more conflicts we decided to stop the cooperation and report about him to the major."


    "Then as a result of your action, the victim was then dismissed as a consequence of his action then after that he suddenly disappeared, due to dark magic," the old mage continued and strangely enough, he even put emphasis on the words ''dark magic'' like he was making a point.


    Those were normal words but Cygnus can''t stop feeling that something was up by the way the mage talked. He did not like the tone of that old man. This kind of conversation that was probing only on the surface was making him ufortable in many ways.


    "Why don''t you just get to the point?" this time he raised his head and stared ahead at the old man without flinching. His fists were still tightly clenched but it was not because he was nervous.


    This man was clearly insinuating something and he did not like it. His sensitive radar was telling him that the old man was up to no good and he was trying to coax him into saying something that would eventually push him to the pit.


    Surprised by the young man''s sudden change, the old manughed once again and slightly leaned forwards to meet the other''s gaze. "What I''m trying to say here is that, I suspect that you have something to do with Sir Ignus''s disappearance."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Explosions suddenly went off inside the room and everything turned chaotic at those simple words. Nina was totally pissed at what she heard that she threw magic bombs on the old man''s face. Swords were drawn and were pointed at them after her action.


    "Do you have any evidence that makes us suspects?" Cygnus''s voice went cold with those words. He was still looking at the old mage but this time he rxed.


    The old mage wasn''t fazed by the other''s change in demeanor because he was confident that the young man was only bluffing. "After you came to this town, dark magic also appeared and after you had a misunderstanding with one of the soldiers, he suddenly fell victim to this dark magic. No incidents such as this happened in Alfonso, well, not until your group arrived."


    A smirk appeared on the old man''s face after saying those words. He was clearly challenging Cygnus to see if he would react. The master didn''t move nor blink after hearing the old mage''s reasoning.


    "Sir Revus!" Astrophos jumped from his seat and looked at the old mage. "Please stop, all of those are just coincidences and we don''t even have enough proof so why are you throwing usations?" He tried to save the situation but the old mage was not going to listen to him.


    "Grand Mage Astrophos, you should be careful. Your status as a Grand Mage doesn''t work in this situation, remember, the magic tower is currently not happy with you." The old man gave the grand mage a re which stopped him from saying anything.


    Even after all that was happening, Major Ginehart remained seated and remained as an audience. He did not even let the soldier retract their swords that were pointing at them. Cygnus could already get an idea of what was happening.


    This Sir Revus was definitely not a simple person, based on the reaction of the major and the grand mage, this old man was someone with both status and power amongst the nobility and the magic tower.


    Cygnus who did not disagree nor admit to the old man''s statement leaned on his seat then rxed as he met the old man''s gaze once again. He wouldn''t talk not unless the man continued to run his mouth.


    "Aren''t you going to defend yourself? This good grand mage of ours already stood up to side with you," the old man spoke once again.


    The master''s expression remained nd but he was still silent. He would let this old man speak his mind out and ruin everything along the way. That would be the price he must pay for his terrible usation.


    "How dare you! You can''t speak to him like that! You do not have the right!" Nina did not care that there were swords aimed at her throat. She just can''t stand this person who was speaking nonsense against the master.


    She was about to move forward and use another spell but the master''s voice stopped her and so did the swords that were going to pierce her body.


    "My dear Nina, please calm down and take a seat. I believe that this man has yet to finish what he was saying and I was merely waiting for him to say it all." Cygnus''s nd face was reced by a smirk that mocked the other. His eyes and aura to overtake the room screamed of arrogance and authority.

 Chapter 70 Staying True To Himself

    ?Seeing that the man was not deterred and was even looking down on him, Sir Revus wasn''t going to back down. The old man actually narrowed his eyes and released his aura to suppress Cygnus.


    "Young people nowadays are so arrogant. By staying silent you are only proving that you admit to all of these usations. What do you think about it, Major Ginehart? They looked like ordinary magic users but in fact they are dark magic users who are only disguising themselves as people who are righteous." The old man wasughing while uttering those words but the used man was not amused at all.


    They may not have felt it but Astrophos could tell that the master was not having any of this. Nina and the butler also stiffened when they heard those words. It may not be bothersome for others, but for people who have gone through something simr, they''ll be more sensitive to words that hint at those experiences.


    It was only a short silence but at that short moment, something changed inside the room. Ginehart tensed as his gaze wandered around the room even theughing old man stopped. Revus shivered as he looked around but nothing was amiss. The room remained the same, even the soldiers who still had their swords up did not move.


    Revus shook his head to rid himself from the unweed fear that he suddenly felt when the soldiers moved in unison and raised their swords towards their necks and in one swift motion, they all fell down with their throats bleeding.


    Everything happened so fast that the major and the old man didn''t have the time to move when they were suddenly pinned on their seats. Their bodies, from their head to foot, were glued to the chairs with their heads facing Cygnus who had his head bowed.


    The room started to smell of blood and it made the situation worse because nobody knew what would happen next. Ginehart could help but feel that he might be next.


    "Ah, I''m really not good at this," Cygnus''s voice echoed within the room. He was shaking his head and finally raised it to face his guests.


    The man in front of thempletely changed, gone was the meek and scared guy just a while ago or the man who was still looking at them with arrogance. This person in front of them was now someone different.


    Cygnus brushed back his short ck hair and stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders beforepletely rxing in his chair. He sat as if he was a ruler and the pressureing out of him was something the old man had only felt when he faced the kingdom''s king once.


    "What''s the meaning of this?" The old man still had the energy to question Cygnus despite his current situation.


    "Meaning? There''s no meaning to any of this. I just figured out that I''m not good at pretending to be somebody else. It is still refreshing to act and just to be who I am," was Cygnus''s simple answer. "And what''s more, the real me is petty and could kill anyone with just a snap."


    "As I have suspected, you are the person behind all of this! You killed Ignus as an act of revenge and covered it up with putting up those ridiculous dark magic circles to confuse the authorities. You even used civilians just to cover up your crime! You demon!" The old man wasn''t done yet and spoke without any concern for himself or the situation he was in.


    Cygnus furrowed his brows and covered his mouth with his right hand, like he was thinking of something. "You know, you need to be more creative when giving me a name. I''ve been called a demon so many times now that I''m already so bored with it, that I might puke." He was sighing and shaking his head at how uncreative the other person was.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Sir Rigel, what''s happening?" This time it was Ginehart who asked a question. Cygnus looked at him and was impressed that the man was now calmly looking at him even though his heart was still beating fast.


    "Ah, yes, major, you see you''ve been observing me this whole time so I yed along with you but now I think that I am not suited with this kind of game. And now, I''m being ndered for a crime I didn''tmit." Cygnus looked at the major and gave him a pout. Ginehart flinched when he saw that the person was still acting.


    "Enough! Release us now! Or else the whole of the kingdom''s militia stationed in this ce wille after you, even the mages wille and kill you!" The old man started to scream in anger as he started to struggle and pull his body from being glued by a hidden force.


    "I can''t," Cygnus''s voice went down a notch. "You are not someone who can afford to order me around."


    The room was suddenly filled with screams from the old man. Blood started to pour out from his nose as he continued to thrash around even though he was restricted by the invisible chains used by Cygnus.


    "Master!" Astrophos panicked when he saw how the man was bleeding and thrashing. They even heard some of his bones breaking because of how much he was resisting to whatever the master was doing to him. "You should not do this master!" He looked at Cygnus, almost pleading but the man ignored him.


    "Why should I, when he was the first one to run his mouth without stopping? These kinds of people need to feel pain before they can learn their lesson. If you don''t want to follow him, then take a step back and stay out of this." He tilted his head to the side while looking at the grand mage who was shaking from what he was seeing.


    The grand mage clenched his fists and took a step back with his head bowed. They did not know how long the old man had been screaming but it finally stopped. He was still alive but he was breathing so hard like he was about to lose air anytime now.


    "You, how could you do this?" Major Ginehart can''t still believe what was happening to them. He was only there to see how things would progress but now everything''s upside down.


    "You know major, there are only a few things that can offend me and one of them is using me of a crime I didn''t do. I really, really, really hate being used." His voice turned into a whisper as his eyes turned red. "And there''s a price to pay if you offend me."


    He snapped his finger and the old man was suddenly healed but before he could utter another word, an inexplicable pain tore through his body. He could feel it in every fiber of his being up to his bones. It was like his body was being torn apart and his bones were being broken inside his body. He could feel them all but all he could do was scream.


    Each scream that came out from his mouth made the remaining people inside the room shudder except for Nina and Mr. C who only watched with straight faces. Astrophos and Ginehart endured this ghastly scene as Cygnus continued to heal and torment the old man.

 Chapter 71 Price To Pay

    ?Finally, he heard it, the desperate call for him to stop. The pathetic plea of a man who was used to being on the top and didn''t suffer any setbacks because of his status and power. He was begging for his life and yet still had the audacity to bargain.


    "Please¡­s-stop, I''m be-begging you. I-I will forget that this incident happened and I won''t bother you any longer, j-just please stop." The old man pleaded while catching his breath. He couldn''t do it anymore. He kept on shivering and when he met Cygnus''s eyes another scream tore through his mouth. "He''s the devil! Stay-stay away from me! No! No! Don''te any closer!"


    These words were repeated over and over again by the man. His eyes became unstable and his mouth was dripping with saliva while he kept on mumbling incoherent things. The bargain he was hoping for was mercilessly dismissed.


    "Oh dear, he must have gone crazy. Ah, how fragile." Cygnus stood up and walked up towards the mumbling old man. He slowly leaned down and whispered something to his ear which set off the old man again.


    This time all the bindings restraining him were gone. He fell to the thick wooden floor as he scrambled away from Cygnus. He went straight to the closed door and pounded on it while screaming that they let him out but no matter how he mmed his palm on the door nobody heard him.


    No matter what noise he made, the people outside remained oblivious to what was happening inside. They heard nothing and felt nothing because outside of that room, everything was normal.


    Revus turned around and saw that Cygnus was smiling at him. His body trembled uncontrobly and he ran to the corner of the room as he curled up in there while covering his ears as the whispers of the man continued to ring in his ear.


    "So major, are you going to arrest me now?" Cygnus now focused on the man who could already move but remained seated.


    "You won''t be able to get away with this," the major gave the man a re. He was at a disadvantage so he couldn''t anger the man any further.


    Cygnusughed, "Here''s a secret major, I can always run away. I can even run away from killing Ignus or from destroying this whole town."


    The major tensed at the man''s words but he made no move to apprehend or confront him. "I thought you hated being used of something you didn''t do, so why are you bringing that up now?"


    "That''s because it is true," Cygnus smirked. "I killed him using these things," he stretched both of his hands to the side and a horde of faceless shadows emerged from the darkness then there was the ghost with an ax and with a snap they all disappeared.


    "Then Sir Revus was correct and yet you still tortured him because he pinned the me on you. Aren''t you the one using people now?" Ginehart looked at the man as he slowly calmed down and looked at the situation as an opportunity since the old man was now out of the picture.


    Now that Cygnus showed his true colors, he did not need to pretend any longer that he was a good man since the other party was much worse than him. He could kill a person in cold blood and he was sure that Sir Rigel can do it to him anytime and anywhere.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus watched intently as the man''s thoughts changed at a human speed, "Yes, you do have a point but I won''t be med for killing those innocent civilians as you have called them. That matter is entirely a different story."


    Ginehart looked at Cygnus with a frown and confused look, "What are you talking about? How can those matters be different?"


    Cygnusughed as he walked back to his seat, "Those magic circles aren''t done by me because if I were to do that, I wouldn''t leave any traces behind. It was the work of an amateur pretending to be someone who was thoroughly knowledgeable about what he was doing. I bet he is enjoying himself right now."


    Mr. C, who had been standing stiffly behind him, walked to the table to pour out some tea but to his disappointment, the pot of tea was already cold. Cygnus sighed, he sent a wave of mana towards the pot and heated it through magic.


    Ginehart gritted his teeth at the man''s action and thought of how he could drink tea at this time and that kind of ce. The whole room smelled of the stench of blood and just in front of him were the traces of Revus''s torture.


    "If what you are saying is true, then do you know who was behind all that crazy stuff?" Ginehart managed to ask despite the nauseating smell in the room.


    Cygnus stopped midway from picking out a dessert on the table when he heard the major''s question. He sighed and leaned on the chair as he looked at the man, "Major, if I told you I didn''t do it then I didn''t do it. Do you want to experience what that old man experienced before you believe what I say? And no, I don''t know who the person behind that mess is."


    He couldn''t refute the man. He was already losing his energy by just talking to the person and he did not have a spare to continue arguing with him. There was no reason why he should believe or not believe the other person''s words. In the end, he still reluctantly nodded as he did not want to be like the old man.


    "Well then, now that we are clear on that matter, what would you do next?" Cygnus asked behind the cup of tea he was holding up. "You should be careful of your next steps after this delightful conversation that we had."


    It was a warning. Three pairs of eyes were trained at him, waiting for his answer and if he answered wrongly, something bad would happen to him. He slightly nced to the side to at least get the grand mage''s attention but to his dismay, the other was not paying attention to them, rather he was pretending that they didn''t exist.


    "I will continue the investigation and speak nothing of what has happened here. I will also take care of Sir Revus on your behalf." Ginehart had no other choice but to do what the other wanted. He couldn''t risk his life nor the rest of the town triggering the anger of the man.


    "I don''t really need your help with regards to those matters but I''ll still ept it and watch how you do it. It''s a bit exhausting if I do it by myself so I''ll let you do the work," Cygnus agreed. It was the easiest path and he could rx while waiting for those people to appear.


    Now that the matter was settled, it''s convenient for him for the time being to watch and wait. He gestured for Mr. C to prepare another cup of tea and give it to the major who looked too tense. Ginehart was reluctant to ept it but the man was watching him so under his gaze, he drank the tea.

 Chapter 72 No Memories

    ?A hot sensation seared his insides the moment he drank that tea that was handed to him. His hand trembled and he thought he could bear it but the pain became intense.


    The cup of tea in his hand fell and hit the side of the table causing it to break. His upper body bent forward with both his hands gripping the armrests of the chair tightly. He anchored himself in order not to fall and to show weakness.


    No scream. He held himself from shouting and silently endured the crawling pain inside him. The armrests suddenly broke at how tightly he was gripping them. Then, the pain slowly faded and so was his consciousness.


    "I''ll see you againter, Major Ginehart." These were the words he heard before he passed out.


    The next time he woke up, Major Ginehart was back in his room at the military outpost where they were stationed. He blinked his eyes a couple of times before he suddenly sat up and looked around when he realized where he was. He changed into his uniform and went out to look for his lieutenant.


    Lisbon was surprised to see that the major was already up. "Sir, you should rest for a while," he eximed. He went to the major and looked at him from head to toe.


    The major furrowed his brow as he looked at his lieutenant, "What are you talking about? What happened at the meeting? Sir Revus?"


    Questions came pouring out from the major''s mouth but Lisbon only looked at him stunned. He was also looking confused which stopped Ginehart from asking anymore questions.


    "What happened lieutenant?" He asked once again and this time he was calmer as he assessed his situation.


    He recounted what happened during the meeting in his mind while he listened to Lisbon''s report. His mind suddenly went nk when he heard what the lieutenant said.


    "You suddenly became sick and had a high fever for three days now and regarding Sir Revus..." He trailed off and sighed before he continued, "he became crazy after they were attacked on their way here."


    Ginehart was baffled at Lisbon''s words, "What about the meeting yesterday?"


    "What meeting?" Lisbon looked at him with rounded eyes. "You were sick yesterday so you didn''t have any meeting and there''s no scheduled meeting for the next few days."


    Major Ginehart stayed silent. He was looking at the other with a nk face while his mind was on full speed with a hundred thoughts running around his head. Seeing that the lieutenant seemed to be telling the truth stopped his brain from thinking for a while.


    And when he came back to his senses, he realized that the meeting he remembered was not present in these people''s memories. He abruptly turned around and left the lieutenant in a daze. He marched through the busy streets of Alfonso towards the destination he had in mind.


    It was not yet the busy time of the day so he reached the inn in the shortest possible time he could. His mind was only focused on one thing, that was to talk and ask Rigel, what was happening.


    He pushed open the door to the inn and entered. There were people in the dining area and resting area of the inn since it was already near lunchtime but he did not find the people he was looking for.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He did not hesitate to walk up the stairs into the second floor where some of the private dining rooms were located together with some of the private sleeping quarters where Cygnus and his group were staying.


    His feet had barely touched the wooden floor of the second level of the inn, he already heard his name being called. The voice came from his right side and sure it was, Cygnus and the others were there. They were about to enter a private dining room.


    Since the major was there to talk to Cygnus there was nothing wrong with going in with them, so he followed the group. The butler left to order food for them while they waited. Ginehart took this chance to ask the man.


    "What did you do?" Was the first question he asked after they were settled down. The dining room was wide enough for the six people, it was neither small nor wide, so Ginehart''s voice could be heard clearly.


    "What do you mean major?" Cygnus gave the man a small smile. He had already anticipated this conversation from him so he was also prepared to talk about whatever he asks.


    Ginehart''s eyes narrowed into slits and clenched his jaws at how the man was treating him. "Don''t treat me like someone dumb. Yes, you were able to deceive me but that will not happen again this time."


    Cygnusughed, "Major, I did not deceive you. I just showed you what you want to see. I only yed along with you."


    The major looked to the side and gave the grand mage a look, "You''ve known this all along, so why didn''t you tell me?"


    Astrophos, who was intentionally hiding his presence, was suddenly dragged to the conversation. "Major Ginehart, I''ve been with them since they were still in Moonvale and do you really think I can go against them and try to expose them to you?" The grand mage raised an eyebrow at the major who was looking at him in disgust.


    "So, in the end you only did this because you were afraid of them," the major used. This statement ticked something inside the Astrophos but as a mage trained for self-control, he held himself from exploding.


    "Yes, and so was what you did yesterday. If you were ready to die that time you should have stuck to your principles and punished the evil in front of you. In the end you are also like me." The grand mage countered as he did not let himself be demeaned by the major just because of his cowardice.


    "Enough of this talk about cowardice since we are all cowards, just in different ways," his words suddenly felt like an advice that a good person would say but what followed next shattered that beautiful picture, "but do you know what''s more dangerous? It is bravery. So, I actually admire cowardice."


    Those statements made the room feel awkward and made the two silent. Nina, who has been watching from the side, looked so bored. "But I don''t like cowardly people," she suddenly interjected while looking at Astrophos who flinched and avoided her gaze.


    "That''s good for you then Nina," Cygnus rested his head on the palm of his hands as he softlyughed. "By the way, where are we now in our conversation?"


    Ginehart gritted his teeth as he was made like a fool as they ignored him and his question for a couple of seconds. "I was asking you what did you do? Why don''t my lieutenant remember anything that happened yesterday? And what was that regarding Sir Revus, where is he?"


    "Why do you have so many questions? I''m toozy to answer all of them, but this is what I can tell you. What you are experiencing right now is one of the ways I can get away with any crime you can think of because I just need a snap and everything will be arranged ording to my taste."

 Chapter 73 A Daredevil

    ?Nina grinned at the master''s words. This is why she admired him, he was cool because just by using mere words from his mouth, everyone would fall silent and focus on him. She was grinning on the side while acting as a bystander that has absolutely nothing to do with them.


    Astrophos on the other hand has already gotten used to it so he wasn''t surprised at all. This Cygnus was the first person he met at Moonvale and truthfully speaking, he preferred the original version. When the master was acting like someone weak, anyone who knew him would definitely shudder in fear.


    "Are you saying that you have the ability to erase someone else''s memories?" Major Ginehart wasn''t sold but the man''s grin made him ufortable.


    Not only by the fact that the man was speaking so casually about it but mainly because the people in the room seemed to be taking this all like it was normal. This was the first time that he was put into this kind of situation. It was more difficult than having to fight on the battlefield.


    "It''s not that simple, major. To be more precise I can manipte their minds to make them not remember or to fully rewrite what they remember." Cygnus''s grin widened as the look on the major''s face turned from a frown into pure shock.


    Mind maniption was not something foreign to Ginehart but it was also not a very familiar term to him. He only heard it in passing as a topic from the mages of the magic tower. It was a heated subject because they had not seen it in person and only read it from books, so nobody knew if it was real and applicable.


    "You''re a monster," was the only answer that came from his mind. "I never imagined that I''ll be able to meet a person who can actually do that. It is unbelievable, but seeing that my lieutenant and the other soldiers don''t have a recollection of what had happened yesterday, and instead they remember a different version of events, then it must be true."


    To hear those words from the major made the master chuckle as he also shook his head. "I''ll take that as apliment since you didn''t call me a demon."


    From the events of yesterday, Ginehart already concluded that the person casually sitting in front of him was someone dangerous. He needed to remind himself that the person can easily kill him if he did something against him.


    He took several deep breaths before he asked a question that would finally make him ept everything as reality. "Then should I assume that your name is not really Rigel?"


    Cygnus stopped from fixing the te that was ced in front of him. "I am Rigel, it is a name I have assumed a long time ago because my name has be a taboo."


    "Is that some kind of a curse?" He couldn''t help but get curious.


    "What, you want to try and say it? I''ll give you a chance so that you can try to see if it is a curse or not." Cygnus waved his hand then leaned on his seat and stared at the man with a small smile on his face.


    The smile looked like he was encouraging the person but to Ginehart it felt like he was being taunted. He was not interested but that smile was really getting on his nerves.


    "Then, may I know your name?" He gritted his teeth but he would not back down. He was already at a sorry point in his entire career as he was sumbing to the man''s provocations.


    He was already made a fool by the other person so there was nothing room with knowing his name. Astrophos and Nina looked at Ginehart with wide eyes after he said those words.


    Nina was even more shocked than the two of them because she knew how deadly it was to say the master''s name. But, at the same time he gave them a thumbs up because of his courage.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus raised a brow as heughed, the man was giving him endless amusement. "Alright, if that''s what you want."


    The door to the room opened and Mr. C came in, only to notice the focus Astrophos and Nina have on the major. He looked at the master but the master only gave him a wink. He then slowly closed the door, then he heard Cygnus''s voice.


    "My name is Cygnus Altair," he smiled, "now major, say my name."


    In a room full of eyes, he couldn''t help but feel the pressure of those stares. He was not sure why they were eagerly waiting for him to say the man''s name. His gaze wandered to the man once again but all he received was an encouraging smile as he nodded his head.


    Ginehart gritted his teeth before he decided to take a deep breath. He stared at the man and spoke his name. "Cyg..." It was only the first syble and yet he was already coughing blood.


    His eyes widened as he bent over and covered his mouth where fresh blood wasing out. He could feel a burning sensation in his throat that spread throughout his body. He lifted his head to look at the man only to see him calmly drinking the tea that was handed by Mr. C.


    He tried to speak again but failed miserably. It was a mistake to be taunted by the man. He would not have asked the man for his name if he knew that this was going to happen.


    That man''s name was really cursed. Now he knew why the people with him were eagerly waiting for him to say the man''s name.


    "So how was it major? How does it feel to be able to try saying my name?" Cygnus asked even though he knew that the major won''t be able to answer him.


    He watched as Ginehart struggled and had no time to listen to the man. He was trying to assess the damage that damn name caused in his body. Judging by the amount of blood and pain he was feeling, he surmised that he must have sustained injuries to his internal organs. He was even surprised that he was still breathing even though he was having a difficult time doing so.


    "You know, major, you are very lucky, because if it was a normal person, they would have exploded right there right now after just uttering a syble of my name." Cygnus pped his hands tomend the man who was able to live then suddenly a healing sensation engulfed him.


    Ginehart gathered his bearings and sat straight after being healed, "What do you mean by that?" He could feel that there was something hidden behind his words.


    Cygnus did not answer him immediately and just looked at him. His gaze was like a needle that was prickling his skin the longer he was stared at. He became agitated and started to subtly squirm in his seat as he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist then alternated from leaning back and forward from his seat.


    "Well, non-magic user like you won''t be able to feel it but if it happened to someone who can use mana, they would definitely find something strange in their body and won''t be calmly speaking with me right now." Cygnus smirked as he rested his chin on his fingers that were intertwined with the other as his elbows rested on his knees.


    Ginehart gulped and pressed his back firmly on the chair, "Wha-what do you mean?"

 Chapter 74 Done Deal

    ?"Do you still remember that tea that I gave you yesterday?" Cygnus was still looking at him and was having fun observing the major''s ever-changing reaction.


    The man was someone with a high pride and as a person in his position he was looked upon as someone strong and authoritative. He was seen as a cold and uncaring man and yet there he was right now, shaking in fear as he waited for the master''s next words.


    "What about that tea?" Ginehart could not understand what the other was talking about. It was just a tea, after he drank that tea, he remembered passing out after just a sip of it. After that thought, he was suddenly struck with a realization. "Did you put something on the tea?" he asked in surprise.


    If he drank a simple tea then he wouldn''t pass out like that and what''s worse was that he woke up with those around him nor remembering about that damn meeting. They must have put something on that drink that''s why it had that kind of effect.


    "Have you realized it already?" Cygnus smiled when he read the other man''s thoughts. The man was sharp and he could easily grasp the situation. Such a great asset, he could use a man like him so he did the best thing he could.


    "You don''t have to worry. You just drank a small drop of my blood." Ginehart almost choked on his own saliva after those words were dropped like a bomb in front of him. Cygnus who broke the news to him was still rxed and didn''t find anything wrong with feeding someone his blood.


    "That is not a very funny joke. I''m fed up with this. I''ll be leaving." He stood up from his chair and fixed his clothing while giving a re to the master.


    Cygnus didn''t mind the major''s reaction. It was understandable since no man in their right mind would do something like that. It was a concept that was difficult to believe and understand but Cygnus was not someone normal.


    He just goes with the flow and does everything ording to his own thoughts. If he wanted to kill or destroy, he would just do that and no one would stop him. If he wanted a person to be at his beck and call, he would make that person his servant, whether that person wanted it or not.


    Ginehart was already at the door and was about to open the door when he heard Cygnus''s voice telling him to stop. His body stopped and that made him frown but he still insisted on opening the door and yet his hand was not moving ording to his will.


    "Return to your seat," Cygnusmanded once again. They watched as the major struggled by the door. It was clear that he was forcing himself to leave and yet his body was not cooperating with him. "Now."


    The major''s body turned stiff at the force from that one word. His whole body and even his mind suddenly obeyed the man. The major''s eyes turned cloudy and his body turned around. He slowly walked back to his chair and sat down.


    When he came back to himself, he was back to where he was and all he could do was curse the other, "You bastard!"


    Cygnusughed but it was really fun to watch as the man struggled so much. "That''s just an example of how my blood works inside your body but there''s more. One of the effects it has is that, it can strengthen your body as proven a while ago, since you did not die with just a syble of my name."


    "Why are you doing this to me? Is it because I was watching you and your group? Or is it because of Sir Revus, because I didn''t stop him from seeking trouble with you?" He was honestly lost right now. He did not understand why the other would go to such lengths to make him suffer.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Ah, please major, do not misunderstand. It was not because of those things, I just found you very useful for so many things. Now that you are under my supervision, you will be my eyes and ears inside the kingdom and when I tell you to do something, you will do it for me," Cygnus simply answered because it was the truth.


    The room fell into silence with those words as the major became speechless from what he heard. The stillness inside was broken when they heard a knock from one of the servers. Mr. C gave the man permission to enter, so they entered and served the food he ordered.


    "So, I am basically your ve." It was not a question. It was rather a statement that was directed to himself as he tried to understand his own situation right now.


    "Why don''t we eat first and talk about that while savoring the food." Mr. C lead the others and served the food for the master. The other two who were acting as bystanders also got their own food.


    Everyone inside the room was taking this matter too casually for the major''s liking. "Then are these two also under your control?" He pointed at Nina and Astrophos who were now busy eating the food.


    Cygnus looked at the two then back at Ginehart, "No, they''re not but they are following me of their own ord without problems so I am keeping them by my side. However, you, major, is a different story because anytime you can actually betray me. So, I made an extra preparation to avoid that."


    Ginehart couldn''t refute the other''s im because he knew himself. He was not the kind of man who would stay under themand of anyone because he himself had an ambition and he can''t afford to be shackled by those who were on a higher ground than him.


    "Since you are under my control now, you will be providing us with information inside this kingdom''s militia and the nobles who are running this country. You will also provide us assistance when I deemed necessary and of course you will obey all of my words. If you fail to obey, then you will die, in the most painful way you can think of."


    It was as clear as the sky, those words of warning that were directed at him. He looked at the people in the room and realized that his situation was better than him being dead. He wasn''t able to attain his goal for a long time now and maybe he can use this opportunity to step up.


    "You have a good thought there, if I like your performance, then I can help you with that ambition of yours," Cygnus grinned and apuded the man who was again surprised that the man could read his mind.


    It must have been because of the blood inside him and the fact that the man can manipte minds so the major epted it as a fact. He felt that it was just a waste of time to be thinking over things that he already epted as a fact.


    He calmly looked at Cygnus, "I''ll do my part to your satisfaction so you should promise to keep me alive no matter what happens."


    Cygnus chuckled at how fast the major epted everything. His brain did work differently than the others or it was just because his mind was already corrupted from the beginning that was why it was so easy for him to ept and turn every situation into an opportunity?


    "Alright, you have my word. As long as I am satisfied with you, you''ll keep your life."

 Chapter 75 Here They Come

    ?Alfonso, a town known for its peacefulness and low crime rate, once again woke up to horrifying news. The festival has yet to end but most of the visitors started to leave because of what was happening.


    This time, the military and the mages who were in-charge of the case weren''t able to hide and cover the incident because of how wide scale it has be. Not only were there victims outside but there were also victims taken away from their homes in the middle of the night.


    "Are just going to watch all of this happen?" Astrophos was pacing inside the room where they were currently at.


    Everything that happened yesterday was already reced when they heard the news. If they can''t apprehend whoever was behind this kidnapping and killings, he would continue to do what he wanted.


    "Rx, I''m sure that Ginehart and the mages are doing their best to resolve this case. And besides, someone more interesting wille. That person will be able to solve this problem once he arrives." It was a usual scene but this time Cygnus was sure that one of those heroes woulde.


    "What are you talking about?" Astrophos stopped and stared at Cygnus. He was speaking in riddles again and he hated that part of him.


    "You''ll have to wait and see. It will be more exciting if you see them with your own eyes. But I think you''ve already met at least one of them." The master did not give the man any hints and instead made it even more mysterious.


    The grand mage looked at the woman but she only raised a brow and didn''t say anything. He could admit to himself that he had gotten used to how they act but there were still times where he seemed to have not gotten used to them.


    He sighed and finally sat down to calm himself. Since the major was handling the case then he might as well rx for a bit and wait for some good news. Then as the master had said, before the day would end, a person who he did not expect to appear came.


    Heroes, they were people who were blessed by the gods to have a power that can y darkness. They were blessed with infinite mana and strength that they use to subdue enemies that use the dark power.


    They were the kind of existence that people looked up to and they received love as well as the highest respect. They were admired and revered like they were gods themselves.


    After the hero came, everything became a whirlwind. Major Ginehart invited them to a banquet they prepared for the hero that came to their aid. Nina had a st and went all out to shop for appropriate clothing they shall wear.


    The people who were informed of the hero''s arrival were ecstatic because finally someone with great ability was there to help them solve the crisis. They sang songs in joy at the arrival of the hero and what more, the hero that came was someone all of them knew.


    Nina, who was looking out the window, spoke while they were getting ready for the banquet. "This hero, who is he? And why are the people so happy to see him? Look at the streets, it is more lively than the beginning of the festival."


    "That''s because he was famous not just because of his skills but also because of his looks. Among the rankings of heroes that the people made, he is amongst the top twenty," the grand mage exined.


    "Great looks huh, is he better looking than our master?" Nina pushed herself from the window she was leaning on and looked at the man who was sitting on one of the seats inside the room.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They were waiting for the butler and the master toe before they went to the banquet. Nina walked towards the man and ced both of her hands on the armrests of the chair, effectively trapping the grand mage who stared at her in horror.


    Astrophos leaned back further to avoid the woman who was now leaning low. "What are you doing?" His voice shook as his heart pounded so loud in his chest.


    "No matter how good looking that hero is, my master is way better looking than him." Her voice was firm and carried no humor with it. She was very serious and wouldn''t let anybody tell her otherwise.


    "Alright, alright I got it! Now could you please move back." Astrophos lifted his hands with his palms facing the woman to cover himself from any further assault.


    Nina narrowed her eyes before she relented as she took a step back, "Tsk," she walked to one of the empty chairs and also sat with a frown on her face.


    The atmosphere around turned awkward but neither of them wanted to break the silence. The door to the room opened and the master and the butler. Just then, the tense silence was broken. Nina looked in awe at how handsome his master was.


    His ck hair was neatlybed back with a little bit of hair hanging loose on his forehead. His white suit that was ented with ck linings at the end of his cor,pel and sleeves gave the clothing emphasis. And the golden leaf embroidery on just the end of the sleeves made the suit more elegant and pleasing to the eye.


    The overall look gave the master the vibe of someone from the noble family. He was dashing and once he smiled, Nina was sure that all thedies in that banquet will fall head over hills for him.


    "You are looking good, master!" Ninamented as he stepped towards them and patted the master''s shoulder and fixed his suit jacket. "This suit really looked good on you."


    Cygnus smiled, "Thank you for thatpliment even though I already know that I am indeed handsome." This statement was followed by a crispugh from the man and a smile from the butler.


    "Are you nning on stealing the limelight, master?" Nina aske in curiosity. The master was not really into dressing up that''s why she was a bit surprised that he agreed when she showed him the suit.


    "Well, they said that the hero was someone with good looks so I was going to test out how his pride will be able to handle someone who has more potential than him." Cygnus grinned and confirmed Nina''s question.


    "You are really that confident with your looks?" Astrophos could not help butment from the side.


    "I am not confident with my looks, instead I am confident with the charisma I have. It is something you won''t fully understand, because as I can see you don''t have it in you." Cygnus gave the man a mocking smile then he chuckled at how the mage''s face scrunched up after his words.


    "Yes, the grand mage doesck charisma since he is always cowardly and worries too much. That''s not going to give thedies a good first impression," Nina followed up. She covered her mouth but Astrophos knew that she was smirking behind her hands because her eyes which glinted for a second did not escape his eyes.

 Chapter 76 Stealing The Show

    ?The weing banquet was held at the mayor''s spacious residence. It was fixed in a rush but still it oozed extravagance showing how important the visitor was. People were talking with each other with smiles stered on their faces.


    It was a typical show of how money and power talks. The backyard that was decorated with lights powered by mana slowly brought brightness to the ce as the night slowly came.


    The ballroom was also filled with people as they enjoyed the music being yed by an orchestra that was especially hired for the night. Some of them were even enjoying the attention of all the gentlemen who were looking for dance partners. These people were really having a merry time despite the danger they were faced because of the kidnappings.


    The hero who was being praised and fawned upon was currently sitting inside a room provided to him by the mayor. He was wearing a smile while speaking with the leader of the town and with Major Ginehart.


    "We are honored that such an esteemed presence woulde and help us to defeat whoever was causing unrest to the people," the mayor was grinning while shing his gold embedded teeth.


    Amongst all the people who were present, he was the most happy and excited because he was able to meet such a prestigious man in his lifetime. Like those others, he wouldn''t let this chance to impress the man pass by.


    "Ah, I don''t deserve such high recognition. Just call me Sir Arcaine, so that we can be morefortable with speaking to each other." The hero whom they were talking about shook his head and smiled warmly towards the mayor.


    He was smiling but Ginehart who had contact with these kinds of people knew that this so-called hero isn''t that happy to be here. Who would be happy to be assigned to an almost remote ce and endure people like the mayor. Sure, they like the attention but they can''t be bothered to even remember the faces of these people.


    The mayor was d at the fact that the hero wanted to talk with himfortably. His confidence was suddenly boosted as he started to chatter away. Words of self-praise and self-promotion flew out from his mouth like a high-speed train to which the hero was nodding. He seemed to be paying attention but Ginehart knew that he must be cursing inside now, because that was what he was doing.


    The high-pitched and grating voiceing from the mayor was already enough to annoy anyone but now he won''t even stop talking. The major could only close his eyes and act as if he was intently listening to what the mayor was babbling on about.


    Finally, he could not take it any longer. "Mayor, I hate to interrupt but it is already time for the banquet to officially start. How will people react if the star of the night iste because you held him up here. I''m sure that you don''t want that to happen."


    The mayor stopped when he heard the major''s voice and as reluctantly as he could be because of the mocking tone behind the major''s words, he still stood up. "Ah yes, the major is right. Sir Arcaine, shall we?" He gestured with his hand and so the hero stood up and left the room first.


    Irritated because he was suddenly interrupted, the mayor looked back at the major and gave him a re while he was not looking. He could do nothing against the major since he was also a well-known figure in the kingdom so all he could do was give the man a look behind his back.


    Ginehart could feel the deadly gaze but he ignored it. The man would be annoyed but he could not bear to listen any longer to his useless chatter. He stood up and faced the man with a smile.


    "Is there something wrong mayor?" He asked with a fake smile on his face which only annoyed the man further because the major did not even hide the fact that he was not asking out of concern.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Oh, nothing, nothing. I''ll be going now." The mayor shook his head and waved his hands before he left the room too and followed behind the hero and his two otherrades.


    Just like any celebrations, the ballroom was noisy but it immediately fell into silence when they heard the doors from the second-floor opening. The anticipation and excitement rose to the air because they knew that the guest of honor had arrived.


    The mayor came out first with a smug look on his face and his stance straight. His chest was puffing out while he proudly announced the entrance of the main reason why they held a banquet. "Let us wee, Sir Arcaine Noire, the Hero of the Light."


    At the announcement, a thundering apuse filled the whole room and it got even louder when the star finally appeared. Sir Arcaine Noire, waved towards the people which earned him another batch of good points. The eyes of thedies were sparkling at the appearance of the man.


    They immediately fell for his warm and handsome smile, even more so because of his angelic looks. His dreamy eyes and blonde hair that seemed to sparkle and seemed so smooth to the touch. Thesedies were too stunned that they were nailed to the ground.


    Arcaine, who saw this reaction from the people, was secretly happy. It was only natural because he was someone who had been risking his life for the sake of these people even though they were all worthless in his eyes.


    When he heard that he was being sent to this ce called Alfonso because of the unusual activities of dark mages in the area, he actually frowned. The town was indeed in the map but it was still too far for his liking. He even thought about it for a while before he finally epted the mission.


    Since he wanted to expand his influence and poprity, it was okay to ept the mission and he could easily destroy any evil that was guing the town. It will be an additional merit to him and he will also gain support and love from these unknown people. Maybe he could even rise above the other heroes after this mission.


    He descended the stairs and slowly made his way around to greet the guests and even danced some of them. Thedies were scampering for a dance while the men were fighting for a chance to build a connection with the hero. All in all, the party was going great, well not until the door to the ballroom opened and a group of guests appeared fashionablyte.


    A man with his hair that was a bit disheveled was walking in front of the group. He looked elegant and dashing in a wild way, there was an air of untamed dangering from him. The man gave his best smile after they entered the room which immediately took the attention of thedies.


    And once he spoke, the whole ce became silent and thedies who were flocking around the hero were immediately drawn to him. "Woah, there are so many lovelydies in here," his voice was smoot and silky. Very cool and soothing to the air, it was a contrast to his elegance but it still made the people look at him.


    And without warning, thedies who already had enough of the hero, run to where he was in an attempt to talk to him and know his name. The group was instantly swarmed with a lot of people. The men who were having a difficult time talking with the hero finally took the chance to speak to him.


    Cygnus was enjoying the attention and he couldn''t help but smirk because he could feel a piercing gaze directed at him. The smirk did not escape thedies'' eyes and so a round of screaming suddenly sounded in the room.

 Chapter 77 Face To Face

    ?Music continued to y in the ballroom as the attendees finally settled and not flocking around Cygnus or Arcaine. Although they still get attention it was not as much as the first time they appeared. Finally, Cygnus had the chance to approach the hero they were talking so much about.


    "Ah, I can''t believe I''m actually meeting a hero right now!" Cygnus approached the man with a smile on his face and also while showing how excited he was.


    Arcaine who was talking with his subordinates turned around and saw that it was the man who stole the attention of people in the room. "Ah, it is my pleasure to meet new people." He answered with his own smile.


    "I''m Rigel Anzel by the way, it''s a pleasure to finally be face to face with you Hero Arcaine," he stretched out his hand which the other took as they shook hands.


    "It is nice to meet you Sir Rigel. You don''t need to call me a hero, Sir Arcaine is enough. The title seems to deter people from talking to me so I prefer to be called casually." The hero was purposefully making his voice louder and with those words, he earned another positive feedback from the people.


    Cygnus''s eyes were round with admiration at how the man was talking and acting. "You are indeed a good example to people. I just hope that the other heroes are just like you! Very good with people and don''t think that we,moners, are useless or even worthless."


    Arcaine''s lips twitched but he maintained his smile. "Thank you for the praise. It is good for me to interact with people and I really enjoy it."


    "Oh no worries, you deserve it. And I am really thankful that you came to rescue us this time. These kidnappings had dampened the mood of the town and we weren''t able to enjoy the festival because of all themotion that was happening." Cygnus continued to speak without noticing the look that was being sent his way from the three people who came with Arcaine.


    "Yes, since it is my duty to destroy whatever darkness is causing this." The manughed and even took a step forward to pat the Cygnus''s back.


    "Thank you so much for your service!" Cygnus didn''t mind the other''s action and instead continued to say nonsense. "Can Ie when you go and exterminate the enemy? You see I am a magic user and I wanted to observe how heroes fight. We can even go right now because the darkness might already be on the move tonight!" He announced with too much excitement that it made him like a one-year-old.


    Before the hero could answer, the mayor interrupted and went to stand in between them. "Mister, please let the hero go, the night is still young and there are still people besides this banquet that was hosted in honor of the hero. So, you should go there and mind your own business."


    "Mayor, what are you talking about? Isn''t it a hero''s job to help people in need. If he stayed here and enjoyed the night, then how many victims might turn up tomorrow just because you forced him to stay." He looked at the other with a confused expression then he looked at the hero who was strangely keeping quiet.


    Arcaine who still had his smile was cursing in his mind at the person who looked like a lost kid right now. He had been taunting him ever since he came to talk with him. He subtly narrowed his eyes while looking at the puppy.


    "Yes, he is right, we will be taking our leave now and prepared for the night. Thank you so much mayor for this party you organized for us but I''m afraid that the young man here is right. The enemy might emerge again tonight and continue to kill." Because there were eyes looking at him, he couldn''t refute the man and was forced to agree with him.


    Cygnus beamed when he heard the hero''s answer. He showed an ecstatic look on his face and nodded at the Arcaine, "Can Ie then and watch you in action?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The question took the hero aback as he chuckled. Looks like the young man only wanted to join them so he was insisting on him to go and find the culprit. But he can''t let the young man join them, it would be annoying if a novice came and messed up their fight.


    "It is too dangerous so you can''te because we are dealing with someone who can use dark magic. Although you can use magic, I can''t let you participate because you are not officially a mage based on what you said earlier. And even if you were, I won''t let youe unless you are at least a Grand Mage." He refused since he could tell that even though the young man could talk, his mana was a bit not suited for the work.


    Cygnus''s lips thinned into a line and finally another man came looking for him. "Young master! What are you doing here?" Mr. C finally found the master who suddenly disappeared. "Did he cause any disturbance?" He looked at Arcaine in concern but the other shook his head.


    "Oh no, no need to worry about that. We were just talking," Arcaine answered. After that they bid the people in the banquet that they were leaving and that they should enjoy the rest of the night.


    The group returned to the room where they were before the party when one of them suddenly cursed. Even the other two were frowning, clearly, they were displeased at Rigel for speaking too much nonsense in front of many people.


    "Are you just going to let that brat go?" one of them could not help but look at the hero who remained quiet. He shuddered in fear when he saw how dark the hero''s face was.


    "Are you kidding me? Why should I let that brat go? Go out and find out who that young man was. I want to know everything about him." Arcaine was beyond angry because of the humiliation he suffered in that banquet. He won''t let this matter go even though that young man was a little bit clueless but he can''t just let it go.


    "I understand," his subordinate nodded before he left the room. The room once again fell quiet after the cursing man disappeared.


    "Are we going to catch the culprit tonight?" one of them asked after a few minutes.


    "For now, the two of you will go and do some scouting around the town. Note down everything that you will notice then report to me. I''m sure that the person behind this incident will certainly make a move again tonight. All we need to do is prevent the kidnappings from happening," he ordered. The other two subordinates who came also left.


    He was left alone in the room to rest and think. He decided that he would only take action if something really happened that night. The night slowly deepened as the banquet also ended and most of the people who attended also left.


    A night full of people who didn''t have any regard for their safety was a paradise for a dark magic user who uses human souls as the source of its strength.


    A man watched as these people were happily chatting while leaving all of their defenses up just because a hero came to help them. Well, he won''t let that hero or anyone else hinder his ns of bing the greatest dark mage.


    After he uses all of those people as a sacrifice, he wouldn''t need to hide any longer. A sinister grin appeared on his face as he started to whisper a dark spell.

 Chapter 78 A Night Of Chaos

    ?Arcaine had his eyes closed when the door to the room opened and entered his subordinate who went out to get information about Rigel Anzel. He opened his eyes and looked at the person.


    "I''m sorry for disturbing your rest, sire but here is the document rting to Rigel Anzel." The person showed a rtively thick stack of papers bound inside a folder to the man. Arcaine remained silent before he finally gave a signal for the person to continue.


    "It says here that he came with Major Linius Ginehart and that they came from a small town called Moonvale which is a thousand miles away from the capital. It''s a pretty faraway and practically unknown ce. It also says here that they are on their way to the capital to register at the Magic Tower. Aside from that all the things here are pretty much a bunch of nonsense but there''s one notable thing written here, he was able to kill and defeat five mage hunters." He read through the basic information before handing the documents to Arcaine.


    The hero also did not waste time and quickly browsed through it but there was nothing really unusual that could cause a concern. And that incident where he defeated a group of mage hunters, it must have been a fluke because the next page describes how he and the major defeated the other mage hunters.


    "Alright," he threw the stack of papers on the table and stretched his hands as he stood up. "He''s a surprising guy with a way with words, but I''m right that he is just someone weak."


    While they were talking about the matter, the mayor came in panting and trembling in fear. He looked like he went through battle because he looked too disheveled with his hair a mess and his clothing unkempt.


    "Sir Arcaine! Pleasee and help! They''re here! They''re going to take us all! All of us are dead, all of us are dead, dead, dead¡­" he suddenly kept on mumbling, then he fell on the floor while holding his head and his eyes wide. Arcaine looked at his subordinate before they left to see what was going on.


    Every street was lit as the people who attended the banquet excitedly left for their homes. Some were in their carriages and the others decided to walk. Perhaps the appearance of the hero gave them the confidence and sense of security that they did not even feel the dangering their way.


    They were still drunk at the fact that the hero was here and everything will be fine. Some of them were even enjoying their walk and continued tough at things they find funny. This merry atmosphere was interrupted by the sudden darkening of the sky as the light of the moon.


    It should have not caused panic since the sky can be overcast sometimes but this time it was different because even themps that lights themps went out. The entire town was covered in total darkness but only those who were outside of their homes noticed this change.


    Arcaine and his subordinate came out to this chaotic scene of people running frantically from human-shaped masses of smoke that were trying to grab them all. Mixed with them were bloody hands that kept on reaching out from the ground.


    The screams of the people who were being dragged to the ground filled the whole town but mysteriously enough, none of the people who were already inside their houses seemed to notice themotion that was happening outside.


    "Where are your brothers?" He looked behind him but the person he was supposed to be talking to was nowhere to be found. He did not know what happened but he can''t let this go on or else he would lose face.


    He walked out of the residence and summoned a sword out of thin air then he shed it towards the hands that were tightly gripping and dragging their victims along the rough streets in front of the mayor''s manor.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With just a sh of his sword the ck hands dispersed like they were purified as the particles turned to small lights that floated to the sky. This one sh was followed by more as the people were freed from the grasps of these terrifying creatures.


    During this time, the person who came with the hero finally appeared as he profusely apologized for his sudden disappearance. "Stop talking and do your job!" Arcainemanded because he had no time to deal with the person right now.


    The other man also brought out his sword and started to hack at the human-shaped smoke that was also clutching their prey. These things were more difficult to deal with because these things were literally sticking to their victims and wouldn''t let go. The more their prey squirmed and thrashed, the more that this humanoid smoke attached itself to them.


    "Sir Arcaine!" The man called out the other''s attention since the humanoid attackers were trickier to deal with.


    Arcaine turned around then raised his hand to the sky as he mumbled a spell which created a magic circle of pure white appear above them. When he was done whispering the spell, he let his arm fall forward followed by a rain of white needles that targeted the enemies. This move sessfully disintegrated all the dark creatures around the area.


    The people who were freed shouted in joy and praise as they went to thank the hero but Arcaine left to deal with the other ces gued by the same problem. His subordinate instructed all the people to temporarily rest inside the mayor''s manor and not to go out while they go and deal with the other ces.


    Arcaine arrived at another ce but he could not see anyone. The ce was shrouded with fog that impeded his vision so he needed to use a special technique that allows him to see through the darkness and the fog. He gritted his teeth when he saw the status of the ce.


    All the people who were in there were already dead. He could see creatures in the shape of feral dogs feasting on the bodies of the people who already lost their souls. He lifted his sword and imbued it with holy power as he made a horizontal sh to dispel the fog.


    As the fog was lifted, bodies that lost their flesh littered the ground. It was gut wrenching and anyone with a weak heart would definitely pass out at the gruesome scene in front of him because there was blood sttered everywhere.


    The feral monsters who sensed the disappearance of the fog stopped from crunching and lifted their heads in the direction of the hero. Bone chilling growls and howls filled the sky as several pairs of red eyes appeared from the corners of the street and some of them even emerged from the ground.


    Arcaine spat in disgust at the flesh-eating creatures so without hesitation he stabbed at them when they started toe after him in hordes. He was able to kill many but their numbers kept on increasing to the point that they could already overwhelm him.


    The creatures banded together and jumped towards the man. These creatures already covered him as they raced to sink their fangs on their prey but as a hero who was blessed with holy power, this was nothing to him. Using a burst of that power, he managed to st them away from him and at the same time killed most of them.


    "How resilient," he clenched his jaws and summoned another weapon.

 Chapter 79 A Chaotic Mess

    ?A whip bathed in a golden appeared in his hand and with only one flip, the feral monsters were sliced in half and became particles of light that ascended to the sky. He continued to swing the whip from right to left until there was no more left.


    His subordinate and several soldiers came just as thest one of them disappeared. He flicked his whip and let it turn into a light as it disappeared.


    "Have you received any words from your brothers?" Arcaine asked as he turned around to look at the other.


    But his subordinate could only shake his head. He had tried to contact them through their telepathic link but he was blocked. There were only a few circumstances that this link would be blocked, his brothers are dead, unconscious or someone powerful was using magic to block the link.


    Thest one is impossible because despite the appearance of a dark magic user, he was sure that he can''t block a telepathic link. So, either they were dead or unconscious but this had low possibility too because there''s no existence in Alfonso that can harm them. They were brothers blessed with holy powers and even though they were worse than a hero, they were still stronger than any magic user out there.


    Arcaine could only grit his teeth before leaving. He was not in the mood to talk because of how fast everything was happening. They just only arrived and now the enemy was making big moves. Something''s fishy about everything that was happening.


    His subordinate and the soldiers followed behind until they reached another area where the fog was thicker and they could already hear hissing soundsing from the darkness. To their surprise, the streets were not littered with these monsters, there were only certain areas where these monsters were converging.


    "I''ll clear the fog, kill everything on site and don''t get dragged by them!" Arcaine instructed as he brandished his sword and cleared the fog.


    What appeared before them was beyond imagination, the hissing sound came from a giant snake that had strangled its victims based on the twisted bodies on the ground. The snake was standing tall and its golden eyes were trained on them as the hissing continued to grow louder.


    "We will deal with this, give me support." Arcaine did not flinch and showed a cold face. It was no time to think about anything, he needed to focus on ying the enemies before him.


    He ran towards the monster and stabbed at it which made it squirm but it was not enough. The snake''s tail suddenly moved and was aiming at the hero. The tail collided with the man but he was not injured and instead he stopped the heavy blow by just using one of his hands.


    Arcaine then pulled out his sword from the snake and jumped back. As his feet touched the ground he bent down a little bit and propelled himself towards the snake.


    The soldiers were not idle either as they used bows and arrows to injure the snake while Arcaine was busy bncing himself atop the snake''s head. And when he finally had his bearings he  stabbed the snake on the head and let the holy power in his sword explode which in turn exploded the snake''s head.


    He jumped down from the dead snake''s body and looked at the soldiers, "Report."


    Hearing that word, one of them stepped forward and told him that the mages and soldiers were already dealing with the other areas where monsters appeared and that they requested for Arcaine to focus on finding the culprit. Arcaine nodded, it was better to cut off the root so that these monsters would return to where they belong.


    "Let''s go," he looked at his subordinate and they left. They floated above the town to get a look at it and find the person behind all the chaos.


    Like magic, his holy power could detect enemies with the dark attribute and all he needed to do was send a wave of it. A bright glow appeared around Arcaine and it slowly spread through the entire town in waves. If there was dark energy these waves would break. There were small breaks but it was only caused by the monsters.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    As the waves spread further, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the south side of the town. Arge part of his holy power was repelled in that direction.


    Arcaine flew towards that direction followed by his subordinate and when they got there, the subordinate could not help but cover his mouth and nose at how thick the stench of death was in that ce. They walked around and noticed that the ce was actually not that developedpared to the other parts of Alfonso.


    The subordinate reckoned that this might be the ce where most of the unfortunate were gathered. It can''t be helped though, because wherever you go, slums could be found.


    There were no signs of life in the area and only darkness, they must have fallen victim to the person''s dark magic. Based on how the ce was looking it has been days or even weeks since all the people in there disappeared and for some reason, no one noticed.


    "Why did nobody notice that this ce was already festering with too much dark mana?" The subordinate could not help but wonder. He could see human bones scattered about and the houses were starting to dpose.


    "Who would even want toe to the slums and check? People in a ce where money could be easily earned and where one can instantly be rich will not bat an eye on this filthy ce." Arcaine answered without much expression on his face.


    He was aware of what kind of ce Alfonso was. Though it may be enjoying riches, it also hides a dark secret. So the person behind the chaos was either out for revenge or just thirsty for power after suffering so much.


    "Then we should cleanse this ce already and put an end to this evil person," the subordinate spat. He couldn''t stand staying there for even another minute.


    Arcaine looked at the man but did notment on his words because he himself wanted to end this already. He was getting impatient because of those tricks that the enemy was ying. The man continued to wade forward, his cape and pristine boots were getting sullied because of the dirt and dark mana.


    He couldn''t help but feel disgust and yet he needed to pretend that he doesn''t care. This is one more reason that he should give the evildoer a painful death. He looked forward as they came near the only lit house in that dark and eerie ce, Arcaine looked at that house coldly before he stepped forward and kicked the door open.


    "So, this is where you are hiding, rat!" He sneered as he saw a man sitting with his back facing him.


    Inside the house, the firece was also lit and the interior looked very presentable and warm, not the kind you would expect for a dark magic user to have. The person did not even react after his door was ruthlessly kicked as he was still calmly sitting on the ground facing the firece.


    "Ah yes, I have been waiting for you¡­" the man''s words made the warm room chillier. "A hero¡­yes, they call you a hero¡­loathsome¡­" he was pausing in between phrases weirdly but Arcained didn''t really care about it.


    "You filthy rats are more loathsome. We are iparable to people like you," he mocked and yet the person was unmoved.


    "Yes, that''s how you are. Arrogant, pretentious and eviler in the heart. Yes, that''s how you should be just like those people who abandoned us to die. But, I''ll let them all pay back what they owed us."

 Chapter 80 Another Surprise

    ?After those words came out from the man''s mouth the fire suddenly went out together with the lights and all that was left was the glow from Arcaine''s holy sword. Also, the man who was just sitting before them disappeared.


    "Come and find me if you have the guts to enter the abyss where I''ll plunged this town!" A crisp and maniacalugh reverberated through the ce and it only made Arcaine more annoyed.


    The man was obviously challenging his power and authority as a hero and he can''t have that. He won''t let some insignificant bug tarnish his name and reputation. His grip on the swords tightened as the frown on his face deepened.


    "I heard it, you are only a hero because you have that holy power and that pretty face of yours but you don''t really have the skills. You didn''t even feel that I already started that chaos and waste toe out. Howughable, you are only a joke and not a real hero," the man''s voice continued to taunt Arcaine which the man did not ept kindly.


    His once handsome and angelic face disappeared as it was reced by a face contorted with anger. The veins on his head and neck were already bulging and with one more push he would surelysh out and destroy everything in that ce.


    That was exactly what the enemy wanted. He wanted to see this so-called hero go on a rampage and destroy everything. He wanted to witness what the hero truly looked like. He whispered a few more things and thest sentence he said broke Arcaine''s control over himself.


    "You''re nothing but a useless person if not for that ability you have. You are just like me or those whom you have called useless. You are human," another round of boomingugh filled air.


    Arcaine released his power and strong burning white light came out from him and exploded outward as it blew everything into pieces and destruction. The darkness and the dark mana were instantly purified and disappeared. It has returned to its original state.


    The subordinate could now clearly see the man that was being slowly burned by the white light. His body was all skinny, it was as if only his bones remained while it was covered with skin. The man looked old and yet the way he looked at them was full of life. He was notughing but the subordinate could strangely feel that he was mocking them with his eyes.


    "Look at what you''ve be. With all the stunts and threats, you did out there, this is what you got? So, where is the power you were talking about? The payback you were proudly dering?" Arcaine continued to mock after he also saw the man''s visage. His life was already used up when he decided to plunge the whole town into darkness.


    "It''s already done and you''ve been a great help oh so mighty hero. With the sacrifice of your holy power, I''ve managed toplete its awakening and everything will be on you!" The manughed again as his body slowly decayed because of the white light. "You know, that monster really liked to eat heroes. That''s what the book told me and that was confirmed by him."


    Arcaine became confused as to what the man was talking about, and what creature he was talking about. Another question was, who was ''him'' that the man was talking about? He narrowed his eyes at the disappearing man but the other was only smiling.


    "Then you are not the only one behind all of this?" he paused and waited for a reaction but nothing came. "If I ever find who was helping you, I won''t let him go and kill him too."


    The man still managed to let out anotherugh even though his body was slowly dying. "Kill him? No one can kill him, not even you nor any of those in your flock. He is much stronger and dangerous than any of you." He continued tough then he suddenly stopped, "You''re going to die, Mr. Hero!" And hepletely vanished.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    As that body vanished so was the white light he released. The dark manapletely disappeared and when he flew up to see the situation at the center, he could tell that the dark fog shrouding the town also disappeared.


    The sky has also returned to its usual state and the moon was shining more brightly. It all returned to the calm they hoped for and when this happened most people decided to return to their houses. The survivors were still being treated and the military was busy with assisting them even the mages were there to help.


    "Congrattions for another mission sess, sire!" His subordinate was d that Arcaine seeded once again. This will surely be recorded as one of his greatest achievements.


    "I know. Now that we are done, we can go back to the capital with no worries." Arcaine turned back and gave his subordinate a grin but before they could fully celebrate, an earth-shaking growl sounded from a distance.


    This sound shattered the hope for a peaceful night that the people were looking forward to. A dragon that covered the moon''s light suddenly appeared and roared above them. Its scales were so dark and even its wings were the color of an ink. Its eyes were the color of red just like a ruby.


    "That bastard!" Arcaine could not help but curse. He could already recognize what kind of dragon was that. "I couldn''t believe that what that bastard was talking about was this, he really went all the way to leave us with this present."


    It was one of the few monsters that would actually give a hero a difficult time to defeat it because they were practically absorbing any power that they could and one can say that their favorite was a hero''s holy power. Their power was  more concentrated and has several benefits once a person will have them.


    His subordinate started to shake from where he was standing when they saw that dragon looming above them, "Is that a real dragon?"


    "Of course, it is! And that bastard called a dragon that can actually injure or even kill someone like me!" Arcaine shouted as he continued to curse in his mind. He must have used that power as bait for the dragon toe. What a headache but he can''t really run away because people were counting on him to defeat the dragon.


    The hero summoned a spear coated with a white light and threw it towards the dragon but it only bounced off. They tried several times but nothing can affect the dragon and by this time the dragon''s addition was already on them.


    "Here ites!" Arcaine was not sure if he could defeat the dragon but if did not, then his life would be in danger. Instead of running away, he stood in front of the dragon that had its eyes trained on him.


    The dragon growled before it closed its mouth and within just the span of a minute, it was already breathing fire towards Arcaine who was not showing any fear even though he was nervous inside because that was the first time that he would be fighting against a dragon.

 Chapter 81 Doing It Seriously

    ?As the dragon''s fire reached Arcaine, he raised up a barrier of holy power to defend against the attack. But even though he was protected, he could still feel the blistering heat that was trying to burn him. The attack only took a minute but it felt like eternity for him.


    After the fire was gone, everything below the hero turned to ashes and only he and his subordinate were standing. They could already hear the hysterical shouts of the people below. They were terrified and in a state of panic.


    The casualties only rose because of the appearance of a dragon. The military and the mages had their hands full as they tried to evacuate as many as they could.


    Ginehart couldn''t believe that after the fogs and those monsters disappeared a dragon would take their ce. He thought that they were already safe but something more dangerous came.


    "Knock on all the doors and instruct the people to the northern gate of the town, now!" He gave the orders to the soldiers and looked at the lieutenant, "Go and see if there are still survivors from the burned area, cooperate with the mages."


    "I''ll escort the people out of this ce," Captain Violett volunteered. Although the major doesn''t really trust her, he had no other choice but to let her handle things.


    "Alright, I''ll be counting on you then." Major Ginehart nodded before he turned around and left to where the battle was. Even though Arcaine was a hero, there was no guarantee that he can defeat that thing by himself.


    And he was right because right now, the hero was being beaten and even his holy power can''t scratch the dragon''s hide. His clothes were already burned and matted with blood with his skin was ck with ashes. His neatlybed blonde hair was now disheveled and full of ck soot.


    He was panting and his vision was obstructed because of the blooding out from the wound on his forehead. Still though, he was gripping his sword tightly with holy power stilling out from him.


    His subordinate was already on the ground with blooding out of a puncture wound on his body. The dragon was really targeting him but he can''t hide his holy power. How will he fight without his power?


    Then the man''s words came back to him and it only made him angry. No, no matter what happens he wouldn''t let those words get to him. He was different. He was above anybody else in that ce. He was a hero and nobody can deny that truth.


    He picked up himself and brandished his sword once again. Arcaine faced the dragon with the utmost resolve that he could muster.


    Cygnus, who watched all of this y out, could not help but chuckle. That man was really something and even his thoughts were on another level.


    "Ah, really that man is really funny, even his thoughts are truly outrageous!" He couldn''t help but exim after reading those thoughts.


    "Master, what should we do now?" Mr. C asked while giving a subtle look towards Astrophos who was ring at them.


    "Tsk, I forgot that we have someone who is not fond of these kinds of things. Well, let him be." The master looked at the hero again and ignored the man who they confined in a cage made of purple mana. "Let''s wait for the dragon to be defeated."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Mr. C nodded but before he could return to where he was standing before, another question came from him. "Are you sure that he will be able to defeat that dragon?"


    Cygnus tilted his head before he answered, "Yes he will and he will be so happy to do that."


    With that confirmation, Mr. C went back and stood dutifully behind the man. The fight against the dragon was still going on and yet the hero still wasn''t able to pierce through the dragon. If not for his sword''s attribute, it would already be broken into pieces.


    The dragon looked at the human who wields holy power. He was all beaten up but he was still standing, one thing that should bemended but that was not enough to defeat him. He was so weakpared to the heroes he had faced throughout his lifespan. It was annoying that his time was wasted on someone this insignificant. It was bruising his pride as a powerful dragon.


    "How did you even be a hero?" a deep and almost hollow voice sounded inside Arcaine''s head. "You are so weak that I can even prate your defenses and enter your mind, how pathetic."


    Arcaine looked up and saw that the dragon was looking directly at him. He gritted his teeth then shouted, "Get out of my mind!" He circted his holy power inside his veins and around his body sessfully blocking the dragon from his thoughts.


    Another roar came from the dragon before it flicked its tail towards the hero who managed to use his power to float up and avoid the attack but after that he was assaulted by a great strong wind which pushed him down on the ground once again.


    He was pinned down by the gust of wind from the dragon''s wings and spat blood as he could feel his insides being crushed. His grip on his sword slowly ckened and when the dragon noticed this, its ws rushed forward as it created a swishing sound towards the pinned man. The dragon was intending to crush the man and end his futile attempt of defeating him.


    Just then, while Arcaine was about to lose his consciousness, a sudden surge of power went through his body and gave him the strength to pull away and avoid that attack. He rolled away and stood up like his body was renewed.


    Arcaine looked at the dragon and smirked, then he lifted his sword once again and before the dragon could react, he was already above its head and was aiming for its eyes. It was already toote for the dragon to avoid the attack because of its slightly slow reaction added to that the surprise it felt when Arcaine seemed to have powered up.


    A roar of pain came from the dragon and the hero who managed to pierce its eyes felt satisfaction. The roaring power inside of him was looking for a way out and who was he to stop it. He was blessed by the gods with another power so he won''t waste it and destroy the dragon in front of him.


    The dragon wiggled and flew back as the pain of being stabbed in the eye overwhelmed him. As a response to it, they breathe a zing fire which was more destructive than the first ones. Itpletely torched the stone structures on the ground.


    The dragon was not angry, it won''t let that human get away from injuring its precious eyes. With greater force, the dragon finally attacked. If it was only using its dragon breath from the start, now it was not going to hold back.


    Large fire balls appeared in the space around the dragon but this did not intimidate the hero because he was confident that he could defeat the dragon with his new found power. These fireballs wereunched and went straight to the hero.

 Chapter 82 Total Destruction And Disappointment

    ?The explosions were so loud as the fireballs collided with the buildings and as the destruction calmed down, ck smoke rose to the night sky. The people were running around in panic as not all of them were able to get out of the town.


    Ginehart, who was about to go and give the hero a hand, was swept away by the people asking him for help as the fire continued to eat their house and their businesses. He looked around and above but the hero seemed to not notice the distraction that was happening because of their battle.


    Gritting his teeth, he diverted his attention on the people instead and helped them towards the direction of the exit. If the hero doesn''t care about the lives of the people, then he wouldn''t care to help him too. He finally turned around and left together with the people who were trapped because of the fight.


    "Master! This is too cruel! The people are dying and you are just going to watch it happen? How can you be so heartless!" The hysterical shouts of Astrophos were also echoing inside the space where they were watching the fight. He couldn''t believe that the master would actually let this happen just because he wanted to test how capable the hero was.


    "Shut up! Don''t speak because no matter what you say I won''t lift a finger. And heartless, yes that''s true, I am heartless because I have already lost that from the beginning." The air around the space darkened because for some reason those words bear heavy weights that stopped Astrophos from speaking any further.


    The chaos continued as many lost their lives but the fighting did not stop. Arcaine was drunk with the power he received and was enjoying his fight with the arrogant dragon. He kept swinging his sword that caused additional destruction aside from the ones that were caused by the dragon''s fire magic.


    He wasughing hysterically as he continued to dodge the fire attacks aimed at him. Then, he would retaliate with his own holy power. He even summoned his whip and used it to strike the dragon. Now that his attacks were having an effect, he was thrilled.


    This went on for like eternity before the dragon suddenly stopped and only floated above while looking down at the hero. It prepared for a fiercer dragon breath that could incinerate the whole town. It imbued his purest mana into its fire and slowly gathered it inside its mouth and when Arcaine propelled himself again towards the dragon, it released that fire.


    With just one dragon breath, Arcaine was engulfed with a scorching fire but this time, he was unharmed because of the holy power that was protecting him. The whole town of Alfonso has turned into ashes with only cinders to give it some glow.


    The hero continued to push himself forward until it pierced the dragon''s mouth. After it was pierced, the dragon raised its head and attempted to growl but it could not because it was injured. Arcaine seized the chance and also went all out to stab the dragon on its chest where its heart was located.


    His holy sword was covered with intense white light that he let that light explode inside the dragon''s body which also stopped its heart from beating. He pulled out his sword and watched as the dragon''s body fell down and even created a deep pit below it after it hit the ground.


    After seeing the dragon''s dead body, Arcaine gave a lowugh until it got louder and louder as if he has turned crazy. His eyes were trained on his hands where he could still feel the power surging inside of him and the satisfaction it gave when he killed the dragon.


    "Finally! I had yed a dragon! Those jerks on the top wouldn''t be able to shun me now!" He shouted as heughed so hard. He was excited because he could now be one of the best heroes out there and no one can tell him otherwise.


    This happiness was short-lived though, because the dragon''s body started to slowly disintegrate. "No!" he eximed. He needed proof that he truly yed a dragon so that the organization would fully believe him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He hurriedlynded on the ground near the dead beast but as he was about to cut off a tooth, the dragonpletely disappeared. He then started to curse out loud because he was not able to bring back a souvenir from the dragon he defeated.


    While he was busy cursing, people started to gather around the area where the dragon fell. They stared at the disheveled hero without speaking until Arcaine finally noticed them. He frowned because he did not like the way, they were looking at him.


    "What are you looking at?" he angrily asked but none of them answered him. They were just silent. He then got annoyed by this, "If you have anything to say, then just say it already!"


    One man stepped forward and asked, "As a hero, how will you take responsibility for all the damages and casualties your fight has caused?"


    Arcaine narrowed his eyes at the man before he spoke, "Why should I? I already defeated the dragon and now you are asking for more?" He shook his head and threw his hands in the air before he turned around but another statement made him stop.


    "You were supposed to protect us! And yet so many of us died, our families, our friends and even our neighbors, but still continued to recklessly fight in this ce." Another stepped forward and shouted. They were looking up to him to save and protect them and yet many of them still lost their lives.


    Aracaine turned around but instead of apology nor a sincere condolence, a smirk was on his face. "It is not my fault that all of you are weak, that you can''t even protect and save yourselves. It is not my job to save you all. That''s a very ridiculous reason."


    "But you could have led that dragon outside of the town and fought there to your heart''s content since the dragon''s focus was on you and not the town itself. You were only thinking of yourself and how defeating a dragon would make you even more famous, that''s why you really don''t care what would happen to the people you should protect." Ginehart''s voice came from the back of the crowd as they parted and made way for him.


    He was truly disappointed in the man and he felt that he didn''t deserve the title of a hero because of his attitude, especially his arrogance.


    "Hah, do you really think I would do that, it is just a waste of time and in the end I still defeated it. Isn''t that what''s more important? If I had not sacrificed my life to defeat that dragon, then that dragon would have killed all the people in this town." He still reasoned and yet he was the only one who believed himself.


    "You are no hero." Was the only statement that Ginehart could describe this selfish man who was standing before them. "You are just a person who uses his power for his own gain. I would never acknowledge you, no matter what happens. And one more thing, all of these deaths will be on you."


    Linius Ginehart, for the first time, turned his back on a person he deemed as a total disappointment and with a new view in his life. If most heroes were people with such arrogant and selfish characters then he wouldn''t be polite or respectful of them.


    Arcaine who heard those words was not actually fazed. He only shrugged his shoulders and also turned around. He already saved the town and yet he was still given the cold shoulder but no matter what, he still defeated a dragon and that was the most important fact to him right now.

 Chapter 83 Your Hero Is Scheming

    ?After that battle, the people were now confused and at a loss on what they should do. The once grand and thriving town of Alfonso was no more. Their homes and their businesses were all gone, even their families and friends died.


    Nobody thought that a case of missing people would turn out like this. They lost much, much more and no one wanted to take responsibility for it.


    After making sure that the civilians were settled for a while, Ginehart went to check on his men. He first saw Lieutenant Lisbon who was making rounds on their subordinates who were wounded. Many of them also died and there was nothing he could do about it.


    He ordered those who managed to survive unscathed to go and help the people with whatever they needed. Some of them were even sent to one of their bases to get some rations for everyone. He then personally wrote a letter to the general, asking for aid and sent it through a messenger bird.


    "Have you seen Captain Cazal?" He asked after he noticed that the woman was nowhere to be found.


    Lisbon avoided the major''s gaze then sighed. "I don''t know major, maybe she already left with her men."


    "What do you mean? I sent her to escort the civilians out of this ce..." He wasn''t able to continue what he was about to say because he suddenly realized something. He could only look at Lisbon.


    No words could be said at that moment because both of them understood what the silence meant. They were abandoned by their own subordinates. They instead focused on keeping the victims warm through the night as they waited for help toe.


    "Major." He then heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and saw Grand Mage Astrophos who looked exhausted with his eyes red.


    "Grand Mage, I thought I wouldn''t see you again," the major nodded. "The master, where is he?" He hesitated for a bit but still asked.


    Throughout the ordeal, he never saw the group from beginning to end. Last time he saw them was at the banquet. He saw how the mage''s face darken and the anger in his eyes couldn''t be hidden.


    "Don''t ask about him! He is the reason for all of this! That man..." He tightly shut his eyes before he got the courage to speak again, "he watched all of this with a smile on his face."


    Linius Ginehart could sympathize with how the mage felt but at the same time, he didn''t know how he should react. He was angry when he saw the hero walking away and throwing away all responsibility and yet he couldn''t do it to that person.


    "I don''t know what grudge he has against these people nor the reason why he did not stop that dragon and you know that I can''t question that. But that man is someone I nor you can defy. What you must do right now is help those who are in need." Ginehart patted the mage''s shoulder before he left to see the other soldiers who had been injured.


    Astrophos watched the man''s back then he lifted his head to the sky that had started to clear as the sun slowly rose from the horizon. After standin there for a full minute, he also left.


    Arcaine who was still giddy and was stillughing while he prepared to leave. He won''t stay in that ce any longer but before that he needed someone who could be his witness. Once he finds one, those who were at the top won''t be able to deny this achievement of his.


    "You won''t be able to do that though," a voice suddenly whispered near his ear, "because you left us to die."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    His surroundings turned chilly for some reason and there were continuous whispers around him. "Who''s there?" He looked around but there was no one and yet theughter continued, as if mocking him.


    "Your power is fake, only borrowed and without that power you would have died fighting that dragon," one of the voices sneered, followed by a series of crispughter from the other voices.


    "No matter what you say, the fact that I defeated a dragon is still true." He calmed himself and did not let the taunts get to him.


    There''s no reason for him to be swayed any longer by those useless words. He would indulge himself once he returned to the capital and secured a firm position amongst the top heroes of the kingdom. All he needed to do was find a witness, but all the witnesses were in that ruined town.


    He decided to walk around the town in hopes of finding someone who had left town during the attack. He didn''t even need to walk that far when he heard a group of people talking. He peeked behind the trees where he was and saw a familiar face.


    Arcaine couldn''t help but smile to himself as he felt really lucky because he saw the mayor who waspletely believing of him. He could use the man as a witness, with some sweet words, he believed that he could sway the man.


    He walked out from where he was hiding and approached the group without hesitation. The mayor who was facing the direction where the hero came out was startled and happy when he saw the man.


    ''Good,'' Arcaine thought after he saw the mayor''s reaction. They did not know what happened so he can still use them. ''I''m really lucky.''


    "Sir Arcaine!" He eximed and ran to meet the hero. He was excited to finally see that the hero was alive. This only meant one thing, he had sessfully defeated the dragon.


    "Mayor, I am d to see that you are doing alright." He gave the man a smile and even the people with the mam felt relieved when they saw him.


    "We are very d to see you too but what are you doing here? Did you defeat the dragon?" The mayor wondered because he suddenly appeared there. He even looked around to see if the hero had some people with him who would help them.


    "Yes, the dragon has been taken care of and I''m here because I was informed that there were still survivors outside of the town, so I volunteered to look for them." His answer was prepared beforehand while the mayor was still distracted.


    Those words were delivered so smoothly that the people in the group did not suspect anything amiss. They believed everything he said without second thoughts.


    "Thank you for defeating that dragon. If you did not defeat it then we would have been toasted by now." The mayor was so grateful that Arcaine could see sparkles in his eyes.


    "No need to thank me, I am just doing my duty," Arcaine answered as humbly as he could just enough to fool these people. "For now, may I ask the mayor for assistance? We will call for the military toe and help you while we go around to see if there are more survivors."


    The mayor agreed while the others decided to wait because they fully trusted the hero that he would uphold his words. They sent the two of them with smiles not knowing that the person whom they trusted was not really going to help them.

 Chapter 84 Deceit

    ?They walked for almost thirty minutes already and yet the hero hasn''t said any word to the mayor. He started to get nervous and decided to just ask the hero. "Excuse me Sir Aracaine, I can''t help but notice that you really didn''t want my assistance, yes?"


    Aracaine stopped walking but he did not face the mayor who was getting nervous. "You are quite a sharp person mayor but I really do need your help but now for the reason I give those people. It is for something else." He finally turned around and looked straight at the mayor''s eyes which startled the man.


    The mayor thought that the hero''s matter was a bit private because he was called out alone. He breathed a sigh of relief because he thought that Arcaine would do something that might harm him.


    "What is it? I''ll try my best to assist you to the best of my ability." It doesn''t matter what the hero wants from him, as long as he could build a rtionship with the hero, he could restore his prestige and what he lost in Alfonso.


    "I''m going back to the capital and I wanted an eye witness to testify for me that I defeated a dragon. If the Council of Heroes believed that I had in a dragon, I can be one of the top heroes in our kingdom. If that happens, I''m sure that you will greatly benefit from it." He did not hesitate to throw out the bait he had for the man.


    From their first meeting alone, he could already tell that the man was greedy that was why he was buttering up to him before the banquet. The temptation of a top hero and benefits from it would certainly attract the greedy man.


    It was a good deal and looking at the man with his mouth wide open, he immediately knew that he was considering it. He was salivating like a dog which was a good sign and with just a little bit of push he would surely give in.


    "If you help me, you can use my influence to start another business in the capital and I''m sure that customers will flock to you. You can be richer, richer than what you have been in this little town." This statement made the mayor more excited so without thinking about its pros and cons as he should have done, the mayor agreed to help Arcaine.


    And just like that, they went on their way leaving the people who were hoping for help and assistance from them. Cygnus watched all of this y out with a satisfied grin on his face. Everything was ying out to what he wanted, now every character was going to the stage. All he needed to do now was prepare that stage for them.


    This time he appeared a few meters away from where the people were and he prepared himself to rescue them. He took his time to walk and slowly parted the foliage that was blocking his view. When he saw the people, he showed an expression of surprise.


    "Oh, I finally found you guys!" He excitedly ran towards them and immediately asked for their well-being. He also dutifully checked if any of them were wounded but luckily everyone was safe.


    "Are you sent by Sir Arcaine to help us?" One of them curiously asked because she saw that this man and the hero had a conversation during the banquet.


    Cygnus shook his head, "No, Major Linius Ginehart told me and mypanions that there were people who were escorted out of the town so he asked us to go and look for you." He was smiling while exining to them the circumstances. "And besides, the hero already left Alfonso after he defeated the dragon."


    "But we met him almost an hour ago and he told us that they will go and ask for help for us. He was with the mayor," the same person spoke once again. This time there was a frown on her face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Hmmm, I didn''t see them anywhere and besides Sir Arcaine is not really a good hero. Half of the town''s destruction was by him and when the major asked him to take responsibility he just sneered and left. If we return, I''m sure that they will tell you what really happened." Cygnus exined so innocently which got the people''s trust a little bit.


    "Then will yourradese?" Another one of them asked. Though the young man seemed reliable and was telling the truth, they can''t just believe him that easily.


    If Cygnus was not acting right now, he would haveughed at how ridiculous these people''s thoughts are. Just because he was not a hero, his words were doubted. If he appeared as a viin, would they believe his words? It was a sudden thought but it was worth trying in the future.


    "Yes, wait let me send out a signal so that they''ll know that I found you," he grinned at them. He lifted his hand and shot out a ball of blue mana that exploded in the sky and scattered like fireworks. "Now, we wait."


    An hour has not yet passed but Astrophos, Mr. C and Nina came from different directions. Without questions, they did the same as what Cygnus had done when he first saw them. After that, they escorted them out of the forest towards the direction of the town. Thankfully they were not arge group so it was easier to help and assist them.


    "May I ask who escorted you out of the town? I saw no soldiers nor mages with you so I got a bit curious," Astrophos asked while they were walking back. It was not a strange question and yet the most of the adults on the group had a sour face on their faces after they heard what he asked.


    "Don''t even mention it. That woman was terrible, she was indeed with the military but she didn''t know how to do her job. She and her group indeed escorted us out of the town but she also abandoned us," one of the older women spat. She was so angry that time that she even cursed Captain Cazal but the woman only gave them a cold shoulder before she turned her back and left.


    "That must be the major''s captain. I heard that she disappeared during the chaos and even the amiable lieutenant was in a bad mood because of what the woman had done. ording to thetest information they had, the captain is already miles away from this town," Mr. C informed them.


    "A person with that kind of attitude should not have be a captain or even a soldier if she could abandon us and theirrades in the midst of the battle," another person from the back spoke up. Grunts of confirmation came from the other members of the group.


    "You shouldn''t worry though, Major Ginehart, alreadymanded his men to use the military ration to help the survivors. Oh, and one more thing, I hope you won''t be too shocked once we return to the town." Cygnus looked back at them from where he was looking. The look of sympathy in his eyes did not escape their observation.


    "Why? What happened? We heard several explosionsst night but it wasn''t that serious right? I mean the town must have survived since Alfonso is not that small¡­" One of them looked at the group hopefully but they avoided their gazes.


    "It was not that serious but when the hero went all out, everything became messy and many lives were lost. You''ll see it once we reach the town." Cygnus also avoided their gazes and instead looked at the side. The atmosphere turned a bit depressing because of the topic and it persisted until they finally reached the town.


    The walls that were proudly surrounding it once were nowhere to be found as everything turned to dust. But what''s more depressing was that the whole town was razed to the ground. No building was left standing but the most heartbreaking part of it all was that the dead bodies lined on a spacious spot.

 Chapter 85 A Moment Of Peace

    ?Alfonso became a solemn town. The boastful atmosphere disappeared within the night. The town''s people together with the military and the mages were helping one another which was a rare sight no matter where one will go.


    "I''ve already informed the capital of what had happened here but it will still take days before any help could reach us. So I''ve contacted some of the nearby towns for aid." Major Ginehart was talking to Cygnus who was inside the major''s tent.


    "So why are you telling me this?" Cygnus raised an eyebrow at the man. He did not understand why there was a need for the major to inform him of those insignificant things.


    "Because I want to ask you, what is your next n?" He did not hide his motive and directly asked the man.


    After the chaos, which was technically caused by him, the master became idle. He sent his butler to provide things they werecking. No one knew where those additional nkets and tents came from but the people were still thankful.


    "For now, I''ll let them have the moment of their lives as they bathe in the glow of fame and power. So, I''ll be rxing for now." Cygnus smirked at the man as he lounged on the couch then he used his arm as a pillow and made himselffortable.


    He was already tired because of the effort he needed to put in during the recent incident. For now, all he wanted to do was toze around or just sleep if he could. Linius didn''t know how to react to the response of the master. His actions were in contrast to his dangerous words.


    "Then are you still going to the capital and register as a mage?" He asked once again as he also found a seat for himself.


    Cygnus hummed and closed his eyes, "I don''t know. I''m not sure since I don''t really have the time to n for now."


    The major stayed silent for a while. He only stared at the man before he spoke again, "Why don''t you enter the capital as a noble instead of a magic user. You can use my family''s connection for that."


    Cygnus opened his eyes then he sat up to face the man. His interest was piqued at the major''s bold words.


    "I thought, you hated me already because of what I did and yet here you are offering me a very tempting proposal," the master was now focused on the man''s next words.


    In all the worlds where he had been, this was the first time that he met a person who was willingly offering him help. He was truly interesting, one of the few interesting humans he had encountered.


    "Yes, I did not like what you did and I really wanted to know why you did it but I''m sure that you won''t tell me, so I won''t ask. Despite that, since I am technically under your control, then I might as well offer my help." They were already in an unfavorable position so he might as well use this person''s power for his benefit.


    "Hmmm what should I do?" He leaned on the couch and draped his hand on the couche''s back. He even crossed his legs while smiling at the major.


    Linius did not react and just waited for the other person''s answer. He didn''t want to get provoked again and do something he''ll regret so he chose to take the person''s words seriously.


    "I''d like to see why such a man like yourself has a tendency of creating destruction and chaos. I figured out that I wouldn''t get bored while being under your power," he added when he saw that the man had yet to make a decision.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The master couldn''t help but stare. After interacting with him for a while now, he had realized something about the man. He was a mirror of himself, terrifyingly so.


    "I have been wondering for some time now and asking myself a question, ''why does this man seem so familiar?'' Now I finally know the answer." Instead of giving Linius an answer to his proposal, Cygnus changed the topic.


    This sudden shift in the mood and in the topic made the major a little bit ufortable. But he could not resist the urge to know the answer.


    "That is something I didn''t expect from you. So, if I may, what''s the answer you found for that question of yours?" The man''s curiosity made Cygnus chuckle.


    He once again closed his eyes and pretended to ignore the man. Linius waited for almost five minutes before he heard an answer from ''the master'' as his subordinates called him since they couldn''t say his name.


    "That''s because you are awfully the same as me. Just like a mirror of myself." This simple answer from the master sent shivers to Linius''s spine.


    He did not know how to react to it because he was not sure if it was a good thing or not. The fire in themp flickered as the silence persisted within the room. The shadows on the walls danced as if coercing him from epting the master''s words.


    The room suddenly felt eerie for a moment and if not for the lieutenant who came to call the both of them, he was afraid that he might have been swallowed by the darkness behind the master.


    "I''ll hear your answerter." He stood up and left without looking back. The master''s presence was not something he could face. He went to the lieutenant and asked him what he needed.


    From a dark corner of the tent a rustle came followed by a man with long dark hair and golden eyes. His brown toned skin glistened under the glow of the light. He went to sit beside the master and even had the audacity to look at him.


    "He doesn''t look anything like you though," the newly entered man spoke after a few minutes of staring at the master, "especially that temper of yours."


    "Even if you say so, I still feel the same and what are you doing here?" Cygnus faced the man then scanned him from head to toe before going back to when he had his eyes closed.


    "I was just checking on you and I came toin. That really hurt you know, I thought I''m going to lose my eye because of that bastard!" He suddenly stood up and roared in anger. He could still feel the pain from his eyes being pierced by that damn holy sword.


    "Well, suck it up. You did not lose your eye so there should be no problems so can you go already and leave me alone. If you want to bother someone, go ang look for the butler or that woman." Cygnus didn''t open his eyes and he did not entertain the man any longer. Since he was being ignored, he decided to leave and look for the others.


    It has been a while since he was out so he would take that chance to enjoy every minute of it because the master might stuff him again inside that awful dimension Cygnus called home. There was nothing in there, nothing fun to do and no one to talk to.

 Chapter 86 What Really Happened

    ?Linius Ginehart became busy for a while after Lieutenant Arc Lisbon called for him. He wasn''t able to immediately return and continue with that conversation with the master. It took him at least three hours to finish all the paperwork that the lieutenant kindly dumped in front of him.


    He thought that those documents were destroyed during the attack but to his amazement, Lisbon actually saved them and put them to safety.


    "Those documents are important and it would be a headache if they got burned because we won''t be able to produce those again with all of the revisions done on it," he reasoned. He was too serious when he was saying those words that the major couldn''t refute his words nor his actions of prioritizing those pieces of papers.


    Linius sighed and ced the quill on the table after he had gone through and signed all of the documents that needed his approval. He stood up and stretched for a bit before he left his own tent to go and find out if the master had thought about his proposal already.


    The night air was chilly but not enough to be called freezing. It was actually good for someone who wanted to unwind and the night was also strangely peaceful, far from the Alfonso that was buzzing with life. He was looking around as he walked and he noticed a slouched silhouette not far from where he was.


    He slowly walked towards that direction when he noticed that it was actually Astrophos. His gaze was far beyond the horizon and he was clearly lost in his own thoughts because he did not react when the major stood beside his sitting form. Linius looked at the man and saw how messy and distressed he was. He could feel the storm raging inside of the mage even though he would appear calm whenever he was facing other people.


    "You looked like the world has already copsed and you''re the only one left behind," Liniusmented as he also gazed into the far distance.


    Astrophos did not answer but there was a flicker in his eyes, an indication that he was actually listening. Maybe that''s what he really felt, like everything around him was crumbling down and he was left, confused like an idiot and didn''t know where to go.


    "Ever since I went on that mission, everything has changed. Concepts I''ve firmly believed in have been questioned. Just everything about this world has be so surreal that it felt like they aren''t real any longer." His voice was calm as the realization of him losing his sense of existence slowly dawned in his mind.


    As he said those words, his surroundings slowly felt different, he felt different. He felt that he did not belong to his world any longer.


    "Is this because of what happened to the town?" Linius asked. Now he was getting curious because he knew nothing about the master, aside from what he observed from the moment they met.


    "More than that but it is indeed because of the recent incident that I am now questioning my morals as a human," heughed at himself. Those words when said out loud were actually mocking him.


    "What happened?" Linius clenched his jaw at the suddenugh but he couldn''t let himself get carried away. All he knew was that the master had a hand on the incident but he did not know what he had done.


    "He instigated the culprit to create those dark fog and summon those monsters. I tried to stop him but I was frozen in ce," he started as the memories of the past came back to haunt him. "He did it so coldly with a deranged smile on his face."


    That night, after the master''s talk with the hero, they left the banquet. He thought they were going back to the inn but instead they went to the area where the slums were located.


    It was an awful ce, there was no signs of life and it waspletely shrouded with thick ck fog and darkness. He wondered why they were in that kind of ce until they came to the only house standing in that deste ce.


    Cygnus did not even knock and just entered it directly. There they found a half-dead man, whose skin had lost its flesh and the bones sticking out. He was near death but Astrophos saw the still burning fire in his eyes.


    "You''re about to die now and yet you still managed to take a peek at that rather detestable banquet," he heard the master say. Astrophos looked at him in confusion but the other two only remained silent.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Because I wanted to see the faces of the people who pushed us into this state before I kill them all," he still spoke clearly and moved like he was not on his deathbed. He looked at the young man with eyes as deep as the darkness he had seen.


    "Have you given up on gaining power then, so that no one can stand in your way?" The master once again asked. He walked around the house and peaked at the photo on the half broken picture frame on top of the firece.


    "That was all talk. A memory from when they were still alive. A reminder to myself. A fragment of what was left of my sanity." He also stood beside Cygnus and stared at the picture of a woman and two children with happy smiles on their faces.


    "Why don''t I help you with that before you die? I can make that happen and you''ll be able to get revenge on those people." He saw the master look at the thin man with that same smile he has whenever he nned to do something.


    "How will you do it? You are up against a hero, a person blessed with holy powers," the man asked. Astrophos was about to intercept and stop them from continuing the conversation but he was held back by the butler.


    "I will send a dragon." The master''s smile reached his eyes and Astrophos realized that he must be enjoying that talk.


    The man''s eye slightly widened because he was not expecting the man to say something like that. He knew that the young man was capable the moment he walked inside his house.


    "How will you do that?" He asked with pure curiosity and even Astrophos himself wanted to know how.


    Instead of answering them, he raised his finger and made a shushing gesture. The man smiled and nodded his head. Astrophos saw him step away from the master and then he started to mumble gibberish words but the mage understood them.


    "What are you doing!?" He asked in surprise and intended to stop the man from finishing his incantation but he was held back by the butler. He tried to get away from the man but he was tightly held.


    A rumble sounded around them then chaos broke around the entire town of Alfonso. He saw how the master smiled in satisfaction and how he waved his hand in an empty space where a crack suddenly appeared.


    "Let''s go," the master called Mr. C and Nina. The two nodded as they pulled the mage behind them.


    Astrophos struggled and when he attempted to use magic, he realized that he couldn''t. The crack on that empty space widened until it was the height of the house and beyond that was pure darkness.


    He was confused and at the same time, he felt fear because he did not know what happened. He did not want to enter that darkness because he did not know what it was.


    "Don''t struggle Mr. Astrophos. You should be d that you will be the first mage to experience entering a different dimension." Cygnus was ecstatic that time and excited.


    Since he couldn''t do anything, he was easily dragged inside that dark dimension where they watched as everything happened. A dragon appeared and everything went downhill and yet he could do nothing.

 Chapter 87 Sounds Like A Plan

    ?After hearing the mage''s ount of what had happened, he was more convinced that the master was indeed someone they can''t face nor fathom. He was an existence they dare not question, almost like a god but more like a devil.


    "Do you really think that you could have done anything if you tried to stop him back then?" Linius questioned even though he knew what the answer was. "Based on what you said, I''m pretty sure that that guy isn''t someone from this ce nor this world."


    "But that''s impossible! Another world? How could that even be possible?" Astrophos was shocked at the major''s statement. It has since been proven that other worlds didn''t exist because the mages had no proof of it.


    "Then how do you exin his existence? If he really was that powerful, why hasn''t the Magic Tower made their move yet and scouted him?" Linius raised an eyebrow at the mage''s reaction.


    "He must be one of those who chose not to reveal themselves to the Magic Tower there are many magic users who chose not to be affiliated with the tower," Astrophos defended. His trainings and teachings as a mage couldn''t allow him to believe the major''s words.


    Linius narrowed his eyes at how the mage was strongly denying the tant truth being presented in front of him. "Let''s say that you are correct, then how do you exin his unnatural abilities. You are aware that those are not powers a mage could have. Mind control and maniption, even using his blood to control a person, summoning a dragon and now opening a ''dimension'' or whatever it is out of nothing. Are those abilities that a mage can do?"


    Astrophos was losing it but he couldn''t help but still deny it. "The Magus Maximus might be able to do all of those since he is the strongest mage in existence!" He couldn''t let the man talk any longer. "Enough of this, what you have said is still impossible no matter how you try to justify it."


    The major stayed silent and just looked at the mage''s eyes. As he became ufortable because of that stare, Astrophos averted his gaze.


    "Well, if that''s what you want to believe then I won''t say anything anymore." Linius turned around and left the man.


    He wasn''t going to stay there and try to convince a man who doesn''t want to see the truth. It was not his responsibility. Astrophos did not speak as he watched as the man''s back disappeared. He tightly shut his eyes.


    A pair of curious golden eyes looked at the confused mage from a distance. He heard their conversation so instead of going to where the butler was. He decided to stay and eavesdrop for a moment. He was amused at how these humans view his master. The other man was right while the other one was dumb because he was in denial. He bet that they''ll be more shocked if they knew who his master really was.


    Linius reached the master''s tent and let his presence known before he entered only to see that the man was nowhere to be found. He frowned but because he had nothing else to do so he decided to wait. He was only seated for a couple of minutes when he heard the tent''s door ps being lifted.


    "Major Ginehart, if I''d known that you would visit me again, I would have stayed and waited for you." He took the same seat he used a while ago and faced the major who was clenching his jaw.


    "I just came to know if you had thought about what I have told you," he simply answered. After that talk with Astrophos, he seemed to have gained a new view on the man.


    Maybe the way those people addressed him was right and fitting. With the extent of what he can do, he was fit to be called a master. He slightly narrowed his eyes with these thoughts swirling in his mind when he heard the man speak.


    "And how would I be able to use your name and pose as a noble?" Cygnus asked. In fact, he did not need to think about it because the major''s proposal was interesting.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You''ll be a younger brother of mine and take on the name Rigel Ginehart. People in the capital city don''t really know much about my family because my father is a person who doesn''t socialize well. What they knew is that I have a younger brother who was sick as this was the reason why my parents don''t join nor host any banquets. And to avoid suspicions and questions, I always attend those events and host banquets in my own home," Linius exined while he watched if there were any changes on the master''s expression.


    Cygnus was not really surprised nor did he have any reaction about it. Since the major had already nned it all out then all he needed to do was agree to it besides he had not experienced being the son of a noble in all the ces he visited. This was a first for him so he was kind of excited about it.


    "Alright, I''ll agree to that since I get to be a son of a noble family and a younger brother to a person with a great reputation inside the military forces of Lunaira. This is a great opportunity to experience new things." He was nodding his head in satisfaction. It was a great deal indeed.


    Looking at the happy expression on the master''s face, Linius could not help but feel that he had made a wrong decision. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts, this was a n he needed to do in order to achieve his goals and no matter what happens in the future, he decided to ept it as it is. Before he could bid the man goodbye, Linius heard a question that made him stop in his tracks.


    "Since I have agreed, what''s the catch?" Cygnus asked.


    Linius turned around again and faced him, "There is no catch. You don''t have to do anything because I will be handling everything."


    Cygnus chuckled, "You don''t need to act like a good son or brother or something like that? I mean I can do that even though it is a bit of a clich¨¦."


    "I don''t know how your mind works but I don''t need it. Although, I want you respect my parents and act like a Ginehart in front of people because you are a noble. I believe that the master can do that right?" Linius was irked at the annoying smile on the other''s face.


    The more he saw those smiles, the more he got annoyed by them. He thought that they were normal smiles from a normal magic user but now that he knew the other''s personality, he regretted those days of thinking that the master was an innocent young man.


    Morning came and a message was waiting for the major. He was gone for the whole morning while Cygnus and the others were busy helping the survivors. They also noticed that Astrophos was acting a bit strange and was actually avoiding them.


    Cygnus let him be and told the others not to bother him. "Let him have his peace of mind for a while."


    "Why what happened?" Nina asked because she was not used to how the mage was acting. She had been frowning the whole morning and this was exactly the reason why.


    "Because he is in a bit of a dilemma so let him be," Cygnus answered sounding so mysterious but because it was the master''s words, Nina didn''t make a fuss.


    She was already done acting since she didn''t need to act like a child any longer after the master revealed himself to the master. She was so sick of it that she was very thankful when she could already be herself.


    They were still busy talking with each other when Linius came and interrupted their conversation for a while. He looked at the master before he started to speak.

 Chapter 88 Teleport?

    ?The group looked at the major but his attention was only focused on the master. "I received a letter from my father asking me to go home since it is already my mother''s birthday. I''ve been nning to go home for a while now but it got interrupted because of everything that has happened."


    "Should we prepare then?" Cygnus stood up and patted his clothes that got a little bit dirty because of the dust on the ground.


    "Yes, I''ll be leaving Lieutenant Lisbon here and the other soldiers so we will be traveling as a small group." He nodded and informed them of their arrangement. He also exined to them how long and where they will be staying while they travel.


    "But I hate to travel, ten days is too long for me." Cygnus shook his head followed by a frown on his face. "I only did that because I want to experience it but now that I find it tedious, I can''t do it any longer."


    Linius sighed at how the other was acting. He didn''t think that the master would be this picky. "Then what are you suggesting we do?"


    "Why don''t we just teleport there?" He suggested without hesitation. Which earned him a gasp from the lieutenant who came with the major to inform them of the contents of the letter.


    "Teleport? Are you capable of doing that? Can you even do that to a ce you''ve never been to?" Consecutive questions shot out from the lieutenant''s mouth which only made Cygnus amused.


    "It seems that the lieutenant is a bit left out of the loop. You didn''t tell him?" Cygnus looked at the major only to see him sigh.


    "I''ll tell you in detail soon." He turned to the confused man and patted him on the back. "Go and prepare whatever we will need while I talk with them."


    Lisbon was unwilling to leave but the major was insistent and pushed him away. The major even reassured him so many times that he would tell all about it soon before he finally left. The lieutenant couldn''t help but look back once again before he finally left.


    "Now that he is gone, what do you mean by teleport? Can you really do it?" Now Linius was curious to see if he could really do it even without visiting his father''snd.


    Cygnus did not answer as he only smiled. The major did not pursue and just believed the man''s words. It was better and easier for him and his mind to do so. He left to see if the lieutenant has finished preparing everything he will need.


    "Major, please enlighten me on what is happening? Why did Sir Rigel say those words?" Lisbon immediately asked after the major came to look for him.


    "I''ve made a deal with Sir Rigel and he is not an ordinary magic user. That''s all I can say so you don''t need to ask anymore. The less you know about him, the more peaceful your life and mind will be. And from now on, you don''t need to believe all of his words because you might get entangled in something you can''t get out off." Linius seriously warned the man because he did not want the lieutenant to be used by Cygnus.


    Lisbon became even more confused but the major''s expression was clearly telling him how dangerous the man was. He swallowed the words that he was supposed to say and slowly nodded his head.


    "I understand sir, I hope you will be careful too," it was the only answer he could give the major and Linius hoped that he would stay out of this matter. It was also one of the reasons why he decided to leave the lieutenant in-charge of Alfonso while he was gone.


    After their preparation, the major bid the citizens of Alfonso goodbye and assured them that the lieutenant will stay with them until helpes. Cygnus''s group also left more food that will be able tost them for at least three days.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They walked out of Alfonso''s territory before Cygnus stood in an empty space and mumbled some spell that none of them could understand. Even Astrophos who reluctantly joined them couldn''t understand what the other was saying. Cygnus only took a look at the map given by Linius before he stood up and started the teleportation spell.


    Linius and Astrophos haven''t seen anyone use a teleportation spell to a ce where they have never been because it was impossible and oftentimes the magic circle would break. So, the solution they thought of was to establish gates in between ces to cater teleportation.


    The ground below Cygnus suddenly lit up with a white light mixed with a hint of golden glitters. It started as something not that bright but the longer he said his incantations the brightness intensified and it even created a whirl of wind around it. The magic circle continued to glow until the light dimmed and only the wind surrounding it remained.


    There were also sparks like lightning that appeared on the surface of the whirlwind as it crackled from time to time. The process of which he said his incantation only took at least three minutes. After that he opened his eyes and there it was again, the red glint in his eyes.


    An opening appeared on the whirlwind, just enough to cater one person at a time. Nina went first followed by the butler and when the major saw that they were alright, he also stepped in followed by Astrophos behind.


    "This will be a rough ride so brace yourselves," was the only warning they received from the man before they all disappeared together with the whirlwind. No traces of them were left behind and only the gust of wind dispersed after the spell was done.


    It was like the blink of an eye that they were already at the borders of the Ginehart territory but to Astrophos and Linius it felt like eternity. They were tossed back and forth for who knows how long and now they still felt a bit dizzy and nauseous.


    Cygnus was actually impressed that the both of them did not vomit because when he used the spell and Nina tagged along the woman was so dizzy that she started vomiting the moment they arrived at their destination. Well, it was good that they survived.


    They rested for an hour before they finally set off. "Won''t they find it strange that we are here already when you just received the letter this morning?" Cygnus asked while they walked towards the first vige inside the territory.


    "They won''t because I''ll be the one to exin it to them." It doesn''t really matter because Linius knows that his parents will surely believe him.


    "Alright, I''ll let you handle all of those things then." Cygnus had noints what''s more important was for him to be a noble.


    They walked for an hour before they reached the vige where they were warmly weed because of Linius. They were offered food and a ce to rest while the major was still contacting the manor to send for a carriage.


    The next morning a carriage with a coach came to meet them and on the door of the carriage, there was the Ginehart''s insignia, a shield with two swords that was crossed above it and on top of the shield was the head of a lion.


    After talking with the coach man, they rode the carriage and set off to the Ginehart manor where servants and the Ginehart couple were waiting for them. The atmosphere inside the carriage was silent as no one was talking and only the master''s humming could be heard. It was another sign that he was a bit excited and looking forward to this y they were about to perform.


    "Are there any people in your house that might be a problem?" Cygnus asked out of the blue which made the major think.

 Chapter 89 Ginehart

    ?Ginehart was a well-known name in the kingdom of Lunaira, ever since their rise to power people were already moring to make connections with them. Some seeded while the others failed as the family in itself were difficult to approach and please, even more so when Ulysses Ginehart became the youngest Military General in history of Lunaira.


    His prowess in the battlefield was highly praised and he was even called the God of Chaos. He won several battles and sessfully defended against several invasions by his wit and strength. He was even one of the few who managed to win against an army with mages amongst their ranks.


    All of these contributed to him bing the current head of the Ginehart dukedom even though he was not the first born. Amongst the seven siblings, he was only the fifth and yet his father named him the head just before he died because in his eyes his other children were deemed ipetent.


    Nobody made a fuss about it because the power and influence of Ulysses can''t be challenged and his siblings don''t have the ability topete with him. But even so, the jealousy and greed could still be felt from them as they watched Ulysses and his family be showered with praise especially when Linius Ginehart followed his father''s footsteps.


    The only weakness they had was the general''s younger son, whom the public had not yet met. Although Linius said that they only used it as an excuse to avoid banquets, the branch families knew that it was not just an excuse because it was the truth.


    Linius''s younger brother was born with a very weak constitution and they''ve tried everything to cure him but nothing worked and because of his father''s distrust with mages he was unwilling to let them use magic to heal him. This was the weakness the branch families believed would take down Ulysses but Linius''s younger brother was strictly guarded that nobody had ever seen his face or knew his name.


    Ulysses knew that these vicious people would target his son so he did everything he could to hide his whereabouts and his identity. Linius was also active in making sure that his brother was safe that he even went and killed everyone who saw his brother''s face.


    "If you need to watch out for someone then be careful of my cousin, Lindon Ginehart since he is a man who always tries to find fault with other people. He often visits the manor because he wanted to get my father''s attention and he might hold a grudge against you because you''ll be posing as my younger brother," Linius sincerely answered because he was actually looking forward to when the master and his cousin will meet.


    Lindon Ginehart was the first born of his father''s second brother. He was ambitious and was very good at politics. These past few years he had been building his connection at the capital and socializing with other nobles just to gain power to contend with Linius. He was aiming for the position of head.


    At his mother''s birthday party, he will surelye so if there was a person that they needed to be wary of he would be that person. Linius looked at the group but they seemed to be not bothered even though he told them all they needed to know about his family.


    "Since your brother is sickly, should I act like a sick person?" Cygnus ignored everything he heard and only focused on one matter, how he should act in front of people.


    "I told you already that you don''t have to do anything and just be yourself since no one from the branch families nor the servants know my brother''s face, name and personality. So, it doesn''t really matter," Linius answered because truthfully, he doesn''t want to see them acting again. He was morefortable in seeing who they really were.


    "Alright then," Cygnus nodded. "By the way, what is your mother''s name? If I be your younger brother, then I should know the names of all of your family members, right?"


    Speaking of that, Linius fished out a stack of papers from his bag and handed it to the man. It was apiled list of everyone in the branch families, from the oldest members to the youngest and on top of that was the information about Duke Ulysses Ginehart and his wife, Duchess Lte Ginehart.


    "I''m just curious, why are you even giving me all this information? Aren''t you afraid that I might use it against you in the future?" Cygnus looked up after he was done browsing through the papers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I am already under your control so why would you use that information against me when all you can do is control your blood inside my body and kill me?" The major raised an eyebrow at the question.


    A crisp and livelyugh came out from the master''s lips at the answer. He looked at Linius and nodded his head, ''Yes, why would he be afraid?'' He thought to himself.


    "Then where is the information about your brother?" he asked after a short silence. Linius did not answer and was only looking outside of the window, at the trees and grasses they passed by.


    The air around him suddenly turned solemn just as his silence persisted. Cygnus did not press the other to answer and only waited patiently for him to answer.


    "He died, not because of his sickness but because of those people," he suddenly started. The answer startled Nina and Astrophos who were with them inside the carriage. ording to the major, his brother''s location was hidden and well protected so how can that happen, they wondered.


    "A traitor revealed my brother''s location. One of the people we trusted and yet he still turned his back on us and told them where my brother was. They burned him alive." His fist clenched at the memory of that night.


    He was halfway out of the dukedom to a mission when an urgent message reached him, that the house where his brother was residing suddenly caught fire. He rushed back and abandoned his mission only to be toote as the house had already copsed to the ground.


    Linius could remember how he stood there like an idiot as the fire swallowed the house. He felt how powerless he was at that time and when they started to bring out bodies from under the rubble, he started to feel pain on his chest. And the realization that his brother died, slowly dawned on him like there were needles piercing his entire body.


    When they brought out thest body, he was brought to his knees because instinctively he knew that it was his brother''s body. The ne he gifted him on his twentieth birthday was still on his neck. His hands trembled as he reached out to the burnt corpse but he could not even touch it because of his guilt.


    Although they were devastated, they suppressed the news of the tragedy and told the people that his brother was fine. They did not want the culprit to celebrate just because they seeded in killing his brother. They proceeded with the funeral with only them as the attendees. It was a solemn and silent event.


    His father locked himself in his study for a week while his mother cried often whenever she remembered her son. Linius left to continue the mission he abandoned. They struggled with the grief while showing the world that they were doing fine because they did not want the culprit to panic and make a mistake.


    "Should I help you make the culprit suffer? Because if you ask me, that is my specialty." Cygnus suddenly suggested out of the blue because based on the major''s story, they haven''t caught the culprit yet.


    "That''s why I''m letting you take my brother''s ce. I know that you hated nobles so I''m hoping that you''ll hate the person who killed my brother and kill him in the end."

 Chapter 90 The Rose Garden

    ?The Ginehart manor was a sight to behold, it was an enormous structure that sat in the northern part of the dukedom. Before one can reach the main house, they need to pass through a gate and travel for another three hours.


    The carriage finally stopped in front of the front doors and as they alighted from the carriage, they were weed by servants who formed two lines on either side of the path while they bowed. Linius paid them no mind and just walked towards the manor. Since he didn''t do anything, Cygnus and the others followed without any words.


    An old man with white hair greeted them and led them to a spacious lounge where an array of food and drinks were waiting for them. Nina nodded in satisfaction when she saw this and even more so when she sat down and felt that the cushions were soft andfortable.


    "Oh, it''s really different from the inn or from our home. This ce is really worthy of being called a noble''s home. Master! Look at how much food is served to us!" Nina pointed at all the food on the table.


    A loud and deepugh suddenly came from the entrance of the lounge which caught their attention. They saw a tall man with a slightly big build who looked like Linius apart from the slight wrinkles on his face. His face was radiating joy and his grin was infectious. Even his blue eyes were bright despite his obvious age.


    "Father." Linius stood up to greet the man. He first gave him a bow before he was pulled into a tight hug by the man that he called father.


    "Why are you being so formal with me? I am your father!" His voice was loud and full of life as he patted the grown man in his arms. He pulled back and yet he did not let go of Linius. "Let me see," his eyes roamed around his son''s face before he smiled once again, "I''m d to see that you are well."


    "I am d to see that you are also doing well father," Linius also gave a small smile before it disappeared in an instant.


    Ulysses Ginehart nodded before his attention went to the guests who came with his son. Linius already informed him about them and the n that he had in mind. Although he had not yet agreed with it because he wanted to see for himself the person who caught his son''s attention.


    "You must be my son''s friends!" He stepped forward and scrutinized these people with a grin. ording to Linius, they were all magic users except for one other person.


    "Yes, I believe so. I am Rigel Anzel, it is nice to finally meet your excellency." Cygnus gave a bow which visibly annoyed Nina who was standing beside him.


    "What a polite young man, no need to bow to me or else the youngdy beside you mighte and attack me." Ulysses patted the man''s arms before he gestured for them to take a seat once again.


    They went back to their seats and introduced themselves to the man. Cygnus could feel the scrutinizing gaze towards them. It was subtle that no normal person could immediately notice it. Although the man was smiling while speaking to them, he knew that all words and actions they were saying and doing were being weighed and observed.


    As a butler, Mr. C was impressed at how good of a host Duke Ulysses was. He was engaging and was interested in many topics which made him curious for a while now because of one detail that Linius told them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You have been staring at me for some time now, is there something you want to ask?" He had been feeling the stare for a while now so Ulysses looked at Mr. C and directly asked him.


    Mr. C had no reaction when he got caught instead, he asked the question he had been meaning to ask the man. "I''m sorry your excellency if I have been rude. I was just wondering, ording to Sir Linius you do not like mages and yet here you are casually talking with us."


    Ulysses couldn''t help butugh at the statement before he suddenly became serious. All traces of the jolly master of the house disappeared. "Yes, I don''t like them, mages." His gazended on Astrophos who had been silent ever since they came to the manor. "But if you are not affiliated to the tower then you are fine. None of you should worry because only mages registered in the tower are the ones that I don''t like." The smile on his face once again returned.


    "Well, that eased my mind. Thank you for answering my question, your excellency." Mr. C gave the duke a nod and retracted his gaze.


    After that, the conversation flowed a lot smoother before the duke finally left for, he had other things he must do. Linius also left and entrusted them to the manor''s butler. The same old man who greeted them led them to the rooms that were assigned for them.


    "While waiting for dinner, you may explore the ce as much as you like. Rooms with guards outside it are off limits but those without, you are free to enter. If you fancy walking outside, we have a rose garden at the back. It is quite a beautiful ce if I may say so. I highly rmend that to the youngdy because I''m sure that you''ll be able to enjoy the view." The butler reminded and informed them. "We will be calling you when dinner is served."


    With that, they chose to retire and rest for a while. Nina decided to sleep for a bit before taking the butler''s suggestion. Astrophos did the same because he wanted some time to himself. Mr. C on the other hand was ordered to join the butler of the manor to learn since they will be staying in the manor for some time.


    Cygnus on the other hand decided to walk around the manor and explore instead. Every room that he could open, he entered. He also found the library and a ce filled with different instruments. There was also a room for painting and a hall that seemed to be a mini museum inside the manor where relics and weapons were disyed inside ss cases.


    After he had a thorough idea on theyout of the manor, he decided to go outside and admire the wide front yard of the manor. He also discovered that on the right side of the manor there was a maze garden which he tried to explore. It took him thirty minutes to find the center where a fountain was standing. Around it there were benches and patches of white lilies that were in full bloom.


    He took a seat for a while before he left to visit the rose garden that the butler was so proud of. The moment Cygnus stepped into the garden a gust of strong wind suddenly blew bringing with it some petals and grasses even the sweet scent of flowers.


    Cygnus stood there for a while in silence as some fragments of his memories came back to him. A sweet and happyughter followed by a vague image of a girl followed by the annoyed voice of a boy who was running after her. It disappeared as quickly as it came.


    He stepped inside the garden and saw that there was a gazebo in the middle of it. Cygnus went straight to it andid on the bench within it. There he closed his eyes and reminisced of the past. It was rare for him to find a ce where he can recall bits and pieces of his memories before he became what he was now.


    His ck hair was being caressed by the gentle breeze of the wind. He felt calm and peaceful which doesn''t happen often because most of the time his mind was full of chaos and was in a mess. It doesn''t appear when he acts in front of other people but if one could enter his mind, then they would be lost in a maze of messy and dangerous thoughts.

 Chapter 91 The Plan

    ?A woman who was out picking flowers saw Cygnus''s form sleeping on the bench. She wondered who could it be since almost no onees to the rose garden, even his son was not a frequent visitor. With the basket of flowers in her hands, she approached the sleeping man.


    She stood at the entrance of the gazebo and wasn''t sure how to proceed so she could only stand there and watch the young man as he slept. Not long after she finally left and let him be.


    Cygnus opened his eyes after the woman left and sat up to watch as the woman''s back disappeared into the manor. He returned to sleeping until Nina found him and called him for dinner. Everyone was present and even the woman who had been staring at Cygnus while he slept. Turned out that she was Lte Ginehart.


    After a brief introduction, they started with dinner and ate in silence. It was not the usual dinner and the servants were actually happy to see that the dining table had people dining on it. Ever since the incident of that other mansion, the manor became solemn and the masters always had an awkward dinner with each other.


    The dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone before they left for their rooms and Linius went to his father''s study. It was about time they talked about the n in Linius''s mind.


    He knocked three times on the door before he entered and found his father standing before the window of his study. He did not look back even though he knew that his hase. Both of them remained silent for a while before Ulysses finally decided to face his first born.


    "I''ve heard of what happened to Alfonso," he started. He walked to the lounge area of his study and gestured for his son to go and join him. "A dragon appearing in that area is very unusual."


    "Yes, for a dragon to suddenly appear is unusual but ording to witnesses, it was summoned by the culprit behind the human sacrifices," Linius added. He looked at his father who was now in full business mood.


    "So what happened to the man?" Ulysses asked.


    When he received the report, he was surprised that a dragon could appear in that kind of ce. Although dragons do exist, they''re not easy to find and would rather hide themselves from humans.


    "He died summoning the dragon," was Linius''s answer. He gave nothing away because he knew that his father would be able to figure it out.


    "Have you seen the culprit''s body? What was its status? I need to know every detail that is not written on that piece of paper." His eyes were focused on the major, ready to observe and determine if his son would be leaving some details out.


    Linius knew that he was being scrutinized but he did not change his expression and proceeded to tell his father what had happened. "Yes we found the body. It was emancipated, with almost no flesh which ording to the mages is a consequence of using dark magic for a long time. His mana core was also corrupted and it was also destroyed. Based on an ancient book, human sacrifices are needed in order to call out a dragon. We tried to salvage remains from the dragon but it''s body dispersed into tiny particles."


    Ulysses had knowledge about dragons as he had seen one during his younger days. They were so vicious and powerful that they could destroy an entire country if they wanted so. Thus he could understand Alfonso''s destruction. To be able to summon a dragon, that man must have sacrificed a lot of people.


    "The dragon was charcoal ck, its wings and scales had some gold specks to it. The eyes were golden with a glint of something red within it. Do you know of this dragon father?" Linius added after a brief silence.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The duke narrowed his eyes after he heard his son''s description of the dragon. ck and gold, a distinct characteristic that was exclusive to only one species of dragon. Hero yer, they were dragons who killed heroes and absorbed their power to increase their own. They are the worst match for heroes because they have the ability to negate a holy power.


    "Those kinds of dragons are rare, very much so. They were hunted by mages and warriors back in the day. If any of their kind survived, they must be in hiding. To be able to summon a ck dragon of that caliber, that culprit must have a secret. I don''t believe that your culprit could summon that kind of dragon, no matter how many lives he sacrificed and no matter if he exhausted his mana and destroyed his mana core." Ulysses was not convinced and seeing that his son was not even surprised, he must have known something.


    "If that''s the case then we will never know. We only found the culprit and found no other clues if he really had a partner that helped him. There was no indication that he was working with someone." Linius remained firm and continued to feign ignorance. His father would not ask but his eyes would always stay with you.


    "Alright, if you say so," he sighed and leaned back on the seat. "So about this n of yours, why are you doing this in the first ce?"


    "It''s to finally put an end to this farce of power struggle. I intend to draw out all of those who are not loyal to Ginehart and eliminate them all at once," Linius answered with much conviction.


    The duke looked at his son and saw that he was not going to back down no matter what his father said. Linius has been stubborn since he was young and when he set his mind on doing something, no one would be able to stop him.


    "Are you sure about this? You''ll have the blood of those family members if you continue," Ulysses''s voice softened. His second son''s death was truly devastating to all of them, especially to his wife and first born.


    They all loved that delicate child whose eyes would always lit up whenever they visited him. His favorite was his big brother and wouldn''t let him go until thest moment, and now that child is gone. He knew that deep inside Linius, he was ming himself for his brother''s death.


    "Yes and besides, I never considered them family. I am already tired of their greed so I am going to teach them a lesson. Its time to show them that they can''t just go ahead and do whatever they liked just because we are family." Linius red as his fists clenched tightly. His jaws were locked tightly as the anger he was holding back rose from the depths of his being.


    The hatred and anger from his son was as clear as day. He may have tolerated them for far too long now that it had built up. If they had stayed within their own domains and hadn''t done what they did, then their lives would have been peaceful.


    "And Rigel agreed to this n?" Now he was curious as to the man who epted such a n.


    Linius took several deep breaths to calm himself before he answered, "Yes. I''ve talked with him already and he agreed."


    "What would he get out of this deal? What kind of deal did you make with him?" Ulysses frowned.


    He knew that his son was a cautious man and he would not make a deal if he was at a disadvantage but the question was the other person. From what he heard, Rigel will pose as the youngest son of Ulysses Ginehart which will benefit the Gineharts but what would Rigel get in return.

 Chapter 92 Conversations

    ?Linius was right, his father would notice it but he had no intention of telling him anything about the ''blood'' matter and how Cygnus was behind the dragon attack. He was afraid that if his father knew, he would definitely kill Cygnus or vice versa.


    "Don''t think too much about it father, our deal is fair and I''m sure that he would definitely get something out from all of these," Linius dodged the question and instead yed safe. There''s no need to give his father other things to worry about.


    Ulysses was not convinced, this time he became more suspicious of what his son had been doing these past weeks. Rigel Anzel, he was not someone from the Kingdom of Lunaira, he was sure of it. He tried to investigate the young man''s identity but he didn''t find anything.


    But since his son was unwilling to talk about it, Ulysses did not press him any further regarding the matter. Linius was already old enough to make decisions for himself and he was already aware of taking responsibility for every action he makes.


    "I hope you won''t regret this decision." Ulysses stared at his son''s eyes without looking away and so did Linius. "Alright, since you already made a decision, I''ll need to talk with Rigel tomorrow and give him a rundown of what Ginehart looked like on the inside."


    "Thank you, father," Linius''s expression softened. He was actually d that his father was not like the other nobles he met every now and then during banquets. He was not pretentious nor greedy for power like they were.


    Ulysses frowned, "Don''t show me that expression, it gives me the chills. As long as you know what you are doing, I won''t interfere but if your life will be in danger because of this, I won''t stand by and watch." His voice was firm and it did not allow any arguments.


    Linius nodded, "I understand father."


    "Okay, you can go now. I''ll need to talk to your mother too." Ulysses pointed at the door and waved his hand. Linius stood up and bid his father good night.


    After signing some more documents that had umted throughout the day, Ulysses finally left his study and went to look for his wife. His footsteps echoed through the silent halls of the manor as he traced the familiar way towards his wife''s personal art room. He knocked on the door twice then he stopped for a second before he knocked again, this time it was three times.


    A sweet and gentle voice told him toe in. Ulysses turned the doorknob and pushed open the door slowly. His wife, Lte, was busy arranging the flowers she got that afternoon. She was humming while she enjoyed smelling and fixing the flowers to make them more beautiful.


    "You''re in high spirits today, duchess." Ulysses came up behind and hugged her. He rested his head on his wife''s shoulder with his eyes trained on the pair of porcin hands holding the roses she picked.


    "My dear husband, of course I am, because Linius is home after a long time and he even brought with him his friends." Lte tilted her head to the side and gave the man a peck on his cheek.


    "Ah, yes, you are right..." Ulysses paused followed by a deep sigh which caught his wife''s attention. She stopped what she was doing and turned around to face the man.


    "What is it? Is there something wrong with the people he brought home?" The duchess asked as her face turned cold.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ulysses shook his head which softened his wife''s expression. Lte then hugged the man and gently patted his back. She waited until the man was ready to tell her what was bothering him.


    "Your son had devised a n to eliminate all the thorns inside Ginehart and in order to do that, he made a deal with Rigel Anzel. The deal was for him to pose as Maverick and introduce him at your birthday banquet. I am not opposed to that n but I am a bit worried about the deal Linius made with the man." He might have acted tough and unconcerned while speaking with Linius but deep down he was a father who still worried for his grown-up child.


    Lte''s hand that was patting his husband''s back stopped after she heard what Ulysses had to say. She was frozen in shock that she didn''t speak for a whole minute before she gathered her thoughts and calmed her mind.


    "Why would he use Maverick''s identity ande up with such a n?" She appeared to be calm but Ulysses could feel the anger seeping through her words.


    "I know that you don''t feel good about this because Maverick is no longer with us. Linius''s anger towards the people who did that haven''t lessened even for a bit. You know how it affected him when his younger brother died and I can''t me him for it because that''s how I felt too." Ulysses held both of her shoulders and slightly pushed her away so that he could see her face. "Are you really going to let the people who did that to Maverick have a great life while we are suffering because we lost him?"


    Ulysses knew his wife''s personality. Though she appeared to be gentle and would always give everyone a smile, she could hold a grudge for life. When Maverick died, she was devastated and almost went out to destroy the suspects but because they did not have any evidence and the arsonist was never found, Ulysses stopped her. She was so angry that she started to curse and destroy everything inside their room, luckily Ulysses calmed her down.


    "You said that it is Rigel who will pose as Maverick right?" Lte closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ulysses held her hands and guided her to the sofa ced just right after therge arching window where natural sunlight gives the room a natural glow during the day.


    After they were seated, Ulysses told her the n and the person who will act as Maverick. "Yes, ording to Linius, he agreed. So, all I need to do is to tell him information about Ginehart just to be sure. Do you have a problem with Rigel?"


    She remembered the young man he saw at the gazebo and the young man during the dinner. He was polite and had a warm smile on his face but she also noticed that those smiles were not real. They were forced and had be a habit of his. Any other people might be fooled but she was not.


    Lte shook her head then sheid it on Ulysses'' shoulders before she spoke. "I''m not sure. I just feel that he is not an ordinary person. There''s something mysterious about him that draws people, dangerous and destructive. Whatever deal Linius made with him, we need to be careful and remind your son to always be vignt."


    Ulysses chuckled, "Yes, I already did that and you should do too. Talk to him tomorrow while I talk with Rigel."


    "Alright, I hope everything goes well with this n because I really want to see those people begging for their lives. No begging is not enough, I want them to be desperate and suffer in despair." Lte''s eyes turned sharp and her voice became chilly as she said those words. Her hand was gripping Ulysses''rge ones. The man used his left hand to pat the woman''s hand until he felt it loosened and he felt the woman rx.


    Lte closed her eyes at the gentle patting she felt. It always rxed her whenever Ulysses held her hands and gently pats her. She only felt secure and calm with him around. The days toe would surely be tedious and tense because of what Linius was about to do but she would make sure that she would be there to support her child.

 Chapter 93 A Moment

    ?The next day, Ulysses did not waste time and called for Cygnus to his study while Linius was whisked away by his mother. He was supposed to sit down with his father and the master but his mother''s domineering look made him surrender.


    "Mother, why do you suddenly want to have tea with me? And why can''t we do thister?" Linius looked at his mother who was sipping her tea with a smile on her face.


    Lte sighed and ced the tea on the saucer where it was originally ced. She then gave his son a re, "What? Is it wrong for me to invite my own son, who only remembers toe home once in a while, for a cup of tea?" her gentle bearing yesterday was now gone in front of her son. She even put emphasis on the word ''son'' and ''once in a while'' to make her point.


    "Of course not, mother. Although we can always do thister because I was supposed to do something important," Linius reasoned. He couldn''t let his father and the master talk alone because he doesn''t know what''s on the master''s mind.


    "Then enjoy it with me and let your father talk with your friend. Are you worried that our father would do something against your friend? Or is your friend not trustworthy enough?" Lte raised an eyebrow while throwing a look at his son who seemed to be anxious even though it did not show on his face.


    "Well, nothing of that sort," Linius avoided his mother''s gaze. If his father was observant, his mother was more sensitive and oftentimes it was as if she could read his thoughts.


    "If it is neither, then you should stop worrying and drink your tea or else I will keep you here until the afternoon," she threatened. The duchess pushed the tea she poured towards Linius and even served him a te of strawberry cake she especially baked for the both of them.


    Linius couldn''t go against his mother so he relented and drank the tea for him. They drank and ate in silence until Lte asked him several questions which he willingly answered. After a few questions, he forgot about his father and focused on his mother who was doing her best to talk to him.


    While the mother and son duo were enjoying their time together, inside of Ulysses'' study the atmosphere was a bit tense as both parties were only staring at each other ever since Cygnus entered the room.


    Cygnus had a casual smile on his face while the other also wore a smile on his face. They were in a deadlock and none of them wanted to speak first. Finally, Ulysses sighed and gave in because he couldn''t stand the silence. They were only wasting time if none of them would talk.


    "I''ve already heard about it from my son. You will be posing as Maverick, myte son but because no one actually knows his name, you will still be using your name Rigel, right?" He started to which the other gave a nod. "Since I agreed to this n, I will be responsible for informing you of everything you needed to know about the family."


    "Alright, I''ll be listening to your excellency," Cygnus answered with a smile.


    "First, stop calling me ''your excellency'' because I felt like you are actually mocking you whenever you say those words, especially with that annoying smile of yours. Call me father from now on since you will be my son and I don''t want them to notice that we are awkward with each other." Ulysses waved his hand and gave the man a slight re before he returned to his neutral expression of not giving a care to whatever Cygnus was doing nor thinking.


    Cygnus could not help butugh, "Alright, I''ll call you father from now on and I will also practice calling the major big brother while your wife mother. Is that satisfactory enough?"


    Ulysses squinted as he finally realized that the young man who seemed to be timid just yesterday was actually someone who can talk with him like they were peers. It was truly unusual that he wondered how his son was able to meet such a person.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    After they agreed with that, the duke did not waste anymore time and taught him everything he needed to know. Family members and the positions they held in the government and in the military. Some of them were also in the field of business. Ulysses ced several stacks of documents in front of Cygnus.


    The master looked at the duke with confusion but the duke only gave him a nod and gestured at the stacks of documents. Stacks was lightly describing it because in front of him were threeyers with at least ten bounded documents in each stack.


    Cygnus hummed and tapped his fingers on the table with his head resting on his palms. He was not sure if he had the patience to actually read through that many documents. "Do I really need to learn all of this? I mean ording to Linius, your second son was weak and was cooped up inside the mansion, so how could he even know all of this information? I can just feign ignorance as long as I know your family member''s names and faces then isn''t that enough?"


    "Maverick is a child who liked to read books and he personally asked me if he could know more about our family so he actually read all of those books. He may have been bed ridden but he was a smart child. Now, if you want to pose as my second son, then you must finish all of those. You don''t have to read and memorize them all, just take note of the important points."


    With a bit of reluctance, Cygnus picked up the first document and opened it before he browsed through it in record time. He picked up the next document and within three hours he finally finished everything.


    Ulysses watched this process and he didn''t know if he should be impressed or not because he was not sure if the man actually read anything from the documents. Well, this will be a challenge for him. "Are you done?" The duke pretended that he did not notice how fast Cygnus read the books and when he saw the man nod, he returned the documents to the shelves where he got them.


    "Is there anything else I should do?" the master asked while stretching his body that became stiff after sitting for three hours and reading those tedious papers.


    "My wife will be teaching you some basic etiquettes that every noble child should know and I hope you participate and behave," Ulysses informed him after he finished putting back all the books.


    "Well then I''ll be leaving now, if you have any more questions then, feel free to ask now that I am still here father," Cygnus grinned. He already knew that the man actually called him there so that they could talk about Linius. Teaching him about the Ginehart household was only an excuse.


    "Now that you brought it up first, I won''t go around the bush any longer. What kind of deal did you make with my son?" He spoke without hesitation and he looked straight at Cygnus''s eyes without flinching.


    A moment of silence dominated the room before Cygnus broke it with just a few words, "It''s not a deal you''ll want to know."


    Ulysses clenched his jaws and narrowed his eyes at the man, "What did you do? If this deal would endanger my child''s life, I won''t forgive you."


    Cygnus shook his head as he snickered, "Don''t be such a doting parent. The major knows what he is doing and I am impressed that he even came up with this n. I get to live like a noble while he gets what he wants."


    "Is that really there is to it?" The duke was not convinced because his instincts that were honed in the battlefield for so many years were telling him that the man in front of him was dangerous.

 Chapter 94 Preparing For The Banquet

    ?The duke certainly knew how to go around the bush and be straight forward. Cygnus let a few minutes pass before he decided to answer. "Yes, that''s it and oh, I almost forgot that I also promised him that he''ll need to help me when the timees. No matter where he is or no matter what state he is in, he wille to me once I call him."


    "Call him? What do you mean by that?" It was something that didn''t sit well Ulysses. Whatever that statement meant, he was not going to let his son be someone that this man couldmand.


    "Don''t misunderstand, that would only be a one time thing." Cygnus immediately waved and shook his head to stop whatever the other was thinking about. "It''s only when I''m in a pinch that I''ll be calling him."


    Ulysses still remained unconvinced but he would still give the man the benefit of the doubt for the sake of his son. Figuring the other''s thoughts is a bit difficult so he wouldn''t do that anymore. Anyways, he still had the time to get to know them better since they will be staying in the manor.


    "I''ll be watching you then," he did not hide his intention because he figured out that the man would still act as he was even though he was being watched.


    "Alright then, I''ll get going and meet your wife." Cygnus stood up and left the study without even giving the duke another look.


    He was humming to himself when he saw that Linius and his mother wereing his way. He took the initiative to greet them and even gave a bow to thedy of the house.


    "Ah how polite, is your talk with my husband over?" She asked after receiving the other''s greeting. Her gentle demeanor was back and she was smiling towards the man.


    "Yes, and he informed me that you, mydy, would be teaching me some etiquettes befitting the son of a noble." He also politely answered thedy''s question which made the major cringe in silence.


    "Oh yes, he had talked to me about that. Then shall we get going since my birthday banquet is just around the corner." Lte turned around and bid her son goodbye. Cygnus followed behind the woman while giving Linius a smirk and a wink which only made the other shudder. It really triggers him when the master doesn''t act as he is.


    Unlike the duke, the duchess did not ask any questions and just concentrated on teaching him the basics that he''ll need during the banquet and when facing visitors. It only took them two hours to finish as Cygnus did not have questions and just listened to the woman.


    "Now that we are done you can go ahead and rest." Cygnus thanked her and without speaking much he left. Now what''s left was for him to start calling them their respective titles of father, mother and big brother.


    For the next few days, Cygnus would call the Ginehart main family as his. At first, Nina and the others were not used to hearing their master calling someone father or mother or big brother. It was a bit awkward and every time Nina would flinch and shudder whenever she heard the master uttering those words.


    Two days before the banquet, the manor became busier as more and more people wereing in and out to prepare for the celebration. In order to protect their son from prying eyes, the entire left wing of the manor was dered an off-limits area and no one can enter except for certain people.


    This action made the people wonder what could be there in the left wing. Rumors and guesses started to circte as the workers started to talk about it more and more. Some were just in ridiculous which include stories of ghosts and monsters while the others talked about the second son who might be living in the left wing.


    These talks also reached the ears of the other members of the family. It was not easy to get such news from the main family and spections started to grow inside the branch families. The others were worried while there were a few who were genuinely curious.


    But nobody made a move, they all patiently waited for the birthday banquet and assessed their situation before they made a move. Everyone thought that this year''s birthday banquet would be truly interesting.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "How do you feel acting as a noble''s son?" Nina asked Cygnus once while they were having tea in the rose garden.


    "I don''t know, maybe I''ll feel anything during the banquet because I get to see all kinds of people there." Cygnus stirred his tea and added more honey to it after he tasted that it was a bit nd.


    "Why do I also need to attend the banquet? Can''t we just stay out of it and rx?" She asked again, this time there was a frown on her face.


    Cygnus stopped stirring and lifted his head, "I thought you liked parties and dresses. You even have a whole room for it!"


    Nina raised a brow, "Master that was just for the act. Well I enjoyed buying them but I won''t consider wearing them."


    Cygnus could only gape at her like she had lost her mind already. He couldn''t believe that she used all of that money to buy clothes she wouldn''t be wearing. "Are you serious? So, why did I even let you spend that money?" He looked at Mr. C who was standing just a few steps away.


    The butler shrugged his shoulders, "It''s Nina, you shouldn''t be surprised, master."


    Cygnus sighed as he looked at the woman who was now back to reading her book. Now that she was not pretending to be someone else and back to how she was, she could be prickly at times.


    "Then choose from the dresses you bought. I won''t give you any money to spend. And yes, we need to attend the banquet, I won''t tolerate any excuses." Cygnus used hismanding voice to make the woman behave.


    Nina frowned, "I understand master." She couldn''t go against the master''smands.


    "How about my clothes, did you prepare them already?" He looked at the butler and saw him shaking his head.


    "ording to the manor''s butler, they will be preparing your clothes for the banquet," he answered. His master''s clothing is a bit extensive so they don''t have to worry about any formal wear he would wear but this time the household prepared something for him.


    He enjoyed dressing his master but this time it can''t be helped. They''ll just see if the clothing suits the master, if not then he can choose a better one.


    Not long after that, Cygnus was called as he tried several clothes. There were a lot of options but they settled with a white suit with golden linings. The suit alsoes with a cape that was embroidered with golden leaves and flowers. The cuff links were made of a ck diamond that can only be found in the territory. Even his cape was held to the suit by the diamonds.


    It was regal and fitted him perfectly which made the people in the room admire him. He had tried the others and all of them fitted him well but when he tried on that white suit, his aura subtly changed. It was like the clothes were made for him.


    After they had chosen what they should wear for the banquet, Linius decided to visit Cygnus. He was also a bit busy that was why he wasn''t able to go and see them but seeing that they lookedfortable and enjoying themselves there was no need for him to worry.

 Chapter 95 The Party

    ?It was a cloudless night and the moon''s silver glow gave the streets a magical feel to it. The streets were lively as carriages were simultaneouslying as if they were in a parade.


    The Duchess of Ginehart would be having her birthday banquet and every noble from thend was invited. It was a joyous affair that happens only once a year, thus many people won''t pass up the opportunity to attend and most importantly to make connections.


    Singledies from every household came while giggling and showing off their best dresses. They would whisper andpare their clothing then they would make fun of the ones they didn''t like.


    The men of each family would look for people they are acquainted with and ask them for an introduction to the other members of nobility. Even though the celebration hadn''t started yet, the ball room was already buzzing with activity.


    The chatter suddenly became louder as a distinct carriage stopped at the entrance of the manor. It has the Ginehart insignia on its door and yet instead of ck shield behind the crossing swords, it was the color of blood, which meant that the owner of the carriage was from a branch family.


    Countless pairs of eyes were focused on the door that opened. They were waiting to see who hade and they were not disappointed. The person who alighted from the carriage was a distinguished person because he was an official under the king''s rule and his position in the government was not that simple.


    He was an adviser for the heir to the throne of Lunaira. A distinguished position coveted by many but because of his connections and his friendship with the prince, he easily got the position.


    Thedies who were still in the lobby of the manor couldn''t take their eyes off the man. He was tall and handsome. His green forest eyes looked lively coupled with the sweet smile on his face that could make anydies fall for him.


    He smiled at everyone who greeted him and even had a short conversation with them. Parents with their daughters took this chance to introduce them to the young man. He dly epted their introduction and gave thedies a smile which made them blush and embarrassed.


    Lindon Ginehart was truly a man who knows how to use his looks and charisma. All thedies were undoubtedly enjoying his attention. He was also good at talking so that those people easily believed whatever he said.


    He instantly became the center of attention after he entered the ballroom. Lindon was ecstatic because people could recognize him and that everyone''s attention was on him. He really enjoyed all those eyes admiring him.


    The man took it upon himself to make rounds and greet the guests since the hosts of the banquet were nowhere to be seen. Since even his cousin was not there to entertain the guests, he would take that chance to get to know more people.


    After a while, the music started to y softly and the butler to the house of Ginehart came forward to greet all of their guests. "Thank you everyone foring to this very special asion. As you have noticed, none from my master''s family are here yet because tonight, they will be announcing a very special news to everyone."


    Those words stirred the crowd as another round of whispering and spections began but only one topic was being circted, and that was about the duke''s second son. They waited with tense silence as the butler tapped the ss that he was holding to get their attention once again.


    "Now let us wee the duke and duchess, his Excellency Duke Ulysses with his wife the birthday celebrant for tonight, Duchess Lte." A thundering apuse sounded inside the room as the door to the second level opened and out came the lovely couple who waved at their guests.


    They didn''t go down and stood on the side of the opened door then the guests heard the butler speak once again. "Let us also wee the duke''s first son, Major Linius Ginehart and it is with great joy that I finally got to introduce a person that I know all of you are curious about, Rigel Maverick Ginehart, the duke''s second son."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    From the opened door, two figures came out as they walked side by side. Everyone already knew who the other was and by the introduction of the butler, they could already surmise who the other one was. His looks were very simr to the duchess and his eyes were as expressionless as the major''s was.


    The hall was silent as they stared at the family of four but it didn''t remain that way for too long. The butler started to p followed by the servants then everyone was already pping their hands. Lindon looked as they descended the stairs and how they naturally caught the people''s attention without doing anything.


    He clenched his jaws before he smiled once again and walked towards them to give his greetings. He made sure that his steps were firm and confident as he did not want any of the guests to see that he felt insecure.


    "Uncle, Aunt." He bowed and when he lifted his head, he gave the couple a smile. "Happy birthday dear Aunt. You still look beautiful no matter how time passes."


    Lte smiled and patted her nephew''s shoulders, "You always tter me and thank you for your greeting. Is your mother also here?"


    "I''m sorry but she isn''t here right now. She suddenly got sick a few days ago and hasn''t gotten better yet. She was even looking forward to this event but my father forbade her. He was worried that mother would be too tired from the journey and her sickness might get severe," he exined in one breath even though it was just an excuse.


    "Is that so, then I hope for her to get well soon," Lte frowned a little bit before she sighed as she gently patted the child''s shoulder again. "Before you leave,e to me first alright, and I''ll prepare a get well soon gift for your mother."


    Lindon nodded and dutifully epted the woman''s kindness because it was a plus for him to be able to show that his rtionship with the main family was good. After talking with the duchess, he approached the two men who were standing a little bit to the back.


    People were trying to approach them but Linius was the only one who was speaking. Rigel on the other hand kept standing behind his brother like someone would eat him alive. He looked so fragile that if he was going to be pushed down, he''d break.


    Cygnus''s head turned towards the direction of the man and their eyes met briefly but Lindon did not miss the smirk on the other''s face. He froze for a moment and when he returned his gaze, the man''s attention was already on the people who were talking to Linius.


    He clenched his fists and took a deep breath before he continued to walk towards them with his eyes focused on the man behind Linius. "Cousin!" He called out when he was a few feet away. His grin was yful and refreshing so the people were convinced that they were on good terms.


    "Hello Lindon, I am d to see that you are here!" Linius walked up to the man and took the initiative to give him a hug.


    Lisbon was a bit taken aback by the sudden action but he epted it and returned the hug. He knew that he was hated by the major but he didn''t really care. After their greeting with each other, they walked up to Cygnus who was left alone in the ce where they were previously standing.


    "It''s nice to finally meet you." Lindon stretched his hand towards Cygnus but instead of taking it, he looked back to Linius waiting for his approval. When the major nodded his head, Cgynus also stretched out and shook the hands waiting for him.


    "It is also my pleasure to know you, Sir Lindon." Cygnus was smiling as he shook the man''s hand.

 Chapter 96 A Slap

    ?After that, Lindon still didn''t leave and tried to have a conversation with Cygnus but he acted shy and would always look at his brother for approval. Linius was bing more and more ufortable because of what Cygnus was doing. He had told the man that he could do as he wanted but it was not supposed to be like this.


    Seeing the actions of Rigel, the people who were in the banquet knew that his rtionship with his brother was good and that Linius would indulge him. They had never seen the major this patient with someone which only means that he gave significant importance to this younger brother of his.


    This time every pair of eyes were focused on the hosts of the banquet but even more so on the additional family members they have introduced. They kept him away for so many years and no one from the entire country nor the dukedom knew his name or saw his face so they wondered why they introduced him now. They were like wolves watching their prey as they continued to stare at them.


    Linius couldn''t bear it any longer so he decided to take his brother away in an excuse of making them rounds to greet the guests. "We''ll be leaving first because we need to make rounds and greet the guests before the dinner starts." He did not wait for his cousin''s answer as they walked away to where their parents were.


    Lindon narrowed his eyes because he didn''t believe that the man who they just introduced was really the major''s brother. He could feel that there was something at work there but he couldn''t put his finger on it. Yes, Rigel had simrities to the duke and duchess but that doesn''t guarantee that he was their real son.


    While walking to where their parents were, Linius sighed and looked to the side. "Why did you act like that? It almost made me nauseous," he couldn''t help butment.


    Cygnus looked at his big brother and chuckled, "But it was effective, your cousin is trying to maintain that smile even though he is quite unimpressed right now. Didn''t you know? I actually stole his limelight that''s why he approached us in the pretext of giving his greeting just to bask in the spotlight he lost."


    Linius looked at the man and could only shake his head. After hearing it like that, it doesn''t sound bad. Well, what could he expect from the man himself? He would not be surprised if the master creates a scene before the banquet ends.


    "Here they are!" Lte gave his two sons a warm smile as she held Cygnus''s hand. "How is the party going for you so far?" She gently asked.


    "I''m a bit nervous, mother, but thanks to my big brother because he didn''t leave my side." He smiled to ease his mother''s mood and didn''t make him worry during the banquet.


    "Alright, that''s good to know. Now, why don''t you stay with me and your father so that he can introduce you to his friends?" Lte suggested as she also looked at Linius who remained silent on the side.


    Linius nodded before he turned around and left since he needed to go and check the security of the banquet. He silently left the banquet for a while.


    Cygnus joined the couple and got to know the people that the duke considered as an ally and who he considered as an enemy. If the person was an ally or a friend, he would be casual while speaking but if he was speaking with an enemy, he would still be casual and yet his smile was still polite and one could sense his wariness around them.


    Well, he could determine all of this while reading their minds so he was sure. For people who weren''t observant, they wouldn''t notice these small details and those nobles were pretty dense to not feel the difference in treatment.


    "Albert!" Cygnus was surprised at the sudden change in the duke''s demeanor after he saw a man who was dressed in all ck.


    He had a serious look on his face which only meant that he was not a person who liked to smile. Even with the wide grin on the duke''s face, the man was still frowning and instead gave the man a re.


    "Stop grinning like an idiot, where is your dignity as a duke?" The man scolded Ulysses and even narrowed his eyes towards the man.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "And stop frowning, you look like you are older than me because you don''t know how to smile." Ulysses patted the man''s back that Cygnus could hear the sound of his palm hitting the man''s back.


    "I''m d to see you are doing well, Duke ckwell," Lte stopped their childish bickering.


    "Thank you duchess and I greet you a happy birthday and I''ve already given my gift to the butler," the duke bowed. Lte inclined her head and thanked the man.


    "By the way this is my second son, Rigel, and Rigel this is Duke Ghad ckwell, a good friend of your father." Cygnus took a step forward and bowed to the man.


    Ghad ckwell looked at the child although he also had his doubts, he couldn''t ask them directly but he made sure to talk to Ulysses one of these days. He gave the child a curt nod and did not give him anymore attention.


    Ulysses did not make a fuss on how the other brushed off Cygnus. He knew that even though he seemed to not care, the man had already taken note of his son.


    Cygnus did not mind the treatment because seeing the odd pair was more interesting. He didn''t know that Ginehart was associated with the ckwells. He had heard stories about the ckwell Dukedom, aside from how rich they were, their family was also known to use magic.


    They were the only family who can call themselves mages even without registering to the Magic Tower. But throughout the generation, their magic slowly disappeared until the current head.


    Ghad ckwell has no mana at all but his understanding and researches about magic were brilliant and because their family had been established for a long time, even if they lost their magic, their family maintained their titles and their territory. Their story was interesting and it made Cygnus think, what if the reason why they lost their magic was because of a curse?


    He was silently observing them when a man suddenly approached him. Cygnus was rudely pulled back and was pped in the face. The people were shocked at what had happened while Cygnus was frozen with his face still facing the side.


    This was the first time that he was pped ever since he became an immortal. It stung and he could feel the throbbing pain and because of that he couldn''t help but grin widely.


    Everything happened so fast that the sound of the p froze Nina and when she came back to her senses, she stomped towards the rude man. "How dare you!?"


    Nina was ready to st away the man with her explosion magic but before she could do it, she heard the master''s cold voice. She stopped her fists and only red at the man.


    Ulysses and Lte stood on the side because they wanted to see what Cygnus would do. The other people watched the spectacle while they started to murmur.


    "Imend you for having the guts to p me, how would you pay for it?" He gave the man a wide smile. His face was still red from the p but the anger in his heart did not dissipate.

 Chapter 97 Proven

    ?The man who pped him was shocked because of how the man was looking at him. He was smiling and yet he looked like he would kill him there. He took a step back and was about to turn around and leave but he heard the man again.


    "Are you going to run like a coward? How irresponsible of you to p me and yet you still want to run? Do you think you can run away from me?" He took one step forward and another then he was in front of the man. "Coward."


    After hearing the word ''coward'', the man started to shake in anger. The wine he had drunk felt like it dissipated because of the hot feelinging from him. His hands were balled into fists as he greeted his teeth and when Cygnus repeated the word, the man finally snapped.


    "You are the coward! I don''t believe that you are the duke''s second son! That can''t happen!" He used. All the fear he felt a while ago was reced by pure hatred towards the man.


    Gasps could be heard from the crowd because of the words that came out from the man''s mouth. Those were heavy usation because how could the duke and duchess introduce a person who was not of their blood. No matter how you look at it, it was a ridiculous assumption.


    "Oh, is that so?" Cygnus smirked, "are you willing to bear all of the consequences of your words?" Cygnus''s figure loomed over the man and his presence suddenly got stronger that the people who were spectating instinctively took a step back.


    Since the man who was using him doesn''t want to be embarrassed even further, he did not back down and stared at the man. "Of course, I won''t let an impostor like you sully the name of our family!"


    Cygnus suddenly bent forward and his shoulders started to shake then a loudughter resonated inside the ballroom hall. "Yes, that''s what you think but between the two of us, who is sullying the family''s name? Isn''t it you? Causing a ruckus during my mother''s birthday banquet with an usation without any evidences is just in stupid and embarrassing. Where did yourmon sense go? Did your brain got drowned with all the wine you''ve gobbled up or it just didn''t exist in the first ce?"


    The remarks made by the master made the guestsugh but it made the man''s face red as a tomato. "Shut up! Using such crass words only shows how uneducated you are! And I won''t back down, I know that you are not the second son of my uncle and aunt. You are just an impostor!"


    "Alright, why don''t we prove it then," Cygnus did not hesitate to suggest, then he looked up and looked through the crowd. "Are there any mages in here?"


    It took a while, but a man came stepped forward from the group. He was a middle-aged man with a clean-cut beard on his chiseled jaw and an almost graying hair. He was wearing a formal suit of withe topped with a long ck coat. His eyes were emerald and unusually bright which was a clear sign that he was a high-level mage.


    "I am," he answered with a deep gruff voice.


    The man saw the mage and he was suddenly ted because he knew who the mage was. He was the Archmage of the Emerald Division of the Magic Tower, Sir Leonard Sigma.


    Reading the other''s thoughts, Cygnus was impressed because the man who stepped out was someone famous. The other details, he kept on the back of his mind because right now his priority was to teach the rude man, who was also his cousin, a lesson.


    "If I remember correctly, mages can test the blood of two parties to see if they are rted by blood. I remember reading a case regarding this matter and I believe that it had been widely used by many not only in our kingdom but also in other ces." Cygnus looked the man in the eye while stating those words which attracted the by standers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They''ve heard a thing or two about it but only those who have money can afford that service because only mages of high rank can perform that spell and to get them to do a bloodline check would cost them too much. So, unless it was necessary some of the nobles will seek the Magic Tower for this spell.


    "Yes, and I can perform that spell for you," Sir Sigma answered. He was attracted by the suddenmotion when he was only there to offer his greetings as the representative of the Magic Tower when his attention was caught by the young man.


    "Then I''ll dly ept your help and I thank you sir in advance." Cygnus inclined his head towards the man which earned him a nod from the archmage.


    "May I request for the duke and the duchess toe forward." He gestured to the spot in front of him. Ulysses and Lte came forward whereas the woman gave Cygnus a warm smile. "If I may, please stretched out your palms and I''ll draw a small amount of blood."


    Ulysses went first so the archmage made a small cut on the duke''s finger using a small knife he conjured and waited for a small drop of blood from the wound. The drop of blood floated above then he moved on the duchess and used the same process.


    Now two drops of blood were floating before him and a small golden magic circle appeared below it. He then gestured for Cygnus to alsoe forward. The master stepped confidently and reached out his hand and in the same manner the archmage drew a drop of blood from him.


    "With this spell, if all three blood merges together it is no doubt that they are a family but if the three droplets repel each other then they are not a family. If the mother''s blood merges with the child''s and doesn''t merge with the father, then the child is not of the father and vice versa." He dutifully exined to the crowd. After that, he closed his eyes and put both of his hands on the side of the floating droplets of blood, like he was holding a ball.


    He started to chant the spell and the golden magic circle lit up as white threads of light started toe out from the circle and surrounded each droplet. After a while these threads of light left the drops of blood and made a rotating ring around it instead.


    The crowd waited in bated anticipation as the blood samples started to wiggle and move like they were looking for something. This time, Linius who entered the hall saw that the guests were surrounding something so he made his way through the crowd and saw the master, his parents, his cousin and a mage in the center.


    Then the crowd suddenly pped. The three samples of blood smoothly blended with each other as it formed one sample. The cousin who used Cygnus had his eyes and jaws opened wide in shock. He couldn''t believe that the test actually proved that the man was a real Ginehart.


    "As you can see, the blood had merged which only means that Sir Rigel is undoubtedly a son of the duke and the duchess," the archmage announced which settled the people. The doubts in their hearts were instantly cleared.


    "That''s impossible! How could it be? He must have done something to his blood!" the cousin started to point at Cygnus in anger. He was not convinced and he won''t believe it no matter what. He couldn''t ept that this unknown second son was suddenly appearing in public.


    "How dare you!" Linius who just arrived and heard the announcement and his cousin''s usations became angry. "using my family of such heresy is tantamount to challenging my family''s authority. Don''t becent just because you are my cousin." He stood in between this cousin and the master.

 Chapter 98 Bastard

    ?"Brother," Cygnus called out and stepped forward to stop Linius from getting angry. "Don''t worry too much about it. It has been proven that I am of your blood so I''m sure he can''t run his mouth any longer unless he intends on saying that the mage and our parents are liars." He was saying this to Linius but his eyes and smirk were directed at the cousin who was being pressured by the mocking gazes directed at him.


    Cygnus was simply taunting him and yet the cousin foolishly fell for it. He really can''t bear the mocking he was experiencing, what a stupid fool.


    "Hey you bastard! Don''t celebrate yet just because the main family is protecting you!" The cousin did not back down and instead started to point at the man even though Linius was there.


    The hall became silent at the man''s words, even more so because he called the second son of the duke and duchess a bastard. Ulysses who was watching on the side had his eyes wide in shock that someone had the audacity to call his child a bastard. Lte, who was supposed to stand by, was ready to go and strangle the man.


    Linius who was nearest to his cousin''s position was about to confront the man when an arm suddenly fell to the ground followed by a miserable scream of fear from the other person.


    The cousin who waspletely still at first and even had a grin on his face was now clutching his shoulder where blood was pouring out. He knelt and wept with tears and mucus on his face. His face also started to turn pale because of how much blood he was losing.


    "What I hate the most in this entire world are people calling me a bastard." Cygnus was standing before the wailing man with a bloody sword in his hand.


    It all happened so fast that none of the guests saw what happened. They just came to their senses when they saw the arm and the blood then the man''s scream. And when the realization dawned in, high pitched screams came from the crowd as thedies turned around to avoid the bloody scene.


    Then without hesitation, Cygnus swung the sword again and this time the man''s eyes were cut which made him scream even louder. The master narrowed his eyes at the man and felt that it was not enough.


    Linius held the master''s arm to stop him from going any further. Ulysses and Ghad appeared in front of Cygnus to prevent him from making any more move.


    "Get the physician!" The duke ordered and one of the soldiers left in a hurry. The archmage also took action and sealed the wounds to stop the bleeding.


    "Why are you going to heal him? He deserves to die for insulting our family. Isn''t this how they should be punished?" They heard Cygnus''s voice which made the atmosphere tense. "The same with all the people in here who are thinking of plotting against our family, they should all die. Or they cane forward and call me a bastard!" He was smiling while saying all of those words, like they were just some casual phrases he was uttering.


    His eyes were also wide like he had gone crazy then he startedughing out of nowhere. Linius pulled him towards him and pulled away the sword he was holding. Lte also came and hugged Cygnus.


    "Take him away for now, Lte. We will deal with this." Ulysses did not look back and was only focused on the man who was lying on the floor. "Linius please escort the people out, the banquet is over."


    Mr. C and Nina went together with the duchess followed by Astrophos. Linius on the other hand escorted the guests out together with the guards.


    Ghad made sure that the man was treated together with the physician they called. They moved the man to a room where the doctor can carefully check him.


    Ulysses on the other hand was talking with the young man''s family and calming them down. He was doing what he could topensate for what had happened but they were not relenting and he was getting annoyed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "How could your son do this to his own cousin?" A woman was balling her eyes out but she was still able to say those words clearly.


    "Duke, your son must be punished for what he did! My son lost his arm and now he can''t see!" The man who wasforting the woman eximed. He won''t let this opportunity pass to pressure the duke.


    The duke''s expression turned stone cold. He had been giving them options for theirpensation but they were going too far. Rigel was not even the heir to the dukedom but they were still hell bent on targeting him.


    They might have thought that he hadn''t seen through their motive. He was willing to take a step for them but they wanted him to go the extra mile.


    "Do you really think that I have gone senile nor blind nor deaf? It was your son who started all of this. If he had not ndered Rigel, then your idiot of a son would haveplete limbs right now." Ulysses snapped and red at the two people in the room. "Don''t even say anything, because right now if you as much as say a word, I wouldn''t think twice and let you suffer the same fate as your son."


    Both of them were shocked at the sudden change of how the duke was treating them. "How could you say that duke! We are your family!"


    "And Rigel is my son!" The duke roared. "Did you think that I would choose you over my flesh and blood?" He was now truly angry as he gave the couple a fierce re. "Don''t patronize me and leave before I forget that the two of you are Ginehart."


    After he said those words, guards came in and took them away. He took several deep breaths before he was able to calm himself. He left the room and followed the halls towards the left wing of the manor where Rigel and the others were.


    Lte apanied Rigel towards his room. They all sat down in the lounge area of the room in silence. Nina was visibly on edge as she looked at the master warily. Mr. C was not feeling well too because of the master.


    "Master-" Mr. C wanted to talk to him but he was cut off by the re that was sent his way. Sensing that the master was not in the mood to talk, he backed off and let him be. Even Nina took it by herself to stand beside the butler.


    Lte saw all of that and she was not sure if she should talk with the man or not. Based on how the others reacted to the man, it was not wise to provoke him any further. The dark aura around the man only proved that he was totally angry.


    The door to the room opened, followed by the entrance of Ulysses. He instantly looked at the room and felt how unsettling it was inside. He cleared his throat which at least lessened the tenseness inside the room.


    "The doctor said that he will live and I''ve already sent his parents home." He informed them then he looked at Cygnus. He noticed the aura around him but he had no time to think about it, "And you''ve made quite a mess Rigel."


    Only silence met the duke''s words. He sighed and rubbed his head to ease the tension building inside of him. They heard another knock then Duke ckwell came in with his usual frown.


    "Why don''t you exin to me everything, Duke Ginehart and let''s clear everything now while I am still here."

 Chapter 99 I Have Been Merciful

    ?At the duke''s request, every pair of eyes inside the room looked at Duke ckwell. Ulysses had aplicated look on his face while the duchess could only close her eyes and look away. Cygnus, who had been silent ever since they entered the room, only looked at him.


    "So, Ulysses, will you tell me what''s going on?" He insisted as he looked at his longtime friend.


    Ulysses was a childhood friend as their fathers were partners in many things. The both of them almost grew up like siblings and if not for their own responsibilities they would have been exploring thends. Both became the heads of their respective families and needed to focus on their duty but they haven''t lost contact with each other and eventually became allies.


    Many nobles wanted to have this kind of rtionship with either of the two but they can''t reach the level of trust these dukes have for each other. Ulysses looked at his friend and sighed before he went up to him.


    "Let''s talk but not here." He walked past him and went straight for the door. He left and before Ghad followed, he gave the room onest look before he turned around and went out. The door closed behind him as he followed his friend.


    It was a silent night that was supposed to be filled with joyous chatter and music and yet the mansion felt empty because of how silent the surrounding was. Ghad locked the door behind him and took a seat on the couch. He could hear the clinking of ss from the cab where Ulysses kept his wines.


    A bottle of red wine was ced on the table and Ulysses handed the other wine ss in his hand to Ghad. They poured themselves wine and drank for a little bit before Duke ckwell ced his ss on the table and rxed on his seat.


    "What''s going on Ulysses?" he asked since his friend was a bit reluctant to start his tale. This was unlike Ulysses at all. The man was usually confident and he didn''t think twice to say what was on his mind and now he seemed so unsure.


    "Maverick, he''s already gone." This was the first sentence he uttered after a brief moment of indecisiveness overcame her.


    This statement made Ghad frown even more, "What are you talking about? We just left him a while ago-" his words were cut off when he saw how serious the other was looking at him. Then he realized the events and the usation against the man they introduced as their son. Also, the sudden introduction seemed too suspicious now. "Are you telling me that the child you introduced a while ago is actually not your second son."


    Ulysses slowly nodded his head which further surprised Ghad. "It was all the n of Linius ever since Maverick died, everything was just a mess."


    Ghad''s brows furrowed. He only knew that Ulysses had a second son who was born weak and through his efforts, they were able to prolong the child''s life and yet here he was saying that Maverick died. Even though he had not seen the child with his own eyes, he knew how the family cherished the child. "What happened?" He asked with concern.


    "They killed him. They burned the mansion where he was living and no one survived the fire. We did all we could to hide him from the clutches of greed and yet he still died at the end. So, Linius nned to eliminate all the members of the family who had a hand on the incident." Ulysses narrated what had happened and his son''s n. The n was supposed to go smoothly because they had a substitute for his youngest son and yet, it turned outplicated.


    "And that young man who you introduced in the banquet is not really your son. Then how can you exin the blood test done by Archmage Sigma?" he was getting more confused now and when he saw that Ulysses shook his head, he could only rub his temples. "What have you done? Have you done a background check on them before you agreed to this ridiculous n of Linius?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I did but I never found anything about them, their real identity or where they came from but we''ve interacted with them for a couple of days and I observed them myself. And, for some reason, Linius trusted them." From the very beginning he was reluctant but when he saw how his son was interacting with these people, he decided to give it a try.


    Ghad could only sigh. He couldn''t believe that his friend did not tell him any of these ns they thought of. Even his child''s death was kept a secret from him. "Then we should see this n through and use this opportunity to clean up the people who killed your son. But after all of this, you should not associate yourselves with that person any longer."


    It was both a warning and a reminder because he was worried that they may have felt attached to Rigel who was acting as their son. He was a dangerous man. What he did out there was indeed impressive and at the same time a cause for worry.


    "Yes, you don''t have to worry about that. After this cooperation, we will be cutting ties with him." It was the n ever since the start. Even if Linius refused they would still need to let them go.


    "That''s good. To be able to sever a man''s arm wlessly and to wield a sword like it was a toy, those are not the movements of a person who was new to holding a sword. He did not even flinch when he saw all of that blood." Ghad told the man what he saw.


    "He is really a peculiar man even the people who came with him are not willing to tell me anything about them but as far as I am concerned, they were polite and respectful to everyone in here even Linius doesn''t talk about it." Ulysses nodded as he memorized what the other had said.


    Inside Cygnus''s room, there was still silence which was suddenly broken when he let out a deep sigh. He rxed on the chair he was seated and looked at the people inside the room and was amused at how tense they were. Even the duchess seemed to be on edge as she sat without speaking.


    "Can all of you rx? It was just a slip, well that is if I don''t see that man again or hear that word then everything will be fine." He suddenly spoke, which made the room tenser. Nina and Mr. C stiffened when they heard the master''s voice.


    "Was that really necessary? It is my birthday banquet and now you''ve made a mess out of it," Lte spoke from where she was but she was not looking at Cygnus.


    Cygnusughed, "That was me holding back, mydy. You wouldn''t want me going all out in that situation and you should be thankful for that. I could have exploded his body and ended it right there and then but I still chose to show mercy and gave him a chance to live, isn''t that enough?" The sarcasm in his voice was heavy which made the woman frown.


    "Yes, he will live but without one of his arms and being blind, it will be difficult for him." This time thedy who had yet to change from her ball gown looked at the man only to be met with nk eyes which contradicted his warm smile. She froze for a moment but she was able to calm down immediately too.


    "Mydy, you know in a world where there is cruelty you need to be crueler in ways you nor they can''t imagine, that way, no one will mess with you or they will be trembling in fear when they see you. It is the path you have been seeking for, am I right? And if you remain soft hearted, then you''ll be the first one to be destroyed." This advice came with a smile but his eyes were not smiling and instead there was a glint of red on it. The longer the duchess looked at those eyes the deeper she was getting pulled by it and every word he had said suddenly made sense.

 Chapter 100 No Where To Be Found

    ?The door to the room suddenly opened. Linius entered and found that the room was too silent. He saw his mother who was in a daze and immediately went to check if she was alright.


    "Mother are you alright?" He immediately asked. He then kneeled on the floor and held her hand. "Why don''t you return to your room for now and rest?"


    Lte, who almost got hypnotized by Cygnus, took a deep breath and avoided the man''s gaze. She shook her head to remove all the remnants of the mind control in her mind. "I think I''ll do that." She stood up together with Linius who assisted her. When they were outside of the door, he called for a guard to escort her mother to her room.


    "You really made a mess this time around," Liniusmented but the master was unmoved.


    He didn''t care then and he didn''t care now. "I''m sure that you have already seen thating since you told me to just be myself."


    Linius sighed. He leaned on the wall beside the door with both his hands on his chest. "Yes, I have already anticipated it but I did not think that you would make the floor bloody and scare the guests."


    "Well, it was my intention to show them what I can do but that man just went ahead and said whatever he likes," Cygnus shrugged his shoulders.


    "But, did you really need to cut off his arm and make him blind?" Linius could only ept what had happened and just deal with the aftermath since he was the one who brought them to Ginehart. It was his responsibility to see this n through even if the person was more dangerous than the people he wanted to eliminate.


    "Yes, why? Did you want me to do more than that?" Cygnus raised a brow and gave the other a smirk.


    Linius was annoyed but he chose to brush off the remark, "It''s really no use talking to you. I just hope you are ready for the consequences of what you did. Now the branch families will be targeting you and will eventuallye for you."


    "Let them be, isn''t that what we wanted? It will be more favorable for you. Aside from taking revenge on the people who killed your brother, you can also pull out those people who are plotting against the main family. Two birds with one stone." Those words were reasonable but still the situation has be moreplicated.


    This event will certainly reach the capital and all eyes will be on them once the cleaning was done. "All eyes will be on you once you enter the capital. My family is already in the spotlight so it won''t matter that much but, in your case, how will you deal with it?"


    Cygnus hummed and acted like he was seriously thinking about it before he answered. "Should I really deal with it? I think I''ll let them be and stare all they want. The more popr I am the better."


    It was the expected answer and yet he still asked. "Alright, for now let''s just deal with this incident and can you please at least behave yourself and go around killing anyone."


    Cygnusughed then he stood up and walked up to Linius, "You are worrying about worthless things. I''m not the kind of person who will do that well unless they offended me."


    Linius pushed himself and stood before Cygnus, "I hope so." He then turned around and left the room.


    Cygnus looked at the other two in the room and pointed at the door. Both did not ask questions and also left the room. After he was alone, the glint in his eyes appeared and turned his pupils into the color of blood.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He walked to the window and stare outside with a smile on his face, full of malice and hatred. The dark aura around him started to seep out and surrounded him. The smoke-like power filled the room and started to corrode all the furniture and everything within it.


    One by one all that was inside the room turned to dust. The rage inside his heart continued to grow. It was looking for something to destroy and devour. That incident really got him and if not for his excellent self-control, the entire manor and all of its people would have died.


    But because of that, now he doesn''t know where he could direct the bubbling destruction within him. A dark portal appeared behind him and with onest look at the scenery outside of the mansion, he turned around and entered the portal. The dark swirling door into an unknown ce disappeared and the room returned to its original state.


    Astrophos who did not go with them was currently faced with Archmage Sigma. They had been staring at each other for almost ten minutes now and yet no one wanted to talk. Truthfully the archmage was surprised to see Astrophos within the dukedom of Ginehart.


    "Last I heard, you were on a mission but I didn''t expect you to be here." The archmage started when he sensed that the other was not willing to speak first.


    Astrophos was a bit confused at the statement. He thought that he was already dered a traitor by the tower and yet the archmage was still talking to him like he was still part of the tower. "Yes, but haven''t you heard anything from the tower?" He asked, wondering why the archmage was still talking with him.


    "Why? Did something happen at the Magic Tower?" Sigma raised an eyebrow at how the other was talking with him. He was somewhat nervous and he didn''t know why. "The only news I got from the tower is that they got a new promising disciple, if I''m not mistaken his name is Ezio. Although I have yet to meet the child, the others are full of praise for him."


    The smile on the archmage''s face made Astrophos''s heart drop and confused. How could Ezio be a promising disciple when he wasn''t able to use any magic before he was kidnapped. "That''s good news then, the tower will have another talent."


    "Yes, you are right. I''ll be going back to the capital after I escort Duke ckwell home to see this child who got all of those geezers so excited." Sigma was satisfied and he couldn''t wait to return and witness for himself how great this disciple was.


    "Then, we will see each other again at the capital Archmage Sigma," Astrophos also informed him. He needed to talk with the master right away and urge him to go to the capital as soon as possible.


    "Ah, if you are returning to the capital then we will certainly meet each other again." After that conversation, the both of them parted ways.


    Astrophos learned two things from his conversation with the archmage. He was not dered a traitor yet for some reason but this was favorable for him because he can still move around in the capital. Then, Ezio has be a disciple of the Magic Tower. He did not know what happened but he was sure that there was something going on inside the tower.


    The master needed to know what he learned but for the next five days Cygnus was nowhere to be found. Mr. C and Nina also do not know where he was and they don''t have any way of contacting him.


    During his absence, Linius was able to pacify the people of Ginehart together with his father because of the unrest caused by the incident at the banquet as they quenched the rumor that his brother was a demon. Five days turned into a week and finally Duke ckwell left together with the Archmage.


    "Is heing back?" Astrophos asked the butler while they were outside and having a cup of coffee.


    "Yes he will, we just need to be patient." The butler looked at a distance as a strong wind suddenly blew and carried with it the petals of the flowers around them. "When hees back, he''ll be in a better mood."

 Chapter 101 He Is Back

    ?A young man stood behind the window of his room as he looked below on the streets where several young people in ck and gold uniform were walking. He had been in that ce for three months now and yet he was not used to it. He still missed the days when he was only an ordinary person that lived in a faraway town.


    The young man suddenly shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. He already knew that he can''t return to his past life and all he needed to do was to focus on his survival. Ezion turned around and left his room for his ss at the Lamier Magic Academy.


    Three months ago, he was kidnapped and brought to the Magic Tower, after that he stayed in that dreadful ce for a week. He endured all they did then he suddenly manifested his talent for magic. ording to those people his mana core was sealed and now that it was unsealed, he could use magic.


    They then forced him to enter the academy and learn magic because he needed to learn the basics. He did not want to but they wouldn''t let him go and with gritted teeth he epted. Ezio became a student of the academy but he still felt out of ce. Although he was not as closely monitored when he was at the tower, he could still feel that there were people who were watching him.


    "What took you so long?" A girl with blonde hair and a sweet smile blocked him in the hallway. She was smiling at him but Ezio doesn''t have the energy to return her enthusiasm.


    "It''s none of your business, step aside." He instead red at her but the young woman did not move. His jaws clenched as he still stepped forward and walked past the woman.


    She was baffled at his actions but she still did not stop following him. The young woman ran after him and tried to walk beside him. "Why are you always grumpy?" She asked once again.


    He suddenly stopped, "Why do you care?" He could not understand the woman. She had been following him ever since he started attending the academy and wouldn''t leave him alone. She was too talkative for him to handle.


    "Nothing, I''m just really curious. The magic tower favors you and you have great talents to be a great mage. Many people envy and admire you." Thedy listed everything she had observed so far while counting with her fingers. She then looked at Ezio and grinned.


    "I don''t even know why they are giving me too much importance and I never want to be affiliated with them." His eyes narrowed and the air around him suddenly moved which forced the youngdy to take a step back. "Don''t ever mention them again."


    He walked away and did not look back. The force that knocked her back surprised the youngdy. Her eyes were wide as she watched Ezio leave her behind. Vinya Laudica couldn''t believe that someone would dare to use their force on her but that did not matter to her. The anger in those eyes was real and fiery.


    She became even more curious as to why Ezio doesn''t want to be associated with the Magic Tower. Her eyes couldn''t help but gaze at the imposing tower not far away from the academy. She shook her head and followed behind Ezio to their ss.


    From the corner of the hall, a young man wearing the same uniform pushed himself up from the wall where he was leaning. He lifted his eyesses and stepped out from where he was hiding to look at the direction where the other two disappeared.


    There was silence the moment he entered the room. Nobody dared to talk as he walked towards his seat but the moment he was seated, they would start to whisper with each other while looking in this direction. He had gotten used to it and chose to ignore them.


    Since all they did was talk about him, he did not want to associate himself with them either. It was against his will that he was there in the first ce so he didn''t bother knowing any of his ssmates. Besides, all they talked about was bad stuff against him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He looked outside the window and was suddenly lost in thought, "Master." He mumbled to himself but then a voice broke through his reverie.


    "Master?" Vinya asked after she heard him mumble after she took the seat beside him.


    Ezio flinched when he heard the woman''s voice. He tilted his body and saw that Vinya was sitting beside him again. He could already feel the angry gazes directed at him which could only make him sigh in frustration.


    "Why are you always sitting beside me when there are other seats you can use? I can''t concentrate in any of the lessons with all the piercing gazes directed at me whenever you sit beside me." Ezio looked at the still smiling woman. He already made it clear but it seemed the woman was not willing to transfer seats.


    "Let them be since that''s all they could do and besides if theye to fight against you, they won''t win so why worry?" Vinya smiled then looked in front. She was very sure of herself so Ezio did not try to persuade her once again.


    The professor then came and started with the lecture and after that peaceful discussion, the other lessons were done smoothly. Since there was free lunch in the academy''s canteen, there''s no need for any of them to leave.


    Ezio was walking towards the canteen when he was stopped by a gang of students. He raised an eyebrow and looked at them. This was one of the reasons why he doesn''t want the woman to be sticking with him always. He was getting blocked for no reason.


    "What do you want?" Hezily asked, then he sighed. He was exhausted from all of the pretentious shows they were doing just because of a woman.


    "You''ve been hanging out with Lady Vinya for so long now. How dare you! You don''t have the right to stay beside her, you are just amoner!" The man in front of the group pointed at him with his nose ring. He was even breathing hard after shouting all of those words without any pause.


    Ezio sighed once again, "Look, you are misunderstanding something here. I am not hanging out with your Lady Vinya. She is the one who always follows me around can''t you see that or you are just so blind that you can''t even notice that small detail." He couldn''t help but be sarcastic while speaking.


    There was one thing he noticed about the people who were attending the academy. They were obsessed with talent and ranks. They were also very particr with the status of each student. Both things didn''t sit well with him so he tried his best to get caught with their issues but he wasn''t able to escape that fate.


    "Shut up! Why would Lady Vinya even follow a person like you? You are indeed a gifted magic user but you are only amoner. Your lowly blood can''t associate with us nobles." The man once again shouted as he tried to justify himself.


    Ezio had no time to deal with him and he was already hungry but they had no intention of letting him go. "You are indeed blind. I am amoner but my eyes are clearer than you even though my brain is a bit bigger than yours since you are incapable of thinking straight. What a waste of noble blood."


    "What did you say!?" The man became even more angry and in the blink of an eye, heunched a magic attack towards Ezio who calmly looked at the iing ball of fire.

 Chapter 102 A New Ezio...

    ?As expected, Ezio already knew that the people at the academy were unexpectedly short tempered. He could just have walked away and left but he was in a bad mood and now these people came to provoke him even more.


    The fireballs that were sent his way suddenly disappeared and the man who attacked him was confused. He attacked again and just like the first, all of these attacks were swallowed by a sudden distortion in the air.


    Ezio also disappeared from where he was and appeared behind the group. He then waved his hand and a dark hole formed behind them with the fireballsing out from it. Loud explosions shook the entire building where they were and when the smoke subsided, the people who were blocking Ezio''s way were on the ground.


    They were knocked out by the same attack that the leader used against Ezio. He looked at the group thaty unconscious on the ground and sighed. He could already hear his stomach protesting and he even used his magic, now he was even hungrier.


    Without giving the group another look, he continued on his way to the canteen for some food. He could feel the fearful look being thrown his way but he decided to ignore them all. This was also favorable for him because nobody would bother him again.


    Professors and students came out from the rooms to see what was happening only to witness a group of boys that were unconscious on the ground. One of the professors asked the students to carry them to the infirmary. After the spectacle, the incident reached the headmaster of the academy.


    "He is too willful for us to handle. He doesn''t listen to anyone. He doesn''t socialize and very difficult to approach," the headmaster sighed.


    He listened to the ount of the witnesses and didn''t know what to do. He can''t expel him because of the Magic Tower and he didn''t know how to exin it to the parents of those he had injured.


    "What should we do now?" One of the professors asked.


    "I''ll contact the Magic Tower and tell them to deal with it," the headmaster sighed. "They are the ones who brought him here, so they should take responsibility."


    That same day, a message was delivered to the Magic Tower detailing the incident and asking them to talk to the parents of the injured students. Another sigh sounded inside the silent room after the man read the contents of the letter.


    Archmage Ragus rubbed his head and looked at the piece of paper on his table. The first time the child opened his eyes, he thought that he was easy to coax but he was very wrong.


    The child kept on ring at them and refused to talk. When he was brought to the Hall of Vestige where the seal in his mana core was removed, he still didn''t speak. After the seal was lifted, he was immediately escorted to the Hall of Time. He didn''t get any news from the archmages on that floor until a monthter.


    They instructed him to enroll Ezio at the Magic Academy with the excuse of letting him learn all about magic. Ragus was confused as to why they needed to send him to the academy when he can be directly taught inside the tower? Then he got his answer when he saw the child.


    That day, Ragus entered the room where Ezio was waiting and saw a skinny young man. He could already tell that the child was tense and was on guard because of how stiff he was sitting. He wanted to talk to him but all he received from him was a fierce re.


    He was like an untamed animal that would pounce at you anytime you provoked it. Because he believed in his capability, Ragus still tried to approach the child but he was suddenly pulled back. He looked behind him and saw a swirling wind that was trying to suck him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He managed to extricate himself from the wind that was pulling him and managed tond a safe distance from the young man. Ragus frowned as he looked at the thing that almost got him. Behind that swirling wind was pure darkness and he had no idea what would happen to him if he got sucked in.


    He gave the young man another look before he looked at the guard who apanied Ezio. "What was that?"


    "I also don''t know but ording to the elders, it is a kind of magic that is very rare and very important to the tower. They didn''t tell me anything more and all I know about it is from rumors from the Hall of Time," the guard answered. He also looked at the young man and shivered.


    Ragus narrowed his eyes as he fell deep in thought. "Is this the reason why they wanted him to be enrolled at the academy?"


    "ording to the instruction passed to me, he is to be enrolled to the academy to learn about magic and to reassociate him with other people since he had been cooped up in the tower for a month. After a year, he would return to the Magic Tower." The guard did not hesitate to ry the message. It was a bit weird but he can''t question the decision of the elders and could only ry it.


    Ragus was also confused at the instruction but no matter how he questioned it he can''t go against it. He can observe for a little while slowly understanding what was happening. "Alright I understand, you may go. I''ll take it from here."


    The guard sighed in relief after he was dismissed because he did not want to stay in that room any longer. That child has a strange power and it doesn''t sit well with him so it was better to leave and let the archmage deal with it.


    Once the guard left, Ragus slowly approached the child and stood in a safe distance from him. "I don''t know what happened during your stay at the Hall of Time but you can''t disobey orders. If you resist, they won''t stop and when you enter the academy, you''ll have at least a degree of freedompared to staying here."


    Ezio''s position wasplicated and Ragus knew that fully well. He was forced into the Magic Tower thus he was no different from a prisoner and something must have happened in the Hall of Time that was why he said those words.


    "Is that true?" This was the first time that he was hearing the child''s voice. It was a bit scratchy and deep maybe due to him refusing to speak.


    "Yes, even though you can''t leave the academy as you want, you''ll at least see the outside of the tower and you won''t be tied in here. You''ll still have people who will watch you so just stay at the academy and learn everything you can," Ragus exined. "If I were you I would go to the academy or do you want to return to the Hall of Time?"


    Ezio''s entire body shivered with restrained anger that was visible with his fists that were tightly clenched on hisp and with his jaws that were clenched. He did not want to return to that ce. If the man was telling the truth, then he could n his escape while he stayed at that academy.


    "Then I''ll enter the academy," was his simple answer. Ragus prepared his papers and he got him to enter the academy even though the school year already started.


    The archmage sighed again, it seemed that the child hadn''t lost his untamed personality. Although this was the first incident, he can''t let this go on or else the reputation of the tower will be smeared. He stood from his chair then he walked to the middle of the room and closed his eyes.


    After mumbling a spell, a white light enveloped his entire being as he disappeared and reappeared inside the headmaster''s office. He needed to deal with this and also talk to Ezio.

 Chapter 103 Cold

    ?The headmaster was not surprised to see that the tower immediately sent someone to deal with the incident. He turned around only to be surprised at the person who appeared.


    "I didn''t expect to see you here personally, Archmage Ragus." The headmaster greeted then he gave the man a bow.


    The mage hummed and nodded, "Yes, I myself am surprised too that I will be standing here to talk about something that is not rted to magic."


    The headmasterughed and shook his head. He then gestured for them to take a seat. After they settled down, the headmaster called for his secretary and told her to prepare coffee for them.


    "How has life been treating you, Headmaster Aurellius?" Argus asked as they waited for the coffee to be served.


    "It has been good and peaceful, except for these past few weeks..." He trailed off and gave the mage a meaningful smile.


    Argus could understand since that was also the reason why he came to the academy. "Yes and I apologize for that."


    Aurellius shook his head, "You don''t have to apologize. Besides, what happened was actually self-defense but because the other party was injured, the parents won''t let this matter go."


    "I understand. I will talk to them tomorrow then. For now, I think I should have a conversation with Ezio." He had no other choice but to talk to them, he might have to promise some things but it was better than to make the issue bigger.


    "I''ll inform them then," the headmaster nodded. Just in time, the secretary came and ced the cups of coffee on the table.


    Argus picked up one of the cups and savored its aroma before he took a sip. "Hah, this is great. To be able to enjoy this cup of tea in peace."


    "But with that child under your care, I doubt that you''ll be having any peaceful days ahead of you." The headmaster couldn''t help butment.


    Both of themughed at those words for a few minutes before they calmed down. Argus knew that what the headmaster said was true, his life won''t be easy. He already had a disobedient disciple and now he needed to look after another disobedient child.


    A knock on the door halted his thoughts and came the voice of the secretary asking for permission to enter. The headmaster let them in and when the door opened, Ezio entered together with the secretary.


    The room fell into silence. Aurellius stood up and patted the other''s shoulder. "I''ll leave the two of you since I also have a meeting."


    Aurellius and his secretary left but before they could step out of the room, he gave them ast nce. They closed the door behind them and made sure that no one woulde to disturb the two.


    "I''ve heard what happened," Argus started because he knew that the child would never start the conversation.


    "Are you here to take me back then?" He asked in a cold voice. He did not move from where he was as he remained standing.


    "No but I am here to remind you that if you continue with this kind of behavior, they will take you back." Argus did not ask him to sit nore closer so he could only speak to him from a distance.


    "Behavior?" Ezio raised a brow at those words. There was nothing wrong with his behavior. "I only taught them a lesson and now my behavior is being questioned? Why don''t you go and question their behavior? Nobles can act arrogant and that''s okay but if I act arrogant that''s not okay because I am amoner. Isn''t that kind of thinking twisted?"


    Argus was surprised that the child suddenly answered him. This was the longest sentence he had ever said ever since he came to Lamier. Then the words from the young man sunk in.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I am not questioning your behavior. I am merely reminding you to be careful." Argus shook his head, he can''t argue with the child because a topic like that was bound to escte in a not pleasing way.


    "They should be thankful. I have been enduring their nonsense for the past few weeks but if it was the master, they won''t survive." Ezio red at the man before he looked away.


    Argus frowned. He did not expect the child to have a master, if that was the case then why did his master leave him be.


    "This master of yours, why isn''t he here?" It did not escape the archmage''s eyes when Ezio stiffened at the mention of his master.


    "Don''t ask and he is not my master, he is ''the master''." He stared at the archmage, displeased.


    Argus was confused. He wanted to know more but judging by the other''s reaction it was not wise to pursue the master. "Alright. I won''t ask but I want you to at least behave yourself and I''ll also talk to the parents of those students and give them a warning. Stay out of trouble if you can."


    Ezio continued to frown but he did not speak. He felt ufortable because of the lecturing he got from the man so all he could do was frown and let him finish.


    "Are we done here?" He asked after the man was done speaking. He wanted to leave already.


    "Yes, as long as you remember what I said. If you don''t want to return to the tower, be careful of your actions." He still reminded him before he let the young man go.


    After he heard the closing of the door, Argus once again rubbed his head. He was now wondering why he even epted the task.


    After a while, he once again teleported and reappeared at his office in the tower. He opted to sit down on hisfy couch and have a quick rest. His head might explode if he continued work just after a major headache.


    Ezio walked out of the headmaster''s office to his next ss. His mood was even more terrible than what it was earlier that day. But just like what the archmage said, he can''t just lost his temper. He needed to endure until the day he could get out of that ce.


    He stopped on his tracks and when he thought about the master. He wondered if they even missed him or if they were going to rescue him. Ezio shook his head, based on the master''s attitude he wouldn''t go through so much hassle for him.


    He can only rely on himself to get out of that ce and now that he can use magic, he can do it. He just needed to practice even more so that he could escape from the people who were watching him.


    There was once again silence when he entered the ssroom but this time, he could feel fear from the air. What he did to those students must have spread throughout the academy already.


    At that information, he grinned. This only means one thing, no one would bother him any longer. He also hoped that the woman who was the root of his problems wouldn''te near him again.


    Vinya was panting after she reached the ssroom as she looked around. Her eyes lit up when she finally found the person she was looking for. She took several deep breaths andposed herself before she walked towards Ezio.


    She stood there for a full minute but the man did not notice her presence. She knocked on the table to get the other''s attention.


    Ezio snapped out of his thoughts and looked up only to see the woman he was trying to avoid. The frown on his face appeared again before he retracted his gaze and looked outside.


    "Are you really going to treat me coldly?" Vinya noticed the changes in his expression which made her lose her smile.

 Chapter 104 Finally Arrived

    ?Ezio did not answer. He was not in the mood to talk to the woman. He thought that after the incident she wouldn''t talk to him anymore but he was wrong. The woman was really persistent and if he would not straight out tell her what he thought then the woman might continue to pester him.


    "Hey, I''m talking to you!" Vinya got annoyed at how the man was treating her. She didn''t do anything wrong so she doesn''t deserve this kind of treatment.


    "Stop yelling and haven''t you noticed it already, I don''t like talking to you because it always gets me in trouble. You are a noble and I am amoner, the people in this ce don''t like it when you interact with me. So can you please leave me alone?" Ezio looked at her again as he said those cold words.


    The straightforwardness of those words made her step back. Even the man''s eyes were enough to tell her that she wasn''t liked. They were looking at her like she was someone not important, just a passerby.


    "I just want to be your friend," Vinya''s voice softened but it did nothing to touch the man''s seemingly cold heart instead his frown deepened.


    "I don''t want to be your friend. Look for other people to be your friend. If you continue to follow me around, jealous students will only cause me trouble. And I can''t afford to be in any kind of mess." Ezio was set on not having any friends because he didn''t want anyplications.


    Vinya''s eyes slowly teared up because of how harsh he was to her. She was never treated like that and the first person to do that was someone she genuinely wanted to be friends with. She turned around and left the room.


    She wiped the tears that finally fell after she left. She regretted that she even worried about him. Ezio did not give any reaction at all even though he knew that he made Vinya cry. Now there was another rumor that spread through the academy and another reason for some of the students to hate him.


    A month passed after that incident and Archmage Ragus was able to fix it by only talking with the parents of the students who were involved. Vinya on the other hand stopped pestering Ezio while the other students continued to avoid him.


    This time a man who loved to wear white alighted from a carriage that bore the insignia of the Ginehart Dukedom. He was followed by three other people, a man who always wore a tight-fitting suit, a woman who had a frown and another man who had a nostalgic look on his face.


    "Will the four of you be, okay?" Linius, who came down from one of the horses that followed the carriage asked.


    "Yes, we will, big brother." Cygnus turned around and gave the man a wide grin. After spending so much time with them, Linius already got used to being called a big brother by the master.


    "Alright, if you get tired, just go to this address." He handed them a piece of paper where the direction to the Ginehart manor in the capital was located. "We will be having dinner at the manor so make sure that you get home before it gets dark."


    Cygnus nodded at the major''s reminder before they went their ways. "Why don''t we go to different ces? I''m sure that Sir Astropos would want to visit some ces and Nina will be bored if you go with us. Let''s just meet at the manor before dinner."


    At the master''s suggestion, Nina and Astrophos did not think twice and agreed. Astrophos was going to visit some of the pubs in the capital to see if he could get any information about the tower and about Ezio. Nina on the other hand decided to just roam around and do some sightseeing by herself.


    "Where are you going master?" Mr. C asked after he sent the other two away. It was rare for the master to take the initiative to let the other two have their own way and time so he was curious why the master did that.


    "We are going to visit someone and see if he is faring well in this ce," Cygnus simply answered. He turned around and went to the direction of the highest tower in the capital which was the symbol of the Magic Tower.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "If you are going to visit Young Master Ezio, you should go to the academy," Mr. C pointed at the other side of the tower where the academy stood.


    "Don''t worry he can wait. I''ll go and see how my enemies are doing and to see how amazing this magic tower waspared to those I have seen before." Cygnusughed and waved his hand then he continued walking.


    The tower was indeed imposing, it was built inside a castle in the middle of the city. ording to what Astrophos told them, it was a structure divided into seven halls. They could see many mages and trainees outside of the tower. There were also other people who were queuing at one side of the open gates.


    "That must be the registration area for those who wanted to be an official mage." He narrowed his eyes and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.


    "Master, please don''t do anything rash. You must talk with the major first before you do whatever is in your mind." Mr. C who immediately noticed the glint on his eyes and that smile he always wore on his face when he was scheming something. Whenever he has that smile, his eyes will brighten and widen.


    Cygnus looked at his butler, "Tsk, why do I need to get his permission to do anything?" He was getting annoyed at how his movements were being controlled.


    "Master please understand, we just arrived at the capital so you can''t stir up travel on your first day here. Why not wait for tomorrow to do it?" He knew that he can''t stop the master from doing what he liked but it was still worth a try to dissuade him from whatever he was nning.


    Cygnus hummed then he looked at the domineering tower before he sighed. The butler was right, he had prepared a grand n for all of them so he can''t just make hasty decisions. "Alright. I just got excited for a little bit when I saw the tower and thought that it would be majestic to make the tower fall."


    The butler couldn''t help but look at his master before he shook his head. They left the Magic Tower and went ahead to the direction of the academy. Once they reached the gate to the academy, they immediately noticed that most of the students who were going to their ss were looking in their direction.


    "Hmmm, this ce is actually big," Cygnus looked at the structure that was surrounded by high walls. He already noticed the looks being thrown their way so he did what he was good at and waved at thedies who had their eyes on them.


    "Are we going inside to look for young master Ezio?" Mr. C also had his eyes on the gate of the academy and was only pulled away when he heard screams not far away from them.


    "No. I''m sure that we can''t enter even if we wanted to. This kind of institute doesn''t allow any outsiders to just casually stroll inside. We will be needing my big brother''s help for that." Cygnus was still smiling at thedies when they decided to approach them.


    "Are you going to visit the academy?" One of them asked with her face turned a little bit red. The otherdies with her had the same reaction which made the butler''s eyebrow raise.


    "No we are just touring and we just happened to pass by," the master smoothly answered. The lie came out naturally that it was like he was telling the truth. Thedies then suddenly giggled and the butler didn''t understand their reaction.


    "Oh, that''s a shame." After she said those words, the bell sounded loudly which made thedies bolt away from them. "Uhm, we will be going now. I hope we can see you again when you pass by this ce." The girl waved before she followed the others.


    "This ce is interesting. Ezio might be having the best time of his life!"

 Chapter 105 A Familiar Voice

    ?They walked to a somewhat hidden corner a few meters away from the academy''s gate. He looked at the closed gate and at the structure behind it. Slowly his eyes turned gold as the mana around him slowly moved.


    It was the kind of magic that no one can notice unless they are on par with the master''s level. His colorless mana slowly infiltrated the academy and spread throughout the area. His main goal was to check on Ezio and get an idea of the situation inside the institute.


    Mr. C looked at the master and noticed what he was doing so he instinctively walked and stood in front of him. Every time he did this it was the butler''s responsibility to be his defense. It had happened so many times in the past that he lost count of those people who wanted to kill his master and thought it was a good idea to attack him when he was in infiltration mode.


    During this time, Ezio was inside the ssroom with the seats around him empty. This became normal as nobody wanted to sit beside Ezio whom they concluded was someone lunatic. Cygnus couldn''t help but smirk at what he saw and even more so when he noticed that Ezio was not the least bothered by it.


    He seemed more rxed without anyone bothering him. Cygnus used his mana to look around the room and to eavesdrop at the conversation of the students who were talking and pointing in his direction.


    "I really feel ufortable whenever I''m in the same ss as him," one of the students whispered, then he stole a nce at Ezio before he quickly averted his gaze.


    Cygnus could feel the fearing from them and the wary nces they were throwing at Ezio. He hummed to himself before heughed which made the butler look at him. Mr. C wondered what the master saw and heard.


    "Me too. Ever since he attacked those boys and made Lady Vinya cry, I don''t want to be anywhere near him. I thought he was just someone timid from the first time I saw him but it turns out that he is dangerous. Just thinking about it already makes me shiver in fear." One of the girls shared her thoughts to which the others also nodded.


    Cygnusughed again because Ezio seemed to be having fun. Hearing those words from other people made Cygnus happy for some reason because the sweet and caring Ezio might have changed. He couldn''t wait to know what happened to the child during his stay at that dreary tower.


    Ezio ignored those students and only enjoyed the fact that he was now free from any disturbance. It''s been a month and he was d that he could practice his magic without interference from anyone. He was in deep thought when he suddenly heard a very familiar voice.


    ''Oh, it seems that you are having quite a lot of fun for the months that we haven''t seen each other.'' The voicemented inside his head which made Ezio''s eyes wide.


    His body shook and even his heart. He suddenly stood up and left the room without noticing the weird looks that were thrown his way. He quickly walked through the halls and towards the back of the building.


    ''Is that you master?'' He immediately asked after he got to a fairly quiet and secluded ce.


    ''Then who could it be other than me?'' Cygnus asked with sarcasm in his voice.


    ''It''s really you master,'' Ezio leaned on the wall as he covered his eyes with his arms.


    He didn''t know how to react at all. The bottled-up negative emotions in his heart were released all at once just because he heard the master''s voice. Relief washed over him at the fact that the master hasn''t forgotten about him.


    ''Are you crying?'' Cygnus chuckled when he sensed the other''s emotion and how the child was covering his face but the tears on his cheeks can''t hide anything.


    ''So, what? Is it wrong for me to cry?'' Ezio answered without removing his arms over his face.


    He did not know how the master even knew that he was crying but it must have been magic. But that doesn''t matter, what was more important to him right now was that he was finally able to talk with the master.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Tsk, I thought you''ve changed based on the reaction of your ssmates to you but I think I was wrong.'' Cygnus let him be but he did not forget to tease him for a little bit. ''I am supposed topliment you but here you are crying like a baby.''


    ''Some things changed but the fact that I missed those times in Moonvale will never change. I''m just really happy to hear your voice right now master.'' This was his genuine feeling and thoughts and he almost choked up while telling him those words.


    Cygnus on the other hand remained silent for a while before he spoke again. ''Since we are in the capital, we will be visiting you soon, so prepare yourself.''


    With thosest words, the strange presence in his mind disappeared but even so, he would hold on to those words. He calmed himself and just stood there for the remainder of the afternoon because he was not in the mood to attend any of his sses. The only thought running in his mind right that moment was that the master was in the capital.


    After touring the academy for a couple more minutes, Cygnus was quite satisfied. "We really need to visit the academy soon. The child was moved to tears when he heard my voice."


    Mr. C left his position and went to stand beside the master. "Did you talk with him?"


    "Yes, for a little bit. I''m sure that Astrophos will have information after hees back. Let''s wait for him at the manor." Cygnus turned around and walked away. Mr. C lingered for a moment before he followed the master.


    "How is the young master?" The butler asked as they walked on the sidewalk.


    Cygnus walked with both of his hands behind his back. The streets were busy and every shop they passed by did notck any customers. It was indeed a busy ce just as Linius described, even more so than the town of Alfonso which was considered to be a trading capital.


    Cygnus wore a smile as he watched the people pass by, "He is doing fine. But I don''t think he can be called promising. He still needed to train more and why do you always call him a young master?"


    Mr. C looked confused at the question, "Because he is the young master and he inherited that magic. You are also fond of him so I will call him young master and you are not particrly angry about it."


    Cygnus thought about it for a second and realized that the butler has a point. He doesn''t hate it and he doesn''t mind it. "Hmmm, that''s odd don''t you think?"


    "That''s not odd master, it is normal." The butler stated as a matter of fact. It happened in the past so it can happen again. He just hoped that what happened in the past won''t happen again.


    Cygnus was silent. He neither agreed nor denied the butler''s statement. It was no use to think about it. He''d rather go with the flow and see how things would work out.


    After they walked for a while, they returned to the manor. Nina and Astrophos were already there and waiting for them.


    The Ginehart manor was a bit smaller than the one in the dukedom but it still exuded nobility and status. The decoration and structure were no different from the original one. Simple but the materials used were expensive.


    They were seated in the living area and were served with refreshments as they waited for dinner to be served. Cygnus sat on one of the empty couches and looked through the assortment of pastries on the table.


    After he chose a simple chocte cake, he looked at the mage across him. "So, did you find out anything?" He asked before he took a bite of the cake.

 Chapter 106 That Night

    ?Astrophos nodded. He just returned to the capital but he immediately went to the usual ces where he could learn any information about the capital. Some people recognized him and wondered why he did not go straight to the magic tower since their information would be more urate.


    He smiled and shrugged his shoulders then he gave them some kind of excuse which the people bought. After going around, he gathered any relevant information that they could use while they stayed at Lumier.


    "Archmage Sigma was right. The importance that the tower gives Ezio is of top priority to the point that Archmage Ragus went to the academy to personally appease the parents of the students that were injured by Ezio a month ago." Astrophos started which caught the attention of Nina and Mr. C who didn''t expect to hear those words from him.


    "Ezio, injuring other people? What are the odds that the child can do that," Ninamented. She remembered Ezio to be a kind and warm boy that she even came to the point when she questioned why he was following the master.


    "Although the general public doesn''t know about it, several noble families are still talking about it till this day. Even though the archmage already talked with the people involved, they still remained restless and couldn''t stop their mouths." Astrophos''s tone became annoyed with a frown on his face.


    "That''s how the ego of the nobility works. They may appear amiable on the outside but on the inside they are boiling with rage. They are prideful creatures." This time it was Mr. C who spoke. Almost all nobility from all the worlds they had been were like that so it was no wonder that those who were in this world were also the same.


    "Following that incident, Ezio built a rather rming identity inside the academy. He was called a demon because of his unusual magic. Even the professors of the academy stayed wary of him which also led to his istion. Add to that the fact that he made the only daughter of General Ishmael Laudica cry." Thest statement made the room silent as Nina looked at the mage with wide eyes.


    She couldn''t believe that Ezio could do such a thing when he was such a gentleman. Mr. C only raised an eyebrow then his gaze went to the master who was quietly sipping his drink and eating his cake.


    "So that Lady Vinya was a general''s daughter," was his onlyment. He had a smile as he thought of the words from those ssmates of Ezio.


    "You already know about it?" Astrophos looked at the casual man. He didn''t dare to guess what the other was thinking so he should ask.


    "Just that name and the fact that he made thedy cry." He shrugged his shoulders. It was because he used his magic sense to know those things but what Astrophos learned were more detailed and enjoyable to hear.


    "What are we going to do now? If we let Ezio stay in that ce, he mightpletely change." Astrophos asked as he worried like he was the parent of the child. Although it was not really his responsibility, he still brought it to himself to take care of Ezio as he promised to Jagan.


    "Grand mage Astrophos, your dignity is being ruined because of how you are worrying. Besides change isn''t necessarily bad and this might be good for Ezio and I disagree with your words that Ezio''s change is rming." Cygnus stared at the mage who could only grit his teeth. "You can''t cuddle him all his life."


    Those words ended the conversation as the mage did not say any words of retaliation. The living area was plunged into an ufortable silence but nobody really cared because it already happened so many times. After that, they were called for dinner which they enjoyed except for Astrophos who was still frowning.


    Cygnus followed Linius to his study after they ate and told him that he needed help so that he could visit the academy. It was an unusual request and what was rarer was the fact the master was asking him for help.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why do you want to visit the magic academy?" Linius was a bit surprised at the man''s sudden request.


    "You see, the real reason we are on a journey to the capital is because those mages stole someone who is under my care and thest I heard is that he is enrolled at the magic academy." Cygnus answered with his eyes roaming around the room. He was amused to see that they-out of the room was the same with the major''s study at the Ginehart Manor.


    "And you are going to visit him?" The major wanted to make sure because if the magic tower was involved then it would be difficult for them to get permission to enter the academy.


    "Yes, is that difficult?" Cygnus stopped looking around and faced the man who was sitting behind his desk.


    "I believe so. If the tower is involved, I''m afraid that it would be difficult for us to get permission for a visit because we need to inform both the tower and the academy. If the tower refuses to give us permission, then the academy will most likely decline our request," Linius exined.


    It was possible for him to use only his identity to get them a pass but to visit a person that the tower values was moreplicated. Writing letters to the magic tower would only mean that they needed to wait for days before they could even receive a reply from them.


    "Are there no other ways?" Cgynus frowned. If not because of their n, he wouldn''t need the major''s help with this kind of thing. Also, he even promised that he wouldn''t cause anymotion not until the n was ready to fully operate.


    Linius thought for a while before he suddenly remembered that he had a distant cousin that was also studying at the magic academy. "Why don''t we do this? Since I have a cousin in the academy, I will write a letter that I wanted to visit and check-up on him. You can use that opportunity to talk to Ezio."


    "Alright, I''ll be counting on you then major." Cygnus gave the man a nod then he bid the other goodbye.


    Linius, who was left behind, started to draft the letter so that he could send it early the next morning. While writing the letter, he couldn''t help but think about the words that the master had spoken. It was the first time that he saw him almost worrying about a person although he wasn''t sure if that was really ''worry'' based on his actions.


    He became curious to know who this Ezio was so that he could make the master leave Moonvale and journey to the capital when it was clear that the master doesn''t really care about others. The longer he thought about it the more curious he became.


    The next morning, Linius sent one of his men to deliver the letter to the headmaster of the academy. Aurellius read the missive and was a bit skeptical but he couldn''t just dismiss the major. He thought about it for a while before he approved.


    There was nothing wrong with allowing the major since he was only meeting with his cousin. He wrote a brief reply and handed it back to the soldier who delivered the message. After that, he instructed his secretary to inform the major''s cousin that he will be visitingter that day.


    Since the major and his younger brother were visiting the academy, they needed to wee them appropriately. He made the necessary preparations and instructed the academy''s workers to prepare one of the conference rooms where the major would be weed and where he would be meeting his cousin.

 Chapter 107 Impending Visit

    ?Ezio and the other students noticed that the staff of the academy suddenly became busy. They were busy preparing one of the halls which made the students curious. Just as they were about to ask, one of the passersby told them that an important visitor will being that afternoon so they needed to prepare.


    The students started to talk amongst themselves and tried to guess who will being. The only people that the academy treat with care like this were those from the nobility but they couldn''t think of anyone who would visit the academy.


    Ezio watched from a distance as the staff and the students mor to fix the room and to know who would visit. He remembered the master''s words but he immediately shook his head. It was impossible because as far as he knew, the master was not part of any noble houses in the kingdom.


    Since he had nothing to do with what was happening, he left to practice once again. He needed to calm himself once the masteres to visit him. He was excited and expectant because there was a chance that the master would help him escape from the tower and that academy.


    While practicing his magic, he could feel several pairs of eyes that were looking at him. He gritted his teeth and endured for a while before he finally lost his cool and interrupted his own magic. Then he disappeared from where he was standing and appeared behind one of the people watching him.


    "It''s really annoying when all of my actions are being watched," he whispered and before the man could react, he was already holding the other''s arm and pressed it behind his back before pushing him, face first, on the ground.


    The man grunted as his body hit the stone ground and the pain in his arm made him whimper. Ezio didn''t let him go even though the man was clearly in pain, instead he tightened his grip and pushed down the arm that he was restraining.


    The man tried to topple Ezio who was pinning him down and tried to use his free arm but the man was not budging. Ezio pulled the man up then mmed him again on the ground. A shout of pain came from the man which alerted the others.


    They appeared from where they were hiding and went to try and stop Ezio from further hurting the man. "Please stop master Ezio or you will kill the man." One of them went to grab Ezio''s shoulder but he was thrown back by a force that was covering Ezio.


    "If you don''t want to get hurt, next time stay away from me and don''t let me ever catch you lurking in the shadows and watching my every move." He let go of the man and stood up while patting the dirt that got to his clothes. "Don''t ever show your shadows here again." He warned before he left.


    He knew that even though he warned them they wouldn''t leave him alone because of those old men in the tower. He couldn''t wait for the master toe and visit him then he would ask the master to take him away.


    The men who were sent to watch Ezio looked at his disappearing back and sighed. The captain looked at the man who was holding his dislocated shoulder and shook his head. He thought that the job that was given to them would be easy but it was way more difficult than the other jobs they have done.


    They were tasked to watch the child and report back to the tower everything he did but it was difficult for them to follow him wherever he went because sometimes he would suddenly disappear and reappear in a different location. They were doing their best but the child was wary of them. Now he was worrying about what they should report back.


    Linius received a response from the headmaster and Cygnus was satisfied with it. Although he hated protocols and formalities, he was still pleased that the response immediately came.


    "Now that we have confirmation, we must prepare. You should bring some gifts with you for that cousin and for those who manage that ce." Cygnus pped his hands and he looked excited while directing those words towards Linius.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Don''t worry, all of those are already prepared. Are you really that pleased to be able to see Ezio?" Linius couldn''t help but ask. Aside from the times where he became excited, well that is when he was wreaking havoc and killing, this was the only time that he had that expression regarding a person.


    "Well, of course because I just received news from Ari that he managed to beat up one of those  so-called elite spies from the tower. What a pity that I am not there to witness the spectacle." Heughed as he started to pace inside the room.


    The others remained silent and did notment on the master''s words. Even Astrophos was not refuting his words. Cygnus appreciated the silence as he pondered on some other matters they would need.


    "Who is Ari?" the major suddenly asked because it was the first time that he would be hearing that name.


    Cygnus stopped pacing and looked at the major, "Are you sure that you are ready to meet her?" There was again a glint in his eyes that let them know if the master was going to do something crazy once again.


    Linius immediately shook his head. "No never mind. Thest time I heard those words I almost died because I got provoked by you." The major did not want to remember the past and just continued with the present.


    "You''re really no fun major." Cygnus sat on the window sill then leaned on the side. "You''ll meet Ari soon so you don''t have to ask."


    While looking at the man, Linius had this sudden thought that the master seemed to have a noble birth. His actions, his demeanor and even the way he spoke all indicate that he might be a noble too.


    "Don''t go too far and guess who I am major or you''ll regret it for the rest of your life." Cygnus''s expression turned cold when the major''s thoughts came across him. "Now, why don''t we focus on the visit that we will be doing this afternoon?" He slightly tilted his head to the side then gave them a seemingly warm smile.


    Sensing that the master''s mood was not that good, Mr. C bowed and left the room followed by Nina and Astrophos. Linius gave him onest look before he left. When they were all gone, a man emerged from the dark once again and looked towards the closed door.


    "I don''t really understand why you are ying with those humans." The man sat on the vacant chair and spread both of his arms on the seats back. He was bored inside the dimension so he decided toe out and y.


    "It''s been my hobby and can you me me? They are fun to y with." Cygnus chuckled at the dragon''s words. He was older than him by a few hundred years and yet he was still acting like a child.


    "Don''t look at me like that, I already know what you are thinking, that I am childish but who cares, now that you gave me permission to leave that dimension then I believe that you have a greater n for this ce." The dragon who took on his human form shared his thoughts. He had been traveling with them ever since he appeared at the town of Alfonso.


    "Yes, and in order to do that, I''ll be needing your help but don''t worry because I have prepared an army just for you. And when that timees, I want you to lead them."

 Chapter 108 The Visit

    ?After a quick lunch, Cygnus and Linius prepared to go to the academy together with Mr. C. For this visit, since it was an official affair, they rode the Ginehart family''s carriage bearing the family''s crest. The carriage drew attention as it passed through the streets and even more so when it stopped in front of the academy.


    The guards on duty opened the gate and let the carriage enter. The students were shocked to see that one of the four great dukedoms will be visiting the academy. They were excited and stood on the side to see who woulde out of the carriage.


    Some of them were already giggling and whispering to themselves. The excitement in the air couldn''t be hidden but before they could even see who the visitors were, the academy guards escorted them to their ssrooms. But even so, the anticipation did not die down.


    After the ce was cleared, Linius and Cygnus were finally able to leave the carriage. They were ushered to the conference hall where Headmaster Aurellius was waiting for them. He weed them and ushered them to the seats that were prepared for them.


    "It''s good to see that you are doing well, headmaster." Liniusplimented the middle-aged man who had graying hair but despite that he still remained energetic.


    The headmasterughed and patted the major''s arms, "Thank you. I must say that you, major, are doing better than me. Have you married yet?"


    They heard aughter from behind Linius so Cygnus stepped forward and smirked at the major''s direction. "Unfortunately, my brother doesn''t have any ns to get married yet. Currently he loves his work more than anything."


    Headmaster Aurellius looked at the energetic young man who had the characteristics of Ginehart. ck hair and sparkling eyes that showed his youth which he often saw when the duke was still young.


    "You must be the rumored youngest son of Duke Ulysses," the headmaster spoke. He walked towards Cygnus and looked at him from head to toe. "Well, no matter how the rumors circte around, I can still say that you are indeed a Ginehart."


    "Thank you. You can just call me Rigel, Headmaster Aurellius." Cygnus slightly bowed his head before he smiled and shook the older man''s hand.


    Aurellius couldn''t help but like the young man. "Then you can just call me uncle since I am a friend of your father and you are not as stiff as your older brother here." He gave the major a look but the major just brushed it off.


    "Alright, I''ll call you uncle then." His grin widened as he proceeded to act like a good nephew and asked the headmaster questions as he listened to the answers earnestly.


    Time passed when they finally heard a knock and one of the guards asking for permission to enter. The headmaster gave his permission so the door was opened and the secretary ushered someone inside. Cygnus guessed that this must be the cousin that the major wanted to visit.


    The child''s eyes brightened when he saw who came to visit him. "Big Brother Linius!" He shouted then he ran towards the man who received the hug and even patted the child''s back. "I missed you!" The child continued to fawn over the major.


    "Isn''t it rude to hug and fawn over someone else''s older brother when the real younger brother is here," Cygnus''s expression turned serious as they looked at them. He even gave the child a re to scare him off but the child did not budge and even red at him too.


    "So what, he is also my older brother and besides I have been close with him ever since I was a child." The cousin retaliated because he was not happy to see that someone else came with Linius to visit him.


    "What a brat, so are you saying that I am not close to my older brother?" Cygnusughed and shook his head. "How childish."


    Linius couldn''t believe that the master would act childish in that situation. "Rigel, stop acting like that." He warned which earned him a sigh from the master.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Alright, I won''t argue with a child any longer. Can we call him over now?" The teasing tone in his voice disappeared as he was back to business mode.


    Linius looked at the headmaster then at Cygnus. Aurellius noticed what was happening so he needed to ask. There must be something else why they decided to visit the academy. He looked at the brothers before he decided to ask Rigel.


    "What is it?" Aurellius looked at Rigel who was sitting beside him. Theughter and rxed moment they had a while ago turned serious the moment that he asked that question.


    "I want to meet Ezio Constantine." This request caught the headmaster off guard and even the cousin was shocked to hear that name.


    "Are you out of your mind? Why do you even want to meet that lunatic?" He moved away and went to stand in front of Cygnus. He gave the man a re, "Coming and requesting such a ridiculous thing. Do you want to tarnish our family''s name by associating yourself with thatmoner?"


    Cygnus did not understand why this person was so angry when all he said was that he wanted to meet Ezio. There was nothing wrong with that and he really didn''t like how this child was speaking. Hecked manners and the bearing of a noble. He looked at Linius and raised an eyebrow.


    "William, watch your words. Is that what you have learned inside the academy? To discriminate and talk bad about your fellow students?" Linius lost his smile and now he was all business. It was uneptable for a member of Ginehart to be biased.


    "Brother!" William looked back and saw that Linius was not joking. "I''m sorry brother, it''s because what I said was the truth. He is a dangerous person and besides he''s known for his bad personality because he had injured several students."


    "Really? But what I heard seemed to be not the case. Yes, he injured students but that was only one time and yet you are talking like he has injured other students recently." Cygnus stood up and faced William who was now looking at him.


    "Are you telling me that I am lying? I''m the one studying here while you only heard rumors." He still insisted and this time the headmaster stood up to intervene.


    "William, Ezio injured some students but that was one time already and the academy is so wide that what you heard must be rumors. Many people don''t like him and they must have spread that rumor to spread animosity against Ezio." Aurellius ced both of his hands on their shoulders to stop them from fighting. "I''d appreciate it if you can forget about that rumor."


    "What?" William looked confused. He didn''t expect that the headmaster would side with the major''s younger brother. "But he still hurt people, that should have expelled him from the academy already and yet he is still here."


    Cygnus shook his head in disappointment. He stepped back and sat on the chair once again. "You should enlighten our dear cousin here. It seems that he wouldn''t even listen to the headmaster''s words."


    Linius also stepped towards William, "I''m sure that it is also not a secret that behind Ezio is the magic tower. Do you want to go against the magic tower and destroy our family by the words you are saying? Going against the tower is not beneficial."


    William frowned then he gave the master a re before he too backed off and stood on the side. This time Aurellius looked at the major and urged him to exin what was going on.


    "You see headmaster, my younger brother here knows Ezio and wants to check up on him because he have been worried ever since he lost contact with him. When he heard the news that he is in the academy, he pestered me to visit." Linius exined and the headmaster could already understand the rest.


    They used visiting Willian as an excuse so that they could enter the academy to see Ezio because they didn''t want to write to the academy about the visit. "Even though you wanted to see him, it will still be difficult because there are people watching Ezio''s every move."

 Chapter 109 Reunited

    ?Linius looked at Cygnus''s direction and shook his head. If the magic tower assigned people to watch and report his every move, then they can''t risk it. The tower would know and would use this as an excuse to use Ginehart. It was known in the kingdom that even though the tower and Ginehart had no alliance of sorts their rtionship was also not good.


    For some reason, Ulysses did not want to associate himself with the mages from the tower but was rather epting of those who hadn''t registered yet. He can also close an eye while dealing with those who were close with the ckwell dukedom but personally he hated them. Mages from the tower tried crossing that line and, in the end, they were injured by the duke thus the tower did not try to make contact with the Ginehart dukedom ever again.


    "You don''t have to worry because those pesky little rats have left him alone. I don''t know how long they will be gone but this is the right time to call him now." Cygnus was not the least bit intimidated. Whether the tower knew that Ezio had a visitor or not, it really didn''t matter to him.


    "Then, I would bother the headmaster for this matter." Linius looked at the headmaster and gave him a bow for the favor.


    "How can you be so sure that Ezio is not being watched now?" He asked first because he knew that it was impossible for those people to leave Ezio alone. And why was the major''s brother so sure that those people left?


    "Headmaster, although I want to tell you, I am afraid that it won''t be of any good for you," Linius answered. "Can you do us this favor and we will make sure that the tower won''t know that you are involved."


    Aurellius stayed silent for a while. By how they have gone through this length just to meet Ezio, what they were saying must be true. And he was also curious if they really knew each other. "Alright." He called his secretary and told him to call Ezio.


    They waited for a little while before the secretary finally came back with a grumpy Ezio but when he saw the people who were waiting for him, his entire demeanor suddenly changed. He thought that he was called again because of some nonsense rumor that was going around the campus.


    "You really came," he eximed when he saw Cygnus who was sitting in the room. He slowly stepped forward and stood in front of him.


    "I always do what I promise," the master smiled. He could already see that the child was going to be an emotional mess. He stood up to let Ezio do whatever he wanted just this time.


    When he saw that Cygnus stood up as if waiting for him to make a move, Ezio couldn''t help it any longer as he took the initiative and hugged the man. When his uncle died, the only adult person he could rely on was the master. He was cold and uncaring most of the time but it was much better than those people at the magic tower.


    They told him that he was an important person for the tower and yet they still did what they did at least even though the master was cruel, he was never cruel to him. He really missed them so much. After that hug, he looked around and saw that the butler was also there. He walked up to him and gave him a hug too.


    "I''m d to see you again Mr. C," he mumbled, then he felt the butler''s hand patting his head. It was familiar andforting.


    "I am also d to see you, young master and you''ve grown a little bit taller than thest time I saw you." The butler smiled because despite what they heard from Astrophos and the major''s cousin, it seemed that Ezio was still the same deep down.


    "Yes, and you are still as mechanical as ever but I still like it." Ezio ended the hug and looked at the butler with his usual smile.


    The other three people who didn''t know the rtionship between Ezio and the others were looking at them in surprise. They didn''t expect the supposed trouble maker Ezio to be smiling and looking innocent while interacting with Cygnus and the butler.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "How is your stay in the academy?" Cygnus asked after that dramatic meeting. He walked towards the child and looked him over once more.


    "Good I guess because no one is bothering me," he simply answered because it was how he felt. "I''m just annoyed by how ridiculous the rumors about me are but with that I am able to live a quiet life here."


    "That was definitely an honest answer but I''ve heard that you''ve caused quite amotion that one of the archmages from the tower personally came to settle the matter," Cygnus added with his mischievous grin. He wanted to know why Ezio would go that far and even injure students which was way out of character for him.


    "Well, those people deserve it. If they want to get ady''s attention why should they pour out their frustration on me just because the woman they like is following me around." He had a frown on his face that everyone in the room could tell that he was really mad during that incident. "I just returned the attack they sent my way. I didn''t even do anything to reduce or increase the power of the attack and yet they were taken down that easily."


    The exnation made Cygnusugh but the other''s frown. "Oh, that was good. It''s just a bit disappointing that none of them died."


    Hearing those words, Linius immediately coughed to get the master''s attention. Cygnus heard the major so he turned around and realized that they were not the only people inside the room. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to talking with Ezio.


    "They did not die but I''m already satisfied that they learned their lesson and did note back to bother me." Ezio was a bit bothered by the master''s words just like before but he was notshing out nor telling Cygnus that he was wrong.


    "Still soft hearted, I see but at least you''ve improved and you are not easy to bully now. That''s a good improvement." This was enough for Cygnus. The child should not hesitate to fight against his enemy. He will need that in the future but he still has a long way to go.


    "Why don''t you introduce me to the child, Rigel?" Linius interjected to stop the conversation because he was afraid that if he didn''t intervene, they would be hearing more of those disturbing lines.


    Cygnus hummed before he returned his gaze on the major. Ezio stood confused because of those foreign words he was hearing. He looked at the major and frowned at him.


    "Ah yes I almost forgot, Ezio this is Major Linius Ginehart, my older brother." He pointed at the man who interrupted them. Ezio was frozen on the spot at the introduction.


    ''Older brother? How can the master have an older brother and why did that man call him Rigel.'' These thoughts popped in his mind as he looked at Mr. C for help because he was confused right now.


    "Young master Rigel is the major''s younger brother and has been living in the Ginehart Dukedom. It is the young master''s first time in the capital so when we heard that you are enrolled in the academy, we came to visit you. It must have been difficult for you to believe this because the young master lied for a long time. I hope that you do not resent him because of this." Mr. C bowed his head and waited for Ezio to speak.


    Although he didn''t know what was happening, he could slightly understand the situation. Later, he will ask the master for an exnation. "Is that so? Why did you lie to me then? Because you are of nobility?"

 Chapter 110 Taken Aback

    ?Cygnus was impressed that Ezio was able to follow what was happening and his reaction was genuine as it could be, so the people who do not know about them won''t notice about this little charade they were ying.


    "That''s because I was afraid that you won''t want to talk to me if you know that I''m from a family of a certain status." Cygnus answered, which made Ezio silent.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter now what''s important is that I know now that you are someone of status. I won''t treat you any differently and as for your brother¡­" he looked towards Linius who was smiling in his direction then he looked at Cygnus once again.


    The master knew that he was still unsure so he gave the child a nod. After he gave his approval, Ezio nodded at the major but didn''t do anything more. He stuck to Cygnus and was only focused on him. From time to time, he would talk to the butler and ignore everybody else.


    "He seemed really close to the both of you," Linius whispered when the child''s attention was on the butler.


    It was not foreign for him to feel ignored but to even get permission from the master before he acknowledged the presence of the others only showed that he trusted Cygnus. He watched as the child talked with a smile on his face, very different from how he looked when he first entered the room.


    "As it should be," was his only answer.


    The major was rendered speechless because of how confident he sounded. He was looking smug for no reason. The major felt that if he continued to talk about Ezio, the master would be prouder. In any case, he had more time to ask about the child once they returned to the manor.


    "He must have been a happy child before he entered the tower," the headmaster, who was sitting with them,mented. He was now calmly sipping his tea as the shock from what he saw earlier slowly faded.


    "Yes and he would never think of hurting someone. He will feel anger but not to the point that he would attack someone," Cygnus answered. He was also calmly sipping tea because right now Ezio was not focused on him.


    "If you really know Ezio, why didn''t you want the tower to know that you are visiting him?" This time Aurellius was looking at them with deep eyes, as if observing them and wanting to know if they were hiding a secret from him.


    "Because it might create a misunderstanding. The tower might get the impression that we want to take their most promising disciple." Cygnus chuckled after saying those words.


    It was the truth so there was no need to hide it. Although it was the truth, he really didn''t mind creating a misunderstanding between him and the tower. Instead, he would rather wee it.


    The headmaster looked at him in silence for a second before he returned to his tea. He did not speak after that as the room fell into silence except for the conversation of the butler and Ezio.


    After an hour, the headmaster finally stood up. "It''s about time, you can visit again some other time."


    Ezio frowned, then he looked at the master. He was reluctant to part with them. He did not want to stay in that ce either.


    "Can you give us privacy?" Cygnus looked at all the people in the room. Linius nodded and so did the headmaster, so they all left leaving only the master and Ezio in the room.


    "Are you really going to leave? Are you leaving me here?" He asked with a shaky voice. He clenched his fists and he stood there all stiff.


    "Yes but you don''t have to worry because we will get you out from the clutches of the tower. You just have to be more patient." Cygnus answered. His voice did not waver and Ezio saw the glint in his eyes which assured him that he will do what he has promised.


    Ezio took several deep breaths and closed his eyes so that he could calm his mind and body. Cygnus waited for him and when he was finally calm, Ezio slowly nodded his head.


    "I''ll be waiting for you then," he said with a steady voice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus grinned and patted the child in the back. "I thought you are going to throw a tantrum."


    "No, I''m just curious, master, how did you be part of the Ginehart Dukedom?" Ezio also took that chance to ask the question he had been meaning to ask,ever since that short charade.


    "Oh that, I made a deal with Major Linius. It is also the reason why we can easily enter the capital without any hassle," Cygnus simply answered. It was better to inform the child of the situation so that they won''t get caught. "And oh, please do not forget the story that the butler told you."


    Ezio nodded his head. There''s no way that he would forget it. Now that the master is in the capital he was more confident that everything would be alright.


    Linius and his entourage left the academy. Although he was disappointed, William was still happy to see the major. He looked at the other person who watched them leave and furrowed his brows.


    "I didn''t expect you to act like a child in there," hemented after they all left and only the two of them remained.


    "So, do you have a problem with that?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at the major''s cousin.


    "Yes! Because you are actually pretending to be this dangerous and cold guy that nobody can approach," the frown in William''s face deepened.


    He couldn''t believe how fast the other changed the moment that his cousin left. William had not experienced something like this for his entire life but now it opened his eyes to other possibilities.


    "I''m not pretending. I act like that because I don''t want anyone approaching me because I don''t like it." Ezio did not even blink while saying those words. He was straight forward that William was taken aback.


    "Well, your way is effective but now that I know how you are in private, I think I can be friends with you. Your attitude seemed to be cold but oh well, who cares and besides you are close to that other cousin of mine." He crossed his hands on his chest and uncharacteristically grinned towards Ezio''s direction.


    Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, it was no use for him to hate the guy without any proper reason. He was just caught in the flow and now he was enlightened.


    "Suit yourself but don''t me me when you can''t make me your friend." Ezio turned around and walked away. William was left to watch his back but he didn''t make any move because he was busy plotting a n in his mind. He was sure that this n would blow Ezio''s mind.


    Inside the carriage, Linius was tantly staring at the master. They left the manor without him knowing what was happening and now he needed some exnations.


    "Why do you keep on staring at me? Is there something you want to know?" Cygnus retracted his gaze from the outside of the carriage and looked at the major.


    "Don''t y dumb, you know what I want to know. If you n on taking away that child then I want to know what your rtionship is with him." Linius was serious and he had an inkling that this must be the reason why the master was going through such lengths to go against the tower.


    "You really want to know? Are you sure you want to know the truth?" Cygnus frowned and looked at the man with a serious face.


    Linius could feel that he was being teased but the look in the master''s eyes felt like he was not joking. He didn''t know but he also didn''t care.


    "Yes, in any case I still want to know."

 Chapter 111 The Start

    ?Since the major wanted to know, he should indulge his curiosity. So, he rxed on his seat and stared at the curious person in front of him.


    "To start, Ezio is Grand Mage Jagan''s nephew. We met the both of them in Moonvale and when the Grand Mahe died, he entrusted Ezio under my care which I reluctantly epted." Cygnus wore a smile on his face as he remembered those past events.


    "Why did you take him under your wing? From the impression I got from you, you are not the kind of person who will take care of someone, even if you do it reluctantly." He gave the man the benefit of the doubt because the case of Grand Mage Jagan in the past was like a hot potato.


    People debated whether the grand mage betrayed the tower or he hasmitted a grave sin, that''s why he suddenly left the tower and disappeared. Nobody knew though because the tower kept quiet about it and to think that he has a nephew, this was new.


    "That''s because he can do what none of you can do. He can clearly pronounce and say my name without dying or falling over or vomiting blood. Isn''t that intriguing?" Cygnusughed.


    Linius silently watched as the man''s shoulder shook. The information was shocking but not amusing. Instead, the major could tell that something was going on.


    "Then why is he with the tower right now when you are supposed to be watching over him?" Linius had a frown on his face because he could already tell that the man''s answer would surely make him speechless again.


    "Good question, that''s because mages from the tower came to steal him away. It is also the reason why the grand mage died. He died protecting his nephew." Cygnus suddenly stoppedughing as he said those words. "Because they want something from Ezio."


    The frown on the major''s face deepened with his brows scrunching inward. "Then why did you let them take him?"


    The smile on the man''s face return but it was subtle like he was about to tell something shocking. "Because I want him to experience the cruelty of the tower and because I want him to hate the tower even more that way his magic that they, oh desire will be their destruction."


    The dark aura that came with those words slowly overwhelmed Linius and when it expanded, it destroyed the carriage. Luckily they were already within the vicinity of the manor before it happened.


    The horses were startled that they all ran away leaving wreckage behind. The coachman was left in a state of surprise because of what happened. Mr. C looked at him with sympathy before patting him on the back.


    Mr. C left his seat and went to check on the two passengers of the carriage. After opening the door, the two were still on their seats and nothing changed.


    "Do you have to go that far? What if other mages felt that energy?" Linius scolded as he alighted from the damaged carriage. "Don''t do that again."


    "I apologize because I wasn''t able to hold back. Whenever I remember that magic tower, I just lose control. You see, I have so many bad memories with mages and magic towers that I have this urge to just destroy them whenever I see them. But, you see, major, I developed this habit of torturing them first before I thoroughly destroy them." Perhaps this was already the longest line Cygnus has ever said ever since they met and every word brought chills to him.


    "Master, did you do something mischievous again?" Mr. C who stood in a distance from them couldn''t help but ask.


    He thought that the master was finally behaving and was going with the n but here he was stirring trouble again. He was truly unpredictable.


    "You already know me so why are you still asking?" Cygnus turned around and walked the rest of the way back to the manor.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Linius looked at Mr. C with raised eyebrows, "What''s happening?"


    "You''ll be able to hear some news tomorrow, major. So, if I were you, you should prepare yourself," was the only warning the butler said before everything went wild that night.


    At the manor, while having dinner, Cygnus asked the butler, "Oh, I remember, how about that hero who yed the dragon, where is he now?"


    Mr. C took the initiative to answer, "He is currently in the capital right now together with that town''s mayor. He is already recognized as a prominent hero even though the hero rankings aren''t out yet."


    "So they''re having the time of their lives, how easy of them," Cygnus poked his food with his spoon while his head rested on his palm.


    "Don''t y with your food. I don''t mind you scheming during dinner but you can''t y with the food," Linius reprimanded. He was like a parent disciplining his son because the master was being childish again.


    Cygnus sighed as he straightened and ate his food seriously. "You are such a nagger."


    Linius did not say anything back for a while before he spoke again. "I''ll be meeting with Lieutenant Lisbon tomorrow outside the capital. He is here to return to his post and report on the status of Alfonso after that I will be visiting General Cazal to report. You will be on your own tomorrow, so whatever you do be careful that you won''t implicate Ginehart, for now."


    Cygnus listened, "You seem to be very busy," hemented.


    "Yes, there is so much to do, and we also need to visit the pce one of these days too but for now, Iet us do the urgent things first." Linius nodded as he finished his food.


    They were only at the capital for two days and so many things were already happening. There''s no rest for them, especially with the master with him.


    The next day a shocking news broke through the capital. The magic tower, a symbol of power, was attacked and some of their mages were seriously injured. The news that no magic was able to heal them terrified the people.


    Most of the mages that fell under the ''curse'', as they have started to call it, were the novices in the hall of songs together with the instructors who were guiding them. The attack struck at night when they were deep in their sleep.


    No screams, no struggle. They were only discovered on their beds, peacefully sleeping but they were already infected. The elders immediately closed the tower and did not let any mages in or out to prevent the ''curse'' from spreading.


    The tower was in a state of alert as the elders tried to find a cure using every kind of magic they knew. The fear that the ''curse'' might spread slowly ebbed because the mages who were in close contact with the ''curse'' were not infected.


    This information gave the elders more time to find some magic that can destroy the ''curse''. Cygnus watched all of this happening from thefort of his room. He had Ari stay in the magic tower and show him what was happening there.


    "These old geezers surely are hardworking," hemented as they tried every healing magic and healing magicbination they know. "That''s only the start though." This statement was followed by aloudugh that made Mr. C shook his head.

 Chapter 112 Creating Mess

    ?The incident at the Hall of mes remained in cirction amidst the masses and it was blown way out of proportion. Many spections started to circte and it scared many people.


    Some became wary of the tower and the long line of people who wanted to be part of the organization dwindled. Though the tower has enough requests for quests, it would notst for even a week.


    Although the elders finally stopped the ''curse'' by using a light magic to dispel it, the fear in people''s hearts wasn''t quelled. They still feared the tower and weren''t willing to get near it.


    The elders frowned at what was happening so they devised a n to show the people that the tower was safe. They couldn''t let this one incident tarnish the name of the tower. But before they could clear the misunderstanding, another incident happened.


    Five nights after the first incident something happened once again. A dark mist crept inside the second hall of the tower. This was the Hall of mes where the newly pledge mages enter. This was also the ce where talented magic users were directly ced.


    The ck mist slowly covered every surface of the hall''s floor, wall and ceiling. It did not leave anything uncovered. All the newly promoted mages slept like logs. None of them woke up even though the mist brought with it a cold air that made the curtains sway and the candles lose their light.


    Even the mages who were in-charge of overseeing them were fast asleep. One by one, the lights in the second hall died and made the ce eerie. The mages guarding outside looked up and saw that the second hall was strangely silent.


    At first they thought that it was natural because the mages in that hall were asleep, the silence was even associated with what happened to the first hall. The guards returned to their duties without paying mind to what was actually happening.


    Not long after they turned their eyes away, the Hall of mes became alive with blue mesing out from the windows of room. Screams erupted from the inside as some of them started to burn. It was instant chaos as the mages who stood on guard immediately used water magic to quench the fire.


    But to their dismay, the fire wasn''t stopped as it continued to burn everything inside. The mages became frantic, luckily some of theirrades inside the hall were quick enough to protect themselves from the fire.


    They also used this fact to save the others that were also stranded inside the hall. Upon realizing that a protective barrier can make them enter, the guards  immediately used that chance to pull out as many new mages as they can.


    Themotion once again woke up the nearby houses and buildings. They watched in horror as the blue engulfed a part of the tower. Some of them also wondered why it was not spreading to the other floors.


    Without hesitation, one of the archmage''s present that night used a barrier around the second floor. He then slowly condensed that barrier to the smallest size he could and trapped the mysterious blue fire inside.


    When it was enough to fit the palm, he stared at it with fascination. His mind that was full of research, became curious to the fire in his hand. When no one was looking, he crushed the barrier but kept the fire in his secret storage.


    "It''s done. How are the injured?" The archmage descended down and asked the mages.


    "They are being cured right now Archmage Ember. Thank you so much for your timely rescue." One of the guards reported then he gave the man a slight bow before he left to do his duties.


    The night passed with the magic tower too busy with the mess. While the ordinary people became even more wary of the tower and wouldn''t even try to get a hundred meters near it.


    A loud bang almost destroyed the round table where the elders of the tower were meeting. Twelve mages were present but each of their identity was concealed by a shadow. Although they already knew each other''s identities, they still made sure to block their faces just in case someone might eavesdrop on them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Whoever did this is clearly challenging the power of the tower. We must show them that we can''t be easily bullied." The elder who mmed his fist on he table was enraged because someone dared to make trouble in their territory.


    "We can do that, the problem is, we don''t even have a clue as to who did this or what was their reason for doing this." Another elder spoke which pointed out the main reason why they can''t rashly act.


    "Then what should we do? People are already whispering that our tower is shrouded in negative energy." A woman''s voice asked from the crowd. It was particrly sweet which made the other elders frown.


    "Investigate even though there''s no clue, it''s the only way can do it. We have many talented mages this year and I''m sure that they''ll be of use," another elder suggested. The other elders nodded in agreement while the others were a bit indecisive.


    "Then we will leave this matter to those mages," a man''s deep voice resounded in the meeting room. It was imposing and carried authority unlike what the other elders possess.


    The room fell quiet after that voice as they agreed one by one. Since thest person who spoke held the highest position in the tower. Because no one disagreed, the person ajorned the meeting and was the first one to leave.


    The elder who suggested the n did not waste time as he went ahead and assigned mages to the case. He even instructed them to follow every lead they could fine.


    Once the incident slowly died down, the tower mages also made the move to show the people that they were not dangerous and that the tower was not dangerous. They did everything they could to clear the tower''s name.


    From a far, the master who watched all of this had a wide smile on his face. To see that the tower was scrambling just to get their reputation back made his day. After all his efforts to disorient the enemy, he was d to see it''s effects.


    "Hmmm, I am quite satisfied with this result but it''s not enough, " hemented. His fingers tapped on the surface of his seat as he started to hum.


    He was thinking of what he should do, to make them suffer even more or to just let them be for now? It would be satisfying to cause more chaos for them.


    "Master," his thoughts were interrupted because of the butler who was staring at him, "we need to go now or we will miss the major''s entourage."


    Cygnus frowned as he looked outside and at the butler who was close to the point of ring at him. He then sighed in defeat and signaled for the man to go. Mr. C knocked on the wooden division to let the coach man know that they were living.


    The carriage quietly and slowly left the ce towards the east side of the city where they would be meeting the major together with the lieutenant. Since he can''t be that impolite, he needed to go and show some familial piety.


    His n of making another mess for the tower was postponed but he was determined to y with them after he was done with his supposed responsibility towards his new family. "This is the reason why I hated to have this kind of rtionship with any people," he sighed.


    "You already agreed though, so there''s no turning back master." Mr. C did not forget to remind him of his folly.


    "You are right. I was taken in by the desire to try and be one of the people in the upper echelon of society." Cygnus shook his head as he kept on sighing and looking disappointed.

 Chapter 113 Entourage

    ?The east gate of the city was a bit lively but it was not because of the major''s arrival. This ce was particrly noisy because it was where most traders enter to sell their products, in short it was the ce of business in the capital city.


    Cygnus looked outside and saw several things that he liked. He looked at Mr. C so the butler jumped from the carriage andnded gracefully on the ground. He went to swiftly purchase everything that Cygnus eyed.


    Meanwhile the carriage continued towards the gate and before it left, the passenger was checked first. When the guards saw the master''s token, they let him pass. The carriage continued on for another mile when they finally saw the major and his men riding their cavalry horses.


    Cygnus knocked on the wood and the coach man stopped the carriage a few meters away. He then stepped out of the carriage and waited for the entourage to get near them.


    Linius raised his hand and his men stopped. He jumped down from his horse and a soldier came to take it. He walked towards the master followed by the lieutenant.


    "I didn''t think that you''d reallye," Liniusmented after he walked towards the man.


    "Hello, Sir Rigel, it is nice to see you again," the lieutenant greeted him with a smile.


    "It is also nice to see you again lieutenant," he greeted back. He then looked at Linius, "Of course I''lle and greet you."


    "Alright, let''s go," he walked towards the carriage and was the first one to enter. The lieutenant followed them behind.


    Inside the carriage, Lisbon started to exin the current situation of the town. Alfonso, though it burned to the ground, the people living in it were not gone. Once there were materials and resources, they started to rebuild their homes again. This time, most of them already have their homes.


    By the end of the year, the lieutenant told them that Alfonso will be back on its feet. He also left soldiers from the major''s men to protect the town and Ginehart had sent a skilled man to oversee the redevelopment of the town. Now the town was in a smoother progress.


    "Hmmm...good for them then and you don''t have to tell me all of this." Cygnus was not really interested in that matter. Whether the town recovers or not, it didn''t have anything to do with him.


    "Well, I also did it for the major since he hasn''t heard about it yet," Lisbon scratched his head as he looked embarrassedly at the both of them.


    Cygnus looked usingly at the major. He didn''t expect him to be this sly. "I won''t argue anymore then."


    The carriage together with the major''s men entered the east gate. Mr. C also took this chance to sit beside the driver of the carriage. The carriage went straight to the manor while the other soldiers went straight to the barracks where they will rest for now.


    Inside the manor, "Now that my duty as your brother is done, can I go now?" Cygnus wanted to leave and continue with his fun but before he could leave Linius had something to say.


    "Don''t go overboard, the tower is already in a mess, don''t make it even messier." Linius reminded him before he sent the master away.


    Once he heard that the tower had some problems he already knew who caused it. The master really didn''t care even though there were innocent people being harmed by his actions. He was not that righteous but he wasn''t insensitive either but the master doesn''t feel anything.


    Even while Lisbon was exining the status of the town, the master looked bored instead of concerned. He shook his head and instead moved on with the matter he was about to discuss with the lieutenant.


    Cygnus went straight to his room and rummaged through the things that the butler bought for him. He was nodding his head while examining the items, one by one. "These are good ones, keep them together with the other items."


    He threw an orb, a sword and a staff towards the butler as for the others, he let the butler deal with them. It was a waste of money but the butler couldn''t reprimand the master because it was his money.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What are you doing after this?" The butler asked after he kept the other weapons in a different storage.


    "I''m going to check on my on going masterpiece." Cygnus sat down and called Ari to show him what was going on inside the tower. The butler then left to prepare some snacks for him.


    During this time the academy was once again in an uproar. Nobody thought that someone would have the courage to talk to Ezio. It was even more surprising that the person who would do that woul be William Ginehart.


    He was one of the people who would secretly sneer at Ezio but just after a few days, he was now talking with the man. Rumors had started to spread regarding him but he simply didn''t care.


    "Have you heard about the news? The magic tower suffered damages in just the span of a week! How tragic is that!" William eximed as he sat on the vacant seat in front of Ezio''s table.


    He had been bbering nonstop ever since he entered the room. Ezio couldn''t help but sigh and frown because the other was relentless. He even brought with him one other annoying person.


    Together with William was Vinya, who was acting shy and remaining silent. She would only smile here and there but she wouldn''t talk that much. Both of them had been hounding him.


    "And what does that have to do with me?" Ezio asked in an annoyed tone but this only made William grin.


    "Finally you are talking!" He even raised his hands in the air before patting the other''s back. "Well it should be your concern since the magic tower gives you a special treatment."


    Ezio didn''t like hearing those words and it only made him angry, "Stop talking about them. Even if that tower crumbled into dust, I do not care."


    Ezio didn''t want to be associated with them any longer because he wasn''t like them. In fact he was very happy when he heard about the news. To see the proud and mighty tower suffering made him grin.


    Then his thoughts went to the master who was in the capital, he thought that maybe he had something to with it. There was a possibility and if so he was more reassured that the master wille to take him away soon.


    "You really hate the tower huh? Did they do something wrong to you?" William suddenly asked out of the blue.


    He noticed that whenever he would say or talk about the magic tower, no matter how cold he may be, Ezio would always frown and scrunch his brows. He has such a strong reaction towards the tower that the thought of him hating the tower came to William''s mind.


    "That''s none of your business," Ezio red. He did not want to talk about it with a stranger, he''d rather tell it to the master and hear his scolding.


    Since he didn''t want to be pushy, William left that at that before he started with another topic which was still rted with the next topic. Ezio was confused as to why he would even talk about it because William suddenly started to talk about why Ginehart doesn''t like any of the mages rted to the tower.


    "Do you know why the Ginehart dukedom despises magic users that are affiliated with the tower? He suddenly asked with his expression that turned solemn. He was reminiscing about the past, like he had witnessed it.


    "I don''t really care," Ezio frowned but the other was not actually paying attention to him because he was looking outside of the ssroom.


    "That''s because they caused the demise of the current head''s father," William revealed.


    Vinya wasn''t shocked maybe because she already knew about it because of her family background. Ezio didn''t have much reaction either but deep inside, he was slightly shocked.

 Chapter 114 His Pace

    ?It was an old story but it was not known to the masses because everything about it was covered with a lie. The only people who were clear about what had happened were only the Ginehart and ckwell Dukedom. The Magic Tower did everything they could to cover up the incident and passed it up as an ident but all the people involved knew what really happened.


    Shortly after Ulysses was named as the new head of the Ginehart household, the former head suddenly died and the family did not let the world know what had happened. They silently mourned for the former head and only let the ckwells attend the funeral.


    Then they shunned all of the mages in their territory. Now their entrance and stay in the dukedom was strictly monitored.


    "It was a pity, but actually I don''t know the details. If there are people who knew about what exactly happened it would be the main family. This was the only fact that was passed down through the branch families. They don''t have any issues with magic users but it is different with mages that were under the tower. I bet right now, the news has already reached my uncle and he must be grinning right now." William chuckled and the heavy atmosphere that formed around them disappeared.


    Just as the cousin said, the news reached the Ginehart Dukedom and Ulysses was in a good mood after reading it. The misfortune of the tower was his happiness. If not for their grave mistake that time his father would have been alive until now.


    "Why are you grinning so widely?" Lte asked after she saw that his husband was in high spirits. She was out in the garden and was picking flowers when the man came to hug her tightly.


    "Well, that''s because the tower got what they deserve," he chuckled. He helped his wife and held her hand as they walked towards the gazebo. They sat down and admired the rose garden that was still in bloom.


    "What happened to the tower?" she asked with curiosity. She knew the hatred that he harbored against them and to see him this happy something major might have happened to the tower.


    "I think that child has made his move. The tower suffered two attacks within a week, they suffered losses and I''m sure that those bastard geezers are in chaos right now." Ulysses was grinning but gritted his teeth when he said the word bastard geezers which pertains to the elders of the tower.


    "Is that so, but I thought they had a n to follow? Why so soon?" Lte was puzzled. She was happy for his husband but she was still at a loss.


    "That man would never follow a n. He is unpredictable and moves at his own pace. You''ve already witnessed it so you shouldn''t be confused right now." Ulysses looked forward beyond the gardens and beyond what the eyes can see. "I don''t know what his real purpose is foring here but if we can use him to destroy that tower, then everything else is negligible."


    The reason why they could only stay angry at the tower was because they don''t have the power to topple a big organization like theirs. Those mages also threatened the lives of the people of the dukedom just to escape from what they did and they can''t risk those lives. He might have battled against high rank mages before but the battle was so grueling and deadly that he almost lost his life.


    He was for and foremost the leader of a territory and was looked up by many citizens as their protector and against mages who were proficient with destructive spells he can''t just decide on his own. Thus, the tower got away with what they did but with the help of Rigel, they might be able to defeat the tower and expose its dark secrets.


    Ulysses could already tell that the tower''s days of glories would be shattered in the near future. "I''m looking forward to what he can do."


    Cygnus sneezed while he was drinking tea in a small restaurant. Mr. C looked over at him and stared for a while, "The weather has be a bit chilly since the end of the year ising. Please wear something thicker next time."


    "I''m not cold," he narrowed his eyes, "someone is talking about me behind my back and they might be even cursing me."


    "That is not something new master. You should''ve gotten used to it by now." The butlermented as he pushed another te of cake in front of Cygnus.


    "Where is Nina and Astrophos?" He asked after a while. His gaze was focused on the people who were walking outside the restaurant.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I haven''t heard from the two of them but I''m sure that they''ll be back once they feel like it," the butler answered.


    After the visit and confirmation that Ezio was safe, Astrophos bid them a temporary goodbye because he has something to do. Nina on the other hand disappeared while leaving only a note.


    "They are too willful. They didn''t even stay to watch the show." Cygnus frowned but his expression immediately eased. "Well, I''m sure that they will be here once the main show is about to air."


    "Do you have other ns for today?" Mr. C asked after a short moment of silence because the master seemed to be in deep thought.


    "Let''s go and look for a suitable ce to open my bakeshop. I miss my sweets," Cygnus answered. It was one of his side ns anyway so there was nothing wrong if he wanted to prepare early.


    "Aren''t you going to ask for the major''s help?" The butler wondered, his master was a bitzy so he could understand if he didn''t want to go around.


    "No and I am notzy, I''m just not motivated to do anything but right now I just want to take a walk," Cygnus tilted his head to the right. "I wanna explore this ce thoroughly."


    The butler got the message so he stood up and walked with the master around the city. They even reached the least developed part of the capital. In that ce, they looked very misced with their high-end clothing and noble bearing.


    People couldn''t stop looking at them, some with admiration while others with envy, some with malicious intent. Cygnus looked at the ce with a smile on his face.


    "This is the perfect ce, don''t you think so?" He looked behind at his butler, looking pleased with himself for choosing the right location for his business.


    "I don''t have anything to say, master since it is your decision," was his only answer. Even if he voiced his dissatisfaction, the master wouldn''t really care.


    They walked around a little bit more when they were suddenly surrounded by a group of gruff looking men. They were grinning like they hit a jackpot. Cygnus could also see that they were holding knives and bats, typical of any gang of street robbers.


    "Give us your money. You are rich so whatever you have right now will surely be returned to you once you go home to your luxurious house," one of the men spoke. He was eyeing the master''s clothing.


    "But, I don''t have money with me and these clothes won''t fit you no matter what you do." Cygnus still looked rxed while speaking with those dangerous men.


    The one who spoke looked at his buddies and grinned. He didn''t care whether they had money on them or not because he knew someone who buys noble children to be their ves.


    "Don''t worry, even if you don''t have money, you''ll still sell for a high price." He signaled for his people to capture Cygnus but before they could even get near the master, Mr. C was already blocking their way.

 Chapter 115 This Is The Right Place

    ?The butler looked at the men indifferently. He stood there in front of his master as his bodyguard because he was concerned that the master might make a mess again.


    "I''m afraid, I can''t let you touch my master. If you want to keep your life, you better leave now. This is for your own safety and this will be my one and only warning," he spoke in a calm tone with both his hands behind his back.


    The gang membersughed because they were confident with their skills and numbers. Two versus twenty strong men would not be easy. They would be immediately overwhelmed.


    The gang member who spoke earlier, presumably the leader, scoffed at the butler''s words. He didn''t believe any of the words from the man. They were outnumbered and out weaponed.


    "You should listen to my butler," Cygnus spoke from behind Mr. C. "He is already giving you a warning and I doubt that you can be a match against Mr. C," he continued.


    Mr. C looked behind and looked at his master with a slight frown but Cygnus only smiled towards him. On the other hand, this statement only made them angrier because it was as if mocking them. The leader of the gang signaled for his men to attack.


    The men in front targeted the butler while the ones who were at the back attacked Cygnus who appeared vulnerable with no one to watch his back. Mr. C evaded and tripped the people who were attacking him and before the weapons couldnd on Cygnus he moved towards the back and disabled them.


    His movements were fast and precise as he hit at the exact point where the attackers would hurt the most. The butler hit their wrists to disarm them then he hit their joints and vulnerable points to leave them unable to move. After making sure that the people who wanted to hurt the master were lying on the ground, he pushed back Cygnus as he faced the remaining robbers.


    "Don''t let them get away!" The boss also joined the fray and together they attacked Mr. C.


    Cygnus was left to watch from the side as Mr. C used his skill to avoid the weapons that were aimed towards him. There were at least fifteen more people left and he did not want the master to wait for him. His other hand that he kept behind him was finally free.


    One of the robbers tried to sneak an attack on the butler but Mr. C stretched back his feet as he slightly bowed with his right hand pulled back and when the man''s weapon was about to make contact with his body, he released the palm that was waiting for the enemy. The butler''s right palm connected with the enemy and in the blink of an eye he was already flying away.


    The force of that palm was enough to destroy a thick wall so letting itnd on a person only meant that that person wouldn''t be able to survive. This attack stopped the others from approaching but it did notpletely deter them. Mr. C disappeared from where he was standing as he appeared beside one of the stupefied men.


    The same palm connected with the bodies of the remaining robbers plus the speed of lightning that the butler possessed, they were clearly no match for him. One by one they fell down and the leader doesn''t even know if his subordinates were still alive.


    After the butler took down thest one, he stood up and stared at the leader who was now trembling in fear. He slowly walked towards him which added to the impact of intimidation from how he finished all of the leader''s men.


    Each step that he took made the leader shudder which only froze him in ce. He could feel his body stiffening and no matter how hemanded himself to run, he could not. Mr. C finally reached the man and with one hand, he lifted the enemy.


    "Master, what do you want me to do with him?" The warmth that can be felt from the butler''s normal voice was gone and it was reced with a mechanical tone that came from that of a robot.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He looked to the man whom he regarded as his master as blue lines appeared on the left side of his face and the whites of his eyes turned pure ck with a silver pupil. Cygnus stared at the face he hadn''t seen for a long time now.


    "Just dispose of him since I have no use for a person like him." The master waved his hand and just like that the butler killed the leader without any arguments. "You know it''s a bit refreshing to see that appearance of you once in a while."


    The butler flicked his left hand on the side to remove the blood that got to his gloves and his sleeves. He faced the master as the lines on his face slowly receded towards his nape and his eyes returned to its normal state.


    "I only enter that state whenever I am protecting you but most of the time you deal with them yourselves so I don''t have many opportunities to use my skills," the butler answered. It sounded like aint even though he was only stating the facts.


    "I''ll give you more time and opportunities to show how badass you are in the future so you don''t have to sulk," the masterughed. He was the most mature thinker within his group maybe because of his identity but sometimes he was acting like a child.


    "I''ll be looking forward to it then master," he gave a slight bow, "what should we do with this mess then?" He looked at the mess he left with a slight frown. He couldn''t use magic so he couldn''t use it to remove all the bodies at once.


    "I''ll take care of it besides I have hungry things waiting to be fed in that ce," Cygnus smirked.


    He raised his hands and pped them then dark holes appeared below each body thatid on the ground. ck gooey tendrils came out of the dark holes and attached themselves to the bodies. When they got a hold of them, then they slowly pulled them inside the dark hole that led to an unknown ce.


    "Wil you be really opening a shop in this area?" Mr. C asked him again just to make sure. He knew that the master loved this kinds of ces but to open a business in that kind of ce was out of the question.


    "Yes, of course. I can''t pass up the opportunity to establish a branch in a ce where I can easily use negative energy as a source of my power and besides this ce is where we can meet unusual people who are willing to do anything for their goal. Besides, this is not the only shop I''m opening." He raised his head and looked at the direction of the prosperous side of the city. "I''ll be opening there too."


    After that short interval, they left the ce and returned to the manor to n for their next move. During this time, Cygnus instructed the butler to find a ce for the other shop they would be opening and to prepare whatever they would need.


    "What kind of shop are you nning to open?" Linius asked after he learned that the master went out to look for good locations.


    "Oh, just a bakeshop. The one I have in Moonvale was destroyed so when we decided toe to the capital, I also intended to establish my bakeshop in this ce." Cygnus proudly answered, then he hummed to himself because of how pleased he was.


    Linius on the other hand couldn''t help but raise a brow, he didn''t expect the master to be nning on opening a bakeshop. It was very far from the image that the major was thinking. He thought that he would at least enter the world of trade but he was mistaken. You can''t simply judge a person by their appearance and actions.

 Chapter 116 Visit The General

    ?Days went by as the master''s n to set up a shop pushed forward. It was the butler''s responsibility to see the project through and this time Cygnus was scheduled to go with Linius to meet General Eric Cazal. Although he didn''t want to meet the man, he was still convinced by Linius.


    The general''s manor was as splendid as the duke''s manor back at the dukedom and Cygnus couldn''t understand why these people wanted to live in such a spacious space. He looked around while they waited for the master of the house toe.


    "Major Ginehart, it is nice to see you again inside of my manor," a loud voice came from the entrance of the room.


    Linius and Cygnus, who were already seated, looked at the direction of the entrance. A man with a beard and a grin on his face stood there. He was tall and despite his age, he was fit and he was standing tall. The presence around him was no joke.


    Linius stood up from his seat and went to meet the man. Cygnus followed behind as they weed the man inside the room. He remained silent on the side as he waited for the older man to notice his presence.


    "I came to visit you General, since I am in the capital," Linius answered with a slight smile on his face. The older man returned the smile and even stepped forward to pat the major''s shoulder. He even looked at Linius from head to toe as if he was assessing him.


    ording to Linius, this Eric Cazal was his mentor when he officially became a part of the kingdom''s military and became an official. Based on how the major knew the man, he could say that he was righteous and upright but in the master''s eyes, he was the same as everyone.


    "It''s my honor to finally meet my brother''s mentor," Cygnus did not waste time and immediately made his presence known. "I am Rigel Ginehart." He was not patient enough to wait for the man to notice him.


    "Oh, is this the rumored fearless brother?" The general''s attention shifted to Cygnus. "You looked so fragile that I couldn''t believe it when I heard what you did back at your territory." His gaze raked through his entire person just as he did with Linius but this time, he was judging him.


    Cygnus chuckled, "Contrary to what you have heard, I am not fearless, it''s just that I can easily sumb to my emotions so I did that." He just shrugged it off and didn''t let the general notice anything unusual from him.


    The generalughed and even patted his shoulder, "You do know your way with words. Alright, let''s have some snacks first."


    They entered the room and enjoyed the food that was served. They also started small talks which generally revolved about anything. There were some topics about the military but most of it was only understood by the both of them.


    General Cazal noticed that the younger brother was silent and he appeared to be bored. He chuckled which startled the major and made Cygnus lift his head. He gestured for one of the servants inside the room and whispered something in his ear before his eyes returned to Cygnus.


    "Why don''t you go out first, you can visit the library or the garden if you want to while the major and I continue to talk." The general suggested so the master immediately gave Linius a look.


    "Alright, you can go. I''lle find you once we are done," Linius agreed because even though the master was not there, he was sure that he''d be able to know what they talked about.


    Just like that, one of the servants came to escort Cygnus to the library where he chose a book that fancied him. After asking if he could read it outside, they went straight to the manor''s garden.


    Just like the Ginehart''s original manor, the garden in the general''s home was a sight to behold. There were different kinds of flowers that bloomed vibrantly in the garden and in the middle of it all, there was a small hut made of wood and bamboo where one can read and rest and enjoy the view.


    It looked out of ce in the middle of that color but at the same time it was eye-catching. Cygnus touched the bamboo posts and hummed. The seats were topped with cushions and there were also pillows ced on them to make it morefortable.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus sat down and let himself immerse on the book and the scenery. At the same time, he sent out Ari to listen in on the general and the major. He was bored but it doesn''t mean that he was not interested in their topic.


    After Cygnus left, the atmosphere inside the room changed and both men became serious but the general broke the silence first. There were things they needed to talk about so there''s no point in remaining silent for the rest of the time.


    "What happened to your mission regarding those bandits?" He went straight to the point because he wanted to hear what happened straight from the major''s mouth.


    As far as he can remember, the mission that was given to him was to deal with those bandits but he didn''t receive any reports regarding it. Because he knew that the major might have an exnation for it, he waited for him toe to him.


    Linius already expected this, "I apologize for not reporting to you immediately. The bandits were already taken care of when we reached their area of activity. ording to the men I left to continue investigating, their base was already destroyed when they reached it. These past months, the bandit activity in that area decreased."


    The general thought for a while before he spoke again. "Yes, bandit activity decreased but one concern arose. A group has taken over the town near that area, I had my people watching them and for now, they aren''t doing anything suspicious and the town is still operating as normal."


    Cygnus heard the general''s voice through Ari and the statement made him stop. He raised his head and raised a brow at the news. He thought that those bandits would continue robbing people but he didn''t expect them to take over a town.


    "Oh, that guy is pretty impressive," hemented before he returned to what he was reading.


    On the other room, the conversation continued. "If they aren''t a threat, why do you need to still monitor them?" Linius asked. It was basic protocol to monitor anyone or anything suspicious, but based on the general''s words, he had been monitoring that group for a long time now.


    "Because they are very suspicious and ording to reports, they use dark magic to take control of the town but the mages I sent there sensed nothing. Even so, I still believe that they should be watched thoroughly." General Cazal wasn''t going to take any chances because he knew that those people were dangerous.


    "Did they report anything back regarding the town?" Linius was curious if there were changes from the report.


    "None, but my people are still on standby and observation mode. Anyway, if somethinges up, I''ll call you. Regarding your attempted assassination, we found some information which led us back to your household." The general looked at the major after thest sentence.


    It was already expected. Even though he had offended many people, there was only one person who could truly attempt to take his life. He was not worried that he would be discovered because he was confident of his backer.


    "I am already not surprised. Though several people came to mind, that person is still the number one," he didn''t really care because the time to deal with that person wille in the future.


    "Are you not going to deal with him?" The general was slightly surprised that Linius was so calm about the news and that he seemed indifferent about it even though his life was already threatened.


    "Not now because even though we have information, I still need evidence to fully pin him down that he won''t have the chance to stand up or return again." He shook his head besides he already had a deal with the master so he need not worry about those matters.

 Chapter 117 The Return

    ?After the immediate issues were talked upon, they returned to silence as they both knew what topic would be next. The general sighed several times before he decided to start the unavoidable conversation.


    "I heard about what happened to Alfonso and about my daughter. I am extremely ashamed of what she did and have punished her ordingly." He started as the feeling of embarrassment and anger when he discovered his daughter''s evil actions returned.


    He received the letter from the major that day and he did not hesitate to send help but the content of the other letter made his blood boil. The general''s reputation was already in question because he was favoring his daughter and yet this daughter of his was doing as she liked without regards to his father.


    The letter mentioned that she left the town during the most crucial moment and didn''t help in stabilizing the situation or even in calming the citizens who were affected from the attack. She left together with her men and abandoned the major.


    Captain Violett Cazal even dared to return to the capital after that blunder. She even argued with her father to justify herself but this time the general was not going to listen to her. Since he was the person who rmended her, he was also the person who had the right to strip her of her rank and position.


    "I am willing to give her a second chance after that time when we were investigating the bandits but after what she did during the chaos at Alfonso, I can''t let it pass." Linius''s voice was stern and didn''t allow any arguments which the general understood.


    "I understand. My daughter returned as a regr soldier of the kingdom and after her punishment, I will send her away. She won''t be joining any brigade nor battles in the future," the general sounded defeated. His shoulders drooped down as he sighed in frustration.


    "I just hope that the captain won''t hold any grudge from what had happened," Linius added. Remembering the captain, she was the type to nt hatred in her heart but still the major hoped that she wouldn''te for revenge because if she did, even though she was the daughter of his mentor, he wouldn''t show mercy.


    General Cazal looked at Linius in the eyes, "I hope so too, major. I''ve already assigned people to look after her and watch her every move because I don''t want her to create another mess."


    After the main topics were discussed, they proceeded to talk about the uing royal ball of the pce. The security of the event was assigned to them so they must prepare. Designations were also decided and it took them almost two hours to finalize the n for the ball.


    "Your brother must have been bored, let''s end it here for now since we are already done. I''ll contact you again if somethinges up." Eric Cazal stood up followed by Linius as they both left the room.


    The butler who was waiting for them outside escorted the major to where the master was after he bid the general goodbye. They went to the garden and saw that Cygnus was still reading the book. He lifted his head and stood up when he saw that the major was waiting for him. He returned the book then they left.


    "That took longer than expected," hemented as he stretched his back and arms. He felt a little bit stiff after sitting in the gazebo for hours.


    "I''m sorry, it took us longer to finalize the security for the royal ball," Linius answered. "Are you going to attend the ball? My father received an invitation and they will be arriving in the capital next month for the ball."


    "Yes, I will attend since I want to familiarize myself with the royalty of this kingdom," Cygnus grinned and the major felt that there was something suspicious behind that smile.


    "Are you going to make a scene during that time again?" He already learned that it was better to ask than to continue guessing the master''s thoughts. If the master was really nning something during that time, he needed to be prepared.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus hummed before he gave the man a meaningful smile, "I hope that you can support me during that time since I''m not sure what I should do."


    "Alright then since I already know that you''ll be creating another raucous, I''ll help you as much as I can." Linius nodded his head before he sighed at least this time he was given a heads up.


    "I''m curious, who will be invited for that royal ball aside from of course the nobility?" Cygnus just wanted to make sure that the people he wanted to be there would be invited as well or else his n wouldn''t work.


    "The Magic Tower and the Hero Alliance will be invited but I''m not sure of the identity of the people from their side who will attend," the major answered. The look of satisfaction on his face did not escape the major''s eyes.


    Linius concluded that the master''s target for the uing ball would be the tower. Although he was also eyeing the Hero Alliance, he guessed that the master won''t pick a fight with them for now. This must be also because of the deal they made. He was not sure but it was to their family''s favor that the master would deal with the tower first.


    "Oh, that''s good," Cygnus narrowed his eyes with the corner of his lips lifted. After a short while, he covered his mouth with one of his palms as his shoulders started to shake.


    Linius pretended that he couldn''t see and hear the master. After a while, Cygnus''s snickers turned intoughter after he thought of how he should make his presence known during that party. It should be in the most shocking way since he has arge audience. He would make it very memorable that all guests wouldn''t forget him and his performance.


    While waiting for the ball, Cygnus together with Mr. C focused on the shop they were going to open. Without hesitation, Cygnus still named both shops Vergessen since it was already his bakeshop''s name. After all preparations were done, both shops were ready to open.


    "Master, are you ready?" Mr. C asked after they made sure that everything was in ce. Their employees were also ready to serve their first customers.


    "Yes, go and open that door already." Cygnus gave them the signal so Mr. C finally opened the door and ushered in the first wave of customers.


    The first batch of bread they baked earlier was already sold out so Cygnus baked another batch. He was the only person inside the kitchen as he did not want others to disturb him from his work. On the other side of the city, the opening of his bakeshop wasn''t that much busy because people on that side were still wary of entering the shop.


    It was alright though, because profit was not his main goal in establishing that branch on the poorer side of the city. He was a slightly patient person. At the end of the day, the shop in the middle of the city had a sessful opening while the other one wasn''t received well.


    "What will you do now, master?" Mr. C asked as they disposed of all the leftover bread in his second shop. No one actually came to buy bread due to so many reasons but the master didn''t care.


    "They''lle. We just need to be patient. I''ll put up a sign and let the employees give some free bread outside so that they won''t hesitate to enter next time." Cygnus was busy tasting his new recipes while talking to the butler. "This is only the first day."

 Chapter 118 Before The Ball

    ?The opening of the Vergessen bakery created a buzz in the city and it never died down not until the date for the royal ball was set. Lumier started to talk about it and was excited for the uing ball because during that time not only the pce will celebrate but also the whole city. There will also be festivities and activities where the citizens of the kingdom can participate in the ball.


    Even inside the academy, the talk about the ball was everywhere since this was one of the times that they''ll be allowed to leave the academy and have some fun. There would be no lessons and the students living in the dormitories could go out and enjoy the celebration. Students of noble status can also enter the pce and join the ball.


    "Are you joining the ball this time Vinya?" William asked the woman while they ate their breakfast in the canteen.


    "Yes, my father received an invitation so I need to attend. How about you?" She also asked. It would be boring if she would go there and none of her friends would be present.


    "I think so. If I''m not mistaken my father has also received an invitation but honestly I don''t want to go." William wasn''t that fond of joining such social events because he doesn''t have the patience to stand and smile there all night long. He always thought that it was a drag to attend such events.


    "It''s the royal ball, so you can''t escape. Even my father reminded me so many times that I must attend," Vinya had a frown on her face and William could understand why.


    This ball was not only done to celebrate the kingdom''s prosperity for the whole year but this was also a time for anyone to build connections. It was a battlefield disguised as a celebration, parents will bring their eligible children during the party and try to find a suitable partner for them for the sake of alliance. It was the most effective and fastest way to get an ally.


    Those people would be eyeing them like prey, silently scrutinizing them from head to toe. They would talk about their backgrounds and merits and if they found them pleasing enough, then they would approach them with the pretense of greeting them but the other party already knew that they would be proposing for marriage.


    That ce would be like a market or even an auction house. Gullible ones would be ted to be invited or even to be able to attend the ball without knowing anything then at the end, they would end up being sold without them knowing. Those who already knew how it works would avoid going to the ball but they would still be dragged by their families then all they could do was endure.


    "Are your parents already looking for potential husbands for you?" William lowered his voice as he discretely asked the woman because his parents were already looking for a ''suitable'' wife for him.


    Vinya stopped eating before he gave a sigh, "Even though I refused so many times they didn''t listen to me. Although they promised me that I can finish my studies here in the academy, they still insist that after I graduate, I need to marry."


    William smiled bitterly because it was something they can''t entirely avoid. "You are free to do whatever you want to do, Vinya. You should think about it while you are still in the academy."


    The woman looked at William and smiled. She didn''t expect the man to have this soft side of him because he was always tough and rough, in his actions and words. When he came to her and convinced her that they shouldn''t leave Ezio alone, she was surprised because of his sudden change in attitude but after knowing him, she became at ease.


    "How about you, Ezio? Will you be joining the ball?" William shifted his attention to the man who remained silent until now. They were lucky that he didn''t leave the table even though they were the only ones talking. "I''m sure that the tower received an invitation letter too and the main branch of my family should have received theirs too."


    After hearing that, Ezio looked at William, "Is that so?" he appeared uncaring but William knew that he would do everything to meet that man again.


    "Yes, and considering your position, it is the best ce to meet him because you can''t go and tantly meet him because of the eyes following you." William looked around and noticed the people who were constantly following behind Ezio. No matter where he went inside the academy, he was still being watched.


    Ezio frowned because William has a point. He can''t openly meet with the master and risk ruining whatever his n was so the best way was to meet him at the ball and pretend that they just met each other.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''ll see what I can do but nheless, I will still be attending that ball," was his simple answer. He could always snuck inside the pce with his magic so even if he won''t be allowed to go, there were still other ways.


    "You are really courageous," William grinned and admired the man for his guts. Luckily, his uncle was the person in-charge of security so if some mishap happens then Ezio can use his connection with his uncle''s younger brother.


    The next day, Ezio sent a message to Archmage Ragus through the  headmaster. While he waited for a reply, he focused on his training even more. If they won''t allow him, then he''ll find other ways.


    Archmage Ragus was a bit free that day. After the attack inside the tower, everything was going back to normal now. Though they lost some promising seeds, it can''t be helped. They sent their families enoughpensation.


    On the other hand, the investigation wasing across dead ends and they didn''t know where to start. In his opinion, it was just a waste of resources if they insisted on continuing with that pointless investigation. He had a feeling that they wouldn''t find the culprit no matter what they did.


    A knock on his door made him sigh before he let the person enter. The mage ced a letter on the Archmage''s table before he left. Ragus picked up the paper and was surprised to see who sent the letter. He was even more surprised at the content of the letter.


    After reading the letter, he took time to ponder about it before he left. He went to the entrance of the Hall of Time and passed the letter to them. He added that he hoped that the other elders would approve of the request.


    Ulysses and Lte Ginehart also arrived at the capital earlier than expected at thedy''s request. They were weed by the servants together with Linius and Cygnus. It was a long ride but Lte was happy to see her sons once again.


    "Hello mother," Linius greeted his mother first before he gave his father a nod.


    "Wee!" Cygnus was grinning to the both of them which sometimes gave them the illusion that he was innocent.


    "Let''s go inside first," Ulysses nodded to the both of them. Finally they walked inside towards one of the manor''s living rooms where the brothers usually had their breaks.


    "Why did youe early?" Linius asked after they''d settled down.


    "Because your mother wanted to spend some time with you before the ball," Ulysses simply answered. There was no particr reason why they decided to travel earlier than the scheduled date.


    "Then you should go and visit Rigel''s bakery tomorrow," Linius did not hesitate to suggest.


    "I''ve heard about it and really wanted to go but we will do that tomorrow since your mother need to rest." Ulysses nodded and even though he was curious, he needed to wait for tomorrow.

 Chapter 119 Entourage

    ?It did not even take a day for Ragus to receive an answer to the letter he sent to the elders. Normally they wouldn''t allow just anyone to attend the party since the face of the tower was at stake but this time, they gave a positive response. Together with Archmage Aviel Strome, they will be going with Ezio to the party.


    After he got the response, Ragus wrote another letter and sent it to the academy. Since they were allowed to go, he needed to prepare appropriate clothes for Ezio to wear to the party. There was much to prepare so he can''t afford to rest for the day.


    Headmaster Aurellius received the letter so he called Ezio to his office. The young man came to the office with his usual straight face and waited for the headmaster to speak. He thought that he did something wrong again but when the man handed him the letter, he was slightly surprised.


    "It is a letter from Archmage Ragus since it is personal, we did not open nor inspect it." Ezio took the letter and opened it in front of the master.


    He silently read the contents of the letter and a grin appeared on his face after he saw what was written on it. "My request was granted. Thank you, headmaster, for doing this." He gave the man a nod before he left.


    At the same time the Ginehart manor was also busy because of the clothing that they would need for the party. There were several seamstresses who were getting their measurements and letting them choose what outfit to wear. Throughout the day, Cygnus was wearing a long face because he was not used to this kind of treatment. He was used to the butler choosing his clothes.


    After everything was finalized and he was able to choose the right clothes with the help of Mr. C, he immediately slipped away and left the manor. He would rather stay at the bakery than to deal with so many people in the manor. Aside from the clothes, they were also going to choose a gift for the royal family.


    "What a hassle," Cygnus mumbled to himself. This was one of the reasons why he only wanted to live a simple life.


    "By the way, master, I happened to hear that the major has received a draft of the list of the guests that will be attending the ball. Are you interested to know who will be present?" Mr. C informed him after he remembered that he saw the major epting a document from one of the royal guards.


    "Is that so, I''ll let that be a surprise for now," Cygnus answered. "I''m only interested in the people from the magic tower because I have a big n for them."


    Mr. C did notment on that and let his master be. Once they reached the shop, they saw that it was busy as it was this past few days. Even his shop in the slums was slowly doing well because of the free bread they distributed there and also due to the low prices they offer. Soon he will be opening the shop for those who want to dine in there.


    One of the workers they hired to oversee the bakeshop came to them with a wide smile on her face. She enthusiastically greeted the owner of the shop and led him to the office upstairs where she handed him a letter bearing the royal seal.


    Cygnus raised a brow as he took the letter, he opened it and the more he read the contents of the letter, the wider his grin became. "What a great opportunity!" He eximed as he threw the letter on his table. "I''ll make sure to let them taste the tastiest bread ever."


    Mr. C picked up the letter and saw that the pce hadmissioned their bakery to bake snacks for the uing ball. In total, there were several bakeries that gotmissioned and even though they were only known, they were still chosen. "Should we prepare for this order then?" Cygnus nodded so without any further instructions, Mr. C became busy that day as he prepared all the ingredients they would be needing.


    Finally, the day of the ball came and the whole city of Lamier was in joyous celebration. The streets were buzzing with activities ang guests from the four dukedoms started to pour in. Everywhere was full of life as the festivities started. Banners of different colors were hung up above the streets to add more color to the asion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Carriage after carriage filled the stone paved streets as they lined up to enter the pce. People watched and pointed with smiles on their faces once they saw the insignia on the doors of those carriage. Even the children were fascinated with the fancy looking carriage that was passing.


    Loud whispers of admiration could be heard once the carriage that passed by belonged to the four great dukedoms or from the house of the four great generals of the kingdom. The attention to these powers was not small only to show how influential they were in the kingdom.


    Followed by the nobility were the delegates from the Magic Tower and the Hero Alliance which made the screams louder. These two organizations stood out even though their core members were not from any family with a prestigious background.


    "These people do really respect you," Ezio couldn''t help butment as they passed by the group of citizens who were watching their entrance like they were in a parade.


    "That''s because the tower has done good deeds for the people of the capital." A woman dressed in a sky blue ball gown dress with silver butterflies as its detail answered proudly. There was a smug look on her face as he said those words.


    Ezio couldn''t help but frown, "Is that so?" he didn''t believe what the other had said. The tower in his eyes was very different from the tower that the woman was talking about.


    "You don''t believe me?" Archmage Aviel Strome asked in bewilderment at the implication of those simple words. She thought that the young man was a fan of the tower just like the other novices in the tower and because he was considered a prodigy by the elders.


    "You must have gotten the wrong impression about me archmage," Ezio withdrew his gaze from the crowd outside and looked at the woman who was clueless. She looked so gullible that Ezio couldn''t believe that she became an archmage. "I hate the magic tower."


    With those words, the smile on the woman''s face disappeared. "Then why are you with the magic tower?" She was surprised at the young man''s words and even more so because of his next words.


    "Why don''t you ask your beloved elders? Because honestly, I don''t want to stay with the tower either." This time his gaze went to the other person inside the carriage.


    Archmage Ragus was there when Ezio first arrived at the tower and he was clear as to how he became a part of the tower. He sighed and avoided the young man''s gaze because he did not want to talk about it.


    "What happened?" Aviel became even more curious. She had been away from the capital for a  few years so she was a bit behind from the news.


    Aviel Strome was one of those mages who was not bound by the tower because they can travel freely and get to do missions that they want. She only returned to the capital as per the request of elders and because she was also assigned to attend the ball.


    Ezio stared at her eyes, "There''s no need for you to know." After that, he continued to ignore the both of them and pretended that they had not existed. He returned his gaze to the outside of the carriage as it followed the path to the royal pce.

 Chapter 120 As The Ball Starts

    ?Night slowly descended to the kingdom of Lunaira as the moon slowly rose to the sky to give the capital a silvery glow. Guests were being weed at the brightly lit pce. Each guest that came out of their carriages were escorted to the pce''s ballroom.


    For those who frequent the pce, it was always a new experience for them to see the pce lively during the royal ball. The ball room this time was already filled with people dressed in expensive formal clothing and gowns to show off their status in society. Minor nobility came first and as usual, those of higher status came a bitter.


    First toe were the four great generals of the kingdom who received much attention. They were wearing their ck and silver military uniforms and with their imposing aura, people already felt intimidated. These great generals were not that keen on socializing; they only talked with people they already knew.


    Next to appear were the heads of the four great dukedoms. Duke Ginehart and ckwell came together with their respective wives on their side. Since most of Duke ckwell''s family members didn''t want to attend, they were the only representatives from the ckwell dukedom.


    Cygnus came with them in a different carriage and he was apanied by his butler. He walked beside Ulysses and Lte as they entered the extravagantly decorated room. Their appearance caused quite a stir since this was the second time that Cygnus would be attending a ball and the first time that he would be appearing in the midst of all the nobility in Lunaira.


    "Your son is getting much attention once again," ckwell whispered towards Ulysses.


    The other manughed, "Of course he is. There''s no point in bringing him alone if he can''t attract this much attention."


    ckwell sighed and shook his head. He really didn''t know when his friend suddenly became an overly indulgent parent. His gaze went to the young man who was currently speaking with his mother with a subtle smile on his face.


    Whenever he sees Rigel, he would always get this feeling that the man was much more than what he let on. Cygnus noticed that his father''s friend was staring at him so he gave the man a nod which he returned. ckwell closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was already focused on other things. It was no use to overthink about the young man.


    The other heads of the other dukedom also entered and started to mingle with other people. The party was going well even without formally starting as everybody was in high spirits. There were only thirty minutes before the official start of the ball when the representative from the Hero Alliance came.


    The representative was warmly weed and was even apuded. Like any other ce, the hero who came was already flocked by people as they scampered to introduce themselves to the guest. Cygnus watched all of this with an uninterested gaze because the people he wanted to see weren''t there yet.


    Finally, the Magic Tower arrived. As they entered the room, the audience once again started to whisper with their gazes trained on the young man with the mages. This time Cygnus''s demeanor shifted a bit and a wide grin appeared on his face when he saw who the young man was.


    "The young master has really taken a liking to you and now he even learned to use the tower to his advantage," Mr. Cmented after he saw that Ezio came to the ball.


    "This is really unexpected indeed." Cygnus nodded his head then he softlyughed which caught his mother''s attention.


    "Are you alright, Rigel?" She immediately asked after she heard the young manugh.


    "I''m sorry mother, I was just a bit excited," Cygnus answered. He covered his mouth and subtly smiled.


    Lte stared at him before she nodded and returned to paying attention to the people who wereing over to talk to them. Cygnus looked at Ezio''s direction one more time before he retracted his gaze. Once all the important guests arrived, the hall became more lively.


    Not long after, one of the royal guards announced the entrance of the royal family. Everyone''s eyes moved to the back where the door opened to reveal the king and queen together with the princes and princesses.


    The ruler of the kingdom of Lunaira was blessed with golden hair and golden eyes. This trait was passed down from generation to generation and usually the one who inherits the throne has these traits. Even the current crown prince had golden hair and eyes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    After they came, the king stood and spoke. He looked at all the guests with a smile, "Thank you everyone foring to tonight''s ball. I also thank everyone for their support and contribution to our kingdom''s prosperous year. I hope that you continue to do so for more years toe! Let us enjoy the night!" He raised his ss followed by the guests.


    This speech marked the official opening of the royal ball. After the deration, one by one the officials went to pay their respects to the king and queen. Ulysses waited for most of the people to say their greetings before be stood up together with Lte.


    Cygnus followed from behind as they walked through the crowd of people towards the front. Ulysses bowed while Lte curtsied towards the royalty.


    "Greetings your majesty, I hope that you are doing well?" Ulysses greeted and simultaneously asked about the king''s health.


    King Orpheus Syentia nodded towards the duke, "Thank you for your concern Duke Ginehart, I am doing well and thank you foring to this year''s royal ball."


    "It is my pleasure and we prepared a gift for you and the queen," he gestured for Cygnus to step forward and present the gift. "It is a gem that I hope your majesty will be satisfied with."


    King Orpheus looked at the gift and he nodded in satisfaction. He waved for one of the guards to take it away. He then noticed the young man that presented the gift and his resemnce to the duke.


    "Is he your youngest son?" The king inquired.


    He heard the news about the appearance of the duke''s youngest son and was also curious because even he himself doesn''t know the child''s appearance. Now that the duke allowed the child to go out into the world, he was happy for this old friend.


    "Yes your majesty," Ulysses answered. He then looked at his son and gave him an encouraging smile.


    "Greetings your majesty, I am Rigel Maverick Ginehart, it is my honor to finally meet you," he bowed and showed his polite side.


    "It is also my pleasure to meet you. I also heard that one batch of the cookies for this ball has been sent by you," the kingmented.


    He was informed earlier about the bakeries that would be providing the snacks for the ball and Vergessen caught his eyes. When he asked who owned the bakery, he was surprised to know that it was Ulysses''s son.


    "Yes, your majesty. Thank you for trusting my bakery even though we are not yet a month old." Cygnus gave a proud look to show to the king that his efforts worked.


    King Orpheus liked how the young man was looking. He was proud and yet he didn''t feel any smugness from him. It was a genuine feeling from being recognized.


    "My youngest daughter couldn''t stop praising the cookies they bought from your shop so I have no choice but to try it out myself," King Orpheus patted his thighs with a smile on his face. One could already tell that he was a doting father.


    "Then I should thank the princess for liking our snacks," Cygnus''s gaze went to the youngest princess of the kingdom who was sitting beside her mother.


    The princess couldn''t help but blush because of the man''s handsome smile. She then looked at him shyly and gave him a nod before she looked away. Cygnus maintained his smile as the king continued to converse with him.

 Chapter 121 It Has Began

    ?The party was already at its peak and so the night became deeper. On the shadows casted by the tall trees, several silhouettes appeared and disappeared. These entities slowly approached the pce where people were gathered.


    Outside of the pce, there were several soldiers guarding each post and each corner of the ce. Major Linius strictly warned and reminded them that they should keep watch of the surroundings. Not even a fly should be able to enter the pce during the time of the ball.


    The guards were continuously rotating but they couldn''t do anything about the shadows. The entities who got near the pce blended with the shadows and traveled through it. They sessfully bypassed the guards who did not even notice that their security was already bridged.


    These entities leapt from shadow to darkness as they blended well with the dark corners of the pce, some of them were already inside the hall and watched these people who were enjoying their night. They remained silent and patient waiting for the right time tomence their master''s orders.


    During this time, Cygnus already felt the presence of these entities. After talking with the king for a while, he was given permission to enjoy the rest of the night. So he decided to take a seat first to rest.


    Out of nowhere a shadow was cast over him and when he looked up, those golden locks and eyes couldn''t be mistaken for someone else''s. "Greetings, your highness the crown prince." He stood up from where he was sitting and bowed to the man.


    "I heard about you from Lindon and it seems that my father is fond of you." He started without even hiding his scrutinizing gaze.


    The crown prince looked him up and down before he smirked. On the other hand, Cygnus was currently reading the prince''s mind. He could already tell that Lindon has said some bad things about him.


    "I am ttered that the crown prince recognizes me," was his only answer apanied by a grin with a mocking sneer behind it.


    This smile unnerved the crown prince, "I can''t believe that you can cut off your cousin''s hand without even thinking of the consequences. You are really cruel and don''t know how to show filial piety to your family."


    "Your highness, with all due respect, that matter was resolved already as for filial piety, I have plenty of that which is reserved for only my father, mother and brother. As for the others, I don''t really care about them." He said those words without hesitation and before the prince could even answer back, Cygnus spoke again. "As for your highness, I pity you for not using your brain and trusting the wrong person. If you want to hold that ce of yours and ascend the throne, you should think twice about trusting those people around you because you might be dealing with a snake."


    "Watch your mouth!" Lindon, who was with the prince, was taken aback by how vulgar his words were. He couldn''t believe that his cousin could say those words.


    "How can I watch my mouth when my eyes are above my lips?" Cygnus raised a brow and grinned towards them.


    "How uncultured, to treat someone of my status like that, see if I can''t punish you!" The prince was furious because of the other''sebacks.


    "Come and try if you really can and I''ll make sure that all of the people in here will know that you are bullying a weak person like me. You know I can really scream so loud that even the king can hear it." Cygnus wasn''t the least bit intimidated by the prince''s threat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was better if this stupid crown prince would really punish him. It would be great to see the king and queen''s face if they found out that their son was picking a fight with him. Even though it was not a part of his n, he would still wee it.


    The crown prince couldn''t stand the other''s smug look but he needed to control himself so as not to cause anymotion. Cygnus thought that the prince was still lucky because of his upbringing. The prince decided to leave the matter so as not to cause anymore scenes.


    He left together with Lindon who was sending res towards his direction. Cygnus sat down again and drank the juice that Mr. C got for him. He looked around and saw that his father was busy while talking with the other dukes while his mother was mingling with thedies of the house. They were also with the queen who was clearly enjoying herself.


    "What a great view," he mumbled to himself as he drank the beverage that was served for him. He also ate some snacks that the butler got for him.


    The party was in a good mood and when everything was going smoothly, a loud shrill sound suddenly bombarded the hall. The ear piercing sound made the guests cover their ears and some of them also started to vomit some blood. From above, shadows dropped down and became men who bore weapons then they started attacking the guests.


    Chaos ensued and with the presence of many veterans, they started to repel the attackers. The generals fought and even the hero who attended the party made a move. Even the two archmage who came with Ezio erected barriers to protect those who cannot fight.


    People were running everywhere to avoid the attackers but for some reason the soldiers who were stationed outside of the hall couldn''t enter but those who were inside could leave. Most of the guests were able to leave but the fight inside wasn''t stopping. They could still hear the shing of swords and grunts from those who were wounded.


    Instead of leaving the king decided to stay and help to fight the assassins even though the crown prince remained. Everyone was so busy that no one noticed that some of them inside the hall had not made a move. Ezio chose to step back and watch from the side while Cygnus made himself a bit invisible as he watched them fight.


    This was also a good time for him to observe them and their skills. It would be useful for his future endeavors. He watched as the assassins moved in sync to attack everyone inside the room but they suddenly changed targets and went after the two archmages who acted as support to the soldiers and the generals who were fighting.


    The archmages were surprised but only for a short while as they smoothly switched from supporting to offense. They did not hesitate to use magic to deter the attackers and even injure them. After that the enemies once again switched targets but most of the enemies would alwayse after the archmages.


    They were relentless and more of them wereing from above, which made the mages conclude that there must be magic involved in the attack. Archmage Ragus looked around and saw that Ezio was only watching them from a safe distance. It was like the enemies couldn''t see him from where he was standing because he wasn''t being attacked.


    He narrowed his eyes but he did not speak, instead he looked up and targeted the blob of shadows above. Archmage Aviel followed his lead and also attacked those things which stopped the enemies from multiplying. Slowly the entities that were causing amotion were dealt with one by one until there was none left.


    They could finally breathe a sigh of relief because after double checking every corner of the hall, they found no signs of those things. They were still relieved in the feeling of winning when they heard the crown prince suddenly shouting while looking towards his father''s direction.


    Several heads turned around only to be struck with the scene that was in front of them. Without them even knowing, the king was subdued by the tendrils of darkness and the entities they thought they defeated were already on their way to plunge their swords in the king''s body. Everything happened in slow motion, the generals started to run towards the king but time seemed to have slowed down for them.

 Chapter 122 In The Nick Of Time

    ?The mages and the generals ran towards the king in an attempt to save him from the attack but they couldn''t reach him in time when all hope was lost, a barrier of ice surrounded the king and a man''s silhouette appeared inside of the barrier. The sharp point of the swords struck the barrier but it was not enough to stop the swords from piercing through the barrier and hitting the man who used his body to protect the king.


    Sharp pieces from the barrier flew out when it shattered. The people who were running towards the king avoided those pieces and did not stop because the threat was still there. Cygnus, who used his body to block the attack, immediately used magic to repel the enemies. A silvery glow appeared below them and when he opened his eyes, they were surrounded with light.


    Blinded by the light, the people who were going to rescue them were forced to cover their eyes and stop for a moment. When the light subsided, the scene in front of them caught them in awe. If it was not an offensive attack, they would continue to marvel in it.


    The king and his savior were surrounded with bluish ice that formed into a pyramid and outside of it were ice that formed into hands that encloses the pyramid. It was the barrier created by Cygnus and outside of that were vines with thorns that pierced through the dark entities trying to kill them.


    Their surroundings were covered with a thinyer of ice and smoke. The generals took a step forward towards the king and his savior but the vine of ice suddenly moved and changed its position. It moved to enclose the barrier even more.


    The generals who tried to get near them were startled by the movement and when they tried to take a step closer the thorns on the vines started to elongate like they have life. They could sense that there were still people outside of their protection. One of the soldiers tried to get near but a thorn suddenly attacked him, luckily he was saved by the butler.


    "No one would be able to get near them unless the young master''s mana senses that you don''t mean them any harm," Mr. C exined. He then pointed at the pyramid and at the condition of Cygnus. "It seems that he is wounded, that''s why his magic is acting like this. If he can wake up, he can take down the barrier but, in this situation, it would be difficult."


    After hearing that exnation, the generals took a step back. This time Ulysses came to the butler because if they don''t take down that barrier, then his son might die in there. "Can you get near them?" Ulysses asked the butler.


    Mr. C shook his head, "I''m sorry but I can''t. I have so much negative energy that the ice vines would definitely attack me." He looked at the barrier''s direction with a frown. It was not the real reason why but it was better than telling them that he was actually not a human.


    "I''ll try then," Ulysses dered. He took a couple of steps forward and the vines did not react so he got the confidence to move forward but when he was only a couple of feet away, the vines suddenly moved and tried to attack him. If not for his fast reflexes, his body would have been full of holes right now.


    Ulysses frowned as he looked at his son''s direction then he heard the butler''s voice. "Any negative energy or feeling you carry can trigger that, no matter how small it is."


    With no progress, Archmage Ragu and Aviel tried to attack the barrier but it had no effect. It surprised them that such high-level magic appeared before them and their magic cannot even stand on par with it. This only means that the youngest of the Ginehart main family has strong magical power.


    Ezio who was watching all of this finally made his move. The space around him suddenly distorted and when he took a step forward, he appeared inside of the barrier. He did not waste time and took the king and Cygnus out of the barrier. Once they passed through another dimension in a short span of time, the connection between Cygnus and his mana that was channeled to the barrier disappeared.


    Without mana that sustains the magic, the ice barrier slowly dissolved and the three of them appeared where Ezio first stood. All of this happened in the blink of an eye that those without trained eyes did not see what actually happened. But to those who were trained, everything happened clearly that they stood frozen on their spots.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "We need a doctor!" Ezio suddenly shouted which broke them from their trance. Mr. C was immediately beside the master and checked his wounds.


    The invisible barrier that caused the people outside to not enter also disappeared which let Major Linius and his men enter. He heard the young man''s voice and without hesitation he sent the doctors who were with them. They looked around and saw that most of the injured were the soldiers while the generals and the dukes were fine.


    What concerned him was the master who was lying on the cold floor. He was unconscious and the butler was tending to him. Ezio was also beside them with a worried look on his face. Without thinking twice, he pulled the nearest doctor and dragged him to where the master was.


    The doctor crouched down and checked for the master''s wound before he swiftly brought out his medical equipment and deftly cleaned, sterilized and patched the wound on the master''s back. He then checked Cygnus''s pulse before he nodded to the people around them.


    "He is fine. He just needs to rest for a while to recover his energy and the mana he lost. The wound was not fatal since there were no major organs that were damaged but he lost a lot of blood. Rest and eat healthy after he wakes up so that he can recover in the shortest period of time." The doctor exined to them before he was let go to tend to the other patients.


    Ulysses, with the help of Linius, they carried the master as they carefully walked out of the room using a back door to avoid the people who were outside of the hall. They walked together with the others and left the clean up to the subordinates of Major Linius. They reached another part of the pce where several rooms were located then they let Cygnus use one.


    They were given privacy while Mr. C went to fetch the madame who was very worried right now because his husband pushed her out of the hall and she got no news about them after that. When she saw the butler, she breathed a sigh of relief but the butler''s words made her lose her smile.


    "Madame please follow me, the master and young master Linius is currently waiting for you," Mr. C deliberately left out Cygnus''s other identity to make the madame worry a little bit.


    "Are they alright? How about Rigel?" She asked but the butler did not give her an answer. Lte got even more worried so she followed the butler with an anxious heart.


    They reached the room where they were and her heart slowly sank. Mr. C opened the door for her and when she saw that his husband and first born were okay, she could finally feel a little bit relieved but when she saw the person lying on the bed, that relief disappeared.


    "Rigel? What happened?" Her voice shook and her steps faltered. Ulysses noticed this so he acted fast and steadied her.


    "He protected the king and got wounded instead but don''t worry because the doctor already took a look at him and said that it is not life threatening. He just needed to rest for a while." Ulysses immediately exined to at least alleviate the worry of the woman.


    Lte sat down on the empty side of the bed and gazed at the young man who was sleeping peacefully. Although his face was a little pale, she was still d to see that he was steadily breathing. Even though this man was not her real son, she still worried for his safety because in her heart, she already considered him as her son.

 Chapter 123 A Little Bit Of Clue

    ?The room was silent as nobody from the group spoke. Linius already had his thoughts but he did not dare to speak for now. His parents were still there and if he was right, he didn''t want them to hear what he was about to say. Mr. C on the other hand was still rxed on the side but he could still feel the tension.


    While they were still in a silent trance, a knock sounded on the door. Linius stood up to open the door and saw that it was Ezio. He could already tell that the young man wanted to enter and check on his brother so he let him in. The young man gave the duke and the duchess a bow and greeted them politely.


    "Thank you for saving him out there," Ulysses gave Ezio a curt nod. If not for him then they didn''t know what worse things could have happened if he remained inside the barrier he made.


    Ezio shook his head, "No need to thank me. I just did what I needed to do since he is a person important to me."


    They looked confused after hearing his words and they looked at Linius because they notice that he knew something about this. The major shook his head and waved his hand. Ulysses understood so he did not ask and just let the young man see his son.


    "I saw you with the archmages, do you belong to the Magic Tower?" Ulysses asked. He needed to make sure before he judged the other person.


    Although he didn''t like those folks of the magic tower, he can always make an exception. And seeing that he means no harm, this young man would definitely be within his good radar. He saw that Ezio frowned at the question and an inkling came to him.


    "I don''t belong to that ce. I hate that ce and no matter what happens, I wouldn''t let myself be affiliated with them. I''m just putting up with them because of the master." At the word master, Ulysses noticed that his gaze lingered on the sleeping son of his.


    The duke was pleased with the young man''s answer and not only that, he also gave off the feeling of genuine hate directed at the tower. "That is good to hear then. If I may ask, what is your name, young man?"


    Ezio lifted his head to look at the duke, "I''m Ezio Constantine." After saying his name, he did not give them any more attention.


    Duke Ulysses was surprised to hear the young man''s name. The surprise on his face did not escape the butler''s observation. He narrowed his eyes and kept the information forter. He was sure that the master would be interested to know that Duke Ulysses Ginehart recognized Ezio''s name.


    Ulysses stood up from his seat and gestured for his son to follow him. They left the room and walked along the halls towards the back of the pce. Ulysses stopped on the edge of the path around the small garden where they were.


    "What is it father?" Linius asked. He stood beside his father and waited for the older man to speak. He could already see the tendrils of light as the sun started to rise.


    It was a beautiful view but during this time, he couldn''t appreciate it. There were many things on his mind at that moment and he didn''t know how to begin. He was hoping that his father can help him even for just a little bit.


    "That young man, what is his rtionship with Rigel?" Ulysses did not beat around the bush. He wanted to know.


    "ording to what the master told me, he is someone within his protection and that Ezio was the nephew of Grand Mage Jagan who died at Moonvale." This reply made the duke even more concerned.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Once in his life, he had encountered the Grand Mage Jagan together with a woman, they helped him once in the battle and saved his life. If not for them, he would have died in the battle field never to return and inherit the dukedom. If that young man used the name Constantine, then he must have a blood rtionship with that woman.


    "That means they already knew each other from the beginning?" It was not a question directed to the major so he did not answer. It was more like a confirmation on his father''s part.


    Linius narrowed his eyes, "Do you perhaps know the young man?" He was aware that his father has many secrets and he did not dare to ask him openly because he knew that the duke was sensitive to these kinds of topics.


    The duke shook his head, he could only guess but he was not sure. "No but his family name is a bit familiar, since it is not amon name in our kingdom."


    Linius hadn''t heard of that name before so it did not bother him but now that his father was concerned because of it, he might need to investigate it. Besides, he was not even sure why the master was willing to take Ezio under his protection. It might have a connection with that name.


    "Linius, if I were you, I wouldn''t meddle too deeply with the affairs of the magic tower. Avoid it as much as you can, it is enough to destroy them without knowing their secrets, than to be haunted by those secrets all your life." Linius was startled at his father''s words. He did not notice that the man was already looking at him because he was lost in his own thoughts.


    "If I am going to participate in the destruction of the tower, I might as well know their secrets. Besides, I am interested in many things regarding the tower and the identity of Rigel." He actually smiled because he was grateful for his father''s concern towards him but he has a mind of his own and he makes his own decisions.


    Ulysses stared at his son for a moment before he sighed. "Do as you like then don''te running to me when you encounter a problem. I already warned you."


    Linius shrugged his shoulders before he nodded. "Don''t worry, I''ll be responsible for all of my actions and decisions." He sounded confident as he should be which was why Ulysses did not force him to abide by what he has said.


    "If you continue down this path, then I hope that youe our alive from it or else I''ll let those branch families fight for the right to be the heir of the dukedom." Ulysses chuckled as he felt at ease even though he knew that the chosen path of his son would not be that easy.


    "William is pretty reliable," Linius alsoughed but if something really happened to him, he would rather rmend someone he thought would be suitable to be the next duke.


    "Ah that child, yes, with a little bit of discipline he should be alright. And he has a talent for magic, so that is a plus as long as he doesn''t join the tower." He nodded his head to the name that his son suggested.


    "He knew that our family isn''t on good terms with the Magic Tower, so he won''t join them. He''ll only finish studying at the magic academy and after that he''ll be returning to the Ginehart and start training under the tutge of our elders." Linius already assured his father that William will not be subjected to the magic tower. If the magic tower dared to recruit him, then they wouldn''t stay silent.


    "That''s good. I''ll be waiting for his return then while you are busy with your own things," he nodded. It was good that there were reliable youngsters in the younger generation. The duke just hopes that they won''t follow the path of those greedy people eyeing his position.

 Chapter 124 Speculations

    ?The king was resting in one of the guest chambers at the pce as the doctor checked on him but he did not forget to inquire about the young man who saved him. The doctor reassured him that he was fine and there''s nothing to worry about.


    "That young man is really like his father. I won''t doubt their rtionship any longer." The king smiled after the doctor left. The three great generals were in there to make sure that the king was safe. His queen was also there to look after him.


    "We were told that the Duke Ginehart''s youngest son has a weak body, I didn''t expect him to be able to use magic and to use it brilliantly, I''m sure that he has a talent for it. It''s just that the duke might not let his son enter the magic tower," a woman''s voice sounded from the far left corner of the room. Her face was hidden by the shadows casted by the tall bookshelf beside her.


    "I''ve seen interest in the faces of the archmages. This might get reported to the elders of the Magic Tower. I''m afraid that they''ll use underhanded tactics to get that young man on their side since they don''t pass up opportunities of gathering talents to grow their power." A deep voicemented from where he was seated, beside the room''s window.


    "If the magic tower decides to go against Duke Ginehart once again, I''m afraid that their rtionship that is already full of tension will break. If that happens, I''m afraid that the kingdom won''t have peace for theing days." General Cazal spoke from the couch below the bed.


    He could already guess what would be the reaction of the dukedom if that really happens. He had seen how Linius treated people from the magic tower and his father was even worse. Even their branch families dare not mingle with the magic tower so openly in fear of incurring the wrath of the household head.


    The first man who spokeughed loudly after he heard what General Cazal said, "Well said. If that really happened, I would certainly side with Duke Ulysses and help him annihte the Magic Tower. Anyways, they''re just a bunch of scums who think of themselves highly just because they can use a little bit of spell."


    His crass and rough words earned him a re from the king. General Ishmael Laudica wasn''t someone who cared for his image nor his words. He would just go ahead and tell everyone whatever he thinks. The other generals and the king had given up in telling him to be careful with his words and actions.


    "General Ishmael, I would like it if you keep your opinion to yourself. There are other people inside this room and they might misunderstand your words." King Orpheus red at the man with his jaw clenched. He then gestured at his wife and the prince who were still in the room.


    General Ishmael coughed a few times and avoided the king''s gaze before he scratched his head and refused to look at any of them. The other two generals could only shake their heads in disappointment at him.


    "We all know that the duke''s bottom line is his family. If the tower really touched that line, then what General Cazal said might really happen. I''m afraid that the king would have to intervene," General Olivia Wisteria added. She pushed herself from the wall where she was leaning and took a step forward towards them.


    "I hope that the tower won''t act rashly," the king sighed. What the generals said was not wrong and it has a high possibility of happening.


    "Speaking of talented youth, it seems that the person who saved the king and the duke''s son is pretty powerful. I don''t know what magic he used but to be able to enter one''s domain that easily, I''m sure that he is not an ordinary magic user." General Olivia spoke again and this time the others in the room agreed.


    It was an unusual magic but they don''t have the full right to judge since their knowledge about magic was limited and how diverse magic was beyond theirprehension. That was the first time though that they saw someone teleport like that.


    "They''ve found themselves yet again another addition to their forces," General Cazalmented.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Even he himself hadn''t seen that kind of magic and the way he saw it, it was something a little bit ominous. To travel easily just like that was beyond his concept of reality. When that young magic user transported them out of that ice crystal, he looked like he parted the empty space in front of him and pulled the king and Rigel inside.


    "That new magic, I still don''t feel good after experiencing it myself. It was very different from normal teleportation. It was like entering and walking inside a different world then reappearing in your own world. Teleportation doesn''t give you that kind of feeling." Even the king was a bit confused about that magic.


    He felt that it was something that should not have existed. It was simply defying logic. He looked at his generals and sent them a meaningful look.


    "I will start looking for information about that young man and whatever magic he was using," Olivia gave a bow to the king. "I''ll give a report once I gather enough information about him."


    King Orpheus nodded, "Don''t let the tower know that you are investigating one of their prodigies. I don''t want them making a fuss because of it."


    While the king and the generals were still busy talking about what had happened, the two archmages who came with Ezio were talking with each other. Archmage Ragus wasn''t sure if they should report this incident to the elders. If the elders got interested with the youngest son of Duke Ginehart, he was afraid that they wouldn''t have their peace.


    "Why are you worrying? Isn''t it great that we found another talented youth at this party?" Aviel was frowning because her fellow archmage was reluctant to make a report.


    "I know but we are talking about a Ginehart. You know that the rtionship between us mages and the dukedom isn''t that simple and you also know how forceful the elders can be. They can go to any lengths just to get what they want. Do you think Duke Ulysses will remain silent if the tower makes a move against his son?" Argus sighed because of the woman. She wasn''t at the tower for most of the days and yet she still dared to say those words.


    "Then you can highlight Ezio''s performance and mention the duke''s son in passing. If the elders don''t show any interest, then it is good if they do then there''s nothing we can do to stop them. I''m also sure that the incident has already reached their ears so we can''t really avoid the inevitable," Aviel reasoned. In her opinion it''s better not to offend the elders and report to them everything that happened.


    Argus knew that the woman has a valid point. It was impossible to hide such an incident from the ears of the elders. He thought about it for a while before he reluctantly agreed.


    "Have you seen Ezio?" he suddenly asked when he noticed that the young man was gone.


    "Uh, he was here just a while ago!" Aviel was also confused then she looked around but saw that the young man was not with them. "He might have left. I''m sure that he''lle back." She shrugged her shoulders.


    Argus stood up and went straight for the door, "If Ezio took this chance to escape, the elders would definitely get angry with us. Our punishment would be even worse than the ones we will receive if we don''t report this incident to them."

 Chapter 125 Hearing The Truth

    ?The woman frowned and followed hurriedly behind Ragus. She could not understand why the archmage was worried and why he was saying that Ezio might escape, it was all a jumble to her.


    Aviel followed behind the man, "Why do the elders give too much importance to Ezio? Is it because of his ability?" She asked while they walked the hallways of the pce to search for the missing teen.


    "Maybe yes but I am not entirely sure. What I''m sure of, is that if we don''t find him, both of us will be doomed." Argus snapped back before he sighed again to calm himself. The woman really has no idea how important Ezio was to the tower.


    The other archmage frowned when she heard Argus. To give such importance to a person who wasn''t a mage yet and letting him join the royal ball, she was surprised at first but got used to it. Now that they were talking about it again, something suddenly made sense to her.


    Aviel stopped walking, "What did the tower do?" This time her voice deepened and there was a threatening tone to it. "Did they force Ezio toe to the tower? Is that why you are worried that they might also force the young Ginehart?"


    Argus stopped but he did not look back, "We''ve been with the tower for many years now and we''ve seen everything they could do, this is not something new. But what they did to Ezio was far worse, aside from keeping him in the tower against his will, I suspect that something else happened."


    Aviel suddenly cursed out loud as her fists clenched. Her angelic face contorted in anger after learning what the tower had done. She tried to turn a blind to it but sometimes they were really going overboard. If not for the restrictions on them, she would have left the tower.


    "If I knew that my life would end up like this, I would go back in time and stop my younger self from joining the tower." She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths to calm herself. Aviel suddenly remembered Grand Mage Jagan, he was able to escape the tower so she wondered if he was doing alright?


    "We already gave up our lives to the tower but if a timees that we can be freed, you should take that chance to leave and go as far as you can." Ragus advised before he took a step again to continue with his current task but then he heard the woman speak again.


    "Do you think Grand Mage Jagan is living peacefully right now?" That question once again halted the other archmage from moving forward. Among the mages of the tower, he and the elders were the only ones who knew that Grand Mage Jagan was already dead and that Ezio was his nephew.


    "I''m sure that he had lived a peaceful life. Listen Aviel, I''m not supposed to tell this information to others but I''m telling this to you and you must keep it to yourself. Mourn if you want but don''t let the elders know that you knew something." The air around Ragus suddenly changed that it made Aviel tense for an unknown reason.


    "What is it?" She gulped in anxiousness because she never saw Ragus acting like this.


    "Grand Mage Jagan is already dead and that''s the reason why they could get Ezio into the tower because he is the Grand Mage''s nephew. When the tower found his location, they sent mages to go after him. One of them is my apprentice and they managed to get Ezio." Ragus exined as the barrier he set up around them shimmered under the moonlight.


    Aviel couldn''t believe what she heard. There''s no way that it was true and yet the man''s expression told her that everything he said was the truth. She staggered back and leaned on the wall with her head bowed. The hope of being free from the tower slowly slipped through her hands after that news.


    Argus gave the woman time to think about it so without speaking he left to look for Ezio. He can''t me Aviel for feeling devastated after what she heard because, even he was shocked when he heard what happened from his apprentice.


    With the help of his magic sense, he found where Ezio was and he was a bit taken aback by the people who were with him. He reached the door and when he was about to knock, he heard a man''s voice. The archmage turned around and saw that it was Major Linius and Duke Ulysses.


    "Can we help you Archmage Ragus?" Linius asked since his father won''t be speaking anytime soon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Major, Duke, yes, I am looking for Ezio, the young man who was with us, and I''ve sensed that he is inside the room. I came to escort him back to the tower." Argus spoke politely because even though he was an Archmage, he was still speaking to a nobility.


    "Ah yes, he came a while ago to visit my younger brother and I think he is still inside." The major nodded, he stepped forward to open the door and let the archmage enter.


    The people inside the room all looked at the direction of the door after it opened. Ragus greeted them then he asked if the master was alright to which the duchess answered positively. The archmage then looked at Ezio who was clearly displeased with him.


    "We need to go, Ezio. The tower will be looking for us soon and the incident has been temporarily settled," Argus exined even though he could feel the boring gaze being sent his way.


    He tried to ignore the duke''s gaze and focused on convincing the young man to leave. Ezio looked at his still sleeping master because he did not want to leave. He''d rather stay there than to go back to that ce.


    "Sir Ezio, I think you should listen to the archmage, we don''t want the towering after us just because you didn''t return," Linius spoke from beside the archmage.


    Even though he was not sure if the master was faking it or not, they could not afford any misunderstanding right now because of the master''s current condition. To make the young man go, he gave him an encouraging smile and assured him that they will take care of the master.


    Argus saw how reluctant Ezio was but when the major spoke, the young man finally stood up. With that simple conversation alone, he noticed that the major and Ezio seemed to know each other. One more thing he noticed was the look of concern on Ezio''s face as he looked at the younger Ginehart whoy on the bed.


    "I''ll hold your word then," Ezio reluctantly stood up and walked away. Argus thanked the major and gave a nod toward the duke and duchess before he followed Ezio outside.


    They''ve reached the room where Argus and Aviel were originally staying and Argus couldn''t hold back his curiosity any longer. "Do you know the younger brother of Major Linius? You seem to care about him?"


    Instead of answering, Ezio red at him. He refused to answer the archmage''s question because he was in a bad mood. Seeing that the young man was not going to speak, Argus stepped back and did not force him any longer.


    The door to the room opened and entered Aviel, who by now was already calm. When she saw Ezio, her eyes couldn''t help but lit up and she looked at him with a bit of affection.


    This did not escape Ezio''s eyes, "Did you tell her anything?" He asked Ragus with a frown. He didn''t like the look that the woman was giving him.


    "I needed to," was his only answer.


    "This is why I don''t like you people, you really like to meddle with someone else''s life." He turned his back on them and refused to talk to them until the carriage sent to pick them up came.

 Chapter 126 Scheming Elders

    ?Early the next day, the incident at the royal ball spread like wildfire as it already reached the ears of the citizens and the different noble households. Even the tower and the alliance already knew what had happened. The Hero Alliance doesn''t have much interest in what happened but the tower was different.


    For the second time in a short span of time, the elders were once again gathered to talk about the incident. The expectation inside the meeting room of the tower can''t be concealed because of another prospect they have in mind.


    "Have Archmage Ragus and Aviel reported to us yet?" One of them asked immediately after the meeting was opened.


    "Yes, and I am about to read it to all of you," another voice answered. He then picked up a piece of paper on the table and ryed what was written on it.


    The other elders carefully listened and took note of the important things written on the letter. All of them showed interest after the report was read. Some of them had wide grins on their faces after they heard good things from the letter.


    "Do we have any recordings of the incident?" Another elder asked. He wanted to see with his own eyes the power disyed by Ezio and the duke''s son.


    If it was worth their time, then they can n what their next move will be. One of the elders brought out an orb and used magic to make it float. The orbnded on the center of the table then it lit up and started to project an image.


    First it showed the pce''s main hall where the ball was held then it skipped to the part where the dark entities that infiltrated the ball started to attack. Those dark beings were different but that did not move the elders because their interest lies somewhere else.


    They waited in anticipation as the fight progressed then it happened. The king was trapped and the duke''s youngest son appeared before the king as he summoned an ice crystal to protect the both of them but the swords still pierced through.


    A blinding light then filled the room and when it disappeared, a pyramid made out of ice enclosed the king and the duke''s youngest son. There were also two palms covering the pyramid and vines with thorns around it which served as the main offense of the magic.


    They also saw how useless was the magic of the two archmage''s against the ice crystal formed by the second young master of the Ginehart dukedom. After that scene, they all came to the same conclusion as Ragus and Aviel, the young man possesses great potential and the amount of mana he has was far greater than any average mage.


    Though they wanted to speak, they still conscientiously watched until the end of the projection. This time they saw Ezio using his magic as he opened the space in front of him and transferred himself inside the ice crystal.


    Gasps sounded inside the room after seeing what Ezio can already do. They were satisfied with the result of their decision to undo the seal on the young man. Now that he can freely use his magic, with a little bit of improvement he might be able to open a gate to another world for them.


    If that happens, then they would need every power, talent and help they could get. Their greedy eyes looked at the unconscious man lying on the ground after the rescue. That power, they absolutely need it for their future endeavors.


    "Interesting, that son of the duke is purely interesting. The amount of mana he has surpassed my expectations. The report wasn''t lying but itcked the necessary description, luckily, we decided to monitor the party," a satisfied voice came from one of the elders who were hidden behind a veil.


    The elders grunted and nodded in agreement. Now that they were clearly satisfied, they needed to n on how they could get that young man on their side. The biggest obstacle that they will face will be the duke''s wrath.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What should we do now?" one of the elders asked because he was aware that it would be difficult to go against Duke Ginehart.


    "What are you so afraid of? We can crush the Ginehart Dukedom if we wish so even if he fights back, he will still be defeated," an arrogant voice answered.


    The elders became divided, some nodded in agreement while the others had their misgivings. Certainly, they can go head-to-head against the Ginehart Dukedom but the king might meddle in their affairs.


    "That is also a possibility but we need to carefully think about the pros and cons of this matter. Yes we can forcefully take the duke''s youngest son and wage war against the dukedom but what if the king stepped forward? Don''t forget that the king has considerable power," one of the elders who were thinking calmly voiced out his opinion.


    The room fell silent after those words, as the elders continued to ponder about the problem. It would be troublesome if the king stepped in because there would be a high possibility that their ns would be interrupted and they can''t afford that.


    "Why don''t we approach him first and see if he is willing to join us? We can base our next move on his answer or on our observation of him since we can''t act rashly," a rationally thinking elder suggested.


    This idea was feasible, that way they can also gauge if they can convince the young man without resorting into a fight that can potentially ruin their ns. If that does not work, they can send an elite team to get him.


    "I agree with that suggestion. Even if the duke doesn''t like us, I''m sure that he won''t go against his child''s wish if he ever wanted to enter the Magic Tower. It is worth a try." A man with a deeper and older voice spoke. He had been listening to the statements of his subordinate and that suggestion can help.


    Now that their n was proceeding smoothly they can''t afford any mistakes and if they can avoid any confrontation they will do so. At the leader''s words, the other elders had no opinions against it.


    "If there are no objections, we will go through with that n. Since you are the one who suggested it, I''ll assign you the task, Celes." The leader looked at the elder''s direction even though his face was covered by the veil hiding his identity.


    Without thinking twice about it, Celes epted the task and promised them that he will seed. After the matter with Cygnus was settled, they moved on to Ezio''s.


    "Since he can already control his magic, we can already summon him back to train inside the tower. There''s no need for him to stay in the academy any longer." This time it was a woman''s voice who spoke.


    "Let him be for now. He needs to mingle with other people so that he can easily adapt to us. If we keep on forcing him, he might use his magic to leave the tower and we wouldn''t be able to find him." It was the leader who answered. "Although he can now use his magic more efficiently than before he first awakened, I''m afraid that he won''t stay still if we keep him here."


    His words were reasonable so the elders had no other opinions regarding it. Remembering how he behaved when his magic was unsealed made them frown. He was untamable and he would create chaos whenever he got the chance that they needed to tie him down and lock him inside a room.


    He also refused to participate in their experiments even though would get beaten because of it. They couldn''t control him because he would suddenly disappear and reappear somewhere else. If not for the tracking magic they embedded in him, he would have escaped by now.

 Chapter 127 Cannot Be Defied

    ?By midday, Cygnus finally opened his eyes. He sat up from the bed and stretched his body because he slept longer. He looked around the room and saw that there was no one so he left his bed and walked around as he waited for his butler toe.


    Mr. C entered the room and saw that the master was already awake. "How do you feel, master?" He ced the tray of food he got from the pce''s kitchen on the table.


    "I feel really stiff," Cygnus stretched his hands and his back to relieve him from the stiffness of lying down for a long time.


    The butler went to assist him. He removed Cygnus''s clothing to check on the wound but there was already nothing on his back except for the old scars he got in the past. "You need to go back to bed now because you''ll be having visitorster."


    Cygnus sighed so he reluctantly returned to his bed and sat down. The butler then helped him to lean on the bed''s headboard and he also covered his feet to make him look like he had just woken up. The master''s skin also slowly turned a little bit pale as he looked vulnerable.


    Mr. C served the food in bed and watched as the master slowly ate. A knock on the door made them raise their heads. Linius entered the room and when he saw that the master was already awake, his expression turned serious.


    "Was that part of your n?" He suddenly asked without even asking if the man was alright.


    Cygnus chuckled, "What? Are you feeling guilty right now?" He pushed away the food that he was eating and faced the major who looked like he was about to explode.


    "Did you send those dark entities to attack the ball?" Linius did not answer the master''s question and instead asked the man again.


    He was informed that something would happen but he never imagined that he would harm innocent people and harm himself just to make a fuss. He has no regard for other people and for himself.


    "Why are you making a fuss? Haven''t I told you before that I''ll make amotion during the ball so that the Magic Tower will notice me." Cygnus simply answered because to him there was nothing wrong with what he had done. It was a part of his n.


    Linius sighed, "Yes it was but why did you need to harm other people just to prove your point?" There were other ways for him to show the magic tower how powerful he was but the way he chose was dangerous.


    "Major, if there''s no danger the Magic Tower will never notice me and besides, do I look like a person who actually give a damn on what would happen to other people? I do what I need to do to achieve the oue that I desire so you don''t have toe and lecture me." The master''s tone became serious and even his expression became cold. "You tried so many times to disagree with me even though you knew that I could easily kill you."


    Linius clenched his fists because he could not find the words to refute the man. No matter what, he was still someone who can feelpassion and care, so the incident of the ball was something he couldn''t just let pass.


    "Don''t push me major, because if I so desire to destroy this city. I can do it in one night and you won''t be able to stop it. Mind your own role and I''ll take care of mine. No need for you to show any concern." Cygnus raised his hand and in the blink of an eye the entire room where they were cracked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It started small but then it becamerger andrger. The ground also started to shake and Linius almost lost his bnce. He looked at the master but he was steady from where he was seated. There were small debris and dust from the cracks that formed on the surface of the ceiling.


    "Alright! I won''t speak any longer and let you be," Linius shouted just to make the master stop what he was doing.


    The shaking stopped and the cracks on the room''s ceiling and walls disappeared. Everything was back to normal. The room was so calm and peaceful as if the earthquake did not happen. Linius used the wall to steady himself and get back his bearings.


    He looked at the master only to see him eating once again. Both him and the butler did not pay him any attention. Since he can''t argue any longer, he decided to leave the room. His steps were a bit shaky but he still managed to open the door and leave.


    Linius leaned on the wall outside and took several deep breaths to calm his wildly beating heart. Testing the master''s bottom line was really not something he should be doing. Once he was ticked off, he could do whatever he wanted so he needed to stay at a distance when dealing with him.


    After his short rest, he walked away. He needed to at least stay away from the master for now and focus on working with General Cazal to know who sent those attackers. He already knew who but he needed to pretend that he doesn''t. He sighed at howplicated his life has be ever since he met the master.


    "Why do the people in this world like to meddle with somebody else''s business?" Cygnus frowned as he stared at his food that had already gone cold.


    "ording to what I understood from their behavior, it is sometimes caused by their desire to protect or that is just their way of showing their concern for the people close to them. This scenario would be different if the person has some ulterior motive. As for the major, I think he belongs to the first category." Mr. C exined while he reached and cleaned the bed table they used.


    "Are you sympathizing with them now?" Cygnus shrugged his shoulders. He was not expecting any answers and yet the butler still gave him an answer which he never did previously.


    "Master, you know that I am incapable of those kinds of emotions. I am merely stating the facts based on my observation." Mr. C shook his head as he put away the utensils the master used. He straightened his back and carried the tray away.


    "I know but sometimes you really do act like you are one of us even though you are very different from us," the master chuckled. He was only teasing but the butler only took everything he said seriously.


    "What will we do now? Are you sure that the Magic Tower wille for you just because of that incident?" The butler looked back only to see the master with a wide grin on his face.


    "Yes, of course. In fact, they''ve already talked about it so all we need to do is wait for them toe to me." He had sent Ari in advance inside the Magic Tower to observe the movements of the elders.


    Ari stayed invisible as it recorded every conversation the elders had during their meeting and when Cygnus woke up, he immediately received the report. Now that the tower took his bait, he needed to talk to the duke because he might disagree and it may cause a hugemotion.

 Chapter 128 Visiting

    ?After a day of rest at the pce, Cygnus left together with his family after the doctor checked his condition and changed his bandage. He was then ordered to stay at home and rest for the time being to let his wound close.


    Inside the carriage, Cygnus had a talk with the duke and duchess together with the major. He told them of his n and how they should proceed. They all remained silent while he was exining and even after he was done.


    "Is there a problem?" He asked with raised brows. The people in the carriage were looking at him with a frown.


    So he did what he was best at and read their minds. He couldn''t help butugh at their ridiculous thoughts. He considered it ridiculous because they were thinking of unnecessary things. Cygnus shook his head in disbelief.


    "What''s funny?" Linius asked when he saw the master suddenlyughing. There was nothing funny with what he said but he was acting very rxed about it.


    "Why do you even worry about me when I''m not even part of your family? You don''t even know who I am, what I am and where I came from and yet you dare worry? Isn''t that a little bit presumptuous?" Cygnus leaned back and rested his back on the carriage room''s wall.


    "Whether it is presumptuous or not, it is right to think whatever we want and you don''t have any say about it." Ulysses maintained a straight face.


    He already knew that the man could read minds, so even though it came as a little bit of surprise he still managed to remain calm. He looked at the young man and observed him in silence. His expression was light hearted and he appeared to be too rxed like he didn''t care about anything in the world. He exuded the feeling of a man who can''t be moved by anything.


    "Well if you say so but I suggest that you stop thinking like that because at the end of this cooperation some twists might happen and that care will surely turn into hate. It would also do you good if you treat this like an official business." He waved his hand to let them be.


    They were right, he can''t control what they think but it was better to remind them that the rtionship they had right now was purely business. And, in a business deal unnecessary emotion and opinion weren''t wee.


    Lte, who remained silent throughout the exchange, looked at Cygnus with concern written all over her face. He said all those but she couldn''t stop herself from showing care towards the man. Her intuition was telling her that this person has a past that the was unwilling to reveal.


    Cygnus shifted his gaze towards her when he noticed that she was staring at him. The waves of emotioning from her was so heavy that he can''t just ignore it like that. She was someone who was sensitive to what the others think or feel but it has no effect on him.


    "Let''s forget about this and just proceed with the n. We can''t afford to mess this up." Cygnus sighed, he already lost interest in whatever they were talking about.


    After that, the carriage was once again shrouded in silence. Nobody talked until they reached the manor where their private physician was waiting for them inside the master''s room. The doctor immediately checked his condition and his diagnosis was the same as the royal doctor.


    A few days after Cygnus returned to the Ginehart manor, in the tower, Grand Archmage Celes was preparing for his departure. He was about to visit the duke''s son in hopes of convincing him to join the tower. He would also need to face the duke at the same time.


    "Master, are we really visiting that manor?" a woman''s voice asked Celes who was currently reading the documents about the youngest Ginehart. They were currently inside the mage''s study.


    He did not look up from what he was reading and answered, "Yes, we need to. If I don''t do this the other elders will surelyin about it. Besides, this child has a very interesting background." He pushed the documents towards his apprentice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The woman took it and read through it but all that was written on it was just in rubbish and information that they already knew. "That''s odd, how can someone have this kind of nk past. No matter how the duke hid this son of his, our spies will still be able to dig some information about him."


    Celes chuckled, "You are right. Even if the duke has this kind of power, he can''tpletely hide everything from our eyes and yet here it was, no relevant information that we can use to bargain with him."


    "What are you going to do now, master?" She returned the documents to her master while she stared at it with a frown on her face.


    "My dear Celestine, that''s why we are going to visit him to see what kind of person he was." Celes stood up and took his coat before he walked towards the door.


    Celestine, his apprentice, followed closely behind. She was also curious to see this man who caught the attention of the elders. This was the second time already. She narrowed her eyes at the thought of Ezio whom she met after the incident at the pce.


    The man was exuding an aura that tends to keep people away. He also doesn''t know how to smile no matter who came to get acquainted with him. If the second son of the Ginehart family was like that, she would rather convince her master to not take him in under his wings if he ever enters the tower.


    They left the tower and used a carriage to reach the duke''s manor. The gates to the manor were closed and they needed to wait outside for a while before a man came from behind the gate. With one look at the carriage, he already knew that they were from the tower.


    "May I know your identity sir mage?" The guard asked after he got out using the door on the gate. He knocked on the carriage''s door to ask those questions which Celes didn''t mind.


    Celes also brought out his token of identity and presented it to the man. The guard nodded before he signaled for hispanion inside to open the gate so that the carriage could enter. The nearer they got to the manor the tenser Celestine became.


    The carriage finally stopped and Celes pushed open the door as he alighted first then he escorted his apprentice. A servant was already waiting for them and he led them to the manor''s main waiting hall. Refreshments were then served as they waited for the manor''s butler toe.


    "Grand Archmage Celes, I did not expect to see you here. What can we do for you?" The butler politely asked.


    "Sorry if we came without notice, is Duke Ginehart in?" Celes asked. First, he needed to know if the duke was there so that he''ll know what would be his next move.


    "I''m afraid that the master is out now. He had gone shopping with the duchess since they''ll be leaving the capital in a few days," the butler respectfully answered.


    ''Good,'' Celes thought to himself. If the duke was not there, and the major was busy with his military duties, it was the right time to speak with Rigel. "That''s unfortunate then, how about Sir Rigel, is he here right now? We needed to give the owner of the house a greeting since we came here without any notice."


    The butler did not think about it that much and led them to where Cygnus was resting. They went to the back of the manor and into a small greenhouse where different kinds of nts were nted. In the middle of the greenery and colorful scenery, a couch was ced and atop it was Cygnus who was busy reading a book.

 Chapter 129 Confrontation

    ?"Young master, you have a visitor. I''ve already led them here because the masters are currently away at the time being," the butler informed him.


    Cygnus stopped reading and looked up. He then slowly stood up to get near them and the smile on his face appeared when he saw who the visitors were. Their clothes already gave them away. Cygnus then dismissed the butler.


    "What can I do for you?" Cygnus used a cautious tone to ask them why they were there even though he already knew the reason for that.


    "First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Celes, a mage that the tower sent to specifically talk to you," he stated which made his apprentice look at her.


    "Aren''t you here for my father?" This time he looked confused. He looked unsure of why they were there to talk to him.


    "Not really, we are here for you." Celes went straight to the point as he shed all his pretentious mask.


    Before Cygnus could answer, they were interrupted by the butler who came to deliver the food for Cygnus and his visitors. "Why don''t you all take a seat first before you continue with what you were talking about."


    Celes and Celestine sat down and looked at the young man who was still looking confused. "As I have said before we came here for you young master Rigel because of your talent in magic."


    Cygnus''s eyes widened when he heard what the mage said. As far as he was concerned, his family covered up his role during that incident because he doesn''t want anyoneing to their house for an interview.


    "H-how did you know?" His voice shook for a little. If he could do it right now, he would definitely p for the mage who was speaking with him right now.


    "One of our own who went to the party wrote a report that''s why we learned of your existence and the power you possess," the mage simply answered. "The magic tower is currently looking for talented individuals to join them and be a full fledged mage."


    Listening to that line almost made the master burst out inughter. The man sounded like those people who would knock at someone''s house then offer the owner products and services using their glib tongue. The way the mages of the tower convince someone to join them was really low level.


    "I''m not sure about it. My father hates the tower and I''m not sure if he would even allow me to join you even if I express my interest," Cygnus answered. He shook his head and frowned. His fingers started to drum the table and he felt a little bit uneasy.


    Celes narrowed his eyes and a subtle smile appeared on his lips after he heard thosest words from the young man in front of him. Those words meant that there was a possibility that he would be willing to join if they managed to convince the duke. This was a good sign for him and for the tower.


    "You are right, I will not agree with it." A loud and deep voice sounded from a few feet away from where they were. "The tower really is shameless. I wouldn''t let my son be involved with the likes of you. Even if he doesn''t be a mage, I don''t really care and it is even better."


    Celes looked behind him and stood up when he saw the duke who was walking towards them withrge strides and a re being sent his way. He did not waver though and still gave the man a slight bow before he greeted him. "My pleasure to see you, Duke Ulysses."


    Ulysses sneered and did not return the greeting. Instead, he walked past them and stood beside Cygnus. "Rigel will not join the magic tower."


    Celestina frowned at the tone of the duke. In her eyes, her master was of higher status than this man. She gave the duke a re with her fists clenched on her side.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Is that how the duke greets his guests?" Celestina stepped forward to face the duke.


    Ulysses looked at the woman who was the same age as Rigel and narrowed his eyes, "Guests? You are not my guests. I did say to allow anyone toe inside my manor but if you insist on being rude then I won''t be that weing."


    "Rude? In what way are we rude? We are here to talk about business and that''s not being rude," Celestina insisted because in her eyes they did nothing wrong.


    "Youngdy, if you continue to talk to me like that, I won''t think twice and let the guards throw you out." Ulysses''s stone cold expression and voice prated through the atmosphere and stirred the air, "You should know your ce and the person you are talking to. Rude? You don''t have the right to tell me if I am right or wrong, especially inside my territory. I am the Duke of Ginehart and a General in the Royal Army and you? Just a measly apprentice without any achievements whatsoever so please watch your tongue."


    Celestina was rendered speechless at the duke''s words and all she could do was grit her teeth. She couldn''t believe that a person of his status would bully a person like her.


    "You should teach your apprentice manners. Look she still have the courage to give me a re." This time he was looking at Celes who decided to stay silent.


    "I apologize for my apprentice''s behavior. I will make sure to punish her once we return to the tower," Celes grinned because he was actually enjoying what was happening.


    Ulysses was not convinced nor will he pursue the matter, "Now, if there''s no more kindly leave my manor while I am still being polite."


    Celes nodded, he can''t push the matter for now because the duke was clearly against them approaching his son. He looked at his apprentice and was about to turn around when the air suddenly stirred as mana was being used.


    In the blink of an eye, Celestina disappeared from where she was standing. She was already moving towards the duke with a de of fire on her hands. With the senses the duke developed throughout his years in the battlefield, he did not even bat an eye and just used his sword to block the attack.


    The woman was raging in anger at the insult thrown her way. She couldn''t ept that someone would be able to utter those words to her. The fire on her de became fiercer but the man wasn''t fazed.


    With pure strength, Ulysses used his sword to push the woman away. Celestina was knocked back but she managed tond safely on the ground. Before she could evenunch another attack, the duke was already in front of her with his sword aimed at her throat.


    In his battle mode, the duke doesn''t feel any hesitation or doubt. He was confident with his skills and his instinct to kill and right now that woman was his enemy. Ulysses Ginehart would not hesitate to kill all of his enemies.


    The de barely touched Celestina''s neck and drew only a small amount of blood when the sword stopped midway. Ulysses looked behind him and he saw that thick there were branches of trees holding him back. These branches circled around his feet, waist, chest and arms.


    "I know that my apprentice is rude but I can''t let you kill her, duke." Celes stood on the side with a shining magic circle below him where the branches came from.


    The Grand Archmage didn''t expect that his apprentice would suddenly attack the duke. He knew that the woman has a fiery temper but she still had a lot of self control that''s why he was confident with his apprentice''s temper.


    While he was busy holding the duke back, Celestine leapt back and summoned a series of fireballs that sheunched towards the duke. Before the attack could reach the duke, an ice barrier appeared before him and swallowed and froze the fireballs.

 Chapter 130 Something Unexpected

    ?Celestine moved back as the ice barrier expanded towards her until it finally stopped. She was not deterred as she continued to attack. Her attacks were relentless as she continued to summon fireballs followed by fire arrows.


    Cygnus continued to defend and sessfully intercepted all the attacks. Afterwards, heunched his own attack and sent a rain of ice to pin the woman down. While the rain was distracting her, Cygnus sent an ice wave below to freeze her.


    Celestine defended herself from the rain so that she did not notice the ice creeping towards her. The cold got a hold of her feet as it spread fast upward towards her body. The sensation of numbness slowly took over her body until half of her body was frozen.


    She tried to melt the ice using her fire but it was no use because the ice was faster that her fire. Celes and Ulysses watched as Cygnus easily subdued the woman with only a few attacks. Celestine tried to free herself but she was locked in ce by the ice crystal that surrounded her.


    Ulysses broke the branches that were restricting him and attacked the Grand Archmage instead. He was fast and every sh and stab he used was precise and with the intention to kill. Celes on the other hand did not remain passive and also attacked the duke.


    The greenhouse that was pristine and beautiful became the home of fire, ice and overly grown branches of trees. This was what met Linius and Lte when they were informed that a mage from the tower came to visit.


    "Mother stay here outside, I''ll go and see what is happening inside." Linius looked at his mother and gave her a reassuring smile.


    Lte agreed because she knew that she wouldn''t be of any help even if she could enter the greenhouse. Before Linius could even enter, a sharp wooden branch pierced through the roof of the greenhouse. Then there was a booming and crashing sounding from the inside.


    The major immediately made his way towards the entrance of the greenhouse and when he opened the door, everything inside was already in a mess. He waded through the chaotic scene until he reached the center of the chaos.


    There he saw his father brandishing his sword against the mage while the master watched from a distance and beside him was the ice crystal that trapped Celestine. Linius already knew that this could happen but to actually see it with his own eyes was different.


    "Father!" He shouted with the loudest voice he could but Ulysses was not listening. He frowned as the shadows of both his father and the mage moved from one point to another.


    He took the sword on his waist and released it from his scabbard. Since he had learned how to channel his strength in the sword, he infused his purest energy and threw the sword. The ck sword cut through the air with a whistle and passed in between the mage and his father which sessfully interfered with their sh.


    The sword pierced one of the pirs of the greenhouse and stayed there. Ulysses stepped back and so did Celes. Linius walked and stepped in between them. He stared at the mage and narrowed his eyes.


    He had seen him many times in the capital because he was one of the most popr members of the elders of the Magic Tower because he never hid his identity. Because of that, he unofficially became the face of the tower because people could immediately identify him in a crowd.


    "I would appreciate it if you can please leave now, Grand Archmage," Linius gestured at the now destroyed entrance of the greenhouse. "Do note into our territory once again."


    Celes wasn''t willing as his eyes lingered on Cygnus for a while. The child was really talented and full of potential. He would leave now but he won''t give up on the master. The Grand Archmage left together with his apprentice who was still angry for being embarrassed like that.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    After they left, Linius sighed and looked at his father who just sheathed his sword. He still stood there like nothing happened even though the greenhouse was already destroyed. The major took back his sword by using the same invisible strength he used to make his sword fly.


    "I don''t know what you are thinking about, but do you really need to destroy the whole ce?" Linius was disappointed with his father because he can''t even keep a calm mind.


    "Do not me me, that woman suddenly attacked me and I am not the kind of person who will just stand there and let someone kill me." Ulysses frowned once again when he remembered how that woman tried tond an attack on him.


    "Did you perhaps insult her or anything?" Linius asked while he looked around to assess the damage caused by the fight.


    All the nts and flowers they nted and collected were now destroyed, some were incinerated and frozen while the others looked like they were razed by arge snake. Even the expensive table set and couches ced in there for rxation were now unrecognizable.


    "If not for her being rude and not knowing her ce, do you think I would say anything? Who gave her the right to say whatever she wants?" As a duke he has a dignity he needed to preserve.


    That apprentice was a woman, but if a woman spoke without thinking and without respect, he wouldn''t be polite with her. Youngsters nowadays needed to be disciplined and showed how cruel the real world was.


    There was nothing he could do about his father. He had been like this ever since and if he decided to take action then no one can stop him. Linius then looked at the master who was silently watching from the side.


    "So, did that magee to convince you to join the tower?" He asked although he already knew that it was the case. The master''s prediction has always been right.


    Cygnus walked towards them with a grin, "Yes and after this incident they will remain persistent because he has proof that I will be an asset to them." There was a skip on his steps as he walked towards them.


    He was satisfied by what he had seen and he witnessed firsthand how strong the elder Ginehart was. Linius''s sword has also improved. They were really talented people which he rarely encountered from the worlds where he had been to.


    "Now that everything is in ce, we just need to wait for them to make a move. Let''s make this as believable as it could be." Cygnus patted both of their shoulders before he waded his way through all the mess when he suddenly stopped in the middle. "How unsightly," he stomped his feet and a magic circle that epasses the whole greenhouse appeared.


    A light engulfed the whole ce and within a minute everything was back to normal after the light disappeared. Ulysses and Linius who were in there gaped at the man whose back was facing them. His magic was really high level and they were sure that the man could do more than that.


    Celes was in a good mood after they came from the Ginehart manor. His fight with the duke was an eyeopener. May said that he was unmatched in the battlefield and even more so in a singlebat. Now he had proven that they were not wrong.


    That young man was also noteworthy. Even though his apprentice was driven by anger during the fight, he was still able to subdue her. He looked like he had no experience in a battle but when he saw how he moved and acted, he was sure that Rigel Maverick Ginehart was no ordinary magic user.

 Chapter 131 Sweets

    ?Celes and Celestine reached the Magic Tower and throughout the ride, Celes did not speak to his apprentice. If the young man was to be even more reluctant to join the tower, then it would be his apprentice''s fault. He was also annoyed because he needed to face the elders empty-handed.


    "Your actions a while ago are so rash. You really had the guts to attack the duke in his own home. Now our chances to convince that young man to join the tower only fell below the critical percentage," Celes did not hold back once they were at his study at the Hall of Time.


    "How can I tolerate someone who insulted me?" The woman answered with gritted teeth. She was still angry even after they left the manor. Her pride couldn''t ept that someone could insult her.


    "Are you telling me that even if the Magus Maximus is going to insult you now, you won''t let go of him and attack him too?" Celes straightened his body and ced both of his hands behind him as he stared straight at his apprentice.


    Celestine frowned, "That would be a different story. The Magus Maximus is an existence that all of us respect, so even if he insults me, I wouldn''t dare attack him."


    Celes looked at his apprentice. She had been acting out of it ever since they entered the Ginehart Manor. Then she suddenly lost it and attacked the duke. The Grand Archmage took a step closer and extended his hand towards the woman''s head. A red light spread through her body then it disappeared.


    He did not find anything unusual with her and everything about her was normal except for her emotion. He stepped back once again and gave his apprentice onest look, "Even though the duke is not part of the tower, he is still one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. If you offend him, then you would also be offending the king who is of a higher status than the Magus Maximus."


    The woman avoided his master''s gaze and clicked her tongue after hearing those words. She was confident that with her status no one can defeat nor tell her what she should do. Only her master or the other Grand Archmage can boss her around, not an ordinary person like that duke.


    "Since you look like you are not going to repent for what you did, I will be sending you to your own solitary confinement to reflect on your mistakes," Celes did not hold back. He needed to discipline his apprentice and the best method so far was to let her be alone.


    Celestine''s eyes widened when she heard her punishment, "Master! Are you really going to punish me just because I attacked the duke?"


    "Yes," Celes''s stern voice made the woman shut up. "Attacking the duke is considered a capital offense and in this case, you attacked a general of the royal army which directly serves the king. Because of that, it was like you were threatening the king himself."


    The apprentice couldn''t believe her ears. This will be the first time that she was going to be in solitary confinement. A white light appeared below her and in the blink of an eye she was already inside a small room without windows and doors.


    Now that Celes was free of taking care of the woman, he would have more time to go and convince the youngest Ginehart to join the tower before the elders decided to make any move.


    For the following days, Celes did not stop following Cygnus no matter where he went. The Grand Archmage would always be able to find him and would try to convince him to join them. He would also often visit Vergessen to see if he was in.


    Every day that he went to see Cygnus, Celes would notice that the young man''s approach to the matter was bing more and more positive. He believed that with a little bit of push, Cygnus would eventually agree to join them.


    "He is pretty persistent," Mr. Cmented as he cut the freshly baked cake and put a slice on a te for Cygnus.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Isn''t that good? That only means that his interest in me has increased." Cygnus took a bite at the cake and was impressed with its taste. It wasparable to what he had been serving at Moonvale.


    The patissier they found was reallypetent and capable of replicating the cake he had only shown him only once. Even his shop that was located in the slums was doing pretty well because more and more people were going there to taste something they never had before.


    Also, ever since he opened an area beside the bakeshop where anyone can dine in, the ce has been buzzing and information upon information was collected and stored for his entertainment. While he was reveling in the sess of his business, he heard a familiar voice once again.


    "As I thought you are here Rigel," Celes came in and directly went to where the master was sitting and sat down on the empty chair in front of him. He then looked at the butler and ordered what he usually orders in the shop.


    Mr. C left to prepare the special guest''s order and also to give them time to talk with each other. Cygnus looked helpless at the Grand Archmage because he would really stoop so low just to convince him to join them. Someone of his status was almost begging him.


    "Rigel, you should make up your mind now. If you don''t agree with me now, the tower will definitelye after you." He leaned forward and whispered to him, "The tower is pretty ruthless. If they want something they will go through all lengths to acquire it."


    It has been a week ever since the task was given to him and if he couldn''t bring back any good news to the other elders, they might do something drastic. Although he was not fully against forcing people, he preferred to do it the peaceful way. He was not really a fan of killing and death, what interested him more were new forms of magic or people who could use unique magic.


    "My family won''t agree. I have been trying to convince my father to let me be but he still seemed reluctant. Can you please give me more time?" Cygnus faked a sigh and even rubbed his head to pretend and alleviate the headache that wasing.


    "I understand." Just as he said those words, the coffee he ordered was served together with a te of cookies.


    The mage''s eyes refocused on the cookies and there was a sparkle on his eyes that was also gone just as fast as it appeared. He couldn''t deny that the bread, cookies and cakes in Rigel''s bakeshop were delicious.


    "Please enjoy your coffee," the butler gave the mage a smile to which Celes nodded. He then picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip. "Hmmm, your products here are really delicious, no wonder this shop is so popr."


    "Thank you for thepliment. We hired a pretty capable patissier and everything here is his work," Cygnus answered with a smile. He looked proud that his business was being praised by a member of the Magic Tower.


    They ate in silence as the mage was not willing to talk because he was savoring the vor of the food. Cygnus also joined him in appreciating the sweets being sold and served at his own shop.


    "I''ll be taking some take outs with me," he looked at the butler and enumerated his orders. Cygnus who was looking at the man couldn''t help but virtually shook his head because the other was already taken in by the sweets.

 Chapter 132 At The End Of The Line

    ?Three dayster, Cygnus appeared on the doorsteps of the tower together with his butler. The tower was actually busy once again after the incidents a few weeks ago. The line that shortened after those attacks were longer again as more and more people wanted to join the tower and be a mage. He took a peek at the paper being distributed by the mages and saw something which made himugh.


    "It seems that the tower is pretty desperate right now," he waved the paper towards Mr. C with a mocking grin on his face.


    Mr. C took the paper and read it. It stated there that if any of the applicants seeded in entering the tower they would be given a daily allowance of one gold. They were also promised rewards once they reached a level where they can do missions.


    It was a tempting offer, especially to those who don''t have a stable job and it was also a way to raise their status in society. The butler looked at the long line and shook his head. He then returned the paper to the master and let him take care of it.


    While they were walking towards the main gate of the tower, a man suddenly blocked their way and gave them a re. "The end of the line is over there." He pointed at the back so Cygnus turned around and saw that the line got even longer. "Just because you wear fancy clothes, you''ll be given special treatment here."


    -


    Mr. C stepped forward and was about to reprimand the man but the man was faster than him. Several others came as a back up and blocked their way. Themotion caught the attention of those who were in line and they frowned at the direction of Cygnus.


    He also noticed that some of them were actually from some small aristocratic or merchant families based on their clothing and thoughts. Cygnus looked at the people who were wearing robes with the token of the tower hanging on their waists and decided to join the line.


    "Alright we will go," Cygnus turned around. He walked towards the end of the line together with his butler and stood there quietly.


    "Are you sure about this young master?" Mr. C whispered after they got in line. He had on him the invitation letter signed by Grand Archmage Celes which they can use to easily enter the tower.


    "Since they don''t ask questions and just push people around, I''ll let them enjoy their free time for now and besides it seems to be fun to join these people and see how the tower is selecting their mages." Cygnus looked at the people who were in high spirits while waiting for their turn.


    It took them three hours to finally reach the front of the line and when they were faced with the administrator, he gave them a nasty look. The master couldn''t help but raise a brow at the administrator''s rude gaze.


    He looked at the side and saw that the men who blocked their way a while ago were whispering to themselves while looking at them. Cygnus could already guess what they did. He didn''t expect that this kind of low level bullying would exist in this world.


    "They might be thinking of giving you a difficult time during the tests," Mr. C leaned towards the master''s ear and whispered after they registered their name and got a number.


    The master chuckled, "Don''t worry too much. I''ll handle them all." They continued to walk to the training grounds of the Hall of Songs.


    There were already many people undertaking the tests on different arenas inside the training grounds and all they needed to do right now was to wait for their number to be called. Both of them stood on a somewhat hidden corner to avoid getting attention and silently waited.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They only waited for about thirty minutes when the master''s number was finally called. He walked up to the arena to face one of the instructors in-charge of teaching the novices. The man was tall and had arge build with his aura leaking to give his opponents pressure but it did not affect the master.


    "Since you are a beginner I will go easy on you," the instructor informed him beforehand but Cygnus has doubts. The incident at the gates surely has reached them by now and they had been keeping an eye on him, so he knew that they wouldn''t go easy on him.


    Instead of answering, Cygnus just nodded his head and even before he could defend himself, the instructor was already in front of him with his arm and fists pulled back in a punch. Cygnus blocked the blow by using both of his hands.


    This attack made him slide back and he could feel the pain in his flesh and that his bones nearly broke. If this was him holding back then the master''s arms would already be broken if he was an ordinary person. As he suspected, he was being targeted.


    The instructor''s attacks during the applicants who went before him were not that strong and yet that punch was enough to render a normal person unconscious. He stood there for a while with his arms still raised in front of him.


    Cygnus put down his hands and looked at the instructor. Since they were willing to go as far as to use violence against him, then he wouldn''t hold back also. He patted himself and looked at the man with a re.


    He took a fighting stance with his right hand in front of him and the left hand behind him. The instructor smirked at the young man because in his eyes he was nothing and that his power can''t bepared to his.


    With no hesitation, the instructor attacked again, but this time Cygnus was prepared. He dodged the instructor''s fists as his figure in front of him blurred then he appeared above therge man. His right arm was raised as he intended to hit the instructor''s nape with the side of his palm.


    The instructor reacted quickly and stepped back to avoid his opponent''s attack. Cygnus''s palm met with air so with that failed attack he chose to keep his distance from the man. Although he wanted to end the fight immediately, he couldn''t do it because he needed to appear as normal as possible.


    The fight caught the attention of the applicants and the instructors who were there. The instructor who was fighting the master, was a bit taken aback because he did not expect him to retaliate. He looked at the applicant''s calm face and undeterred expression but because he was an instructor, he couldn''t let this applicant humiliate him.


    Thus, he attacked again and this time his speed was much faster as he incorporated speed magic on his feet and arms. He released a series of punches that Cygnus barely managed to dodge. The instructor grinned when he saw that the applicant was bing more and more sloppy while dodging.


    Then he saw an opportunity, he stepped forward and tightened his fist for a final attack that would definitely knock Cygnus. This time this punch was packed with his internal energy and physical boost from his magic. The punch swished through the empty space between him and Cygnus before it reached the applicant''s body.


    Cygnus managed to put up a shield to protect himself but it still cracked under the force of the fist. Although the impact of the fist was reduced, Cygnus was still sent back as he skidded through the arena''s floor until he stopped just before he reached the end.


    He coughed up blood as he could feel his internal organs in pain. It was really not a good idea to ept such an attack without preparations. He couldn''t move his body for a second as the pain became overwhelming.

 Chapter 133 The Right To Be Smug

    ?The instructor felt good because he was able tond that hit but still he was impressed that the applicant was still able to put up a barrier to protect himself. "Are you going to surrender now?" He asked with a smug look on his face.


    Cygnus spat out the blood on his mouth and wiped the remaining blood on his face. "Why would I surrender when I can defeat right here and now?" In terms of cockiness, the master won''t let himself be defeated.


    The instructor was offended by those words and he didn''t like the applicant''s grin. His eyes twitched before he prepared himself again for another attack. He used the same method and attacked Cygnus using his speed. This time, his fist was covered in mana which made the fight even more dangerous.


    Cygnus managed to dodge the barrage of punches and this time he did not give the man any opening. The instructor was bing tired and his mana was being drained continuously and he knew that if he did not stop he would only be wasting his time and energy.


    After that relentless attack, the instructor decided to leap backward and regroup before he attacked again but before he could do that he was suddenly blocked by an ice wall. This slight pause was taken advantage of by Cygnus, as he appeared in front of the instructor and with his own fist, hended a punch on his face.


    The instructor passed out after taking the punch which made the crowd gasp. They couldn''t believe that someone would be able to defeat an instructor. The other instructors who knew what happened on the gate started to whisper to themselves.


    Cygnus doesn''t really mind even if they were to speak against him or in favor of him. What''s important was that he won the fight and taught the instructor a lesson. After he was dered as the winner, the unconscious instructor was also carried away.


    After that first test, they were given permission to enter the Hall of Songs already for the magic test. This time the other applicants who saw his fight became more friendly towards him. They sat in one of the empty spaces and waited for the first batch to finish. Compared to the training grounds the Hall of Songs was silent because there were no sses or training.


    Only a handful of people were being tested because the others obviously failed. Once it was their turn, they were called in front of arge crystal that was emitting a white light. To test their magic and mana capacity, they needed to ce their palms on the surface of the stone and the stone would read their mana signature.


    The stone then will show the results by using numbers on the top part of the stone. There were also ranges assigned to the applicants based on their magic power. Those who can score higher than ten thousand will be immediately given special attention.


    One by one they queued to the magic stone and the more the points were below one thousand the deeper the frown was on the face of the facilitator. If there were some who could score above one thousand, their expression would ease but more or else, almost everyone was average.


    This time it was his turn, Cygnus ced his hand on the surface and the magic stone started to tally his points but the facilitator didn''t hope much. The point reached one thousand and it kept on increasing when the points went over five thousand the facilitator eyes were already glued on the magic stone.


    The glow on the stone continued to brighten as his points reached above ten thousand yet it showed no signs of stopping and when it finally did, the hall was silent. A ring magic index of fifty thousand was shing on the stone.


    "Are we done?" Cygnus removed his hand and looked at the facilitator who was frozen in ce as he gaped at the master''s score. Cygnus snapped his fingers which woke the facilitator.


    "Ah yes, pleasee with me and wait for a while in the room. We need to inform the people above about your magic index." The frown on the facilitator''s face disappeared and was reced with a wide grin.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    While he was escorting Cygnus, the three guards who blocked him earlier came rushing in when they got wind of the news that Cygnus got the highest magical index among all the applicants. After realizing their mistake, they immediately approached the master to apologize.


    "What are you doing here? You should be guarding the gate, what will you do if a fight breaks out in there because you are here and ingratiating yourselves to one of our talents?" The facilitator scolded the three of them and waved his hand so as to stop them from approaching any further.


    Before they could even leave, amotion at the entrance made their heads turn. A tall and serious man walked amidst the crowd. He had a frown on his face when he saw that the person he had been pestering these past few days would be joining the line for application.


    The facilitator immediately approached Grand Archmage Celes and greeted him, "Elder, what brought you here?" He anxiously asked because he did not expect that one of the big shots of the tower would bothering down to the Hall of Songs.


    Celes red at the facilitator and spoke to him coldly, "Move!" His deep and emotionless voice made the facilitator shiver and cower in fear. He slowly stepped aside and let the elder walk past him.


    The Grand Archmage walked towards Cygnus and looked him over. He could clearly see some bruises on his face and arms then he gave the facilitator a re. Without batting an eye, hemanded the facilitator to call all the people who were involved with the recruitment of new novices.


    "It is nice to see you again, Grand Archmage Celes," Cygnus casually greeted, which caught the three guards off guard. He even waved at the elder and grinned.


    "I gave you an invitation, so why did you join these people?" Celes did not know what the young man was thinking. "I gave that letter to you so that you cane to me immediately once you make your decision. Did you perhaps lose it?"


    Cygnus shook his head, "I did not lose it. It was just that I wasn''t given the chance to use it because we were blocked at the gate and forced to join the line." He looked innocent while exining himself to the elder.


    Celes frowned even more because of what he heard, "Who blocked you?" Whoever made the master''s life difficult, the elder would surely deal with them.


    Cygnus''s eyes went to the three people who were at the side and when the elder followed his gaze he sneered. Now his full attention was to them. "Alright, since the three of you dared to block a special guest of mine without asking him of his identity. How bold of you to neglect your duty like that. If I am not going to get angry right now, I''m sure that Duke Ginehart will surely make you suffer once he learns what you did to his son."


    The three men gulped in fear and in shock. Even the remaining people who were there to watch the show were also shocked. They then looked at the Cygnus with fear in their eyes. Luckily, they did not offend the young man.


    The facilitator came together with the other instructors who oversee the first part of the test. When they entered the hall, they immediately noticed the tense atmosphere inside. They looked at each other but no one dared to say anything.


    They all lined up and waited for the elder to speak. Celes raked his gaze through their ranks as he simultaneously added pressure to them. "Do you know why I called you all here?" His voice boomed inside the hall.

 Chapter 134 Becoming Part Of The Tower

    ?The hall was silent. No one dared to answer the elder''s question. They were all trembling in fear because of the pressure that the man was applying on them. Some of the applicants even went out to vomit because they couldn''t take the pressure.


    Celes frowned even more when he received no answer from the people in the hall. He looked at the facilitator and asked him instead.


    "Do you know who this person is?" He pointed at Cygnus who remained silent at the back.


    The facilitator trembled and shook his head. He had no idea who the participant was. "I''m not sure elder. What I only know is the name he registered at the entrance."


    Celes waved his hand, "Then, will you look again at the list you are holding and read his name again, so that all of you will know who he is."


    The facilitator slowly raised the list of names he was holding and read the name on it. His eyes widened when he clearly saw the name on the paper. He even raised his head and took a peek at the young man before returning his gaze on the paper.


    "What are you waiting for?" Celes asked because the man was not doing what he asked for and he was getting impatient.


    "Elder...this...I..." He couldn''t read the name. He wouldn''t dare but the elder''s gaze made him flinch.


    "What? Are you only going to stutter there and won''t read the name? Or you need my help?" Celes''s voice was sharp and full of sarcasm as he sneered at the man.


    He had no other choice but to do what the elder was saying so he raised the paper once again and read the name on the form. "Rigel Maverick G-Ginehart." He suddenly fell down on his knees after reading the whole name in the paper. "Please forgive me! Please have mercy on me! I swear what was written on the paper was only Rigel Maverick!" He pleaded as he also tried to defend himself.


    "Enough!" Celes''s booming voice echoed in the room as all the instructors also fell down on their knees.


    They couldn''t believe what they heard. The young man was a Ginehart and he even had the favor of an elder. This only meant one thing, the young man was extraordinary. While they were kneeling, they felt a bit relieved that none of them were the person who gave the young man those bruises.


    "This matter, I will let all of you be responsible for it but to those who willingly and knowingly bullied him, expect a harsher punishment for all of you. You can go back to your posts because I don''t want to see your faces any longer." Celes waved his hands before turning around to face the young man.


    "You shouldn''t be too harsh on them and besides I enjoyed joining the tests. At least I was able to test myself and I even defeated the instructor who was incharge of me during the first test," as those words, the atmosphere that eased for a moment once again turned tense.


    "You don''t have to force yourself to say those words. That man will surely face a punishment equivalent to what he did, even those three guards who blocked you, they will receive special punishment." Celes sighed and let go of his anger.


    He did not give any more attention to the other people in the hall. He then waved his hand and a magic circle appeared on the ground. Celes stepped in then let Cygnus and Mr. C in before they all disappeared.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The moment they disappeared, just as the instructors felt relief, several uniformed individuals came in to take the three guards. They also instructed the others to return to their rooms because they will be under house arrest for a couple of days to reflect on their wrong doings.


    Those people also organized the applicants who came and announced that the selection will be postponed for now until further notice. Those who already passed the tests will automatically report to the tower the next day to start their training.


    Celes and his guests directly appeared inside his study at the Hall of Time. He then ushered them to the lounge inside his study and even served them tea and cake. He then sat down on the empty seat in front of Cygnus.


    "I apologize for the blunder of our mages," he immediately apologized. It was better for him to maintain a good rtionship with the young Ginehart since he was going to be a part of the tower soon.


    "No need to worry, they were just doing their job even though they really went a little overboard and you already gave them punishments. I just hope that it won''t happen to the other applicants." Cygnus appeared like a nice guy with a warm deceiving smile on his face.


    Celes was d that the other seemed to have no grudge against what happened. "Thank you for the understanding. Now we can put that behind us and focus on the most important thing. I couldn''t believe that you woulde to the tower personally."


    Cygnus''s smile did not disappear as he answered the elder, "Well, my father and mother left for our territory the other day and my brother is a bit busy because of the incident in the pce so I took that chance toe here."


    Celes was happy because of the good news he was currently hearing. This was a sign that the young man has no malice towards the Magic Tower which the whole Ginehart carries. Although it was a bit suspicious, he didn''t care because this time the other elders will not be able to mock or ridicule him for his ipetence.


    "That decision of yours, isn''t that going to affect your rtionship with your family?" Celes appeared to be concerned but Cygnus knew that he was only showing superficial care.


    The master shook his head, "I believe not and I know that they will understand my decision. Although my family hated the tower, I believe that I can learn more about myself when I join the tower." It was only ame excuse but the elder believed every word he said.


    "Then, I officially wee you to the tower. The other elders will wee you too." Celes did not think twice and epted him immediately just in case he suddenly changed his mind.


    He stood up and walked towards his table and picked up a document which he handed to the master. The first word that caught his attention was the word ''Contract'' written in bold letters at the top of the document. It was a contract which states that he would be a part of the Magic Tower and will serve it with his heart and life.


    "Do all of the mages in the tower sign this kind of contract?" Cygnus asked because he was genuinely curious. He knew that there was a contract but the contents of it were hidden so the information about it was a bitcking.


    "Yes, it is to ensure that they won''t betray us when the timees. Without the permission of the Grand Maximus, one cannot undo the contract. You don''t have to worry though because that contract will ensure your safety and identity." The elder exined as he pointed at the use which states that the other party will be protected by the Magic Tower and if ever, he traveled to another kingdom, he can use his identity to inquire at the other Magic Towers.


    Cygnus read through the contract once again before he decided to sign it. Once the contract had a drop of his blood, it emitted a golden light before it rolled itself and returned to the hands of Celes. The elder then kept the contract in a special box sealed by magic before he mumbled a spell and the box disappeared.

 Chapter 135 Returned

    ?Celes once again looked at the young man with a smile. He was relieved that Rigel was not like his father nor his brother. Now that he joined the Magic Tower, the duke of Ginehart will now think twice before picking a fight with them.


    "Thank you foring and bing a member of the Magic Tower," Celes offered his hand so Cygnus shook it. After that and after checking if he was alright, they finally left the tower.


    Once they got home, they met with Linius who was waiting for them. He knew of the n so instead of going to the barracks he chose to stay and wait for the result of the master''s business with the tower.


    "Have you been waiting for us to return?" Cygnus raised a brow at the person who was sitting on the manor''s lounge.


    "Lisbon is currently taking care of everything there right now so I have free time," Linius answered. There was no use even if he lied because the master would definitely know.


    "Since you are already ready to hear the news, I''ll tell you. I am now officially a part of the Magic Tower," Cygnus smirked. "We can now proceed with the next step to our n."


    Since the master already gave his go signal, Linius should also prepare already for what''s to happen in the future. "I understand." There was much he needed to do and the investigation of the incident at the ball was noting to an end.


    The next few days, Cygnus focused on preparing himself to enter the tower, even though he really had nothing to prepare for but he needed to make a show for it so that no one would suspect him. During this time, the elders had gone into one more meeting where they talked about their new recruit.


    This time, Astrophos also returned to the capital only to hear that the master had joined the tower. He had been out and was gathering information that he did not expect that so much already happened during the time that he was away.


    He did not waste time and went to the manor where he silently slipped in and found the master inside the library. He revealed himself and waited for the master to acknowledge his presence. Cygnus took his time before he finally recognized the person''s appearance.


    "It''s been more than a month," Cygnus spoke without raising his head from what he was reading. He continued to flip the pages of the book as he waited for the mage to answer.


    "Yes, and within those days that I was gone, it seems that the master decided to do something crazy again," Astrophos answered without flinching at the cold wee he got.


    "Crazy? It''s not a bad idea though. Now that I can enter the tower whenever I want, I can also do whatever I like in that ce." The masterughed at the mage''s remark and found him funny even though the aura around him was not the same as before.


    "Can I enter the tower with you then? Not as Astrophos but one of your aides." Cygnus stopped reading when he heard this request from the man.


    He did not hear the usual scolding the man was giving him when he did something reckless and now he was even willing to go with him in a ce where his identity might endanger him. He was an indecisive person which piqued Cygnus''s interest, now he seemed to have changed.


    "You''ve be boring. Where''s the Astrophos who always gets frustrated whenever I do something outrageous or out of the line? Don''t tell me you''ll be like this forever?" The master stood up from the couch where he was sitting.


    He walked up to the man and yet all he saw was his nk eyes. He waved his hands and yet the person was unresponsive. Cygnus shook his head and went back to where he was sitting.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He leaned on the couch and draped his hand on the back of his seat as he faced the man with a formal look on his face. "Why would you want to join me in entering the tower again? Aren''t you afraid that your identity will be exposed?"


    The man maintained his silence for a while before he answered him, "I hope that you can help me with that. I have something I must do inside the tower."


    Cygnus did not fail to observe the man ever since he entered the room. "You look like you''ve seen some horrifying things. Is it rted to the tower?"


    Astrophos did not want to think about it and would rather forget about it but every time he closed his eyes the images would always sh in his mind. He started to investigate the matter after he heard of rumors about it while wandering around the usual ce where he got information.


    What he found during those days when he was gone, was something no human should have done. The Magic Tower he respected with all his heart and admired since he was a child was capable of doing something inhumane.


    Cygnus saw that the man was unwilling to talk. He sighed and rxed his posture while sitting, "I''ll arrange for it then and I''ll give you a suitable disguise that you can use. Anyways. Mr. C needs to stay outside to oversee my Vergessen."


    The mage looked at the master and was grateful that he did not ask. It was not like him to be this passive but he might be giving him some consideration even though all he did in the past was contradict all of his actions.


    "You got that right, so you should not make me angry from now on or else I''ll hand you to the tower myself," Cygnus sneered after hearing the man''s thoughts. He was indeed being considerate of the man but for some other reasons.


    Now that Astrophos had developed hatred for the tower, it would be easier for him to use him against that organization. His work inside the tower will also be easy because right now he has a trusted aide by his side.


    "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will fully repay you this dept I have." Astrophos bowed his head and for some reason, Cygnus could feel that the person was clearly being sincere.


    It was different from those times where he could still sense mistrust and wariness from the man. He could also feel the fear whenever Cygnus showed his powers in front of him. That sincerity actually made the master shiver. He really did not like people who were being sincere.


    "Alright enough of this, you can go because I''m getting ufortable with this new personality of yours." The master waved his hands several times and had a sour face while looking at the man so Astrophos bid him goodbye and left.


    Mr. C appeared from nowhere and approached the master who was shaking his head and shoulders after the mage left. "Do you need some tea to warm you up?" He then asked.


    "I''m d that his eyes were opened but the change is really drastic. I didn''t even force him to make a contract with me like what I did with the major and yet I feel like if I had offered it to him a while ago, he would not hesitate to ept it." Cygnus shook his head and instead leaned again on the couch. "Is it really that shocking to learn that the tower is involved with human experimentation? It happens all the time though."


    "You have to understand that Sir Astrophos respects and is loyal to the tower then he suddenly discovers that the tower where he dedicates his life is actually a ce of horror, he will definitely experience a shock." Mr. C observed the master and all he could see was him nodding his head as if he had understood what he had said.

 Chapter 136 Ari

    ?After the preparation, Celes visited the master once again at his bake shop. Just like before, he was given his usual order. This time his apprentice was with him even though she was unwilling to go with her master.


    "The other elders already agreed that you cane to the tower tomorrow. You will be under my care after you enter the tower," Celes informed him.


    The master already thought as much and those words made Celestine frown. Cygnus could already guess that the apprentice was not happy with that news. She was constantly ring at the man and did not even try to eat the cake that was served for them.


    "Will I be your apprentice?" This question made Celestine even more angry but she was keeping herself in check unlike the first time they met each other.


    "Not necessarily because I''ll need the approval of the other elders about that matter. I''ll only supervise you until you get used to the tower and even your training," Celes shook his head as he exined the situation.


    Cygnus nodded, "Is that so. Then can I bring with me an aide? It would make my parents more at ease when they learn that I am joined the tower. I can also use it an excuse just in case." He requested as part of Astrophos''s request.


    Celes did not need to think twice and answered immediately, "Yes, you are allowed but only one aide can enter the tower and that whoever you will bring will also follow the rules of the tower."


    Cygnus grinned and looked at the other person who was with Mr. C. He was at least six feet tall with blonde and yellow eyes. His skin was a bit tanned and at the master''s gaze, he replied with a nod. "That is Astro, I will be bringing him with me as the butler couldn''t leave the manor without my father''s consent."


    Celes looked at the man pointed by the master before he nodded towards Cygnus. "I understand, I will personally wee you tomorrow so that we won''t have any problems likest time."


    "Sir Celes, I have one more thing to ask." Cygnus spoke once again, "Ezio, will he be at the tower?" This question took the mage by surprise. He did not expect the young man to ask for Ezio.


    "He is a bit special and right now he is not at the tower. He is currently enrolled at the Magic Academy due to some circumstances," he exined. "Why do you suddenly ask?"


    "Oh, it''s because I wanted to personally thank him for saving me at the ball. I did not have the time to properly thank him when I woke up so I am hoping to see him at the tower." Cygnus answered with the exnation he prepared earlier.


    "So that''s the case, I''m not sure when he will be back at the tower but because the both of you are in a simr situation, I''m sure that you will meet him soon since both of you are staying at the same hall." Celes smiled while telling him that information.


    He said those but it would be difficult for the both of them to meet because Ezio would be put in a different ce because his magic was something that the tower needs. In the future he would be the core of the tower''s n while the other recruits they have would be supporting him.


    Cygnus maintained his expression even after hearing the mage''s thoughts. The tower''s n was so grand that they couldn''t wait to attain it. They must have been anxious when Jagan disappeared together with the child.


    Now that he was back in the tower, they were even more anxious to start the n they had years ago. Ezio could already control his magic decently and a little bit more, he could open a door to another dimension. Once this part of his power as a ''Dimension Walker'' manifested, the tower won''t sit still.


    "I understand. I''ll wait for him at the tower then." After the visit, Celes and Celestine left for the tower.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Ezio is a special case," Cygnus chuckled after saying those words out loud. "The tower''s interest in Ezio''s power is now beyond obsessive."


    Astrophos''s disguise faded after the mages left as he moved towards the master, "Do you have any idea why they wanted Ezio''s magic? From what I heard he saved you and the king during the ball using magic that looks like teleportation but it was not the same as that magic."


    "Ah yes, you don''t know the importance of Ezio''s power to the tower." Their surroundings suddenly flickered as a barrier was set around them to prevent other people from eavesdropping. "Ezio is what I call the ''Dimension Walker''. His magic is a power that can open doors to different worlds. If that power fully manifests, the tower will be able to go to other worlds."


    The mage who asked the question was so shocked that he became frozen from where he stood. He couldn''t believe what he was hearing. The power to travel worlds was only a theory to the point that it can be considered a myth. There were records of it in the Magic Tower but all of it was not proven that most of the mages considered it a fairytale.


    "What do you mean by that? How can there be someone who can use that kind of magic?" Astrophos became even more confused, he can''t easily believe whatever the master was saying.


    "It is not impossible and I know someone with that kind of power. She disappeared a long time ago and then her name suddenly appeared in this world." Cygnus suddenly had a faraway look on his face at the mention of that woman.


    The mage was slightly taken aback by the sudden reaction of the master. "If that''s the case, then is Ezio rted to this woman you are talking about?" He asked after a while.


    "I''m not sure and I don''t know but the fact that he carries that woman''s name makes that a possibility." Cygnus gave the man a smile which only made Astrophos frown. "Now that Jagan is dead, I need some other way to know the truth."


    "Is that the reason why you took Ezio under your care?" Astrophos asked again after he could finally piece together the events that had happened so far.


    From the moment he took Ezio under his wings and the journey to the capital. It was all to get inside the tower. So, the destruction of the tower was not a joke but something he already thought about ever since they were still in Moonvale.


    "Then I would be even more helpful once you enter the tower. I will help you find out what happened before the Grand Mage disappeared with Ezio." Astrophos made a promise which Cygnus did not expect at all.


    "That''s why I allowed you to join me. We will uncover everything that the tower has done from the past before I go ahead and destroy it," Cygnus grinned with a glint in his eyes. "Do you have any problem with that?"


    Astrophos shook his head, "I don''t. The respect and loyalty I once felt for the tower is already gone. I don''t care what you do after you get what you want. I don''t consider myself a mage from the tower any longer." His voice was cold and uncaring which made Cygnusugh.


    "That''s good to hear. Now that you are on my side even without a contract, I''ll introduce you to someone. You will be working with her once we enter the tower." Cygnus stretched his hand to the side and a wisp of smoke appeared on his hand, it swirled around in a small amount until it got bigger and transformed into a woman that resembled a ghost.


    Astrophos''s eyes widened when he saw the transparent woman. Her eyes were closed and her clothes were unusual, something he had never seen in any of Lunaira. Her face had lines on it and even her clothing was bluish but the mage couldn''t make it out properly.


    "This is Ari."

 Chapter 137 Little Bit Of History

    ?Astrophos had his mouth wide open after hearing the master''s introduction. He did not expect that the ''Ari'' that the master was telling him in the past was this woman who looked like an apparition.


    He was also shocked once Ari opened her eyes. She has golden pupils but the outside of the pupils was pure ck. The ck lines on her face started to have blue light running around on them. Her pale skin was emphasized because of this strange light in her body.


    "Ari, you will be working with Astrophos once we enter the tower. He will be using the name Astro and you will be in-charge of his disguise so you better scan it now." Cygnus gave the instruction and with a snap, Astrophos returned to his disguise a while ago.


    "High Mage Astrophos Veeto will be Astro ¨C data has been stored." A mechanical and cold voice suddenly came from the woman which made Astrophos ufortable. Even the way she looked at him was a bit unnerving. "Appearance has been scanned. All data has been stored in the infinite drive. Do you have more instructions master?"


    "I don''t have any more instructions. Good job Ari." Cygnus did not forget topliment Ari after she did what she was told to do. After that, Ari slowly disappeared until Astrophos could not feel her presence any longer.


    "What-what was that?" He looked at Cygnus with disbelief. That was definitely not a ghost and he was sure that it was not a spirit summon.


    "That is Ari, my personal assistant. She is in-charge of storing, sorting and analyzing everything I have learned from my past experiences. Even my memories are stored in her, so if I want to, I can easily ess those memories from her." Cygnus exined but he was toozy to exin it in detail.


    "I don''t understand what you are saying? Store? Sort? Analyze? Your memories?" Astrophos looked genuinely confused. His serious and cold bearing just a while ago disappeared in the face of his curiosity.


    Cygnus looked at Mr. C which the butler immediately understood. He walked up to them to exin to Astrophos who Ari was. Since his butler was already there to tell him what he needed to know, Cygnus exited and left the both of them. He would rather go around the city than to sit there and listen to a boring exnation.


    "Ari is a special creation that helps my master with every information he gathers from every world we upy." Mr. C opened and yet he was forced to stop because Astrophos looked even more confused right at that moment. "Why don''t you take a seat first so that I can exin to you what you need to know."


    The mage took the butler''s suggestion and sat down to listen to the man. He felt like if he did not listen now, he would miss something big and that he would regret it. He tried to make himself asfortable as he could as he waited for the butler to speak again.


    "My master, Nina and I are from a different world than yours. We opened a gate and made Moonvale our home. My master wanted to live a peaceful life with his bake shop but as matters progressed, my master needed to take action." The butler first exined where they came from since the concept of dimension was not already new to the mage.


    Astropohos remained calm as he digested the first information. He already knew that these people were different and with the talk of other dimensions he could already guess and now that it was confirmed his suspicions were now eliminated.


    "Even though he looks young, my master is already a thousand years old and he has lived in more worlds than you can imagine. I was only by his side for almost seven hundred years now and Ari was with us for five hundred years. Nina on the other hand has stayed with us for three hundred years." He then exined the gist of how long they have existed in any worlds where they had roamed around.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was a bit surprising but Astrophos could strangely understand because sometimes, the master would talk as if he had seen many things in the world that nobody had seen. He often spoke from experience too and the way he brushed things off was not something someone inexperienced can do.


    "Is the master a ''Dimension Walker'' too?" Since the butler said that they have been to other worlds then he could onlye up with one conclusion, the master was the same with Ezio.


    "You can say that but we are not sure ourselves. His way of opening gates to other dimensions is a bit forceful because what he does is rip open the space with his power. This power then creates a connection to another world thus making a pathway we take to that said world." The butler tried to exin and he was not sure if the mage could understand.


    "Alright I could understand it a little bit. So, you are saying that these ''Dimension Walkers'' have the power to smoothly and urately open a gate while the master does not have this kind of ability so what he does is to use his power to create that same gate," Astrophos told him what he understood and the butler nodded.


    "Yes. Now to continue, at first, I was in-charge of keeping records about the worlds we visited but when we found Ari, she took that job. She has what she calls the ''Infinite Drive'' where she can store and ess information easily." He then proceeded to tell him about Ari.


    He also exined how Ari was storing the master''s memories. Because he had lived for such a long time, he was bound to go insane with all the things in his mind and to avoid this, Mr. C proposed that he should store his memories in Ari and after storing those memories, he would make himself forget.


    "That''s how he survived but along the way he lost many things too. Not even a shred of sympathy nor truth remained. He became like a doll only living a life he wanted without care for the things around him. He wreaked havoc wherever he went and he was given different nicknames." Mr. C added and Astrophos could already guess some of the nicknames that they would have given him.


    "Can I know anything about the woman he was talking about a while ago?" He then remembered the master''s story so he tried to ask but he was disappointed.


    "That information will be provided by the master as I don''t have the permission to tell you about that," Mr. C closed his eyes and shook his head. It was not his ce to tell him who that woman was because it was a bit of a touchy topic.


    "I understand. I''ll also need time to digest everything you have said to me today. It is a bit overwhelming." Astrophos sighed and rubbed his head that started to ache after hearing all of that information.


    "Since you will be working with Ari, kindly treat her like a human being. Although she is made by man and seems to be cold, I believe that with enough interaction with people, she will slowly change. If you need any information, you can ask her but remember that she will only answer the questions that the master allows her to answer." The butler looked at the mage as he was saying that reminder. "And one more thing, Ari is also powerful so don''t mess with her and focus on your mission once you are in the tower because if you ck off, you might experience suffering from her."


    Astrophos kept the reminder in his mind before he left. The barrier that the master wavered until it disappeared when the mage left the bakeshop. He took his time and walked slowly towards the manor while he processed all of the information that was given to him.


    ''Other worlds? If the elders of the tower would know about this, they would definitely mor to be the first to acquire this knowledge.'' He thought to himself as he walked home.

 Chapter 138 Magic Tower

    ?Early the next day, Cygnus together with Astrophos who was already disguised as Astros and Mr. C set out towards the Magic Tower. The ride was silent since the butler was not into talking and the master was pretending to be asleep. It took them thirty minutes to finally reach their destination.


    They alighted from the carriage and found that the elder was waiting for them together with his apprentice. There were no other people beside them which was much to Cygnus''s preference because he doesn''t want to gain any attention.


    Once all of his luggage was brought out, Celes teleported them directly to his room which was in the Hall of Time. Since Astro was there as an aide, he was given the room beside the Cygnus''s then they proceeded to tour the ce.


    While walking on the halls lit by magic, Celes did not forget to exin how the Magic Tower works and what were the things they needed to take note of while staying there. He also exined the overall structure of the tower.


    "The tower is made up of seven halls. The Hall of Songs is the lowest floor and it is where the novices stay and train. That is also the ce you visitedst time. The next floor is the Hall of mes, it is where the newly promoted mages will be staying. They will continue their education and training at that level." While introducing the halls, he did not forget to look at them to check if they were listening.


    Cygnus already had an idea about the halls since Astro already gave him a rundown of it before they departed from the manor. He did not speak though and showed an expression of interest to assure the elder that he was listening.


    When he made sure that they were focused on him, he continued with his introduction. "The third level is called the Hall of Conquest. It is where the mages take requests and missions to make a name for themselves and also to earn money for their families. The fourth level is the Hall of Vestige, it is where the mages who specialize in research stay."


    Cygnus pretended to be amazed at everything that the elder was saying even though he was already bored because of it. He would prefer to return to his room and rest than to listen to all of these exnations.


    "The fifth level is here, the Hall of Time. This is where the Archmages should be but because most of them are out, it became a ce where their apprentices stay. This is also the ce where the warrior mages are stationed since they are guarding the Hall of Knowledge. The Hall of Knowledge holds all of the information that the tower had collected for many years." Celes became proud after introducing the fifth hall which caught the master''s attention.


    "Do I have the permission to enter the Hall of Knowledge?" Cygnus suddenly asked as his face lit up after what he heard.


    Celes could understand his enthusiasm sadly that hall was not a ce where he could be, not right now. "Sadly you can''t enter the Hall of Knowledge and the Hall of Saints, which is the highest level and where the Magus Maximus is staying. Aside from those two halls, you can ess the first through fifth halls without any problems."


    Cygnus was a bit disappointed but he could somewhat understand why it wasn''t essible to them. Celes chuckled when he saw the young man frowning after hearing what he had said.


    "You don''t have to worry though, each hall has their own library where you can go and read whatever you want. Each of the halls also has a canteen where you can go and eat anytime. There are also training rooms for groups and for individuals. The training room for individuals needs to be reserved though." Celes informed them to make up for the fact that they can''t ess the higher floors.


    They continued to walk around as the elder showed him where he should go if he needed something. He was also given a token with the elder''s name which he can use as a pass. He can use it to ess any facilities that he would use in the future.


    "Now that I''ve toured you, let''s go to my office first because we have something more to talk about." Celes gestured for them to follow them until they reached the elder''s study. Just like before they were served with tea and treats.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Thank you," Cygnus dly epted the tea and drank it. He was happy that the tour was finally done.


    "Since you are not yet a mage, you''ll need to attendbat training arranged by the tower. There you will meet other apprentices. Some of your time will also be dedicated to lessons about magic and about the tower." The elder brought out a paper that contains the schedule of sses where he was assigned to.


    Cygnus took the paper and read through it. It was not fully packed and he had more free time but he doubted that it could be used for leisure activities. He was sure that the elders wanted to see him work diligently.


    "I understand. Will these lessons start tomorrow?" He gave the piece of paper to Astro which the man dutifully kept.


    "Yes, my apprentice, Celestine, will go with you since you have the same schedule." Celes looked at his apprentice only to see her unhappy face.


    "She seemed unwilling, is she still holding a grudge because of what happenedst time or because she feels that her position is being threatened right now?" The master had enough of her sour face ever since the beginning so he didn''t hold back.


    "What did you say!?" Celestine stood up from where she was sitting and red at the man. She had been holding back and he had the audacity to say those words.


    "I am just telling the truth and you are not the only person who felt ufortable right now because every time I see your face, I remember how you disrespected my father and even attempted to take his life. So you don''t have the right to re at me." If worsees to worst, he can always fight the woman.


    "Your father disrespected me first so he deserves it!" Her voice rose and the temperature inside the room suddenly shot up.


    "At what part did he disrespect you? My father is only stating the truth. You are merely an apprentice with no achievements to your name and yet you dare to talk to him just because you can use magic? My father won battles and brought prestige to our kingdom. His achievements can''t bepared to someone like you." The master''s voice was stern with no room for argument.


    He also looked at the woman with cold eyes which made Celestine unable to speak. She could only clench and unclench her fists without the chance to retaliate and even before she could think of doing so, she heard the man speak again.


    "You with no name should know your ce. Ginehart is not someone or somece where you can unt your status as an apprentice of one of the elders in the Magic Tower so don''t give me that attitude. If you can''t stand me, then better take another way when you meet in any ce inside the tower." His words pierced through the woman that all she could do was walk out.


    She did not want to embarrass herself any longer, especially in front of her master. Celestine was even indignant because her master did not even defend her.


    Cygnus sighed after the woman left. He looked at the elder in fear that the man might get angry with him because of what he did. The look of surprise in his face was priceless when he saw that the elder was actually smiling at him.

 Chapter 139 Usual

    ?Cygnus was confused as to why the elder was suddenly grinning at him. As far as he knew, masters always got angry whenever their disciple or apprentice was being bullied. Some would even go and kill those who bullied their favorite student.


    "You really are fearless. To be able to say those things to my apprentice even though I am here..." Celes narrowed his eyes then heughed.


    "You are saying that and yet you did not stop me and let me continue. I bet that your apprentice''s pride is hurt right now," Cygnus chuckled and shook his head. "I guess there are masters in this world who do not dote on their apprentice."


    Celes couldn''t stop the loudughter after hearing those words. He even tapped the table several times but he still couldn''t stop. The man''s words were so ridiculous that he couldn''t contain his burst out.


    Cygnus and Astro waited for the elder''sughter to subside. This went for another ten minutes before he finally stopped and calmed himself. He took several deep breaths before he could finally face his guests.


    "I''m sorry. What you just said was really entertaining. Where did you even hear that kind of thing? Apprentices in the Magic Towere and go. It''s true that we pick them personally but if they don''t perform to the standard we want, then we will let them leave or make them regr mages." The elder leaned on his seat with a curious look on his face.


    It was the first that he heard something like that. It seemed that the young man had a wrong preconception of them. Wherever he had heard that, he should correct it now that he was already a part of the tower.


    Cygnus stopped drinking and looked at the elder, "Is that so, then pardon me if I was wrong. It seems that what I have read from books is very different from  reality."


    "If one of the elders takes you in as one of their apprentices, you should do your best and prove to them that you are useful," Celes bluntly gave the advice. It sounded like they were only after their abilities which was the truth so there was no point in hiding it.


    "And if I don''t perform well, will they kick me out?" The grin on the master''s face made the elder stiff.


    He felt that there was something hidden behind those words and the way he was looking at him was different from what he usually showed. Speaking of which, during those times that he met the young man, he noticed that there was something about him that made him ufortable. Now that he was looking at him closely that feeling intensified.


    Celes shook his head, it must have been his imagination. He heard stories about the young man but it was difficult for him to believe that a person who looked meek and weak could do that. He gave Cygnus another look before he decided to ask.


    "Did you really cut off your cousin''s arm?" This question made the master look up in surprise. Celes noticed the surprised look from the person''s face.


    "I''m surprised that you are asking that to me now when every aristocratic family knows about it. Is the tower''s information not enough?" Cygnus smiled. His face rxed as he leaned back a little bit to raise his left foot and cross it over his other foot.


    The elder was now certain about it. There was something wrong with the young man''s personality. He appeared weak during those times they met outside and now that he was inside the tower, he was already showing his true personality. He looked smug and domineering right now, like he owned the ce.


    "Is this what you usually look like?" Celes waved at the way he was sitting in front of him. The feeling of being looked down couldn''t be ignored.


    Cygnus suddenlyughed, "This is how I always am, ever since the beginning. If you have a problem with it, you can always kick me out." He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes towards the elder with a smirk on his face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Celes shook his head, "I will not do something like that. In fact it is better like this because there are people here who are more arrogant than you. I''m sure that one of these days, you won''t be arrogant anymore." The elder did not flinch and met the master''s gaze with a smirk of his own.


    "I assure you, that won''t happen." Cygnus did not back down because he was that confident.


    He was there to make them all suffer and destroy their precious n. And while he was at it, he won''t let himself be bullied by those who think highly of themselves. His main goal was to wreak havoc in that peaceful ce.


    After that conversation, the elder let Cygnus go back to his room to rest. After this day, Cygnus will officially stay and learn at the tower and his ns will start to move too.


    The next day, Celestine did not show up but the master did not care. He can navigate his way around the hall even without a guide. He took his time to walk  the hallways made of stone.


    There were no windows but he felt no suffocation and the halls were bright even though it was only lit with magic. Everything inside looked natural which would give anyone security andfort.


    He started to hum while walking since the hallways were silent. So far he hadn''t run to anyone yet. He stood in front of the door to the assigned room before pushing it open.


    The sound of the door made the whole room silent. The whispers from the inside died down once he stepped inside and all eyes were on him. He gave the onlookers a fleeting gaze before he took an empty seat.


    Whispers started to go on again after he sat down and he knew that he was the topic. One voice was particrly loud and the person had no intention of hiding his enmity. Cygnus had no desire to make a big deal out of it and ignored their remarks.


    When the man noticed that Cygnus was not responding to his snidements, his face became contorted in anger. He walked up to where Cygnus was seated and mmed his fist on the table. The loud noise made the room silent and the atmosphere tense.


    "Hey you newbie, aren''t you going to pay your respects to your seniors?" The man red at him and mmed his fist again on the table.


    Cygnus lifted his head to look at the man who was disturbing his peace. He blinked and looked him from his head down before he ignored him once again. To waste his time on people who like to bully others was not his style.


    The man got even angrier at the look that he received from Cygnus and how he was ignored twice. Without thinking about his actions, he grabbed the master''s cor and pulled him up. Cygnus''s upper body was lifted as he leaned forward and his eyes met the other''s gaze.


    "Don''t be so full of yourself just because you are favored by the elders. In this hall I am the rule and a new person like you shouldn''t show any disrespect." The man emphasized every word he said but  Cygnus was not intimidated.


    The master''s eyes went to the hand that was grabbing his cor as he thought of ways to get rid of that filthy hand that was holding him. He could cut them off instantly or should he do it slowly starting from finger to finger then his elbows then his shoulders. He could also twist them off and crush the bones to make him feel the pain.

 Chapter 140 Arrogant People

    ?Before he could do anything about it, Astro came and gripped the other''s hand that was holding the master''s cor. He tightened his grip and gave the man a re before he gave him a warning.


    "If I were you, I will let go already or else you''ll lose that arm of yours." He said those words with coldness and a serious look on his face.


    "Move," the man wasn''t moving just because some lowlife said so.


    Astro did not take a step back though and instead tightened his grip on the other man''s wrist. He couldn''t let go or else the master would surely do something bloody. His patience was incredibly short at times and this was one of those times.


    "Don''t demand respect from me. If this is how you treat others, how will you expect me to show you some respect? From the moment I stepped inside this room, I already felt the dislike and sneers all of you are giving me. People of your kind, I don''t respect." Cygnus spoke  with a squint.


    Even while he was being held by the cor, he did not let the man belittle him. The aura of someone on a higher level than any of them started to ooze from him. The room''s tense atmosphere became even more suffocating.


    "Now let go," Cygnus''smanding voice echoed inside the room.


    The man who was so full of himself just a while ago took a step back with his eyes wide. He appeared to have seen something scary as his body started to shake in fear. Cygnus patted his clothes and fixed them before looking around.


    "What did you do!?" One of the man''sckeys shouted as he helped the man steady his steps.


    He could feel the twitching of their leader''s body and how he was gasping for air. They didn''t know what to do and started to panic because of it. The man suddenly screamed and passed out due to fear.


    "I did nothing, didn''t you see how he was the first one to grab me by my cor and threaten me. Now you are asking me what I did?" Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows.


    Theckey stood up and walked towards Cygnus and Astro with rage in his eyes. If fire coulde out from it right there and then, it would have burned them. The master remained calm and weed the man but before theckey could get near to Cygnus, Astro stepped in between them.


    "Enough, you should go and take a look at your friend there instead of picking a fight here because he might need medical assistance," Astro pointed at the man who was left lying on the floor.


    Theckey stopped on his tracks with his fists clenching and unclenching before he closed his eyes and turned around. He helped the other guys to lift their leader as they walked out of the room. The rest of the people were silent through the whole incident and no one wanted to get near the duo.


    Cygnus looked at them with a smile, "If you want me to respect or address any of you with reverence, then make sure your status is higher than my family''s reputation. Surpass my Ginehart family and you''ll earn my respect. Defeat me and you''ll earn my reverence."


    Nobody made a noise even after Cygnus took a seat and Astro took the other beside him. They slowly returned to their own seats and silently waited for the instructor thee. Once the instructor opened the door, he was shocked to see that all of the apprentices were seated and silent, he then saw Cygnus.


    "I''m sure that all of you already know the new addition to our ss and I hope you don''t lose your mind and challenge him because you might regret it," the instructor started. He did not get any reactions from the apprentices which surprised him.


    "It''s already toote for that reminder," Cygnus spoke from his seat. "They''ve already challenged me and I showed them that they shouldn''t be messing with me." The master smirked which made the instructor take a second look at the others.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Based on their silence and how they were distancing themselves from the new addition to the tower, something did happen. But it was not his ce to reprimand them because everything can happen inside the tower.


    "If the others are already clear with that then we will start our lesson." The instructor started to talk and he was d that no one from them was talking and whispering.


    The instructor''s ss finished without a hitch and he left the room with a smile. He was d that that group of apprentices finally found their nemesis. Elder Celes already informed him of the background of Rigel and of what he can do so he ought to warn the others and yet they went ahead and challenged him.


    After the ss, they went to one of the training areas in the hall where they will be practicing their magic with an instructor to watch them just in case of emergency. The space was wide and could hold twenty apprentices at the same time. Now that there were only six of them excluding Astro, the space seemed wider.


    Cygnus looked around and saw an empty spot. He did not hesitate to cross the field and went straight to the area he chose. The others watched as he suddenlyid down on the bench and closed his eyes.


    "Master, aren''t you going to train? The instructor might get angry at you." Astro went to stand beside his master with his hands on his back.


    "I''m too tired andzy to do anything right now. I spent all of my energy a while ago." He mumbled followed by a sigh. He was not in the mood at that moment.


    Amotion caught the attention of Astro so he lifted his head and looked at the direction of the entrance. He could see other apprentices entering the room. The others who were with them a while ago seemed to be talking with them and the woman in front looked at them.


    "I''m afraid you won''t be able to rest, master, a visitor ising your way." Astro leaned a bit and whispered to the man.


    The woman was now walking towards them with a light smile on her face. She then stopped a few inches away from the bench and greeted Astro who returned the gesture. Noticing that the other guy was not standing, she contained her displeasure and maintained her sweet girl appearance.


    "Hi! This is my usual ce and I would like it if you can find other areas to use. It''s just that I can''t really practice my magic if I don''t use this area." Her voice was sweet and smooth like cotton. It was very pleasing to the ear.


    Although the woman was trying her best to ask them nicely, Astro did not answer because it was the master''s decision whether he wanted to move or not. She was already getting tired of smiling but still she received no answer.


    "Are the both of you ignoring me on purpose?" She couldn''t help but ask after five more minutes of silence from them. She took a couple of steps forward when they heard Cygnus''s voice.


    "We came here first and chose this ce first. Why not go and look for another please and stop disturbing my sleep," Cygnus spoke with his eyes closed.


    The woman was surprised at how rude Cygnus answered her when she was asking them kindly. "But I''ve already told you that I can''t train with my magic if I don''t use this space. That is why I am asking you kindly."


    Cygnus opened his eyes and sat up. He then looked at the woman from head to toe, "Does the area really affect one''s practice? If you really want to be proficient in your magic, you can just practice anywhere and anytime."

 Chapter 141 Defeat

    ?The woman''s face reddened at the man''s answer, she couldn''t believe that there was a man who could speak those kinds of words. He was not a gentleman at all and to think that he came from an aristocratic family even made it worse.


    "If you want to have this ce then defeat me first. Since you have been using this area for a long time now, you should be stronger by now," Cygnus issued a challenge with a smirk. Hisziness suddenly disappeared.


    With no hesitation in her actions, she epted the challenge with a smile. "Alright, just because the elders give you importance it doesn''t necessarily mean that you are stronger than me."


    She turned around and went back to the group of apprentices who were watching on the side. The other apprentices started to fawn at her and gave Astro and Cygnus a re.


    "Are you really going to fight her Lilia?" one of the women from her group asked. She was concerned that the man might use some petty tricks to defeat her.


    "Yes, I can''t let that man do whatever he likes." Lilia sounded confident as she flipped her hair.


    She was known as one of the strongest and most talented apprentices in the Hall of Time. She was also under Grand Archmage Renya, who was considered at the top five rankings of the elders. She couldn''t let the man sully her reputation.


    She also took it upon herself to teach the man some manners that he clearlycked even though he grew up in a prestigious family. Since both of them were from an aristocratic family and she was older than him, she thought of it as the right thing to do.


    Just as the duel was settled, the instructor came and Lilia immediately informed him of the situation. The instructor weed the fight and was even willing to stand in as the referee.


    Cygnus walked up to the center of the room followed by the woman. They faced each other and Lilia was still smiling like a sweet girl. The master looked at herzily and that''s all.


    The instructor saw that both were already ready so he signaled for the start of the fight. Nobody made the first move which made the audience''s anticipation rise. This persisted for ten minutes now but they were just staring at each other.


    Lilia was bing more and more impatient the longer the stand still was. Since the man was not willing to make the first move, she did. Her body suddenly became blurry as she moved at an inconsistent pace and stepped towards Cygnus. When she was close enough to the man, shadows in the shape of ws appeared below the master.


    Cygnus looked down and when he wanted to jump back his feet and even his whole body became heavy. There was an incredible pressure pushing him down. The shadow w wrapped around him as it twisted high and grew pointed shadows that bent down and pierced the shadow that was enclosing Cygnus.


    Lilia skidded on the floor and smirked at the direction of her masterpiece. It''s only the beginning of the fight and yet she already won. The audience was awed at how swift and fast Lilia did her attack. There was really no doubt that she was one of the top apprentices.


    When everyone was already celebrating, sharp ice spikes pierced through the shadow and slowly froze it. Slowly the ck shadow was reced with the blue white ice that surrounded Cygnus. He managed to put an ice crystal around him and also used it to disintegrate the shadow that tried to pierce through him.


    "How scary, are you trying to kill me? If I wasn''t able to put up that ice crystal, I would be bloody right now." Cygnus chuckled as he ice crystal broke into tiny pieces. "Since you are done, let me return the favor."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The master disappeared from where he was standing and appeared behind Lilia. His ice sword was ready to pierce through her but his movements suddenly slowed down so the woman managed to escape the attack. Cygnus did not stop though as he continued to try and attack her but just like the first time, his movements were being slowed down by the invisible force that Lilia was using.


    He attempted once again and when he forced through, his ice sword broke as the tendrils of the shadow formed a sturdy ck shield in front of Lilia. Cygnus jumped back and created a distance between them. He narrowed his eyes and stood up to pat the dust on his clothes.


    "Very good, you have good control with your magic but you are far from defeating me," Cygnus chuckled. He shook his head and grinned.


    Lilia felt that he was looking down at her and she felt anger. He was insinuating that her skills were not enough. She summoned the shadows around her and created an armor on her body.


    She did not waste time and went to attack Cygnus. With the shadows as her weapon, she ced her hands on the ground and the shadows started to crawl up to Cygnus. Once the shadows reached the master, spikes appeared and attacked Cygnus.


    He dodged the attack but wherever hended, there would be shadows waiting for him. This continued for at least five minutes when Cygnus suddenly jumped in the air with both of his hands raised above his head and a silvery blue magic circle appeared followed by ice falling from the above. These pointed ice crystals pierced the ground and froze the area around them.


    The shadows wriggled but no matter where they went, the biting cold would disperse them. After a while, the whole ground was covered in ice and Cygnus continued to float above. The audience gasped in surprise when they saw that he can use other kinds of elemental magic.


    "You are not the only one who can use two elements." The master raised both of his hands with his palms opened towards the upward direction.


    Wind slowly gathered on his palms and formed a shuriken shaped wind. The wind grew in size then he suddenly flung it towards the woman. Lilia controlled the gravity around her to slow down the attacking her way and when it got to the area of her control, she used the pressure of gravity to crush it.


    She was a magic user that can use gravity. She could change the weight and speed of things around her and around a certain area. But she could only control gravity at a certain distance and when the enemy was not really moving.


    Cygnus immediately saw this w so he decided to show his wind element and use it to float in the air which gave him a much better mobility. Now that he was above, Lilia wouldn''t be able to use her magic against him.


    Lilia grimaced after seeing that the man has no intention ofing down and she did not expect that he could use other elements. She then used the shadows to reach Cygnus but the man easily dodged and severed them. If she could just pin him in ce, she can use the gravity to keep him there and use another attack to defeat him.


    Cygnus did not give her the chance though as he created three whirlwinds and threw it towards the woman. She started to avoid the whirlwinds but she did not expect that the whirlwinds would have ice spears that flew out as the whirlwinds rotate.


    With her shadow armor, it was easy for her to defend against those ice but she did not notice that Cygnus was already nowhere to be found. The man suddenly appeared behind the woman and used a hammer made of ice to hit her. The impact was lessened but she could still feel the pain from the hit.


    Lilia hit the ground and before she could stand up, Cygnus used ice spears to pin her on the ground. He pped his hands and an ice crystal enclosed Lilia. Her feet and hands froze but what''s dangerous was that she couldn''t breathe.

 Chapter 142 Confusion

    ?The instructor saw this so he dissipated the barrier he erected for the fight and immediately dered Cygnus as the winner of the battle. He then instructed the man to remove the ice crystal which he reluctantly did. He was a bit disappointed because he couldn''t end the fight for real.


    The woman gasped for breath the moment that ice crystal shattered. Her friends ran to her side and checked if she was alright. She coughed and wheezed then she took deep breaths until her breathing returned to normal.


    The apprentices looked at Cygnus and decided to avoid him at all costs. Even Lilia, who was supported by the other girls, went away without any words. The master smiled before he returned to the bench where he was lying and continued with his rest.


    In a dark room where all the lecture and training rooms were monitored, Celes stood with a tall man who had graying hairs but a well-built physique. His deep-set eyes and amber eyes were focused on the fight that just happened.


    "I didn''t expect him to be hiding that ability," Celesmented after the fight ended. He rubbed his chin and hummed. "What do you think of him, Magus Maximus?"


    The person who stood with him had not much reaction after seeing the fight but he certainly had his own opinions. "Observe him a little bit longer. I believe that he is hiding more things."


    "Alright. Shall I report to you everything that he does?" the elder asked. If the Magus Maximus requests for it, he has no choice but to do it.


    "No need. I have my ways. For now, carefully observe him and that man with him." The man turned around and left after he gave those instructions.


    Celes once again looked at the projection on the wall with a small grin on his face. "That guy is really interesting. To be able to hide such a detail, what other things can he be hiding?" He wondered out loud since he was the only one in the room.


    The training ended so Cygnus and Astro went back to their room to change before they went straight to the hall''s library. There, the master spent the remaining hours of the morning reading. Astro was also given the chance to read books together with the master.


    At lunch, they went to the canteen since the master wanted to experience eating in a ce full of people who will look at them in curiosity. As they entered the room, he could already tell that it was not different from those school canteens he had tried before. There was really no difference no matter where he went.


    They found an empty table and took a seat. Since the canteen functions through magic, even the ordering of food was done by just tapping on the name of the food on the menu. After he was done, the food was immediately served after ten minutes which impressed him.


    As the te of foods he ordered were being served, the other apprentices looked at him in envy because his food was the most expensive one in the menu. That food can only be afforded by those who had money or those who were given big allowances by their masters.


    The meat was of the highest quality and even the other ingredients were of top quality. The desert was also on par with the ones he had at his own bakeshop. It was not definitely not disappointing. He slowly savored the food and finished everything before they left.


    "How does it feel to return to this ce?" Cygnus did not look back as he asked the mage. He was neither fast nor slow in walking as he waited for him to answer.


    "Nostalgic and at the same time disappointed," Astro did not hide what he truly felt.


    Every corner of the tower reminded him of the days when he was still enthusiastic to learn about magic. Although he never entered the Hall of Time, the structure of each hall was still simr. It was supposed to be happy memories but when he remembered what he had discovered, he felt disappointed.


    "How about we go down for a bit and visit the other halls?" Cygnus stopped on his tracks and turned around with a grin.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Astro nodded and let the master do whatever he wanted to do. They found the teleportation door and entered. As the spell was activated, they were surrounded with light then they vanished and reappeared at the Hall of Vestige. They roamed around the hall and noticed that there were no people around.


    Archmage Ragus was on his way to where his disciple was training when he ran to the two people who were looking around the hall. He was surprised for a bit when he remembered that the youngest Ginehart from the main family entered the tower.


    "It is a pleasure to see you again, Rigel Ginehart," the Archmage took the initiative to greet the man.


    "Oh it is also a pleasure to meet your sir. If I am not mistaken you were the mage who was with Ezio during the ball!" He eximed as he showed a little bit of excitement. Ragus thought that the smile on his face was refreshing.


    "Ah yes, I am Ragus and I am in-charge of looking after Ezio''s welfare even though he is still in the academy." The mageughed and nodded his head in acknowledgement. "By the way, why are you here in the Hall of Vestige?"


    "We were looking around since we don''t have anything to do today so I decided to explore the other halls together with my aide," he pointed at the person behind him. Astro gave the archmage a bow.


    "Is that so, then you can join me for a while. I''ll be meeting my disciple today for her training so you cane and watch," he invited.


    Since they were already there, they decided to ept the mage''s invitation. They followed him through theplicated hallways of the floor until they arrived at the private training room used by Ragus.


    The woman inside the room stood up when she felt that her master was already at the door. She frowned when she felt two other presence with him but she really didn''t care. Her master would often invite other people during their training.


    Ragus pushed open the door and his disciple immediately gave him a bow. Arean raised her head and was taken aback at the people who were with her master. What surprised her the most was the person who was grinning at her. She had seen him in Moonvale and he was the guardian of Ezio.


    "What-what are you doing here?" She shakily pointed her hands at Cygnus as she took several steps back.


    The master remained indifferent and instead scrunched his brows. He looked confused and did not know how to answer the woman. "What are you talking about?" He asked.


    "You were in Moonvale! What are you doing here? How did you enter the tower?" Her questions wereing after the other which made her master frown. He looked at his disciple and sighed.


    "Arean, stop this nonsense and stop pointing your finger at him. He is the newest apprentice at the Hall of Time, Rigel Maverick Ginehart and he is also the youngest son of Duke Ulysses Ginehart." He introduced the identity that the master was currently using.


    Arean looked at her master and then at then at the man. She was now more confused because of the information from her master but at the same time, she can''t be mistaken. No, there must be something wrong in there. It was impossible.


    "No! I clearly remember that face. He was the person in that bakeshop that was destroyed. He was with Ezio! That''s right he can prove to you that this person is from Moonvale. How can he be a duke''s son?" She tried to exin to her master. Her master would surely believe her.

 Chapter 143 Visitors

    ?She looked at Cygnus once again and she saw him smirked so she avoided his gaze. When she took a second look, the man''s expression returned to that of confusion. The smug look on his face as if mocking her disappeared.


    He was ying with her. Her eyes widened and her fists clenched when she realized that the man was pretending. It was impossible for him to suddenly be an aristocrat and even enter the magic tower.


    "Stop pretending!" She suddenly shouted as she took a step towards the man.


    Cygnus took a step back when he saw how aggressive the woman was as she walked towards him. Astro did not hesitate to block the woman after he sensed the killing intenting from her. He was sure that the woman intended to harm his master and he couldn''t let that happen.


    "Arean!" Ragus''s voice boomed and echoed inside the room. Arean stiffened as she gritted her teeth and stared at Cygnus with pure hatred.


    She turned around and looked at Ragus, "Master! Do you not believe me? That man," she looked back and pointed at Cygnus who was standing behind Astro, "imed that he was Ezio''s guardian!" She repeated but this only made her master sigh.


    "How can that happen when all his life, he had been sheltered by the duke. He was just recently introduced to the world so how can he be at Moonvale? His identity was also proven by Archmage Sigma." Ragus patiently exined to his stubborn disciple.


    Ever since they came back from that mission, his disciple had been constantly suspicious of everything. She had been saying incoherent things too and because she was his disciple, he tried to help but the woman refused. She continuously insisted that there was nothing wrong with her and everything she was saying was true.


    "I will not believe that lie! Why don''t we call Ezio here, even Meliore and stor, they''ll prove that I am not lying!" She was not giving up.


    There was something definitely wrong with the man. He must have hypnotized the duke to make him believe that he was his son. She needed to do something because she can''t let the man ruin her life.


    She was already having a difficult time after that mission and she was slowly moving on and then he suddenly appeared. They were already branding her as a crazy witch so she can''t let some man utterly destroy her reputation. Arean looked at Cygnus again only to see him giving her a smug look.


    "Arean enough of this. You are just embarrassing yourself and me by what you are doing," the mage held his disciple''s shoulders and looked her in the eye.


    Ragus was already at his wit''s end because of his disciple''s actions. His grip on her shoulders unconsciously tightened because he wanted the woman to stop. He did not want to raise his voice and embarrass Arean again.


    "You don''t believe me, do you?" Arean looked at his master in disbelief.


    Ragus was silent which only made Arean disappointed. She took a step back and shook her head. ''Her master doesn''t believe her.'' These thoughts continued to repeat itself inside her thoughts.


    "It''s not that I don''t believe you, rather it is a bit difficult to believe what you are saying right now," Ragus looked at her with concern.


    She took another step back with her eyes wide open and her mouth trembling. Arean couldn''t believe that even her master did not believe what she said. She was so shocked that she couldn''t utter a word before she walked past her master and the two guests with him.


    Ragus did not go after her. It would be of naught if he went and tried tofort her. He faced his guests and looked at them with an apologetic smile on his face.


    "I apologize for that. Ever since she returned from a certain mission, she had been like that," he exined.


    "It''s fine. She must have experienced something during the mission that''s why she was acting like that," Cygnus nodded as he gave the mage a small smile.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Instead of staying in the training room, Ragus led them to his study where he served them some tea. He sat down and joined them.


    "I didn''t expect that you would reallye here. What did the duke say? I heard that he was furious when Elder Celes went to visit you at the Ginehart Manor," the mage asked after he sat down.


    "Actually, my father doesn''t know that I joined the tower," the master replied. "They left a few days ago so I took that chance to get in contact with Elder Celes."


    Ragus was a bit shocked at what he heard. He didn''t think that he would be so daring and defy his father. He looked so frail and he was told that the young man has a soft personality, very amiable and easy to get along with.


    "How about your brother?" The mage asked again. He was sure that even the major hated the tower.


    "Oh, he could only frown and let me go but I''m sure that if something happens to me, he''lle barging in even if the odds are against him," Cygnus casually answered followed by a lightugh.


    The mage didn''t know if the young man was threatening the tower or if he was just saying what''s on his mind. He couldn''t figure it out because the man looked too innocent to be threatening someone. Although he heard that he had cut off the arm of one of his cousins, it was not an enough basis to judge him as a scheming person.


    "I will not doubt that," Ragus agreed.


    Members of the direct line from that family were gifted with wit and physical strength that can''t bepared to the others. It wouldn''t be a surprise if the duke would be knocking on their door once he discovered that his son was in the tower.


    That night as the shadows danced through the dimly lit hallways. Something was slithering through the crevices of the corners. It slowly entered the room where Cygnus was staying and it slowly formed into the shape of a human being. It stood there and waited for the master to acknowledge its presence.


    "You are too early," Cygnus said from where he was lying down.


    "I am only here to check up on you master," a guttural and deep voice came from the thing. "We''ve been waiting for your orders and I am getting a little bit impatient." It tried tough but it only came out as a gritty rumble.


    "As they all say, patience is a virtue. Go back and quietly wait for my orders and guard my bakeshop properly," the master answered.


    The thing slowly turned into a puddle again and slowly slithered away. The room returned to its original silence after the visit. Before he could go back to sleep, another silhouette appeared which blended with the shadows.


    "Why are you going through all these troubles just to destroy this ce? Why don''t you just smash it once and for all?"   The voice rang inside the room.


    Cygnus sighed, "Why can''t anyone know how to let me sleep?" He sat up from his bed and looked at the direction where the voice came from.


    The golden eyes stared at him and he could see even through the darkness that the man was smirking at him. He knew that the man was already bored so he suddenly appeared once again. Before Cygnus could even send him away, the door connecting the master and his aide''s room opened.


    "Master, are you alright? I felt an evil presence inside the room," he was in a haste but he still remained calm.


    His eyes immediately swept through the room until he came eye to eye with those golden pupils. He gasped and all his calm fa?ade broke down because he realized that those eyes were like that of a snake''s. He paled at the realization that he was not facing a man.

 Chapter 144 An Exam

    ?Ignius was looking at the mage with amusement. This would be the first time that he would meet the mage face to face and in his human form.


    "Look at him, he''s not looking good. He''s about to pass out." The man''sugh echoed through the room and if the master did not put a barrier around his room, it would have been heard throughout the hall.


    "I told you not toe out whenever you want. Can''t you just stay still?" Cygnus rubbed his temples and red at him.


    "How can you expect me to stay still when I have already tasted the air outside," the man chuckled. He also wanted to be a part of this grand n that the master has. "And I want to offer my invaluable service to your n."


    Cygnus leaned on the headboard and sighed again. These guys were unnaturally eager. Although it was a good thing, they should learn how to keep their enthusiasm to themselves.


    "Master, what is a dragon doing in here?" Astro, who was finally calm, asked.


    When he heard that they were talking so casually with each other, his fear subsided for a little bit but he remained wary of the dragon. Cygnus looked at the dragon and at the mage who had his gaze on him. The feeling of intimidation from the dragon lessened because of the look given by the master.


    "He is my familiar. Well, you can just call him that because he doesn''t like being called a servant." The master rested his head on his fist as he looked at themzily. "His name is Ignius."


    "Nice to finally face you Mr. Mage," the dragon stepped out from the darkness to show himself to the man.


    The silver glow from the moonlight that passed through the only window of the room illuminated the dragon. Astro saw a man with ck hair and tanned skin. He was not wearing anything above and his pants were of the loose type that fits on the bottom with a piece of white cloth tied at his waist like a belt. He was not also wearing any footwear.


    Astro narrowed his eyes but he still avoided the dragon''s gaze because his vertical pupil gave him shivers. He could only look at the master and ask him his questions instead.


    "Is he the dragon during that incident?" He asked again just to make sure and so that he knew how he could deal with this new addition to the master''s entourage.


    "Yes, he is and you don''t have to fear him because he won''t do anything to you just don''t get on his bad side," the master answered and at the same time reminded the man.


    Astro already knew that and he did not n on angering the dragon nor the master. Now that everything had changed, he really didn''t care who the people serving the master were. His main concern right now was the tower.


    Ignius who was quietly observing from the side observed how the mage''s expression changed from surprise to calm. He was now sure that there was definitely a change in the man''s disposition and view on the world.


    "What a good change." They heard the dragon''s words and both of them looked in his direction. "I like this change that I am seeing."


    "You like it? That''s rare and here I am finding his newly acquired personality a little bit boring," Cygnus shook his head.


    The dragon chuckled, "That''s because you don''t know how important that change is." Ignius smirked at the master before he flicked his hand and disappeared through the shadows.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You don''t have to listen to him. Right now, he will be on stand-by and expect him to pop here and there because he seemed to have taken an interest in you," there was a slight chuckle on his mouth as he said those words.


    "I''ll need to process everything first so I will leave you be. Rest well master." Astro turned around and returned to his room while Cygnus alsoid down to sleep.


    Their days passed peacefully and with no encounters with other apprentices who wanted to teach them a lesson. He continued to show them his prowess in both ice and wind magic until the so called exams where the top apprentices would have the chance to be a disciple of one of the elders.


    "Are you going to join the exam master?" Astro asked after they read the announcement.


    "I should because I want to see the faces of these elders who run the tower behind the scenes. It would also be better if I can meet the so-called Magus Maximus." Cygnus wanted to see the faces of these people in person.


    Ari had already drawn a rough sketch of the elders and the Magus Maximus but it was still different if he could see them in flesh. He could also create a list of what he should do with them at the end of their road. He smiled to himself at that thought and was excited to actually do it.


    The day of the exam came. The apprentices were excited and ready to show how much they have improved. Since it was a major event in the tower, the battles would be held at the main arena of the tower to let the other mages watch.


    Families of the apprentices were also invited to go and watch their children perform. Several aristocratic families also attended the event because this was also a good chance for them to make connections with the Magic Tower.


    What surprised the attendees was the presence of Major Linius Ginehart who was rumored to be soon promoted as a Colonel. No one expected him to show up in an event hosted by the tower because everybody knew that the Ginehart Dukedom doesn''t like the tower at all.


    Elder Celes personally weed their special guest and led him to a private viewing room where he sat together with the other nobility. They openly stared at the man but that was all they could do because of the people who were with him. They were intimidating and the aura around them screamed that no one should approach them.


    "Thank you for attending this event, Major Linius. It is our pleasure to see you," Celes spoke respectfully but the man still had a serious look on his face.


    "Don''t think that I am here just because I want to be here. I''m here to make sure that my brother will not fall prey to the tower''s dirty schemes." His sharp gaze met the elder''s smiling face.


    He did not even bother to lower his voice and instead raised it so that the other people in the room would hear him. The smile on the elder''s face twitched but he held himself back from frowning. There really was no chance for the major to change his opinion of them.


    "We assure you that your brother is doing well and even became more proficient with his use of his magic. You''ll be able to witness it in a few moments and this event is created and judged with fairness." Celes could only respond with positive words to assure the audience that everything was handled well. He couldn''t let them misunderstand anything.


    Linius only gave him a look before he shifted his attention to the arena and ignored the elder. Celes could do nothing, so he left and instead went to check on the participants. He needed to make sure that all of them were prepared and that no one would attempt to cheat during the battles or else he would have chaos in his hands if that happened.


    While he was walking around, he saw Cygnus and Astro who was whispering to him. He saw how the young man had a smile on his face as he stood up and exited the preparation room. The elder immediately knew that he would be going to where the major was.


    Just as he predicted, Cygnus went to see his brother. He entered the room and went straight to the seat where some uniformed men were standing. They were standing out because of the heavy atmosphere surrounding them.

 Chapter 145 Blank

    ?Cygnus couldn''t help butugh at how intimidating the major was. He looked more dangerous even though he was just ufortable because he was inside the tower. It was fun seeing him like that.


    "Brother! I am d to see you! I thought you won''t being?" He bypassed the other soldiers and took the seat beside the man.


    "Of course, how can I miss a very important event and I am also here to make sure that you''ll be safe during this exam." Linius looked at the master and showed him a warm smile.


    The people who saw this interaction thought that the brothers were really close and that the major''s younger brother was being protected by them. Some of them even thought that the only way to make a connection with the dukedom was to be friends with the younger Ginehart.


    Both Linius and Cygnus could already feel the intense stares from the other guests and the master already knew what they were thinking. He couldn''t help but chuckle as he shook his head.


    "People are really ambitious," his voice was in a whisper.


    Linius who heard this statement looked at the other guests who were with them before he returned his gaze to the arena. "They indeed are."


    "You know, you are not required to attend, I can see that you are really ufortable right now. Your face is so stiff that even a smile can be regarded as a threat. Nodies would dare to approach now," Cygnus, without shame, pointed out which made thedies in the crowd giggle.


    Linius gave the master a re, "Do not tease me. We are in a public ce right now." The major warned his mischievous brother.


    "Tsk, how strict. I will really have no sister-inw if you continue to be like that." He gave the major an up and down look before shaking his head from side to side.


    "Rigel," Linius gritted his teeth and was holding himself back from reprimanding the man. He did not know when and where to hold back.


    The masterughed when the bell rang to indicate that the exam was about to begin. Cygnus stood up, "I''lle look for you again after the event." The master waved him goodbye and left.


    Linius looked at his departing back before his gaze returned to the arena. The first match was about to begin and thepetitors looked fierce. They were serious about this event because bing a disciple to one of the elders will bring them and their family''s prestige.


    The audience watched in anticipation as the fight progressed. One could clearly feel the anxiety and excitement in the air. There were loud cheers and boos from the different sides which made the atmospherepetitive and intense.


    "What do you think of those youngsters, major?" One of the soldiers leaned a little bit down and asked.


    He was interested to know if the major wanted to recruit any of them for his special squad. This was also an opportunity for them to build their power.


    "I haven''t seen any promising candidates yet but if I find one, you''ll need to take note of it," Linius answered.


    Six battles were already done and yet he found no one that caught his attention. They were indeed powerful, worthy to be called apprentices to the Hall of Time, but for some reason he wasn''t impressed. On the seventh fight, Lilia came out and she would be facing a woman with blonde short hair and clear emerald eyes.


    At the beginning of the fight, Lilia immediately showed her strength as she used her gravitational dominance to repeatedly pin her opponent on the ground. At first nce, one would think that she was winning and that her opponent couldn''t even do anything to counterattack but at a closer look her opponent was slowly getting used to the pressure of the gravity.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Linius narrowed his eyes at Lilia''s opponent, the young woman was actually using strength magic to reinforce herself and lessen the burden of the pressure exerted on her. In the end, it was all she could do and she was defeated by Lilia. The major snapped his finger and pointed at the defeated woman. The soldier behind him took note of this.


    After that there''s not much to look forward to. All he could see were young masters just unting their powers with no talent or a drop of hard work. He was getting bored as he rested his head on his fist then closed his eyes.


    After two more fights, he heard his brother''s name being announced. He sat straight and focused on the arena where he saw the master''szy expression. He seemed to be not serious about the exam but Linius knew that the man was nothing but serious.


    His gaze moved to the opponent who will fight the master and he actually knew who the other person was. He was one of the children from ckwell Dukedom. Although he was not of the main family, he was a talentedd and Duke ckwell had him on his list of sessors.


    To see him in the tower was a bit surprising on his part because he thought that the duke would cultivate him personally. His eyes narrowed. He needed to talk to the duke about this matter. There must be a reason why he sent one of his sessor candidates to a ce that he too loathed.


    For now, he would watch the fight and see if the young man was really talented as the duke imed. Cygnus looked at his opponent and observed him carefully. He was tall and had a lean build. His ck eyes reminded him of a certain someone who was close to his father.


    -


    The master tried to look into his mind to confirm his identity but for some reason he couldn''t see anything from him. His whole mind was filled with darkness or it could be some sort of barrier.


    "Hmmmm, interesting. To think that I would be able to meet a person like you," the master suddenly whispered to himself as he looked with interest at his opponent.


    At the signal, both of them did not move and instead stared at each other. This time, Cygnus had a smile on his face as he stared at the other man. His opponent who was used to observing his enemies first was creeped out at the look that the other person was giving him.


    He was being wary because ording to what he had heard, the son of Duke Ginehart can use two elemental magic and that he was an exceptional fighter. He couldn''t let his guard down in front of an opponent like him but he was bing more and more unnerved at the glint in Rigel''s eyes.


    The audience started to whisper because none of the participants were moving or attacking each other. They were only standing there without doing anything. ''Boos'' started to ring inside the arena but it did not have any effect on the both of them.


    As the patience of the audience started to disappear, both of the participants disappeared from where they were standing and met in the middle of the arena. Both of their hands were covered in their own magic, wind was surrounding the master''s arm while lightning was dancing on the other''s palm that he used to attack Cygnus.


    Both of them immediately separated and shed with each other again. The audience was left speechless at how fast their movements were almost to the point that they can''t follow them with the naked eye. Their exchange of attacks and defenses were both strong and fast.


    Linius could clearly see the grin on the master''s face as he fought the scion from the ckwell''s. It''s rare but he was clearly enjoying the fight. Even though he could parry all of the attacks from the master, he was clearly at a disadvantage. The major could see how he was gritting his teeth every time their attacks shed with each other.


    Cygnus was now sure that he could be like those annoying guys who were always on his tail. The thought of snatching him from them would be a delight that he would wee in that way he could have someone who can fight against them in his stead. He felt giddy at his own thoughts that a fraction of his power slipped out.


    He was in the middle of attacking the man and lightly knocking him down but because his mind was wandering off, his wind ice attack became a little bit stronger. The ice crystal sword reinforced with swirling wind pierced through the lightning and froze his opponent all the way through the back as the ice almost froze even the area where the audience were watching.

 Chapter 146 Crazier

    ?Luckily a barrier was ced around the arena before the matches began so instead of reaching them, the ice froze almost half of the barrier they ced. Everyone was surprised at what had happened and even the elders who were hidden from the public eye were now showing interest towards Cygnus.


    "Oops," the master chuckled. He looked at the damage he had caused and all he could do was look sheepish.


    The proctor dered Cygnus as the winner of the battle and with that, the master melted the ice he had caused. He then stepped towards his opponent who was lying on the ground and gave him a grin.


    "You are an interesting fellow," he crouched down and tilted his head to the side, e find me if you have no one to talk to or if you just have the urge to talk to someone."


    Before the man could answer Cygnus, the master stood up and left. Isaiah ckwell looked at the sky and the slowly falling particles from the broken ice crystal. He had proven to himself that Rigel Ginehart was an odd person and those movements were not something a person who had no experience in fighting could do.


    He sat up and watched as the man left the arena. He also saw how the man lifted his head towards a specific part of the audience. Isaiah followed the man''s gaze and came eye to eye with Major Linius. He averted his gaze then he stood up and left too.


    Thest three matches before midday happened in a breeze and without much excitement. Thosest fights were iparable to the fight between Isaiah and Rigel, ording to one of the people who went there to watch. After thest fight, the spectators dispersed with the fight still as their topic.


    While the audience was excited, the atmosphere in the room where the elders were gathered wasn''t that great. Everyone was in a depressed state with their eyes still glued at the arena even though all the matches for the morning were done.


    "Rest first, we will talk about this after the exam." The Magus Maximus who was hidden at the back spoke up. He stood up from his seat and left the room.


    Since the head of the elders already left, the others followed suit. There''s no point in over thinking things. The elders exited the room at the same time they heard a cheery voice not far from where they were.


    "Brother! Did you see my fight?" Cygnus waved his hands towards Linius while he was running towards him.


    The master has a wide grin on his face and when he was a few inches away he suddenly stopped. Linius frowned and saw that he was looking towards his back so the major looked back. The corners of his mouth raised when he saw who the people were that caught the master''s attention.


    Cygnus cautiously walked up to his brother and whispered a question like he didn''t already know who they were, "Who are they and why are you ring at them?"


    "From the people that I could recognize, I think they are the renowned elders of the tower," Linius answered with his gaze still on them.


    Cygnus looked in their direction again and saw that Celes was also there, "You are right they must be the elders."


    He looked at them again but only Elder Celes gave him a small smile which he returned. After that, the elders left first. The master suddenlyughed when he was sure that they were gone.


    "They sure took an interest in me. Should I consider this good news? I slightly messed up a while ago but it made them more curious about me." Cygnus could not stopughing even in the presence of the soldiers who were with Linius.


    The major sighed and raised his hand then slightly waved it back, "Aren''t you moving too fast?" From the corner of his eye, he saw his men moving away.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They were left alone in that hallway as he waited for the master to stopughing. He did not know if he was obviously making careless moves or it was all a part of his n. Linius could already imagine how his men would look at him after this event.


    The sound of the master''sughter slowly died down, "I think so but I really don''t care because Ari and Astro are doing a good job with collecting everything that I need."


    Cygnus returned to his smiling self with both of his hands in his pocket. He was okay with both Astro and Ari taking their time in investigating but the mage was a bit insistent so he gave them the permission to make use of all their avable time to finish their task. Once they''ve found all the evidence that Cygnus would need, he will make his move.


    "Luckily, I am always prepared and Mr. C has introduced me to an interesting man." Linius looked at the master seriously.


    The master shook his head and chuckled, "Ah, it looks like I got busted. But aren''t you happy that they are on your side? And don''t worry, as long as I don''t order that town will remain safe under their rule."


    Linius closed his eyes and sighed. He was d that within the time that his brother was alive, he did not act like a spoiled brat. He opened his eyes when he heard the masterughing again.


    "I am not acting like a spoiled brat, major. I am acting the way I usually do and you are lucky that you are only seeing this side of me." He walked up to the major and slung his arm on the major''s shoulder. "If you had seen me during that time, you would have peed your pants or you would have ran away for your life but judging by how you are, you won''t do either of those things."


    The master then slowly pulled the major as they walked towards the exit. He still had his arms around the other''s shoulder when they met his brother''s escorts. They didn''t say much as they followed them behind.


    Linius wanted to eat outside the tower for lunch but for some reason he was pulled by the master towards the canteen. They immediately stood up once they stepped inside and the surrounding suddenly became silent. Cygnus paid them no mind and instead led them to the table that he usually uses.


    He frowned when he saw that there were people at the table and when he looked around and he saw that Astro was not around. "Where is he? I clearly told him to guard the table. Now look at this, some unknown people are using it already."


    He purposely raised his voice to get the attention of the people who were seated at his usual table. His statement caught the attention of the other people who were in the canteen. Curious eyes were now focused in their direction.


    The group who took over his usual ce didn''t have the slightest bit of intention to move but after their leader heard what the voice said, he was pissed. He looked up and met face to face with Cygnus who was grinning at him. The leader was also taken aback by the man''s entourage.


    "We are very sorry. We didn''t know that this ce is where you usually sit," his courage a while ago disappeared in the blink of an eye. He looked at his group and used his head to signal them to leave.


    The group scurried away as they left the table empty. The servers in the canteen did not waste time and came to wipe the table clean before Cygnus took a seat. Linius followed, then his entourage also found seats for themselves before they ordered for food.


    "You''ve built quite a reputation for yourself in this ce, how amazing." Linius red at the master as he appeared like a brother who was scolding his sibling.


    Cygnusughed, "Not necessarily, they just grow wary of me because of what I did in the past. You know I cut off my cousin''s arm." He tried to dodge the statement but Linius could already tell he did something.


    "I don''t know what you did but can you at least behave yourself while you are here? I agreed for you toe here but don''t overdo it and instead befriend people your age." Since he knew that he can''t change his brother''s ways, he needed to at least remind him once and a while to behave.

 Chapter 147 Prospect

    ?Once the food arrived, the conversation between the brothers made the soldiers frown a little bit ufortable and Linius gave up from stopping the master. He could only look at his men to remind them not to say anything.


    "That child whom I fought, do you know him? He looked like that friend of father," Cygnus asked while they ate.


    "Indeed. Although he is not from the main branch, he is an heir candidate that Duke ckwell is nurturing himself," Linius answered. He took a bite of the savory meat that was served.


    "He''s an interestingd." Cygnus looked up and smiled. "He has potential to be my friend and I''m sure that we will have many topics to talk about."


    Linius''s hand stopped, "He is not a talkative person and I''m not sure if Duke ckwell will allow him to be friends with you." He raised his head with a small smile on his face.


    "You''re bing good with this kind of conversation but it doesn''t mean that I''ll stop. I will certainly add him to the list of my friends, it will also be a precautionary measure since I have enemies that might appear anytime in the future." The atmosphere around their table suddenly changed and the soldiers who were eating with them suddenly tensed.


    They felt danger that all of their hands went to the hilt of their weapons in an instant. The bloodlust in the air was so potent to the point that it was difficult for them to breathe. Only the major and his brother were doing fine.


    As suddenly as it came, the bloodlust suddenly disappeared and everything to its harmonious state before it appeared. The soldiers looked around and saw that the other people inside the canteen were acting normal. They then looked at the direction of the brothers but there was nothing unusual with them.


    Leif Ainr, the man who had been taking notes of the people that the major found interest in, was surprised when Cygnus suddenly looked at them. He saw the younger Ginehart smirk at them and it gave him an unsettling feeling. He averted his gaze and decided to let the two of them be.


    "What kind of enemies are you talking about?" Linius became curious. What kind of enemies would the master have for him to think of something like precaution when all he had done so far was being reckless.


    "Are you going to help me when theye?" Cygnus stopped eating then he leaned on his seat and stared at the ceiling.


    The major suddenly had a vision of fire and death shed before his eyes then it disappeared. He shook his head before he answered, "If you willmand then I have no choice but to do it for you."


    The masterughed out loud at the man''s answer. Yes, if hemanded it, all of them would die for him even those who had no contract with him. He can do it. He can sacrifice them all for his gain then he can move to another world again and live there peacefully.


    "Before I forget, what is his name, that ckwell kid?" He suddenly asked as an afterthought. It was better for him to know the man''s name for easiermunication in the future.


    "Isaiah ckwell." After the major answered, Cygnus suddenly raised his hand and waved it.


    "Isaiah ckwell! Here,e here and join us!" He suddenly shouted which made the major sigh again.


    Isaiah who just entered the canteen gritted his teeth when he heard his name being called. He tightly closed his eyes when he saw who was calling for him. The smiling face of Rigel Ginehart registered on his vision. He did not want to get more attention so he chose to ignore the other.


    The master stood up from his seat and tantly went to where Isaiah was standing. "You should not ignore me when I''m calling for you, that''s rude you know."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Isaiah looked at the man with wide eyes. He was not like any of the members of Ginehart that he had met before. He was quite shameless. "Aren''t you afraid that rumors about you will circte again inside the tower? And now you are dragging me along?"


    Cygnus raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "I never cared about rumors. Why? Do you care about your reputation that much? Being friends with me won''t hurt you nor the Dukedom of ckwell. I''m sure that my father will be d that I became acquaintances with you."


    Isaiah became unsure of what the other was thinking and what his intention was. He looked behind him and saw that the major was looking at them. He then saw him nod so he could do nothing but go with Rigel.


    They walked to the table where Isaiah was forced to sit beside the master. He gave the major a nod and ordered his own food. Isaiah felt a bit ufortable but he needed to bear it for the time being.


    "I didn''t expect to see you here, Isaiah. I thought Duke ckwell was training you personally?" Linius started the conversation to make the atmosphere less awkward.


    "He said that I will learn more things here than at the dukedom and he told me that I should also gain experience while I am here." Isaiah did not hesitate to answer the major. If it was any member of the main branch of Ginehart, he could talk with them at ease.


    "How is the duke doing?" Linius narrowed his eyes. Somehow, he could feel that there was something wrong.


    There was no reason for the duke to send Isaiah to the capital when he could teach him magic himself since he could be considered a master of magic. This matter he needed to report it to his father.


    "Thest time I talked to him, he was doing fine. Is there a problem?" Isaiah became concerned after he saw the serious expression from the major''s face.


    "Nothing. I haven''t seen him since the ball and I wasn''t able to talk to him during that time so I was just wondering," Linius shook his head. There was no need to make a fuss since he was not yet sure. He''ll let his father handle this matter.


    "I understand," Isaiah was relieved. He thought that there was really something wrong because he also thought that Duke ckwell was acting a little bit weird.


    "How long have you been here?" Linius asked after that tense moment passed. Changing the topic was better than dwelling on matters that don''t have answers yet.


    "Just after the ball. When all matters were settled, Duke ckwell sent me here," Isaiah answered. Exactly, the food he ordered came so he also started to eat.


    "Since you are here, can you look after my little brother for me? I don''t want to have any headaches after I leave. I already reluctantly sent him here and yet he is still creating trouble." The major suddenly said without warning that Isaiah almost choked on his own food.


    He wiped his mouth and looked at the major, "Major, I don''t think I can do that. Your brother is a little bit difficult for me to handle and I don''t want to be a babysitter." He didn''t want to be associated with Rigel. He knew himself that it was better for him to stay away from the man.


    Cygnus gasped when he heard Isaiah''s words. "Don''t you think that your words are a bit cruel?" He was pretty impressive because he could say whatever he wanted.


    Isaiah did not respond. He was not in the mood to answer any of the person''s statements. Linius looked at the two of them and he couldn''t help butugh. He was not even sure if they would be friends or if the master can make Isaiah hisrade. He would be looking forward to it.

 Chapter 148 Something In His Mind

    ?Throughout the meal, Isaiah ignored Cygnus and would only respond to the major. The master did not mind though because he had all the time to get him to his side. It was just a matter of time.


    Cygnus stood up from his seat with his usually warm appearance again, "Brother, let''s go it''s time for the next round of the exam. I still have to win." He grinned with a face full of confidence.


    Linius stood and they all walked out of the canteen. The walk towards the arena was surprisingly silent. Isaiah was also confused as to why he needed to go with them. He was not interested in watching any of the matches anymore.


    They returned to where the major was seated only to see that Celes was already there waiting for them. Linius narrowed his eyes but he still took his usual seat and his entourage stood in their positions. Isaiah chose to sit at the back so as not to disturb them.


    "Why are you here? Shouldn''t you be with the other elders and watching the match right now?" The major asked without sparing a nce at the person beside him.


    "That was the n but the atmosphere there right now is a bit tense and I am not good with that kind of situation." He was tantly lying but the major didn''t care. What he was interested in was the real reason why he was there.


    Linius did not speak after the elder answered. He was not going to take the initiative to make a conversation after he already did. His aversion to talking to any of the mages from the tower was getting greater and greater.


    Sensing that the other person was not going to speak, Celes decided to just speak to him directly. It was no use if he too will remain silent because he won''t aplish his goal foring to see the major.


    "The elders are curious about the real power behind Rigel and they wanted me to ask if you can provide us with any information about it. We will be needing it to assess your brother''s full potential and so that we will know how to bring out this potential," the elder did not beat around the bush.


    Isaiah who was behind them shivered unconsciously as he felt the killing intent that the major suddenly emitted after the elder said those words. He wasn''t sure if the elders were doing it on purpose or not, but to approach the major with that kind of mind was never a good idea.


    He had learned from Duke ckwell that the Gineharts prioritize family over anything. They could kill, if anyone would attempt to touch even a single hair on the members of their family. This only applied to the main branch though, and if they considered you a family, you were lucky but if they considered you an enemy, then better find another way if you ever crossed paths with them.


    "How bold and tant, if not for my brother begging me toe here, do you really think that I would allow him to enter this filthy ce?" The major looked like he was seated casually but the deadly aura he was emitting says otherwise.


    Celes was not that affected by the aura but he could feel that if he said any more words, the major would surely point his sword on his neck, without hesitation. He could not see what the major''s expression was right now but there was a high chance that he was already ring at the ce where the other elders were seated.


    "We are only thinking of your brother''s future. If we don''t know the extent of his magic, we won''t be able to help him grow," Celes attempted to exin. He knew that it was dangerous but the elders wouldn''t stop if he did not go there to ask.


    "Grow?" The major sneered, "If you ever know that kind of information, you won''t help him grow, rather you would use him and exploit him but know this, before you can even do that, I''ll be getting him out of this miserable ce." The major tilted his head and looked at the elder''s eyes, "Don''t be mistaken, just because I allowed him to be here it doesn''t mean that I am allowing him to stay here forever."


    Celes gritted his teeth and sighed. The man was really persistent and those words were clearly challenging the authority of the tower. Those who have entered the tower won''t be able to leave. Once they''ve signed those contracts they would forever be bound to the tower. And because of the incident with Grand Mage Jagan, that contract was modified.


    Since he couldn''t get any information from the major, he should now leave. At least he could tell those people that he tried but failed. Finally, he stood up and bid them goodbye because he did not want to stay there for another minute.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Does Rigel know about your n?" Isaiah asked from the back. He could now breathe normally after the major retracted his deadly aura.


    "He doesn''t need to know. I''ll let him enjoy his stay here but he will not be living in this kind of ce. This is also the reason why I am requesting for you to look after him while he is here." Linius looked behind him to show his sincerity.


    Isaiah averted his gaze. He knew the importance of family because Duke ckwell had reiterated it to him so many times. Now that the major was asking sincerely, he was having a difficult time rejecting it.


    After a while he finally gave up, "Alright. I''ll do it. But if I can''t stand him any longer, I''ll quit."


    Liniusughed at the young man''s answer. "Of course, you can quit anytime." The man returned his attention to the arena with a grin on his face. ''It would be difficult for him to quit. The master will make sure that he won''t be able to quit.'' He thought to himself.


    The matches began once again until all the winners were the only ones left. One of the perks of bing the winner of the exam was that they can choose who they want to be their master. As for those who were at the top, the elders will choose among them.


    Eight participants remained after all the matches and they will be facing each other. Four matches, four winners until only the strongest will remain. Among the participants, there was Lilia who already fought with Cygnus. Elder Celes''s direct apprentice was also there since she insisted on participating.


    The first match ended quickly with Liliaing out as the winner and in the second match Celestine was the winner. Cygnus also won his fight. In the semi-finals, Celestine and Lilia faced each other. This fight somewhat became the highlight of the match.


    Both have strong magic and both were aggressive that none of them intended to lose. They both fought without holding back but in the end, it was Celestine who came out as the winner. Cygnus also won easily and without sweating.


    Before the final match wouldmence, the host announced that they will be having an hour break to replenish their strengths. Cygnus took this time to return to where his brother was and wait there until his fight.


    At the same time, the elders were in anticipation of the uing fight. The indignation they felt after Celes returned and told them what happened was now gone. They fell into a silent consensus that even without the help of the major, they would still make him an asset for the tower. If he won against Celestine, no matter who he would choose, it would still be at their advantage.


    "Who will you choose as your master if you win?" Linius asked as they waited for the match to continue.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" The master gave the major a grin. "Since he is part of the elders, there is nothing wrong if I choose him as my master, right?"


    Linius fell silent, "He might reject you though." He already had an idea who the master was talking about.


    "I will show him something interesting that will force him to ept me," Cygnus chuckled. It was not much and it was not even a fraction of his power but he was willing to use it as long as the person he was targeting would show himself.

 Chapter 149 His Insanity

    ?Looking at the grinning man before him, Linius had another foreboding feeling. He was going to do whatever he wanted again. It would be an absolute relief if the elders won''t start to suspect them. Although it was already proven that the master was his brother, inconsistencies could still arise which will cause doubt.


    "Can''t you just not do it?" Linius rubbed his forehead and leaned on the seat. He was hoping that the master wouldn''t overdo it again.


    His crispugh echoed in the room which attracted attention from the other people. "You are being a bit funny big brother, of course I need to go all out!" His grin was so wide that the major already knew that he couldn''t convince him to stop what he was about to do.


    Isaiah, who was only a listener, was confused as to what they were talking about. "What are the both of you talking about?" So, he couldn''t hold back and ask.


    Cygnus patted him on the shoulder, "You''ll knowter, so you should stay here and watch." He repeatedly tapped the other''s shoulder while saying those words.


    While he was still lost, the one-hour break was already over. Cygnus stood up and went to the edge of the viewing tform where they were and jumped down. He used his wind magic to slowly float down. Celestine, who was already there, sneered.


    "What a show off," she spat. This man had humiliated her so many times now so she was going to make sure that he would regret his actions.


    The host looked at the both of them and ensured that both were ready before hemenced the fight. Unlike the first fights they had where they rushed and finished it off quickly, this time both of them became cautious.


    Cygnus had a grin on his face while Celestine was frowning. "Lady''s first." The master extended his arm out like he was handing a gift and acted like a gentleman which made the woman irked.


    "Don''t patronize me. You can attack and I''ll be sure to defend and return the favor to you," Celestine spat. She was in no mood to joke around.


    "Then," he disappeared and reappeared behind Celestine, "I''ll do the honors." His fist was pulled back and was enveloped with a swirling wind. He attacked with a punch, swift and without dy.


    Celestine''s eyes widened when he suddenly disappeared and was almost hit by the fist, if not for her fast reflexes she would have been badly injured by that attack. He jumped back a few times before she got her footing but before she could attack too, Cygnus was already onto her.


    This time his punch was packed with the power of ice magic. Celestine raised a barrier of fire to defend against him. The master was impressed that she could defend even with how fast he was attacking and she was also able to summon those fireballs.


    From above a rain of fire was falling down towards him, he jumped from every direction to dodge the balls of fire that were hitting the ground. While he was busy dodging, Celestine was now free to attack him. From where she was standing, she summoned a bow made up of fire and even the arrow was burning red.


    She pulled the bow and let the fire arrows fly towards him. Cygnus noticed this so he also dodged but the arrows suddenly changed directions and went after him. Celestine shot more arrows that did not stop from going after her opponent.


    These arrows were infused with her mana and even without moving from where she was standing, she can still manipte and change its direction. Cygnus looked behind and chuckled when he saw that the arrows were still following him. He stopped and faced the attack. He used ice that solidified into small round pellets to freeze and destroy the arrows.


    His movements were so fast and precise that the ice pellets hit all the marks. When they thought that everything was over, a fire arrow pierced through his stomach. That arrow was fast and silent, it did not have a feel to it too that Cygnus failed to notice it. Blood started to flow from his wound as it stained the ground where he was standing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He stood there for a moment, speechless at what just happened. Anything revolving around magic, he could feel them all, nothing can be hidden from him. His mind was in overdrive. It must have something to do with them, they were the only ones who could follow and injure him like that.


    The arena became silent after the arrow hit its mark and because Cygnus was not moving from where he was. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky before he suddenly let out a loudugh. He used his hand to cover his face before he looked down again.


    To the audience and the host, he appeared to have given up. So, the host who was watching outside the barrier decided to announce who the winner was. The moment he was about to open his mouth, they heard Celestine''s scream.


    All eyes went to where she was and they were shocked to see that her body was pierced by ice. She coughed out blood and her wound was bleeding profusely but she still refused to back down. Celestine used her fire to melt the ice.


    She slumped on the ground still coughing but as she used her fire to forcefully close the wound. She picked herself up and stood with unsteady feet. She thought that her victory was secured after she learned that technique but to think that her opponent can still attack her, he was really not someone ordinary.


    "This pain, it is the first time that I''m feeling such pain again." He slowly turned around to face the direction where Celestine was standing. "You learned quite a bothersome technique. Interesting, who taught you? Who told you? Aren''t you going to tell me?"


    Cygnus appeared in front of Celestine in the blink of an eye with his hand already around her neck. The woman gasped for air but the master''s hand did loosen. He was grinning and his eyes looked deranged.


    Linius suddenly stood up from his seat because he felt that there was something wrong with the master. He was clearly not acting like himself. It was like that time, when he cut off that arm.


    Astro barged through the viewing deck where the major was and looked out at the arena. "Ari, give me the status!" He mumbled and he could hear the woman''s voice.


    "Insanity state is at 30%. The master''s current state of mind is falling below rational. If the insanity state reaches 50%, he will kill his opponent. Suggested course of action: Stop him by force and let him calm down. He can still be reasoned with." The answer only made Astro anxious even more.


    "How can we even stop him if he looks like that?" He pointed at Cygnus who wasughing while slowly squeezing the tiny little neck of his opponent.


    "It is possible with the help of Major Linius Ginehart." Astro''s eyes went to the major who was also looking at him.


    "We need to stop him," was the only words he said. Linius and Astro jumped down from where they were andnded just a few inches from the barrier.


    The crowd started to murmur and some were already showing worry. It was already obvious that Celestine''s life was in danger and yet none of the proctors were going in to help. They were just running around below.


    As much as they wanted to stop the fight, for some reason the barrier they put around the fighting area became unbreachable. No matter how they tried to enter it, they were instantly repelled. Celes went down to see what was happening while the other elders remained unmoved.

 Chapter 150 A Bold Move

    ?Linius and Astro tried to enter the arena but they were repelled and were pushed back. They looked at each other and tried again but no matter how they attacked the barrier, they couldn''t create an opening. Celes also tried to break the barrier but for some reason his magic couldn''t pierce through it.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes and threw Celestine on the ground with a little bit of force which made her cough blood again. He slowly walked up to her and crouched down to look at her. He tilted his head to the side and hummed.


    "Who taught you that technique?" He asked again, this time he looked calm but in Celestine''s eyes, he was nothing but calm.


    It was as if she was looking at the devil himself. She could see blood in his eyes. The coldness in those eyes regarded her as nothing. She felt like she was the lowest of the lowest that she did not deserve to live.


    Cygnus leaned closer until his face was only a few inches away from hers, "I am asking you, who taught you that technique?" His voice brought a deadly cold feeling into her. It was like the hands of death were caressing her.


    Celestine quaked in fear. She did not want to die. "No-no one taught me. I just learned it from a book and practiced it." Her voice was badly trembling but she still managed to answer the man.


    The master hummed. He did not feel any lieing from her but the knowledge that a book who contained that technique exists made his blood boil. Something like that should have not existed so why was it in this world? Was it a coincidence or it was already there from the beginning.


    While he was still deliberating inside the barrier, the people outside were at a loss on what they should do. They couldn''t break the barrier and the people inside were not listening to them. They could only watch helplessly.


    "Ari, status?" Astro asked. He couldn''t tell if the master was already sane or not because he was only crouching in there.


    "Insanity state is at 35%, immediate action is needed. Possibility of it rising to 50% has been confirmed." This answer made Astro curse out loud. He couldn''t believe that they would be facing something like this.


    "How can we break the barrier?" He asked again. They needed a way to breach the barrier because before the master would reach his 50% breaking point.


    "An S-rank equipment can destroy the barrier," was Ari''s simple answer.


    "S-rank," Astro mumbled. He looked at the major and at the sword on his waist. "Is your sword an S-rank major?"


    Linius was taken aback by the sudden question, "Unfortunately not. It is only an ordinary sword simr to the ones I always carry."


    Astro looked around and saw Elder Celes who was also trying to break through the barrier. He ran towards him and asked if he had any weapon of the S-rank or above and told him that it was the only way they could break the barrier.


    Celes reached out from his back and pulled out a dagger. "This is an S-rank weapon that I have with me." He was still unsure but since the man was Rigel''s aide, he could at least give him the benefit of the doubt.


    Meanwhile inside, Cygnus was having a debate with himself. He was weighing the pros and cons of what he heard. A part of him doesn''t believe that all this was only a coincidence while the other part of him was telling him that it was a possibility. His mind couldn''t reconcile the fact that something like that really existed.


    "It is impossible, how did a book with that technique exist in this world? No, no, no that must have been a coincidence, it must be one of the techniques in this world. I can''t just jump into conclusions. But, what if that book contains all of the techniques those people use, then what will that imply?" His head was tilting from side to side then he looked up and stared at the sky.


    ''What should I do? Should I just destroy the tower now?'' These thoughts suddenly popped in his mind. He closed his eyes as his mind slowly calmed down. ''I can''t. I still have something I need to confirm. if those people appear again, he can just destroy them without letting anyone live.''


    The moment that the dagger touched the barrier, it broke and when they approached Cygnus and Celestine, everything looked calm. But they still remained cautious just in case the master had not calmed down yet.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Insanity state is at 20% and is slowly decreasing. Destruction has been stopped for now." Ari suddenly spoke inside Astro''s mind. The mage took a deep breath and he was finally able to rx.


    "Master," he tentatively called out to see if the master would reply to him.


    Cygnus hummed, "What is it? Did something happen?" He stood up and turned around with a confused look on his face. "What happened?"


    All the people who came to see what was happening had frowns on their faces. They looked at Rigel and came to a consensus that he was alright. There was no trace of him going berserk  that could be seen.


    "The barrier suddenly became unbreachable so we have to break it forcefully." It was Celes who answered. He looked behind Rigel and confirmed that his apprentice was still alive.


    Cygnus looked shocked when he heard what happened, "How can that be? Is the battle cancelled then? There will be no winner?" He asked a little bit, panicked and disappointed. "I defeated Celestine, won''t that be counted?"


    Several physicians came to help carry Celestine away after they made sure that she was fine and that she was only unconscious. Linius also checked his brother and saw that he sealed the wound using ice to stop the bleeding. Celes also left to consult with the other elders and they agreed to dere the master as the winner.


    After the decision was ryed, the host did not waste time and dered Cygnus as the winner. The crowd pped and the tension a while ago disappeared because the situation was immediately exined to all of them.


    Since the atmosphere had returned, the host could finally ask the question that everyone was waiting for. The host looked at the master and gave him a nod.


    "Now that you have won, as always the winner can choose who he wants to be his master, have you decided already?" The host asked his usual question but the master''s next words made them all speechless.


    "Yes, I''ve already decided. Since he is also an elder there''s nothing wrong if I asked him to be my master," Cygnus was ginned before he continued his statement. "I want the Magus Maximus to be my master."


    The host''s jaw almost dropped to the floor when he heard the man''s words. Never had they have a winner who requested for the highest authority of the tower to take them in as a disciple. The Magus Maximus was also not a person who would just pick his disciple just because someone volunteered.


    "Are you sure about that? It''s not a good joke though." The host asked again just to confirm the man''s statement because he might have heard it wrong.


    Cygnus looked at him and grinned, "Sadly I am not joking though."


    The master raised his right hand and let his palm face the sky. A dark magic circle appeared over his palm followed by the manifestation of a lightning that turned red from its original golden color. The host took a step back because of the searing heating from the lightning.


    Before the host could react, the red lightning suddenly turned into ck lightning. He saw up close how that small ball of lightning grew and he could hear the cracklinging from that lightning. Even the crowd that was left, looked in awe at the master''s lightning.


    "Aren''t you curious enough? Or you really don''t want me to be your disciple. I can just leave the tower though if you don''t show yourself." The end-to-end grin of the master did not disappear as he issued a challenge directly at the Magus Maximus.


    "What a bold move."

 Chapter 151 Interrogation

    ?The ck lightning made the crowd gasp and the elders too shocked. A magic user who can use three elements at the same time was rare but to use ck lightning, it was only seen in books. This was indeed the best way to call out the Magus Maximus.


    Booming voice came from the direction of where the elders were watching. It was imposing even though it was only his voice they heard. The people were already in awe, because they knew that the owner of the voice was the esteemed Magus Maximus.


    "You are so bold to ask for me to be your master," the voice said.


    Cygnus closed his palms and extinguished the lightning in his hands. "Bold? Isn''t this the privilege of the strongest after the exam?" His voice did not waver and instead it was as steady as the calm ocean.


    "Strongest? Don''t get conceited just because you can manifest a ck lightning," the voice showed no impatience or anger at all.


    He did not answer though and within seconds, the ck lightning manifested once again and without hesitation, Cygnus threw the lightning towards the viewing deck of the elders. The ck ball of lightning hit an invisible wall and caused no damage at all but this did not matter for the master. He has a much more interesting surprise.


    Cygnus showed a grin as he slowly raised his hand and snapped. A lightning in the shape of a spear fell down with so much force that it pierced through the invisible wall. The lightning spear hit the floor of the deck and with another snap, a mixture of ck and red lightning dispersed and destroyed the walls and ceiling of the deck.


    Several figures jumped out of the now destroyed structure. Most of them were covering their faces, except for Celes. They looked at the rubble with frowns on their faces but none of them spoke.


    "So, what do you think of it?" He did not look at any of the people who came out of the rubble. His gaze was focused forward.


    "eptable," the Magus Maximus appeared from behind the dust and stepped forward. His body was protected by an invisible shield against the dirt and the dust.


    Cygnusughed, "eptable! How befitting of someone who never appreciates anyone." He covered his mouth and looked at the man with his narrowed eyes. "Then are you going to ept me?"


    The Magus Maximus narrowed his eyes behind his mask as he remained silent. He knew that the young man was challenging him and yet he was not offended. He had observed him from the very beginning and there was something in him that made him curious.


    "Alright then, let''s see what you can do." This answer shocked the whole arena.


    Those words were equivalent to him epting him as his disciple because he was giving Cygnus a chance to prove himself. The crowd was in chaos because no one would expect that the Magus Maximus would actually ept him.


    "I''ll be looking forward to it then," Cygnus was casually answering the man like he was just someone he met on the side of the road.


    The Magus Maximus disappeared followed by the other elders. Celes approached the master and chuckled. He then patted his shoulders as heughed.


    "You are really someone unpredictable that even the Magus Maximus even took you in. You did a great job on that!" Celes gave the man thumbs up with a grin on his face.


    "That''s my hidden talent," Cygnus dly epted hispliment. He grinned and gave the elder a thumbs-up.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Celes was not used to this kind of Rigel but it was better than him acting crazy. After a few more words, the elder said goodbye and left. The host was still looking at him like he was some kind of a monster. He then congratted him once again before he left.


    Linius and Astro met him just outside the arena. The major walked up to him and buttoned the jacket he gave him a while ago. Cygnus was in a good mood that the grin on his face his not disappear. That day, Cygnus was nicknamed as the crazy top disciple amongst the mages and magic users that were training there.


    Astro and the major did not say any word, not until they left the arena and were inside the carriage. After the exam, all magic users that were still under training were given a three-day break. So, without asking for the master''s permission, he was dragged inside the carriage bound to the Ginehart Manor.


    "What happened out there?" Linius finally asked. He couldn''t ignore what happened because at that moment, the master became a different person.


    "Oh, it was just a mishap on my part but it turned out well, so there should be no problems." The master shrugged his shoulders. It was just a slight slip, nothing to worry about.


    If not for that technique, the fight wouldn''t turn out like that and he would have finished it wlessly. Now that he was thinking calmly, he would let Ari investigate that book where Celestine learned that technique. After confirming the contents of the book, he would destroy it and treat it as a bad joke.


    For some reason, Linius did not believe his excuse. He was withholding some information from them which was already normal but at times it was bing frustrating because they were like filling the missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. How could they move ording to his n when he was not telling them everything.


    "Insanity State, what does that mean?" This time it was Astro who asked the question. Ari had been referring to this term when that happened.


    He was busy collecting information when he suddenly saw that Ari suddenly stopped working. After a while, a warning written in theirnguage shed through the air. Astro was surprised when he saw that appearing then Ari suddenly spoke which gave him a fright.


    Ari''s mechanical voice echoed in the room as it kept on repeating that the master fell into insanity. She was repeating that if the master reached the 50% mark, they would be seeing blood. At that, Astro sprang into action and left the room where they were but before that he made sure that they did not leave any traces.


    He ran through the winding hallways until he reached the viewing deck where the major was. He could already hear the murmurs of worry and confusion from the crowd. Then he heard Arie in his mind telling him that the master''s insanity state had reached 30%.


    Linius, who looked confused, also focused his attention on the master. Cygnus sighed after he heard the question because he needed to exin it to them again. It was a pain to tell them about it and he had no patience for that.


    They maintained their silence because they wanted the man to tell them. Cygnus started to rub his forehead and sighed several times before he finally gave in and told them. All he needed to do was tell them the basics.


    "That''s basically a warning. If I ever reach the craziest state, you should run for yourself. You don''t want to face me during my berserk state and more so in my chaotic state." This was the only exnation he gave them.


    After that, no matter how Astro wanted to clearly understand what these states are, the master would brush him off. He was not in the mood to answer any of their questions. Because the master firmly refused to speak, Astro finally gave up.


    This time, it was Linius who looked more confused so instead of turning to the master he asked Astro instead. "Who is Ari?" He had been wondering who it was ever since he heard that name but the master refused to tell him.

 Chapter 152 With Their Thoughts

    ?Astro looked at the master only to see that his eyes were closed and he did not voice out any disagreement so he deemed that it was okay to tell the major who Ari was. It was also better so that when those whatever state ever happened again, Ari can share the information to both of them.


    "Ari is someone that the master tasked to gather information for him." He pointed to the side and slowly a woman started to appear.


    Linius thought that nothing right now would be able to surprise him but this one was out of his expectation. Ari was like a ghost and when the man tried to touch her, his hands passed through her and yet she has no reaction.


    "This is Ari. She is helping with gathering information about the tower because she could store several pieces of information inside of her," the mage exined. "She could also spy on the enemies if needed because she appears invisible even without magic."


    The major was in awe at what he heard. From what he had seen, she was not a human nor a ghost. Ari was not someone from their world and her abilities were beyond his imagination.


    "Has she been caught while spying? Is that all she could do?" He asked two questions at the same time to fully assess what the woman can do.


    "No, because I have an invisibility function that can hide my presence and my body. I can also inflict damage on enemies if the master desires so. There are more because I am equipped with several functions for the master''s convenience." It was Ari who answered the question.


    She said all of these without any change in her expression and fluctuation in her voice. She was stiff and was acting like a marite. Linius leaned on his seat and crossed his hands on his chest as his thoughts went into overdrive.


    "You are overthinking everything and besides, Ari is bound to listen to all of mymands." Cygnus opened his eyes, "She is not someone who can be used by anyone because she has her own thoughts and yes, she was the one who was giving me information."


    At that, Linius ceased his thoughts. Everything has now be a little bit clear but there were still murky parts of it but they can always ask the butler. He can give them the answers if needed and besides the master must have been toozy to tell them anything.


    They reached the manor and saw that the butler was already waiting for them. Tea and pastries from Vergessen were already prepared for them at the lounge area. The master''s eyes lit up when he saw those treats waiting for him.


    He wasn''t able to have those in the tower because all they were doing was studying and training which had be boring for him. If not for the exam, he would have died of boredom and now that the Magus Maximus was his master, his n could now smoothly proceed.


    Back at the Magic Tower, the elders were once again gathered even though there was not a call for meeting that was issued. They were there to discuss Rigel, who had be a hot topic amongst them. His irregrity was an umon urrence in the continent and if they should really keep him in the tower.


    "He is already a disciple of the Magus Maximus so there''s nothing we could do about it and I''m sure that he has a reason as to why he epted Rigel Ginehart as his disciple." One of the elders interrupted. It was already decided so he did not understand why they were still talking about it.


    "I have things to do and there''s no point in us arguing about what we should do with Rigel. Let the Magus Maximus handle him," Celes stood up from his seat and left the room.


    They were only arguing because none of them were chosen as Rigel''s master. They were envious because he got to have a talented disciple. Those elders were conceited and had a lot of pride so none of them wanted to confess that they wanted a disciple like Rigel, now they were even fussing about it.


    Celes was followed by the other elder who suggested that they leave everything to the Magus and all the elders who found the idea of meeting over a small matter also left. Now there were only three elders left in the room and these elders share thismon thought.


    At the magic academy, the news of how the exam went was already circting around the campus. Everyone was talking about it and their eyes would always find William in the crowd. Rigel winning the exam already became a news that could impress everyone but him being epted as the Magus''s disciple was on a whole different level.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Tsk, that cousin of mine is really going all out at the magic tower. I didn''t even expect that the duke would permit him to enter that ce." William mumbled while they were walking towards their next ss.


    "But isn''t that great news? It means that Ginehart already has a great magic user!" Vinya couldn''t help but frown so she tried to lift up the man''s mood.


    "I''m not sure if that can be called good news. The family might receive scorn for being a hypocrite. Ginehart already dered that they won''t have anything to do with the Magic Tower and its mages and now, Uncle Ulysses''s own son joined the tower," William sighed.


    He did not know what his cousin was thinking. In fact, he did not know what the people at the main family were thinking. The branch family would surely be having a good time because of this news. They will use this incident to question the duke''s integrity.


    "Why should it be a worry? Rigel won and even became the only disciple of the Magus Maximus, isn''t that enough to deter those people from opening their mouths?" Ezio wasn''t liking what he was hearing.


    He was happy because the master was already in the tower and then he would hear something like that. They don''t understand that the master actually has a n as to why he was there in the first ce. Once he returned to the tower he could go and see the master more often.


    "Openly but I''m sure that in secret their envy and scorn will only grow. Although my uncle can suppress them for now, we don''t know in the future especially because Lindon''s family is bing bolder." William couldn''t help but frown at the memory of that man.


    "Who is that?" Ezio stopped walking and turned around to face William.


    "He is a son from one of the branch families. If we do it by ranking, he is from the family just below the main family. And because he was in a position which made him a friend of the crown prince, their family was able to build connections with other people of nobility." William still had his head down as he said those words.


    "That would have no effect on them or whatsoever," Ezio''s voice was firm. He had no doubts about his master''s ability.


    "Why are you sure?" William raised his head in surprise as he looked at the man.


    "Gut feeling," Ezio turned around and continued to walk. There was nothing he should worry about.


    That night, Cygnus was with Mr. C in one of the balconies of the manor. He was resting from the events earlier that day while he hummed.


    "I received a message from Ari that you almost lost control. What happened master?" The butler stood on the side.


    Cygnus stopped humming as he stared at the sky. "I already told Ari to take care of it."


    His vague answer rendered the butler silent for a while before he spoke again. "Master, let''s finish your n of destroying the Magic Tower then leave this world. We could go to another world where we can live peacefully as you wanted."

 Chapter 153 Master And Disciple

    ?The master''s gaze shifted to the butler whose expression made him more human. "No, this world has so many things that are strangely connected to me and I want to know the reason why."


    "Are you sure about that?" The butler asked with a hint of concern in his voice.


    He didn''t want the master to go out of control and totally lose himself. They sealed his memories in Ari to prevent that from happening and then something like this happened. A technique that should have been known by the people hunting his master only knew was in a book in this world.


    -


    There are too many possibilities as to why that kind of book existed in that world and the butler had no desire to explore the reason why. As much as he wanted to support the master, it might get dangerous for them to stay in that world.


    "Mr. C, your brain circuits are working overtime. If I ever discover the reason for the existence of that book, I wouldn''t lose control. I''ve already discarded most of my emotions along the way. I hope you remember that at the end of the day, I am still the master." Cygnus was not looking at the butler and was instead looking at the dark sky once again.


    The stars that night were particrly bright and even the moon was giving off a brighter light. It was befitting of the night that he was on rest mode. He would certainly enjoy his days off before facing those people once again.


    The news that the Magus Maximus has epted a disciple flew like lightning around the capital. Even the king was surprised at the sudden turn of events. He didn''t think that the duke would really permit his son to be a mage. To make sure that everything was still bnced, he sent someone to check out the status of the Ginehart Dukedom.


    After only a day, the king already received a report telling him that the manor was in disarray. The duke''s mood was not amiable and that the people were already talking. Although the duke expressed that he wanted to return to the capital and drag his son back, he couldn''t leave because of the stability that his territory was experiencing.


    "It looks like Duke Ginehart will have his hands full for the time being. That son of his is truly willful and unpredictable that he managed to catch the attention of that person." King Orpheus threw the report on top of his table.


    For now, it was not his worry to bear but the tower''s. He would instead watch from the sidelines and see what would happen. It would be interesting to see what the duke would do once he stabilizes his territory.


    Cygnus returned to the tower after three days and went straight to the highest level of the tower. Surprisingly he was not stopped and was even weed which was not to his expectation. He thought that he was going to be stopped from even approaching the entrance to the Hall of Saints.


    Unlike the other halls, the Hall of Saints was not littered with long winding halls. It was pretty straightforward. He just needed to follow the hall and he would reach the Magus Maximus''s study.


    Even without knocking, the door opened by itself. He grinned and entered while feigning interest in the decorations which were actually non-existent. The walls were bare and even the small lounge in the middle of the room was of dull colors.


    Aside from the lounge, he could see a study table after the small lounge. Even the table was empty and the only color in that room was the bookshelf behind the study table. But even those felt lifeless to him.


    "How boring," he mumbled to himself as he looked around. There was not much to see inside the room.


    "It''s because I don''t get to have many visitors," the answer came from behind Cygnus but he was not surprised at all.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Your life must be lonely if that''s really the case," Cygnus turned around and looked at the man.


    He had graying hair and yet he still looked young. His eyes were sharp and he could feel the powering from him. He could also tell that the man was not only a mage but a warrior based on the way he stood and the way he carried himself. It was simr to how Linius was.


    "Have a seat," the man gestured to the sofa as he walked first. Cygnus followed behind and also sat down to face the man.


    "So how should I address you? Master? Magus Maximus? Or should I call you by your name?" The master leaned on his seat and let his palm meet in front of him like he was praying.


    The manughed at the young man''s words. "Is this how you usually act? It never came to mind that the duke could bring up a man such as yourself." The Magus Maximus remained as he was, he was not intimidated by his disciple''s antics.


    Cygnus alsoughed and ced both of his hands on the sofa''s back. "Yes, this is how I have been ever since the beginning. I''m sure that my father is raging right now for raising a child like me." He was grinning as he showed no fear nor intimidation from the Magus.


    Looking at the young man in front of him, the Magus had different thoughts. Watching him from the side was very different from talking to him in person. There were aspects of him that one can notice up close. His grin and his actions, they were arrogant and confident.


    He came from a prestigious family so that was understandable. But, the unrestrained way of speaking and almost street like gesturesing from him would make anyone doubt that he was raised in an aristocratic family. He was the type of person that would smile in front of you but the moment you turn around, he might stab you back.


    This was all conjectures but this was what he was getting from this disciple of his. He might need to observe a little bit more before he could find his answer. This should take away the boredom he was feeling while waiting for the fruition of his aspiration.


    Cygnus smirked when he read what the other was thinking. He was considered as the strongest mage in the kingdom and yet he can read his mind like an open book. He has no guard at all and lets his mind wander.


    The master shook his head, it must be because no one had seeded to read the Magus''s mind so he doesn''t have any guard against people who can read minds. While thinking of this, a sudden thought suddenly popped in his mind which made his grin wider. There must be no one in the kingdom who can read minds before he came.


    "What''s so funny that it even made you grin?" The Magus noticed the change in his disciple''s expression and his suddenugh caught his attention.


    "I''m sorry. I just suddenly thought of something but that does not matter right now. Back to my original question, should I call you master?" Cygnus still had a grin on his face while asking this question.


    He looked like he was mocking the Magus but the man couldn''t do anything about it. Their master-disciple rtionship had just begun and he had time to get to know him more. Once he got ahold of how he thinks, he can use him for his own purposes. For now, he would let him be.


    "Just call me Master from now on. I will teach you several things and test you after I deemed it necessary. Your magic will be an asset to the tower once honed. Be d that even though you have shown me disrespect I still epted you to be my disciple because I value your talent." The Magus didn''t show much reaction while saying those words but Cygnus could feel that the man was actually pleased.

 Chapter 154 Its The Beginning

    ?A happy grin appeared on the master''s face even though he was secretly smirking because the man was actually so easy to read. His ability to read people''s minds was such a delight to him.


    "That''s a deal then, master." Cygnus pped his hands as he should his excitement towards the prospect of working together with the Magus.


    "For now, stand by and wait for me to call you. I''ll be gone for the next few days so continue with your lessons and training for now." The Magus gave his instruction before he stood up and gestured at the door.


    The master nodded as he also stood up and left. He looked back at the now closed door with narrowed eyes before he turned around and returned to his room at the Hall of Time. Now that the matter with the Magus Maximus was settled, he needed to proceed to the next step.


    Astro and Ari were waiting for him inside his room. The mage had a serious look on his face while he sat down. He was lost in his own thoughts that he failed to notice that the master already returned. Cygnus looked at Ari and yet the woman had no intention of answering him.


    "How was your investigation?" He finally spoke which woke up the mage from his thoughts.


    Astro looked up and nodded towards the master, "We''ve discovered several bases they had for their experiments. And ording to the records we found, below the tower is a specialized dungeon, as they call it. We don''t know what that dungeon is being used for but the answer would be with the Magus Maximus."


    The manid out a map they drew after they gathered the information. Even the map to where the different locations were drawn in detail. He also checked with Ari and she already stored every detail just in case these copies were destroyed.


    "How about the matter with the dimension walker?" The master asked and all he got from the mage was suppressed anger.


    They indeed found a journal and experimental data from the Hall of Knowledge but the contents were too shocking and anger inducing. The mage already knew that they were dabbling into human experimentation but to do that to a child was too much. It was a case that happened almost eighteen years ago.


    Without speaking a word, the mage handed him a set of documents that Ari produced. Cygnus raised an eyebrow and epted the stack of papers. He started to browse through it while Astro waited in anxiousness for the master''s response.


    The master maintained a straight face while reading the documents, he had no reaction from the beginning to end which surprised the mage. He ced the papers on the table and started to hum while rubbing his chin.


    "So that''s why they assumed that Ezio has the power to open dimensions. Indeed she ended up here after that time. I just can''t believe that she would let herself fall into the hands of these mages," the master spoke out loud.


    "What are you talking about? Is that it? Aren''t you angry?" Astro was not convinced that the master would remain cold even though he found out the reason why Grand Mage Jagan left the tower together with Ezio.


    Cygnus silently looked at the mage as he continued to rant in his mind, "Should I remind you who you are talking to? This much information is already expected. I am just waiting for confirmation and now that you have given me that, there''s not much that has changed. If you want to be angry, then go ahead, I won''t stop you."


    Seeing that he remained cold, the mage finally sighed. Those words actually calmed him down as he was pped in the face for not learning. The master was already like this, so he should have not expected too much.


    "Shall we proceed with our n then?" The mage finally asked after he calmed down.


    He realized that there was no benefit if he continued to worry and argue over simple matters. Their focus right now was to make sure that the Magic Tower will not be able to do whatever experiments they were doing.


    "Yes, and let''s start with these ces," Cygnus pointed at the locations of the otherboratories that the tower has.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He would also talk with the major and send him the information. Once those ces were destroyed, the elders will surely fall into chaos. The grin on his face widened and he could see the excitement building inside of him.


    After the confirmation, Astro kept the maps and chose to act like nothing happened. Since the master was already on the move, he would focus on cracking down the tower. They would be freed once the tower was destroyed.


    Linius received the letter and the look on his face couldn''t be painted. He was ted that now they can finally start culling out the tower and its forces. Without wasting any more time, he stood up and went to the barracks to inform them that they were about to move.


    The major entered a door inside his room and appeared at the back of the manor where the soldiers were gathered. It was a typical ce where the soldiers were resting and training as they waited for theirmander''s orders.


    The ce has ten buildings in total, eight of which were used as quarters for the soldiers. One was used as a canteen and the other one was left for the special unit that the major created. There was one extra small building where the offices were located.


    He didn''t know how the master did it but ording to him, it was a kind of teleportation magic using a linking space from ce to ce. With the use of a door, the major could simply open it and he would already be at the barracks. He looked around and saw that the soldiers were training hard.


    -


    The soldiers immediately stood in attention after they saw the major and gave him a unified salute. Linius returned the salute as he walked towards the building where his study was. He was expecting to see Lieutenant Lisbon but he wasn''t expecting for his other lieutenant to be present as well.


    "What brought you here, Lieutenant Ainr?" Linius entered the room and received a salute from the both of them.


    He sat down behind his table and waited for them to speak. Lief Ainr was the person he appointed to look after the special unit he was building. He was also a magic user so he decided that he was most suitable for the task.


    "I came to report to you about that apprentice from the magic tower," Lt. Ainr answered and when he saw the major nod, he continued with his report. "I approached her and she agreed to join us. I will be fetching her tomorrow."


    "That''s good then. She''ll just join the next mission for now I will brief you of the first mission that the special unit will do," the major grinned. He started to tap the table with his fingers with a smile on his face.


    "You seemed to be in a good mood, major." Lisbonmented when he noticed this particr action from the major.


    "Yes, because I received a very important piece of information. Once we get the go signal, chaos will reign down in the Magic Tower." He couldn''t help himself from being happy just because his goal from the very beginning was starting to flesh out right before his eyes.


    "You mean¡­" Ainr also had a grin on his face when he realized what the major was talking about.


    He had been hiding within the military when he heard some rumors that the major was looking for magic users. He didn''t know the reason but if it was the truth then he might have a way to take revenge on the tower. Ainr took the chance and approached the major only to be immediately epted.


    It came as a surprise that even without doing anything, the major did not hesitate to wee him. He was also surprised when he was promoted into a lieutenant and given the role to oversee the special unit that the major was building. Ainr knew that this was his chance.

 Chapter 155 Shes Back

    ?When he heard about the major''s reason behind creating a unit that was solely dedicated to magic users, he was surprised. He knew that the major''s family was not on good terms with the tower but to think that the major would go through such lengths to destroy the tower, he was convinced.


    Linius took out a piece of paper andid it out on the table. It was the map that Astro and Aripiled. Even the details of where they were located was written on it. Lisbon and Ainr looked at the map with perplexed expressions on their faces.


    The map clearly pointed out theboratories that the tower was using for their experiments. One of them was a location that Ainr couldn''t forget because it was his former hometown. He thought that the ce was already destroyed but based on what was written on the map, theboratory was still operating.


    His eyes lingered on that particr spot for a while before he lifted his head and looked at the major. He was now curious as to who gave him the map. Thoseboratories were surely hidden from the public based on the sketchy locations but they were still able to get their exact locations.


    "Do you have any questions, Lieutenant Ainr?" Linius could tell that the man has some queries but was a bit reluctant to ask them.


    "I was just wondering who is the person who sent you this map. It''s difficult to infiltrate the tower without getting discovered," he answered. Instead of asking a question, he shifted to a statement instead.


    Linius chuckled, "He is in fact inside the tower and currently he is the disciple of the Magus Maximus."


    Ainr immediately remembered the major''s younger brother. He couldn''t believe that he forgot about that bit of information. If it was the major''s brother then there was nothing impossible for him then.


    "We will be moving once I receive further confirmation. For now, you all need to prepare because any day from now on we might be called." Linius stood up with both of his hands behind his back. "Oh and before I forgot, I received a letter that she will be back today. Don''t panic when you see an unfamiliar person here. That woman will be part of my special unit."


    "Will that be Miss Nina?" Lisbon asked with curiosity. It has been so long when hest saw the woman.


    "Yes," the major nodded. "If you want to get on her good side try not to irritate her. She has quite the temperament and magic power that specializes in creating bombs."


    "Such a nasty description you''ve got there for me," a woman''s voice suddenly echoed inside the room.


    A silhouette appeared from the shadows and greeted them. She gave them a nod before she looked around the study. After she left, she did not stop to train and make herself stronger for the master.


    "It is not nasty because I am only telling the truth and you came at the right time," Linius was not fazed that a woman suddenly appeared in the room.


    Linius faced Nina and introduced her to his other lieutenant. Nina openly stared at the man as she looked at his head down to his feet. She then walked towards him and started to walk around him.


    "He has an interesting magic. I can''t feel any mana from him even though he is a magic user. Impressive technique." Nina was rubbing her chin while walking around the man.


    She was even nodding and gave the major a thumbs-up. The major shook his head at the woman''s actions but he couldn''t reprimand her. Besides, no matter what he says the woman will not listen to him because she only listens to the master.


    "One of the reasons why I got him to lead the team of magic users I gathered and now that you belong to the group, I would like to request that you listen to him as per his order." Linius knew that the only way to make her agree was to mention the master.


    Nina frowned but because it was an order, she couldn''t say no. She reluctantly nodded and followed the lieutenant towards their quarters. Linius followed to make sure that she wouldn''t make any fuss. Ainr patiently exined to her the rules and introduced to her everybody else in the group.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Back at the tower, Cygnus was now sitting with Isaiah ckwell. The man was not happy to see the younger Ginehart but because he made a promise he couldn''t back out. He endured the man''s presence throughout the lunch break.


    "Do you have something to tell me?" Isaiah finally asked after he got annoyed with the man''s staring.


    "Nothing, I''m just a little bit intrigued." In fact, Cygnus has been trying to read the man''s mind but it was futile because everything was nk.


    "Intrigued by what?" Isaiah asked again because there was nothing intriguing about him.


    He was just a young man from an aristocratic family and he was not even part of the main family. The only thing interesting about him was that he was one of the candidates to be the next head of the ckwell dukedom.


    "That would be my little secret." Cygnus grinned as he finally stood up and left him alone.


    Isaiah sighed in relief after the man''s departure. He couldn''t understand why that person was very curious about him. If not for the major''s request, he would definitely avoid the man.


    From the far corner where a door was situated, a woman stared at Cygnus''s back as he left the canteen. She was sure that the man was the person she saw back at herst mission. All she needed to do was prove his identity.


    They must have done something about the blood test that''s why he suddenly became the duke''s son. Once stor and Meliore came back to the tower, she was positive that they would back her ims since they all saw the man at Moonvale.


    Arean would be patient and when the right timees, she would make sure that the man''s lies would be exposed. She turned around and left without noticing that the man stopped walking.


    Cygnus had an evil grin on his face because of his ability to read one''s mind, no thoughts could escape him, except for Isaiah ckwell. "I should start with her," he suddenly mumbled to himself before he continued to walk away.


    Isaiah who thought that peace hade suddenly felt a surge of killing intent. He turned around but saw nothing amiss. Everything was normal and the intent had already disappeared after a short while. His body couldn''t help but shudder and yet he didn''t know the reason why.


    A week passed when Linius received a message of confirmation. Monday, the special unit under hismand departed from their barracks and arrived at the different locations listed on the map. Through the doors that the master set up, entrance and escape would be easier.


    Cygnus took the time to visit those ces in the map and created a link from that ce to the barracks. After that, Linius continued with their preparation as the team was designed for covert operations.


    The special unit was divided into five groups that would take out eachboratory at the same time. They were instructed to kill everyone in thoseboratories, with no exceptions. Since this was their first mission, the members were eager to prove themselves.


    Nina was also ready to show the results of her training. She would also make sure that none of the people in her group would mess up. Linius looked at the woman and gave her a nod to which she returned a grin.


    Cygnus appeared after the teams were already at the locations assigned to them. He and Linius returned to thetter''s study to observe the operation. Since the master was not participating, he ought to watch how everything would progress.

 Chapter 156 Proving Herself

    ?Cygnus went to the seat that the major would usually use and looked at it for a while. He then sat down since the major had noints. Linius also sat on the seat adjacent to the one the master used.


    "Wouldn''t they notice that you are not in the tower?" Linius asked after they sat down.


    "No need to worry. My double is already there and besides Astro wouldn''t let anyone discover that I left." Cygnus waved his hands and several square projections appeared in the air.


    "Double?" Linius looked at him with his brows furrowed. Sometimes the master would use words that were a bit confusing.


    "Double, meaning someone who looks and acts exactly like me but he isn''t me. I use it whenever I have to be in two different ces at the same time," Cygnus answered while he adjusted the projection he materialized.


    "Is it magic?" The major asked. He was genuinely interested when he heard that something like that was possible.


    "Yes, it''s a trick I''ve learned long ago," was his simple answer. "I can even do it for other people." This time his head moved a little bit to the right as he grinned at the major.


    Linius closed his eyes and sighed. He was really at a loss whenever the master suddenly showed them new magic that the tower didn''t have. Everything was for convenience while the tower''s magic was focused on power and more power.


    Just like now, Linius could see each of theboratories and the movements of each team. He didn''t know how the master could have a projection of that level without sending magic users on site to record what had happened. They could watch it in real time which was helpful and they can even observe the surroundings while at it.


    During this time, the door to the study opened and the butler entered with tea and snacks. He silently served the two of them and after that he stood on the side. Looking at the snacks and tea, the major shook his head and forced himself to focus on the task at hand.


    Linius was now also focused on the projection. This time each team was making their way towards their target. There were guards around the ce so each team approached with caution. Despite all this, one group went against the conventional and attacked the ce head on.


    Nina did not hide her presence nor her power once the building was on sight. Without asking her group, she flew in the air and grinned. Purple mana surrounded her body as several purple magic circles appeared around her. The rm was triggered when she used her magic and several guards came out, armed and ready to fight.


    At first, they didn''t notice her but when she fired the first shot, all eyes were already on her. One of her bombs imbued with speed hit the building followed by a barrage that had no actual target. These attacks caused the enemy to fall into disarray as the rest of Nina''s group entered the fray.


    They were like assassins killing their enemies from the dark. One by one the guards fell on the ground and a few only remained. Nina took care of them though with the chains that was summoned by her magic.


    Before they could utterly destroy the building, Nina heard her master''s voice. "Don''t destroy it yet. Something is underground."


    Nina stopped the others from releasing their magic and instructed them to enter. The inside of theb was pretty much destroyed because of Nina and it looked like an ordinary ce. They couldn''t see anything unusual.


    Following the master''s instruction, Nina found a secret door that leads down below. She entered casually while the other members remained cautious. The stairs were dimly lit but the lower they went, the lights became brighter.


    They came to a long hallway that seemed to have no end. Some of them frowned at what they saw. It was only an empty hall but why did the woman want to go in there?


    "Master, can you help us a bit?" Nina spoke loudly which startled the others.


    Cygnus, who was watching what was happening, chuckled. He was not about to intervene in such a small matter. He would let the woman do whatever she wanted.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Do it yourself, don''t be such a spoiled brat." A voice echoed inside the hall and it sounded young which made the other people wonder who was speaking.


    "How mean," Nina red at nothing in particr but she readied herself.


    She shook her hands and loosened her body before she took a step forward and took a deep breath. Her eyes narrowed towards the front then she raised both of her hands. She stretched out her arms so that both of her palms were touching the walls on both sides.


    Her audience watched with bated breaths on what she would be doing next. Cygnus and the other two men with him also paid close attention to the woman''s next move. The silence on both sides made the atmosphere tenser.


    Nina took a deep breath and let her mana circte. The same purple mana surrounded her again but this time it was brighter and purer. Purple lines resembling the roots of a tree started to spread from her palm through the wall.


    It only took a minute before the lines fully covered both walls and when she was satisfied, a smirk slowly appeared on her face. "Watch me."


    The purple lines started to glow brighter as small magic circles started to appear on the ends of the branches of the lines that were formed. After the circles were formed, her grin did not disappear.


    "Explode!" She whispered.


    The ground, the ceiling and the walls shook after she said ''explode''. The magic circles on the wall acted as the bombs and her word detonated those bombs. Dust fell down from the ceiling and the lights flickered until the whole ce turned dark.


    The glow from her magic slowly dissipated and before any of them could conjure light, a snap sounded inside the ce. A bright light followed the snap which momentarily blinded them before everything returned to normal.


    The long hall that was supposed to be in front of them disappeared and in its ce was an ordinary looking hallway. Their surrounding was dirty and full of mold, a proof that the ce was not well maintained. That white and spotless hallway was only an illusion to deceive any intruders.


    Cygnus''s loudughter filled the room after what the woman did. He didn''t expect the woman to surpass his expectations. To discover a new way to use her magic was something he would never imagine that the woman could do. Impressive, he was impressed with Nina''s growth.


    The woman looked smug after the true appearance of the hallway was revealed. "What can you say?" She asked no one in particr but Cygnus knew that she was talking to him.


    "Not bad," the voice had a hint ofughter to it which strangely pleased the woman. "Now don''t stop and show me that ce."


    Nina nodded as she walked forward followed by the other magic users with her. The look of awe and respect didn''t leave their faces even after they entered the room behind the rusty door. The door creaked as she pushed it back after she pulled down the door''s handle to unlock the door.


    There was nothing behind the door. Despite their caution the ce was only an empty circr space with a high ceiling. The walls were also starting to rust and there was already green moss growing on the floor.


    "This ce looked abandoned," Nina looked around with a frown and disgust. The ce was neglected and there were no guards around.


    "To your left," Cygnus instructed.

 Chapter 157 Acceptance

    ?Nina followed the master''s instruction. She walked towards her left and stopped in front of the wall. Her eyes narrowed then she touched the wall and that''s when she felt that there was something coating the walls. She took a step back and punched the wall.


    A ripple formed and spread through the entirety of the wall. "Looks like cloaking magic. That exins why there are no guards. Whoever breaks that long corridor will find themselves in an empty room and will eventually leave."


    "Then let''s break it down," one of the magic users with her, suggested.


    She became a bit overconfident and was about to go and attack the wall but fortunately one of her teammates pulled her back. The woman turned around and red at the person who held him back. She was also going to show off and yet, they stopped her then they heard Nina''s voice.


    "Do you think that it''s that easy?" Nina turned around. "This kind of cloak cannot be easily broken because if you attack it using magic, your magic will only bounce back and it may hit any of us. Just now I used physical strength so the force only created a ripple."


    She shot a bomb towards the wall and instead of exploding it bounced off and returned to them. The bomb exploded but they were unharmed because one of them summoned a shield to protect them all.


    "See," she looked behind her, "my bombs are designed to explode upon touching anything but it just bounced off from the cloak because this barrier is sensitive to mana."


    Her exnation made the members of her group rethink their words. This only showed that most of them were new to this kind of work. There were some magic users amongst them who had experience but they were distributed to each group.


    While they were stuck on what they should do next, the mages behind the cloaked room remained rxed even though the punch from Nina shook the room where they were in. One of the mages spoke with worry written all over his face.


    "Will they be able to destroy the cloak?" His voice was trembling as he asked that question.


    "Even if they are capable enough to destroy the cloak, we will not go down with a fight!" One of the courageous ones dered. He even patted his chest with confidence.


    The others were not sure because they knew that if the person on the other side of the wall could break the cloak, they must not be weak. They were only there under themand of someone higher than them. These mages were tasked to carry out the experiments from those who were above them without questions.


    Not all of them willingly joined that group. Most of them were threatened and forced to work even though it was against their conscience to hurt innocent people. It was a vow they all took when they became official mages and now that vow was broken.


    "We are going to die anyways, why worry if the people or person on the other side is strong?" One of the calmest in the group spoke from where he was leaning.


    The timing was also right. The attack happened just as the higher ups were not there, of all the chances, they took that day toe. This only meant one thing, the location of theboratory was leaked and there was someone who knew the schedule of those people who woulde to visit their progress.


    From that moment already, they were already doomed. On the other hand, the calm one was d that someone came to destroy theboratory and kill them all. It was the only salvation he could think of after everything they did.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Even if they did it willingly or with a knife on their necks, they still did it with their own hands. He could only look at the ceiling and blink a few times then the inevitable happened. The screams of agony and growls of anger filled the room where they were in.


    All of them were startled when they heard those noises. It was a familiar sound but to hear it in such a close distance meant that they were here. Panic started to rise from the hearts of the mages as they scrambled to barricade all the doors.


    "What''s happening? Why are they out?" One of the mages shouted. His pupils were unfocused as he looked around. "Who did it!?" His voice was so loud that the entire room was filled with it.


    His eyesnded on the calm man and in anger he stomped towards him. He lifted the calm man''s cor and pushed him hard on the wall. The calm man coughed as he lifted his hands and held the man''s arm.


    "What if I did? We are going to die anyway so why not let those kill us instead. Our hands created those things, we killed people, do you really have the right toin? No one will be saving us anyway. Our only direction is death." He smirked then his shoulders shook as a smallugh emitted from his mouth.


    Hisugh grew louder and the man who was pinning him loosened his hold and took several steps back. The banging on the steel doors continued to grow louder. Some of the mages started to cry and cover their ears as the noise did not stop.


    From then on, no one from their group spoke. They already lost any hope. The calm man was right, no matter where they go, death was the only end remaining for them. Those mages already resolved themselves to their deaths.


    The banging on the doors suddenly stopped which made the mages tenser because they knew what''s going to happen next. They waited and waited but nothing happened instead they heard several thuds from behind the doors. It sounded like things hitting the hard wall.


    Before they could process anything, the ground started to shake and then there was a loud bang as something hard hit the steel door. A dent appeared on the supposed to be indestructible door, then another bang and another dent. The barricade they ced on the door all fell down on the third bang and a hole finally appeared.


    "Oh it is finally here," the master''s voice broke through the silence of the room.


    The grin on his face widened and there was the red glint on his eyes. His grin made him look like he was someone crazy which unnerved Linius but he held himself back frommenting. He instead returned his focus on the projection they were watching.


    From behind the door, a sh of light appeared and blew it away. The fear in the atmosphere reached its peak as the mages tried to defend themselves from the enemy. They tried even though they knew that there was nothing they could do against their monstrous creation.


    It was a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old. He stepped inside the room and received a barrage of colorful magic but all of these were nullified. An invisible shield surrounded the young boy which absorbed all the attack thus rendering all of them useless.


    Once all the magic disappeared, the mages who tried to attack backed away in fear. The boy was clearly not himself. He swept his gaze at the room and as if a trigger was pulled, the boy shouted. His anger rose and so did the unstable mana inside his body.


    A circr wave of something dark came out from the boy as it spread through the room. Those who weren''t able to evade the wave were killed and it even damaged the wall as it left a deep mark. Blood from the dead bodies started to stain the white floor as the other mages started to shout and run around.

 Chapter 158 The Aftermath

    ?Their instinct to live pushed them to find a way to survive. Some of them scampered towards the destroyed door to try and escape but before they could even take a step out, they were already killed by a string of dark mana that came out from the boy.


    It only took less than ten minutes for all the mages to drop dead with their bodies littering the floor. The room was now filled with blood and even the walls were littered with deep marks and blood stters. Only the boy remained in the middle of that carnage.


    Cygnus''sugh echoed in the silent room. Hisugh was manic and chilling when that white room turned red. Linius on the other hand felt ufortable at what he saw. He had been to a battlefield but that ughter was beyond anything he had ever seen.


    "Would you look at that, a monster created by the Magic Tower! What should I do? Should I let Nina capture it?" The master suddenly asked with that evil grin and glint on his face. He looked back at his butler.


    "It is up to you master, but that boy is already unstable. I could tell that he won''t evenst until the end of the day." The butler answered with his gaze still focused on the image that was projected in front of them.


    Cygnus returned to the projection and saw what the butler was talking about. "Ah, yes you are right, there is so much mana inside him that his body can''t handle it."


    The boy''s hands, neck and face had some crack lines on them. Those lines were glowing red which showed that the mana that was forced inside his body was going to explode anytime. The boy stood there like a statue after all the people in there were dead.


    "How pitiful," Cygnus shook his head even though there were no signs of pity from his face.


    Nina and her group were still stuck as to what they should do when the cloak disappeared. The walls now look normal and a door appeared. She walked towards it and turned the door knob.


    The door creaked open only to be stopped by something on the ground. Nina''s eyes widened at the scene before her. The members of her group went to look what was beyond it but only to step back because of what they saw. Some of them even started to vomit because of the gruesome scene.


    "What a mess," after her shock, she calmed down too after a few seconds.


    This was not something new to her. Thinking about it now, she should have gotten used to it because from the ce where she came from, bodies like that could be seen from all directions. She must have gotten sofortable that she felt surprised after what she saw.


    The boy reacted the moment he heard the door opening. His entire body faced the direction where the noise came but he didn''t make any move. Nina also noticed the boy''s presence and the malevolent mana inside his body.


    "What should I do, master?" She mumbled. She took a step forward as he waited for the master to answer.


    The overwhelming metallic smell of blood almost overwhelmed her but she still moved forward. There was still no reaction from the boy even though Nina was a few feet away from him. She stopped and eyed the person who was looking at her but at the same time like he was not looking at her.


    "Subdue him, I have a better n for him." The instruction came and so Nina adjusted her thoughts and also her actions.


    She shed towards the boy in an attempt to touch him but she was pushed back by the ck mana string. The shield she surrounded herself with had a crack and if she did not reinforce it, she would have been injured.


    The power of that mana string was strong enough to create those deep gash on the walls so she needed to be careful while approaching him. Luckily, she had an ability to conjure things through her magic so subduing the enemy would be easy but a little bit tricky.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    She stretched her hands and within seconds, bombs appeared and exploded around him. After the smoke subsided, the boy waspletely fine and a wisp of the ck mana also disappeared. After that, a string of that dark mana stretched out and attacked Nina.


    A shield appeared to block the attack and one of the magic users with her summoned the shield. "I''m not good at fighting but I''ll do my best to support you." He sounded sure of himself so the woman let him do whatever he wanted.


    Nina was not sure at first so she would attack and defend but every time an attack from the boy wasing at her, a shield would always appear to protect her. The quality of the shield was also quite good. For her next attacks, she didn''t need to worry about defending anymore because the man was doing it for her.


    A barrage of bombs exploded around the boy together with a chain that bounded his feet in ce. She did not stop from summoning bombs and letting them explode. She did this until the ck mana wasn''t able to keep up any longer. The moment she saw an opening around the ck mana, she shot an arrow.


    When the arrow passed through the opening, it dispersed into small needles that managed to pierce through the boy''s skin. The ck mana disappeared and so did her attacks. Shended on the bloody floor with narrowed eyes towards the boy who stopped moving.


    The boy suddenly coughed up blood but he paid attention to it. He started to sway from side to side but he still had the intention to attack. He slowly raised his arm and let the ck mana out but before it could fully materialize into a string, it dispersed as he continued to cough out blood.


    "Master," Nina muttered, then a gate appeared behind the boy. It opened and slid forward to swallow the boy.


    The gate closed and disappeared as fast as it appeared. Nina sighed and turned around with her brown hair swaying behind her. The man who assisted her also breathed a sigh of relief. He staggered back and slumped on the dirty floor.


    "We are done here. Let''s rest for a while before we totally destroy this ce." Nina announced which made the others finally rx.


    After a thirty minute rest, they left through the way they came from and Nina left explosives that exploded once they were at a safe distance. They looked at the dark smoke rising from theboratory before they entered the gate that appeared.


    For the other locations, simr events happened and at the end, Cygnus collected five experimental subjects from thoseboratories. The special unit''s first mission was a sess and there were no casualties among them, which was something good.


    "What do you n to do with those?" Linius asked after the projections disappeared.


    "You''ll see and I''m sure that you''ll like where I''ll be disying them." Cygnus stood up and fixed his clothes.


    He stepped out before the whole team arrived at the major''s study. Linius weed them with a smile on his face. He was satisfied with the oue of their first mission and so did the master so he was not worried.


    "You''ve worked hard for the next few days, you can rest and visit your families. I will also be giving you in advance your sries," Linius announced. Since the mission was a sess there''s no reason to keep them in the barracks.


    The members of the special unit cheered when they heard the major''s announcement. After thanking him, they left to pack and prepare to visit their families. Lieutenant Ainr approached the major and intended to report but the man shook his head.

 Chapter 159 In Chaos

    ?The lieutenant was about to open his mouth but when he saw the major shaking his head he stopped. He instead waited for what the major would say.


    "No need. You can go ahead and rest first. I actually know what happened during the mission, so you don''t need to pass a report." Linius waved at the man and let him leave.


    Based on the fight, he could choose several magic users to lead each group that they will be forming. He had seen the fight and the master surely had his own opinions regarding that matter. For now, they would relish in their first victory against the tower.


    Later that night, the major hosted a banquet to celebrate the sessfulpletion of their mission. At the same time, the elders of the tower were in disarray. While they were having their meeting, the news of what happened to theboratories came. Each elder who was assigned to eachboratory left in a heartbeat to check, only to see nothing left.


    They tried to see if anything was salvageable but nothing was left. Everything turned to ashes, even the underground rooms were destroyed. Anger, that was what they felt. Whoever did this would taste their wrath.


    The meeting room was shrouded in with a depressive aura because of what had happened. They could only inform the others that their efforts were all gone. Even the Magus Maximus was surprised because of what had happened.


    Never did he imagine that someone would dare to destroy those ces when they made all necessary preparations just to hide those ces. He could think of anyone who would do such a thing.


    "What do we do now?" One of the elders asked with worry in his voice. "There must be a traitor in our midst! The only people who knew the locations of thoseboratories are the people in this room!"


    His voice got louder as he said those words. He was shaking in fear because someone might expose them and he did not want his reputation to be sullied. Besides, his im wasn''t unfounded. How can anyone know those locations if no one would have leaked the information.


    "Are you suggesting that one of us is a traitor?" One of them sneered, "Why would any of us leak such important information, when we all know that thoseboratories are important for our goals?"


    The room became silent. All of them believed that none of the elders would do such a ridiculous thing unless they wanted to die. If those ces were exposed to the public, the reputation of the tower would surely suffer and not only that, even their own reputation will be in tatters.


    Luckily, theboratories were only destroyed and the experiments were not exposed. But they can''t be so sure yet, because the person behind the attack might be nning something. They might be waiting for the right time to expose everything.


    "Now that theboratories are destroyed, we can''t do anything about it. What we should worry about right now is the person behind it because we do not know if they destroyed everything or they took all the data with them. Since the mastermind hasn''t made his move yet, I suggest that we destroy all the data we have," one of the elders who could think calmly suggested.


    It was a wee suggestion but there were still others who felt reluctant about it. Destroying their data would mean destroying everything they''ve worked for and without those, how can they continue with the development of new magic?


    "All data we have on the experiments are stored at the Hall of Knowledge. If you want to ess it, you can go there. Discarding evidence on every person will lessen the damage we will take if this matteres to light," another voice spoke.


    All the elders remained silent for a while. They were all thinking about the pros and cons of the suggestion. Some finally agreed while the others were still undecided. Out of the ten elders, seven agreed while the other three were still thinking about it.


    "We already have the Hall of Knowledge so why are you still hesitating?" The man who suggested that they destroy all data asked. "Magus Maximus, what can you say?" Because he was already losing his patience, he instead asked the highest of them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Magus Maximus who had been silent from the beginning of the meeting now had the attention of the other elders. "To that suggestion, I agree. It is better to remove all the personal evidence we have and store it all at the Hall of Knowledge."


    To thatmand, the elders who were still indecisive had no say even though deep within they were still reluctant. Since their leader already spoke, they can''t do anything to defy him. The Magus observed the elders and saw that they all nodded and reluctantly epted his words.


    "Regarding the destruction of theboratories, I will handle the investigation and get to the bottom of it!" One of the elders volunteered. Since he was only second to the Magus, no one argued.


    "How about the attacks that happened to the tower, do we have any progress on that matter?" The Magus suddenly asked.


    The elder who was assigned to investigate the matter reported that they had no headway regarding the matter. There were no traces nor clues as to who and how the attacks happened so they were stuck.


    "Do you perhaps suspect that the person behind the attacks on the tower is the same as the mastermind of the person behind the destruction of theboratories?" Celes finally spoke.


    There was no reason for the Magus to suddenly bring up those terror attacks. They''ve been in a meeting a couple of times after the attack and yet this was the first time that the Magus asked about the investigation.


    "Yes, even though these events happened so far apart, it is still reasonable to connect the two. The mastermind behind the attacks had the ability to infiltrate the Magic Tower without getting detected and the person behind theboratory attack has some way of obtaining ssified information." The Magus exined, "Therefore, I have a reason to believe that there is only one person behind all of these."


    The room was once again plunged into a tense silence at those words. A person who could do that kind of thing meant that he was nothing ordinary. Infiltration without detection and having ess to ssified information, these were things that no normal human being could do.


    "Let us end this meeting here for now. I want all evidence regarding theboratories to be burned and disposed of without a trace." The Magus did not make the meeting longer and left.


    There was something he wanted to confirm himself. He went back to the Hall of Saints and called out one of his servants. A mist of ck smoke glided towards the Magus and materialized into a person. He had ck short hair and ck eyes, a distinctive characteristic of a Ginehart. Even his profile bears resemnce to the duke.


    His skin was pale and his clothing looked like a cloud of ck smoke because of the wisp surrounding him. Even his feet were hidden behind those wisps which made him like he was floating. His lips were even as red as blood.


    "Report," was the only word he said. He sat down on his chair and waited for this familiar to speak.


    "Rigel Maverick Ginehart, he hadn''t left the tower ever since you left and he has attended all of his sses and training. His aide had stayed beside him all of those time. I haven''t seen any abnormal movements from him," the familiar answered with a deep voice.


    The Magus was silent after he heard his familiar''s report. There was no reason for him to lie or make up a story to him because he was bound to him. He narrowed his eyes before he finally sighed. He did not know if it was relief or not because his disciple had nothing to do with everything that had happened so far.

 Chapter 160 Of Master And Disciple

    ?He was relieved but he still couldn''t let his guard down justbecause his disciple was behaving. The towercked information about him and of what he had been doing for the past years so he can''t just trust the young man.


    "Where is he now?" The Magus asked after much thought.


    His familiar replied, "He is currently attending one of his sses."


    The Magus stood up with the intention of visiting his disciple. He left the Hall of Saints and went straight to the Hall of Time. He hid his presence so as not to disturb any of the sses that were going on.


    He found the right door and silently entered through the opened door. He stood on the corner near the door as he looked for his disciple. Cygnus noticed the Magus the moment he entered the room but paid him no mind.


    He acted as if he did not notice his master''s presence. Nothing changed from how he was doing as he acted the way he always does. The ss finished and magic training was next.


    Disciples of any of the Archmage''s in the tower were actually not required to join any of the sses or the training. It was the reason why the number of apprentices dwindled after the exam. In Cygnus''s case, since the Magus was a bit busy, he still diligently attended even though he looked so bored.


    They entered the usual training room and took the usual ce he always takes. After he sat down on the bench, a group of apprentices came with sneers on their faces. They looked him up and down before whispering with each other.


    "Why is the disciple of the Magus Maximus still joining us peasants? Is it because you were abandoned?" One of them took the lead to speak.


    His voice was full of ridicule that the others with him started tough. He was not oblivious to the rumors going around. ording to the rumors, he was abandoned by his master.


    It has been more than a week after the exam and yet they haven''t seen him train with the Magus. None of them had even seen the Magus visit his disciple and because of that, he wasbeled as an abandoned disciple. He didn''t mind though because he knew the truth, but toe and confront him with such a low-level usation was beyond his patience.


    "Abandoned? I wasn''t. I even had the chance to enter the Hall of Saints and talk to my master personally." Cygnus answered while shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, is the Magus Maximus someone you can easily meet? Why would he waste his time ining here to visit me and if he ever did, he will onlye for one reason, that is because I am his disciple. He won''t even take a nce at you peasants."


    He was smirking and took pleasure from watching their faces turn ck and blue. Cygnus could easily read these kinds of people even without a nce at their thoughts. They thought that they could use him to catch a glimpse at the Magus Maximus and maybe to even catch his attention.


    "Ambitious as you are, if you can''t beat me or even surpass me, you won''t even catch the attention of my master. Not in a hundred years." The confidence and dominance in his voice traveled through the entire room.


    The other apprentices who were watching from the side shivered and took a step back. They turned back and did not gave the man another look. It was better for them to not associate themselves with the man. The way he talked and acted was too intimidating.


    Out of words to say, the group left with fritted teeth and clenched fists. They were already warned by the others to not continue what they were nning and yet they still insisted. Now that they had a first hand experience of what Rigel Ginehart could do, they won''t be hasty anymore when facing him.


    The Magus who had been watching from the side couldn''t help but shake his head. His disciple''s manners were a bit questionable but his words couldn''t be refuted too. He was really different from his father and brother.


    After that, the training proceeded naturally. Cygnus was not an active participant and would only meditate on the side but the instructor didn''t mind. In his mind, Cygnus was already proficient and he didn''t need any instructions from him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    During the afternoon, a messenger from the Magus came to look for Cygnus. The other apprentices were so jealous that they couldn''t hide the look of envy from their faces. He stood up and walked past the group who were ridiculing him that morning.


    He followed the messenger towards the highest level of the tower. The messenger only stayed at the entrance and didn''t go in with him. Cygnus found the Magus waiting for him in front of his study.


    "You called for me master," Cygnus spoke up after he came up to the man.


    "Yes," the magus turned around, "I want to see what you can do."


    Cygnus grinned as he became excited at the man''s words. See what he can do, he will show him what he can do. The Magus started to walk away and into a different direction. Cygnus followed behind.


    No exchange of words happened between the two of them until they came to a wooden door. The moment the Magus opened it, Cygnus saw an empty arena. Since they were the only people in there, the arena felt so wide.


    "This is the training ground at the Hall of Saints. It has not been used for many years now. You will be the first," the Magus waved at the arena and noticed his disciple''s awe.


    "You have something like this but you aren''t using it?" Cygnus walked inside and let his magic sense swept through the area.


    "You''ll be using this room from now on. Whenever you want to train you can freelye so that you won''t need to join the others," the Magus exined.


    Since he already had a disciple, he should at least make time for him. It wasn''t an entirely bad idea to get one for himself, that way he could pass on his legacy. The only problem was that he was a Ginehart.


    But that can be rectified, he would make sure that the young man would be loyal to the tower. He would start with the contract he signed. He narrowed his eyes at the man''s back before making up his mind.


    "Why don''t you show me your lightning magic first," the Magus spoke.


    He walked towards the center of the arena and gestured for Cygnus to attack.  He grinned as the ck lightning appeared on his palms. Cygnus crushed the lightning and attacked the Magus head on.


    Cygnus opted for a hand-to-handbat which surprised the Magus. He thought that his disciple would use long ranged attacks. He blocked the fist that appeared in front of him then he used his palm to counterattack but Cygnus shifted his body to the right and avoided the attack.


    The next strike that Cygnus released was imbued with the ck lightning. His every punch and kick were all incorporated with lightning. His movements were also fast and precise. If the Magus didn''t know how to defend then he would have suffered injuries already.


    Their exchange of palm and fist strikes filled the room with lightning and sparks. Cygnus was enjoying their exchange but he was getting bored. He attacked once again with a left and right jab followed by a kick which the Magus avoided.


    Once he stepped back, a lightning strike from above went straight down to him. The strike caused dust to rise and there were some pieces of the ground that flew out. As the dust subsided, there were already holes on the ground that were created by the lightning. There was also a golden light at the center that enclosed the Magus.

 Chapter 161 Just A Test

    ?He remained unharmed despite how strong the lightning was. Cygnus on the other hand was grinning though because he prepared something bigger. With a snap, several lightning spears targeted the shield surrounding the Magus.


    With the onught of these spears, the shield slowly gave in as line cracks started to appear. Those cracks slowly grew in size until the entire shield broke into pieces. Cygnus used this chance to let a stronger lightning hit his master.


    The Magus already knew what his disciple was nning so before the next lightning hit him, a shield surrounded him once again. This time it was ayer of a honeb pattern that protected him. It was stronger than the first and when one section was destroyed, a reinforcement would also appear.


    Well, he was not called Magus Maximus if he couldn''t defend against such a basic attack. Cygnus was impressed at the shield. It has no weaknesses and if the user of it never ran out of mana, he can maintain that shield and withstand attacks like his ck lightning.


    While Cygnus was amazed at his shield, the Magus also maintained his rapt attention at his disciple who could make those attacks without showing any signs of exhaustion. He couldn''t count how many ck lightning already hit his shield, but he was sure that it was more than an average mage could handle.


    ck lightning had been written in books but no one from the kingdom was able to create it. Its destructive power was more than that of ordinary lightning magic. They had seen it from the destruction it left after the exam and from the damage the arena had suffered just now.


    Cygnus wanted to test the shield strength thus he nned not to hold back. He didn''t care if this n would destroy the whole arena because he was sure that they would eventually fix it. From where he stood, he put both of his palms together with his fingers pointed towards the Magus then a dark ball slowly formed at the tip of his fingers.


    Before the Magus could realize what his disciple was nning, the ck ball was shot towards him. Severalyers of his shield broke so he put all of the hexagon shaped parts of his shield and stacked them together then expanded them to cover himself. The concentrated ck lightning pierced through most of theyers until it stopped and disappeared. Even though the energy was canceled, the tendrils that came with it were still present around him.


    "Master, can you defend against this?" The Magus heard his disciple''s voice and before he could answer, several explosions happened around him.


    With most of his shield concentrated in front, he did not expect those tendrils of lightning to suddenly explode. He didn''t have time to put out another shield so he did the next effective way to avoid the attack. The Magus disappeared from where he was standing and appeared behind Cygnus.


    It was an instant teleportation magic that uses a lot of mana but was also effective with surprise attacks such as those explosions. It doesn''t need a full circle to materialize. One only needs a special stone to be engraved with the spells circle then infuse mana into it.


    Once the holder of the stone infuses a little bit of his mana into the stone, the spell would activate and teleport the holder to his desired location. It was an instant and fast action that could be used tounch a sneak attack against an opponent.


    He appeared behind his disciple and within seconds, a golden magic circle appeared beneath Cygnus as coils of golden chains appeared below. These chains rose and formed six pirs followed by the manifestation of a golden barrier connecting the six pirs.


    Cygnus attempted to escape the entrapment using his wind magic but even the top part was sealed. He also attempted to break through the side but was stopped when the pirs started to move inward. The space inside the barrier got narrower until there was no way for him to move any longer.


    "That''s a prison barrier I personally created to seal and destroy enemies. Since I specialize in this kind of magic, it would be difficult for you to break that one," the Magus slowlynded on the ground and walked up to the sealed young man.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "This is a nice creation master, you should teach me this one too!" His enthusiasm did not disappear even though he was defeated.


    The Magus stared at him for the meantime before he dispelled the barrier and let his disciple out. "You don''t have an aptitude for barrier magic. You should focus on what you have right now and hone it to be the strongest."


    He couldn''t teach him barrier magic because if he did, the weaknesses and secrets behind those barriers would be revealed. Even towards his disciple he was not willing to disclose everything. One more reason was that he believed that he would live long so there''s no need to let his disciple inherit his magic.


    "Really?" Cygnus didn''t believe what the Magus had said because he had seen his mind. "That''s a bit sad though." He showed a frown in front of his master.


    "We have different specializations and your magic is mainly focused on attack. You didn''t even bother to defend yourself from me." The Magus further exined to which Cygnus appeared to believe even though the man was only making up excuses.


    With his aptitude, Cygnus could also use a shield like that, the only difference was that Cygnus could use a shield stronger and of a higher level than what the Magus could use. He could show it to him but he needed to move a little bit slow in order for the Magus to trust him even more.


    After that sparring, the Magus gave Cygnus several books that he was tasked to read. He could only stare at the books then at his master who had no expression at all. He thought that after this fight, his master would personally train him.


    The Magus left after leaving the books with Cygnus. "Well, this isn''t quite what I expected," he mumbled to himself.


    He left the books on the ground and instead called for Ari. He asked Ari to scan the whole area and he was right, just below the arena was a hidden room. It was surrounded with several protective and cloaking barriers to disguise and hide it.


    That must have been the Magus''s secret room where he stored all of his valuables. Cygnus grinned because he wasn''t expecting anything the moment that he met the Magus. Besides, he was not interested in learning anything.


    He lounged around and waited for time to pass before he finally left. Since his effort was not wasted, he would go and take the day off by sleeping. He had already instructed Ari to inform Astro of what they discovered and that he should do some further probing about that secret room.


    stor and Meliore also returned to the tower afterpleting their own missions. They knew all that had happened at the tower while they were gone and were curious as to who was the Magus Maximus''s disciple. One more thing that made them interested was because of the message they received from Arean.


    The three of them met after only three days after their return and Arean briefed them of what happened. She was sure that Rigel was the self-proimed guardian of Ezio. Her voice was trembling and her fists were tightly clenched as she recounted her encounter with the man.


    The embarrassment she felt that day was something she couldn''t forget. She told him how he tantly acted innocent and how her master didn''t believe her. Arean won''t let what happened be buried and forgotten.

 Chapter 162 Accused

    ?With the woman''s insistence, they went to personally visit the man and because they were also curious, they agreed. They got a hold of Cygnus''s schedule and tried to wait for him but for some reason, the man did not attend any of his sses. They then learned that ever since the Magus Maximus called for him, he hadn''t joined any of his sses.


    They had no choice but to send him a message through the guard that was guarding the entrance to the Hall of Saints. Cygnus couldn''t help but grin when he received the letter requesting for him to meet the three of them.


    "What is it?" The Magus asked after he saw that his disciple was grinning.


    Cygnus handed him the letter, "I''ve met Arean a while back and she was using me of something that happened from one of their previous missions. I think the reason why they wrote that letter is to prove that I am indeed the person she is using me of."


    "You should go and fix it. I don''t want any issues to arise while you are my disciple," the Magus frowned.


    "Alright, I''ll go meet themter." Cygnus obediently nodded then he continued with what he was reading and doing it at the same time.


    After an hour, Cygnus left to look for these three people who were requesting for his presence. The Magus Maximus sent his familiar to listen on what they would talk about. As far as he could remember, Arean was the disciple of Archmage Ragus and thest mission she had was the mission to bring back the nephew of Grand Mage Jagan.


    Cygnus left the Hall of Saints and saw three people waiting for him. He also felt the presence of the Magus Maximus''s familiar who followed him. He was then secretly delighted that these people were paying him much attention.


    "Miss Arean, why did you call for me?" Cygnus walked up to them. He eyed the other two people with her.


    "We have something to talk about with you," she calmly answered. "Why don''t we go to a morefortable ce where we can talk without any distraction."


    "Alright," he nodded and followed them to an empty room. Arean locked the door and red at the man.


    "What can you say?" she then turned her attention to the two who came with them.


    stor and Meliore looked at the person in front of them but they can''t find any resemnce he had with the owner of that bakeshop. This person looked younger and just as the rumors say, he was the splitting image of Duke Ulysses Ginehart. stor looked at Arean with a frown.


    "He is nothing like the guardian of Ezio," his voice was sharp and deep.


    He couldn''t believe that he would even trust the woman''s words when she was already crazy as it is. Ever since he saw the young maning out from the Hall of Saints, he already knew that he was not rted to the incident at Moonvale. From the beginning, it was impossible for the man toe to the capital and even more so to be a mage of the tower.


    "What are you talking about?" Arean was taken aback by the reaction of the man. "He is that person!" She pointed at Cygnus. "Look closely!" She insisted.


    stor sighed and shook his head. The woman was acting crazy again. He thought that she would behave after the Moonvale mission but it seemed like her silence was only a short phase. She was getting back to that crazy time once again.


    "May I ask what Miss Arean is talking about? Ever since she first met me, she has been using me of things I didn''t do. I don''t even know where this Moonvale is!" He sighed with furrowed brows as he looked genuinely confused as to what was happening.


    "Don''t act like you don''t know anything! Stop using tricks to deceive us!" Arean walked up to him and started to point her finger.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    She pushed her in anger so Cygnus could only take a step back. He looked at the woman in surprise at what she did. Arean was seething in anger because she believed that he was using some kind of trick to hide who he really was.


    "Arean, what are you doing?" Meliore was surprised when she saw what thetter was doing. She stepped forward in haste and pulled the woman away.


    Arean squirmed but Meliore''s hold on her was tight. She was still fighting against the other woman and was shouting profanities at her. Her anger was over the top that if the room wasn''t sound proofed, everyone who were passing by would hear her cursing.


    "Enough!" stor''s booming voice filled the room and this stopped Arean. She was breathing hard as she looked at them like she was going to kill them all.


    "All of you are the same! How can you not see that that person is only using some kind of magic to deceive you! He is not a Ginehart, he is a monster!" She continued to shout.


    In her perspective, Cygnus was indeed Ezio''s guardian and yet in the eyes of both stor and Meliore, he was Rigel Ginehart. A young man with short ck hair and ck eyes. His looks were of that a man in his early twenties which was far younger than the person they meet back at Moonvale.


    "Will you stop this nonsense, Arean. You are just embarrassing yourself. If Ezio''s guardian would reallye to the capital then there was no way that he would be a mage of the tower, especially the disciple of the Magus Maximus." stro rubbed his head and tightly shut his eyes.


    She really had the guts to use the Magus''s disciple and even had more guts to point her fingers at the duke''s son. She was really bing out of control and he didn''t want to get caught up with her nonsense.


    He looked behind him and smiled apologetically at Cygnus. He then looked at the woman and gave her a re. He was clearly wasting his time on this nonsense.


    "stor is right, Arean. You can''t keep on embarrassing yourself like this. That person is not that man. You are just being delusional right now." Meliore finally spoke and sighed. She couldn''t afford to offend the man too.


    "No matter what you say, I am not the man you are talking about. I have never been to Moonvale and I have never met any of you until now. My patience is not that long and if you continue to use me like this, I won''t be polite even though you are a woman." This time the grin on his face disappeared.


    "We apologize for ourrade''s mistake. She isn''t fully recovered yet so she''s making up stories." stor was the one who apologized to which Arean protested.


    "Why are you apologizing? You shouldn''t because I am telling the truth!" She still insisted but the two people didn''t believe her.


    "It doesn''t matter. I''ll leave her to you then. If my master learns that she will not stop from her usations, he might do something to her and I don''t want that to happen. I''ll just consider this as a blunder on her part," Cygnus fixed his clothes that got wrinkled after he was pushed before he took a step towards the door.


    The room temperature suddenly dropped down as the particles of sharp tipped ice slowly formed and went straight towards the master. Without even giving the woman a look, a wall of ice appeared to block her attack.


    "I''ll let this go for now but next time you try to attack me, I won''t hold back," his voice was as cold as the temperature in the room.


    stor stood in front of Arean and stopped her from doing anything. The wall of ice disappeared and so did Cygnus. He was done ying with her so he would go instead and take a nap. That confrontation made him feel tired.

 Chapter 163 Unexpected Visit

    ?"What happened at Moonvale, you should forget it already. If you continue to dwell on the past, you and Archmage Ragus will be theughing stock of not only the mages of the tower but also the people outside." Meliore tried to exin in a calm manner but the woman was so out of it that she was not listening to any of her words.


    No matter what Meliore and stor would say, Arean wasn''t listening. She was still lost in her own world. Meliore shook her head towards stor.


    "Let''s call Archmage Ragus, he might know what to do," stor suggested, which got the attention of Arean.


    The woman suddenly rushed towards stor and started shouting in his face, "Shut up! My master doesn''t have anything to do with this!"


    stor grabbed her hand and gripped it tightly, "Then you should stop already. You are starting to be crazy again. What would the people say if you start spouting nonsense in the public again? You should wake up or else you might get expelled from the tower." stor had enough already.


    He can no longer tolerate the woman and let Meliore handle her. He left the room after saying his piece to look for the archmage. He would let him make the decision for his disciple.


    Cygnus went back to the Hall of Saints after that displeasing encounter. He was not in a good mood and his annoyance was written all over his face. The Magus saw this and gave him more books to read.


    After that, the Magus asked his familiar what happened and in a heartbeat the man answered. The Magus couldn''t help but sigh at what the woman had done. He thought that she was already behaving but now she was making anothermotion.


    "Go and investigate the incident and report to me every detail that you will find." The Magusmanded and the familiar disappeared.


    He then left to talk to Archmage Ragus regarding his disciple''s behavior. He wouldn''t tolerate any more disrespect and usations against his disciple. The Magus went straight to the archmage''s study.


    "Magus Maximus, it is my pleasure to have you visit this ce," Archmage Ragus stood up and paid respect to the strongest mage in the tower.


    "I''vee to talk to you about your disciple, Arean." He was not a fan of talking in circles so he went straight to the point. "I heard what your disciple did and I am not pleased with it."


    Archmage Argus sighed. stor already came to look for him and told him what happened. The archmage did not waste time and went to see his disciple. He was surprised to see that Arean looked deranged and unkempt.


    With the help of Meliore, they hauled her towards her room where he tried to talk to her. She slowly calmed down and recognized him. Argus patiently exined to her that Rigel was not the person she thought he was.


    She was only imagining things because of the trauma brought by herst mission. He also exined that if she continued to be like this, he would have no other choice but to let her leave the tower. Argus continued to emphasize these things to Arean.


    After a while, Arean finally calmed down and listened to her master. Argus left her so that she could have time for herself to digest what he said. He gave her onest look before he left.


    "I apologize for what my disciple did. I already talked to her and warned her not to do that again," Argus exined.


    He didn''t expect that the Magus Maximus would personallye to him regarding this matter. This only showed that he gave importance to his disciple. In the future, he would make sure not to offend Rigel in any way.


    "I appreciate it. Remember this though, if she ever does it again, I''ll make sure that she won''t be able to return to the tower once again and revoke her title as a mage." The Magus Maximus''s cold eyes pinned him down in his ce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Even though the Magus''s face was covered, he could still feel the piercing gaze from behind that satin cloth which was covering his face. He waspelled to follow the man''s order without anyints. Although he didn''t n on going against the man in the first ce he still acquiesced.


    "I will keep that in mind, Magus Maximus." Archmage Ragus bowed his head and when he lifted it again, the mage was gone.


    He slumped on his chair and breathed a sigh of relief after the Magus disappeared. He lifted his head and rested it on the chair. He needed to make sure that Arean wouldn''t make any more raucous involving Rigel.


    Themotion slowly died down and after a while everything seemed to have calmed down. Arean hasn''t made any fuss and decided to stay away from Cygnus. Meanwhile, Duke Ulysses came to the capital once again to visit his son.


    He looked up at the tower in disgust but he couldn''t back down because his son was in there. He let the carriage stop in front of the main gate and let the butler talk to the gatekeeper. Only five minutes had passed but he already felt impatient.


    "What''s taking you so long?" He roared from the inside of the carriage and the butler ran towards it with an apologetic face.


    "I''m sorry master, the gatekeeper is still confirming with the people inside because they can''t just let us pass," the butler was sweating because he knew of the duke''s temper.


    "How haughty, they had the courage to let me wait, well let''s see." Duke Ulysses came out from the carriage and marched towards the gate.


    Before any of the gatekeepers could even act, Ulysses already sliced the steel gate into pieces. He walked inside the tower''spound towards the entrance to the first level of the tower. He started to unsheathe his sword when a voice stopped him from doing so.


    "Duke Ulysses, I''m sorry for waiting long. Why don''t you follow me so that we can go straight up and visit Rigel," Celes appeared with a smile on his face.


    Ulysses''s hand that was holding the hilt of his sword stopped midway then he let it go and let iT slid back to its scabbard but not before slicing one of the pirs of the gates into two. Celes could only maintain his smile even after the duke destroyed the entrance to the Hall of Songs.


    Duke Ulysses silently followed the mage and they were transported to the Hall of Time and went straight inside Celes''s study as they waited for Rigel toe. They already notified the young man but they were not sure if the Magus Maximus would allow him to see his father. He led the guest to one of the couches inside and let him sit.


    "Would you like some refreshments while we wait for Rigel?" Celes couldn''t lose his cool because if he does, then there might be chaos.


    "No need," Ulysses sat there with his cold face without even looking at the mage. "And why is my son taking so long toe see me?"


    Celes could only hold his smile and patiently answer the man. They just sat down and not even a full minute passed but the man was already asking why Rigel was taking so long toe. The veins on his head started to bulge as the mage tried to control himself from exploding.


    "He must be having a lesson with the Magus Maximus right now," the mage exined even though he was not that sure.


    He heard the duke hummed and then followed by silence. A knock came from the door and Astro''s voice came from behind the door. Celes opened the door and let the person enter. Astro greeted the duke after he entered and ced a te of cookies on the table.

 Chapter 164 Father And Son

    ?After cing the te on the table, Astro took a step back. The duke still had his eyes closed and he only heard the clinking of the te being ced on the ss table then he heard the man''s voice.


    "The young master might take a little bit longer before he cane so he instructed me to give you these cookies from Vergessen as you wait for him. He was worried that you might not want the snacks offered in the tower." Astro said these things with a straight face even though Celes was there.


    Ulysses opened his eyes and looked at the te of cookies that was ced on the tables. He slowly rxed as he picked up one of the cookies and started to nibble on it. He then looked at Celes and narrowed his eyes.


    "Where''s the tea?" He briefly asked before returning his focus on the cookies.


    The grand archmage made tea and served it for the duke. He couldn''t believe the change to the duke after he heard that the cookies were from his son. The difference was so big that his son''s aide was treated better than him, who was a grand archmage.


    Ulysses did not speak after that and was only focused on eating the cookies while they wait for Rigel. Just as he was about to finish the contents of the entire te, there was a knock on the door. Celes went straight to open the door and saw that it was Rigel.


    "Good afternoon Grand Archmage Celes," the man greeted with a smile. Celes gave him a nod and let him in.


    "You''re here," Ulysses spoke without even looking at his son.


    He appeared cold and distant but Cygnus knew that he was only acting. "Yes, father and I''m sorry because I made you wait."


    The duke did not speak so when Cygnus noticed this, he looked behind at Astro and at Celes. He gave them an apologetic grin. Both of them left the room to give the two of them privacy. Once the door closed, Cygnus ced an anti-spy barrier around the room.


    "You are ying the role of a father quite well," Cygnusmented after he too, took a seat.


    He looked at the te of cookies and sighed because it was almost empty. Ulysses looked at the young man for a couple of minutes, as if memorizing his face. It was only natural for him to act like what he did because it was his true feelings.


    "That''s because it is what I truly felt," Ulysses did not hide what he was thinking. "You''ve be part of the Ginehart household even though you are not my flesh and blood. I also don''t care even if you are older than me. I still look older than you."


    Cygnus chuckled because of how willful the members of the Ginehart household were. "I didn''t ask for it though."


    "It doesn''t mean that because you didn''t ask for it, it won''t happen. Besides, these are things you can''t control and if you do y with another person''s emotion, these true feelings will not change." Ulysses already knew the extent of the man''s power because his son had detailed it on thest letter he sent to him.


    "Such heartwarming and poetic words, nothing less from the head of the Ginehart Dukedom." Cygnus had no say or had no n on refuting those words.


    He had heard it a long time ago and unlike before, those words had no impact on him any longer. There''s also no point in making him into his puppets when they were already helping him with their own will. Besides, a puppet was no fun to use because they don''t change expression, they just follow whatever their master says without anyints.


    "So, what brought you here?" Cygnus finally asked.


    "Is it wrong of me toe visit you once in a while?" Ulysses raised a brow.


    "Well, there''s nothing wrong with it but I don''t believe that that is the only reason why you came," Cygnus grinned.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "As always you''re business as usual." Ulysses drank the rest of his tea and faced the man. "I just came to congratte you on sessfullypleting that mission. It was splendid."


    Cygnus chuckled, "No need besides I only provided the information and didn''t actively participate in the mission."


    "Even so, I am still impressed at how you started your n. I really like it. It''s just a shame because I wasn''t able to see the faces of those geezers when their belovedboratories were destroyed." The man was genuinely happy while saying those words.


    Even when he received the message that thoseboratories were destroyed, he couldn''t help himself from celebrating. Now that the tower was slowly going downhill, he would sit back and rx as he watched it being led to destruction.


    "I always do things in a shy way. By the way, I heard that Duke ckwell is having some problems," he said, since that ce seems to hold some intriguing facts that he was curious about.


    He can''t afford to lose that ce even before finding out the information he needed. If Isaiah ckwell has that kind of ability, there was a possibility that many of the ckwells were like that too or he was just an exception. Nevertheless, he still wanted to know what were the secrets that the family holds.


    Ulysses froze for a moment before he sighed, "Nothing really gets past you. Yes, currently the ckwell Dukedom is going through a civil unrest. The power struggle is also getting worse."


    "Then my hunch is correct. There is no reason for the duke to suddenly send his number one heir candidate here at the tower if he had the ability to teach him himself. Turns out that the duke is having problems. I''m just wondering how did this happen when the duke himself is still alive and healthy?" That question made Ulysses frown even further.


    "Many of the heads from the different territories under his rule are expressing their dissatisfaction with him as the ruler. They have been encouraging him to im thends that were given to the ounders just beyond their territory but Ghad did not agree." It was only a smallnd but the heads of those households were pressing him too much.


    "So it''s like that, I really don''t understand these power struggles but I can lend a hand. I can kill off those heads and rece them with loyal people," Cygnus smirked. That thought was very tempting, that way he can get a hold of ckwell.


    "You don''t have to. Ghad can manage those people. He is not as weak as you think," Ulysses raised a brow and shook his head. His way of thinking was really different from other people.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes before he finally rxed, "If you say so." He finally gave up but Ulysses still felt that the man was nning something.


    "Alright, I''ll leave now. Take care and if you have any problems, don''t hesitate to ask Linius for help." The duke stood up and looked at the young once more before he bid him goodbye and finally left.


    He left the room and gave Astro a nod while a re was given to Celes before he left. Cygnus followed behind and gave the two a smile. He escorted the duke out of the tower.


    The duke inhaled deeply before he exhaled and looked behind at the tower, "What an ominous ce." He harrumphed and continued to walk towards the carriage that was waiting for him.


    Cygnus couldn''t help the chuckle froming out when he heard the duke''sment. "And you did a good job at destroying its gate."


    "Who told them to talk so long? Do they think that I won''t do anything? If that''s the case, then they don''t know what I can do." Ulysses remained arrogant while talking as befitting his status. He entered the carriage and bid the master goodbye.


    When Cygnus returned to the Hall of Time, Grand Archmage Celes was waiting for him. "I would like to ask if you could at least fund the reconstruction of the tower''s gate. I couldn''t ask the duke because he will only give me a sneer and use the tower of being poor."


    "No worries, you can fix the gate and I will pay for everything." Cygnusughed and patted the man''s shoulder. "Since it is my father''s fault."

 Chapter 165 Secrets

    ?After that was settled, Cygnus went straight to his room where Astro and Ari were waiting. These past few days they were focused on bypassing the protective barriers around the secret room and to see the both of them meant that they seeded.


    "Do you have any good news for me?" He asked after he closed and locked the door.


    There was not much inside the room so he could only sit on the couch and wait for them to report. Just like before, Ari and Astro produced a written report which they gave to the master. It was convenient and the master can read whatever they missed to report verbally.


    "That secret room contains every research that the Magus Maximus has participated in. All results and written documents are in there. We also found these," Astro handed him a list of books that were in the room.


    Cygnus carefully browsed through the list and the more he read, the more that his anger rose. He was not the kind of person who could get angry simply because of books but this time it was different. Those books were all records of things he despised.


    He crumpled the list and burned it on the spot. "This world, what is with this world?" He narrowed his eyes and in a matter of seconds, the whole capital experienced an earthquake simr to what happened to Moonvale. "I really hate this ce."


    "Warning. Unstable mana detected. City destruction is about to be experienced." Ari spoke after a red warning appeared on her interface.


    "What?" Astro was shocked and he looked at the master who was currently in a bad mood.


    He tried to get near the man but before he could do it, the shaking of the ground became stronger that he couldn''t keep his bnce. He swayed from side to side and even the furniture started to fall on the stone floor. He knelt on the floor and grounded himself until he felt that the shaking was slowly subsiding.


    He heard the master hum before the shaking finally stopped. "You are right Ari, I shouldn''t be hasty because I needed to know why those information existed in this world."


    Astro sighed in relief before he stood up and adapted his neutral persona. He looked around and saw mana threads that were moving around to fix the destroyed furniture inside the room. He then looked at the master who looked calm right now.


    "Is there anything more in that room aside from those books?" He rolled his head from side to side and stretched his back before returning to his nonchnt posture.


    "Yes, there''s one more thing, it''s a sealed box that emits dark mana. We were not able to open because the Magus Maximus might notice and Ari cannot use her x-ray vision to look inside. For some reason, it was getting blocked." Astro exined after he calmed himself down.


    "No need to fuss about it, once I open that room, I''ll open that box too. How about that dungeon below the tower, have you made progress on it?" For now, he was not interested in knowing what that box contained.


    "Yes, just as you predicted, it is aboratory as for the experiment they are conducting in that ce, I don''t have an idea." He tried to make out the data he read but no matter how hard he tried he could not understand the purpose of it.


    "It is an experiment that involves the power to walk dimensions." Ari spoke from where she was floating. "I just finished analyzing the data and found that they are coordinates but it doesn''t have a proof that other worlds do exist on those coordinates because all of their attempt to send a living human has failed."


    Astro was dumbfounded at what he heard. So, they were really experimenting about crossing worlds. He clenched his fists when he heard that they''ve tried to send human beings. They don''t really have any regard to any human life.


    "Does that mean that they were able to send non-living things into those coordinates?" Cygnus remained calmed as he asked the question.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "ording to their data, they believe that they had done so but ording to my analysis, it is impossible." Ari shed the data into the empty space and showed Cygnus the result of her analysis.


    Cygnus looked at it as he ced his hand on his chin. His eyes were narrowed as he analyzed the data that Ari shed before him. After looking at most of it, he leaned back andughed. His hand covered his face as he continued tough.


    "These data arepletely ridiculous. In the first ce, they don''t have enough mana to run the spell and the amount they''ve sacrificed is not enough." He shook his head and sighed as he slowly calmed down.


    "Sacrificed?" Astro couldn''t understand the data because of the foreignnguage that Ari used but after hearing the master, he became curious.


    "You are already familiar with how theboratory works. Human sacrifice is necessary for all those experiments. And for this specific one," he pointed at the data, "more than what you can imagine should be sacrificed for it to fully manifest."


    Astro''s eyes widened at what the master was saying. It was already outrageous how the Magic Tower needed human sacrifices for all those experiments and now he felt like the grin from the master was insinuating something.


    "What they sacrificed were only hundreds of people. Even though they used some mages who haverge amounts of mana, it is still not enough. Those are only enough to activate the spell but not to manifest it. If they want to let the magic manifest, they needed hundreds of thousands and even millions of sacrifices." The grin on the master''s face widened as he looked more and more deranged made Astro took a step back.


    "But ording to one of the documents, there was a time where they seeded." Ari pulled up another set of data and showed it to Cygnus. "These data were recorded seventeen or eighteen years ago."


    "This must be the record where Constantine was in their hands and it coincides with Ezio''s birth. They must have used her to try and run the experiment but it is a shame that they only seeded once. Can you trace where the person they used as a subject was sent?" He looked at Ari with a glint in his eyes.


    "My system couldn''t do that, master. Only you can travel dimensions and bring us along. We don''t have that kind of ability," Ari answered.


    "Hmmm, you have a point but the coordinates are written in here, can you tell me if a world exist in that point?" Cygnus changed the direction of his request but Ari could only stare at him.


    "Master, I already told you that I don''t have that kind of program. All I can do is input the coordinates on your spell then you can go ahead and check it yourself." If Ari could only frown and re, Cygnus was sure that she would be doing that right now.


    "Alright, alright, I''m sorry. I will stop now. I''m just a little bitzy to do any work right now." He sighed and leaned on the chair once again. He was still thinking if he should go and check it out or just leave it alone.


    Cygnus''s bedroom went silent after that remark while the master was thinking of his next move. He then noticed that Astro was keeping silent and when he looked at him, his face was so serious. He couldn''t help but burst outughing once again.


    "What''s with your super serious face?" He couldn''t contain himself and asked.


    "I was just thinking that if the tower really needed that amount of sacrifice, then the whole kingdom would have been wiped out." Astromented so calmly that it came as no surprise to Cygnus since the man would be like this when he was in shock.


    "Probably but if that happened, their masterpiece would be revealed to the world so they decided to use a small amount and when they discovered that Ezio''s mother had that magic, they used her instead. But there is a major problem, a dimension walker who has given birth will lose almost all of their power. That must be the reason why Grand Mage Jagan ran away with Ezio."

 Chapter 166 Little Bits

    ?Astro had his eyes widened while hearing what the master was saying. After a while, his facial expression returned to its usual look but then he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. He then had a sudden revtion after thatst statement from the master.


    "Is that the reason why they are after Ezio?" Astro asked with his eyes focused on the man who had his chin resting on his palm.


    "I''m guessing that it was Constantine who sealed her own son''s power and Jagan was in-charge of taking him away. Now that Ezio can use his magic, I''m sure that they forcefully broke the seal. Breaking a seal that was engraved in the body would take a toll on the body and would cause a lot of pain." Cygnus exined with his eyes focused on the mage. There was a grin on his face as he spoke those words.


    "Why do they want to open dimensions and explore other worlds? Is there a big reason for it or is it just because of greed?" Astro couldn''t understand why the elders would willingly sacrifice human lives just to open a gate.


    "They must have read some silly records about the other worlds and were fascinated by it. Then they would use the reason that they are doing this to advance humanity when in reality it is just a cover that they use to hide the real reason why they are interested in dimensions. Whatever is it, they''re all the same." Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on his seat.


    The look of certainty in those eyes made Astro believe that the master must have experienced simr things in the past. It was no wonder that he hated the tower even though he hid his scorn so well behind his smile and nonchnt attitude. He was right though, no matter what their reason was, the fact that they used humans would not change.


    "May I ask how you got the power to open gates to other dimensions or worlds?" His curiosity has gotten the better of him once again and he did not hesitate to ask.


    Cygnus''s lips twitched at the question that he even closed his eyes and sighed. Once he opened them again, his eyes that were already ck seemed to have gotten cker and colder. Astro got the impression that the master was more serious than the previous times he had seen him.


    "Do you really want to know?" The question took Astro aback because of the coldness from his tone.


    He felt that if the master would speak and tell him right there and then, he wouldn''t be able to back out from everything and that he would learn a big secret. He was not sure if he could handle it. He gulped and looked at the man before he slowly nodded.


    "You really had the courage. Don''t be too shocked though." Cygnus smiled a little bit before he continued speaking, "I killed a lot of people and absorbed their mana cores."


    The way he spoke those words in a rxed manner made Astro shiver. The aura around him also changed and he got the feeling that the surroundings became gloomy and dark. It was not an answer he expected the master would say.


    It was something difficult to believe but at the same time believable because it was something the master had said. He took several deep breaths before he could finally look at him again.


    "If that''s the case then, I won''t ask anymore. I feel like I won''t be able to process it once I learn more about it." Astro bowed and left the room because he needed to cool down for a while.


    "You are really blunt," Ignius''s voice echoed in the room.


    He had been listening from the very beginning and when the mage left he showed himself. The dragon sat on the bed and looked at Ari who was silent on the side and on Cygnus who was also silent for some reason.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What? Should I tell a lie? It''s not in my veins. Heroes are the people who like to lie just to pacify people and I''m no hero." Cygnus shrugged his shoulders once again. "Astrophos, he is not that talented but he has a shred of loyalty in his bones. Easily swayed, easily anchored just show him the reality and he will make his own decision. What he needed is the truth not some petty lie just to gloss over things."


    Igniusughed out of the blue while pping the bed in the process, "When have you been so good at reading people and how can you be so sure that he is as you have described him?"


    "I''m a good judge of character. Look at the people around me, they''re all people whom I can use. They don''t evenin!" Cygnus defended himself and even waved his hands in a grandiose manner to show his confidence.


    "Good judge of character? You''ve got one that only talks about data, another one whocks any human emotion, one crazy woman, one coerced by a contract, one attractive dragon and now you are poaching a wishy-washy person. Great! Your messy gang is having more and more members." Ignius enumerated as he used his fingers to count the people who were supporting the master.


    "Well, it is better than none." Cygnus did not refute the dragon''s word but he did not fail to tease the dragon, "Attractive dragon?" heughed, "one hell of a messed-up dragon you say."


    Ignius frowned at the description and averted his head like a child. He refused to look at the master. "I''m not messed-up because I am perfectly fine."


    Cygnus let a minute pass before he answered, "If you say so but to those who know you, you are not perfectly fine."


    Indignant, the dragon left the room and went to roam around the city instead. It was better than staying in that room with the master. He looked in the sky and sighed before he continued on his way.


    Everything was proceeding smoothly when a sudden announcement was made by Archmage Argus. They were all gathered inside the biggest room in the Hall of Songs and waited for this announcement. The archmage did not waste time as he stood in front of them all.


    "Most of you know that the tower has another disciple who we sent to the Magic Academy and we''ve decided to bring him back. We believe that he had learned whatever he needed to learn in that ce so from now on Ezio Constantine will be joining the rest of the apprentices at the Hall of Time." The audience started to whisper but he ignored them all.


    They were dismissed after that. Some were envious while the others were unhappy and the others uncertain of what they felt. They''ve all heard about him but they did not have any idea what he looked like. Even what he did during the royal ball was widely spread amongst them.


    "Ezio will being back. This only means that they are starting to move. Once the young man is here, I am sure that they will create circumstances just to let him use his power." Astro spoke while they were walking in the garden at the back of the tower.


    "They must have rushed the experiment because of what happened to theirboratories. What we should once he returns would be to assist him and reveal the tower''s dirty deeds." Cygnus has no problem with Ezioing back because they can use him to infiltrate the dungeon.


    "Will you still pretend not to know him?" Astro asked because he needed to know how he should act.


    "Yes but we''ll have more time to interact with one another though," Cygnus nodded. His identity still needed to be hidden, when he deemed it the right time, he would introduce himself to the whole kingdom. "I''ll also let him meet Isaiah."

 Chapter 167 Back At The Tower

    ?Ezio stood at the entrance of the Magic Academy with a frown on his face as he watched Vinya and William who wouldn''t let him go. They had been talking nonsense ever since he started packing his things until he walked towards the gate. There was also the headmaster who said that he was there to see him off.


    "I''m just leaving ahead of you. After this week the both of you will also go back to your families." Ezio couldn''t stand it anymore so he tried to pacify them.


    They''re already considered as graduates so they can leave the academy whenever they want. The academy has no strict structure so as long as they finish their course they were free to leave. Since Vinya and William were done with their course they could already leave.


    "I won''t be going to the duchy. My uncle is currently in the capital so I will be staying with them for the time being." William grinned and even gave Ezio a thumbs up. "So if I want to visit the Magic Tower, I can always go."


    Vinya was the most sad because she needed to leave the capital and return to their ce. Williamforted and assured her that they would still see each other again in the future. She can''t stay in the capital for long because she has a family where she can return to.


    After saying their goodbyes, Ezio decided not to take a carriage or teleport. He wanted to visit a ce first before he returned to the tower. It was a ce he dearly missed.


    The shop was busy. There were many customers queueing just to be able to order something from the bakeshop. He entered the shop and looked around as he felt nostalgic. He waited for the line of people to dwindle until finally he could already order.


    He walked to the counter and casually pointed at the pastries he wanted to buy.  He left the bakery and took his time to trudge the way towards the tower. Ezio reached the ce as he stood in front of the gate for a while.


    He was staring at the tower with mixed emotions but the most dominant one was anger and disgust. He did not want to return but the master was there. Ezio clenched his teeth as he took a step and another forward until he reached the main door to the tower.


    Argus weed Ezio and led him to his room at the Hall of Time. Since the young man didn''t want any fuss, he did not announce his return. The archmage also saw the bags of pastries from Vergessen and thought that it was Ezio''s.


    After making sure that he was settled, Argus finally left. Ezio waited for a couple of minutes before he too left the room. He walked through the hallways until he stopped in front of a certain door.


    It was nothing special but he knew that the person he was looking for was inside. The door to the room opened and he heard a familiar voice that called out to him. This time all hesitation in his body disappeared so he walked forward and entered the room.


    "You took your time," was the onlyment he heard after he entered the room.


    "I''m sorry master," he slightly bowed his head and when he saw the bags in his hand, he looked up.


    He walked to where Cygnus was having a cup of coffee and ced the bags on the table. He conscientiously opened the bags and pushed them towards the master. Cygnus couldn''t help but raise a brow at the child''s actions.


    "Is this bribery?" He looked up and stared at Ezio. Cygnus thought that it was thoughtful of Ezio to bring some snacks for him.


    Ezio shook his head, "No. I just wanted to get you something so I bought these." He looked around and only saw Astrophos who was standing not far from them.


    "What would you do now that you are back here at the tower?" Cygnus asked while he was choosing from the variety of treats presented in front of him.


    "I will follow your lead master!" He did not hesitate to answer. From the very beginning, it has been his ambition to use magic to show off to his uncle but now, he wanted to use his ability to assist the master.


    There was no point in living at the tower if he was alone. He also wanted to participate in whatever scheme they were nning. Now that he can use magic, he can help and join them instead of being only a bystander.


    Cygnus looked at the child who instantly turned into a puppy whenever he was in his presence. His mind was filled with thoughts of using his power to help him. To see the earnest look on his face, the master couldn''t ignore him and his conviction.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "If that''s what you want then you are free to do so." Cygnus has no qualms if Ezio wanted to join them.


    He has no problem in snatching the precious dimension walker of the tower. It would be much fun for him too, now that Ezio wanted to help them. He could use him as bait to utterly destroy the tower.


    Ezio''s eyes sparkled when he received the master''s go signal. Now he could finally help the master. Nothing would be able to hold him back.


    "I will do my best!" His loud voice pierced through the silence of the room.


    "Alright, drink some coffee first since you only returned." Cygnus offered the treats and Astro went to make him a cup of coffee.


    Ezio took a bite of the biscuit with a smile on his face. He was even humming a jolly tone as he epted the cup that Astro handed to him. He drank without any reservation and enjoyed his time with the master.


    "By the way, I need to remind you that you should call Mr. Astrophos, Astro." Cygnus pointed at Astro with his spoon. "Currently his role is that of my aide so you should call him as such."


    The young man nodded as his gaze shifted to the mage who remained silent on the side. He quickly noticed that the mage had a difference on him that was not there thest time he saw him.


    "Is there a problem?" Astro noticed the young man''s gaze on him.


    "I just wanted to ask, how have you been, Mr. Astrophos?" Ezio blurted and in the man''s eyes, he returned to the Ezio he first met.


    His eyes right now were showing the sincerity and innocence that he had before everything became messed up. It was different from what he was showing outside.


    "I have been doing good and going through several changes." Astro chuckled before he answered. "I hope that you do too."


    Ezio nodded, "I have been better." He grinned and continued to drink his coffee and eat his pastries.


    They were enjoying their break when Ari appeared out of nowhere with a red blinking light around her. Ezio was stunned and froze on his seat while Astro became alert because he knew what that red light entails. The red glow slowly disappeared and Ari''s mechanical voice echoed in the room.


    "I managed to break through from one of the coded books we discovered from the Magus''s secret room." Ari informed them and without waiting for the master''s approval, she shed what she decoded.


    Ezio looked at the letters on those pages and almost dropped the cup he was holding when he understood the things written on the yellowish pages of the book. His eyes were wide as his body slowly moved and stood up to take a closer look at what he was seeing.


    "Is this my mother''s¡­" he raised his hand and caressed the name that was written on the air.


    "Yes, a very familiar name," Cygnus answered. His voice sounded solemn with his eyes narrowed at the name that was being shed in the air.


    "Did they really do something to my mother that caused her death?" He asked while his gaze was still on the cursive letters of his mother''s name.


    "Yes they did," the master''s voice deepened at his answer. "Something that would definitely make your blood boil."

 Chapter 168 Her Life

    ?Ezio''s eyes narrowed but his mood eased when he turned to look back at his master. He was speaking like he had known his mother. He saw the master''s seemingly lonely visage as he sat on that chair.


    "Have you known my mother?" He fully turned and waited for the master''s answer.


    "Elehiya Constantine, a name I would never forget," he mumbled. "Yes, I''ve met her. A barbaric woman who only knows how to go against me and sees everything in a colorful light."


    To hear somebody else aside from his uncle who would talk about his mother, Ezio went back to his seat to listen carefully. He only knew his mother by her name and by the stories that his uncle would tell him every night when he was a child. Now that his uncle was gone and there''s one other person who could tell him about her, he was happy.


    "How did you know her?" Ezio asked with his focus all on Cygnus.


    The master looked at the child who was anticipating his next words and the memories slowly emerged. "She stopped me from destroying her world. She was the person who taught me how to bake."


    Ezio grinned when he heard what her mother did. He could already imagine what great lengths his mother went through to stop the man. He could also already tell that his mother was an amazing woman just as how his uncle described her.


    "How can she stop you when you are already too powerful?" It was a mystery he wanted to uncover.


    Cygnusughed, "She would drop me to a different dimension whenever I tried to use my power. You see, she can open a dimensional gate anywhere she wants. After that, she would not stop nagging me until I gave up and found her bothersome."


    The grin on the master''s face was contagious that even Ezio already had a smile on his face. Listening about his mother made him warm eve though he didn''t meet her. This was enough for him though, he couldn''t ask for more.


    "She was one of the few people who I allowed to get close to me. You can call her my friend, a precious one." This sentimental side of Cygnus could only be seen once in a while but even so, no one would see him in a weak state.


    "What happened?" He asked once more. Ezio could feel that there was something more behind his words.


    "She disappeared. I looked for her all over that ursed world but couldn''t find her until I found out that there are people who are after her. I sought them out but even then, they couldn''t tell me where she was. After I killed them one by one in a painful way, one of them said that they saw her opening a gate and disappeared." There was sadness and anger but by the end of his words, his face turned stone cold. "So, I destroyed that world and left."


    Ezio gulped. The master was really unforgiving. "Did you try looking for her in the worlds you''ve visited?"


    Cygnus shook his head. "It''s not something I would do. If we meet again then that''s it but it is a bit disappointing to know that she''s dead."


    Ezio also felt sad all of a sudden because his mother was dead. He wasn''t able to meet her because they were separated when he was still a baby and his uncle doesn''t have any images of her. His mother''s death and his uncle''s death, everything was because of the tower.


    Cygnus nodded at Ari''s direction. She shed another page from the book and it turned out to be a diary. It was something she kept when she first came to that world.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ari flipped the projection like it was a real book and all that it contained were things the woman used to do until she met Ezio''s father. She also mentioned the master a couple of times even though she didn''t mention his name directly. From the diary, it turned out that Jagan was the brother of Ezio''s father.


    There was also a glimpse of her life as she became part of the Magic Tower. She had her own misgivings and uncertainties, especially because of what happened to her and the warnings from Cygnus that she did not forget. It took her a long time before she finally gave it a chance because Jagan was also a mage.


    She helped with their research on magic and how to use it for the people. Elehiya was enjoying what she was doing and thest trace of her defense slowly disappeared. Her knowledge on teleportation magic was astounding but what caught the attention of the elders was her wisdom in the subject of space and time magic.


    Elehiya would talk about it like she knew exactly what she was saying and it fascinated those people. They have known that this kind of magic was difficult to learn and understand. They could only use teleportation and some magic to store certain things into pouches and bags but to open a dimension or turn back time was beyond what they could do.


    Thetter was indeed difficult to do unless one was a god but traveling through dimensions was easier to do as long as you meet the condition to manifest it. Then the unthinkable happened, Elehiya wanted to hide her magic but there was a tragedy that struck the kingdom. They were sent on a mission to rescue a town that was overtaken by monsters.


    Elehiya thought that it was only a simple monster attack but when they got there, the ce was crawling with beasts of all sizes and devouring people. They were not ordinary monsters. They were summoned demons from the depths of hell. This must have been caused by a dark magic user going berserk.


    She saw how they devoured the people and relentlessly killed those who tried to run. The mages who were with her tried to fight off the monsters and save the remaining people who were still alive. They did their best to use teleportation to save them but the manifestation of that magic takes too much time.


    They did not have time to spare. She could hear their cries of desperation and the growls of those monsters that were after them. There was only one thing that she knew that she could do and that was to directly transfer them to a safe location using her magic.


    Elehiya did what she could to save those people but it was the start of her nightmare. What she did during that mission did not escape the radar of the elders that they started to pester her about her magic. She became ufortable due to their demands and their negative remarks regarding her being unfilial to the people who helped her.


    During this time of distress, the news of her being pregnant became known. All negative thoughts in her mind were reced with the joy of knowing that she would have a child of her own. Because of this, she decided to leave the tower and live with her husband in peace.


    They nned to raise their child in a peaceful environment where they could grow up with a smile on their face. Her leaving the tower was not taken by the elders kindly, especially those who coveted her power. Even with all the disapproval, she still left.


    She and her husband left the capital during that time and ording to her diary, they settled at a small town far away from the city. They stayed there contented and happy but the people who still covet her magic became relentless. Finally, the day came when she gave birth to Ezio. It was the happiest moment in her life. To see her child and hear him cry made her life more colorful. In the end that happiness did notst.


    ----


    Author''s Note: By the way if any of you want to connect with me, you can follow/add me on Facebook ''Abyss Yohan Grae'' or you can follow me on Instagram @bluerabyss.


    Thank you so much for reading this chapter!

 Chapter 169 Intro

    ?Their happy life came to a sudden halt when a messenger from the tower came to them. The white piece of paper bearing the insignia of the tower instilled fear in the heart of Elehiya. She couldn''t bring herself to even touch that letter as if it would burn her.


    It was her husband who received the letter. He embraced her and patted her back gently. They were expecting this to happen but for it to happen sooner than they expected was something they couldn''t ept. Their child was only born a few months but the letter arrived.


    Elehiya decided to leave the letter be. She did not have the courage to open it and chose to hide it. It was also written in the diary that Jagan visited them once regarding the tower.


    She mentioned that Jagan warned them regarding the tower. He could not stay long because the tower was watching his every move. Jagan left after that and the disaster happened.


    Elehiya went to the forest to collect some herbs but when she returned, her husband and child were already gone. She rushed to where she kept the letter and tore it open. She should have read the letter.


    She contacted Jagan first but she couldn''t get in touch so, she left and went to the tower. The entry stopped there and they guessed that she must have not written anything on that book after she was captured. The next pages were nk not until they reached the end of the book.


    It was a letter, the writing was different and the message was written for Ezio.


    Ezio my son,


    If you ever find this book, I hope that you are doing well. I and your mother love you very much with all our heart and soul. As much as we want to be with you, I am afraid that we can''t. I have entrusted you with my brother and I hope that you grow up well.


    Do not let other people direct your way, create your own and live freely. As for me, I need to stay by your mother''s side and block all the bad things that are hurting her. I hope that you understand us someday, for doing what we must. We love you dearly and so much.


    Revus.


    The letter ended there and even the whole room became silent. Everyone in there gave him the moment to mourn. Ezio didn''t know what to feel. He was sad and at the same time relieved because he knew that his parents actually love him.


    "I won''t let the tower get away with what they''ve done to my mother and father." Ezio broke the silence.


    He was not sure what really happened to them but he knew that the tower had something to do with his parent''s death. Ezio turned to look at the master with conviction. Cygnus grinned and waved his hands at Ari. She retracted the projection and retreated to the side.


    "What do you n to do with the tower?" Ezio''s focus was now on the master''s n.


    He wanted to participate now more than ever because he already knew that the tower had a hand on his family''s death. He would uncover the truth behind that letter and behind his uncle''s departure from the tower. No matter what truth he would find, he wouldn''t forgive them for what they did.


    "Alright, since I can see your resolve. I will allow you to give me a hand in destroying this damned ce." Cygnus''s grin widened as he shook hands with the young man.


    Ezio integrated within the tower easily and he appeared docile whenever the elders called for him. Naturally those people were happy because they saw the change. They were oblivious of what was about toe.


    Cygnus visited Linius''s base once again and saw their preparation. He grinned because of how serious the major was. Instead of going directly to the major''s office, he made a detour and went to a small house in the area.


    He pushed the door open and casually entered the barren ce. There was no furniture or decoration inside that house. There were only doors that Cygnus had set up himself.


    He hummed as he went to one of the doors and casually opened it. Behind the door was a darkness that was swirling like it would swallow someone whole. That scene was not new to him already as he stepped in without any worries.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus came to a dimly lit corridor with a musty smell in the air. The walls and the floor were made with bricks that already turned into green and ck with how old and moist the ce was. His shoes made a loud sound as he walked through that ominous ce.


    On both sides of the wall were iron bars that kept the prisoners in there locked. He looked from side to side and saw that the people inside were silent as they didn''t mind the poor condition of where they were. They were the people that became test subjects from theboratories they destroyed.


    "They''re doing better than what I expected," Cygnus looked at every cell to assess their condition and was surprised that they were actually doing good.


    "It must have been because of your blood," Linius came to his side as they looked at one of the people in the cell.


    He was the child they found from theboratory that Nina and her group destroyed. His time was limited and he was about to explode but when they injected the master''s blood in his system, he became better and the red crack lines on his body slowly disappeared.


    "They''re pretty epting of my blood and mana. I thought that the power in them would be in conflict with mine, but it is a surprise that they recovered." Cygnus ced both his hands in his pocket as he observed the child. Though doubts started to rise in his mind, he shrugged his shoulders and ignored it.


    Linius also stopped after he heard his words. "But the moment we let them loose, that doesn''t matter. What''s important to me is that the tower must be destroyed."


    "Why don''t we do it tomorrow?" Cygnus suggested out of the blue.


    Linius looked at him like he lost his mind but the man in question was still looking at the person in the cell. They don''t have a n as of the moment and yet he wanted to do it tomorrow, how careless. The major took deep breaths before he had the energy to speak again.


    "Isn''t it too soon?" Linius was uncertain because the master hadn''t shared any n to them.


    "Too soon?" Cygnus let out augh that echoed and woke up the whole prison. "Major, you''ve been with me for a long time now but you still don''t know how I work."


    Linius gulped then sighed, "That''s not it, we don''t have a n right now. We are talking about destroying one of the pirs of the kingdom, aren''t we rushing in?"


    "I don''t need neither a n nor somebody else''s opinion to create chaos." He tilted his head to the side and looked at the man with a wide grin stered on his face.


    At that moment, Linius lost the courage to speak. He could feel his body heating up and started to feel pain. The man''s gaze was piercing and he felt like he was being cooked in fire.


    "I understand." He did not have the strength to disagree and go against him.


    "Just let these guys create some havoc within the city to divert everyone''s attention. I''m sure that the Magic Tower will step forward and volunteer to subdue them once they see these people." Cygnus was massaging his chin while instructing Linius.


    He wanted to see the panicked faces of the elders and how they would deal with the aftermath of those experiments. Cygnus was excited because he was about to witness something worth remembering for. This should be written in history.


    -----


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 Chapter 170 Burn

    ?Cygnus couldn''t wait for chaos to reign in the capital and his life as the Magus Maximus''s disciple has be boring. The man himself was always away and he was not learning anything from, well, he didn''t intend to learn anything from him in the first ce so it was fine. The tower became a boring ce for him because almost everyone was busy.


    "How about the civilians?" Linius broke his thoughts which only made him sigh.


    He forgot that the major was human and was still concerned with those little ants. He hummed with his eyes closed and shook his head. They were necessary for the chaos but the major was intent on saving them. Who cares though, after everything, he would still leave that world either intact or destroyed.


    "Well, that''s up to you. Do I look like someone who would care about them?" The master has not time to check if the people are safe or not. What he was after was the result of what he was about to do. "If you want to save as many as you can, I''m giving you time now to prepare some prep work if you must but if this interferes with my n, I won''t hesitate to kill all of those civilians too."


    Cygnus tilted his head and gave the man a grin from ear to ear with his eyes narrowed and glinting red. Linius nodded and gave the man a bow. With that little time given to him, he needed to make preparations at least for the people under his and Ginehart''s protection. He turned around to leave when he heard the master''s voice once again.


    Cygnus read through the major''s thoughts as his grin widened. "Consider this my one and only form of mercy."


    Linius left the prison like the hounds of hell were after him. He needed to contact his father as soon as he can because he had a feeling that the master would not keep his word. He was d that his father was in the capital right now and that there was a gate connecting the base and Ginehart manor. He ran towards the gate even if he looked like he was crazy in front of his soldiers.


    Ulysses was surprised when a gate appeared out of nowhere inside his study and Linius came out heavily panting. "Father, gather everyone in our manor and enter the gate towards the base."


    The urgency in his son''s voice did not escape the duke''s notice. "What''s happening?" he stood up and picked up his coat jacket. He started to walk towards the door followed by Linius.


    "The master is nning to attack the capital." Ulysses halted and turned around with wide eyes. Linius nodded his head and all the duke could do was sigh.


    They rounded up all the servants in the house and called back everyone who had been working for them. The soldiers and spies they had all around the capital were given an order to stay put and be cautious. They can''t recall all of the soldiers they had in the capital or else the pce and the tower might notice their movements.


    While they were in a rush to call everyone back, Cygnus was whistling while slowly opening the prison cells one by one. He was even skipping as he hopped from one cell to another. Once he was on thest cell heughed as he unlocked and pulled open the prison doors.


    He used the influence of his blood to let all of the tower''s experiments form a line. Cygnus looked pleased and the smile on his face didn''t disappear. He pped his hands and turned around with his back on them.


    He snapped several times and five gates appeared. The experiments then walked to each of the gates and entered without a fuss. These gates led the experiments to five different locations in the capital city. They floated in the air as they waited for their master''s signal to attack.


    At the same time, Cygnus appeared above the city and was looking down at the lively afternoon they were having. He took a deep breath and spread both of his hands and he even closed eyes. He remained in that position for a minute before he opened his eyes that have now turned bloody red.


    "Ah, what a nice day to watch this city burn!" With those words, the other people in the air started their attack.


    The explosions rocked the whole city and drove the people into chaos from every direction. People started to run and shout in panic as they didn''t know what was happening. It was a normal day for them and they were doing their normal routine when suddenly a concentration of mana hit the city.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Linius and Ulysses were still busy evacuating their people when the sound of the explosions reached them. Both of them looked outside then at each other before they urged the people who were left to go in. William also came together with the rest of the servants.


    "Uncle what''s happening?" The loud booming sounds startled him and urged him to move faster.


    "We will exin to youter. Just step in and we will be in a safer ce." Ulysses patted the child''s back before slightly pushing him forward.


    William followed his uncle''s lead and entered the gate. Ulysses and Linius also followed without looking back. Once they entered the base, all the soldiers and people who were there looked at them with questions in their eyes. They were confused as to what was happening.


    "Is it the master?" Nina from the back spoke and the crowd parted to look at her.


    She pushed herself up from leaning on a tree and grinned at them. She couldn''t contain the happiness she was feeling after seeing all the panicked faces of the people in the base. Even the serious look from the father and son duo was enough to make herugh.


    "Look at the both of you, all so serious!" She pointed and waved with her hands as she walked around the both of them.


    "We don''t have the time to joke with you," Linius frowned. He knew that the woman was mocking them. She had been used to the master''s antics so she could not feel the urgency of the situation.


    "Alright, suit yourself. As for me, I''ll go and sleep for a while until all the ruckus is done." She stepped back with raised hands. She even shook her head before she left.


    "The capital is currently under attack and we brought you here for your own safety. For the time being you need to stay in this ce. The soldiers and I will try to rescue and help within the capital." Ulysses announced.


    Meanwhile, the major talked to Lieutenant Lisbon and arranged for the facilities in the base to cater for the needs of the people they''ve evacuated until the chaos subsides. After instructing them, the major and the duke left the base with the rest of the soldiers to help with the rescue. They would also help with the subjugation so that no one would suspect them.


    The Hero Association was also shocked with the unexpected attack on the city. It was even timed well because they don''t have the high-ranking heroes at the moment. They were all dispatched to a mission outside of the capital and it was a bit difficult to contact them even with magic.


    Still they dispatched a couple of their mid-rank heroes to help since there were five identified attackers that were causing so much explosion and damage to the city. The royal pce was also disturbed and shocked by the news. The king did not hesitate to send his men to fight the enemies that appeared.


    In the tower, the elders were in a tense state because ording to the magic projection sent to them by the mages they sent to scout the enemies showed who the attackers were. They were all familiar with the test subjects they''ve been hiding for years now and to see them in such a state was something they did not foresee.


    "The person who attacked theboratories must have waited for this time to use those things to attack. Since they chose to attack the city, it must have been nned from the very beginning. If their target was the tower, they should have attacked us already." One of the unnamed elders expressed his concern.


    They couldn''t figure out what the mastermind was after. They''ve sent mages to investigate the incident but they couldn''t find any clue as to who did it. It looked like the mastermind used some kind of magic to hide their tracks. It was magic that was beyond their knowledge and something they couldn''t trace.

 Chapter 171 Demon Vs A Crazed Witch

    ?Cygnus looked around from where he was floating and found that only the pce and the Hero Association sent people to fight the attackers. He was getting impatient just as Mr. C appeared beside him. The butler silently floated there and watched as the city burned.


    "Why aren''t theying?" He asked with a frown on his face. "I should contact Ari."


    The master called for Ari and she appeared. She looked at the master and already knew what he was about to ask since she had been monitoring the tower ever since the master decided to attack. Astro, who was left in the tower, was forcing himself to stay calm despite the chaos outside.


    "The elders are still having a meeting regarding the matter. They seemed confused as to why their experiments are attacking the city and are wondering what the reasoning of the mastermind is." Ari gave the report even without the master asking for it.


    "They''re too slow. If the major knows about this, he would surely be furious because they are taking their time instead of helping out to save those little ants running around," he looked below him and sneered at all the people who were looking for a ce where they could hide.


    "They will be moving anytime now. The Magus Maximus just sent out five elders to deal with each of the experiments." Ari spoke after the master expressed his dissatisfaction.


    "Alright, that''s more like it. Now that the tower is on the move, I want you to monitor everything that is happening in the city and send me a projection of it. C, prepare me some snacks." He waved his hand and the two of them did the master''s orders without question.


    He snapped his fingers and a gate appeared. After a while, Astro appeared and walked in the air towards them. He could feel that the air seemed to have frozen, that it felt like he was walking on the ground. He looked around and saw a table and seats surrounding it.


    The butler was currently pouring tea on a cup and there were already a variety of treats also ced on the table. Ari was also present and she was currently projecting what was happening in the five different locations where the experiments were attacking. He sighed and took one of the chairs to join the master.


    "Aren''t you going to whine and make a fuss again?" Astro heard the master''s question but he held the urge to give the man a re.


    "No, I''ve already learned that no one can talk you out of anything you have nned. Although my sympathy hasn''tpletely disappeared, I won''t risk my life just to go against you." He looked straight at the projections as he said those words.


    He was not like he was before, foolish and reckless, now he needed to consider himself too instead of thinking about other people more. He can do what he can to save those he can and won''t agonize over the people whom he couldn''t save. Once the tower disappears, all his worries would disappear too.


    Cygnus slowly brought the tea cup towards his nose as he savored the herbal scenting from his drink. He then took a sip and savored the refreshing taste of the tea leaves that the butler used. It was exactly what he was feeling right now because of the words from the mage.


    "Ah, what a refreshing afternoon then." He chuckled and returned the tea cup he was holding on the table.


    His eyes sparkled when something finally caught his attention. On the screen, they could see five people who were on their way towards the experiments. The masterughed and pped his hands like a child when he saw that the tower finally made a move.


    The master''sugh caught the attention of the two other people who were with him, now both of them were focused on the screens too. They were about to face the things they created themselves but those creations were not like what they were before. With the master''s blood in their systems, they were much stronger and resilient.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I want to see their reaction once they realize that their creations are different now, how exciting!" Cygnus was now focused on the screens in front of him.


    On the first screen, it showed a woman wearing the standard white cloak of the tower but the linings were of gold color. She was wearing the cloak''s hood but her red hair was sticking out as she rode through the wind seated on her long silver staff. She looked up and saw someone with a long ck hair and the whites of her eyes turned ck.


    Her eyes were golden and her pupils were like that of a snake. She had bat wings on her back and a tail that was moving from side to side. Instead of hands, she had ws and her palm was facing upward with a swirling ck mana on top of it. Her appearance resembled a demon''s look that was drawn in the books.


    The elder knew that it was indeed one of the specimens they had stored in one of theirboratories. It was an experiment to see if they can harness dark mana without directly making a contract with the source of that power. Through their efforts, they were able to summon a demon, the origin of dark mana, and managed to kill it. They infused the demon''s body with a human''s and then imbued the new body with dark mana.


    They tried replicating a demon''s body using a human''s because controlling humans was easier than controlling a demon because one needed to make a contract with them if they wanted the demon to listen to them.


    Using the cells from the demon they killed, they tried it on several humans and it failed not until they sessfully did it. After imbuing the subject with dark mana, the mages had high expectations because the subject seemed to be doing well.


    At first the test subject was doing well but as the time passed, the subject''s body showed signs of breaking down like a pot of y that was chipping away. They tried infusing more demon cells into the body and the body''s destruction was prevented. That''s when the changes also happened, the subject became even more like a demon in appearance and in temperament.


    ording to the report about the experiment the elder read, the mages who were in-charge of theboratory were always tense because the subject had already killed some of them. The subject would often lose her mind and attack anyone that approached her. Not until they locked her away in the deepest cell of theboratory that the mages were able to at least be relieved.


    The elder gave the demon creature onest look beforeunching her first attack to block the mana energy that her enemy threw towards her. The collision of mana created another explosion that shook even the ground. When the light subsided, the elder was already behind the demon with a spear of mana in her hand.


    She pulled back her arm so that she could gain momentum and threw the spear in her hand. The mana spear traveled fast and when it was about to pierce through her enemy, the demon''s wing acted as a shield. It wrapped around the demon''s body andpletely blocked the spear.


    The surprise on the elder''s face couldn''t be exined after her mana spear was easily blocked. She narrowed her eyes and assessed the demon''s wing. Her eyes brightened and after a while it dulled again.  The demon''s wings were resistant to magic so it has a good defense against magic.


    The elder pulled herself back and even removed her hood. A magic circle appeared beside her then she let her hands enter the magic circle and once she removed it, she was already holding a weapon. It was of a great quality and has the equipment rank of ''unique''.


    She took the fact that the demon still had her wings wrapped around her as she attacked. She used the spear to inflict an injury to the demon. Its sharp tip pierced through the wings and hit the demon''s body. She grinned and rotated the handle of the spear to push it deeper. In a matter of a minute, the elder was already having the time of her life.


    "I will kill you and present your head to those geezers."

 Chapter 172 Learning About The Truth

    ?The spear dug deeper into the demon and the elder''s grin became wider even though her eyes had an unusual glint in them. She started tough loudly when she saw that blood was spilling from the wound she created. The elder nned to inflict more damage but she suddenly felt that the spear she was holding became lighter.


    The handle of the spear was pulled and what remained was a melted end. The sharp end was gone but she didn''t care. She threw the spear''s handle and observed the blood that was spilled from the wound. It was ck and gooey like a gum and as it fell on one of the roofs of a building, the roof was melted.


    It turned out that the demon''s blood became like an acid that melts anything it touched. The elder jumped down from her staff and floated in the air. She held the staff in her hand and pressed a button on the staff''s side which pushed out a sharp end on the staff, now it became a spear. She twirled the spear in her hand and at thest spin she held the spear with its end pointing at the sky.


    "Oh, I like that weapon," the master''s eyes were on the spear that the elder was holding.


    He could already tell that the weapon was of a higher tier than the first spear he had summoned. It was interesting to see a weapon that was mythical in rank. He turned around and gave his butler a nod.


    "I would like to add that weapon in my collection so be sure to collect itter," Cygnus smiled. He was pleased to see something worth adding to his collection.


    The elder did not hesitate to confront the demon and together with her spear, she also summoned a varying kind of weapon that floated around her. Using her mana, she pushed herself forward with her spear ready to pierce the demon once again. It was a splendid sight to behold from a spectator''s view but when one was to confront those arrays of weapons, they would be dead.


    The demon raised her hand and a dark wall appeared before her. The wall blocked the initial attack but the elder wasn''t fazed by it. She attacked again and let the weapons under her control hit the wall until it broke down. The demon created several walls but it was easily broken by the elder.


    After thest wall was broken, the elder was weed with a barrage of swirling dark mana. Simultaneous explosion urred which hid the elder from sight. The demon watched as the unceasing explosion continued without any signs of stopping.


    A spear flew out from behind the smoke followed by a woman''s silhouette. The elder managed to escape the attack with only minor injuries and the cloak she was wearing getting damaged. Even the tips of her red hair were singed and turned ck.


    "That nearly got me," the elderughed.  She wasughing because she hadn''t faced any opponents such as the one in front of her right now.


    She felt for her stock of weapons and felt that she only had a few remaining and yet the demon was still standing. Even though the demon was bleeding, she didn''t mind it at all. She turnedpletely numbed but even with that injury, the demon was still difficult to defeat.


    The red haired woman spat the blood that umted in her mouth and tightly held the spear in her hands. There was only one thing she could do and that was to fight the enemy closely and didn''t give her any time to manifest her magic.


    The fight between the demon and the elder continued. Every stab of the spear was done in a way that it would surely hit the enemy. She even used her remaining weapons to distract her enemy which gave her the upper hand. With too many weapons attacking at once the demon became vulnerable because she didn''t know how to deal with so many weapons and every time she tried to explode them away she wasn''t given the chance.


    The barrage of attacksing from the elder became faster to the point that a normal person couldn''t see the weapons any longer. The demon slowly sustained injuries and she flew back, the weapons would follow her every movement. Along the chase that was happening in the sky, the demon managed to retaliate but the elder disregarded all of her attacks like they were nothing.


    Her loudugh could be heard through the darkening sky as the crazy woman did not stop from pursuing her enemy. Their exchange of attacks did not cease but the demon was clearly weakening. Thanks to the master''s blood, she was able to use strong attacks but it would still take a toll on her body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    She stopped flying mid-air and waited for the elder to approach her. The elder did not notice anything weird in the demon''s movement as she flew forward without hesitation. The spear on her hand pierced the demon square on the chest and blood started toe out from her mouth.


    The demon gripped the spear after it pierced her body. The elder was taken aback and when she was about to pull the spear away, several dark mana appeared around the both of them. The weapons that were with her mysteriously disappeared.


    In a matter of seconds, another round of explosion happened. This time the explosions were much louder and stronger with a booming sound that reverberated through the whole area. It took at least five minutes before the sound slowly dissipated and a figure fell from the sky.


    The elder did not expect that the demon would kill herself just to defeat her. She sustained third degree burns due to the blood from the demon that sshed on her while the explosion was happening. She could already feel that her whole body was on fire because of the pain from her injuries.


    She sessfully defeated the enemy and she was still alive, so she still considered herself as lucky. The elder still manage tough even after being beaten ck and blue. She also learned many things from the fight which would be useful to them in the future.


    She was still thinking all about this when a shadow suddenly blocked her view of the now dark sky. "Pitiful." She heard the person mutter while looking at her.


    Because her vision was a bit blurry, she didn''t immediately recognize who it was but when the man crouched down to take a better look at her, the surprise on her face cannot be concealed. Nobody in the tower or in the capital who didn''t know who the person was. He was famous not only because of his standing in the tower but also because of his background.


    "What are you doing here?" She managed to ask after the shock finally subsided. She couldn''t suspect the Magus Maximus''s disciple easily because there might be other reasons why he was there.


    Cygnusughed, "Other reasons? I don''t have any other reason because the only thing I came to spectate was the chaos and death of the tower."


    The elder''s eyes widened as she tried to push herself up into a sitting position where she could be face to face with the master. She saw no lies from his words and his eyes were of the color of blood.


    "Why are you here?" She gave Cygnus a re while asking that question.


    "Do you want to hear the answer that will please you or do you want to hear the reason that will surely piss you off?" He was holding back hisughter but it still burst.


    "Don''t y with me!" She was now angry because this young master was not right in the mind. "Are you betraying he tower?"


    "Betraying?" he continued tough, "Who would I betray when from the very beginning I was never a part of your little organization. In fact, I am here to destroy your beloved tower and kill each one of you even my so called master." He exined without blinking.


    After she heard what Cygnus said, a sudden realization came to her. "Were you the one who attacked thoseboratories?"

 Chapter 173 Overkill

    ?Cygnus looked at her with a faint smile on his face. He did not refute her words and just waited for her to make her own conclusion. It also saved him the exnation.


    The elder choked and with a trembling voice she asked the man, "How?" She tried to push herself away from the man but she was stopped by another man who stood on her other side.


    Cygnus reveled in the fact that the woman felt fear because of his presence. There was always a feeling of satisfaction whenever he would see people taking a detour when they see him. It would always put a smile on his face the knowledge that he was feared.


    "Because I am a superior being. You know, I even got the nickname ''destroyer of worlds'' from one of the people who wanted to kill me. I''m on a much higher pedestal than any of you," he oozing confidence from his voice brought chills to her already aching body.


    His words, though extravagant and only speak of self-praise, all sounded true to her ear. She wanted to believe that he was only talking nonsense but no matter how denied it, her being wouldn''t ept it. The man''s red eyes were not lying.


    "D-did youe to destroy our world? Is that the reason why you are here?" She wanted to know because no matter what happens she would survive and reveal how two faced the man was.


    Cygnusughed, "No. Of course not. I came here for a vacation but then you see, I saw some things that caught my attention and I just can''t let it go. Along the way, the more I discovered how filthy you mages are, the urge to destroy your tower became stronger."


    The master stood up from his crouching position and from the empty space beside him a magic circle appeared. He dipped his hand inside and when he pulled it back, he was already holding a very familiar spear. The elder'' eyes widened when she saw her weapon in somebody else''s hand.


    The elder who seemed to have lost her strength pushed herself up in record time and tried to snatch back her weapon. "Give it back!" She lunged towards the master like a deranged person and tried to w his face.


    Cygnus stepped to the side to dodge the woman as he smiled when he turned around and saw the woman who stumbled on the ground. The elder did not think twice and attacked again, this time a magic circle appeared above Cygnus followed by several weapons falling down. The attack intended to pierce him like a skewer but his shield dome was imprable.


    The elder did not stop there though. Even with her injured body, she still infused mana to the weapons and controlled them remotely. The swords and spears flew and attacked again but this time, Cygnus did not defend. He also infused mana to the spear he was holding and smashed the other weapons into smithereens.


    He only raised the spear and used it''s tip to parry the assaulting weapons which ended up into pieces. Heughed and looked at the weapon in his hands in amazement while the elder who exhausted all her remaining mana in that attack was dumbstruck. She couldn''t believe what she had seen, all her weapons were destroyed.


    "This has a good quality, I think I can use this a couple more times before it gets destroyed," Cygnus had a grin on his face as he examined the weapon.


    Cygnus then noticed the silence so he turned around to see what happened to the woman. He bent over andughed uncontrobly when he saw the woman''s surprised expression, then changed into that of fear. It was truly a thrill to see an almighty elder having that kind of look on her face.


    Slowly he calmed himself down and resumed his serious face, "Enough of this. I want to look at the others now."


    He walked up to the woman and before she could realize what the other would do, she felt pain in her abdomen, specifically the part where her mana core was. She looked down and saw blood was pouring out from her where the man had pulled her mana core. Her head remained bowed for a couple of seconds before she looked up once again and looked at the man with wide eyes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Blood slowly flowed out from her mouth and the words she wanted to stay became a bber that nobody can understand. She tried to extend her hand towards the shining core in the man''s hand but she lost the strength to continue. Her hands went limp and fell down once again but she was still breathing.


    In herst breath, she felt pain in her chest and with thest bit of her clear vision, she saw her own weapon embedded where her heart was. She was already dying and yet the man still stabbed her, he was really cruel. This was herst thought before everything went ck.


    "Isn''t that overkill master?" Mr. Cmented after the master pulled out the spear.


    "Overkill? Of course not! I did it to hasten the process because she was still alive." Cygnus shrugged his shoulders while looking at the mana core in his hands. "This mana core isn''t even worth it. I tried taking it to take a look but it''s not that powerful and her abilities are mediocre." He then closed his fist around the core and smashed it.


    The core turned into dust and disappeared with the night wind''s gentle breeze. He looked around at the destruction and when he didn''t find anything interesting, he leapt into the air and walked up using an invisible step. Mr. C gave the dead woman onest look before he followed behind his master.


    "I''m now more interested in my master''s mana core. It will surely be full of darkness," he grinned then after a while, heughed.


    They returned to where Ari and Astro were and he once again took a seat. Astro noticed the spear and couldn''t help but give the master a bewildered look. He only said that he wanted the weapon and now it was already in his hands.


    "Is the elder alive?" Astro asked despite his premonition.


    "She''s already dead. I dug out her mana core and stabbed her with her spear, so of course she''s dead. I made sure of it." The nonchnt way he answered the question brought chills to his spine.


    Astro was rendered speechless and he refused to look at the master and instead focus on the screens. He didn''t know what possessed him to ask such a stupid question even though he already knew the answer. He gulped and tried to diminish his presence as the chaos ensued. He silently promised to himself that he wouldn''t ask the next time.


    The fight on the other side of the city continued and just like the first elder, the other elders imed victory. Some of them were beaten ck and blue but they were lucky because they were still alive. If not for that spear, Astro was sure that the elder who owned it would still be alive.


    On thest projection, the fight hasn''t reached its end yet. The elder was fighting the child that Nina subdued. His defense has increased and the elder seemed to be having a difficult time inflicting a fatal injury to his enemy.


    "Hmm, that child seemed to have gotten stronger and the marks in his body are nowpletely gone. What an interesting fellow." Cygnusmented while they were watching the fight.


    The elder who was fighting the ''dark child'' had been injured by the child''s wild and unsynchronized attacks. He couldn''t predict when or where the attack woulde from. He was good at using earth magic but he wasn''t able tond any hits on the child.


    "Oh, I think this child will be an asset for us. Since he has my blood, if he survives I will let him serve me."

 Chapter 174 Different

    ?The tower elder who was fighting the dark child stopped his attacks and looked at his opponent. His opponent was clearly a specimen from one of theirboratories but at the same time it was different. He could faintly feel that there was something different about the dark child.


    He had participated in the initial stages of that experiment and no matter what they did, the experiment failed until this one remained. He withstood his mana core being filled with overflowing mana but as the experiment progressed, his body started to deteriorate. It showed signs of decay and the lines on his body were proof of it.


    Now, he could tell that those cracks on his skin had disappeared and that the specimen was more stable. Even his mana core has stabilized and had a strange red glow surrounding it. Someone who could alleviate the symptoms of decay and strengthen a mana core, he had not encountered anyone like that before.


    No matter how he thought about it, he couldn''t think of anyone who was capable of doing it aside from the Magus Maximus. While his mind was still busy mulling over these things, the dark tendrils of mana that formed like the dark child''s tail moved towards him. Those tail-like tendrils had their ends shaped like sharp arrows that can create holes to anything it hits.


    Only one tail was after him but after a while the tails multiplied and did not stop from attacking him. He dodged and blocked those attacks but he knew that he couldn''t do that forever. He then decided to use his eyes to look for a chance to attack.


    The elder''s eyes glowed a luminous blue as he analyzed the movements to the tails that was attacking him. Once in a while, he would send out an attack to disrupt one of the tails and use that diversion to hit his enemy''s main body. It was proven to be effective because he had his eyes.


    He hesitated at first to use this ability and he was pushed back by the dark child''s ability. He did not expect that the child would change drastically. The elder used his eyes and managed tond a critical hit towards the dark child. While his enemy was focused on attacking him, he was also focused on summoning a sharp tipped stone from the underground towards the dark child.


    The child was hit square on his chest then he spat out blood that dyed the sharp stone red. The attacks of the tails temporarily stopped and he immediately seized that opportunity to attack again. From behind him, tree roots started to emerge and resembling the tail, the roots were sent to pierce everything on the ces where itnded.


    The attack shook the ground and created a lot of dust that almost covered the whole area. The elder waited for any result then he felt the ominous feeling from the tailsing from behind. He jumped to the side and dodged but there were more tails that were aiming at him.


    A dome of ck tails was surrounding the dark child when the dust slowly dissipated. That dome blocked the attack but the impact still had an effect on the enemy. He continued to cough out blood but his attacks did not stop. There were more tails and the ones that were attacking the elder were thinner and faster to move.


    Several of them might as well kill everything in its path. Now that he failed to kill the dark child with that one attack, he was now getting upied by dodging. The endless thin tails did not stop their assault until he felt a pain in his shoulder.


    One of the tails pierced through his right shoulder and he could feel that it also passed through his bone. He grunted in pain and stumbled a bit before he was brought down to his knees because of the pain and because of something else. With his mana, he cut the tail and backed away from the dark child.


    The throbbing pain in his shoulder slowly red up and when he took a second to look at his injury, he was shocked at what he saw. His shoulder had started to turn ck like it was rotting. There was no blood from the small wound but it was oozing with ck goo.


    He could also see some ck fine lines that started to form around the wound. The elder knew then that the tails were poisoned. He opened one of the small strapped bags around his waist and took a small vial that he did not hesitate to drink. The pain was alleviated and the lines on his skin receded.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He started to mumble words and light surrounded him. After that light dimmed, his body was covered with a thinyer of stone reinforced with magic. This was his way of protecting himself from the poisonous attacks of the dark child.


    He watched as his enemy slowly recovered from his attack. The scratches on his body and the wound he had inflicted earlier healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The tails did not disperse and became even more deadly. He could already feel the mana infused in each tail which he did not notice at first.


    Even the vibration in the air, he could already feel them all. When his attention returned to the dark child who was supposed to be standing a few feet away from him, his heartbeat became faster because his enemy was nowhere to be seen. He made a 360 degree turn but he did not see the enemy and when he was about to look up, he felt a dangerous presence behind him.


    In a split second, the ground beneath him was smashed and destroyed, luckily he was able to dodge the punch from the dark child. He was still airborne when he saw that the tails were already aiming at him. He crossed both of his hands in front of his face to block the attack but he was still thrown a few feet away because of the force of those tails.


    The dark child straightened his body and looked at the direction where the eldernded. His body was not covered with ck mana and that punch was infused with a huge amount of it. He had just used that much mana but it was only a drop in his overall mana capacity.


    This was the image that met the elder when the dust finally settled down. He involuntarily gulped at the evolution he was seeing. The dark child was nowpletely different from their failed experiment. The feeling of danger rose in his heart and this was the first time that he felt a crisis.


    And he was right to think about it because for the next minute, he was thrashed and his armor of rock got scraped centimeter by centimeter. Every blow that hit his armor would also send his body in shock because he could feel the force behind those attacks.


    Despite that, he fought back. He did not waste his eyes power and retaliated. Whenever he could see an opportunity, he would send an attack towards the dark child and because his enemy doesn''t really care about being wounded, he continued. It was exhausting but he still made progress and managed to give the enemy a deep wound.


    The brutal attacks slowed down and it gave more opportunities for the elder to attack. He even managed to trap the dark child''s body inside a rock prison with now holes nor bars. He did not waste time and enclosed the rock prison by creatingyers andyers of it.


    The elder wanted to use that rock prison to squash the enemy as he squeezed both of his tightly which reacted with the rock prison and it grew smaller in size. Another squeeze and the prison would be even more smaller but the smaller it got the higher the resistance from the inside was. His hands tried to squeeze a little bit more but at that critical moment, the rock prison burst open.


    He was sent flying because of the force umted from the explosion. There were rocks flying everywhere which he avoided. Following those rocks, were the tails that seemed to be more irritated than ever because of how eager they were to attack towards the direction where the elder was standing.


    Those tails still caught him even though he tried to dodge. He was already so exhausted from the fight that he lost strength while running away with his foot getting caught. The tail lifted him into the air with the other tails wrapping themselves around the elder''s body. He was dangling in the air and was very open for an attack.


    A swishing tail rose to the air and moved like a snake. The elder already knew that he was going to die. He couldn''t believe that the magic he practiced for a long time and the reason why he became an elder would be defeated. The moment that the tail moved towards him, he already epted his fate but that deadly ck mana tail suddenly stopped mid-air.

 Chapter 175 A Boring Conversation

    ?From his field of view, the elder could see a man standing behind the dark child and was patting his shoulder. He was tall and was wearing ck formal clothes. His hair was slicked back and his dark eyes were looking at him coldly. The elder still recognized the man even with his blurry vision. He was the butler that always followed Rigel Ginehart before he entered the magic tower.


    Mr. C walked towards the bound man and looked at him closely, especially his blue glowing eyes. The master had expressed intrigued at those eyes because it was the first time that he had encountered eyes that glowed like that. The butler looked but he couldn''t guess what those eyes could do.


    "My master is curious to know what your eyes can do. He is inviting you for a conversation," Mr. C spoke which confused the elder.


    "M-Master? Do you mean the younger G-Ginehart?" His voice was trembling and soft that the butler almost couldn''t hear it.


    "As far as I am concerned, he is my only master and nobody else." Mr. C ced his hands behind his back while staring down at the man.


    Before the elder could even say anything, he heard a snapping sound and his surroundings became a blur that made him dizzy for a while. When he finally got his vision back, everything around him was dark but he could feel that he was sitting on a chair. He could also feel that his wrists were bound with something cold and even his feet couldn''t move.


    While he was still grasping what was happening to him, a light suddenly appeared above him. He was startled at first but when his eyes finally adjusted to the light, beyond the light he could see nothing. He used his eyes to look beyond where he was and he was even more surprised at the ce where he was because there was nothing in it. He could see nothing below him but he was sure that there was no ground beneath his feet.


    Aughter then sounded inside that empty ce and it echoed which made him wince. An upside down face appeared before he could even move on from what he was experiencing that moment. If he was not tied, he would have surely jumped back in shock because of the Magus Maximus''s disciple.


    Cygnus couldn''t help butugh because of the elder''s surprised look. He slowly floated into a standing position and faced the elder properly. His eyes were bright as it focused on the glowing irises of the elder.


    "What can those eyes do? I''ve seen you using it against that dark child and now you are using it again here, what can you see?" Cygnus moved his face forward and was already a few inches from the elder''s face.


    It was glowing blue and fascinated him. He was not sure if it was because of mana or because of something else. He was sure that those eyes would be useful for him.


    "That''s none of your concern," the elder frowned. He did not expect that the Magus Maximus''s disciple would be a traitor.


    In the very first ce, he was already against this man entering the tower and yet he managed to get their supreme ruler''s attention and now he was acting on his own. He could already feel that this person was not what he showed himself to be. He was something else entirely.


    Cygnus smiled, "I am not a traitor." He watched as the elder''s eyes widened for a second before they returned to its usual look. "From the very beginning, I never considered myself as part of your filthy organization. Do you want to see the real me?"


    "To be able to read someone else''s mind, you are really something else. I should have objected harder the moment the Magus Maximus decided to take you in as a disciple. A snake in our midst is uneptable and you will surely receive punishment from our master." The elder could finally understand what the person''s aim was.


    "Oh, that''s a first, no one had ever called me a snake before. I''ll add that to my list of names then. To tell you the truth, if you had objected to me bing his disciple and I was really not epted, I have plenty of ways to enter that ce." Cygnus floated around him with a smirk on his face. His eyes also slowly changed into the bloody ones that he always concealed using magic.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Red eyes were always associated with demons. "A demon, so that''s what you are." The elder''s face turned cold as he gave the master a cold look.


    His eyes were sharp as a de that if it had the power then the master would have been wounded right there and then. A demon was an abominable creature that killed people without remorse. They were the ultimate enemy of humanity.


    Reading the man''s thoughts amused the master so much. He couldn''t believe that this person was actually pinning those demons as the only enemy of humanity when in reality, it was humans who instigated everything. using someone of being a demon when they themselves were blind to their actions of justice. How ridiculous indeed.


    "I am a demon and no matter what you call me, I will ept all of those because I am not a hypocrite like you are. Hiding behind the word righteousness and justice but deep down, your hearts are as ck as the deepest pits of the abyss. You can even sacrifice the people you are supposed to protect just to achieve your ambition of power so you do not have the right to look at me with disgust."


    If the elder was cold, then Cygnus was colder. His voice carried apelling power that could make a person listen. There was something in his words that could make one believe his words. He floated towards the man and stared at him without making a sound.


    It was unnerving and the cold fa?ade that the elder was maintaining broke like thin ss. He nearly lost his breath because of the oppressive power that started to surround him. He gasped for air and the glow in his eyes disappeared.


    "Since all you can say are self-righteous words like they all say whenever they face me, I''ll just get right down to business and finish your suffering. I''m getting bored with your speeches and endless usations." Cygnus sighed and there was a disappointed look on his face as his lips formed into a thin line and his shoulders drooped down.


    "What should we do now, master?" The butler who had been watching on the side stepped forward and looked at the man who was coughing.


    "I even prepared this dimension for him and yet he couldn''t appreciate it and started to spout some nonsense." Cygnus turned around and looked at his butler.


    "Wh-What did you say?" The elder suddenly recovered when he heard the master''s words. "Dimension?"


    Of course, this term was very familiar to any mages because it was where all of their summons wereing from. Although they hadn''t entered any of this so-called dimension, they were hoping that with their research and with the help of Ezio, they could see what another dimension looked like.


    Cygnus halted and slightly lifted his head, "Ah, yes as far as I know, you fellows want to open a dimension and gain more power. This is also the reason why you forcefully took Ezio and awakened his sealed powers because you wanted him to open a dimension for you. I think Elehiya forgot to warn you that dimensions are dangerous because some might devour you the moment you step into them."


    The elder was rendered speechless because of what he heard. "Who are you? Why do you know that name?"


    His breath hitched when the man turned around and looked at him. The grin that reached from ear to ear was terrifyingbined with the redness of the eyes that seemed to have been amplified because they were in a dark ce.


    "I''m the closest person to her before she was forced to flee in this disgusting world of yours."

 Chapter 176 This Time Would Be The Tower

    ?The dimension they were in right at that moment experienced a tremor after he said those words but after a short while it stopped. The terrifying gaze from him disappeared and it was reced with something else. He saw something in his eyes that he could only describe as anger even though there was a smile on his face.


    "I''m getting tired of this conversation and wasting time here instead of watching how my ns are progressing." He took a step back and gestured for his butler to do whatever he was going to do.


    Cygnus sighed as he floated away after giving thatmand. The atmosphere around him turned bleak and added to that the dimension they were in right now was an empty space. Although he doesn''t usually notice it by himself, the butler knew that the master''s mood wasn''t good.


    "My dear Elehiya, she ran away to avoid the people who coveted her power but still died in the hands of the same people. The only difference is that she died in a different world. How pitiful." He continued to sigh as he retreated but he stopped when he heard his butler.


    "Should I do it cleanly or bloody?" The butler asked out of nowhere which halted the master from his retreat.


    The master thought for a while before he decided on what to do. "Cleanly please because I am adding that to my collection."


    With that, he stepped inside the gate leaving behind a painful scream from the elder that echoed in that empty space. He returned to the original ce where they were watching what was happening in the capital. He sat down and rested his head on his palms as he watched as the chaos wasing to a conclusion.


    "What happened?" Astro became apprehensive when he saw that the master came out with a gloomy atmosphere around him. "Did something upset you?"


    At the mage''s word, Cgynus''s eyes narrowed. "Upset?" He couldn''t help butugh at the man''s words. It was foreign and yet familiar even his tone was something he had heard a long time ago even though he could not remember who it was from.


    He leaned back on his chair and waved his hand on the projection in front of him. Severalrge scale magic circles appeared on the areas being projected. Astro looked in astonishment as several scaled monsters came out from the magic circles.


    They have the body of a giant lizard but they were standing upright with weapons in their ws. At the end of their tails were pointed spikes that could put a hole in anything that it could hit. Those tails were swishing back and forth as they marched towards the general popce that wasn''t evacuated yet.


    "Master!" Astro couldn''t help but exim when he saw where the monsters were headed. "You can''t do this!"


    Cygnus red at the mage, "I thought you don''t care no matter what happens to them? If you have someone to me, me those mages from that tower because if not for them I won''t be in this kind of mood."


    Astro swallowed the objection he was about to say. This was different from the other times he had defied him, the master was truly in a bad mood and he might do something even crueler. He watched as those monsters marched forward without stopping.


    The soldiers noticed the emergence of the monsters and did not hesitate to face them to protect the rest of the citizens that were still being escorted. The heroes focused on those monsters since the mages took care of the major ones that started the cmity.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    While all of these were happening, the other elders who remained in the tower were in a daze. One of the elders died and the other disappeared. Although the others survived, they still couldn''t believe that those failed experiments could stand on par with the elders. It was not easy to ept.


    An explosion inside their vicinity woke them up from their daze. The mages inside the tower scattered as dark mana continuously hit the tower and caused destruction. Dark tails were also spotted in the area as they targeted the structure itself.


    Several mages came out to face the enemy but before they could even attack, they were already pierced by the wriggling dark tails. stor and Meliore also came out to face the enemy. A sh of red lightning appeared and directly hit the dark child; this was stronger than what he had shown in Moonvale but the enemy wasn''t injured at all.


    Seeing that his attack had no effect, he was not fazed and instead summoned a series of red lightning that pinned the enemy on the spot where he was standing. Meliore did not stay idle as she summoned her vines to stab the enemy. The vines were not destroyed even though they entered the domain of the red lightning and sessfully impaled the dark child.


    stor used this chance to let his red lightning pass through the vines using it as a medium to inflict more injury to their enemy. When they sensed no movement from the enemy, their attacks also ceased. They sighed in relief because they thought that the enemy was weakened after its battle with one of the elders.


    In that split second that their guards were down, two dark tails stabbed them both from the back. It was an unexpected attack that caught them off guard. They struggled to free themselves and when they managed to get away, the poison had already spread through their system.


    Both of them were forced to kneel on the ground as they started to cough out blood. While they were down, the unmoving dark child broke the shield that he surrounded himself with and stared at the two of them. Several dark tails once again appeared and moved to attack them but before they could reach the two grand mages, a shadow appeared and took the both of them away.


    Archmage Ragus came to the rescue and took the two of them away. Archmage Aviel was with him as she started to heal them right away. She expelled the poison from their system and started to heal their wounds. She couldn''t help but stare at the ck substance that she removed from them.


    "That guy is really bad news." She raised her head and looked at the man in front of him. "Based on its earlier fight, the greatest threat he has right now is those tails. They''re made up of a poison beyond my knowledge."


    "I''ll be careful then," Ragus gave the woman a nod. He stepped out to face the rampaging monster.


    As he walked towards the man, he summoned two familiars of his. A lion with a white lightning as its fur and an eagle with its ming feathers. He was not sure if they would be effective against the opponent but he still needed to try. Along with summoning familiars, he could also use their powers.


    His first attack was from the white lion. It was lightning followed up by a fire breath from the eagle. He then circled behind and used the same attacks to hit the dark child. The enemy used his tails to protect itself from the barrage of attacks and no matter how the archmage replicated his attacks, the dark child remained unharmed.


    The tails retaliated, some of them attacked directly while the others went up as a dark energy started to gather at their tips. The dark child flicked those tails and threw the dark energy orbs towards the archmage and the familiars he summoned. A series of explosions happened as those orbs hit the ground, the tower and the familiars.


    Ragus took cover behind a shield he materialized and let the explosion pass before he made his move once again. This time he summoned another familiar which was a water fairy that can use water to attack. The tails passed through the familiar''s body and the archmage took this chance to use this familiar to get close to the enemy.

 Chapter 177 Here Comes The Butler

    ?With this familiar''s ability to harden and soften the water at will, Ragus was able tond a couple of hits on the dark child''s body. He then noticed that his enemy''s body heals extremely fast and small injuries wouldn''t have any effect on it. He needed a move that could impede the enemy''s healing ability.


    With that in mind, he summoned another familiar. It was centaur, with the body of an upper body of a human and lower body of a horse. It was holding a bow and arrow in its hands and with Ragus''smand, all his familiars attacked all at once. This barrage of attacks couldn''t bepared with that the dark child had faced so far.


    The archmage''s attack was equivalent to five mages attacking all at once. The dark child was put into a predicament as its healing ability cannot keep up with the attack. It used its tails to protect itself from the attacks but some of it were still able to infiltrate his defense. It was also weakened by its first fight.


    With ast resort, it gathered dark energy around its body and when it felt that it had enough, it released it outward. The outburst simultaneously destroyed its tails, stopped the attacks and pushed back the attackers. In that short amount of time that there was an opening, the dark child materialized several tails and pierced through the familiars and Ragus while they were still in the air after being pushed back.


    His four familiars and he himself were pinned on the ground as several tails came at them, stabbing them relentlessly. His familiars slowly dissolved and disappeared while he suffered greatly if not for Aviel''s help. Since she specializes in healing and using holy magic, she easily dispelled the tails and saved Ragus from having any further injuries.


    She then surrounded the both of them with a holy dome while he attended to the bloody man. She managed to remove the poison and heal the wounds but the man was still unconscious. Her gaze shifted to the enemy that was still trying to break her dome at a loss because her magic was not suitable for fighting.


    During this time, Archmage Celes appeared and fully blocked the dark tails from the dark child. He was holding a shield of golden light on his hand and used it to destroy the tails that were attacking the dome. "Leave the enemy to me. Go to the arena, there''s a safe ce established there. Help the other healers."


    Some mages came and carried the wounded back to the arena while Celes stayed to face the enemy. Since holy magic can work against the enemy, he wouldn''t hold back. He could use his holy mes to burn the enemy.


    Celes and the dark child stared at each other for a while. They were both observing their opponent while simultaneously preparing for an attack. Dark energy started to gather around the dark child while Celes was ready to attack with his holy me.


    The dark child created the dark orbs once again and this time there are more of them. He threw these orbs towards Celes. The mage tightened his grip on the shield and braced himself from the impact of the attack. He was pushed back and left skid marks on the already uneven ground.


    The power from those orbs were not a joke and his shield could only diffuse a small part of them as for the rest, he needed to grit his teeth and endure. Slowly the orbs force dissipated but another batch was already in ce. He was assaulted from the back and there were also orbs that changed direction and aimed at his back.


    Celes raised his shield and hammered it down on the ground. Once the shield was grounded, a replica of it in golden light appeared and surrounded the man. All of these actions werepleted before the orbs could hit him.


    He endured until he felt the orbs weakening before he broke his shield and charged towards the dark child. The enemy was surprised for a moment before it moved back to avoid the archmage but it was futile. Celes''s holy me could still reach him. He stretched his arm and with a snap, a golden me surrounded the dark child.


    The archmage did not stop there when he saw that the dark child was again using his dark tails as a shield. He increased the mana he was pouring into me until it transformed into a white me that was hotter and more deadly for dark creatures. The dark child started to struggle as the white holy me started to eat the tails he was using to protect itself. Even the dark mana it was using as a shield was starting to dissipate.


    The dark child''s skin was showing signs of being burned. At first his healing abilities could heal the burns but as the white me slowly enclosed it, its wounds couldn''t heal. It started to wriggle and tried to escape from the me but no matter how it struggled the mes were keeping him in ce.


    Celes was already on his knees as he maintained the holy mes. It was draining too much of his mana but the enemy was still alive. He didn''t know if he could keep this up until the dark child was burned. Large bead of sweat was trickling down the side of his face and his back. His breathing was bing shallow and he could feel that his mana core was about to reach its limit.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You are about to reach your limit." He heard a whisper that brought down chills to his spine.


    He did not notice when the other party arrived and before he could do anything, he was mmed down on the ground, hard. Cracks appeared on the ground below him as he coughed out blood. He could feel the man''s cold hands closing around his neck.


    Both of his hands went to stop pushing away the hand that was squeezing his neck but the grip was too tight. He could not speak as he continued to struggle. He was slowly losing consciousness because of theck of air when he heard the man speak again.


    "My master fancies that child so I''ll be taking him back first." Mr. C stood up after making sure that the archmage has passed out.


    The holy mes also dissipated and the dark child was on the ground. Its flesh was exposed but with the holy me gone, his ability to heal kicked in again. The injured flesh was knitted and even the skin was fixed.


    "Such a convenient ability," the butlermented. He walked forward and was about to carry the child when other mages came to surround him.


    He recognized that two of them were elders from the tower while the others were at least at a grand mage''s level. They were fast to act when their tower was being attacked but when the city was burning they were slow to move. Such an irony.


    "Put that thing down," one of themmanded.


    Mr. C looked at the child in his arms then at the man whomanded him. He shook his head when he realized what they were thinking. He could already tell from those greedy eyes that they wanted to have the child and perhaps see how they could have his power.


    "Only my master can order me around," he once again looked at the man, "as for you, you do not have the qualifications to do so."


    Mr. C disappeared from where he was standing and appeared behind the man. He gave him a kick packed with physical power from his modified body. The elder flew and hit one of the tower''s walls.


    His movement surprised the mages that were surrounding him. After the initial shock, they promptly attacked Mr. C and several magic attacks hit him. There was smoke and dust as the attack did not stop.


    "Stop!" The elder who was attacked stood up andmanded the mages.


    He was wiping the blood from his mouth and was ring at the direction of their enemy. He could feel the pain from that one kick and he could tell that he had a fractured rib. He couldn''t believe that someone could injure him without him even fighting back.


    "I''m sure that he won''t survive," he spat with a smug look on his face.

 Chapter 178 He Shows What He Can Do

    ?The elder was sure that their enemy would not survive that attack. Even though his strength was above normal, he was confident that against magic, physical strength will not prevail. He was already smiling to himself as if he had already won even without seeing the butler''s body.


    After a while, they could see a shadow behind the dust and there stood the butler unharmed. The azure lines on his face were glowing and his ck skin showed some kind of luster. He was wrapped in a transparent film. Even the child in his arms remained unharmed.


    "Is that all? No wonder my master is disappointed because you people are so weak." The whites of his eyes also turned ck and his pupils were glowing.


    "What!?" The elder was furious at the insult.


    The surprise from seeing the man unscathed after the attack disappeared because of his words. He was now angry and without second thoughts he sent his men to attack. The other elder on the other hand remained silent on the side.


    Unlike the other elders, he was more collected and calmer. He would observe his opponent and his surroundings first before he engages in a fight. He was not going to follow the idiot elder who was now fuming in anger just because of a little insult.


    -


    Their enemy could easily dodge the attacks aimed his way and his strength was not ordinary. He guessed that it has something to do with the lines on his face and the change in his appearance. He had never seen a person who could transform like him.


    Based on the strength alone, the enemy has the upper hand. He could easily block a direct hit from magic and could easily dispel them even though he was carrying the child with his hand. The idiot elder couldn''t even notice the discrepancy in their power and yet he was recklessly going after him.


    This calm elder instead of hastily attacking, so he chose to step back and retreat. He knew that he wouldn''t be able to win. He can inflict injury but he can''t defeat that person so it was better for him to leave and escape. His priority was his life and nothing else.


    Mr. C already noticed that the other elder intended to leave so he did not pay him any attention. The master would take care of everything anyways so it was alright to let one of the preys to escape. He could now focus on the arrogant one in front of him.


    He carefully ced the child on the ground and ced a device on his side that created an invisible barrier around him. Now that the baggage was gone, he could now fightfortably. He looked at the mages who were surrounding him with their magic ready tounch anytime and smirked.


    With the speed elerator imnted in his body, he rushed forward and punched the first person in front. His fist connected with the person''s stomach and he followed up with a tornado roundhouse kick which sent him flying towards the other mages. The person who was kicked collided with several people which caused them all to fall down or lost their bnce.


    Mr. C did not miss this opportunity to attack another one with a solid punch or a kick. The nanotechnology that the master modified was the reason why he was this strong.  Each nanite in his body was amplified using the master''s mana and blood. It was something that the master did out of boredom and he did not expect to reap such benefits.


    The previous programs in him were all upgraded because of what the master did out on a whim. It was also the reason why he was immune to any magical attacks. If it was before he got an upgrade, he would be immediately destroyed after receiving all those attacks. All his circuits and programs would be rendered useless without the nanites introduced in his body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He moved so fast and wlessly that the mages couldn''t follow his movements at all. They were like headless chickens running around without direction. They started to attack indiscriminately without minding their surroundings. The elder who wasmanding them became frustrated at how useless his men were.


    Sure it was impressive that their enemy could move like that even without using mana but he still believed that he couldn''t bepared to him. His magic was exactly what he needed to defeat the enemy. A light appeared below him followed by the appearance of several arrowheads coated with green mana.


    He opened his eyes and target locked Mr. C. His brown hair floated as he sent these arrowheads towards the butler who was busy knocking down the minions. The first arrowhead came and aimed at his head but the butler docked to evade the attack. The second came from behind while he was busy docking down but he rotated his body to the right and sessfully dodged the attack once again.


    He was simultaneously knocking down mages along the way while the arrowheads were continuously following his movements. He danced amongst the chaos with blood and destruction as his background. The green lines created by the arrowheads served as a special effect that made the scene seem fantastical. It would be a picture-perfect scene in modern times.


    The elder gritted his teeth because of how many times he missed the target. Although he was using his tracking magic, he couldn''t evennd a hit on the enemy. The more frustrated he became, the more clumsy the movements of his arrowheads became.


    Mr. C smirked when he noticed it. People who could be easily affected by their emotions were opponents who he could easily defeat. In the course of only five minutes, hundreds of attacks were already exchanged and this time, Mr. C was getting nearer and nearer the elder. After another minute, thest mage that was bothering him was knocked down and now his target was the elder who was relentless in his pursuit.


    Before Mr. C could get close to the elder, a golden shield appeared before him and four arrowheadsnded on the spot where he was originally standing. He looked to the side and saw that Celes was already awake. Although he was still a little bit weak, he still managed to call forth that shield.


    Celes once again extended his arms and snapped at the direction of Mr. C. A surge of white holy mes came out from below him and burned him. The other elder used that moment to mobilize his arrowheads once again and this time, six arrowheads hit their mark and exploded. They hoped that those attacks were enough to injure the man but their expectation was crushed.


    Mr. C shook off the remaining holy me in his body. His clothes were burned but his whole body was intact. He looked like a statue made of a ck granite as he stood there. Celes and the elder saw that there was something moving around the enemy''s body which contributed to the ck skin he was sporting right now.


    They were not sure what it was but they were sure that that thing might be the reason why the man can withstand all of their attacks. They looked at each other in tacit understanding and in that short span of time, Celes used his shield as a weapon and flung it towards the man.


    The butler raised his hand and stopped the shield with only his palm. He then gripped the shield and threw it back towards Celes. The other elder added two more arrowheads and let the six arrowheads attack.


    "How futile," he mumbled before he took a step forward and disappeared and shed in front of the other elder.


    Before the elder could raise his defense, he was already lifted in the air as the butler gripped his neck and slowly raised him up. The nanites in his arms moved like a wave until they reached the hand that was gripping the elder''s neck. He then mmed him down on the ground really hard that anyone nearby could hear a bone cracking.

 Chapter 179 Face Off

    ?Mr. C did not even make sure if the elder was still breathing before he shed towards Celes who was clearly shocked from what had happened. He didn''t even have the time to react when the enemy was already in front of him. He stared wide eyed at the enemy standing right in front of him.


    "Your holy mes won''t have any effects on me. Holy power can only work on creatures that have a spirit and that is something I don''t have." The butler did not hesitate to kindly inform the man of the reason why he didn''t flinch even after being burned with those sacred mes.


    The elder was silent for a moment before he sighed and totally slumped on the hard ground. He thenughed and stared at the sky. "I guess I''m not that mighty then." He mockinglyughed at himself because now he knew that he was not undefeated.


    Mr. C did not speak for a while before he turned around and started to walk away. Celes gave the man''s back a puzzled look. "Why aren''t you killing me?" He asked.


    "My master will deal with all of you so I don''t have to do it myself. However the clean-up might be passed on to me so I should go and prepare myself." The butler answered without looking back however the next question stopped him in his tracks.


    "Who is your master? Since I''m going to die, don''t I have the chance to at least know who your master is?" He was genuinely curious.


    "You''ve already met him so many times and speaking of which, I thank you for taking care of him during his stay in the tower," the butler looked back and this time the nanites in his face were gone.


    Celes choked when he saw the face behind the enemy who easily defeated them. He had seen him several times and came in contact with him during the times that he was running around to convince Rigel Ginehart to join the tower. If he was that butler then the master he was talking about would be, Rigel.


    Mr. C turned around and went straight to where the dark child wasying. The nanites covered his face once again. He then lifted the child and entered a gate that appeared before him. Augh escaped the elder''s mouth before he surrendered and sighed in defeat.


    Not far from where the fight happened, a woman watched as she could feel the fear in her heart rising. Celestine took several steps back and turned around. Her master was defeated and she already knew that it was Rigel, their enemy because she also recognized that face. She went back to the arena where most of the apprentices were.


    She was in a daze as she walked without direction not until Lilia came and patted her shoulder. "Where did you go Celestine? Everybody is looking for you, we thought that you went out and tried to fight the enemy!"


    Celestine frowned and shrugged off the woman''s hands. "What do you care about? I can do whatever I want." She red and turned her back on the woman as she continued towards where her friends were.


    Lilia was confused as to why the woman was acting like that. She could only sigh and return to her post of helping the wounded. She couldn''t afford to ck off right now just because of one woman.


    Ezio was silently going around and was also helping in making sure that everything was alright, especially those who were wounded. He needed to feign ignorance even though he was itching to go out there and fight too. He gritted his teeth and after a while he finally sighed and resigned himself into his current fate.


    Isaiah ckwood was also helping around when he noticed that all of the apprentices were in the vicinity except for Rigel. He frowned because he felt that there was something wrong. He tried to look around but the man was really not there.


    During that time, he remembered Duke Ulysses''s request of him but he quickly shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. If Rigel was running around, it was not his concern since the man gave the impression that he was the kind of person who would go where there was chaos. He sighed instead and stooped down to help one of the healers wrap a bandage on one of the wounded.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    At the same time, at the highest part of the tower two people were staring at each other. During the fight of Mr. C and the other elders below, Cygnus took this chance to enter the Hall of Saints and visit his master. He was weed and was even offered a seat by the Magus Maximus himself.


    They had been staring at each other for at least five minutes now but no one was willing to talk. If the Magus Maximus was patient Cygnus wanted to show that he was patient too. But the longer their stand still was, the more bored he was bing. He really couldn''t tolerate this long-standing silence but he needed to endure.


    The Magus Maximus had been thinking hard about it. Everything that happened so far coincided with his disciple''s entrance to the tower. When that child entered the tower, so many things started to happen that was why when he came knocking on his door he was not that surprised.


    He stared at his disciple and thought about those days when he was eagerly studying everything that he was teaching. Now it turned out that he was only pretending. There was not much change in his expression after he realized that he was deceived and he couldn''t entirely me the child for this because he allowed himself to be deceived.


    Cygnus sighed, "I really can''t stand this silence." He tilted his head to the side as it rested on his fist. "Aren''t you going to say anything?"


    The Magus Maximus was silent for a full minute before he decided to answer. "Should I say something when I am no longer surprised by your appearance in this ce? Your casual appearance here already told me everything."


    Cygnusughed, "Yes you are right. There''s nothing to say but I doubt that you will remain in your seat once I start to tear this tower apart, from its very roots to its green leaves and fruits."


    "And how will you do that?" The Magus didn''t react at all and was treating their conversation as simply a nonsense talk.


    "Hmm, yes how should I do that?" he leaned on the chair and ced his finger on his chin to feign that he was thinking about it. "Then should I start with the dungeon below?" He then shook his head, "No, no I should start with those hiddenboratories! Oh, wait, I can start with those who have attacked the city!" He pped his hands and grinned at the Magus.


    Cygnus was right, the Magus would have a reaction as long as he mentioned those things to him. The narrowing of his eyes as he gave him a re and the clenching of his fists as he held back himself from standing up and attacking him right there and then. This man was really good at restraining himself.


    "You''ve been my disciple for a couple of months and now you are running in here to me and use me? I am having a difficult time grasping the situation and the reason why you are doing this?" Instead of answering, the Magus tried to switch the story and shift the conversation''s direction.


    "Oh, I like where this conversation is going. You are looking to shift the me to me because my family hated mages. Next you are going to justify that I have nned all of this with my family as my backer. You will then spout every excuse written in history to prove that you are innocent and then when I slip up, you will use this as an excuse to take me down. Am I right?" The grin on Cygnus''s face couldn''t bepared with how the Magus was clenching his jaws at his words.


    "I do not intend to do so and please do not assume. Trying to guess what''s on my mind won''t work." The Magus had an unnoticeable frown on his face while saying those words.


    Cygnus burst out in augh and was even patting his thighs, "Guessing what''s on your mind? I am not guessing what''s on your mind because I can actually hear them loud and clear."

 Chapter 180 Testing The Waters

    ?The Magus Maximus stared for a moment without uttering any words. He could tell that even though the man gave off a nonchnt vibe, he was sure that Rigel was serious. He sighed and shook his head, it was not the time to let his mind wander.


    "Yes, you just behave yourself and focus on what we are talking about," the arrogance in his voice was dripping.


    "Hah, such a pretentious bastard." The Magus suddenly changed his demeanor and openly red at Cygnus.


    "I''m not the only pretentious bastard in here though, why aren''t you including yourself?" Cygnus wasn''t fazed even after he received a re.


    "You talk too much," the Magus frowned. He was not a fan of long conversations but the man for some reason was insisting on talking with him.


    "You should be lucky then because you are talking to me," the master''s grin widened and you could hear the haughtiness in his voice.


    "Why should I? In my position, even the king needs to pay attention when he is talking to me, let alone someone like you." The Magus Maximus was not about to let someone lord him over.


    Cygnus stared at him nkly without talking. This personality was really beyond his expectation. Throughout the time that he had spied on them, the Magus Maximus appeared to be reserved and a man of few words, now it turned out that he had hidden his colors.


    "Aren''t you afraid of offending my father or the king because of your words?" Cygnus tilted his head to the side. There was a frown on his face which made the Magus grin secretly.


    "You are still young and don''t know these things. All your father has is physical strength while the king only has authority. My power is much stronger than both." He stretched out his right arm and a vortex of white and red appeared on his palm.


    The master''s hair was blown in all directions as wind started to gather inside the room because of the vortex that the Magus manifested. His face only showed an unfazed expression as he was not intimidated by the other''s magic power.


    "Is that it?" Cygnus raised an eyebrow because to him it was not that impressive. "If that''s the power you are talking about then, they won''t be intimidated. I know that my father won''t back down even if you have the power to destroy the whole kingdom and I''m sure that the king won''t be overwhelmed."


    The Magusughed before he clenched his fist and extinguished the vortex that he created. His disciple was really a person not to be underestimated. He was already standing in front of the highest authority in the tower and yet he could still remain calm.


    "Yes, you are right that power won''t intimidate them." He brushed up his hair and grinned at the direction of his disciple. "I have worked so hard to get the power that I can use to threaten them. Right there, right now."


    After the Magus said those words, Cygnus felt something appear in the Ginehart Dukedom. He then heard Ari''s voice in his ear. He couldn''t help butugh because the Magus Maximus was willing to use innocent lives to prove his power.


    "That is impressive. Targeting the dukedom just to see me give up or panic or is it the opposite? You want to see me beg?" The master''s eyes shone brightly as he was asking those questions. Fools who were threatening him would always make him excited.


    The Magus narrowed his eyes when he heard his disciple''s words. He had just activated an ancient spell that was ced in the whole dukedom. He had modified it thest time he was there just in case he would need it in the future and he was right, now he had found a reason to activate it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    For his disciple to speak like he knew about it unnerved him. It was only a few minutes after he activated the magic and yet the man in front of him acted like he knew about it. His hand moved subtly as he fiddled with something in his hand.


    "That magic is called a destroyer and once it is activated, no one will be able to stop it. It will absorb the life force of everyone in that ce and then the spell will summon a demon that will truly devour the ce where it is summoned." The Magus did not hide it any longer. Since the magic was already activated, he could finally rx and watch how the show would end.


    It was just a give and take situation. The man dared to destroy his tower and expose him so he could do the same to the ce that his family cherished. He then grinned at the thought and looked at the direction of his disciple because he wanted to see his expression.


    Cygnus didn''t have any much reaction. If the person in front of him wanted him to react, he wouldn''t give him that opportunity. To him, he was the only person who can watch a person change their reaction besides he didn''t really care if those people die. They don''t have any rtion to him so he wouldn''t care even if they die.


    "Go on, you can do whatever you want. Those people, they''re not important at all, I can even join you and watch as they get destroyed." He calmly offered. "Even if you destroy this kingdom, I won''t even flinch and I might even help you go through with it."


    "Well then," his hand that had been fiddling with something stopped. Cygnus could hear the audible tap of his finger on his armrest followed by the mechanical voice of Ari.


    "The spell has progressed;pletion is at 35%. What do you n to do, master?" Ari announced from where she was standing. Astro was also with her listening to whatever she was reporting to the master.


    "Stay put," was the only instruction from the master. Ari confirmed themand and instead of doing something she continued to monitor the dukedom instead.


    Cygnus was rxed on the chair as he and the Magus stared at each other. The countdown in the master''s mind was still going on and thepletion of the spell had reached 45% and yet the both of them hadn''t moved an inch.


    In an urgent message, Ulysses received the report that his dukedom was in dire situation. The people in the dukedom started to fall one after the other for unknown reasons and no matter how the doctors diagnose the cause of it, they couldn''t find anything. One of the magic users that happened to be in the area noticed that the people were slowly losing their breath.


    It was not caused by a disease but by something that was rted to magic. The magic users that were there started to help the people and were trying to evacuate the children and the elderly. Once they teleported outside of the dukedom, the effects of the spell slowly disappeared and they recovered.


    Ulysses gritted his teeth when he learned of the situation. He looked at his son and nodded before he left together with the special unit that Linius created. Since they can''t use the gate, they needed to manually transport the people out of Ginehart.


    Ari''s countdown had now reached 75% and the dukedom was now in a panic as people were mbering to be saved. The chaos was making the rescue difficult and the rescuers were slowly getting affected by the spell. By the time that it reached 90%, the spell suddenly dissipated.


    The Magus was surprised when he felt that the spell disappeared. He tried to tap the armrest of the chair but nothing happened. Cygnus saw this and he smirked because he knew what happened. An ancient spell like that won''t hold up especially if one had modified it. The moment that the spell''s structure was tampered, it lost its effect.


    "It seems that your trump card hadn''t worked out."

 Chapter 181 The Magus Shows His Powers

    ?This time the magus showed a grimace. He had prepared that magic for a long time to make sure that Duke Ulysses won''t get in his way in the future and yet it failed. First, he was forced to activate that magic and now it didn''t work. He gave his disciple a re.


    "This is a piece of advice, fiddling with that ancient magic that is left behind is not wise. I am speaking from my experience, so you should be more careful in the future." Cygnus stood up and walked up towards the man. "If you want to use them, then be ready for the consequences."


    The magus closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was overflowing with power. Cygnus was pushed back and hit the wall hard. He coughed and held his chest as he slowly stood up.


    Before he could even regain his bnce, a red st was sent his way and for the second time he was flung back. The wall behind him was destroyed and hended on the next room together with the rubbles. He coughed out blood as heid there and stared at the ceiling.


    It was a blow that could kill him if it was in the past but right now, he was just enjoying the pain. There was nothing wrong with acting weak from time to time. Heughed and waited for the magus toe and finish him off.


    He could hear his footsteps that echoed in that silent room. The magus must have thought that he could easily kill him just because he had that kind of power. The sound of the footsteps stopped beside him and his blurry vision could make out the magus''s silhouette.


    "I don''t know who you are or what your agenda is but I won''t let you interfere any longer. I''ve been waiting for so many years just to find a suitable ce where I can grow my power and surpass everyone and here you are appearing out of nowhere, throwing all of my efforts into vain." The Magus''s voice deepened and sounded a lot like that of an old man.


    Cygnus''s vision slowly cleared as he stared at the face that was of the Magus Maximus. It was different from his previous youthful look. His blonde hair lost its color and appeared to be whiter. Cygnus also noticed the slight wrinkles on his face.


    "You look much older than me and for some reason I remember that face." Cygnus''s voice softened as he looked at the man that was looking down on him.


    Ari, who was still monitoring the magic in the dukedom, was shocked when she heard a warning. She stood straight and remained in that position as she searched among the programs in her had malfunctioned. The red notice actually came from the file where the master''s memories were stored.


    "Mr. C, please proceed to the magic tower. The master''s memory is showing a red sign," she contacted the butler and issued the notice out loud which caught the attention of Astro.


    "What''s happening?" Astro stood up from where he was sitting and looked at the woman. He became a bit anxious after hearing the urgency from the woman''s voice.


    "Something disastrous might happen. I want you to brace yourself." She did not tell him the reason was for her urgentmand but the mate could see that the situation was not that good.


    The butler appeared together with the dark child, "Sir Astrophos, please look after the child. I need to go and see what is happening with the master." Heid the child on the invisible ground they were stepping on before he stood up.


    Astro looked at the child and before he could nod, the butler also disappeared. He was a bit confused and lost but first things first, he crouched down to examine if the child was okay. He was relieved when he saw that the child was only sleeping. Astro then carried him and carefully ced him in the chair before looking in Ari''s direction.


    Ari was still talking with the butler who had just exited a gate outside of the tower. He looked up and sighed when he heard the situation from the woman. "The master''s memories are being essed."


    "That''s unusual, why would the master suddenly want to look at his memories when he himself refused to take them back from you?" The butler entered the tower and bypassed all floors to reach the top. He could feel two unusual energies just as he entered the Hall of Saints.


    "Something might have triggered it, what shall we do? Shall we stop him or let him be?" Ari asked while she was busy preparing to interfere. She can at least slow down the master from essing the memories that might harm him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Whether we stop him or not, he will still be furious. I will only be there to make sure that nothing goes wrong." Mr. C answered as he looked around. He then saw two people in a standstill while facing each other.


    He identified the other one as the Magus Maximus although he didn''t have his younger look but he could still say it was him. His master on the other hand was a bit beaten up but the air around him was different. His eyes had already turned red which must have been caused by the memories he was currently essing.


    "Let me ask you something, have you ever heard of my name?" The master''s voice echoed and created a vibration in the air.


    "Your name, you are just a lowly aristocrat that I wouldn''t even spend effort to remember your name, but I''ll give you that privilege. I will kill you and remember your filthy name. I will add it to the list of people whom I have defeated." the Magusughed.


    If he should remember the names of the people that he had met through the course of years, only those who were worthy of remembering would he take note. The names of the people he had killed were also stored in his memories even after living for so long and transferring from one body to another.


    Cygnusughed, "I am not referring to my current name because I have another name." He took one step forward, "I''m sure that you will remember it because if I am not mistaken you were that day."


    The Magus looked at the deranged expression from the man''s face and no matter how he tried to remember, he couldn''t tell if he had seen the man. If there was one thing he learned from the man was that he was not the son of Ulysses Ginehart. He must have been an impostor that the duke found to pose as his son.


    "If that is the case then I am not interested to know whatever your name is." A red light appeared below the master followed by the appearance of monsters that were summoned through it.


    Cygnus jumped up and encircled himself with a silvery white shield. While he was still in the air, he called forth ck lightning that hit the magus but just like him, he covered himself with a red shield. He looked up and a ck serpent appeared as it coiled its body around Cygnus.


    The shield he put up around him was about to break and the Magus smiled as he summoned a death scythe imbued with his magic. He waved the scythe''s de towards Cygnus as it created a red line of energy that hit the serpent and Cygnus.


    He did not stop there as he waved the scythe several times and created that effect. Several explosions followed the magus''s attacks. Cygnus did not flinch and he calmly reinforced his shield to let the attack pass by. After he felt that the attacks stopped, he pushed himself using the serpent''s body to leave the smoky ce.


    The magus saw a ball of silvery white exited from the smoke and dust created by his attack. He did not waste time and teleported in the direction where Cygnus was headed. He stretched out his hand to create a magic circle and a red w appeared to charge towards the shield.


    ------


    ANNOUNCEMENT:


    I really appreciate you guys supporting this story. This story was already contracted and now I need to lock some chapters. I have already applied for premium and it''s currently being validated. I''m not sure when the chapters will be locked, either tomorrow or monday.


    For that, I hope that you will still continue to support me and this book. I hope to see you all in the next chapters!

 Chapter 182 It Turned Out To Be Like That

    ?The expression on the master''s face did not change. He maintained his direction and instead prepared his own attack to break the spell. On his right hand a dagger materialized. He then let his mana flow into the weapon and when the red w captured him, the dagger''s tip hit the w''s base and it slowly dissipated. The magic circle used to summon it also broke into pieces.


    Using the dagger as a medium, ck lightning appeared from its tip and charged forth towards the magus. With his scythe, he easily parried the ck lightning and let it hit another direction. Cygnus did not stop; he continued to produce ck lighting using the dagger until the weapon in his hand also broke.


    The magus was pushed back little by little by the ck lightning while he was using his scythe to redirect the attacks. His eyes narrowed when he felt that the attacks that wereing at him were bing stronger. His grip on the scythe he was holding tightened as he waved it again to change the direction of the lightning. This time he put more force and mana into it.


    The lightning was not redirected, it was nulled by the scythe''s attack. Cygnus floated as he watched the man holding the scythe. He narrowed his eyes as an emotion foreign to him started to overwhelm him. Those memories he kept hidden in a file came to him like a crashing wave.


    "You are alive. You were there. That day when I lost everything, you were there. I will never mistake that mana signature. You are one of the people who took away everything from me." Cygnus mumbled as the air around him started to buzz.


    Every bit of memory during that time came to him to p him in the face. How could he had been willing to keep those memories away when it was the reason why he was still alive. He did not understand why those memories were kept hidden.


    "I must have forgotten it along the way." He continued to mumble without minding his surroundings.


    The magus saw that his former disciple seemed to be distracted so he took that chance to summon two more ws to capture him but before the w could reach him, it dissipated. Surprised at what had happened the magus flew back to put distance between the two of them. His instincts were telling him not to approach the man for now.


    Instead of hastily attacking, the magus maintained the distance between them. Even the air around him was vibrating. He was confused as to what the other was saying but those words indicated that they must have met each other in the past.


    The rubble from the broken walls slowly floated into the air as the vibration intensified. It took a full minute before everything finally settled down. Before the magus could blink, Cygnus''s face was already a few inches away from his.


    He was startled and tried to take a step back but he couldn''t move. The smile on the man''s face and the unusual redness of his eyes made his body numb. There was a chill that crawled up his spine as he continued to stare at those eyes. The golden slits felt like they were staring at his soul.


    "It''s been a thousand years and yet you are still here, alive and well, how fortunate," Cygnus whispered. "I can now kill you with my own hands."


    He raised his hand and gave the magus a flick on his forehead which sent him flying and hitting the hard wall of the arena where they ended after their scuffle. Luckily, the magus was able to enclose himself in a mana shield. He stood up and faced the man.


    "A thousand years ago, you''ve got a great memory. You must be one of those insects we purged during that time." Heughed and patted the dust on his clothes.


    It was a vivid memory for him because it was the time of his peak. A time when he enjoyed prestige and power. It was a memory he refused to forget even after he lived several lifetimes. There were times that he would reminisce and the desire to return to those days would only get stronger.


    He was the Magus Maximus, the highest authority in the Magic Tower and yet it can''t bepared to when he was purging evil. He could still smell their blood and hear their agonized scream as he burned them alive. Those moments, he wanted to feel it again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus watched as the magus was suddenly lost in his own memories and to hear those thoughtsing from him only ignited the desire to make him suffer. To let him feel the pain he felt as the mes ate at his flesh. It would be a good way to vent all of the pent-up anger he had.


    "You killed me that time but now the situation isn''t the same. I can kill you with only one strike but I want to see you suffer even more." He stepped forward and at his second step he vanished only to appear in front of the magus.


    A red dome materialized just as Cygnus''s hands reached out towards the man. He was repelled but his hand remained in ce. He used his mana to reinforce his hand as it slowly prated the red shield. Ayer of red appeared behind the first dome and the smiling magus waved his scythe.


    The red line that came from the scythe bypassed the shield and hit its mark. Cygnus''s body bore the force without moving even an inch and his hand was still on the shield. Without thinking twice, his hand was enveloped by a whirlwind as dark as the night sky and broke through the shield.


    He wasunched forward with his hand still aiming at the magus''s body. The master''s handnded on the ground as the magus was able to evade the attack. The ground couldn''t bear the force of the hand as it cracked under the pressure.


    Cygnus once again disappeared from where he was and appeared behind the magus. He extended his feet and gave the man a kick that was full of force as he reinforced his body with strengthening magic. A cracking sound could be heard after his feet connected with the magus''s back and sent him stumbling away.


    The magus couldn''t help but cough out blood after that attack because he knew that his spine was injured. He used healing magic just after the impact but it was still painful. He pushed himself up in an attempt to stand and face the man again but what awaited him was millions of needle sized ice particles floating in the air.


    They like rain towards him without stopping so that he needed to raise his shield once again. The ice needles fell to the ground as they hit the ground and slowly created a wall of ice that was encircling the magus. The moment he realized what was happening, the wall was already half his height.


    He concentrated mana on both of his hands and used it to explode a part of the ice wall but it only created a dent and didn''t damage the wall. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he continued to send these concentrated mana to explode the walls but it was proven futile.


    He raised the scythe in his hand and sliced through the ice wall. It chipped away a little bit of the ice but it did notpletely destroy the wall. He did it again and again but there was not a change. He took a deep breath and dematerialized the scythe as he closed his eyes and gathered mana in his palms.


    The mana was red and there was staticing out from it. After he felt that it was enough, he extended both of his hands and so did the mana. It created a strong wave andpletely destroyed the wall that was constricting him. He opened his eyes only to see the grinning face of the man and hear the sound of his pping.


    "I was supposed to burn you inside that cage alive but you still managed to get out." Cygnus revealed his n without hesitation which made the magus ufortable.


    He was slowly realizing that his enemy was not weak. All the things he showed just to get his attention were deliberate and that he was hiding more power than what he had let the world know. As the magus, he failed to notice this anomaly which means that he was skilled.


    "Do you think I would let you do that? I can save myself even if I die today."

 Chapter 183 A Flash Of Red And Black

    ?The magus was confident and he was not afraid of dying because he had prepared a escape route for him like what he did in the past. He had prepared it beforehand because he knew that there would be a time that he would die. This man who was hell bent on killing him wouldn''t find him once he died.


    "Stop grinning because I assure you that you won''t be dying that easily and if you manage to escape, I will hunt you down no matter where you go." Cygnusughed as he flicked his arm.


    A spear appeared in his hand and a sh of recognition appeared in the magus''s eyes. He knew that the weapon belonged to that elder who died. This only implied one thing, it was this man who killed that elder.


    "So it was you. I don''t know how you obtained all of that information and the reason behind your interference but I won''t let you do whatever you want." The scythe materialized again.


    Heunched himself towards the master while swinging the scythe towards him. The master thrusted the spear sessfully breaking the red line that was heading his way. The tip of his spear met the scythe''s de and it created a wave that shook the entire room.


    Both of them jumped back and attacked again. They exchanged attacks from their weapons which continuously created vibrations that threatened the stability of the arena. The sh of red and blue created a beautiful but dangerous picture and the wind from it was enough to blow away anyone that would attempt to intervene.


    Mr. C did not move from where he was and calmly watched their fight without blinking. He was still listening to Ari as he observed the current situation. The master''s condition was tethering towards madness. Still the butler was d that Cygnus could still control himself.


    The shaking caused by the fight caught the attention of the people on the lower floors of the tower. They could feel the vibration even on the lowest floor. Ezio looked up and his gut was telling him that the master was there.


    He broke into a run and went inside the tower. Isaiah, who had been keeping an eye on him, cursed and ran after the idiot. It was not his duty to look after him but he had a feeling that whatever Ezio was would always be connected to Rigel.


    He followed without thinking and when they reached the Hall of Knowledge the shaking intensified. They were practically glued to the wall as they went up. Dust would constantly drop from the ceiling which made the way a little bit difficult.


    It took them longer to reach the highest level tower and they even struggled at opening the door that connected to the floor. Once hey managed to enter what met their eyes was beyond their expectation. There were sparks and explosions happening inside the hall.


    No room nor furniture was spared, even the floor and the walls were in shambles. They looked up in time to see that both sides were ready to release a big attack. The master was wielding a spear on his hand coated with ck lightning that was destroying everything on its path.


    The other man was the Magus Maximus who was holding a scythe in his hand. It was coated with something red that looked like blood from where they stood. They could feel immense power from those two weapons and they were headed towards each other.


    At that moment, a sh of ck and red collided with each other. The collision created a wave of strong wind that blew away the walls and the roof of the tower itself revealing the rays of the setting sun. The sky was orange mixed with the color of dark smoke that came from the burning city.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Isaiah and Ezio needed to cover their face and head and wait for the strong gust of wind to settle down before they could finally look up. Both parties were floating in the air, Cygnus remained unscathed but the spear in his hand broke into pieces because it could not bear the powerful magic that Cygnus used. The magus on the other hand had his clothes torn apart and his body had wounds all over them.


    "Is that it? You are known as the Magus Maximus and yet you couldn''t withstand that kind of attack. Look at yourself, how pitiful you are." Cygnus taunted as he pped his hands to get rid of the dust from the weapon he used.


    "You don''t have to worry about me." The magus shook his head and sighed as he looked down at his own body.


    He indeed looked pitiful but he did not care. Now that they had more space to fight, he wouldn''t hold back anymore. He raised the scythe on his hand and reinforced it with his mana. The scythe glowed a deep red as it exuded a blood thirst that could chase away any normal human being. His weapon was clearly thirsting for blood.


    The weapon in his hand was twirled around before the magus disappeared. He appeared above Cygnus and brought his scythe down. The master evaded the attack but the scythe''s pointed aid came from his right. He managed to dodge all the attacks but cuts of his skin appeared.


    Cygnus then noticed that the scythe had an additional de that was invisible to others that was why even though he managed to evade the attacks, he was still wounded. He could feel the hot blood oozing out from the wound and into his skin. Even though he was practically immortal and had the ability to heal himself, he did not do it.


    From the arsenal, he pulled out a bow and with enough distance, he pulled the string and an ice arrow materialized on it. He shot the ice arrows followed by lightning arrows which the magus easily parried with his scythe. Cygnus did not stop though. The continued attack from the master made the magus unable to get near him.


    Since he can''t reach him, the magus started to wave his scythe to create those red lines of deadly mana but this time the lines were longer andrger in size. All the ice and lightning arrows were destroyed. Cygnus needed to evade every once in a while, which also interrupted him from attacking.


    Cygnus was getting bored with the fight that he made a big move to capture the magus. From where he stood, he stretched out both of his hands to the side and arge-scale magic circle appeared below them followed by ack dome that enclosed the whole 7th floor into darkness. From there, Cygnus used light magic to light up the whole ce.


    The magus couldn''t believe that he would be able to see a person who can use that much mana and create arge scale dome to ensure that he couldn''t escape. He had been using spells that could drain one''s mana but he seemed to have more in store while he on the other hand could already feel exhaustion. He could recover his mana but it was not enough to continue facing Cygnus.


    Before he could process what was happening, ck and gooey arms came out from the walls of the dome. These hands locked the target and went to subdue the magus. The highest authority of the tower tried to cut them off but more wille and the ones he cut regenerated.


    These hands chased him all the way to the top of the dome as they viciously closed their ws on his clothes. He used his magic to blow them into pieces but they were relentless. Then he felt it, his strength started to get drained.


    He suddenly slumped on the ground and the scythe in his hand disappeared. His vision started to get blurry. The magus still tried to get up but his feet were pulled down by one of the hands that were chasing him. Several of those dark hands did not waste time to pin him down.

 Chapter 184 A Taste Of His Past

    ?Cygnus walked too where he was and chuckled. He shook his head then grinned like he had already won. "Look at this, I have something for you." He dipped his hand on the gate he opened to open his arsenal.


    He pulled out a gallon that contained a brown liquid and heughed when he saw what was in his hands. He shook it several times then opened it. A strong smell of gasoline permeated the air but he was not bothered, instead he was even enjoying it.


    "This right here, will give you so much pain. I especially purchased it thinking that I can use it in the future and I was right to keep it. Now I can watch in satisfaction as you burn." He poured out the gasoline on the man and let the hands change his position into a kneeling one.


    He crouched down and looked at the pitiful magus. He was satisfied because the man in front of him was thoroughly drenched. He then summoned a small fire on his right pointing finger and watched it sway in the stillness.


    "The gasoline on your body will make the fire ignite easily. It will also make the fire stronger and would make it easy for your skin to be burned. That way you can feel the pain even more. Shall we try it?" Cygnus grinned. He did not wait for the man to answer and instead let the me on his palm fall into the puddle of gasoline on the ground.


    The mmable liquid ignited as the edge of the fire touched it. The fire quickly ate at the man. Cygnus smiled when he saw that the magus was starting to squirm. He was sure that anytime now the magus would start screaming.


    He was silently counting in his head until the magus would scream. He wanted to hear him beg for his life just as his beloved ones begged for theirs. After he would beg, he would turn a blind eye and watch as the fire would slowly kill him. He will make sure that nothing from the magus would be left.


    After a full minute, there was still no scream then he remembered that the man was a mage and that he could protect himself from any external attack. After thinking for a while, he decided to take out the man''s mana core. He stepped forward and in a sh his hand was already embedded on the magus''s stomach where his core was.


    Without any restrictions, he pulled out the mana core. He then stepped back and stared at the small crystal ball in his hand. Red mana was swirling inside the crystal and at thest minute he decided to swallow it. He frowned after that and when he reached out his hand a ss of orange juice was ced in his hands.


    -


    "How are things around the city? Are there any surviving lizards out there?" Cygnus asked naturally as he sat down on the chair that the butler provided for him.


    "The city is still in chaos. The kingdom''s soldiers and heroes took care of them all." Mr. C went to the side and stood beside the master as they both gazed at the burning man.


    Cygnus sighed as he calmly drank the orange juice. He stared at his hand that still had blood on them and reached out again. Mr. C gave him a towel that he used to wipe clean the blood. "They mighte and intervene if I don''t make them busy."


    A projected screen appeared before him. He waved his hand above it and magic circles around the capital appeared followed by his favorite monster, goblins with long death scythes in their hands. He nodded in satisfaction as he closed the projected screen.


    "That should keep them away for a while, until I thoroughly enjoy this view. How about that interesting child?" He asked again after he gave the kingdom another headache that they should solve.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I entrusted the child to Sir Astrophos," the butler answered. He secretly looked at the master and thought that there was nothing wrong with him.


    He could still hear Ari''s voice though warning him that the master''s insanity state was already at 75% but he looked calm. It was different from the times that he went berserk, at that percentage, the master would already start destroying things but in this case he was sipping his juice like how he normally does it. His gaze then focused on the burning man, perhaps it was because the master was focused on the magus and that his insanity was solely for his enemy.


    The magus was gasping for air and he could tell that he wanted to shout but his throat was already damaged. It was also the reason why he remained silent even after his core was taken out. Cygnus noticed this and with a disappointed look, he stood up and went to heal the man''s vocal cords.


    He went back to his chair and snapped his finger to intensify the fire. The magus could feel the burning pain as his ears started to ring. After his core was removed, the fire became intense to the point that he wanted to pass out but for some reason he did not lose consciousness. He was forced to endure.


    He gritted his teeth but because he cannot use mana the pain was bing more and more unbearable then, he finally screamed. Cygnus''s grin widened as he pped his thigh. He even closed his eyes to stay in the moment. He treated those agonizes screams into music in his ears.


    On the other hand, Isaiah and Ezio who were caught up in the dome were forced to witness that gruesome scene. The pained screams that wasing from the magus were echoing in their ears. Isaiah froze on his spot while Ezio was staring at their direction with wide eyes.


    After a while, Cygnus spoke with his eyes still closed. "I know that you can hear me so I''ll let you listen to a story, this might trigger a memory in your mind. There was this child who was used of colluding with the demons to stage a rebellion against the imperial family. His entire family was ughtered at the order of the emperor. All of them were burned alive even though they pleaded and cried. The boy watched as all of this happened in front of his eyes. That was a thousand years ago. Do you want to know the boy''s name?" The master''s eyes opened and his gaze met the unfocused one of the magus. "It is Altair, Cygnus Altair."


    A sh of recognition passed through his eyes and the unfocused look sharpened at that name. He looked at the man and no matter how he tried to recognize him, it was already impossible because there was only one implication from the other man''s story, he was that boy.


    Altair was a well known name in the field of magic from a thousand years ago. During that era, magic was not that developed as it was in the present. People only knew that if a person uses any magic with the color of ck, they were people who had dealings with a demon. The Altair household was the first to advocate that not all magic with dark color was evil.


    Because they were an influential family, many decided to follow him and believe in his words. Not until they were framed for colluding with the demons to overthrow the imperial family. The nderers also detailed how they saw the Altair''s oldest son using ck magic to kill people.


    They denied the usation and intended to clear their name but before they could do, they were wiped out. They were judged as guilty even before the emperor could hear their story. Mages were the ones who headed the ughter and together with them were soldiers and heroes.


    They marched towards the Altair territory and dered war against them. The family wouldn''t go down easily and they fought and were still overwhelmed. One by one they were captured except for the oldest son and his one and only sibling. That same night, their estate was burned and so were its owners.


    Despite the fear and despair that the boy was feeling, he needed to stay strong for his younger sister. Even after that, he could still hear their screams of help and agony as they were being burned. And now that one of the mages who participated in that incident was still alive. He could now do his revenge.

 Chapter 185 A Task

    ?A revenge long forgotten because of how he had been hopping from one world to another and because he left his memories in a tiny file. He could now crush them with his own hands. It would be better if the others were also alive, how thrilling would that be.


    While he was grinning with his thoughts running around, the magus started to struggle once again. He couldn''t wrap his head around the fact that an Altair survived and was still alive. The pain from the fire and his mana core being taken out was all forgotten.


    "H-how? How are you still alive?" He did his best to ask the question. "We killed everyst one of you!" He then shouted despite the pain in his throat.


    "Are you curious? Haven''t you seen me swallowing your mana core? It''s one of the ways to increase a person''s lifespan and I have been doing it ever since I learned about its secret." Cygnus did not have any qualms in revealing his secret. "By the way your mana core tasted bitter but the power in it is actuallymendable."


    The magus was wide eyed as he realized what he did wrong in the past. He could only switch bodies and when that body died, he needed to use another body. That was how he survived. Consuming mana cores would have a different effect though, he could be more powerful and he would live longer.


    A grittyugh came out from the magus despite the pain he was feeling. It was alright even if he died, once he transfers to his new body, he could do what he must. He looked at his enemy and mocked him silently because he told him his secret.


    Cygnus secretly smiled after hearing the magus''s thoughts. He seemed to have forgotten that he could read minds but that was okay, it was to his advantage. He snapped his fingers once again and the mes around the magus intensified causing him to scream once again.


    The master did not stop and continuously snapped his fingers as he thoroughly burned the man. After a while, they couldn''t hear his screams any longer. All that was left of him was a charred, unidentifiable body.


    "Now that it''s finished what should I do next?" He stood and faced the direction where two littlembs were hiding. "Come out now, I already know that you are there," he called out.


    Isaiah froze when he heard Cygnus calling them. His body couldn''t move and he could feel the cold sweat trickling down from his back. He looked at Ezio who straightened his back and fixed his clothes.


    Before he could step out from where they were hiding, Isaiah reached out and gripped his arms. "Are you crazy? Why will you go out?" He whispered angrily.


    Ezio shrugged the arm that was holding him. He looked back and red at the man. "Are you afraid? I know the master and he wouldn''t do anything unreasonable." He left the other man and stepped out behind one of the still standing walls.


    Both of them witnessed what Cygnus did and heard his story so there was no other way but to do whatever he says. Isaiah took deep breaths before he forced himself to also step out and face Rigel. The master had a calm expression as he did not show any reaction even after the two of them were discovered.


    "The two of you are really courageous toe up and eavesdrop," Mr. Cmented after the two young men stopped a few steps away from them.


    "What''s going to happen now? The Magus Maximus is already dead, the tower is in shambles and the capital is in chaos." Ezio looked at his master as he tried to grasp anything from him but the man remained unmoved.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes, the n was not followed but it still gave the effect that we wanted. I already have another n in mind, now all you need to do is go down the dungeon and retrieve some evidence we can use for my n." Cygnus''s eyes sparkled as if he had thought of a brilliant idea.


    Isaiah frowned because he had a feeling that something bigger would happen if they went through with what the man was saying. "Why don''t you go there yourself and grab the evidence you need? Why send the both of us when you are clearly capable of doing it?" He then looked at the butler who was clearly observing them.


    Cygnus stared at the young man for a few seconds before heughed. "You are one funny guy. Ever since I saw you, I couldn''t help but be intrigued. And to answer your question, I was tired after the fight with the magus so I needed to rest for a while."


    It was a lie, Isaiah knew it. If he was really tired, he shouldn''t be this energetic and he could feel that he was still overflowing with mana. Add to that the fact that he swallowed the magus''s mana core, so it was impossible that he was tired.


    "We wille backter then. Please wait for us master," Ezio nodded without hesitation. He did not even think twice because of the weird request the master asked.


    Isaiah''s mouth gaped in disappointment as Ezio agreed so easily without even questioning the man''s request. The moment that he said those words, everything that followed were already suspicious and yet Ezio ignored all of this. Before he could berate the guy, he and Ezio were transported to a dark corridor.


    They both looked around and found that the corridor was narrow, that it could only amodate one person at a time and that the walls were damp. He could smell the musty smelling from every direction, maybe because the ce was damp and molds had started to grow inside. Isaiah brought out a light orb and infused mana in it so that it can produce light.


    The moment that the light illuminated the ce where they were, he could only sigh because he was right. It was a long corridor that seemed to have no end. Ezio did not speak and started to walk forward. Isaiah had no other choice but to follow him from behind.


    They were silently following the path when Ezio stepped on something that was pressed down by his weight. Both of them froze then a rain of poisoned needles came out from the walls on both of their sides. Isaiah raised a shield to protect the both of them until there was nothing left from those needles.


    "Let''s be careful, it seems that from now on, we will surely encounter mechanical traps so be prepared." Isaiah warned after they were able to survive the first trap. Ezio did not answer but he started to be more careful on the ground.


    A few meters passed with not triggered traps and they could finally breathe a sigh of relief but something unexpected happened. As if there was a radar on the ce where they stood, an rm suddenly rang. The walls on both sides lit up with several magic circles that were drawn linked to one another. Isaiah immediately understood the spell that they activated but before he could warn Ezion, everything went ck.


    The light orb in his hand died as he was plunged into darkness. He looked around and tried to call out for Ezio but the other man did not answer. He stood there for a while because once he took a step, something else might happen.


    He debated with himself, before risking it all. He walked towards the general direction of where the corridor was leading. He continued to walk but after a couple of minutes he stopped. Nothing was changing from the looks of the illusion and he was not sure if he could find the door.


    While he walked, he could faintly hear crying from a distance. Since he was aware that he was inside an illusion, he did not let that faint sobbing distract him. He did everything he could to ignore every sound that he was hearing while walking.

 Chapter 186 A Test

    ?It became more difficult to walk forward as his body started to feel heavier and heavier as he continued to take a step forward. It felt as though there was something stopping him from reaching his destination. Isaiah looked behind him and was scared because of what he saw.


    Behind him was a clump of something ck that had multiple hands that were holding on to his clothes. The thing has neither a mouth nor an eye. There were only hands that were constantly grabbing at him.


    He tried to shake them off but it was proven to be difficult because when he was able to remove the hands that were stopping him the other limbs would take that chance to get a hold of him. Without any other choice, he used his magic.


    Lightning danced around the seemingly empty space and burned out the arms that were trying to pull him back. He then let the lightning spread as far as he could and he intensified their power. While he let his lightning run rampant, he heard something break and then the darkness that surrounded him disappeared.


    He blinked for a couple of times before he could finally focus on the corridor where they were trapped. Ezio was looking at him before he gestured for Isaiah to follow him. After that trap, no more traps were activated until they reached a steel door.


    They forcefully opened the door and as if they stepped inside it was as if they were transported into another world. The ce was enormous. There was arge space in the center of the dungeon where a magic circle was drawn. There were wires running down towards the circle and there were apparatuses connected to those wires.


    They looked around until they realized that it was not a dungeon but more like aboratory where experiments were being conducted. Isaiah noticed a dent on one side of the wall and when he pressed it, a door opened on the side. Ezio came from behind and with a tacit understanding, they entered the door only to be surprised and at the same time be disgusted by what they saw.


    That room was filled with cells and behind those prison bars were people. Ezio sawmps so he used his mana to light them up and everything became clear. The people in that ce were disfigured much like those who attacked the capital.


    There was only one difference between them and those who attacked was that, these people right now looked weak and on the verge of dying. Isaiah tried to talk to one of them but he received no response. They were all out of it.


    They were still confused as to what was happening when they heard a scream. It was not of fear but of utter pain. They looked around but saw nothing in that room so they both exited the room. The scream was a bit muffled but the both of them could still hear it.


    They followed the direction where the sound came from and came face to face with a wall. Ezio tapped the surface of the wall and in a stroke of luck he managed to find that one of the pieces that was used to build the wall doesn''t look right. It was a bit worn out and there were a bit of scratches on it while the other materials were not showing any signs of wear and tear.


    He pressed it and just like the other one, a door slid open. The scream became clear so they hastily entered the room only to see something that would remain in their memory for a very long time. There in the middle of the room was a woman tied on a table and around her were three mages that were injecting something into her.


    They saw how ck veins popped on her skin. Those veins were pulsating and every time a vein was formed, the woman would scream. Isaiah''s lightning hit the three mages and pinned them on the wall. Ezio walked up to the table and freed the bound woman.


    They tried talking to the woman but she was so out of it that her eyes were unfocused and she kept on mumbling words that they couldn''t understand. While they were busy looking after the woman, an rm rang loud and clear in the entire dungeon. One of the pinned mages managed to press a button that sounded the rm.


    Several doors slid open and mages came pouring out towards the room where Ezio and Isaiah were. They raised their hands with spells already aimed at them. Isaiah waste to react but Ezio was faster as he opened a gate where he pulled Isaiah.


    They exited behind the group of mages and Isaiah did not waste time as he summoned a magic circle above the mages followed by lightning falling down from the magic circle that was activated. The mages were hit hard as Isaiah did not hold back with that attack. After the first wave, another group of lightning fell down.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The mages that were hit twice with that lightning all fell to the ground, twitching. "What should we do with them?" Isaiah was panting as he sat on the ground after using too much mana.


    "Tie them up and present them to the people. This must be the evidence that the master needs." Ezio calmly walked towards the unconscious mages. "I just can''t believe that all of them would go down with that attack."


    After Isaiah caught his breath, he stood up and walked to where the mages were. Ezio was busy tying him up using the wires they were using for their experiments. He inspected them and shook his head followed by a sigh.


    "They are only ordinary mages. Most of them are novices. They must have been forced to work here in exchange for money." Isaiahmented after he took a look at them. He helped Ezio tie them up.


    Before he could ask how they should carry all of those people out, Ezio already summoned a gate that directly led outside of the tower. Isaiah stepped inside and he couldn''t help himself from being amazed. They then helped each other to transfer all of those mages using the gate.


    "What''s your rtionship with Rigel?" Isaiah did not forget to ask while they were moving the men one by one.


    "His name is not Rigel. You already heard that he was not a Ginehart," Ezio frowned at the other. "They all call him master but he has a name."


    Isaiah stopped moving and looked at Ezio. He already noticed that Ezio has this kind of reverence towards the man in question. He did not understand why Ezio was showing some kind of attachment to that person that he would be defensive. But he can''t just judge him based on that because he didn''t know anything about them.


    "Yes, I get it. I already heard his name. I was just wondering why you are being defensive right now? I was just asking about your rtionship to him because you seemed to know each other." Isaiah exined to ease the tension that was building up because of the topic.


    "That''s none of your business." Ezio did not want to answer him and talk to him any longer.


    "Cyg-" he stopped after the first syble as he felt blooding out from his mouth. He could also feel his vision getting a little bit blurry.


    Isaiah kneeled on the ground and coughed up blood. He was in that position for a full minute before he wiped his mouth and looked up at Ezio who only looked at him. Isaiah saw him shaking his head before he turned around to haul thest man.


    "What just happened?" Isaiah asked despite the difficulty he felt in speaking. He looked behind him at Ezio who just threw the man on the gate.


    "It means that you can''t say my name because if you do, you''ll die." Cygnus''s voice sounded behind Isaiah''s ear. "But for you to be still fully conscious after uttering that one syble means that you are quite talented."

 Chapter 187 A Deal

    ?Isaiah jumped back and kept his distance from the man. Now that he was showing his true colors, Isaiah felt ufortable to face him. He knew from the beginning that nothing good woulde out in associating himself with the man. If not for Major Linius, he would have distanced himself from the man.


    "Do you feel alright?" Cygnus tilted his head to the side with a small smile on his face like he was worried about him.


    Isaiah gulped before he gave the man an answer, "Yes, I am fine." He forced himself to stand straight to show him that he was really okay.


    "Alright. Actually, my name is cursed so I advise you not to carelessly mention it. Just call me Rigel or master like the others do," he grinned and waved at Isaiah.


    The young man frowned because he didn''t understand why the other was waving at him. He shook his head and took a step back. What he wanted right there and then was to leave the ce and for them to leave them alone.


    Cygnus stopped waving and narrowed his eyes. "Are you shy or afraid? Don''t worry I won''t do anything to you, soe here."


    The smile on the man''s face unnerved Isaiah and brought shudders to his core. All of his instincts were screaming at him to run away. He wanted to but his body refused to move, it was as if he was nailed to the ground.


    "I told you toe here," Cygnus''s voice went down a few notches and the hidden threat made Isaiah move.


    He refused but his body was moving on its own as he walked up to the man whose grin was from ear to ear. He could tell that the man was pleased with him but he on the other hand wanted nothing to do with this mysterious man and his entourage. His jaws were tightly clenched as he stood a few feet away from Cygnus.


    "You are too stiff. Ezio was not like that when I first met him. He was a kid who seemed to have no problems at all." Cygnus closed the distance between them then he circled around the young man a few times.


    He hummed while doing so and he was even looking him up and down before he finally stopped in front of Isaiah. "You really do possess that unique characteristic from those people," he was nodding his head before he looked back at his butler.


    "Master, what are we going to do with those people?" Ezio asked after he sessfully hauled thest man.


    He came back and saw that Isaiah was silently standing while staring at the master. He shrugged his shoulders and instead looked at the master. Cygnus pointed towards Mr. C who was already on the move to relieve the people inside the dungeon from the prison they were in. Ezio nodded as he left to help the butler.


    Isaiah was left behind with the master who was still looking at him with interest. "Now that you know who I am, I can''t just let you go and I''m a person who doesn''t believe in promises. I believe what I see."


    The young ckwell could understand the underlying meaning behind those words but he could still try his luck. "You can count on me that I won''t be telling your secret to anyone." He tried to bargain, "I will treat this incident like it never happened and forget about it. Just let me go."


    Cygnus shook his head with a smile stered on his face. "You know that I can''t do that. I do trust that you won''t go back on your word but I have a different concern. Those people will soon catch up to me and I need a person who can help me drive them away."


    A look of confusion appeared on Isaiah''s face because of what he said. He did not know how to answer the man because he didn''t know the reason why he was saying all of those things. He took a step back but he stopped when he saw the frown on Cygnus''s face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''m not negotiating with you. If you don''t agree with me, I have plenty of ways to make you bow to me." He became serious all of a sudden that Isaiah didn''t know how to react.


    He felt that everything was going too fast and that he couldn''t extricate himself from the events that were about to happen. He was not questioning himself if this was the right thing to do. To work for a person who could burn a person alive without blinking was not something he dreamt of doing.


    "Should we make this a deal then? The ckwell Dukedom is not doing well these days. ording to my information there''s a brewing civil war in that ce because many of the families under the dukedom are in conflict with Duke Ghad ckwell, especially when he is intending to name you as his heir." Cygnus divulged to him the information that the got from thework he created from his Vergessen bakeshop.


    Isaiah shut his eyes after hearing those words. He had a guess as to why he was suddenly sent to the capital and yet he did not dare to question his uncle''s decision. Now, his fears were confirmed. It was because those people were eyeing his uncle''s position even though he was not ready to step down yet.


    "If you agree to work for me, I can help you resolve your family''s conflict. I can make those people disappear. It''s not a bad deal, right?" Cygnusid out his proposal.


    His expression changed when he saw a crack on the young man''s resolve. He grabbed the opportunity and did not let Isaiah think about it any longer because he might reject his offer once again. Striking deals was better than forcing the other party to work for him.


    "What did you promise Duke Ginehart?" he then heard the young man ask.


    Cygnus chuckled, "To kill the people who burned his son alive. They hid him away in hopes of sparing him from the fight of power within his territory and yet in the end, that son still died. Even Linius agreed to help me because of them."


    This was a sign that Isaiah was already considering his offer. Once the deal between them would be settled, he would be able to rest easy for a while. He''ll just make sure that Isaiah would grow stronger, stronger than those people. He could also let Nina train him. That was a good n that he could immediately implement after Isaiah agrees.


    Isaiah''s mind was in overdrive as he continued to weigh the pros and cons of striking a deal with the man. He felt that there was not much difference from striking a deal with a devil. He raised his head and stared at the still smiling man. He was a devil.


    "If that''s all you want in exchange, then I''ll ept the deal as long as you can promise me that you can resolve the matter of the ckwells." Isaiah gritted his teeth as he let out a breath. He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before he could finally look at the master. "I will ept your offer."


    Cygnus pped his hands as he moved forward and sped the young man''s shoulders. "You chose the right choice. I will make sure that those people who wanted to stain the ckwells will pay with their lives. Just give me the go signal and I will go and destroy them."


    Isaiah shuddered at the threat because he knew that there was a chance that the other would go ahead and do whatever he said. He felt the master''s hand tightening his grip on his shoulder and giving him a seemingly warm smile. Cygnus finally let go and patted the young man''s back.


    "Now go outside and wait for the kingdom''s soldiers to retrieve those mages. Linius and Duke Ulysses will alsoe. Once they are all outside, we wille out with all the rescued people and my greatest y will begin."


    Isaiah turned around and watched as the man''s back disappeared in the shadows of that dungeon. He took a deep breath before he stepped out to wait for the people the master mentioned.

 Chapter 188 A Play

    ?There was a skip on the master''s steps after the deal with Isaiah ckwell was done. He was humming until he remembered that he forgot to tell him onest thing regarding their deal. Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and decided to just tell himter.


    He saw the butler and Ezio who were busy bringing out the people from the prison cells. Ezio had aplicated look on his face as he made sure that everyone had a nket on them. Mr. C also essed their storage and brought out some food and water to give to the rescued.


    They evenbed the whole ce just to make sure that they didn''t miss anything or anyone. After a while, Cygnus felt that the people they were waiting for were already on the scene. He gave the butler a nod and gave Ezio the go signal to open a gate.


    After the mess created by the attackers and the people who subdued them, Linius and the soldiers became busy with pacifying the people. They thought that everything was finished and then monsters suddenly appeared so they had no choice but to fight them all. Everything was chaotic because they did not know where those monsters came from.


    Linius on the other hand had an idea though but he had no intention of voicing it out. He was already worried about their territory when his father suddenly left using the gate and he did not want to add more pressure unto himself. He just focused on subduing the monsters and finishing it all.


    It took them hours to clean up and make sure that there were no stray monsters that escaped their grasp. He was finally relieved that everything was finished. They made another round just in case and he left soldiers to patrol the areas where the destruction urred.


    An explosion then caught their attention. The soldiers and all the civilians tensed because of the loud sound. Every pair of eyes in the capital shifted their gazes towards the direction of the tower where they saw two silhouettes of people that were fighting in the air. The sh of colors from the weapons and magic that those two people scared many of the people.


    Linius could already tell who the two were. Lieutenant Lisbon came running towards the major and made a report. ording to what their soldiers saw, the fight started in the highest level of the tower and luckily there were no deaths. The soldiers also promptly evacuated the civilians and wounded near the area.


    "I understand. I''ll leave you here for now then. I''m taking several soldiers with me. Rigel might be in a bind right now." Linius waved for several soldiers to go ahead of him before he gave a nod to the lieutenant.


    Ulysses, who was grateful that their territory was safe, returned to the capital just in time to witness the destruction of the tower. He left in haste towards the direction of the tower so that he could clearly see what was happening. Suddenly there was a dark dome that enclosed the highest part of the tower.


    He stopped on his tracks with a frown but after a couple of minutes the dome disappeared. There were also no signs of a fight breaking out once again. He then continued to ran and when he reached the tower, he saw his son looking down on a group of unconscious mages that were tied.


    He also saw Isaiah talking with Linius. Based on his gestures, he could tell that the young man was exining what happened and whatever he was saying, it must be something outrageous because his son''s face was showing anger. He finally reached where he stood and was shocked at what he heard.


    It turned out that the tied mages were performing illegal human experimentations beneath the tower and that the Magus Maximus knew about this. His eyes were wide as he looked at the young man as he exined the circumstances. Just in time, a gate appeared behind Isaiah where Ezio and Cygnus came out.


    They had solemn looks on their faces and Cygnus had scratches on his skin. He also looked unnaturally pale could make one worry because he looked like he was about to fall down. As he looked up, his eyes lit when he saw the duke and the major.


    "You''re here!" he eximed as his voice cracked by the end of it. He cleared his throat before he spoke again, "We managed to capture those bad guys and saved some people." He gestured behind him, "They''re inside."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Linius nodded to his soldiers and they went ahead to see if what the master was saying was true. They waited until one of the soldiers came out with a sickly thin woman in his hands. He slowlyid the woman on a cloth that one of the soldiersid on the ground before he stood up and whispered to the major.


    "What happened?" Linius asked Cygnus. "And why do you look like that?"


    "We found out that the attackers who attacked the city are people who are seeking revenge against the tower. They were people whom the tower kidnapped and did some nasty experiments on. At first, I didn''t believe what one of the attackers told us but when I confronted the Magus it turned out to be true. He did not deny it so in my fury I attacked him." Cygnus started to exin.


    Isaiah was appalled at the wordsing out from the man''s mouth. He gave the man a look of shock which to others was only a natural reaction to the news. The man was really good at acting.


    "Where is the Magus now?" Linius looked around but he did not notice anything amiss.


    Cygnus''s proud smile disappeared, "I-I''m apologized because he escaped. My power wascking as I am not able to pin him down. He even used that dome to trap us before he escaped."


    Ulysses stepped forward and ruffled Cygnus''s hair. "You shouldn''t worry about that. Now that we know that the tower had done some inhumane things, the magus will not survive inside the kingdom. I will report this to the king and ask him for an order to hunt that bastard."


    "Thank you, father," Cygnus sighed. "By the way father, what will happen to the tower now that the magus is a fugitive?"


    "All the mages of the tower will be investigated and if proven that they had a hand on these experiments, they will be executed. Once everything is settled, the tower will need a new tower master," Ulysses exined.


    As much as he hated the tower, that was mainly because of the people running it. Now that there was a chance for the tower to be reorganized, he would notin and even help in the restructuring of the tower. The kingdom cannot go on without a tower because without a tower, mages won''t have a ce to go and hone their skills.


    During that time, royal knights arrived together with the king himself. He looked around and was disappointed with what he saw. After the report came in, he rushed out of the pce just to confirm what was written on that piece of paper because he did not believe it. He did not believe that the tower could do that kind of thing.


    As much as he wanted to deny it, with all the evidence that the soldiers were taking out from the dungeon he did not have a choice but to relent. Duke Ulysses immediately approached the king. Cygnus stared at their direction as he was ushered to one side where he could rest together with Ezio and Isaiah.


    While they were talking with each other, Ulysses couldn''t help but gesture towards where they were sitting and Cygnus would catch the king giving them a look. He then understood that Ulysses might have already told the king about him fighting the magus.

 Chapter 189 A New Beginning?

    ?King Orpheus thought that the attack was simply a threat that they could weather. To think that it goes deeper, he could only shake his head in disappointment. Since the matter has blown out of proportion, he needed to personally appear.


    He carefully listened to Duke Ulysses''s summary of what happened and at the mention of the younger Ginehart, he couldn''t help but look at the young man a few times. A small doubt arose in his heart after hearing the duke''s exnation. He needed to talk with Rigel in person to fully understand what really happened.


    "Can I have a talk with Rigel?" He returned his gaze to the man who stopped talking when he noticed that he was not listening to him. This was his way of making sure that everything would go ording to his n.


    Ulysses frowned, "Why? I already exined the circumstances, why do you still intend to talk to my son?" He was not resolved to the fact that the king was still eyeing his son.


    "Duke Ulysses, is that the way to talk to the king?" General Ishmael Laudica reprimanded. He was ring at the duke but Ulysses was not fazed by it.


    "In this kind of situation, I am not a duke. So please call me by my title. The way I address the king doesn''t concern you." He also stared at the man. He was not about to back down just because the general was close to the king.


    In the whole kingdom, he was the only person that held two titles and General Ishmael knew that. He could only remain silent after those words even though he knew that Ulysses was using his status to shut him up. He averted his gaze and tightly closed his eyes.


    "Enough. I just want to rify some things with him." Despite the ring conflict between the two, the king remained silent.


    He was not about to get in the way of the two generals. It was not in his best interest to offend either of the two, especially Duke Ulysses. He chose to remain neutral and wait for the two of them to finish before he spoke.


    Despite his obvious difort, Ulysses couldn''t really stop the king from doing what he wanted. "Alright," he sighed and stepped to the side to give way to the king.


    Cygnus watched as the king, his father and one other man came to where they were resting. They stood up and bowed towards the king as they greeted him in unison. Orpheus waved his hand to let them stand and to cease all formalities for now.


    "General Ulysses already exined everything to me but I want to hear the clear ount from the people who were directly involved." The king looked at the three of them.


    Cygnus remained calm while Ezio only stared at the king. Isaiah on the other hand visibly tensed because unlike the master, he was not good at making excuses. His eyes avoided the king''s gaze as he looked for other things he should focus on.


    These reactions from the young ckwell did not escape the king''s eyes and even the look of awe on the face of Ezio made him secretly smile. What bothered him for a moment was theck of emotion from the young Ginehart even though he was giving them a smile.


    Orpheus decided to ignore it and focus on what was important right at that moment. He needed a clear understanding of all the events that transpired so far until he could settle the unease in his heart. The events made him ufortable, especially the discovery of the tower''s inhumane acts.


    "What do you want to know, your majesty?" Cygnus asked after a short silence between them.


    "How did you know that the tower is the one behind all of this?" He asked because clearly ording to the report he received that the attackers all died and during that time they did not see the young Ginehart approach anyone.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "As I have told my father, one of the attackers confessed to it. It was the one who attacked the tower but was killed by Archmage Celes; sadly even the archmage lost his life during the battle." Cygnus shook his head and sighed. He even covered his face with both of his hands before he looked at them again.


    The master continued to narrate what followed after that and for some reason the king and the general who were with him believed everything he said. Isaiah''s jaws dropped as he watched the charade happening in front of him. He looked at Ezio and he really didn''t care about it. His gaze shifted to the duke but the man ignored what was happening.


    What was happening before him was practically a sin against the king, the highest authority in the kingdom. He shuddered as he thought of what other things could the master do aside from manipting people with just using his words. After the master exined everything, the king left and did not even ask them any question.


    After they left, he heard the masterughing from behind. "Why do you look like you''ve seen a ghost? What, is this the first time that you are seeing a person talking to another one?"


    "What did you do to the king? He was clearly suspecting your story but after you talked to him, he epted all of it naturally. What did you do to manipte him?" Isaiah''s voice turned cold with his sharp gaze directed at Cygnus.


    "So you actually noticed it. You have sharp eyes. I only infused my words with mana as I was exining, easy as that." He did not even hide the fact that he actually did something and was even proud of it because of how wide his grin was.


    "How can you do that to the king? What if he discovers what you did?" Isaiah couldn''t help but raise his voice but when he noticed that eyes were starting to look their way, he backed down.


    "The king will never know what I did. How can a lowly human like him even know that I did something to him? Do not underestimate me and you are sounding more and more like that mage." The young ckwell was taken aback by how casual the man was with his own words and at how fast he could change the topic.


    He suddenly stood up and walked away from the scene. He was already tired and wanted to lie on a bed. Linius went after him and told him that a carriage was waiting for him and that they''ll take care of everything in the tower.


    Instead of returning to the arena where the other mages were, Isaiah was forced to go with Cygnus and Ezio who intended to return to the Ginehart mansion. Ulysses on the other hand was still talking with the king. He knew that the master had done something to the king but right at that moment he didn''t care.


    The matter of the tower wasn''t solved yet and he was sure that they would find more important things inside that once enigmatic ce. He didn''t know when but Cygnus already gave the information to Linius so all they needed to do was sweep through the whole ce and clean it thoroughly.


    "I suggest that we investigate all mages of the tower. I am not resolved to the fact that it was only the Magus Maximus who knew about those disgusting experiments, especially the elders who are still alive," Ulysses voiced his opinion.


    The king, who fell into a daze, after talking with Cygnus and when he heard the duke''s voice, he seemed to have returned to himself and readily agreed to the suggestion. He even told the duke that they should put up a wanted sign on every mages that were not in the tower. Ulysses looked at the king for a second before he nodded.


    After announcing the order from the king, all mages from the lowest rank to the highest were detained in the arena where most of them were staying. Linius then announced what happened to the Magus Maximus and the reason why they were detained. With the help of the royal mages that served the king, the interrogation went well and everyone who had nothing to do with those experiments were let go.


    They went through everyone and when they made sure that everyone had no knowledge about those experiments, they came to a conclusion that it was the elders and the Magus Maximus who were involved in the matter. Since almost all of the elders were dead, they released a wanted poster of the elders who were still alive.


    The city was locked down that night. Nobody was allowed to leave and a barrier that prevents teleportation was immediately set up around the capital city. Soldiers started to patrol around the city to make sure that the people were safe and so that they could keep an eye on anyone who was moving suspiciously.

 Chapter 190 Running Around

    ?In a secluded ce at the end of the slums inside the city inside a small and shabby house, a man opened his eyes and a grin appeared on his face. He slowly got up and inspected his newly acquired body. Everything was fine and he also had his mana core intact.


    He got out of bed and patted himself because he managed to escape that disaster. Now that he has a new body, it was time for him to acquire more power and wait for the right time for revenge. He would return and totally eradicate that person from the face of the world.


    The man looked around the house and found a cape that can cover his face and a pouch of gold coins that he had hidden. He then left the house and started to roam around the slums until he reached the exit that would send him to the heart of the city. Reconstruction already began so most of the people were busy and no one would pay attention to a shabby man like him.


    He walked around while listening to rumors and stories that were going around. That was how he learned that the tower was now under the control of Duke Ulysses Ginehart as the king assigned him to be the lead investigator of the matter regarding the tower. He also saw the wanted posters of the other elders who were with him.


    He shook his head, luckily he was already in a new body and everyone thought that he was dead. Since that was the case, there was no longer a reason for him to care about the tower or the other elders. Instead, he would live like amon person and wait until the kingdom opened the capital once again so he could leave.


    First, he needed to find information about that person and how he came to be the son of Ulysses Ginehart. There are people bound to know his identity. He was walking around when he saw a familiar face.


    He remembered that the woman was Ragus''s disciple and she imed that Rigel was a fake and that he was the one during their mission. They dismissed it as some nonsense so she was punished for the second time. Without hesitation, he approached the woman.


    Arean was so out of it that she lived in a daze for the past few days. Ever since the tower fell, she didn''t know where to go because her master and all the other high rank mages were held as prisoners by the royal knights. She looked around him and detested all those people who could smile like nothing happened.


    Every once in a while, she would go crazy and shout at all the people who were passing by. She even assaulted a civilian who happened to pass by during one of her tantrums. They did not report her and assumed that she was just crazy.


    "This is all because of that man, he was not supposed to be here. Why was he here?" She mumbled to herself as her hands went up to her head. Her hair was already in a mess and yet she didn''t care. "He is the cause of all of this. I will make him pay."


    "You are Arean from the tower, right?" A man appeared behind her and even patted her shoulder.


    To her surprise, she jumped away and looked at the man suspiciously. She looked at him from head to toe before she turned around in an attempt to leave. She wasbeled as crazy but not crazy enough to get close to a stranger.


    "Your master Ragus was such a talent. It was a shame that he is being detained right now." The man''s voice was deep and calm but there was a certain confidence in there, like he knew what he was saying, that made Arean stop. "We can save your master, just tell me what you know about Rigel Ginehart."


    At the mention of that name, something was triggered inside the woman. She suddenly became hysterical and started to mumble iprehensible words but the man waited patiently. That name must have been something she did not want to hear.


    "He is not a Ginehart. It is impossible. He is simply a bakeshop owner but he suddenly appeared in the capital. Is it because we took Ezio away that''s why he is here for revenge?" With only those words the man could already grasp relevant information.


    Rigel came from Moonvale and apparently, he knew that kid Ezio. They must have been acquaintances so there was a big chance that Ezio knew everything about him. If the man really traveled to the capital for revenge, he should have done it without posing as part of the Ginehart.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    There must be something more about it. If he needed to know then he must approach Ezio or anyone from the duke''s manor. The first was difficult because the child was hard pressed on not talking. On the other hand, thetter option was viable.


    He gave the woman onest look before he turned around to leave but his sleeves were suddenly pulled back. Arean saw that the man was about to leave so held onto him. She told him information so he should help her free her master.


    "Where are you going? You told me that you will help me to free my master?" Arean looked so pitiful but the man forcefully pulled the pushed the arm that was holding his coat.


    "I will do that but maybe in the future. There''s no use in freeing those people so why don''t you give up?" The man answered coldly. He patted his coat and coldly stared at the woman.


    He was about to leave when he remembered something. The man looked around and when he was sure that there were no other people around, he walked towards the woman. He crouched down to look the woman in the eye.


    "I will help you so don''t worry about it." He held the woman''s neck and with his free hand he stabbed through the woman''s stomach. "How foolish."


    He grinned at the woman as he pulled out a blue mana core. He was mesmerized by the glow that it was giving off and after admiring it for a while, he ate the core. He did not think twice in swallowing the core which gave him a sudden surge of strength.


    He sighed and took deep breaths as he felt the mana that started to course through his body. He had his head up as he savored the taste of power that he gained from consuming a mana core. The man looked down at both of his hands before he burst out intoughter.


    "So that man was not lying. Consuming mana core can make you stronger." He raised both of his hands with hisugh that continued to echo in that empty alley.


    He remained in that position for a while longer before he had enough and left. As far as he could remember, that brat had a bakeshop that he was proud of. With a definite destination, the man set out as he easily forgot what he had done.


    The body of Arean caused amotion that very same day as some passerby discovered it. Royal Knights came just in time to disperse the crowd that gathered in the scene. Linius was also there to take a look at it.


    The state of the body was a bit gruesome as there was an open wound on the woman''s stomach and that something was clearly taken out. They inspected the surrounding area but found no evidence that could give them a clue as to who killed the woman. One of the royal knights who was crouching beside the body stood up and looked at the major.


    "What is it?" Linius approached him. He took a short nce at the body before focusing on the royal knight.


    "Her mana core is missing." This was something unexpected.


    "So, it was not a simple death," he shook his head and sighed. They already had so much stuff on their te and now something like this happened.

 Chapter 191 What To Do?

    ?He sighed and looked up at the sky because of what was happening. The city just survived a near destruction experience and now they''re about to face a maniac who takes somebody else''s core. If they don''t solve this now, the city will fall into chaos once again.


    "What should we do now?" The royal knight asked after the major did not speak.


    "First, clean the ce. After that we will release an official statement to ease the people. I will also form a group to hunt the criminal who did this." Major Linius rubbed his head while giving his instructions.


    The royal guard nodded to the others. They promptly emptied and vacated the scene and after that an announcement was released. The people, who were yet to recover from the attack, felt a bit relieved after reading the announcement. Patrols throughout the capital was also doubled because of the incident.


    During the time of rehabilitation, Cygnus remained in the manor with not much to do well, aside from taking care of the dark child. His decision was opposed but at the end he still had thest say. The employees of the manor also returned to their work.


    Once everyone returned to their work another problem appeared. Four pairs of eyes stared at each other in the manor''s living room. William returned with the workers only to be shocked at the people whom he saw. It was natural for Rigel to be in the manor but for Ezio and Isaiah to be there as well was a rare sight.


    He looked at them in confusion and when Rigel''s butler appeared together with another one more person, his confusion reached another level. Added to that a child in the arms of the man who came with the butler. This standstill was what met Ulysses after he finally finished up at the Magic Tower after many days of working there to get the investigation rolling.


    This scene was something the duke wouldn''t forget. It took them several exnations before William finally epted everything. During this time, Lindon also came to visit them and show his concern even though his presence was not weed. He even did it when the duke and the major wasn''t around.


    They could tell that he wanted to throw his weight around but with William and Isaiah in there, he kept it to minimum. Even though he was close to the crown prince, he was still mindful of his surroundings. He smiled and talked with the two of them while clearly ignoring Cygnus and Ezio who were with them in the room.


    "What a cunning bastard," William red at the carriage that carried Lindon. "I really hope that the duke will kick him out of the house already."


    They spent their days in the manor and then the news of Arean dying and losing his mana core reached them. Cygnusughed at the news which made the entire room silent. They were currently in the living room and having a snack when the news arrived.


    "Ah, he is finally making a move. What should we do?" He leaned back and look at the people in the room with him but they were all silent. "Then I should let him be for now and catch himter. I''ll let him experience power before I take it all from him. Oh wait, if he takes more mana core, he''ll surely explode."


    His crispughter dominated the entire room. Ezio was already used to it while Isaiah was getting used to it and on the other hand William was still adjusting to it. The room was a mix of reaction and it was quiteical.


    After that short intermission, they all went their own way. Cygnus on the other hand visited the base where the dark child was being taken care off. He entered one of the buildings and saw that the dark child was silently sitting on one of the corners.


    "How is he?" Cygnus aske Leif who was in-charge of overseeing the kid.


    "Well, nothing is wrong with him. He''s just a bit aloof and doesn''t really speak so we can''tmunicate with him. Although, he wille for every meal so we don''t have a problem in that area," Leif exined.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He was already used to seeing the man in the base. Major Linius explicitly told them that aside from him, they should listen to his brother. They had no objections regarding this matter since the man was reasonable and he didn''t visit a lot well except now that there was a reason for him to visit.


    "That''s good to know." Cygnus nodded, then he looked at the child once again. He was now a lot different from the first time they saw him, he looked more human.


    "If I may ask, does he have a name? it is a bit tiring to keep on calling him child," Leif asked. They don''t know what to call him that''s why they kept on calling him child or just in he.


    "Ah, yes that''s quite a problem. Let me think for a while." Cygnus started to pace for a while thinking of a name. He was not good at giving names so it took him a while to finally think of one. "Let''s just call him Vain."


    He left after he gave the child a name. Leif looked back at the child and approached him. "Sir Rigel has given you a name, from now on we will call you Vain."


    He returned to the manor and ran into Linius who just came back from the crime scene. They stared at each other for a moment before Cygnus shook his head andughed. The re and serious look on the man''s face became the norm of the manor and he knew that it was directed at him.


    "When will you stop looking at me like that?" Cygnus crossed his hands on his chest with his brows raised. "Are you still angry because of what happened?"


    "If you take innocent lives like it is nothing, I cannot ept that. You''ve done it during the dragon incident and now you did it again. Do you n on letting the culprit run around again?" Linius was not happy with how things turned out.


    He was patient and tolerant even after knowing how the master was but he couldn''t take it any longer. Innocent lives were getting caught up in the fight that the master was leading and he did not care about them. He knew that the man didn''t know how to show mercy but it was beyond what he could tolerate.


    Cygnus sighed as his gait changed. "I''ve told you many times before major, you don''t get to lecture me or tell me what I should do. Aren''t you happy that the tower you despised so much is now in shambles and disarray?"


    He walked up to Linius and patted his shoulder. He then gripped it hard as he leaned forward with his face close enough to feel the major''s breath. He narrowed his eyes before tilting his head to the side.


    "You are under me, beneath me and can''t bepared to me. I gave you what you want but you don''t get to dictate me because right here right now I can kill everyone including thosembs in yournd. I have no qualms in restarting that ancient spell to kill them all so I''m warning you to be careful of your words." He stepped back and snapped his fingers in front of Linius''s face.


    Cygnus turned around and started to walk away while Linius fell down on his knees as he clutched his chest. He was having a difficult time taking in air and he could taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He finally fell down on the cold hard floor and after a few seconds he was able to breathe once again.


    Heid on the floor and let the coldness of it calm him down. Linius was under pressure and stress that he was not able to hold himself back fromshing out. The master has warned him several times and he already knew how the master works. He was just stupid to take it all out in the wrong person.

 Chapter 192 Schemes

    ?Linius calmed down after lying down on the cold floor. He stood up and straightened himself. It was time for him to work instead of thinking too much about everything. He needed to have an audience with the king too.


    The major left the manor and was granted a meeting with the king. He knocked on the door of the study and was given permission to enter. The door was pushed open and when he entered, he greeted the king.


    "What brought you here, major?" The king stopped what he was doing to face the major. He ced down the pen he was holding and folded his hands on the table.


    "I want to ask for your permission, your majesty. It is regarding the case of a mage who lost her life and mana core." He started and the king urged him to continue. "Since your Royal Mages are busy with the investigation of the matter of the tower, I would like for you to approve and permit my Mage Brigade to help me investigate the matter of the missing mana core before any other victims show up."


    Orpheus was taken aback by the sudden request especially because the major actually has a mage brigade that he was hiding from them. His eyes narrowed as he thought for a while, if he would give the man the permission then his power would only increase but if he did not allow it the major might hold a grudge against him. It took him a whole five minutes before he made a decision.


    "I will give you the permission but it is not permanent. If your Mage Brigade performs well, I''ll consider establishing them as a recognized brigade but if they fail, you should disband it," Orpheus finally answered.


    He then gestured for his secretary to draft a written agreement. This was already enough for Linius because he would make sure that this brigade would prove that they were capable. He epted the agreement and signed it before giving it to the king. He watched as the king also signed the agreement.


    Major left the pce and went straight to the base where he gathered the Mage Brigade under Leif. He briefed them of their first official mission. The major also told them about the agreement he signed with the king as he emphasized that they should give it their best if they wanted to be recognized as part of the military.


    "How annoying," Nina eximed after the briefing. "Why do we need to go through all these just to get recognized? I bet the king is only afraid that you''ll gain more power that''s why he made that agreement."


    "Nina, please watch your words¡­" Leif gave the woman a look that told her to shut up but the woman was not fazed by it.


    "What? It''s the truth anyways so why stay silent because of it? Besides, I can say whatever I want because this ce is not within the kingdom''s rule." Nina returned the re. She was only stating her opinion and there was nothing wrong with it.


    "Enough of that, focus on the mission and catch the person responsible for the crime." Linius pped the table to get everyone''s attention. The room fell silent as they continued to listen to the rest of the details from the major.


    The Mage Brigade left the base in groups in order to carry out the investigation. Every corner of the kingdom was inspected but the first day was proven to be futile. They found no traces of the culprit they were looking for.


    The magus who had transferred to another body and killed Arean got wind of the Mage Brigade that were looking around for him. He gritted his teeth and cursed. "It was only a single victim and yet they sent mages to go after me but I won''t let them catch me," he mumbled to himself as he waded his way through the crowd of people.


    This time he was dressed cleanly and he was nothing like the person who killed Arean so he was safe. He walked around like a normal person while looking for anyone he could kill. If he wanted to take revenge against that man, he needed the power to do so.


    He walked all the way through the crowd until he reached his destination. He stood from afar and watched as people lined up to enter the bakeshop. The magus red at the offending structure before he set out to also enter the ce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He needed to know everything about his enemy before he could fully exact his revenge. He couldn''t afford to be careless. The man reached the end of the line and patiently waited before it''s his turn to enter the establishment.


    Inside the bakeshop was very warm and there were people looking around for pastries they should buy. There were also a decent number of workers, just enough to cater to the number of people inside the bakeshop. He lingered around while slowly looking at the disyed pastries before he decided to buy a bag of cookies.


    He was ushered out after he paid but he was disappointed because he learned nothing from the shop. He let his magic sense roam the ce but everything was normal. It was only a normal bakeshop. He clenched his jaws and gave the ce onest look before he left.


    A pair of eyes watched as the man walked away. He reported to the butler after the man left and Mr. C instructed them to keep an eye on him if he ever visited them again. The employee who reported gave a curt nod before he left the office on the second floor of the bakeshop.


    Since he couldn''t enter the Ginehart Manor that easily and he did not have his original power, he could only stake out inside the manor to look for an opportunity to sneak in. As he waited, he would also go around and snatch mana cores from unsuspecting people. This time he became smarter and hid the bodies so that no one would be able to find them.


    This went on for a week and the Mage Brigade was bing more and more anxious because until now they haven''t made any progress yet. Then another bomb was dropped into theirps. A number of corpses were discovered in an abandoned house in the slums where no one usually passes by.


    If not for the patrols straying away, they wouldn''t discover the ce. Like the first victim all of them were missing their mana cores. There were no other fatal injuries and the cause of death was the loss of blood from the wound where the mana core was taken. Because the bodies were found in the slums, the news of it didn''t spread to the rest of the capital.


    The king was furious when he received the news. He was displeased with how slow the investigation was going. He even approved of the Mage Brigade to be used and yet there was no progress even after a week.


    "Your majesty, please calm your anger. Isn''t this good? If the Mage Brigade fails, they would be disbanded and the failure of the investigation, you can put all the me on Major Linius." The king''s secretary bowed as he said those words.


    Orpheus calmed down after a while because his secretary was right. It was the very reason why he let the major sign that agreement. It would be good if they failed that way, he could assign his royal mages to take over the case. If they couldn''t find the culprit, they could just arrest anyone of interest.


    He closed his eyes and took deep breaths before opening them again. "Keep an eye on the investigation and make sure that they will not have the chance to find any clue regarding the case. Once they fail, I will use my royal mages to investigate the case to pacify the people."


    The secretary bowed and waved at one of the royal guards inside the room. The guard gave the king a bow before he left. The king continued with his work before he remembered something.


    "How about the Hero Association, any word or movement from them?" He stopped writing and waited for his secretary to answer.


    "They haven''t shown any movements for now. They are currently focusing on helping the people with the rehabilitation," the secretary duly answered.


    "The president of the association is a sly fox, please continue to monitor them."

 Chapter 193 Trap

    ?The magus could feel the power overflowing inside of him because of the mana cores he had consumed. Now he was confident that he could challenge that man once again. He just needed the right timing to execute it.


    After staying outside of the Ginehart manor for days, he finally had a grasp on when and where Rigel would go. He only had his butler with him whenever he went out and he believed that he could take on the man. He was ovee with the delusion that he could beat the man because of the brimming power he had.


    He patiently waited for Rigel to leave the manor that day. He waited behind a building that was near the gate of the manor and just after lunch, he saw the carriage that the man always used. He stalked the carriage and saw that it went to the bakeshop. Rigel stepped out and went in to check on things.


    The magus waited until the man left the bakeshop and followed them again. He also noticed that Rigel was alone and that his butler was not with him. He smiled in victory because this was now his chance.


    The carriage passed by a pretty deserted street and the magus took this chance to attack. He jumped out from where he was hiding with his fist covered in red swirling mana. The roof of the carriage broke into pieces at the impact of the fist. The magus jumped back after the carriage stopped and waited for the man toe out.


    "I didn''t expect you to personallye and look for me," Cygnus stepped down from the now destroyed carriage.


    "That''s because I won''t let you go. I''ll make sure that you''ll die today," the magus answered while he wasughing.


    "I think you''ve be a bit delusional Magus Maximus. How can you defeat me when you are too weak?" Cygnus disappeared from where he was and appeared above the magus.


    His fist was covered in a red swirling mana that he used to punch the magus but he was able to dodge. Cygnus''s fist caused the ground the crack and shake but the magus wasn''t daunted. Instead, heunched himself and gave the master several straightforward jabs followed by a kick.


    All of his attacks were packed with mana and each punch also created a swishing sound every time he released them. His attacks were so fast and powerful that the surrounding building and ground had holes in them. Cygnus dodged the other punches and intercepted the others but this only caused him to be pushed back and cough blood.


    Cygnusughed and wiped the blood on his lips before spitting out the remaining blood in his mouth. "Those are powerful punches. You''ve gotten stronger indeed but that''s not enough to defeat me."


    A gate appeared on the side where he dipped his hand and when he pulled back, he was now holding a scythe. It was simr to the one that the Magus used before the only difference was that the weapon was ranked as Mythical. He then infused his mana on the weapon and waved it several times that it even created several mirages.


    "Now, let''s see how long you can defend against me." Cygnus waved his weapon as it created an arc of ck and red that went straight towards the magus.


    The magus slid down to avoid the attack and when he looked back, the attack actually cleanly cut through a building. He looked at the man and gritted his teeth. He won''t admit defeat no matter what happens.


    The magus started to circte mana inside his body which caused his muscles to bulge up to the point that even the veins were showing. The change in his body size was clear as day and his eyes were almost red. Cygnus smiled and twirled the scythe in his hand.


    He looked at the man with a smirk before he broke into a run and once again waved his scythe towards the magus who transformed. A shield appeared in front of the magus which took all the impact of the scythe. The magus then ran forward and met Cygnus.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    His shield and the scythe''s end connected which created a wave of mana energy that spread through the area and damaged the surrounding buildings. The ground beneath their feet cracked and created a hole but none of them stepped back.


    The explosion caught the attention of the people nearby. Some went to take a look out of extreme curiosity while the others chose to turn a blind eye and left the ce. They didn''t want to get caught in an unnecessary disaster.


    Cygnus noticed that there were more and more peopleing to see the fight and he estimated that the patrols woulde anytime. He looked at the man and made his decision. He released a quarter of his mana which easily overpowered the magus and sent him flying.


    The master flew towards the man and gave him a smirk, "See? I already told you that you won''t be able to defeat me."


    His taunt made the magus angrier. He released a roar that conjured the wind that made Cygnus step back a few times. He also covered his eyes because there was dirt and dust flying around. Before he could even open his eyes, the magus came flying towards him and gave him a heavy punch.


    Cygnus flew back and hit one of the buildings. He wasn''t able to recover when he felt a presenceing his way so he used his scythe to block the fist that was full of fury. A chip appeared on the weapon and the magus grinned when he saw this.


    He punched again which made the crack on the scythe spread and on the third punch, the scythe finally gave in and for the second time Cygnus was punched. Hended heavily on the stone ground as he tried to catch his breath. The magus came looming as he stared at him down.


    "You are so arrogant but that arrogance will disappear now." Several shining mana cores appeared out of thin air andnded on the magus''s hand. "With these cores, you won''t be able to escape from me." He swallowed all the cores in his hand in one go.


    The air around them stirred and the small stones and wall pieces from the destroyed building started to float. Cygnus looked as the man''s body started to growrger and the veins on his became the color of blood. His eyes were now red like that of a demon''s.


    "Get away from him, he''s about to go berserk!" Linius''s voice echoed through the ce as he was running towards where Cygnus was lying.


    Without wasting time, Cygnus tried his best to stand up and leave but before he could do it, the magus''srge hand caught him and started to squeeze him hard. The master gasped for air as the man''s hold on him tightened every second. Linius did not hesitate tounch himself towards the monster.


    The majornded on the man''srge arms and stabbed it using his sword. The monster roared as his grip on Cygnus loosened. Linius jumped off the hand and caught the master in his arms before running towards a safe ce. The Mage Brigade appeared just as Liniusid Cygnus on the ground.


    Cygnus coughed several times and when he blinked his eyes, he saw Linius with a frown on his face. "That frown would make me think that you are actually worried about me."


    "Stop and just tell me what happened?" Linius was indeed worried. This was not the first time that he had seen the man all beaten up but the situation was different now because he was acting as his brother.


    Cygnus chuckled because these people around him often forgot that he could read their minds and it amuses him every time he could know what was on their minds. He shook his head before he weakly answered, "He''s the mana core stealer."

 Chapter 194 Self Destruction

    ?At those words, Linius couldn''t help but frown and take another look at the monster that was rampaging. He then again looked at Cygnus who was breathing hard and sighed. He stood up and signaled for one of the soldiers to look after him.


    The monster was battling Nina and Lieutenant Leif while the other members of the brigade were in charge of making sure that the damage would be kept at minimum. The soldiers were busy evacuating the people and making sure that none of them would be able to sneak in.


    Nina wasughing while continuously attacking the monster who had a shield around him. She was constantly summoning magic bombs that wouldn''t let the monster have time to attack. Leif wasn''t falling behind in giving additional damage to the monster. His earth magic was particrly powerful with all the pointed pieces of rock that were flying around.


    The magus who turned into a monster was nearing his limit and at that moment, the power from all the mana cores he had consumed converged into his and it exploded. The convergence of the different magic created a wave of energy that knocked back the Leif and Nina even the mages who were maintaining the barrier around the area were affected.


    Even the ground shook because of how strong the magic power was. Dust and dirt filled the ce and before any of them could recover from the impact, the magus was already above Nina with his fist raised in the air. The mana energy that was covering his fist was now in the color of ck and it has some sparks of lightning within it.


    Nina raised a shield above her to stop the attack but when the fist connected with the shield, it cracked together with the ground below Nina. She felt the impact of that punch travel through her body and causing some internal injury which made him spat out blood. The magus raised his fist once again and hit the shield for the second time which finally broke it.


    A boulder flew through the dust and hit the monster before his fist couldnd on Nina. Leif appeared and pulled Nina as he retreated away from the enemy. They got out of the swirling dust and stayed on the sides where he carefullyid Nina. He looked at the woman and gritted his teeth because of her condition.


    "How is she?" Linius appeared beside Leif. He gave the woman a short nce before he looked forward.


    "He got her badly. I suspect internal damage," Leif reported. His eyes were still focused in front where the enemy could appear anytime.


    "All right," Linius nodded. He held the hilt of his sword and was ready to attack whenever the enemy appeared.


    "So, who is this guy?" Leif was clenching and unclenching his fists as the rocks around them started to float above them.


    "ording to my brother, he is the culprit to the deaths involving mana cores." Linius''s hand tightened on his sword as he felt movement from behind the already subsiding cloud of dust.


    "We''ve been patrolling for several days now and yet we didn''t find him and now he suddenly attacked in broad daylight?" Leif''s jaws clenched and his eyes were narrowed towards the front.


    "He must have thought that he is already powerful enough to kill anyone that will try to stop him." Linius took a deep breath and a shadow finally appeared followed by the monster that was running towards them.


    Both of the monster''s hands were coated with the same mana energy that he used to attack Nina. Leif made the first move, he raised his hand that was resting on his side and opened his clenched fist. The rocks that were silently floating around them flew towards the enemy to reduce his momentum and at the same distract him. Linius who was standing beside the lieutenant dashed towards the enemy using the rocks as a cover.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He unsheathed his sword and shed towards the monster''s foot. The sword created a deep gash which caused the monster to lose its bnce and heavily fell on the ground. Leif saw this as an opportunity and materialized a boulder above the monster which he motioned down.


    The monster raised his arms to catch the boulder and push it away from him. Leif was already breathing heavily as he tried his best to crush the enemy with the boulder but he was having a difficult time. He was gritting his teeth and he could feel that his body was about to give up.


    Linius gritted his teeth as he could feel the power of the master''s blood in his system. His hands that were gripping the sword tightened then heunched himself towards the enemy and cut through his barrier and unto his other feet. The monster was sent fully kneeling on the ground. Linius did not stop from inflicting injuries to the enemy.


    His movements started to speed up until only his shadow could be seen. Several cuts appeared on the monster''s body as ck blood started to ooze out. The monster roared in pain and in the blink of an eye, the boulder was crushed and he was already gripping Linius in his hand.


    "Major!" Leif shouted when he saw the sudden turn of events. It happened so fast that he had no time to save the major.


    He stood up even with his unsteady feet. He channeled a spell which appeared below the monster and rocks with pointed ends blossomed from the magic circle which sessfully trapped the enemy for a while. He wanted to step forward and pull the major away but his feet suddenly gave up.


    The monster''s arm abruptly exploded then Leif saw Ninaunching herself towards the monster with magic circles ready on her hand. Shended on the monster''s head then she touched its eyes and with a short incantation she jumped away. Followed by her escape, the monster''s eyes exploded.


    His grip on the major loosened. Linius used that chance to free himself and alsounched an attack. Hended on his feet then he bent down as he gathered force on his feet and used that to propel him upward. He then channeled that momentum to his hands that were gripping his sword.


    In that moment, his sword gave out a silver glow. He then shed it downward and sessfully cut off the monster''s hand. A howl came from the monster followed by the shattering of the rocks that were holding him down.


    Nina jumped away and so did Linius. After he got his bnce, he attacked once again with his sword that was still covered in a silver light. Nina followed behind as she tried to touch the monster. Every part she touched would explode.


    They could feel that the enemy was already at its limit too so they persevered and did not stop. The Mage Brigade saw that the enemy was getting overwhelmed so they also attacked using ranged magic attacks. They only needed a little bit more time and the monster would already fall but at thest moment, Nina felt a vibration very simr to her bombs before they blew it.


    "Major, retreat!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Retreat!" She waved her hands at the mages for them to back out. "He''s about to explode!"


    At that moment Linius detoured and turned back, he looked for a ce where he could hide then he remembered Cygnus. He went straight to where he was just as the entire ce was covered in a ck blinding light followed by a very powerful explosion that destroyed all of the building within a fifty-meter radius.


    The soldiers and bystanders who were yet to evacuate were all caught up with the sudden explosion. The people who were faraway still felt the aftershock brought by the st as they all looked towards the direction of where the loud sound came from. It was once again a disaster as nothing was left of the monster whose body exploded.

 Chapter 195 Is It The Truth?

    ?The whole area was almost ttened after the explosion. Linius shook his head a couple of times before the ringing in his ear stopped and vision cleared. When he looked up, he saw a red barrier surrounding him and in front of him was Cygnus. His gaze then wandered around and what he saw made him close his eyes.


    The red dome slowly disappeared as the master slumped on the ground. He used the dome to protect the two of them from the explosion then he appeared weak after it. Linius couldn''t understand why the man was still acting when no one was there to see them.


    "Did you know about this?" He sat down and couldn''t help but ask the man. He was sure that the attack was not random and that it was nned.


    "That''s how greedy people end up. I just told him that consuming mana cores can extend one''s life, he went ahead and consumed more than he can bear. What a stupid person." Cygnus chuckled while shaking his head.


    "What do you mean?" He was once again speaking in circles and Linius couldn''t understand what he was saying.


    "That man was the former Magus Maximus. He did not die because he had a way of transferring his soul to a body. Actually, he had already lived a thousand years just like me. That''s how he maintained his seemingly eternal life and I merely suggested that swallowing mana core would really make him immortal." The master''s mockingugh sounded in the area. It was bone chilling but Linius ignored it.


    "Why didn''t you kill him back then? Why did you let him roam around and kill several people?" This kind of logic was something he would never understand.


    "Major," Cygnus turned his face a little enough for the major to see one side of the master''s face, "letting him free and letting him experience the power were all part of the n."


    The smirk on his face made the major avoid his gaze, "I don''t really understand your way of thinking."


    "That''s because you haven''t experienced the joy of seeing your enemies dying by your own hands. Why don''t you try it in the future, it is oddly satisfying especially if you y with them first before finally plunging the knife deep into their flesh as you watch their blood flow out." Cygnusughed before grinning from ear to ear.


    Linius couldn''t help his body''s reaction whenever he saw how cruel the master was. He was stoic in nature and he wouldn''t feel fear that easily but after meeting the master, his view of the world started to change. He shook his head to remove the mental image from his mind before he finally stood up.


    "If not for that damn contract, I would have reported you myself." Linius was clear that he was helping the person with his acts of murder even though he knew that no investigation can prove that the man was the instigator of everything that happened so far. He could also consider himself a criminal right now just because of that.


    Cygnus suddenly became curious as to how the major would respond if he told him the truth. "What if I tell you that it was because of revenge? You see I learned something from our encounter and due to anger I tortured him by burning him alive and letting him escapeter on watching him explode because of his own stupidity?"


    Linius stopped on his tracks at the master''s sudden words. "What kind of grudge have you been holding on to? Besides, why would you do an act of revenge against the Magus Maximus? Did you know him?"


    He did not look back and just waited for the master to answer. He was afraid that once he looked back, he would believe whatever the master would say. Linius needed his mind clear if he wanted to judge the master''s next words objectively.


    Cygnus also stood up, "You know, I also found out something interesting, that I met that man a thousand years ago when they hunted my family down and burned them all alive."


    Linius didn''t move. He couldn''t believe what he was saying. Why would they be hunted down and burned alive? Linius was suddenly confused.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "That''s why I couldn''t just let him go. I wanted him to suffer." Cygnus added as he took a step forward. "He deserved it."


    Linius shuddered involuntarily before he tightly shut his eyes. After he was able to calm himself, he left without uttering a word. He did not know how to react to what the master had revealed and unintentionally, he understood one piece of information from those words and that was, the master was from this world.


    If his enemies from a thousand years ago could live or have the possibility of still being alive, he was afraid that their world would soon be plunged into chaos, not only their kingdom but all the other kingdoms would surely suffer. He walked fast as he forced himself to focus on the task at hand and let the master''s words be forgotten for a while.


    The master silently watched as Linius walked away without saying a word. He then chuckled and went to follow the man. Several soldiers also arrived and helped them to see if there were survivors. They walked around and saw several shields in the distance.


    Leif and some of the mages survived because of the timely barrier they conjured. Even Nina was also safe together with the people who were near her during the explosion. Sadly, some of the mages died and even the soldiers who were there to help them also ended up dead.


    There were also civilians that were caught up with the st. Ulysses arrived at the scene only to sigh; he then looked around. There were already tents on the ce where they were treating all the wounded and that was where Linius and Cygnus were. They were both being treated for their injuries together with the other soldiers and mages.


    "I heard that the person who appeared here was the mana core stealer," Ulysses stood in front of his two sons with a serious look on his face.


    "Yes, he tried to take my mana core but I managed to deter him but then he suddenly went berserk. I even saw him eating several mana cores at the same time." Cygnus ignored the look that Linius was sending his way.


    "If that''s the case, it''s good that that monster is dead. Although we have casualties, there''s nothing we could do about those but to onlypensate their families and offer them our condolences. The two of you rest for a while, I''ll take care of the other matters." Ulysses was busy with the investigation of the tower but he couldn''t let his sons handle the matter when they were clearly injured.


    Linius nodded and after staying for a while, the duke finally left to attend to matters that needed his attention. The brothers were then sent home and were banned to work or do anything for the time being. Ulysses also promised them that he would take care of the king.


    "What you said out there, are they the truth?" Linius finally asked after they went home. Both of them were currently resting on one of the private lounges inside the manor.


    Cygnus looked him in the eye, "Yes. I would never lie about these things. I even forcefully essed Ari''s files just to remember that day."


    "What are you going to do now?" He asked after a moment of silence. "Are you going to seek revenge on everyone who has done you wrong?"


    "What do you think, major? Should I let them go?" Cygnus tilted his head to the side with a smile on his face. It looked like the matter didn''t bother him at all even though in reality, his mood became unstable after the incident at the Mage Tower.


    "I think that you are going to kill them all and perhaps include the destruction of this world."

 Chapter 196 Interlude

    ?Cygnus did not expect that kind of answer from the man. For him to say those words, he couldn''t imagine what his current image was in the major''s mind. He pped his hands and nodded towards the man.


    "You have a good insight." Cygnus praised him and even stood up to pat the other''s shoulder.


    "It''s an educated guess but I just hope that it won''t happen." Linius looked at him with a serious expression on his face.


    "If I were you, you should start preparing for it because if I was really from this world and all of those memories happened in here, I might snap one day and decide to just end it all." Cygnus leaned down and whispered into his ear. "You should be ready."


    The aftermath of the battle against the mana core stealer was handled by Ulysses and he was also the one who reported it to the king. Orpheus was relieved that the culprit was finally killed even though there were casualties during the process. Ulysses also took that chance to talk about the proper recognition of the Mage Brigade under Major Linius.


    Aside from that, the king also brought forward the matter regarding the major''s promotion to General which the duke happily epted. Orpheus then issued a royal edict and directly handed it to Ulysses. They also set a date as to when the major will be formally promoted.


    Ulysses returned to the manor in good spirits as he handed the edict to Linius. Several pair of eyes stared at the golden scroll containing the king''s words. The major slowly opened the scroll for everyone to see.


    Gasps were heard after they read what was on the scroll. William was especially happy because his cousin would finally be promoted to be a general. He even cheered and jumped in joy because finally after years of serving in the military, his cousin would be the youngest general in the kingdom.


    A series of congrattions echoed in the room and the news quickly spread through the whole manor. Every servant that would meet the major would congratte him even when he visited the base, the congrattory messages still kepting. He was already getting annoyed with it but he needed to ept it with a smile.


    "You''ll be a general. In the future it would be easier for you to seize the throne." Cygnus out of nowhere appeared behind him. He was leaning down as if he was focused on the documents on the major''s table.


    Linius sighed and put down the pen he was holding. "I do not have any intention of seizing the throne so please be careful with your words."


    Cygnus''s eyes narrowed before he stood straight, "Is that so? But you know I get this feeling that you would want that soon."


    He walked away from behind the major and made his way towards the couch on the right side of the room. He sat down and picked up a document that was ced in there. He started to go through it without any visible changes on his face.


    "These proposals are quite good, why didn''t you approve them?" Hemented after flipping through several documents.


    "Those proposals have no real benefit to the people so why would I approve it. At least I want to make their livesfortable before you swoop in and destroy everything." Linius answered without looking up from the paper he started to read.


    Cygnus threw back the papers and leaned on the seat, "Ah, I don''t really get how you do your work. Obviously, they are beneficial but you reject them just because it is a bit unfair? But that''s how life is, everything is unfair."


    "Don''t try to push your beliefs. I already knew your way of thinking and not in a million years would I think like you." LInius''s voice sounded confident that he did not even need to look up to prove his point.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus fell silent for a while, as if he was deep in thoughts. He started to hum out of nowhere with his feet softly tapping the floor. Linius looked at him once before he shook his head and continued with what he was doing.


    "Well then, I''ll leave you to it." Cygnus stood up and left the room. Linius sighed and was finally relieved that the man was left.


    For the next few days, the manor was busy with the preparation of a banquet that will be held after the confirmation of Major Linius into a general. Even the people were buzzing with excitement ever since they got wind of the news. The rehabilitation of the city was going smoothly thanks to the help of the pce, the Hero Association and the Ginehart household so they were going to celebrate with them.


    Even the pce was full of excitement at the uing ceremony even though some people were not happy with what was going to happen. Some of the aristocrats came one after the other toin to the king but the king brushed them all off. He even denied some of them an audience because of how ridiculous they were acting.


    "If I may ask your majesty, are you really sure about this? Once Major Linius bes a general their power will significantly grow." General Ishmael spoke from where he was standing just after they sent away thest person who came toin.


    "Even if their power grows, they are still loyal to the royal family and Ulysses has no aspiration of taking the throne. All he worries about is his territory, which is also the reason why he doesn''t set foot in the capital that much." The king looked at the general while exining this point. "Besides, their power is something I need to stabilize my position."


    General Ishmael did not make any more remarks and could only silently agree to the king. He and the duke were not on good terms but he knew that the king''s words had basis. Ulysses Ginehart was still a military general even though he didn''t often go to battle because of his son and he was also a duke to thergest dukedom in the country. He already held a significant amount of power and yet he still remained loyal.


    "Maintaining a good rtionship with them is a must. We can''t afford to offend them for now. For now, we can use their existence to keep the other powers in check." Orpheus added after he finished signing thest document he was reading. "The internal turmoil in our kingdom has already begun."


    The day of the confirmation all people of the capital were excited as they waited in anticipation. The ceremony would be done in the grand za of the city. With the absolved mages, the construction of the za was fast. The ce was decorated with gold and red pieces of fabric together with yellow and gold flowers.


    The people were holding baskets of confetti that they were continuously throwing around the ce. It was a joyful asion thus most of the citizens of the city attended to witness this grand event. Cygnus and his butler were seated on the front together with the crown prince and his cousin Lindon.


    They were sitting awkwardly but this was only in the part of Lindon because Cygnus was rxed. He looked at the man with hate in his eyes but he couldn''t possibly curse at him in that kind of situation. The Crown Prince noticed the man''s difort before ncing at the person in front of them.


    "Sir Rigel, wouldn''t you mind changing your seat?" He politely asked him with a smile. He too was ufortable but he couldn''t do it in front of many people.


    "Why? This seat has been assigned to us so I don''t have any reason to change seats." Cygnus''s hands were both crossed on his chest as he leaned on the chair he was sitting on. Even the way he crossed his legs was oozing with confidence.


    "You! How dare you talk back to me?" The crown prince was suddenly angry because of the provocation.


    "You are wrong. I am not talking back, your highness. I am merely speaking of the truth that you refuse to acknowledge."

 Chapter 197 Moving On

    ?With those words, the crown prince was rendered speechless and didn''t dare to speak anymore as the other guests who were going to sit on the table came. He could only avert his gaze and pretend that the man was not sitting on the same table as him.


    People from all walks of life attended the ceremony. The four great generals were alsoplete for the first time in a long time. Even the four great dukes did not fail to attend. This was a rare sight to behold so most of the guests were talking about it.


    Everybody stood up at the announcement of the king''s arrival and when he sat down on the thrown the others also took their seats. Before theymenced, the king took that opportunity to speak first and express his gratitude to everyone who attended.


    "Thank you to all of you foring to this ceremony and for joining us in this joyous asion. We are not only here to witness how one of the heroes of our kingdom received an honor for all the merits he had umted while serving our country. Not only that, we are also here to celebrate our kingdom for getting past the cmity that has befallen unto us. Today, we celebrate life and a new beginning!" The king''s speech made the people holler in joy and p in excitement.


    After that, the king proceeded with the ceremony and awarded Major Linius Ginehart with the title of a General. The apuse became louder after the title was bestowed to him. They then proceeded with the celebration as music started to fill the za and food was served. There was wine and dancing which the people enjoyed and the aristocrats refused to join so they were ushered to the Duke Ulysses''s manor where a banquet was prepared for them.


    These aristocrats started to make their connections and say hi to the people who they wanted to create a rtionship with. Now General Linius Ginehart was entertaining guests with a smile on his face and receiving their gifts and good will even though all he wanted to do was leave the ce.


    The night was long but after all guests were ushered out, all of them could finally take a breather. The staff in the house were also busy at that moment in fixing the venue and cleaning up while the young masters were sent to their rooms. Cygnus on the other hand was with Ulysses and was talking with him regarding the progress of the investigation.


    "Have you found all evidence of the tower''s crime?" Cygnus asked after a minute of silence inside the room.


    It was now time to organize what they have so far so Ulysses and Linius was in the room. The investigation just concluded exactly yesterday as all evidence were collected and organized. They also finished recording everything and writing a report to be submitted to the king.


    "Yes, all of it was turned over to the pce yesterday. Now that the Magic Tower has beenpromised, the tower will be under the pce''s control for the time being since there is no Magus Maximus to handle the affairs of the ce. There will be no significant changes regarding the structured but some rules were added to ensure that something like this would not happen again." Ulysses exined after the question. He then handed him theption of what they found.


    "Now that the tower is not powerful like it used to be and the people who were involved in those despicable acts are in prison, what will be your next step now?" Cygnus was curious as to what the duke would do.


    "After tying some loose ends here, I''ll be returning to Ginehart and will visit Ghad so I will be taking Isaiah with me." Ulysses answered without any hesitation.


    Now that his current problem was solved, it was time for him to take his brother''s hand and help him from the predicament he was in. He had long noticed the problem and continued to warn Ghad but the man was a bit unreasonable so when he found out that he sent Isaiah away from the territory, Ulysses already knew that the situation was not in favor to Ghad.


    If not for what had happened those past weeks, he would have been in the ckwell territory by now. Unlike Ginehart which was easy to govern because the people were willing to cooperate, the ckwell territory was the opposite. This must be because the ce was once overflowing with mana but now it almost has none and the people all med it to the rulers.


    "Is that so, I might follow after a few days since I''ve made a deal with Isaiah so I''ll go and take a look for a bit." Cygnus revealed which took the father and son a shock.


    "You made a deal with that child? What kind of deal did you make?" Ulysses became interested.


    "That I would help him solve the matter of the ckwell," Cygnus answered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Now that matters in the capital could be left as it is, it was fine for him to be gone for a few days. Besides, there was nothing to do now that he had taken care of the magic tower. It would also be a good way for the master to clear his mind.


    Ulysses frowned for a moment but it disappeared just as fast as how it appeared. "Then I will be seeing you in ckwell." He finally gave up.


    After that topic was discussed, Ulysses let the master have his rest for the night. Cygnus took his time to walk through the corridors of the manor. He was humming and there was a skip on his steps.


    "Are we going to look for the remnants of those people?" Ignius appeared out of thin air and floated beside the man.


    Since he was a bystander, the dragon was well informed of anything that happens around the master. And ever since he learned that there is a possibility of those people being alive even after a thousand years. The idea of hunting them down could already make him excited.


    "Do you want to go and hunt them down?" Cygnus looked back at the dragon with a smirk on his face when he saw the dragon nod. "You can hunt them but don''t forget to bring them to me alive."


    "Oh, that would be my pleasure since I already sensed people like that of the Magus still in the capital. I''m just not sure if they are the people you are looking for," the dragon started to float around him.


    "Is that so," the master''s eyes narrowed, "interesting."


    "So what shoul I do now? Take them to you?" Ignius stopped and waited for the master''s answer.


    "No, let''s observe them for a while and see if they have any rtionship with the Magus Maximus. Can you do that?" Cygnus looked at the dragon''s golden eyes with a smile. He even reached out to pat the dragon''s head.


    Ignius swatted the hand that was messing his hair and frowned, "Stop that and why are you changing you decision all of a sudden? I thought I get to hunt them!"


    He felt indignant at how fast the master changed his mind. His excitement at the prospect of having fun was crushed. He could only give the master a re that would intimidate anyone but the master only blinked and grinned his way.


    "Yes you can but not for now. You need to observe them first and know their weakness so that when you strike down you will have the upper hand," Cygnus exined.


    He really did intended for the dragon to hunt his enemies but at the dragon''s word, he couldn''t just let them die easily. He could also get information about the others or what happened after their whole n was killed. Cygnus couldn''t help but grin and the red glint on his eyes appeared making like a ghost in the shadow of the night.


    Igniusughed at how fast the master could change his facial expression. The man was really amusing and everytime they were in another world, his fun would never end. This time too, he would carefully watch at what Cygnus was up to.

 Chapter 198 At The Palace

    ?After the ceremony, Ulysses and Isaiah prepared to leave for the ckwell territory. William also volunteered to join them as he refused to stay in the capital any longer or to return home. He reasoned out that it was his way of gaining experience.


    Ulysses had no other choice but to bring him along. Linius, who had recently be a general, needed to remain in the capital to oversee and finalize the rehabilitation of the city while waiting for the king''s order. Naturally Ezio was left and remained by Cygnus''s side.


    "When are we following the duke?" Nina asked once when she decided to visit the manor.


    "We?" Cygnus asked followed by a loudugh. "There is no we. You will stay here as my contact in the capital and you will inform me of anything that will be happening in this ce from now on."


    Nina was about to protest but the master''s stare made her shut her mouth. She was not keen on staying in one ce for so long but she couldn''t disobey the master. All she could do was nod in acquiescence.


    "I understand. I''ll be sure to inform you of everything!" She promised with an obviously strained voice.


    "I will also be leaving Sir Astrophos to look after Vain." He then looked at the mage who had been silent since they arrived at the room.


    Astrophos gave the man a nod and didn''t bother to speak. They''ve gotten used to how silent the other has be ever since the incident happened. They didn''t bother him and just let him be because he would recover eventually.


    "Oh and Nina, please look after my Vergessen," Cygnus remembered, so he gave an additional task to the woman. "If you do well, I might reward you when I return."


    At the mention of a reward, Nina''s eyes brightened and the dispirited woman became full of energy. If there''s a reward she would definitely do her best to fulfill the master''s wishes. It was rare for him to give her suchpensation so she would do anything to grab the opportunity.


    Now that he had assigned the relevant works he had in mind, all he needed to do was prepare for the journey. He wanted to use a gate butter on changed his mind and wanted to do it the traditional way. Maybe he would find something interesting again during the journey.


    He visited Vergessen once more to make sure that the business was functioning well and because he was still a member of the tower, he also went there to check the progress of their reconstruction. The king also invited him to a meal one day together with Linius. They were ushered to the garden where an array of food was prepared for them.


    "Please take a seat and make yourselvesfortable." The king gave them a warm smile as he gestured to the nearest empty seat to his right.


    Linius took the first seat while Cygnus took the one beside him. Together with them on the table was someone that Cygnus didn''t know. He was a new person and must be someone of high status if he could freely speak with the king.


    "Congrattions on your promotion General Linius," the man gave Linius a warm smile to which the general returned with a nod.


    "Thank you, Sir Acasia," he curtly replied.


    Cygnus observed the cold interaction and couldn''t help but think that the two had a conflict with each other. He then looked at the man in front of them with curiosity which the other party noticed. The man had the most normal brown and caramel eyes which exudes friendliness and even his words sounded so gentle to the ear but despite that Cygnus could still tell that he was hiding something.


    "Ah, you must be Rigel, General Linius''s younger brother, the treasure of the Ginehart household," he was smiling as he said those words but there was something unsettling behind those warm gaze.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes, may I know the name of the king''s honored guest?" Cygnus also smiled with his own version of warmness.


    "Ah, yes I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Acasia Veltran, the current president of our kingdom''s Hero Association. It is nice to meet you, young mage." The man slightly inclined his head after the introduction.


    "Oh, Hero Association!" Cygnus eximed in surprise.


    He didn''t expect that he would directly meet the president of the association without effort. The grin on his face couldn''t be wider and Linius noticed his excitement. If he could p the man, he would have done it a long time ago.


    Acasiaughed at the young man''s expression. "Yes, have you hear of it?"


    "Of course! That association is one of the pirs of the kingdom, together with the Magic Tower and the Royal Family! Sadly the tower has fallen and significantly lost its power." His voice softened by the end of his statement as he started to y with the food on his te.


    The president was a bit taken aback by Cygnus''s statement but frowned when he saw the dejected look on the other''s face. He heard that the youngest son of Duke Ginehart became the disciple of the Magus Maximus and yet at the end, he needed to fight his master just to stop him frommiting more sins. It was a difficult decision to make and yet he still did it.


    "That''s because they became greedy with power. Don''t worry the tower will eventually recover," Acasia offered his sincerity.


    "Yes, I am also looking forward to it too." Cygnus''s head shot up and nodded towards the president.


    After that, they started to eat in silence and when they were finished, the king finally spoke. He looked at the three of them for a full minute before he told them the reason why he invited them.


    "Thank you foring and the reason why I invited you all is simple. I want to appreciate Rigel for what you did back during the incident with the Magic Tower. As for General Linius, I am giving you your first mission as a general." He raised his hand and waved it forward.


    His secretary who was waiting on the side walked towards them with a tray in his hand. On top of the tray was an unopened envelope. The secretary stopped beside the general and handed him the letter.


    Linius picked up the letter and opened it. He silently read the contents of it before bowing towards the king. Cygnus, who was curious, took the letter from his brother''s hand and silently read it.


    "Oh, an exploration! That sounds interesting!" Cygnus looked at Linius with an unnatural spark in his eyes which the general took as something not good. "And you will be going together with the heroes from the Hero Association."


    The king nodded at the young man''s words. It was precisely why he invited the president of the association so that they could talk about this cooperation. Even though he got excited about it, Cygnus was not about to remain in there and listen to their boring conversation so the king assigned one of the maids to tour him around the pce.


    Cygnus and the maid walked around the pce and he was having a very informative time. Ari on the other hand was busy with listening in on the conversation between the king, the president of the association and Linius while simultaneously drawing a roughy-out of the pce based on the ces that Cygnus visited. They were about to return to where the king was when they unluckily bumped into the Crown Prince.


    Eizen Syentia was someone who loves attention and was arrogant because of his position. He was considered skilled in the area of battle but a little bit behind when ites to tactics. In short he is just a brute who doesn''t know how to strategize to win a fight. That''s where Lindon Ginehart came in and became the Crown Prince''s adviser sh friend.

 Chapter 199 Challenge Accepted

    ?It was really not the master''s day because he bumped into these people who only knew how to provoke others. He nned on just greeting them and leaving right after but he did not expect them to block his way. He could only raise a brow and look back at the prince who was smirking at him.


    "Did I do something to offend you, your highness? That you would block my way like this?" Cygnus waved at the guards who were standing before him.


    "What? You are in my territory and inside this ce, I can do anything I want. So, there''s nothing wrong if I block you with or without reason." Eizen gave the man a haughty look as he stepped towards him. "Besides I don''t like how you are belittling me."


    Cygnus was baffled at how imaginative the man was. "I have never belittled you, your highness."


    "No? Hah! Don''t think that I haven''t noticed how you look down at me whenever you look at me and you did it again a while ago. Don''t think that because you are the son of Duke Ginehart that you can do whatever you want!" The prince became angry all of a sudden and even jabbed his finger at Cygnus'' chest.


    With the patience a person like him could muster he looked at the prince''s eyes before he spoke. "Then what do you want me to do?"


    Eizen gritted his teeth before stepping back with his fists clenched on his side. "I challenge you to a duel. Let''s see if you can still have that arrogant look on your face after I defeat you!"


    Cygnus sighed at the childishness that the prince was showing. He did not understand why the king chose this idiot as the heir to his throne. ''Was he trying to ruin his kingdom?'' Cygnus thought to himself.


    The crown prince became agitated because of Cygnus''s silence. He couldn''t believe that someone would give him this kind of silent treatment. This humiliation, he wouldn''t let it go.


    "What do you say? Are you actually a coward if you can''t follow a simple instruction!" The prince''s voice went up a bit after thest word.


    Because it looked like the prince wouldn''t let him go, he better agree and be done with it. It was also the right timeto show him that he was stronger. It''s also a good chance to teach the crown prince a lesson that he won''t forget.


    "Alright," he simply answered.


    They were then ushered towards the training arena inside the pce. It was where the prince would practice his sword skills. Upon arrival, Cygnus immediately noticed someone who was also practicing his sword.


    When that man noticed their arrival, he stopped swinging and bowed in their direction. Cygnus returned the bow but Eizan ignored the other. He then heard the crown prince.


    "What are you doing here, Glenn?" Eizan frowned at the man.


    "I am here to practice my sword skills brother," he answered as he gave his sword to the servant who was with him.


    "You can leave or you can watch as I defeat this arrogant person because I am having a duel with him." He pointed at Cygnus who was standing behind him.


    Glenn''s gaze shifted to the tall man standing behind his older brother. His ck hair and almost innocent looking face would get anyone''s attention but what draws people in would be probably his eyes that felt like an endless abyss of darkness. His gaze lingered on him fro a while before he returned his attention to his brother.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I will be on the side then," Glenn gave his brother a nod as he stepped outside of the arena and found a seat where he sat down.


    Eizen frowned because of his brother''s cold response. For some reason, he celt more irritated than ever. Cygnus observed this awkward interaction between the brothers and drew a conclusion for himself.


    And that Glenn, he was the second prince of the kingdom. Brilliant in bothacademics and fighting. He was praised over and over again because of his intelligence. Some even openly expressed theirment because he was not the first child and that he was not the crown prince.


    Cygnus had heard about him but never actually met him in person because he was not at any of the banquets that he attended. Seeing him in person proved the rumors that the brothers were not close despite having the same mother. Eizen was clearly jealous of his own blood brother.


    Cygnusughed and shook his head in disappointment at how these people were resenting each other just because of trivial things. Eizen noticed Cygnus''s reaction and thought that he wasughing at him. He gave the man a re but Cygnus wasn''t bothered by it.


    "Let''s start!" Eizen dered and took the first step inside the arena with his sword. "In this battle none of us is permitted to use any kind of magic. If any of us breaks that rule then that fighter will automatically lose."


    Cygnus removed his coat and let the maid hold it for him. He then received the sword that was handed to him by one of the guards and also stepped inside the arena. He twirled the sword a couple of times before calmly standing in front of the crown prince.


    At the signal of the designated referee, the match has officially started and yet none of them moved an inch. Both of them were sizing up their opponent that a full minute already passed but neither of the two tool the initiative to attack. Eizen was also losing his patience as every second passed by.


    The crown prince then decided to attack as he propelled himself forward using the force of his feet. His sword was ready to sh the moment he got near Cygnus. Before the sword''s sharp edge could reach Cygnus, he raised his sword in a vertical position in front of him.


    Cygnus''s sword blocked the de which pushed him skidding on the stone arena stage. He was still moving back when Eizen attacked again and this time his sword came down from above. Thanks to Cygnus''s fast reflexes he still had the time to block the attack by raising his sword above him and letting it absorb most of the attack''s impact.


    The force from that attack was no joke though. Because the pressure from that attack caused the arena to crack. Cygnus used his might to push back the sword that shed with his weapon and he seeded. He then swung his sword as his body made a 360 turn.


    The crown prince was forced to step back because of Cygnus''s counter attack. Cygnus calmly stood from where he wasand gave the prince a smile. He swayed from right to left before he suddenly disappeared from his spot and appeared before Eizen.


    He then swung his sword from every angle to which the prince parried. Their movements were so fast that only the after image of the swords could be seen. Cygnus did not stop though he swung and stabbed while the prince blocked and also counter attacked.


    This stalematested for almost two minutes before it turned south. Cygnus''s grip on his sword ckened for some reason and Eizen took this chance to attack. He stabbed through and almost skewered Cygnus if not for his fast reflex. The master managed to angle his body to the side to evade the stab but his clothes and skin were still grazed and blood started to trickle down from the wound.


    He took that chance to jump back and create a distance between them. His gaze went to the hilt of the sword he was using and gripped it tightly. He then gave the prince a re before heunched himself towards the prince.


    This time he was fiercer and every attack he did cornered the crown prince. Eizen was surprised at the sudden turn of events that he was frozen for a moment. He was almost halved if it were not for his timely duck.

 Chapter 200 Closed Eyes

    ?The crown prince slowly recovered after the initial attack. He too attacked and within seconds they already exchanged a hundred moves. Their swords were slowly covered with what the non-mages called an aura and for the next seconds that followed, their attacks had damaged the arena and injured the both of them.


    It was a thrilling and breathtaking fight that no one expected to see. It even attracted the attention of the servants who were just passing by. Themotion then attracted the king and his guests who just finished their conversation.


    Orpheus couldn''t help but frown. He was sure that his son did it again and now with the duke''s child. The three of them stood up and went to the arena to see what was going on. They were surprised at the number of people who were there to spectate.


    They were too absorbed in the fight that they did not even notice the arrival of the king. Orpheus ignored this matter too as his gaze was drawn on the now unrecognizable arena. He knew that the duke''s son was skilled in magic but he did not expect him to be also good with the sword.


    The fight was already reaching its peak and the prince was already nearing his limit. He also didn''t expect that his opponent had sword skills, Lindon didn''t tell him about this information. The most annoying thing to him was that Rigel could push him to his limits.


    He was barely defending himself from the man when he heard the sound of something breaking. The crown prince smirked because he knew that the time hade. With onest push and that sword will break, he would then take the chance and attack.


    Cygnus raised the sword in his hand and swung it down. The moment his sword made contact with Eizen''s sword, it broke. The crown prince took that opening to push Cygnus and stabbed his sword.


    Both of them fell on ground with Cygnus who was pinned down. The prince''s sword pierced through his shoulder while Cygnus''s hands held the de and stopped it from piercing him deeper. Eizen''s face was contorted into a frown as he tried to push his sword deeper but hecked the strength to do so and before he could do it, Linius appeared beside them and pulled him away.


    "You''ve already won your highness," he whispered before crouching down to inspect his brother who was now bloody because of his wounds.


    Eizen was not satisfied yet and tried to advance once again but the king came to stop him. He gave his son a re and gestured at the guards to take him away. The doctor was also called so that he could take a look at Cygnus''s wounds.


    "Rigel, can you still hear me?" Linius calmly asked as he assessed his brother''s wounds.


    "Yes, I''m...not deaf," Cygnus answered followed by a gasp and grunt of pain.


    The doctor came and gave Cygnus a first aid as he cleaned and bandaged all of his wounds. Orpheus suggested that they stay in the pce first but Linius politely declined his offer. They still left and told the king that they will send a letter soon regarding his brother''s health.


    Orpheus was furious at the crown prince for challenging the duke''s son. Eizen was lectured for hours because of his behavior and even Glenn who did not participate was also lectured because he did not stop his brother. Even though it was considered his win, the prince was not satisfied with it. All the words he heard from his father clearly did not quell his anger nor changed how he viewed Cygnus.


    Throughout the journey, Cygnus remained unconscious and Linius didn''t know if this was true or he was just acting. They arrived at the manor with Ezio and Mr. C waiting for them. When the door to the carriage opened, both of them were ready to assist the master.


    They then helped him to his room as the doctor of their family came to take a look at him. After making sure that he was alright, the doctor left after leaving bandages and medicine for Cygnus. The people inside the room were silent because no one wanted to talk.


    "May I ask what happened?" Mr. C asked after a moment of silence.


    "Crown Prince Eizen challenged him to a duel and this happened." He did not go into detail but Mr. C already understood.


    "Alright, let us let him rest for the time being. He''ll wake up when he wants to." The butler ushered them out of the room.


    "Are we still going to ckwell?" Ezio asked the butler after they left the master''s room.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes, we just wait for the master to wake up," the butler answered. Ezio was assured then assured after that.


    For three days, Cygnus remained asleep but the manor was calm about it because Ari was constantly monitoring his vitals. The only concerning thing that the butler couldn''t get off his system was that one information.


    "The master''s vital signs are all in the normal state," Ari stopped for a while before she continued, "but his Insanity State is at 25%."


    Mr. C frowned when he heard Ari''s report. "How is that possible? I thought it went back to zero after the Magus Maximus died?"


    "After burning the enemy, the master''s Insanity State went down to 25% and I initially calcted that if that Magus will die, it would return to zero but even after that, it remained at 25%. ording to my analysis, it won''t be going down anytime soon." Ari exined as she projected the data she collected.


    "ording to this, the percentage of those memories having an effect on the master''s Insanity Level is the highest. Do you have any way to resolve this?" Mr. C asked after he pointed out the diagram that showed the possible factor that caused this stagnation.


    "As of the moment I have none but I have sealed the other memories behind a stronger firewall. As long as the state will not experience any fluctuations, there would be no major problems," Ari reassured the butler.


    Even after that, the butler was still unsettled. The master''s Insanity Level was proportional to his health and as the butler he was in-charge of making sure that his master livesfortably and healthy. He fell into silence at that thought because the master was now in the mode of hunting the people who killed his whole family. It may be difficult to stop the master from going berserk.


    If Mr. C was human, Ezio would think that he had some kind of problem with how silent and detached the butler was acting. He had been doing all his chores mechanically without giving them a second look. Add to that the fact that the master was still asleep without signs of waking up.


    Days gradually passed and a week was over but he was still asleep. Linius was also confused by this because the wounds on his body were not fatal. The butler was also reassuring them constantly but he couldn''t help but wonder.


    "Does this often happen?" He once asked the butler who just came back from checking on the bakeshops.


    "Not all the time but it happened on a few asions," Mr. C answered. "As you know the master is already a thousand years old, so this must be his body coping up."


    Linius was stumped. He often forgot that the master was indeed living that long already. To be able to reach that age, he couldn''t imagine what the master had to go through to survive.


    "How did he even reach that age? The Magus who was able to live those years needed to transfer from one body to another inorder to stay alive." The general looked at the butler and was stunned because of the icy look Mr. C was giving him.


    "You don''t have to know the details because even us are not clear on what happened to him before we met him. The person who was by his side the longest is Master Ignius and maybe he knew the answer to that question. As for us, we do not ask. If the master wanted to talk about it then he would have told us a long time ago." Mr. C sighed and stopped walking.


    It was rare for him to have shbacks and yet he remembered the time when they first met Linius. It might be worth it to remind him about the master.


    "General Linius, once the master wakes up, I want you to tread lightly, don''t try to get your way and don''t argue. The master''s mental state isn''t that good right now. A little fluctuation to it would create disaster for your world. This will be my one and only warning to you because at the end of the day, I will stay by my master''s side." The butler reached out and patted the man''s shoulder before he finally left.


    Linius stood in the hallway while looking at the man''s fading back before he sighed and looked outside of the manor. So many things have changed ever since their encounter and he was sure that many more would happen.


    The next day General Linius Ginehart departed for the Western Border of the kingdom without waiting for the master to wake up. Mr. C and Ezio remained in the capital as they waited for the master to wake up.

 Chapter 201 A New Territory

    ?The territory of ckwell lies at the Eastern side of the kingdom. It was a ce rich with mineral ores and precious gems. To those who haven''t stepped foot in the territory would think of this as a beautiful ce because of the precious stones mined there.


    In reality the ce was gloomy and wet all year round. The ce was full of marshes and swamps. The forests were dark and damp. It was indeed blessed with such treasures but to obtain it was not easy.


    Throughout the years, magic had supported the mining industry of the territory so that the people could have a livelihood. During storms and rain, the magic of ckwell would protect the mining sites and miners from any untoward incidents. Aside from mining, the territory also thrives with the rare herbs that can only be cultivated in theirnds.


    Monster hunting was also an upation because most of the territory is inhabited by monsters. Their cores and skins could fetch a high price in the market but in this job, the possibility of dying has a higher percentage than working in a mine. The territory also relied heavily on importing products especially in the category of food.


    Since they could only cultivate a limited variety of agricultural food sources, their territory would always wee merchants that could bring them a variety of food. Luckily, they could cultivate rice with the help of the magic tools that the duke developed. Greenhouses were also built inorder to cultivate other vegetables and fruits and the first trial was a sess.


    Ghad ckwell did all of these with the people in his mind. He developed many tools that could help his people but due to the continuous political unrest within the household, some of his ns weren''t put through. He didn''t even know if theints he was receiving from the citizens of ckwell were true because of how the council would always find fault with how he was managing the territory.


    He was even criticized for not having a wife nor a child who can inherit his title. They wouldn''t even fail to criticize him for picking a child from a faraway branch family to be his heir. Ghad couldn''t even get a rest because his everyday life was gued with the gazes and words of his own council.


    So, when Ulysses wrote to him that he would be visiting, Ghad weed him. It was a wee distraction from all that has been piling up in his mind. Ulysses might also be there to help him.


    "Duke Ginehart will be arriving today. Are you sure that he is here to help?" Archmage Sigma asked while they sat down inside Ghad''s study.


    "It doesn''t matter. Even if he is just here for a vacation, I won''t turn him away. He''s the only man in this kingdom that I can call a friend," Ghad chuckled.


    Despite his cold personality, he had acknowledged the man as one of his trusted confidants and that won''t change.They were oil and water but despite their obvious differences, their friendship remained throughout the years. If he had a son or daughter he would have sent them to Ginehart without second thoughts and let them grow in a bright environment instead of letting them stay in his own gloomy territory.


    But that was just a dream that would never happen in this lifetime. It was also the reason why he decided to cultivate a child as his heir. He was a ckwell but he was from a branch family that nobody knew. Another reason why he named Isaiah as his heir was because he was talented in magic.


    Isaiah was the only child who had a great aptitude for magic and the only one who can use mana freely. For generations, the ckwell family lost the full ability to use magic because of a curse. They could use mana but they didn''t have enough to manifest even a simple spell.


    It was a disaster so when he saw Isaiah, he thought that the curse must have been broken in his generation but that was not case. The young man was special amongst his peers and he did not want to pass up the chance to raise someone with potential. Despite the objection of the council, he still brought up Isaiah and named him heir.


    His thoughts were broken when a crisp knock hit the door to his study followed by the door opening. A sentinel entered and informed them of Duke Ginehart''s arrival. Ghad stood up from his seat behind the desk, took his coat and left with Archmage Sigma to meet his old friend.


    They waited outside the manor and saw the unmistakable carriage of the Ginehart dukedom. It stopped in front of them with Duke Ulysses alighting first followed by Isaiah which came as a surprise to Ghad.


    "Wee to my home," he tapped his friend''s shoulder before looking at the child who was with him, "I didn''t expect that you''ll return too."


    Ulyssesughed, "I know that you''ve received the news of what happened in the capital. There''s no use foe Isaiah to remain there when the tower isn''t functional right now so I decided to give him a ride."


    Ghad couldn''t refute the duke''s word so he just weed them inside. The butler already prepared some refreshments in the living room as well as coffee for the slightly cold weather. It should have taken them ten days to reach the territory but due to the constant rain, they were dyed for five days.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "This ce hasn''t changed, it is still a ce where I can''t live. It''s too damp and cold." Ulysses shook his head and even shivered for a while so he picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip. "Aaahhh, that''s more like it."


    "You are telling me that now? But still you came," Ghad, for the rarest moments in his life, smiled.


    "Well, I can''t just leave you be. This ce is so gloomy that I thought you might get bored, so I came to add spice to this boring ce." Ulysses also grinned as he looked around the manor.


    "How are the children?" Ghad diverted the conversation because he did not want to talk about politics on the first day of his friend''s stay.


    "They''re good. Linius became a general while Rigel is still Rigel." He took another sip and savored the taste of the creamy coffee they served.


    Ghad could only raise a brow at how nonchnt Ulysses was when it came to both of his son''s achievements. "That is good news. I read from the report that Rigel defeated the Magus Maximus, won''t that cause any problems?"


    Ulysses remained silent with his eyes fixed on the ss table in front of him. It took him a few more seconds before he finally spoke, "Those children are willful. Whether it causes problems in the future, they wouldn''t care."


    The fond look from the man''s face did not escape Ghad''s eyes. He knew that even though Ulysses said those words, he would still go running whenever his children would be in trouble. He was a doting father, even Rigel who was not his real son received a father''s love.


    "Alright if you say so," Ghad had to stop or else Duke Ulysses might start telling stories about his children.


    "By the way, aren''t you returning to the tower?" Ulysses''s eyes shifted to the man who had been silent ever since they arrived.


    Archmage Sigma shook his head, "In the current situation. I won''t return for now and wait for a new Magus before I go back. There are many things to deal with in this ce."


    "That''s a pity then but it is still a relief that you did not return or else you might have been incriminated as well." Ulysses nodded his head a few times.


    "The tower''s matters had nothing to do with me. I''ve left that ce and didn''t join the council but didn''t expect that the downfall of the tower will really happen." It was not only the duke who was relieved, because as soon as he heard that the tower was defeated, he felt relieved.


    That ce was somewhere he didn''t want to be. He would only return there when needed but he wouldn''t stay long. He was not close to anyone in that ce, especially to the Magus Maximus so he decided to just stay in ckwell and help him on developing new tools.


    "Now I have more reasons not to regret my decision of leaving that abominable tower," Sigma sighed and smiled.


    "We should thank Rigel then," Ulysses gave the both of them a meaningful smile. "Oh speaking of which, Rigel will being here too. He said that he wanted to explore so I gave him the permission toe."


    "If that''s the case then we will wee them!" Ghad exined after downing the half empty ss of refreshment within his hand.


    After that, Ulysses and Isaiah were brought to their rooms. The duke looked at the window and sighed. "It would be difficult but I need to stay here."

 Chapter 202 Battle Of Patience

    ?Early the next day, a sentinel knocked on Ghad''s room and informed him that the council had called a meeting. The duke shook his head at the timing of those bastards. The sun hasn''t fully risen yet but they were already on their toes and evenmenced a meeting without informing him.


    "Your council is really bold," Ulysses, who came out from the other room,mented.


    He was leaning on the closed door and was fully dressed in a white formal attire with all the essories and the noticeable medal of honor on his left chest. He must have heard the knock and the sentinel''s words. One other possibility was that the man already anticipated that something like this might happen.


    "With that get up, are you nning oning with me?" The duke sent the sentinel away before returning his attention to Ulysses.


    "Of course! I want to meet your council and see what they are capable of," Ulysses pushed himself up and stood straight. "So you should dress up properly and show them your power. Tsk, you''ve be weak that I can''t feel that dangerous aura anymore."


    Ghadughed at the man''sment before he closed the door to his room. It only took him a short amount of time to prepare. When he exited his room, Ulysses couldn''t help himself from giving Ghad an apuse.


    "You really look sharp right now and I like the hairstyle, it gives you that respectable look." Ulysses grinned after giving Ghad a look from head to toe.


    The man was currently wearing a red top and ck pants. On top of it was a long ck coat with fur ented with gold and red lines on the coat''spels and sleeves. It was a color that Duke Ghad would always use in the past.


    "Enough teasing," there was a frown on Ghad''s face as he was getting annoyed with the man.


    Ulysses chuckled as he patted the man''s shoulder after closing the distance between them. "That should always be the tone of your voice. I bet the council is bullying you because you are showing too many weaknesses."


    Ghad sighed and shook his head, "Let''s go."


    They both walked the silent hallways of the manor towards the conference hall where all the council members were present. All seats around the rectangr table were filled except for the seat at the top which was usually reserved for the head of the dukedom. The wooden doors to the hall opened and two figures entered, one was wearing ck while the other was wearing white.


    The air around them was pulsating and it gave the room an invisible pressure that made the people inside gasp for air. They watched as Duke Ghad took his seat and as Duke Ulysses stood behind him with a grin on his face. He briefly swept his gaze on the people who were present before giving them all a smile.


    "Please don''t mind me and treat me as if I am not here, go on and start the meeting," he waved his hand forward to at least ease the tension but nothing happened.


    "I didn''t expect you to be here, Duke Ginehart," one of the council members said.


    He was the oldest of the members and held a decent amount of power inside the organization. From what Ulysses could remember, he was called Enrick Vaermin. Ulysses couldn''t help but chuckle at the man''s name.


    "Oh, I happen to have free time so I decided toe here," Ulysses answered with a smile. "You know I needed some vacation from all that was happening in the capital and my wife can always take care of the duchy in my ce, so I will be staying here for an extended period of time."


    His words had a hint of yfulness but at the same time it was also provoking. The council members frowned because they could feel the threat from those words. Enrick Vaermin could only force a smile after hearing those words.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Then I hope you enjoy your stay." He nodded even though he was silently cursing the man for just being there.


    Ulysses did not speak any further and waited for the meeting to begin. At first the council members were a bit reluctant to say what they wanted but after a few minutes, when they noticed that Ulysses was indeed just there to watch, they became bold. One by one, they voiced out their dissatisfaction because the duke seemed to be not doing anything about theints of the people.


    They even reported that there were moreints that the duke was unresponsive and that he was true to his promises. He had promised his people so many things and yet none of them were implemented. Because of this, most of the people were dissatisfied with his leadership.


    Ghad listened to all of this with a straight face. It was the same issue over and over again that he was getting bored by it. He did not understand why these men were so keen on passing on all of the me on him when they were the ones who had been hindering all of his ns.


    "Some of them even came to us to express their desire for a new ruler!" Suddenly a crisp and high pitched voice eximed.


    In the blink of an eye, several pairs of eyes were looking in his direction. The man shrunk on his seat after all attention was given to him. He didn''t mean to speak so loudly but it just happened.


    Ghad shook his head. He thought that this must be the reason why they were being pushy. They wanted to rece him as the head of ckwell even though he was still alive. And, they were even using a council with not much influence in the territory, maybe to shift all the me on him if something would go wrong.


    "Then who would they like to be their leader?" Ghad leaned forward and ced his hands on the table.


    He narrowed his eyes at the people who wanted to depose him from his position. He was waiting for them to say it in his face, that they wanted him gone. Ulysses who was listening from behind slightly narrowed his eyes and waited for them to answer.


    "It''s not that we want to rece you but we want to urge you to choose a suitable candidate as an heir. We can always pacify the people," Enrick reasoned without batting an eye.


    From that simple statement, Ghad and Ulysses could infer two things. The council wanted Ghad to rece Isaiah as his heir with the other candidates on their list, who they thought were suitable. Secondly, he could remain as the duke as long as he listen to their instructions.


    They were clearly nning on making him a puppet ruler. In the past, they dare not because they didn''t have anything to use against him. Now, they were getting desperate and the reason behind this desperation, the duke hasn''t discover it yet.


    "I already have an heir and I will not change my mind," Ghad started and he saw that they were about to protest so he spoke first, "and no matter what you say, no matter what you do, no matter how you create this illusion of peopleining against me and no matter what your reason is, my decision of naming Isaiah my heir will not change."


    His cold and resolute voice echoed through the room. The pressure from his aura alone pressed down on these people who were challenging his authority. Ghad realized that what Ulysses said was true, he became weak. This must be the reason why they thought they could do whatever they wanted inside his own territory.


    "Regarding thoseints, those are because of you. If not for your intervention, those promises should have been fulfilled a long time ago." Ghad swept his angry gaze at these people who should have been supporting him.


    "Duke Ghad!" One of the council protested. "Are you ndering us?"

 Chapter 203 Broken Patience

    ?Ghad didn''t know if he shouldugh or not at those words. He was not the kind of man who would nder a person because he was a straightforward person. His statements were backed with enough evidence and confidence befitting his image.


    "ndering you? Amongst your group and I, who ndered who first, isn''t you? You were busy running around and telling the people that I do not care for them and that I do not n on fulfilling what I have promised them when in reality it was you people who did not approve of the ns I''ve made." Ulysses gave the man a sharp gaze that shut him up.


    "Please be careful of your words, duke," Enrick intervened. He doesn''t like the way this conversation was going.


    "I am careful Sir Enrick but the way I see it, you are all taking my tolerance as a free reign which you can exploit. My tolerance is a show of respect but I did not expect that you''ll use it to try and make me your puppet. Should I remind you all whose territory you are in? Whose name thisnd was named after?" This statement further added to the difort of the council. "I know that all of you bear the name of ckwell, but none of you are worthy of it."


    At those words, the council members erupted into angry shouts. They even pointed their fingers towards the duke but he only watched all of these with a nk face. He couldn''t be bothered by their usations and anger because at that moment he was angrier than them.


    "Are you done?" His voice was loud and cut through the noise that filled the room.


    The raging council stopped altogether and looked at the man who looked so bored. They were irritated when they saw how nonchnt he was about what had happened. One of the council members couldn''t take it anymore and took it upon himself to speak.


    "You have crossed the line, duke." He was beyond angry that his hands were shaking and veins on his head were bulging. "Do you really think that because you are the duke, you can speak like that to us? Remember that we are members of the council!"


    Ghadughed and even tapped the table several times before he spoke. "I find itughable that you really think that you have power within my territory. Thisnd belongs to me and the rest of you are under my rule, even if you are sitting here as a council member."


    "Duke Ghad, your words are indeed going too far. We know that our requests seem to be unreasonable but we are only doing all of this because we are thinking about our people. Choosing a suitable heir is something we should be concerned about because the future of ckwell lies on it. Regarding the ns, we did not approve it because we thought that it wouldn''t benefit the people in the long run." Enrick raised his hand to stop the other man from talking any further.


    Ghad remained silent after those words. The council then thought that he was reflecting on it but in reality, Ghad was just baffled at how desperately they were trying to save their faces. ''Thinking about the people? They were only thinking about themselves,'' he thought to himself.


    "I''ve given you the respect you deserve as members of my council. I valued your opinion and heeded them just to avoid any of these power struggles. I lowered myself and acted timid in front of all of you because I was thinking of avoiding any conflicts and yet here you are all today, making decisions without my permission and trying to control everything. All of you are not thinking about the people, you are only here for yourselves, because instead ofing to me everyday and trying to convince me to give up my position, you should be out there and helping our citizens." Ghad wasn''t moved by that seemingly heart warming speech from Enrick. "From now on, no matter what you say nor do the final decision will being from me."


    "Duke Ghad! You can''t do that! Are you willing to bear all of the consequences for every decision you will make without the council?" Enrick became agitated because of the duke''s decision.


    He couldn''t let go of the duke because once their connection with him is broken, they couldn''t proceed to the rest of their ns. If he knew that something like this would happen, he would not have called for a meeting. It was clear as day that Ghad wasn''t acting his old self right now.


    "He''s not alone though, I''ll help him bear all the consequences since I''ll be his one and only trusted advisor. Oh and by the way, I forgot to inform you that I own a part of the ckwell territory so I have a the rights to join in, in this meeting." Ulysses unexpectedly joined in the conversation. His presence was yet to be felt again.


    "Is this true?" Enrick looked at Duke Ghad in bewilderment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was an impromptu speech but nheless, he would still agree to it. "Yes, that is true. It is also the reason why he is here today."


    Silence shrouded the whole room after the duke confirmed Ulysses''s ims. All people in that space aside from Ulysses and Ghad were in a state of shock. They were all wide eyed towards the direction of the two dukes.


    "Duke Ghad, we cannot ept this decision!" One of them still tried to make his voice be heard but the duke only shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on his chair.


    "Oh and by the way, I approve of Isaiah being the heir to Duke Ghad. That kid is sensible, calm and most importantly, he is very good at using magic which your sons or daughters don''t have," Ulysses interrupted. After that he then looked apologetic and corrected his statement, "What I mean is, he is better than all of the candidates on your list."


    There was another uproar at the unhidden insult left by Duke Ginehart. They were all furious at the meaning of his words that they wanted to confront him. The room became a mess as they all tried to get their hands on the intruder who insulted their family.


    If not for the sentinels, they would undoubtedly reach the duke and give him a piece of their mind. Ghad wasn''t happy about this because they were just showing how barbaric they were. His gaze shifted to Enrick who was clearly holding himself back which was a good move from him.


    "If there''s nothing more, we''ll be leaving." Duke Ghad couldn''t look at them anymore so he decided to leave them be.


    More protests ensued but the duke ignored them all. Both mem traced the path to Ghad''s study where breakfast was already served. Archmage Sigma and Isaiah were already there and waiting for them.


    "That took quite a while," the archmagemented with a smallugh.


    "Those council members are really exhausting," Ulyssesined. He slumped on the empty couch beside Isaiah followed by a deep sigh. "And so early in the morning! What a great way to ruin the day, tsk."


    Ghad couldn''t agree more. He didn''t know how he had survived all those other meetings with those people. If not for Ulysses visiting him, his realization would be already toote.


    "Do you really own a piece ofnd in my territory?" Ghad suddenly asked when remembered what his friend said during the meeting.


    "What do you think?" Ulyssesughed and pretended to be mysterious.


    "If you bought a piece ofnd, I should have been notified," Ghad mumbled as he tried to recall if he had signed documents with Ulysses''s name on it.


    "Strictly speaking, it is not mynd but my youngest son''s. He bought thend after I told him that I will be visiting you." He was not sure if his son knew about the conflict or he did it unintentionally, nevertheless everything worked out. "Clever, isn''t he?"

 Chapter 204 Safe Travels

    ?After that meeting, Ghad became colder and difficult to approach. The members of the council did not dare to set up a meeting again after the humiliation they suffered. Despite that, the opinion of the people did not change and seemed to have be extreme.


    There were several rumors going around that the duke was going to sell the ckwell territory to Ginehart. They were even saying that the people from Ginehart were tyrants and that even their own duke became merciless. The people behind the council were really doing their best to smear mud to Duke Ghad''s image.


    "This ce is already so gloomy and now even the people aren''t that weing. What will you do now?" Ulysses asked after another report of peopleing to the manor just to cause a scene.


    For the past few days, they''ve received several guests who came to the manor to personally tell them their thoughts and some were even there just to curse at the duke. They clearlycked respect for their ruler and were bold enough to offend the ckwell house without thinking of the possible consequence of their actions.


    Instead of showing them his usually warm smile, Ghad decided to deal with them in a cold manner. All of his answers were perfunctory and his face didn''t show much emotion or reaction. Although the duke felt ufortable doing so, he couldn''t let them have their way any longer.


    "I''ll proceed with my initial ns. There are several things I must do even if the people have developed distrust towards me. Rather than that, would you be fine? Your name is getting dragged into this mess even though you are only visiting me." Ghad leaned on his seat.


    He had been busy and if not for his friend''s help, he would have died of over exhaustion. If not for the problems that arose within his territory, he would have been there to help Ghad too during that time. He raised his hand and rubbed his head then tightly shut his eyes.


    "Indeed, you have been dyed for many years because of those people. If you were not so soft hearted then nothing of this would have happened. And I don''t care if my name is being dragged around, my people won''t believe those baseless rumors." Ghad waved the documents on his hand with a grin.


    Ghad chuckled, "By the way, when will my nephew arrive?" He changed the topic to ease the gloomy atmosphere that was about to engulf them.


    "ording to the letter I received, they will be arriving within five days maximum seven days," Ghad answered. He ced the documents on top of the other documents that were already piled up on the table.


    Ghad looked outside with a frown, "They must not rush. The road to ckwell is not safe, especially because of the constant rain."


    Ulysses also looked outside until his gazended on Ghad who had a frown on his face. "You don''t have to worry, that son of mine is extraordinary and the people who are with him won''t let him be in danger."


    Ghad sighed, "I know that he must be something extraordinary for you to acknowledge him even though he is not your blood and that confidence of yours is beyond my expectations."


    Ulyssesughed, "That child, I''ve already epted him even though his nature is a bit bad and I am not the only one who epted him, you even called him your nephew."


    At the same time, an inconspicuous carriage was traveling through the rough and muddy road towards the ckwell territory. They set out from the capital five days ago. At first the journey was still okay since they haven''t entered the territory yet but the nearer they got to ckwell, the worse the weather had be.


    "The weather in this ce is unpredictable." Ezio was looking out the window of the carriage at the dark sky and the rain that started to fall down from the sky a few minutes ago.


    "This is a great opportunity for assassins to appear, don''t you think?" Cygnus added with a faint smile on his face. He was still reading a book despite the rain that was starting to get heavier the further they moved.


    "Master, don''t jinx it." Ezio looked at the master and sighed, he ought to get used to this style but he had only been with the master for not long so he didn''t know what to expect.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I am not a jinx. I''m just telling the truth." He closed the book he was reading and stared at Ezio.


    A few seconds after he did that, the carriage suddenly came to a halt and they heard the butler voice. "We''ve gotpany. What should I do, master?"


    "Kill them and leave one alive. I need to know who sent them," was the master''s answer.


    A shield was raised around the carriage the moment that the butler jumped down to face the assassins sent to kill them. Cygnus returned to reading while Ezio was tense as they waited for the butler to finish. He was ready to create a gate they could use to escape anytime that the enemy might break the barrier.


    "Don''t be too tense, the butler will take care of them. Why are you acting like you don''t know the butler''s abilities?" Cygnus sighed and Ezio could hear the rustling of the pages as he flipped the pages of the book he was reading.


    Ezio leaned back and sighed. "I guess I''m just nervous because this is the first time that I''ll be traveling with you and the butler so I don''t know what to expect." He closed his eyes and sighed again.


    "You don''t have to overthink about anything, with us here, nothing bad would go wrong besides with the status I hold right now, hidden enemies are bound toe after my life. I''m also guessing that Duke Ulysses must have done something within the territory that''s why assassins are after us." Cygnus stopped reading while exining to Ezio.


    The child nodded as he took several deep breaths to calm himself. He pricked his ear and he could hear the pitter patter of the rain hitting the water cover ground, even the ssh that came from the people who were currently fighting outside. He opened his eyes when he was finally calm and silently waited for the butler to finish.


    They were not sure how much time had passed when they heard a knock on the carriage''s door followed by Mr. C who opened it. He was holding a shivering man on his right hand as he bowed towards the master. Cygnus closed the book and carefully ced it on his side.


    "It took you quite long to finish the job," Cygnus grinned, which the butler ignored. He knew that the master was only teasing him once again.


    "I apologize, it was a bit difficult to fight with the heavy rain outside," he still apologized though. He then pushed the man forward.


    Cygnus alighted from the carriage. The invisible barrier that was covering the carriage expanded and covered them. It also served to stop the rain and prevent them from getting wet. He looked at the man as his eyes turned red.


    The assassin they caught couldn''t help but stare at those eyes until he fell into a daze. After a few seconds, his body started to twitch uncontrobly. Cygnus tilted his head to the side with the glow in his eyes intensifying until the man began to bleed from his eyes, nose and mouth.


    The master closed his eyes and the man fell on the ground, dead. "They are really from ckwell, specifically from a member of the council. My guess must have been correct."


    He turned around and entered the carriage once again. Ezio gave the dead man onest look before he averted his gaze. Mr. C returned to the front and started to drive the carriage like nothing happened.


    "Do you want to try fighting them the next time assassins appear again? It can serve as a practice for you. You can''t go to a ce without preparing yourself to fight. You know, you might die if you don''t know how to fight." The master''s grin sent shivers to his spine and made him gulp but nheless, the master was right. If he couldn''t fight, then he might as well die.

 Chapter 205 Finally At Blackwell

    ?Throughout their journey, they would encounter assassins and during those times, Ezio learned to use his magic to fight. At first, he had a difficult time figuring out he could easily use his magic to fight but after several tries, he finally got a hang of it. Thus, the grueling journey amidst the rain that didn''t show any signs of stopping, Ezio became a decent fighter.


    Within five days of traveling, they were not yet halfway towards the center of the territory. They passed by several viges but whenever they tried to look for a ce to stay within those viges, they were shunned. The people were not weing and would only give them a re.


    Cygnus got tired of it and decided that they shouldn''t waste their time in trying to find a ce to sleep. He then looked at Ezio and ordered him to summon a gate that connects with the Ginehart manor, specifically his room. That was how they survived every night and how they did not get hungry during the journey. Having a person who could use space magic was really convenient.


    The seven days maximum that they promised became ten days until it took them exactly fifteen days to finally reach the entrance to the center of the territory. The weather has also calmed down a little bit, at least there was no rain the day they arrived. Several ck carriages were also there to meet them together with Ulysses and Isaiah.


    "You are finally here!" Ulysses couldn''t be happier when he finally saw Rigel''s face. He went up to the young man and gave him a big hug. "It took you longer than expected."


    He ended the hug but was still holding on to the master''s shoulder while checking him from head to toe. He grinned then patted the master''s shoulder a couple of times before letting him go. The duke also gave a nod towards Mr. C and Ezio.


    "I''m happy to see that you arrived here safely," Isaiah also walked up to them.


    His gaze then moved to the carriage behind them. It was badly beaten up and he could see some scratches on it that suspiciously looked like it came from a knife or sword but due to the mud sticking on the exterior he couldn''t be sure. Ulysses also looked at the carriage and narrowed his eyes, it was really fortunate that they arrived safely.


    "It''s because those people are weak. They might have thought that they could kill me. Well, they are dreaming there are no people in this world who can kill me." Cygnus chuckled then shook his head and he even spread out his arms to show them that he was fine.


    "Alright, let''s get out of here first and talk once we reach the manor." Ulysses nodded and pulled him instead towards one of the carriages that was waiting for them. The butler and Ezio followed behind closely.


    It took them thirty minutes to finally reach the manor where the servants and the manor''s butler were there to wee them. Cygnus stared at the structure in front of him and suddenly a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu urred to him. He felt like he was standing in one of those Greek structures because of the columns that lined the manor''s front porch.


    It was not a part of the main structure but these columns were surrounding the manor. He then felt that there was something faint on those high rising posts. He walked forward and noticed that there was a thin barrier in between those columns but the people around him seem to not notice it. He looked at Isaiah but he was acting normal like he did not notice anything.


    "What''s the matter?" Ulysses looked back and saw that the master wasgging behind. He looked like he was in a daze while staring at the columns around the manor.


    Cygnus shook his head, "It''s nothing to worry about. I just felt that this whole ce gives off an ancient vibe."


    Ulysses looked around but couldn''t figure out what his son was talking about. They then heard a voice from not far away who answered the statement. "Indeed, this ce is ancient. Even the manor was built on the foundations that were left there when they first discovered this ce."


    Cygnus stared at Duke Ghad who came out to meet them. "Isn''t that ominous? You built a manor in a ce with an ancient structure with it? Do you even know what sort of building would be built inside this wall of columns?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ghad smiled, "My ancestors didn''t know. They just knew that it was a good ce to build a house. Later on, they discovered that the whole ce was actually cursed and that it was an altar of some sorts. They then performed a purification rite around the manor and purged all the evil spirits but something beyond their power appeared and all they could do was seal it."


    The people who heard the story shuddered because of how portentous that statement was. Nobody needed to tell them where that evil spirit was sealed because they already knew where. Cygnus grinned and stretched his hands.


    "Truly ominous. I don''t understand why you still live in this kind of house?" He walked towards them as they all went inside.


    Although the outside felt gloomy, the inside of the manor was warm and weing. Even the food that they served made the master''s appetite increase. With the feast presented for them, one would think that the territory was not suffering fromck of supply.


    "Does this ce have any scenic spots I could visit?" Cygnus asked after eating two pieces of bread.


    "Yes, I''ll let one of the servants go with you when the weather gets a little bit better," Ghad nodded.


    He watched as his nephew did not stop from picking up the treats on the table and putting them in his mouth. He looked at Ulysses and the man only shrugged his shoulders. This was the first time that he had truly sat down with this nephew so his opinion about him only came from those short interactions they had in the past.


    "Oh, by the way, on our way here, we encountered several assassins and upon investigation we learned that they were sent by someone from your council," Cygnus eximed after he remembered their journey. "Did something happen? I am honestly confused as to why your council would want me dead."


    Ghad''s jaws tensed as he ced one of his hands on the arm of the chair he was sitting from and used it to rub his head. They were really bold to even attack Ulysses''s son. "I apologize. Theyck any sense of crisis and right now I and your father are not in good terms with them."


    "Then why are you letting them run around. If it were me, I would immediately punish them for insubordination," Cygnus sighed and looked at the man. "They don''t deserve to live a happy life."


    This straightforward answer shocked Ghad. He did not expect that something like that woulde out of a young man''s mouth. He once again looked at Ulysses in confusion but the man only raised his ss toward him.


    "Hah, that was a bit unexpected. But you are right I should punish them for insubordination but the problem is I still need to know who is inciting them to go against me, so I can''t do that yet," Ghad answered. The smile on his face did not disappear as he looked at this nephew with interest.


    "Shall I do it for you, Duke Ghad? That is to find out the one controlling your council." Cygnus sat straight and leveled his gaze to that of the duke''s.


    "And what will you get from it?" Duke Ghad was starting to get amused because of the unusual topic they were having right now. This must be how he made a deal with his friend.


    "Just a favor, so you don''t have to worry," the master smiled.

 Chapter 206 Done Deal

    ?The room was quiet for a while as they let the two of them talk for a while. Ulysses and Isaiah were silent because they already went through something simr. They both took the deal because they couldn''t resist the man''s charm.


    Ezio on the other hand was intently listening to the conversation because he didn''t have any idea what happened during the time that he was not with the master. He was looking at the both of them intently and wondered how the master could talk calmly to the duke. If that was him, he would have stuttered right away and would even try to hide.


    "When will you ask for this favor then? Is there a specific timeline for it?" Ghad has his full attention on the young man who was offering him a deal.


    "There''s no specific time nor day so you should be ready all the time because I may ask for it on a whim and I am not keen on hearing an answer that you can''t do it right away. What I want is the moment I ask for the favor you need to give or do it right away." It was a weird way of putting it, but this favor would definitely not be easy.


    Duke Ghad had to stay silent for a while. His mind was busy weighing the pros and cons of entering this deal. From his perspective, it was like he was entering a contract with his eyes closed because he was not sure what the other party wanted and when he would want it.


    ''In the case that he couldn''t fulfill the favor that the young man would say, what will happen?'' He looked at Cygnus then at Ulysses who was now looking at the both of them.


    Ulysses could understand the anxiety that his friend was feeling. He couldn''t say that he went through that exactly but because of Linius he needed to agree. He gave a slight nod towards his friend as he silently gave him his support.


    "You don''t have to worry whether you can do the favor or not because I am reasonable and will only ask you of something I know you can give," Cygnus added to make the duke more at ease in epting his offer.


    After a few more minutes of thinking about it, he finally epted the offer. "Ah, why do I feel like you are like the devil right now?" He couldn''t help butment after the deal was settled.


    Cygnusughed, "What do you think?" He tilted his head to the side and a sh of red briefly appeared on his eyes which startled the duke. He took a second look but the young man''s eyes were back to normal, it must have been his imagination.


    Ghad shook his head, "I don''t know and I''m not sure. I don''t have the desire to know more."


    After that Cygnus was shown his room where he took his rest. Ezio on the other hand followed Isaiah who had been studying all this time. He was reading books about magic and in curiosity he asked if there were books about space magic in their library. When he received a positive response, he did not hesitate to join him.


    Mr. C also went to familiarize himself on how the servants and the butler of the manor work so as not to get in their way. The two dukes returned to Ghad''s study and continued with the documents they were yet to finish. The day passed by in the manor peacefully but in another ce, there was a group of people who were getting anxious because their ns had failed drastically.


    They sent assassins to kill or at least kidnap Duke Ginehart''s son but none of the people they sent seeded. When they sent another group to look for those assassins, they discovered that they were all dead. They seemed to have underestimated the duke''s son or they were not informed of his abilities.


    "What should we do now? Everything is not going ording to n! How can we defeat the duke if all of the provocations we did have no effect on him!" One of the people in the room was furious after hearing the report of the assassins dying.


    "We''ve been waiting for this chance for years now and just because of that damn Duke Ginehart, everything became messy," another oneined. His fists were tightly clenched as he gritted his teeth.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was one of those days where they were supposed to meet and n for their next move but all they did wasin. They were not in the right state of mind to n because of the sessive failure they experienced. While the others were in an angry rant, one of them was calmly observing from the side.


    Indeed, the appearance of Duke Ginehart was out of their expectations as they needed to adjust all of their ns of taking over the ckwell Dukedom. They thought that they could make the duke relent while the capital was in chaos but they did not expect that the chaotic mess would be resolved so easily and that the duke would decide to go there directly.


    They needed to move while taking the Gineharts into consideration. They couldn''t fail this time. First, they needed to get rid of the annoyance that appeared within the territory. To do that, they would require drastic measures.


    "What should we do now?" One of them finally asked after they all calmed down because they couldn''t let this affect their goal.


    "For now, let''s proceed with what we talked about yesterday." The man who had been silent on the side answered. "Let''s observe how they will move, then we can n based on their response. We can also observe those guests and make adjustments ordingly."


    The people in the room agreed with that one suggestion. After that, they all left, leaving the man behind since he was still waiting for someone. The time passed by when the person he was waiting for finally arrived. He stood up and gave a slight bow to the man who came.


    "I apologize for all the failures that our group has suffered. We did not expect that Duke Ginehart woulde and intervene with our ns." Enrick immediately apologized after the man entered the room.


    The mysterious man patted his clothes that were full of mud but it did nothing to remove the mud on his clothes. He ignored it then and continued on one of the seats in the room. His boots left muddy footprints on the floor and the muddy water that was dripping from his clothes made the floor wet.


    "What should you do then?" A deep voice came from the man as his dark eyes gazed at Enrick. "Are you expecting me to move for you?"


    Enrick felt shivers run down his spine at the voice that sounded like it came from the deepest part of hell. It was deep and carried a pressure that could make someone suffocate. "Of course not, your eminence. We promise you that we will right the mistakes we havemitted. You do not need to dirty your hands as we will do the work for you."


    He managed to keep his voice steady even though his body was shivering in fear. "You''ve been saying that to me for the past weeks and yet I do not see any progress from your grand n. I am getting impatient right now."


    Enrick stiffened at those words andrge beads of sweat started to trickle down from his forehead. "I apologize for that, your eminence. We are doing everything just to hasten our progress. Please give us more time."


    The man did not hear any answer from ''the eminence'' but he did not dare look up. From where the mysterious person was sitting, tentacles started to slither towards Enrick. These tentacles were ck and were full of slimy liquid that left traces on the floor where it passed.


    Enrick was startled when he felt something cold around his feet and before he could react, he was already dangling upside down in the air. The mysterious man stood up and slowly made his way towards the man and stared him in the eye. Enrick could feel the cold breathing from the man and all he wanted to do was stay away from the man.


    "I hope that you won''t disappoint me this time because the next time you fail, I will make sure that you''ll experience the torture of getting your bones broken, slowly and painfully." After those words, the tentacle that was holding the man swayed a few times before mming Enrick on the stone floor of the room.

 Chapter 207 Warm Up

    ?A crack appeared below him and he could taste blood on his mouth. His vision was a bit hazy and he was having a difficult time breathing because of the impact. Minutes passed by before he was able to get his breathing back to normal.


    He pushed himself up and sat down on the ground. He groaned when felt pain on his chest and back. Luckily, he managed to survive from the eminence''s anger. He looked around but the mysterious person was no longer there.


    The only sign that he was there were the traces of mud on the ground andnon the chair. Enrick slowly stood up and took his time to leave the room. He clenched his fists because he knew that he couldn''t fail again.


    The next day, the weather was surprisingly sunny so as Ghad had promised, he assigned one of the servants to apany Cygnus around the territory. The master thanked the duke and set out with the servant who was happy to guide him. At his request, Cygnus and the servant did not use any carriage and instead rode a horse.


    First, they went around the manor so that he could familiarize himself with they-out of the ce. After that the servant led him to one of thekes inside the territory. Due to the non-stop rain, theke was a bit murky but it did not hide the beauty of the ce.


    He alighted from the horse and walked towards the water. The servant was surprised that he broke into a run to pull away the man. They both stumbled back because of the sudden action that Cygnus couldn''t hep but look at the servant with wide eyes.


    "What''s the matter?" He asked as he stabilized himself after getting pulled for no reason.


    "I apologize sir! I was just startled when you suddenly walked towards theke!" He bowed his head then looked up again. "Even though theke is beautiful, there are monsters in the depths of the waters."


    Cygnus raised a brow, "Will theye out when I am only going to take a quick look?"


    "I''m afraid so, it''s better to be safe than regret itter and if something would happen to you, I might not be able to keep my head," the servant answered seriously. He was straight forward and didn''t try to hide anything.


    Cygnus looked at theke again before giving up. "Alright, I won''t go near it. How about that path, where does it lead?" He pointed at a narrow path that was created by people who always use that as a pathway.


    The servant looked at it and frowned a little bit. He thought about it for a second before deciding to tell him. "That path leads to one of the mining sites in the area. It''s one that has not been really approved by the duke but people will still go there to mine. The ce has be a nest for monsters but due to desperation, some people will still try their luck."


    Cygnus became interested after hearing the servant''s exnation. It''s worth exploring. Before the servant could warn him again, he was already walking towards to it. The servant hurriedly followed behind to stop Cygnus but the master ignored him.


    "I''m just going to take a look, if you don''t want to go with me just stay here and wait." Cygnus turned around with a grin on his face. "I''ll be careful."


    The servant was stumped because he didn''t know how to deal with the young master of Ginehart. He could already see that he was willful and would do whatever he wanted. He looked around in anxiousness before taking a deep breath and following behind.


    Cygnus walked for more than an hour before they finally reached the mining site. The ce felt unsettling and the negative energy from around was so potent that even the servant could feel it. The area was strangely silent as there were no animals that dare to get near the ce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The master walked around until he reached the opening of a cave where a railway was built to transport the mined stones. He looked at the darkness of the tunnel with interest and wanted to step forward but the servant held him back. He frowned and looked back only to see that the servant''s face was pale.


    "Sir, let''s get out of here. I don''t think it is right for us to be in this ce." He started looking around and Cygnus could feel the tremble in his hands.


    Indeed, the ce felt even more ominouspared to the first time they stepped in the ce. The wind suddenly picked up and it got stronger for no specific reason. The rustling of the tree leaves made the ce looked even more haunted, like something woulde out anytime.


    "Let''s go then," Cygnus sighed. He started to walk towards the direction where they came from but for some reason they were not reaching the end of the path.


    The servant who was with him couldn''t stop trembling and he also started to mumble incoherent things. His eyes were unfocused and his skin was unnaturally pale. Cygnus tried shaking him and even pped him a couple of times but the servant remained in a daze.


    "This is amazing. This ce is really filled with things that suits my taste." Cygnusughed and pushed the servant away.


    A growl came from the tunnel followed by heavy footsteps that shook the ground. First a w appeared and held the tunnel''s entrance followed by arge furry body. It was actually a huge werewolf.


    The monster was standing on two feet, much like that of a human, and was growling towards Cygnus. It''s eyes were red and its fangs were sharp. Saliva was also dripping down from its mouth. Its midnight fur stained with blood made it even more intimidating.


    Cygnus could also smell the scent of fresh blood that wasing out from the tunnel. They must havee while the monster was feasting on some people who tried toe here and mine and they identally disturbed it. The master grinned, it was the perfect time for him to have some warm up.


    The monster came at him with full speed and tried to w him but his ws bounced off from the red barrier that the master materialized in front of him. Annoyed by the obstruction, the werewolf continued to w at the red barrier but no matter how persistent it was, the barrier did not break. The werewolf backed away to try another tactic but before it could move, Cygnus was already in front of it.


    He flicked his fingers and the werewolf was sent flying. It hit the side of the mountain where the tunnel was dug up. The werewolf stood up from its fall and let out a howl the echoed to the sky before attacking again. This time Cygnus did not materialize any barriers and faced the werewolf head on.


    He used his bare hands to block the werewolf''s attacks and everytime he does, he would be pushed back but that did not matter to him. It has been so long ever since he used his bare hands to fight because he had been relying on his magic to defeat the enemy. He used his fist to punch the werewolf and the force of that hit was enough to make the werewolf kneel.


    Blood started to seep out from his mouth and from the wound that was created by the fist that hit it. The master''s fist prated through the werewolf''s body but the monster''s regeneration closed that wound in the blink of an eye. The werewolf was up on its feet again and was recklessly attacking Cygnus.


    On the other hand, the master continued to dodge the ws and fangs that were trying to tear him apart. He was now waiting for a chance to attack. The werewolf used both of his ws to capture the master but he managed to escape by bending down.


    While he was bent, he gathered force on both of his fists and propelled himself up. He managed to hit the werewolf and just like how the monster did it, Cygnus did not stop from hitting the monster. Blood started to stter on the ground and on Cygnus''s clothes.

 Chapter 208 Evil Spirit

    He was grinning throughout the fight and when the werewolf couldn''t regenerate anymore. And at thest minute, Cygnus pierced through its chest and removed its heart before crushing it and throwing it to the side.


    He looked at his clothes and shook his head. "They will surely freak out when they see me in this state."


    He walked away from the site while dragging the servant away. He finally reached the start of the trail and saw their horses. Since the servant was still unconscious, he was forced to ce him on the other horse and guide it instead.


    Rain started to fall from the already dark sky so he hastened a little bit. They reached the manor all wet and muddy but the butler was already there to meet them. Even Ulysses and Ghad waited.


    Cygnus was quite surprised to see those two. The servants carried the person with him while he gave the two dukes a grin. Both of them had a frown while looking at his messy state.


    "You are dirty, what have you been up to?" Ulysses had his arms crossed on his chest while giving the master a re.


    "We were out horseback riding. And we encountered something unusual. Hence the bloody and muddy get up." He gestured at his clothes nonchntly with a grin on his face.


    "What did you encounter?" Ghad queried.


    "Oh just a fierce werewolf," Cygnus shrugged. "It was not even a match for me."


    Ghad tightly closed his eyes and took some deep breaths before he was able to gather his thoughts. "Where did you encounter it?"


    "Hmm..at the mining site near theke north of the estate. We stumbled on it feasting on I guess humans who went there to try their luck," Cygnus casually answered.


    There was silence after he answered his question. He looked at the two dukes and the servants who were all looking at him, like he had gone crazy. He didn''t know if he did something wrong so he looked at his butler for an answer.


    Ghad was speechless and was at a loss on how he should react to the information he got, especially at how casual the young man''s answer was. He looked at Ulysses only to see him take a deep breath. He guessed that Rigel was usually like this and that he shouldn''t be surprised.


    The duke of ckwell looked behind him at his secretary and motioned for him toe closer. He then instructed the man to call one of his captains. The secretary immediately left to do the duke''s bidding.


    "For now, go inside and wash up. You might get sick if you remain on those wet clothes much longer," Ulysses sighed and gestured for his son to follow.


    Cygnus remained silent as he walked behind the dukes until they were in front of his room. He bid them a temporary goodbye and entered his room. He took a long bath before he came out for dinner but he did not see his father nor Duke ckwell.


    "They''ve gone to the location you mentioned. It might take them longer to get back because of the rain." The butler informed him after their dinner.


    "How about that servant, how is he?" Cygnus asked as they walked the dimly lit halls of the manor.


    "He''s at the manor''s clinic right now. He has not suffered any injuries but he remains unconscious," the butler exined.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He had gone to the clinic while the master was taking a bath to assess the situation but he was stumped because he couldn''t tell what was wrong with him. It was a bit difficult to assess the man''s condition because his sensors were getting blocked. After much thought, he came to the conclusion that the man was possessed.


    "The evil spirit must have taken a liking to his body, should I go and visit him?" Cygnus stopped walking as he thought of what he should do. "Let''s go."


    They went ahead to the clinic and found that there were no people in there. It was concerning especially for normal human beings. A clinic should always have doctors or nurses around just in case an emergency might ur but they were nit present. The air inside the room was also stagnant and reeked of something foul.


    "Ah, the evil spirit must have gotten stronger after it came to this ce. It must have been attracted to my scent when I got to the mining site." He looked around at the beds and found that no one was in any of those.


    They then heard a growling from one of the closed rooms inside the clinic. It was not the same as the werewolf''s but a growl that came from a human. He gestured for his butler to go and have a look while he sat on one of the beds to see what''s going on. Mr. C walked towards the door where a suspiciously slimy ck liquid wasing out.


    He opened the door without flinching and even after seeing the brutal scene inside, he remained unfazed. "That servant must have killed all the medical personnel in here."


    Inside that room were the bodies of the nurses and doctors that were supposed to be working in the clinic. The room was also filled with blood mixed with the slimy substance on the floor. Even the walls had blood stters on them. What''s more gruesome was the state of the bodies, the corpses were beyond recognition and there were several body parts scattered on the floor.


    Mr. C stepped inside as he didn''t even mind the blood that had started to soak his shoes and the ends of his pants. He inspected the room to see if the possessed servant was still in the room. He heard a growl again and a munching sound from behind the stacks of body.


    The butler walked towards the direction and saw that it was indeed the possessed servant. In his hand was a woman''s body and there was blood on his mouth, proof that he had been feasting on the personnel of the clinic. The moment the butler stood there, the possessed servant stopped his actions and stared at the intruder.


    "What should I do now, master?" The butler asked after he made eye to eye contact with the evil spirit.


    "Can you deal with it?" Cygnus questioned instead of answering him.


    "Yes, but I am not sure if I can deal with the evil spirit since I am not an exorcist."The butler had confidence that he could kill the spirit''s host but once the host died, the spirit might find another body to possess.


    "That won''t be a problem. Let the spirit go," Cygnus lifted his feet and ced them on the bed as he leaned on the head board.


    The butler''s body started to glow and turned ck. The blue lines that appeared on his skin were especially bright in the darkness of the room. The possessed man threw the body it was holding as it stood up.


    The blood and ck liquid dripped from his body as the both stared at each other. The only sound that could be heard from the room was the sound of dripping and the growls from the man. They stood there for a few more seconds before the possessed man finally made the first move.


    It dashed forward and created a wave on the pool of blood on the ground. Its hands had already transformed into ws and his whole body was emitting a dark aura that sizzled as it made contact with the butler''s skin. Mr. C blocked the ws then he raised his feet and kicked the enemy back.


    The possessed servant stumbled back but that did not stop it from attacking. Itunched itself again and tried to w his way towards the butler but Mr. C still managed to block its attack and pushed it away. The butler took this chance and used his speed to shorten the distance between them. He then clenched his fists and punched the possessed man on its stomach.

 Chapter 209 Devoured

    The servant tumbled and rolled back after that hit until it was stopped by the wall of the room. Mr. C did not give it the chance to recover as he ran towards it and gave it another blow. That one hit was followed by another and another until the possessed man could no longer move.


    The body was already twisted and most of its bones were already broken. Through logic, it should have died but the butler saw the body twitch followed by a dark aura that exploded and pushed him back. His body sizzled aftering in contact with the dark aura.


    Some of the nanites that was protecting him were destroyed because of ura explosion. The servant was now standing again with its head bowed down and its shoulders were drooping. The dark aura was surrounding him and it even stirred the air.


    It then started to float and like a puppet with a string, the servant flung itself towards Mr. C. This time the attack of the servant was incorporated with its dark aura. The sizzling did not stop but the butler needed to defend and attack too.


    The nanites in his body converged at his arms and formed a sword. He waved the sword and went to face the enemy head on. The sword managed to slice through the dark aura and give the servant a deep wound. The butler did not stop there and continued to move forward even though the aura was injuring him badly.


    Once he was at an enough distance the sword on his hand changed into a spear. He changed how he held the weapon then threw it without hesitation. The spear pierced through the servant''s chest instantly killing him. The aura that was scattered around disappeared.


    Mr. C made a pulling motion with his hand and the spear returned to him. The spear returned to its nanite form and went back to the butler''s body. He looked at the body and stepped forward to check if he was really dead.


    He bent down to take a look at the body. The servant''s body was already decaying when he moved it. It fell down on the bloody floor and the butler could see that his skin turned dark and there were patches of flesh that could be seen from different parts of his body. Mr. C shook his head before he stood up to give a report to the master.


    "He is dead," he made his voice louder to let the master hear it from where he was sitting.


    "Now, let''s wait for that spirit toe out," Cygnus mumbled. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes towards the door of the room where the fight happened.


    He did not need to wait for long though because a wisp of ck smoke came out from the servant''s body. At first, it only floated from side to side like it was still in a daze. Mr. C intended to trap it using a device that had been stored in their arsenal created with light magic.


    As if sensing that it was in danger, the evil spirit dashed out of the room and it''s gaze locked on Cygnus who looked vulnerable. The spirit made an effort to enter the man''s body which was the biggest mistake it made. It wanted to possess the body but before it could do it, an ominous presence appeared and devoured it.


    "Ugh, he couldn''t really wait," the master sighed as he leaned again on the bed.


    "Master, what happened?" Mr. C got out of the room. He was now back to his normal appearance and was wiping his hands.


    "The evil spirit is gone." Cygnus stood up with a dejected look on his face. "I was supposed to use that as a decoy one of these days, but it was devoured instantly."


    They were about to leave the clinic when they ran into Ghad together with his knights. The duke took one look at them and at the mess behind them and he could already guess what happened. He motioned for the knights to enter and inspect the ce.


    Not only a minute passed by when one of the knights returned with a pale face. He was trembling as he pointed at the direction of the room where the bodies were piled up. Ghad frowned and walked forward only to be shocked by what he saw.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He had seen his fair share of death but this one was something he did not expect. He turned around and tightly shut his eyes as he tried to calm his nerves. The knights together with Cygnus and Mr. C gave the duke some quiet moments.


    "What happened here?" His eyes were still shut,m but Cygnus knew that that question was directed at them.


    "It''s the work of an evil spirit that possessed the servant who came with me," Cygnus answered.


    The knights couldn''t help but murmur amongst themselves after that answer. Spirits were not a foreign topic within their territory since the ce was full of it, even evil spirits were a normal urrence. A simple evil spirit couldn''t have done this.


    "Where is it now?" Ghad opened his eyes and finally looked at Cygnus.


    "We destroyed it. We used a relic to annihte it," he answered once again. His voice and his eyes did not waver. "He must have been possessed when we went to that site. We were supposed to be visiting him but he was gone together with the staff in this ce. Then we discovered that room." He pointed at where the bodies were.


    "Why didn''t you call for help?" The duke asked again.


    "Because I know that we can defeat it. There''s no need to call for your attention as you and my father are busy with other more important matters," Cygnus answered with a shrug.


    He looked like he was innocent but Ghad had a feeling that he was not. He was not afraid or nervous even after seeing something like that in a room. Even his butler didn''t flinch at the mention of that room.


    The red spots on the end of his pants were also proof that he entered the room. That must have been the time that a battle happened. The butler must be the one who defeated the servant and the person who dealt with the evil spirit was Rigel.


    "Go back to the manor for now, we will clean this up." Ghad sighed as he started to massage his forehead.


    Cygnus and Mr. C left the clinic while the knights were tasked to clean up the mess. He took another look at those bodies and pitied them for encountering such a brutal evil spirit. The knights took the rest of the day and a whole night to remove all the bodies and mop the floor.


    The room looked like new but the metallic smell of blood still lingers in the air. Even though the bodies were collected and fixed, it still felt like they were still there. They also managed to match the body parts and with Archmage Sigma''s help they were able to piece them back together.


    "To encounter an evil spirit who could do much damage, I don''t know if that child is lucky or not." Sigmamented after treating piecing together the body parts.


    "I think that he is not lucky, he must have known that that servant is possessed but he still brought him back." Ghad helped with putting all the bodies in individual bags.


    They would send those bodies to their families and he needed to prepare a statement to justify their deaths. If he lied, the people''s opinion about him would worsen but if he tells them the truth the people won''t easily ept it. He let out a deep sigh at the dilemma he was about to face.

 Chapter 210 Evil Spirits

    After Ghad made sure that everything was in ce, he returned to the manor and asked for Cygnus''s and Ulysses''s presence in his study. The father and son were sitting on either side of the table while he was seated at the head. He had his eyes closed as they remained silent inside the room.


    The sound of the clock was loud and the tense atmosphere persisted. This situation remained until Duke Ghad finally decided to speak. He took several deep breaths before he opened his eyes and looked at Cygnus.


    "I don''t know how everything had escted in the short amount of time you are here. I''ve been dealing with too many things and you''ve added to it. How did you do it?" The duke was speaking almost sarcastically while staring at the young man.


    Cygnusughed, "I just went around and took a walk." He grinned which only made Duke Ghad sigh.


    "We''ve seen our fair share of evil spirits and what they can do but this is the first time that an evil spirit killed so many people in a short span of time. It''s almost at the level of something malevolent and I''m curious as to the reason why something like that would appear in this ce." Duke Ghad leaned on his chair as he waited for the young man to answer.


    "I''ve told you before this ce feels ominous," was his only answer. He did not add anything and just stared at him.


    Ghad was silent. He didn''t know how the young man knew. He thought that it was only an observation because Rigel was uses magic but based on his answer he knew something. He sighed then raised his head and looked at the ceiling.


    He was feeling a bit conflicted because of the young man''s unusual knowledge. He asked Ulysses before for the young man''s origin but even his friend was not sire about it. He only knew that ye young man could do things that no normal human or mage could do.


    "This ce, ording to the records of our ancestors, was a sacrificial ground hence the raised tform. Even after knowing that, they still built the manor because they thought that they could lift the curse left by all the sacrifices made in this ce. They used magic to seal the evil aura but it still seeps through. The only way they thought was to create multipleyers of a seal." Ghad exined after he remained silent for a while.


    Ulysses and Cygnus did not speak after hearing him admit those things. This must be a secret that only the leaders of the dukedom knew. Since most people in ckwell don''t have magic, they only knew the concept of it. Instead, they were more familiar with spirits and monsters.


    Most of them even rely heavily on the tools that the Duke Ghad and his team developed for them. Because of the incidents from evil spirits, the duke also dove into making talismans for their protection but even that was not easy to do. In making these talismans, one still needed at least a substantial amount of mana because the talismans must be imbued with mana which will activate once ites in contact with an evil spirit.


    "Now we are utilizing mana to create talismans that could fend off evil spirits but if a malevolent spirit like that possessed that servant, I''m afraid that those talismans won''t hold up." He expressed his concern because of that attack.


    He was in a precarious situation. So far, the talismans they''ve made have been helpful but he was afraid that if an evil spirit like what attacked those nurses and doctors were to appear, the talismans might not be effective. In return, if one of those talismans failed and harmed the citizens, then the me would undoubtedly fall on him. It would be a perfect time for the enemies to weaken his influence.


    "Malevolent spirits only manifests when an ordinary evil spirit absorbs too much evil energy. The evil spirit that possessed the servant just happened to absorb evil energy in this ce that it became that violent," Cygnus exined. There was nothing to worry about if the evil spirits didn''t have a source of evil energy.


    Before they could continue with what they were discussing, several knocks sounded on the door followed by the secretary entering the room. He was panting because the moment that he received the news, he immediately went to see the duke. He calmed himself first before he told them the news.


    "I received a report that there was an attack from an evil spirit and there are already casualties," he reported in one breath.


    Ghad frowned that he abandoned the conversation in order to go and see what was happening. Ulysses and Cygnus followed behind. They met with the soldiers in front with their horses already ready.


    They rode fast towards the ce even though the night had slowly deepened. Wails and screams could be heard from a distance as they got near the area. Ghad urged his horse faster which the others also did.


    The sentinels that were dispatched tried to defeat the spirit but they couldn''t evennd a hit on it. It could easily transform its body into smoke. It then solidified once again and was about to w one of the sentinels but something bright flew towards it and stopped it from approaching further.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus, who was still riding on a horse, already raised his hand and waved it from left to right and several sharp edged golden lights appeared. With a downward motion of his hand, the individual lights pierced the ground to trap the evil spirit. The dark wisp of smoke tried to escape but everytime it tried to escape through the gaps of the light it would only bounce back.


    They all alighted from their horses and Ghadmanded the sentinels to assess the damage created by the evil spirit. The others went to check on the people who were injured. A sob followed by a cry caught their attention. From faraway, Ghad could already see several bodies lying down.


    The duke walked towards them as his jaws clenched at what he saw. There were at least five bodies lying on the ground and he could tell that they were all dead. He averted his eyes and instead looked at the children who were crying on the side.


    He walked towards them and crouched down to give them both a hug. He gently patted their backs. They remained in that position for a couple more minutes to wait for them to calm down.


    Ghad then carried the both of them after they stopped crying and walked away from the bloody scene. He let one of the sentinels carry them away,pletely. Ulysses patted his friend''s shoulder before they both walked to the cage that held the evil spirit.


    "This one''s a malevolent one," Cygnus pointed at the wisp of ck smoke that was floating inside the cage.


    "How did that happen?" Ghad frowned. He couldn''t help but feel that there was something going behind this matter.


    "Are there any ces in ckwell that evil spirits could take in evil energy?" Ulysses asked after much consideration.


    "There are quite a few but those ces are far away from here." His forehead wrinkled while he was thinking of the areas where evil energy might ur.


    "There''s nothing wrong in checking out those ces. How about this one? What shall I do with it?" He pointed at the restless evil spirit.


    "Just destroy it," Ghad answered.


    Cygnus nodded so he went ahead and ced his finger on top of the empty space above the light. He then started to mumble and a golden magic circle appeared from the tip of his fingers followed by a sharp lightning that hit the evil spirit. It shook and resisted the effect of the attack but despite its struggle it still dissipated in the air.


    Ulysses helped Ghad with the dead. They carried them and put them inside those body bags. After that, the people who survived were still in mourning because some of them died. They were all shaking in fear even after the appearance of the sentinels and the duke.


    "This is not a good sign." Ulysses shook his head and sighed. "What will you do? This event would eventually get out to the public."


    "I''ll deal with themter," he looked at the scattered remnants of the talismans, "I need to take a look at those areas first. Can you take care of them first?"


    "Alright. Why don''t you take my son with you?" Ulysses suggested. Ghad''s gaze fell on Rigel who was already looking at him.


    "Come along." He waved his hand before he rode his horse once again.


    Cygnus grinned at Ulysses before he followed. The night had already nketed the whole territory and yet the duke was still insistent on checking those ces. The first ce they visited was a cemetery. It was approximately three kilometers away from the site of the attack.

 Chapter 211 Visiting

    Like the manor, the cemetery was protected by a thinyer of barrier that wavered when they passed through it. Cygnus let the illuminating crystal on his hand float above them and with a snap, it also illuminated the cemetery. It also showed several ck wisps floating around.


    With so many evil spirits in that ce, the evil energy was being divided which couldn''t sustain the necessary amount that could transform any of them into a malevolent spirit. Ghad looked behind him and signaled for his men to destroy the spirits. Cygnus was happy to stand on the side and be a spectator because he was curious to know how the sentinels would deal with those evil spirits.


    The sentinels unsheathed their swords and used it to destroy the evil spirits. Their swords would glow white whenever it touched any of the ck smoke that was floating in the ce. His right palm went up to cover the grin on his face at seeing how they deal with those things. It was crude but effective and it was understandable because they couldn''t use magic.


    "Did you make those swords?" He asked the duke while he was still focused on the scene in front of him.


    "No. Those swords were forged by our cksmith but the imbued magic on it was from Archmage Sigma," the duke answered. He gave the young man a side nce but he couldn''t see his reaction at all. "Is there a problem with them?"


    Cygnus shook his head. He removed the hand that was covering his face as his expression turned to its usually perfunctory one. "They are actually good," was his only answer.


    He didn''t speak further and waited for the sentinels to finish. Once in a while, he would deal with the ones who appeared beside them. They managed to destroy most of the evil spirits but there were still a few that were left. Their method was exhausting andborious, if the duke wanted to visit the other two sites he mentioned, they needed to deal with the spirits as fast as possible.


    Since he was getting bored, Cygnus took it upon himself to finish the job and move on to the next site. He lifted his right hand followed by the formation of a white magic circle. Something identical appeared above the whole cemetery and stacked above it were magic circles of different sizes.


    On top of the stack was a golden magic circle that produced a light that was simr to that of the sun. It was only a small amount but once it passed through the different magic circles, it intensified. The bright light fell through the whole cemetery and wiped out the wisps of evil spirit that were roaming around. It even reduced the amount of evil energy in the ce.


    Slowly the light disappeared and only the light from the illuminating crystal remained. All eyes were now focused on Cygnus who just used arge amount of mana to create that magic. He shrugged his shoulders and called back the orb to ce it in his palms once again.


    "Let''s move," Ghad ordered. He did not expect what Rigel did but it saved them time and energy.


    They rode to the next location. It took them an hour to reach one of the three locations mentioned by the duke. This time they came to an abandoned building which looked more like a shrine with all the unrecognizable statues ced on either side of the walkway leading to the main building. Cygnus was not sure if these were statues of gods and goddesses or it was of something else.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Just like the cemetery, a spell was ced on the ce to prevent anything from inside to escape. This time the whole ce was silent and there were no evil spirits roaming around but there was definitely an evil energy in that building. Cygnus could also feel that there was something sleeping inside the building.


    Ghad alighted from his horse and made his way towards the building. The door creaked as the duke pushed open the door. Dust rose to the air once the doors were fully opened. He paused for a moment before the duke finally entered the building.


    Cygnus alighted from his horse and followed behind the duke. He looked from left and right after stepping in when the ce suddenly lit up. There on the walls of the empty space weremps that automatically lit up when there were people inside. Now that he could freely observe the ce, he noted that it was somewhere he wouldn''t want to stay.


    The ce was just an empty space and was dusty. The only thing that stood out was the huge painting at the wall that was facing the entrance. It was a picture of a ck serpent curled up around arge tree with its red eyes staring out of the painting. It was so vivid which made the painting like it was alive.


    The duke stood a few feet away from therge painting that almost covered the wall from top to bottom. He had a serious look on his face as he stared at that eerie picture for five minutes straight. Cygnus on the other hand waited with a bored expression on his face. He thought that something interesting would happen but he was wrong.


    "Let''s go." Ghad turned around as his cape billowed a little bit because of the action.


    "That''s it?" Cygnus frowned because he didn''t believe that the duke would onlye and stare at the painting.


    "Everything in here is normal. I felt no disturbance nor any anomaly in the ce besides that, the serpent wouldn''t let anyone disturb it," the duke answered. They both left the ce and the duke dutifully pulled the doors to close the ce. The lights inside the room also dimmed and died.


    "What''s that serpent anyway?" Cygnus couldn''t help his curiosity. He already knew the basics and situation of ckwell but its history, he didn''t bother to learn it since it felt like it would only bore him.


    "It is something like a guardian to the ckwell family." He simply answered as he jumped back onto his horse. "It is only a legend but our ancestors believed that it was only sleeping."


    "If that''s the case, how did you know that there was nothing wrong with the ce when all you did was stand in front of that ridiculouslyrge painting?" Cygnus asked after he settled back on his horse.

 Chapter 212 A Purge

    He was not sure why he knew too, maybe because of their connection with the guardian. That serpent was once the owner of thend but it was subdued by those ancestors until it relented and chose to sleep rather than continue fighting. Since the ancestors wanted to keep the serpent under wraps, they formed a contract with it. That must be the reason he could sense the sleeping serpent.


    "Because that ce felt the same as usual," was his only answer before pulling and releasing the reins. He then used his feet to pat the horse''s side to signal it to move.


    The master looked at the duke''s back before he too followed. He gave the ce onest look before it fully disappeared behind the dense trees of the forest. Rain started to fall down again before they could reach the third ce but the duke showed no stopping so Cygnus couldn''tin.


    Instead, he raised a barrier that covered each one of the sentinels and their horses to shield them from the rain. They gave a nod at the master''s direction as they continued on their journey. The ssh of water as the horses passed through a muddy path echoed through the night since they were the only ones in that ce. This time the ce was a bit further from the shrine and it took them almost two hours to reach it.


    Based on Cygnus''s awareness of time, it was already near midnight when they arrived at an abandoned mining site. The master was not expecting this but it also made sense that a ce like this would have evil energy. He could feel deep resentment from the ce, especially from the opening that was created on the side of the mountain.


    He couldn''t feel any barrier too, like the other two ces and the evil energy was seeping out to the surrounding area. It seemed that they were in the right ce. He looked around but he didn''t see any roaming evil spirits which was a bit odd considering the circumstances.


    "I don''t see any evil spirits in here," hemented after he too alighted from his horse. "But I can still sense a lot of evil energy in this ce. Even the resentment here is so potent in the air, what kind of ce is this?"


    "This was a ve camp. It is where ves were sent to work. It was part of the history of ckwell that we tried to hide and we didn''t really talk about it. All written records of it were destroyed and everything I knew about this ce was passed down orally." Ghad looked at the darkness beyond the opening that was carved out of the mountain.


    "That''s quite surprising. So, your ancestors were into hoarding ves too?" Cygnus shook his head and sighed after the information he learned.


    "I don''t know what they did in the past but strictly speaking it was not our ancestor but rather the ancestor of the main family. You see, the patriarch of ckwell has a younger brother. In fear of getting robbed of his power, he made his younger brother''s family a branch family and stripped them of their authority," Ghad exined. "But after a certain incident where the patriarch died, the younger brother took the opportunity to inherit the leadership. Nobody really objected since the patriarch has no heir."


    "Your family is a bit messy." The master tilted his head to the side. "So, these ves did they all die inside of that tunnel?"


    Ghad''s gaze went back to the tunnel again, "Yes. There was a time in the history of the world where a purge was done and in the process the ves were gathered there and were all killed. ording to stories, the patriarch did it to save his life."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus''s face darkened at what he heard. A purge, it was strangely familiar to him. A term he had recently heard in the capital and now he was hearing it again in this deste and lonely ce. He was not sure if it was a coincidence or not.


    "When did this purge happen? And why did the patriarch need to kill all the ves he had?" He asked even though he already had an inkling as to when and why it happened.


    Ghad did not notice the change in the young man''s voice because his focus was on the tunnel and the sentinels who started to patrol around. "A thousand years ago. It was a purge to kill everyone who had magic in them. I don''t know the cause of such an inhuman act but it did happen and those ves were born with magic."


    Cygnus became silent with his head bowed down. ''So, that was it. I''ve learned another thing in this ce. It was really this world.'' A grin that reached ear to ear appeared on his seemingly angelic face and the redness in his eyes flickered. Simultaneously, a red warning sounded inside Ari''s system.


    "Duke Ghad, do you perhaps know who was behind that purge?" Cygnus controlled his face as he raised his head to look at the duke.


    The duke shook his head. "That is an information that even my ancestor doesn''t know. I tried to ask my father but even he did not know who it was."


    "Is that so," the master mumbled. He looked at the tunnel and fell silent.


    "Why are you interested in what happened one thousand years ago?" Ghad then noticed the change in the young man''s demeanor.


    "Well, I just found it interesting, that''s all." Cygnus was not willing to talk any further so the duke did not force him to, instead, he returned his focus on the tunnel.


    After the sentinels patrolled the area, they came back to report. They found nothing outside of the old mining site so the problem would have to be inside. The duke then instructed that the others would wait outside while he and the rest of the sentinels would go inside.


    "Can I go instead?" Cygnus suddenly volunteered. "I can do it alone and if any of youe, you might be a casualty and we don''t like that do we?" He gave them a casual grin.

 Chapter 213 Venting Out

    Ghad frowned. He knew that the young man could use magic well and that he could also use light magic which was effective for vanquishing those evil spirits but it wasn''t right to just send him alone. "I can''t let you do that. This is my territory''s problem so I''ll be resolving it."


    "Pardon me duke but I don''t think you won''t be able to do anything once you enter that tunnel. I can protect myself and I have magic that can defeat whatever it is inside that ce." Cygnus insisted as something bright shed on his palms.


    The duke was still reluctant because if something happened to Rigel, his friend might resent him. Besides, he was not sure if he could really take on whatever it was that had settled in that ominous ce. He couldn''t take the risk and lose more than what he could bear.


    Cygnus heard the man''s thoughts and it made himugh. He couldn''t help but think that the duke was a bit na?ve and kind hearted despite his cold demeanor. "Let''s do this then. If I don''t get out within an hour, you can enter and help me. So let me try it alright?"


    Ghad gritted his teeth. Rigel was stubborn and he could already tell that there was no stopping him from having his way. "Are you that confident in defeating whatever monster is in that ce?"


    The master chuckled, "Of course. I have never been defeated before." He even shrugged his shoulders and there was a smug look on his face.


    Cygnus waited for a couple of minutes before the duke finally agreed. The man also reminded him that they will enter the tunnel after the one-hour countdown was up. Cygnus sighed and nodded before he took a step towards the tunnel.


    The moment he stepped inside the tunnel, the resentment and evil energy were already pressing down on his body. He could feel how heavy the pressure was inside the ce. The inside of the tunnel was damp and eerie and the only light he had was the illumination from the crystal ball he was holding.


    He didn''t encounter anything while walking and he guessed that whatever it was that was hiding in that ce was deeper in the tunnel. The echoes of his footsteps were loud and it only amplified the silence inside that ce. He was not sure how far he had walked but the darkness became deeper and darker so he knew that he was already near the center of the tunnel.


    A hundred of steps until he stopped. He finally reached a wider space after walking through that tunnel and he could already feel a creature of malice was watching him. This must be the convergence of all that evil energy and resentment he felt. He could also feel traces of lower evil spirits from the malice he was feeling.


    This creature must have absorbed all the evil spirits in the area hence the reason why they did not see any of them floating around. He remained standing on the same spot for a while now because the creature hiding in the dark hadn''t made its move. Although his time was running out, he didn''t care because he was not about to make the first move.


    "I feel something evil inside you," a guttural and scratchy voice came from no specific direction inside the cave.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''m d that you can feel it," Cygnusughed. "So, are you going to still fight me because I am looking forward to venting off this stuffy thing inside of me."


    He felt movement around the ce and something tall came into his vision. He made the light in his orb brighter to give him a better view of what was standing in front of him. It resembled a man but it did not possess any face. It was wearing a cloak but his hands and feet were covered in ck smoke.


    "It would be my pleasure to fight you, oh venerable one, so I will give it my all. To be able to face someone like you after I havepletely evolved is indeed my luck." The voice rumbled and the ground shook but the master remained still.


    "Those words are too fancy for my liking." Cygnus threw away the orb he was holding and it broke to pieces.


    His ck eyespletely turned red which also gave him the ability to see even in the darkest of the night. The creature of malice changed into a smoke and attacked the master. It used its solidified ws to attack but the master blocked and used his palm to p the ws away.


    Cygnus once again felt the ground shaking and he could see boulders that were raised in the air. The enemy hooked his finger and the boulders went flying towards him. An ominous blood red appeared around him and protected him from the boulders.


    The enemy also summoned the undead to attack Cygnus. These must be the ves who died in that ce but even so the master did not show any restraint. He only made one step forward and a wave of his power swept through the ce which destroyed all the undead that his enemy summoned.


    "Is that it? Why don''t you show me your resentment?" The master was grinning while inciting the enemy.


    Realizing that it has no way of defeating the man, the creature of malice decided to just go all out even if that meant that he would expend all the evil energy he had amassed for many years. It materialized again into its humanoid form and on his hand was a weapon shrouded with darkness. ck lightning was mixed with the smoke around the death scythe and there were veins on the surface of the weapon.


    Those red lines were pulsing like it was alive. Cygnus grinned when he felt the power stored in that one weapon alone. "That''s it. You should not hide your abilities when fighting me and just go all out!" His evilugh echoed in the cave and it even caused the walls to shake to the point that it almost copsed.

 Chapter 214 Covered In Red

    The creature of malice swung the scythe in its hand and it created a dark wave that spread and hit the walls of the cave. Cygnus jumped up to avoid the dark wave. He then slowly floated down and looked at his enemy.


    Another wave came from the creature of malice followed by another. Cygnus dodged and used his shield to block the dark waves. He was grinning and enjoying the fight.


    Ari contacted Mr. C and told him that the insanity level of the master has risen up. From 25% to 50% and it was not good because her system was shing red which means that the master was about to rampage. The butler left the manor in a hurry after receiving the report.


    Mr. C needed to make sure that the master was not going to destroy the whole territory. Something must have happened once again. He immediately tracked down their location and made haste.


    Ghad and the sentinels were focused on the tunnel where Rigel disappeared to. At first nothing seemed to happen, but after a few minutes the ground started to shake. They thought that it would stop but after a while the shaking started again and it didn''t stop.


    They could also hear the sound of explosion and the rumbling of the ground as it shook from the impact. The sentinels couldn''t help but tense at the longer the explosions continued. Ghad was also feeling a little bit ufortable because he didn''t know what was happening.


    Time was passing by and there were only ten minutes left before they entered the tunnel. "Get ready!" He looked at his sentinels as he held the hilt of his sword tightly. He could even hear an imaginary clock ticking inside his head.


    A rustle suddenly broke the tense silence as they all looked at the direction where the sound came from. Their swords were already unsheathed and they were ready to attack anyone or anything that mighte out from behind the dense bushes and tree trunks that were obscuring their view. A ck shadow suddenly leapt out andnded in front of them.


    The sentinels who were currently high strung moved at once without confirming who it was that appeared. Mr. C smoothly dodged all the swords that were swinging his way and managed to move past them when they heard the duke''smand for them to stop. The butler sighed then he gave the duke a nod.


    "How did you find this ce?" The duke''s face darkened because he did not expect to see the man to suddenly appear.


    "I followed my master''s location," the butler answered. He looked around but did not see him which was a cause of concern. "Where is he?" He looked at the duke once again.


    Ghad''s gaze settled on the tunnel, "He went inside and made a deal with me. If after an hour he doesn''te out we will follow him inside. There''s only five minutes left before the time limit expires."


    "I suggest that you don''t enter that ce, Duke Ghad," a cold voice echoed in the ce. The butler''s face had no emotion on it but his gaze was full of warning.


    "If we don''t enter, Rigel might be put into more danger." Ghad was confused why the butler would stop them from entering the tunnel instead of joining them.


    "If you enter now, you might lose your life and besides my master won''t easily break. I am warning you for your own good," Mr. C insisted.


    There was no change in his reaction and the duke could tell that he was serious about his words. He hesitated but his sense of responsibility wouldn''t leave him be. "Then I will go ahead, alone. I promised that I would lend him a hand once the time is over."


    Mr. C stared at the man, "Then I wille with you, just in case." He sighed and left for the tunnel right away.


    Ghad instructed the sentinels to guard the outside instead. Some of them objected to the duke''s sudden decision but the duke couldn''t do anything. It was also better because the butler woulde with him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Both of them stepped inside the tunnel and the first thing they felt was the pressure that wanted to push them down. Ghad needed time to adjust so he took a couple of deep breaths before he finally felt his body adjusting to the environment inside the tunnel. The both of them walked in silence until they reached the opening to the cave where Cygnus was fighting with the creature of malice that managed to have a body.


    The entrance to that cave was brimming with dust and dirt. There were also fallen rocks and boulders inside and even on the long tunnel where they passed through. Ghad tried to look inside but was only met with a ck wave that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.


    Mr. C on the other hand was using his enhanced vision to assess the situation inside. He could see two figures that were shing with each other. One was huge and was holding a huge death scythe on its hand while his master was using his own dark magic to fight the enemy.


    "What''s happening?" Ghad asked as he looked past the dust and smoke floating around. His eyes widened when he saw two silhouettes in the middle of the cave.


    It was dark but he could clearly see them, the other one gave him the impression of a grim reaper because of the weapon it was holding while the other one was coated with a red aura that was roaring like fire to the point that he could see an image forming from that ominous red aura. Ghad closed his eyes and opened them again only to be met with the same scene. He was not dreaming or hallucinating.


    Cygnus extended his arm to the side and snapped his fingers, red flickering fire appeared above his enemy and with only a downward gesture from him, those balls of mes changed into the shape of a stake which rained down on the mass of smoke that was holding a scythe. It burned and a high-pitched screech came out from the wraith pierced through the air. The screech brought with it a paralyzing effect that affected the duke.


    Mr. C stood in front of the man to protect him from the sound waves that were passing through in the air. The aura that was covering Cygnus protected him from the invisible attack. He grinned as he dashed forward to grab the ce where the wraith''s supposed to be neck was located.


    "That was a cheap trick you have there." He tightened his grip and the mass of smoke squirmed to get away but it was futile.


    It then raised the scythe in his hand and stabbed Cygnus from the back. The tip of the weapon pierced through his body and came out from his chest. He spat out a lot of blood but its hold on the enemy did not loosen for even an inch.


    "That was a wrong move," Cygnusughed. His clothes and mouth were already soaked in blood but he still managed to grin at the wraith. "Injuring me means that you are going to lose whatever you''ve be and I''ll let you suffer for eternity."


    In his blind rage, Cygnus mumbled a spell in a strangenguage that the duke hadn''t heard of. A strand of his blood floated into the air and into the master''s left hand. Since the evil spirit became malevolent through the malice and resentment in that ce, it should have developed a crystal core too.


    He stabbed through the part where the heart should be located and found the crystal core. Using his blood, he bound the crystal core as the blood weaved itself around the core. The blood then slowly disappeared and seeped through the core.


    Cygnusughed before his face returned to his usually casual expression with his eyes still trained on the wraith that was starting the wriggle because of the foreign substance in its core. "Don''t struggle too much because you''ll eventually disappear after this."


    The wraith pulled back the scythe and used his materialized hands to push away Cygnus. The man was stillughing as he watched in glee as his enemy struggled. He looked at the ceiling of the cave and he savored the coldness of the ground.


    "Fire," was his simplemand but it still created a fire that engulfed the wraith. He snapped a few times which made the wraith screech even more. "A burning wraith, what a good show."


    The fire that engulfed the wraith was not ordinary mes as it came from the master''s dark powers. He slowly raised his body as he sat on the ground while snapping his finger. Mr. C approached the master and stood beside him.


    "Is it time already?" Cygnus stopped snapping his fingers while his hand was raised in the air. "And what are you doing here?"

 Chapter 215 Here Come The Complains

    Cygnus did not need to look at the person who came because he already knew who it was. He looked at the burning wraith with cold eyes and the grin on his face disappeared. Even the crazed look was gone and was reced by his usuallyid-back expression.


    "Yes, it is time. Ari gave me a report so I rushed here to make sure that you won''t do something drastic before you achieve your goal," Mr. C answered with all honesty.


    The man''s gaze was not on the master as it was focused on the fire in front of them. Mr. C heard his master sigh before he snapped his fingers again and the red fire intensified. He was not like the master who could read minds and there was no way that he would know what the other was thinking but based on his actions, he has calmed down.


    "This is boring. It was fun to fight something like that but you came and interrupted it." Cygnus stood up and the blood from his wound flowed out again. "Let''s go." He turned around and with onest snap, something dark appeared below the wraith followed by dark hands that pulled it down.


    Duke Ghad watched and listened to all of this with a straight face. When the master turned around and walked towards him, he sighed and met them halfway. He stopped Cygnus to check the wound on his body that was still bleeding.


    "That''s a nasty wound. Aren''t you going to take care of it first?" Ghad''s eyes looked at his chest before looking him in the eye.


    "I''m fine," Cygnus shrugged his shoulders as he intended to walk ahead but the duke''s grip on his shoulder tightened.


    "I don''t care what your deal is or what your body is made off but a wound is a wound. It should be taken care of right away." His eyes narrowed at the young man before giving the butler a re. "And it is the butler''s responsibility to take care of his charge."


    The butler inclined his head as he too held his master''s arms. The duke let go as he turned around and walked out of the cave. The butler pulled his master along until they stopped a few distance away from the cave.


    Mr. C brought out an illuminating crystal to give the space a little bit of light. He then waved his hand and a magic circle appeared where he dipped his hand to get some bandages and a bottle of clean water. Ghad leaned on the wall to wait for them to finish.


    "Please remove your clothes master," Mr. C instructed but the master only red at him. The butler then gestured at the duke who was looking at them.


    Cygnus, who had no other choice, removed his torn and bloody clothes. The butler crouched down to clean the wound on his chest and back. Ghad saw that the wound was slowly closing but it still needed to be bandaged to let it healpletely.


    Mr. C''s hands moved swiftly and skillfully wrapped the bandage around the master''s torso to cover the wound. After that, he pulled out a ck loose shirt from the storage and gave it to the master. He dressed himself before giving his butler a re.


    "Happy?" His voice was so full of sarcasm that it made Ghad smile.


    The man couldn''t help but think that even though the young man would always give a smile that would confuse people, this side of him was a bit refreshing, because he was acting like his own age. The duke shook his head before he pushed himself away from the wall and started to walk out of the tunnel.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They exited the tunnel and the sentinels were relieved to see that they were all okay despite all the shaking and explosion they heard. Ghad went to one of them and told them the status of the cave after that he instructed them to move out. Cygnus and Mr. C followed them back to the manor where the others were still awake and waiting for them.


    It was already past three in the early morning when they reached the manor and finally the rain stopped. They were served with food and sent to rest, especially Cygnus. Ghad was about to talk to Ulysses but the man refused and told him to rest.


    "Let''s face everything after you have rested for a few hours." Ulysses pointed at the direction of the manor''s second floor where all of the bedrooms were located.


    The sun slowly rose to the sky and the news of the attack towards the civilians spread through the masses. Even the rumors that the talismans created by the duke and his people were not effective against the evil spirit. Fear struck through the heart of the people as they went to the duke''s manor toin and ask for an exnation.


    The sentinels were holding them off since the duke has yet to wake up from his rest. Ulysses on the other hand went to face these angry and anxious people. He was dressed formally and the aura around him showed his authority, even his usually brushed down ck hair was slicked back to give emphasis to his dark eyes that often intimidates people.


    A loud creak sounded as the ck doors that led towards the manor. The people took a step back when therge gates suddenly opened. Behind the doors, the sentinels were lined and a man in a ck formal suit with a white coat hanging on his back walked towards them.


    Ulysses swept a gaze through the crowd but he did not speak. He only stood there with both of his hands inside his pockets. The crowd that was gathered there looked at each other because they were afraid to speak. The duke thought that none of them would speak so he gave one of the sentinels a subtle nod.


    Before the sentinel could move, a loud voice came from the back. "The duke isn''t to be trusted! How could he let his people be attacked by some evil spirit and the talismans they gave didn''t even work. How can he assure that we will remain safe?"


    Ulysses raised a brow and took a step forward. The crowd instinctively parted to give him way as he walked towards the man who spoke. The man suddenly felt nervous when he saw that they all stepped away and left him behind to face the intimidating man.


    "Well, it is up to you if you trust or not the duke of this ce. Let me tell you something, the ckwell territory is hundreds of square miles wide and your duke is only one man, are you saying that he should stay in your house and protect you? Isn''t that a bit selfish? Those talismans are effective and if you don''t want them, you are free to return them. Duke Ghad ckwell has been doing his best to protect all of you, now if you don''t think that maintaining your borders free of monsters and facing those evil spirits is not a way of him protecting you, then I suggest that you leave this ce immediately." Ulysses''s cold gaze stayed on the man which only made him take several steps back.


    *The man''s courage a while ago disappeared at the face of the duke''s piercing gaze. He shivered and shook his head as he turned around and ran. He didn''t think that he would face someone like Duke Ulysses and he was not informed that something like this would happen.


    The man disappeared after he made a turn on the intersection ahead. Duke Ulysses turned around to return to where the sentinels were. He subtly turned his head towards one of them and gave him a small nod. The sentinel left the line and disappeared in the crowd.


    "Now if any of you have any moreins, say it now and I will make sure to ry it to the duketer." His voice was not too loud or too soft, it was enough for everyone to hear his statement.

 Chapter 216 Another Death

    The crowd was silent and didn''t dare to speak any words. Ulysses patiently stood there to wait for any of them to voice out their concern but none were willing to speak. He scanned them faintly, not enough to let them notice, to see if any of them were like the other man that spoke.


    Since no one spoke after five minutes, Ulysses gestured for the sentinels to escort all of them home but before that he left them withst words. "If you don''t have the courage now, we will entertain your concerns if you undergo the process of making an appointment with the duke."


    The man who spoke first was walking straight ahead while looking from side to side. He was berating himself for doing that just for money. He couldn''t even fulfill the mission to the end so he was sure that he would be scolded and he won''t receive the pay he should get.


    He reached his house and went inside only to start pacing once again. He started to bite on his finger nails while he felt nervous because anytime now the person who came to give him a mission would visit. He was sure that he already heard of what happened.


    He jumped in fright when he heard the knock that wasing from his door. The man looked warily at the door and slowly approached it to open it. He was now behind the door but he didn''t open the door yet. "Who is it?" He asked in a trembling voice.


    "I''m here to talk," a bright and cheery voice answered from behind the door. The man let out a sigh of relief so he opened it and let the other in.


    He was about to talk when he felt a pain that came from his abdomen. He looked with wide eyes at the guest he weed to his house as his hands went to hold the guest''s hand. The assant did not let go and instead buried the knife deeper.


    Strength immediately left the man''s body then he was pushed by the assant. The man stumbled back as he covered the wound tightly but before he could even widen the distance with them, the assant who held the knife walked towards him with long strides and held him in the shoulder. The assant slit his throat.


    The assant looked at the man lying on the ground with cold eyes before he casually left the house. He even closed the door like nothing happened. The man who failed his mission died as hey in a pool of his own blood.


    The sentinel who was sent to follow the man felt that there was something wrong so he went and tried to knock on the man''s door but no one answered. He became even more suspicious because he couldn''t hear any movementsing from the inside. He knocked again brut still no answer so he tried to open the door.


    From the small crack created by his slight push, the distinct smell of blood assaulted his nose. This alone made him sprung into action. He pushed the door open and there he saw the man he was following, lying on the floor dead. Instead of panicking, he calmly sent a message using a small device they use tomunicate with each sentinel.


    Ghad was finally up and was inside his study when Ulysses came to look for him. The duke of Ginehart casually sat down on one of the avable couches andid his head on the seat''s headrest. He started to hum to himself while resting.


    "The people in this ce are really something. It would take a ton of intimidation before they would even listen to me," Ulysses sighed.


    "I''m even surprised that you went and faced them without my consent." Ghadughed at the depleted state of his friend. "You haven''t experienced this in Ginehart, I presume?"


    "How can I experience something like this in Ginehart when all the people there like me as their leader? All I can hear from them are praises andpliments." Ulysses was grinning while saying those words without shame.


    Ghad was about to retort when a series of knocks disturbed them. The duke gave consent and the door opened with one of the sentinels who stepped inside. He inclined his head to both of them and took a deep breath before he spoke.


    "The man was found dead in his home. The sentinel that Duke Ginehart ordered to follow him just sent the report. The cause of death was excessive bleeding and a cut on his throat," the sentinel reported.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Both of the dukes fell into silence because of the sudden information. One hour hadn''t passed yet when he gave the sentinel an order and now the subject for observation was dead. Ulysses stood up as he intended to go and take a look.


    Ghad was about to stand up too but Ulysses waved his hands. "You don''t need to go. I''ll go since I am the one who instructed the sentinel to follow that man."


    "Then I''ll leave it to you. Report back to me as soon as you find out what happened," Ghad reminded the man.


    "Alright, focus on what you are doing right now because that is more important. We don''t want you being kicked out as the Duke of ckwell, right?" Ulysses looked back and gave the man a grin before he waved and left together with the sentinel who came to report.


    Ghad sighed and sat back once again. Several bad news in the span of only a few days was not a good sign. It only meant that their enemy was doing everything he could to utterly destroy him and maybe even to force him to surrender. He stared at the speech he was writing and in a fit of anger, he crumpled the paper and decided not to write anything at all.


    "Did he find the perpetrator?" Ulysses asked the sentinel while they walked through the halls towards the stairs that led downstairs.


    "No, but he saw a suspicious person who came from the direction of the house. He did not have the time to chase though because he checked on the man first and reported to us at the same time," the sentinel answered.


    Ulysses was silent for a few seconds before he asked for another question again. "Is the sentinel only the one who knew about what happened? No witnesses? No bystanders?"


    The sentinel shook his head, "No. He made sure that no one would see the crime scene and the ce was fairly deserted so there were no people to ogle."


    Ulysses nodded and he did not ask anymore questions. A horse was already waiting for them and even the archmage was there to go with them. The duke gave a nod towards the archmage before he jumped to ride the horse that they prepared for him.


    "I am d to see you Archmage Sigma," Ulysses greeted after he settled on his horse. He gently patted the horse to steady it first.


    "I wasn''t able to helpst night. That''s why I need to work double today besides we need someone who can hide our presence while we travel to the ce of the crime," the archmage answered.


    "Oh, that''s a good idea. Thank you in advance then archmage," the duke grinned, "hyah!" He then let the horse run and he was followed by the archmage and the five sentinels who would be helping them in the investigation.


    With the Sigma''s help, they passed through the streets unnoticeable until they reached the house of the man. The sentinel came out of the house and ushered them inside. He left the crime scene as it was for the duke to investigate.


    Ulysses looked around the house but he saw nothing unusual or misced. He went ahead and crouched down beside the body. His eyes scanned the body for a minute before he stood up. "He knew the assant."

 Chapter 217 Bodies

    The sentinel who was there agreed with the duke''s conclusion. He did not hear anymotion or a fight breaking out after the man entered his house. They looked on as the duke continued to walk around the house while inspecting things that could give them a clue.


    "Have you seen the face of the suspicious man you saw?" Duke Ulysses finally stopped and looked at the sentinel who first discovered that the man was dead.


    The man shook his head, "Unfortunately I did not see his face because I was rushing here. I apologize, Duke, I should have been more attentive."


    "That''s okay since I already have an idea who did this. The only problem we have right now is that we don''t have any evidence." Ulysses waved for the sentinels to clean up the crime scene. "Does this man have any family?"


    "ording to records he doesn''t have a family. All he had is a debt," the sentinel answered. They already investigated the man after receiving the report and ryed the result of it to the sentinel who found the body.


    "Alright, then I want you to keep this incident a secret from the people. We don''t want them to have another reason to hate Duke ckwell. For now, let''s keep this amongst us until we find the killer." Ulysses went out and saw that the Archmage was busy.


    "Did you find anything?" Sigma asked when he saw that the duke came out from the house. He was casually walking towards him with a serious look on his face.


    "Nothing. The assant must have killed the man after he was granted permission to enter the house." Ulysses shook his head and stopped a few feet away from him. "Are you trying to track the killer?"


    "Yes, since the crime just happened so traces would still be lingering around." A magic circle appeared under the archmage''s foot and it started to float up as it passed through the man''s body. The magic circle disappeared above his head.


    On the archmage''s palm a smallpass appeared. He then walked towards the house and entered it. Thepass lit up and the light filled the whole room. It slowly disappeared and what was left was a faint red and grayish dust in the air.


    "That faint red is the dead man''s energy signature since it remained close to the ce where the man died," Sigma said to them. However, the grayish dust started from where the blood was and the line went all the way to the door and outside. "The gray lines must have belonged to the killer."


    Ulysses who followed behind and stayed by the door stared at the gray lines that wereing out from the room. He could not see any gray lines outside though. He observed as the archmage gathered a part of the gray lines in the air and ced it on thepass.


    The needle of thepass started to move and it pointed at the direction of the door. Sigma stepped out and the needle moved a little bit as it pointed the direction where the killer went. Ulysses followed closely behind together with three other sentinels.


    By the path that the killer had taken, Ulysses could immediately infer that he took his time to leave the ce. He was probably casually walking because on one would suspect that he just killed a man. He walked along the sidewalks where most people would take to perhaps avoid suspicion.


    They were already walking for a couple of minutes now until they finally deviated from the sidewalk path and took a way that led to the back of the buildings that were lined up along the sidewalk. That ce was a bit deserted except for those who were probably resting from their work. They continued through the back alleys until they came to a dead end.


    Sigma looked at thepass he was holding but the maic needle was not moving which meant that they reached the right ce. He looked around and found that there was something unusual about the ce. He stomped his feet and blue lines that resembled a tree''s roots appeared under his foot which spread through the whole ce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Pieces of something like a ss fell on the ground as the blue lines spread out. It appeared that there was a cloaking barrier ced in the area to hide what they had done. Behind the broken barrier was the dead body of a man. At first, they couldn''t see the state of the body but when the duke got close, he couldn''t help but frown.


    He crouched down and removed the man''s hood to reveal a wrinkly face. The man was clearly a young man but his body had shriveled. Sigma also crouched down to take a look at the body, he ced his hand above the body and the blue lines that he used a while ago spread through the body.


    "His life force was sucked out thus the shriveling of the body. Whoever did this is truly sinister," the archmagemented. He stood up and tried to feel if the person who did that had left any traces.


    He used the same technique to follow the dead man''s energy but the ce was empty. There was not a trace left. Sigma and the duke met eye to eye before the duke finally nodded his head. The sentinels went to take the body and with the magic of Archmage Sigma both bodies were transported to the manor.


    They also returned after making sure that nobody would know what had happened. When Ghad was informed that they were back, he stood up from behind his desk and went to meet them. The Archmage and his friend were sitting in the living room on the first floor of the manor.


    "How was it?" Ghad asked just as he stepped inside the living room. He joined them inside and made himself rx since he had stayed inside his study staring at nothing in particr. If anyone could have seen him in that state, they would have thought that he was not a duke.


    "Well, it didn''t go well. We brought back two bodies. One was the victim and one was the killer. Apparently, the killer was killed by an unknown assant and had his life drained out of him," Ulysses summarized.


    "That soundsplicated, as long as nothing like this will happen again, we can still cover it up for the time being while we investigate." Ghad found himself feeling nothing even after the report. His enemy was really dedicated to making sure that he would be destroyed and creating chaos inside his territory.


    "That''s awful," a voice interrupted. The three adults gazed at the entrance to the living room and saw three teens standing there. "Draining one''s life force only means that you are up against a monster. They could use it to strengthen their power or extend their life."


    Three adults with raised brows looked at Cygnus who spoke those words. "You seem to know a lot about these things," Ghadmented as he held back the chuckle that almost came out from his mouth.


    Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and pointed at Isaiah who raised a book he was reading a while ago before they decided to step out from the library. It was a book that Isaiah happened to pick up from a fairly hidden part of the library. It was a book that detailed some monsters that have been recorded through the history of the kingdom.


    Just as luck had them, they were exactly at the page where a demon was detailed to have the ability of sucking out the life force of its victims until they were dead. Though these monsters haven''t appeared for a few hundred years now, it was still possible that they could still be out there. They walked towards them and took the empty seats.


    "You have a point but this can also be the work of a mage that uses dark magic. They could drain out a person''s life force to empower them, which in this situation is most likely since the creatures listed in that book are now mostly treated as myths." Sigma reached out for the book and opened it.


    It was a book that was written a long time ago. Though some of the monsters could be sighted once in a while, they were still considered myths. Besides, with the increase in the kingdom''s poption, they would have a difficult time staying in a ce filled with people. Even without magic, there were people who could be sensitive with them.


    "For now, let''s stick with the guess that it was a person who possessed dark magic who did it. I also want to assume that the person whomanded the man be killed is the same one as the person who incited that man to make a fuss this morning." Ulysses pped his hand and gave his conclusion which will be the direction of their investigation.

 Chapter 218 Uninvited Guest

    They were in the middle of this discussion when the butler came to let them know that Enrick requested a meeting with the duke. He was with two other council members. Ghad gave the butler permission to let them in. He then guided them to the living room where three seats were prepared for them.


    Enrick and the other two with them were surprised when they were brought to the living room and not the duke''s study. They were even more surprised to see that the duke was not alone. His jaws clenched but he couldn''t back down so he still gave them a somewhat respectful bow before they were led to the seats prepared for them.


    "What brought you here, Sir Enrick?" Ghad asked after they were seated and served with food. His voice was rxed and there was a small smile on his face.


    "We heard the news of what happenedst night so we came to make sure that everything is alright," instead of Enrick, one of the men with him answered.


    "You don''t have to worry because we''ve sorted it out already," the duke casually answered. His gaze and demeanor were cold. He couldn''t be bothered with these people and just wanted them to leave.


    "Sorted it out? How can you do that when it just happenedst night. Don''t be too arrogant Duke ckwell," the same man who asked the question answered.


    Several pairs of eyes tantly stared at him after he uttered those words. He could feel their gazes prickling at his skin and it made him shiver. He was forced to look down after the duke did not speak and the people with him did not remove their eyes on him. He felt like they were judging him and killing him in their minds.


    "Arrogant? Duke ckwell is not being arrogant because he is only doing what a leader should do," Archmage Sigma was frowning and his sharp gaze cut through the man. "He and his sentinels stayed upte to sort everything out and made sure that those malevolent spirits would not attack again. They even risked their lives just to make sure that those forbidden ces had not been tampered with. If there''s a person who is arrogant, that would be the person behind the incident."


    The man lost all his confidence and even flinched at those words. He subtly looked at Enrick but the man was set on ignoring him. This slight raising of his head was noticed by several observant eyes and was taken note off. Ulysses had a clue now where he should start his investigation.


    "How can there be someone behind this when it is the work of a malevolent spirit?" Enrick calmly asked. He even lifted the cup of coffee and slowly swirled it before he took a sip from it.


    "That is what we want to know too. Malevolent spirits would not manifest unless someone deliberately fed an evil spirit with dark energy to cultivate it. That''s not an impossible task since the ckwell territory is filled with evil spirits and dark energy." Sigma crossed his legs while he was exining that reason to their visitors to see if they would have a reaction.


    While the archmage was talking to the council members, the other people on the duke''s side were closely observing their expression. Enrick noticed this fact so he maintained his neutral expression and didn''t show them anything that might get them suspicious of him. The other two with him were not as perceptive as him and it was obvious in their faces. They were practically giving themselves away.


    "That''s a heavy usation right there," Enrickmented, "and it would be difficult to prove it."


    "You don''t need to worry about those things Sir Enrick, we are here to help the duke with the investigation. Besides, that''s just one of the guesses we have right now and we can always check other angles if this one is not viable. But right now, that''s the most likely conclusion we have." This time it was Ulysses who answered. He even grinned at the sir but Enrick brushed off this show of fake friendliness.


    "If that''s the case, then we don''t have to worry about it. We will entrust this matter to you then Duke ckwell and we will be expecting good news from you soon." Sir Enrick nodded his head to show his satisfaction. He stood up and looked at them to give them a small nod. "We will be leaving then."


    Ghad inclined his head. The butler who had been waiting on the side escorted the visitors out. They silently followed behind but one of them couldn''t help himself and gave the duke and his people onest look. Ulysses shook his head when he saw the re that was sent their way.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    After they left the manor, the two councils with Sir Enrick felt indignant after what happened. They felt embarrassed after that visit. They were only there to offer their help to the duke and yet they were rudely talked down too. Their ego couldn''t ept what they''ve heard.


    "What should we do Sir Enrick?" One of them finally couldn''t hold it any longer and asked the man.


    "Nothing. With how the two of you acted a while ago, they are already suspicious of the two of you. That''s not my problem any longer." Sir Enrick red at the two of them before averting his gaze and looking out of the window.


    "What? Are you going to abandon us? Aren''t you afraid that we will drag you down with us?" One of them got angry because of Enrick''s statement.


    They have been working with the man for a long time now and this was the answer they would get. He felt indignant and angry because the man was willing to leave them in the air once everything came to light. He knew that the man was cruel but to think that he would also be cruel to them was making his blood boil.


    "Then, should I sacrifice myself and jeopardize everything we''ve worked on just to rescue the two of you? You are already adults and I''m sure that you can protect yourselves just pray to the gods that the Duke of Ginehart won''t find anything that might link you to the recent incident." Enrick gave them a cold shoulder and was still looking out while he said those words.


    Those words silenced the inside of the carriage until they reached their destination where they parted ways. Each of them has different thoughts in their minds and each was eager to do the ns running in their mind. Enrick has no ns on making a move for now because of what happened but the other two had different thoughts.


    They were afraid that the duke would really find out that they had a hand on the attack of that malevolent spirit. They needed to destroy all the evidence or else they would be doomed. After the two of them reach their homes, they immediately get rid of any documents that were rted to the evil spirits and the forbidden ces of ckwell.


    Their homes were buzzing with activity as the servants were busy with burning everything that their masters were giving them. They were oblivious to the pair of eyes that were observing all of their actions. Cygnus was inside his room with a projected screen in front of him. He had sent Ari and Mr. C to spy on both households while he stayed at home and watched their progress.


    After the visitors left, Ghad and the other two adults relocated to Duke ckwell''s study while the three young men left for their own rooms. Since Isaiah and Ezio had no other things to do, they invited themselves inside the master''s room and were now watching the projected video together with him. This was their first time to see this kind of projection.


    "How are you going to get the deal with Duke ckwell done?" Isaiah asked out of the blue as they watched.


    The deal the master made with the duke was simr to the deal he made with him and up until now, he hasn''t seen him making any move. He was not sure if the master could carry out his promise. He still had his doubts and he was just driven by the fear he felt that day but ording to Ezio, the master would not go back on his words.


    "Don''t be too nervous young man, I''ve been doing what I can to help the duke. We will be able to see some of my work''s fruits soon. You''re so young and yet you worry too much." Cygnus shook his head followed by a crispugh. "Aside from that, I am more interested in how you are immune to my mind reading abilities."


    "Mind reading abilities?" Isaiah stared at the master in confusion. He then looked at Ezio who was now paying attention to their conversation.


    Cygnus tilted his head, "Yes, I just discovered it when we faced each other during that magic examination."

 Chapter 219 Another Magic

    Isaiah didn''t have any idea about what the man was talking about. To read someone''s mind was no easy feat, even for them as mages. In fact, no one in the world could do that unless he did something beyond human to gain that kind of ability.


    "Ah, I know that look. I can''t read your mind but what you are thinking shows on your face," Cygnus chuckled. "I am reminding you to note up with a conclusion in your mind."


    Isaiah frowned, "Is it really true that you can read minds?"


    "Of course. How do you think was I able to be a Ginehart and a mage at tower? Or how was I able to gather that much evidence against those mages? Or how was I able to sit here and talk to you when I promised that I would help you and the duke with your problems?" It was not all attributed to his ability but he didn''t care since he was still the master and all orders came from him.


    Isaiah couldn''t speak for a while as he slowly digested the master''s words. It took him a couple of minutes before he could finally ask the other question that was bothering him. "How did you gain that kind of ability when it is humanly impossible to have that kind of power? Even mages or heroes don''t have that kind of ability."


    A glint shed through the master''s eyes. A sh of red which caught Isaiah off guard. The air around Cygnus instantly changed that both Ezio and Isaiah weren''t prepared for the next words he said.


    "What do you think? I know that you already have an idea of how I did it." His voice went down a few octaves which added to the chill in the air. "Of course there should be some sacrifice." He grinned followed by an almost maniacalugh.


    Isaiah stood up from his seat and took several steps back from the master. He was almost at the door when he felt his body froze. His limbs were locked in ce and he could hear the loud thumping of his heart.


    "Why are you running away?" Cygnus stood up and made his way towards the young man. He was not going to let the young man escape.


    He stood a few feet away from him with his hands behind his back. His smile made his eyes narrowed into slits which only made Isaiah nervous. Cygnus remained silent for a while as he enjoyed watching Isaiah''s reaction.


    The young man''s eyes were wide with fear and therge bead of sweat on the side of his face was clearly visible to him. His jaws were locked and even the rise and *low* of his chest indicated how anxious he was. Even the clenched fists did not escape Cygnus''s eyes.


    "You know, you can''t really escape from me and even if you run now, I will still be able to find you. So instead of running away, you better stay and amuse me." Cygnus took one step forward and stopped. "They''ll being for me soon and you''ll be a weapon I will use against them."


    He did not hide his intention which made the young man want to object. Isaiah didn''t have any idea what the other was talking about but he could feel that it was not something good. And whoever those who will being for the man, it was not his problem.


    "You use dark magic. I know that I made a deal with you but that doesn''t mean that I agree with your ways." He gritted his teeth after speaking.


    Cygnusughed, "h h h, that''s what they all say. Even Linius and Astrophos showed their disapproval of the methods I''ve used so far but they couldn''t do anything, oh well recently, they didn''t do anything."


    The fear in Isaiah''s eyes was reced with surprise. "Does Duke Ginehart know about it too?"


    Cygnus hummed, then his forehead creased, "Maybe, but I''m sure he already had an idea since he speaks with Linius often." He took another step forward again until he was a few inches away from the young man.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What did you do to them?" He asked. "Does Ezio know about this too?" His gaze fell on the young man who was silently listening to them.


    Cygnus also looked behind and sighed when he saw that Ezio had a cold expression on his face. Even though he knew that Ezio was having some realizations right now, he was still amazed at how he was maintaining his neutral expression. He could also hear many questions running through his mind but he was restraining himself from asking.


    "Ezio is different. He is someone special because he could do something that none of you can. He is also more powerful than you once he learns how to use his magic properly. He is just an innocent boy who got entangled with a person like me." He paused then returned his gaze to Isaiah, "As for the others, I didn''t do anything to them. I am just making deals here and there like what I did to you and to the duke."


    "Why are you doing this?" Isaiah asked as he slowly forced himself to rx. He figured out that the master was not going to do anything, if he would, he should have done it a while ago.


    Cygnus noticed that Isaiah''s body slowly eased up and his tense expression also slowly rxed. Even though he did not retract the invisible force he used to bind the other in ce. He was toozy to bind him again once he decided to flee since he couldn''t read what''s exactly on the man''s mind.


    "At first it was for fun but then something in this world is different from the others I have seen. You''ve already heard a gist of it at the tower, right?" Cygnus didn''t mind answering all of his questions because he wanted to get the man''s trust.


    But if he could not obtain it, he has many ways to pull him to his side. He didn''t mind using some violent techniques or he could always use the technique he used to that bandit leader and to Linius. Cygnus frowned because he thought that those methods were all overused. He should explore other ways in the future.


    "Then are you going through with your revenge?" Isaiah continued to ask because he wanted to get a grasp on what Rigel was thinking. Anything he could learn from their conversation would help him decide if he should trust him or not.


    "Of course. A thousand years of grudge, I couldn''t leave it be especially now that I am back in the world where it all began, don''t you think that it would be a fitting adventure for me. Something to make up for my boring life," Cygnus nodded with a smile on his face that hid all of his malicious intentions.


    Isaiah didn''t know if he should believe that the man was actually a thousand years old now. He looked too young to have reached that age. If that was the case, he must have done something to remain young in appearance and with these thoughts in his mind, several forbidden techniques he read from some of the books he had studied shed in his mind.


    ''If he used any of those to obtain that power then, was he any different from those mages who used dark power or those who had made a deal with demons for their own gain?'' These thoughts were running in his mind.


    Cygnus could feel that there was still doubt in Isaiah''s eyes. He did not believe all of what he had said. "You don''t believe me," heughed, "it must be because of that issue about my age."


    Isaiah''s eyes twitched a little bit because he guessed right. Cygnus shook his head and closed the distance between them then stared at Isaiah''s eyes. The man avoided his gaze as he looked at anything but him.


    "I think I have done many things along the forbidden lines that is why I had this appearance but even if you think that it was dark magic, then how do you exin this?" On Cygnus''s palms a white me appeared.


    It was the same as the magic that Celes used to fight the dark child during the attack on the magic tower. Isaiah had seen that kind of magic before from Archmage Celes and from some of the heroes he had encountered since most of them were adept at using that kind of magic. He could feel that the magic was real and that it was not just an illusion.


    He raised his head and looked at the man in front of him. It was a bit difficult for this scene to sink in on his mind because this was the first time that he was seeing someone who could wield most of the elements and now holy magic. He was beyond hisprehension.

 Chapter 220 About Him

    The only sound inside the room was from the projection they were watching a while ago. He was still in the process of figuring out and epting what he just heard and saw. It was not easy for someone like him who had abided by the books to admit something beyond hisprehension.


    "Those people, who are they?" His body finally rxed so Cygnus could finally remove the binding spell he casted on him.


    "They are people who have been hunting me ever since I could recall. I don''t really know why they are after me but they''ve tried to kill me so many times but every time they do so, they fail." Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and took a step back.


    He turned around and returned to his seat where he continued to stare at Isaiah which only made him more ufortable. He closed his eyes and moved his head to the side to look at other things aside from the master. He was afraid that the hidden bloody eyes behind his usually ck would haunt him every night.


    "And what is my rtion to them?" He wanted to know why he would think of him as a weapon he could use against his enemies.


    "That''s because you are like them. They are the only people who I can''t read their minds." Cygnus did not hesitate to answer his question. He was even rxed while doing so which made Isaiah frown and doubt him once again.


    "Why are you answering all of my questions? Aren''t you afraid that I will tell all of these to Duke ckwell and Ginehart?" Isaiah also found himself walking back to the seat he left after his sudden panic.


    Cygnusughed, "You won''t. Besides, nobody would believe you. If there would be someone who would believe you, then those people are certainly crazy." Cygnus waved his hands in the air then snapped it.


    Once the servants from those houses were done with burning the documents, they returned to their work like nothing happened. With the help of Ari, Mr. C was able to scan the documents and store it with Ari. After that, a gate appeared at the master''s room and the butler came out.


    He slightly raised his brow when he noticed the atmosphere inside the room. The master was his usual self but the other two with him were somewhat different. He gave his master a look that asked ''what happened?''. Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.


    Ari also appeared out of nowhere which shocked the other two again. This was both their first time to see the woman and they were at a loss on how to describe her. Ari gazed at the both of them rather coldly before proceeding to report to the master. Based on the scanned documents, she reconstructed that data and made it into a file that the master could easily read.


    Cygnus extended his hand towards the woman. The files that Ari just reconstructed, she gave to the master. Cygnus tapped on the file to expand it then he started to swipe from left to right while reading what was in those files. He would asionally tilt his head to the side and frown but there were also times that he would grin and even scoff until he finished the entire document.


    "What a bunch of nonsense. It is amusing that they coulde up with that kind of a stupid n. But I like the part where they were experimenting on those evil spirits. They might have a stash of some malevolent spirits in their territory." Cygnus expressed his interest as he looked at his butler. "Why don''t you try and visit their secret rooms or house or dungeon or whatever it is and report to me."


    "I understand. I wille back by dinner time." Mr. C bowed and entered the still opened gate to do his master''smand.


    "Now that my loyal butler is gone," his gaze went to Ari, "what did you tell himst time that caused him toe rushing to that mining site?"


    Ari remained silent for a while, an indication that she was a bit unwilling to tell him the reason behind it. Cygnus was in a good mood though so he patiently waited for the woman to answer. He was speaking like there were no other people in the room that could learn of this information.


    "Are you going to tell me now? Or should you wait for me to reach the limit of my patience and shut you down. I might as well reset you at the same time." The heavy threat behind his voice made the inside of the room a little bit dark which made Ezio and Isaiah ufortable.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Your insanity status reached 50% that I needed to inform Mr. C about it." Ari finally answered because she knew that any threats that came from the master would go through with it.


    "Is that so?" The master rested his elbows on the arm of the chair he was sitting and rested his chin on his fist. "Then that must be the reason why I was so excited to fight that wraith and I even enjoyed it."


    This matter did not bother him as much as it made Ari and Mr. C sprung into action. They must have thought that he would go overboard because of how high the percentage had gone. But he did not feel anything unusual when it happened. It was his usual feeling whenever he wanted to destroy something.


    "So, what''s my insanity status right now?" Cygnus asked after a while of thinking. He looked at the woman who was hesitating again. "Have you gained some human emotions? Why are you always hesitating?"


    Ari was forced to tell him, "Your insanity status is at 25% right now. Ever since the incident at the magic tower, your insanity status hasn''t decreased or returned to zero."


    "Hmm, that''s new. That must be the effect of regaining those memories." He mumbled to himself without looking at anything in particr. He just had his head bowed slightly. "Well, that doesn''t really matter."


    He looked up and saw the confused looks from the young ones. They were looking back and forth from Ari and to him. Cygnus chuckled and shook his head. The matter of his insanity level had been pushed back in his mind. It was more amusing for him to focus on what was in front of him right now than to think about other unnecessary things.


    "This is Ari, an artificial AI I found in one of those ces that I have visited. She''s not human so don''t be deceived and most of the time she works to store and analyze information from all the worlds where we have been." Cygnus introduced the woman who right now had silver hair that was floating in the air. "She''s still learning, so she''s a bit incapable of distinguishing or performing any emotions right now."


    Ezio and Isaiah nodded even though they did not understand any word he had said. Since the master has no othermands, Ari decided to disappear and let them be. She was leaving the responsibility of exining everything to the master who chose to reveal her identity and his secrets.


    "Is it really okay for us to know too much information from you, master?" Ezio asked with a tinge of worry in his voice. He was d that his knowledge about the man increased but at the same time he was worried because he was willingly divulging all of this without caution.


    "I told you already that it is fine because only those people whom I deemed worthy will know of this information." Cygnus frowned because of the unnecessary worry they were showing. He sighed and massaged his forehead. "Why don''t you just go and leave, there''s nothing more you could do here." He pointed at the door and waved his hand for them to leave.


    They had no choice but to get up and leave the room. Ezio took the lead because he knew a little bit of the master''s temper. Isaiah followed closely behind but he chose to remain silent because based on the reaction of Ezio, he too had only known those facts a while ago. They both needed the time to sort out their thoughts.


    "Those kids are really something," Ignius who suddenly appearedmented. He had been eavesdropping and observing but he did not show himself because they might be too shocked.


    "Yes, they are." Cygnus could only agree before leaning back on his seat. He looked at the dragon who seemed to be awfully cheerful when he was still in the middle of a mission. "How was the mission you were supposed to be doing?"


    "You don''t have to worry about it. I''ve already marked those people and are currently observing them to see if they participated in that event," the dragon answered. He leaned his body to the side until he was falling but instead ofnding on the floor hended in the air as if there was an invisible cushion that caught his body. "These people had a certain influence in society so they''ve used their time well."


    "But that''s about toe to an end," Cygnus pped his hands and grinned.

 Chapter 221 Someone New

    Ignius looked at his master and even without reading what''s on his mind, he knew what the other was thinking. He didn''t mind though because he got to y to his heart''s content and he didn''t need to be cooped up inside that ck and boring dimension. This would also be a payback for everything his master has gone through.


    "Should I hand them to you now?" The dragon asked while his body floated around Cygnus.


    "Not yet." The master shook his head after answering.


    "Can I y with them then?" His body floated vertically as he posed like he was sitting on a chair as he continued to float.


    "Do as you please but don''t destroy them yet, I''ll personally do that after I settle matters in this ce." Cygnus did not have any intention of stopping the dragon from ying. "I have Aurora to help me this time, so you can go and enjoy yourself for now."


    The dragon gasped and almost lost control of his magic when he heard that name. "You''re letting that woman help you!? You should have left her to rot in that ce!"


    Cygnus watched as the dragon started to pace on the floor while mumbling to himself. He knew that the two of them were not on good terms but it didn''t matter to him. Aurora was the most suitable person he could use for his non-existent ns in ckwell.


    "There''s nothing wrong with me letting her out once in a while besides she''s the most suitable person I could use right now," Cygnus stated.


    Ignius knew that the master was right but he still had his doubts. He still felt ufortable for that woman to be around the master because she was bad news. He stopped pacing to face the master.


    "If that woman ever does something to hurt you, you can''t just banish her. You should not be lenient with her." The dragon warned as he stared intently at the man.


    "Why are you being paranoid? The woman can''t hurt me besides I''m sure that she learned her lesson after that time and just let her off because I was thinking that I could still have a use for her. Now there is an opportunity so I let her work," the man answered. It was already a long time ago but if the woman would try to attempt anything, then she could always face the consequences of her actions.


    The dragon sighed. Paranoid? He was not paranoid because what happened that time was something he would not forget nor forgive. The master''s enemies almost caught the master and because they strangely have the ability to hurt him, he almost died and that was because of Aurora. She exposed where the master was during that time and almost made an escape but luckily the master still found her and imprisoned her in a dimension simr to the ck dragon''s home.


    They suggested that he kill her but the master just sealed her in there and it was over 500 years since that happened. Ignius hasn''t seen the woman yet since they were not informed of the master''s moves and he must have instructed the butler not to tell them about his decision. He could only sigh and decided to let things be, nevertheless his master could take of himself.


    "Alright, it''s still your call since you are the master." He finally returned to his rxed self and floated in the air again. "How long are you going to stay in this gloomy ce?" He asked out of nowhere.


    "Until I say so. There''s still something I want to know because of the history I heard from the duke himself. It was rted to what happened a thousand years ago. Isn''t that very convenient, I''m suddenly learning information from that event even though I am not actively looking for them." Cygnus took a deep breath and smiled.


    He did not know if it was fate, a coincidence or the work of somebody but the n of living peacefully was interrupted when he found Elehiya''s son. That encounter must have been a coincidence and then when he targeted the magic tower because of his innate dislike towards them, he surprisingly learned that the Magus Maximus was someone from his past. Now that he was in ckwell to explore the territory because he was interested in spirits and the negative energy within it, he discovered that the ckwell ancestors had, in some ways, connection to that hunt.


    "Are you implying that this ce is connected to that hunt a thousand years ago?" the dragon stopped beside the master.


    "Yes, the duke mentioned that the ancestor of ckwell killed some ves because he didn''t want to get on the bad side of those hunters but when I asked if he knew the reason why a hunt suddenly happened during that time, he didn''t know the answer. So, I''ll be staying here until I uncover everything about that death hunt." The master''s pupils contracted and slowly turned into the color of blood as the room''s temperature went down.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "If that''s the case, you might want to talk to the guardian of this ce. I can feel that he is still around and iszing around," the dragon suggested.


    He had felt it the moment he set foot in the room. It was a distinct presence that was covering the whole ce. It was a bit faint now because the guardian seemed to have been cking in keeping the protection spell that he casted on the whole territory.


    "That must be the ck serpent on that painting. ording to the duke, that serpent is sleeping right now." Cygnus let out a deep sigh. The dragon knew that he was only acting and he had an inkling that the master had already prepared a path to deal with the serpent.


    "That serpent might know something since he has lived for a long time now, he''s older than you and I think that we are simr in age." The dragon answered while nodding his head. "Can I join you when you go and meet the serpent?"


    Cygnus looked at the dragon with a mysterious look on his face and a teasing grin appeared on his face. "The serpent is a man so why would you want toe when I go and meet him?"


    The dragon frowned because of the teasing tone from the master''s voice. "Master, please stop thinking of this weird nonsense. I am only interested in a creature that has lived as long as I have. I''ve never seen a dragon before and he is the closest species to us. It is pure curiosity."


    The master was surprised at how serious the dragon spoke. "Alright, I''ll call you when I will go and meet that serpent."


    "Don''t keep me waiting," the dragon grinned. He floated a few more times before he went ahead and disappeared from the ce.


    Isaiah and Ezio, who wandered around the manor, came to a stop in front of a huge white door. They could hear a busy noise inside and before they knocked, they first looked at each other and nodded. Isaiah raised his fist and gently knocked on the door. They then took one step back and patiently waited for the door to be opened.


    Archmage Sigma was busy in his workshop after that hectic and tense morning. He needed to create a talisman that was capable of driving away a malevolent spirit that they could distribute to the people just in case one would appear again. This will at least help clear one of the things that was keeping the duke worried.


    He was in the middle of trying several talismans when he heard the knock on the door and thought that it must be the two youngsters. The archmage stopped what he was doing and went to open the door. He ushered the two of them inside the workroom and let them sit down for a moment.


    "Are the both of you here to help me with the talismans?" He asked even though he already knew what the answer was.


    Both of them simultaneously nodded their heads. They saw how the archmage''s face brightened and the ck lines under his eyes visibly disappeared. Isaiah and Ezio weren''t averse to helping the archmage since it was also an opportunity for them to learn. That was why when they met Duke ckwell and heard about the situation, they volunteered to help. The duke must have informed the archmage beforehand because he was clearly happy to see them.


    "We wanted to help and learn at the same time," Isaiah said when they saw that the archmage was relieved to see them.


    "Shall we start then?" Sigma pointed at his workstation and the two young men nodded. They stood up and followed the man.


    They watched as he engraved the spell on a metal te. While he was engraving, he was also simultaneously infusing mana into each stroke to make the talisman more effective. It took him only a couple of minutes to finish a talisman and they saw that there were different protective spells on each one of the talismans.

 Chapter 222 Summoned

    It may look easy but the two of them knew that it was not. One must have precise control of their mana in order to engrave one talisman within minutes. They were not sure if they could do that and if they could be of help with the archmage.


    "We will be doing several protection talismans with different spells on it then we will need to try it against a malevolent spirit to see which of them will be effective," Sigma exined.


    He lifted the talisman he created and inspected it carefully before cing it together with the other talismans he created. He then handed out one metal te to Ezio and Isaiah and pointed at the two seats on the other side of the work table. The two of them went to sit down and stared at the metal te in their hands.


    Sigma handed them a copy of the spell they would engrave on the metal tes. "Those are the easiest ones in my list." He handed them something like a pen but the whole of it was metal and there was no ink. The end of it was also a little bit sharp. "Now, infuse mana on that metal pen and think of it like you are writing on a paper. Use your mana to carve out the spell."


    While he was exining, he was also demonstrating it to them. They watched as a mana of yellowish almost golden in color coated the metal pen until it converged on the pointed tip. He then let the glowing tip touch the metal te, and just as he said, he was just like writing on a paper.


    The symbol for the spell slowly appeared on the metal te and they could still see embers on each stroke that the archmage made. Once the man was done the embers cooled down and all they could see was thepleted spell. Sigma lifted it up to feel if the mana in that te was enough to activate the spell, when he was satisfied he ced it again together with the other talismans.


    "Now, you should go ahead and try it," Sigma urged them. Instead of looking at them, the man focused on his own work which gave the other two the confidence to try it out too.


    Their first attempt didn''t go well and they couldn''t gather their mana on the tip of the metal pen. It took them several tries to do it and now the next challenge was to use that mana to draw the symbol of the spell. Ezio was the first one to attempt.


    He was able to draw the first line but when he attempted to make the second line, the mana on the metal pen dispersed. This also happened to Isaiah but after several attempts they were able toplete the spells. Sigma took the metal tes and was impressed because they did an impressive job at their first try but he couldn''t use what they made.


    "You did a great job, but both of your works don''t have enough mana to be activated. The mana lines are also broken in several parts. Try it again," he kept the ones they worked on and gave them metal tes they could use.


    They practiced until the sun finally set on the horizon. They only stopped when the butler came to call them for dinner. After several attempts and failures, they managed to create a decent one that passed the archmage''s standards.


    Cygnus stared at the tired faces of the two and couldn''t help but be curious as to what they were up to. Ulysses saw the curious look on his son''s face so he took the initiative to tell him what they were doing. Maybe after hearing Ulysses, he would also join them.


    "They are helping Archmage Sigma to create talismans that can be used against malevolent spirits," Ulysses said to answer the man''s unspoken question.


    Just as he thought, the master expressed his interest in the matter. "Oh, is that so?" There was a grin on his face which the duke couldn''t guess its meaning.


    "Do you want to join them?" Ulysses asked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Certainly! I can even provide a malevolent spirit that we can use to test those talismans," Cygnus answered with enthusiasm.


    The whole table became silent after he said those words. Even the sound of cutlery disappeared as all eyes in the room all looked at him. Now, Ulysses knew the reason behind that grin but it was still unexpected.


    "What''s the matter? Aren''t you happy that you could test it out after making it or would you prefer to go to those haunted ces and hunt a malevolent spirit?" He feigned ignorance as to the reason why they were all looking at him.


    It was just a matter of time before they knew what he could do. So, it should be fine to give them a heads up. He waited for more reactions from them and it didn''t take long for his wish to be granted.


    "What are you talking about?" It was the archmage who asked first after that long silence.


    "What do you mean?" Cygnus asked as he looked at him in confusion.


    "Provide a malevolent spirit? No one can easily acquire a malevolent spirit and even creating it just like what the enemy has done would take time. So, please don''t joke about it," Sigma had a frown on his face while telling him off.


    The tension inside the room rose after the archmage''s words. Even Ghad was not sure why Rigel would say those words without care. He knew that the man was adept at using magic but he hadn''t dealt with a spirit before. Yes, he won against a wraith but he wasn''t sure if that was a fluke or real.


    Cygnus felt insulted because they didn''t believe him even so he calmed himself and still smiled at them. He took a deep breath and looked at the people around the table who were waiting for him to answer. He didn''t have the heart to disappoint them.


    The master stretched out his hands forward and with a snap a gray smoke appeared out of nowhere and a magic circle appeared after the gray smoke vanished. Something like lightning appeared at the edges of the circle followed by a buzzing sound that filled the room. Wind could be felt as it picked up inside the room as the gray smoke joined the lightning that was swirling around the circle.


    With the wind, the servants needed to make sure that all the easily blown things inside the room were secured. The people who unexpectedly needed to face the scene already lost their appetite. They were now focused on what the master was doing.


    Sigma could feel something dark and ominousing from that circle and the stronger the wind blew, the fiercer the lightning appeared to be. He clenched his jaws as he waited on what would appear from that magic circle. He then looked at Duke Ginehart''s son, who had a confident look on his face, with a frown.


    While the archmage was watching him, Cygnus grinned and this did not escape the mage''s eyes so Sigma''s attention shifted to the magic circle and at what appeared above it. To someone else it would appear as a mass of ck smoke but if one was patient enough, they could notice that it has a face and limbs. Those details were only covered by the smoky body it has. If one was also sensitive to spirits, they could feel that the negative energy from that mass of ck smoke was beyond what a normal evil spirit has.


    Gasps and shouts from the servants echoed in the room when they saw that thing appeared on the magic circle. Some of them even went as far as to find a ce to hide in fear that the malevolent spirit would attack them. They could feel its gaze sweeping through the room and lingering on them. One mere spirit ensued panic.

 Chapter 223 Impressive

    The rest of the others who were sitting stood up when the spirit appeared. Each of them took a step back to create a distance from the summoned malevolent spirit. While their eyes were focused on the spirit he summoned, Cygnus was grinning from ear to ear while looking at the fear on their faces. He really enjoyed seeing those reactions and how he really missed watching people show fear.


    He waited for a few seconds before Cygnus spoke, "So, what do you think of this one? I have some more in stash if you ever need one for your experiments or for you to study."


    His voice was carried through the room and was heard by everyone. The witnesses were shocked after hearing that statement. Ulysses had no idea that the man could do something like this so he was also speechless and to hear him informing them that he had more malevolent spirits stored unsettled him.


    "Can you kindly keep away that spirit for now because the servants are scared. We understand your point so no need to keep that spirit floating in here." Ulysses calmed himself and took the lead to talk to Rigel.


    "Are you sure? Why don''t we test the talismans that the archmage already made? And don''t worry about those servants, I will deal with them," he answered.


    He stomped his feet on the ground and a white barrier enclosed them. All the furniture inside the room disappeared and they were the only ones left inside the now white room. They looked around but nothing was inside except for them, Ezio even went to one side of the room and tapped on it.


    "Don''t worry any damage inflicted in this ce will not affect the servants nor the room where we were originally. Now, Archmage Sigma, you can try using your talismans." Cygnus chuckled as he released the malevolent spirit with the magic circlepletely disappearing beneath it.


    The evil energy from the spirit slowly spread inside the room which made them breathe a little bit difficult. It was different from the malevolent spirit Ghad faced because this one felt much stronger and more dangerous. The limbs that were hidden behind the smokey body slowly moved and before they could even react, tendrils of shadows already got a hold of them.


    Each of their arms and feet were bound by the spirit''s shadow. Cygnus took a step back and made himself as inconspicuous as he could as he watched how they would handle something like this. Ulysses as expected used his unnatural strength to pull down his hand that was tied above his head to unsheathe his sword which he used to cut down all the shadows. He did this to those that got ahold of the others.


    Once he was freed, Sigma took out the pouch that was carrying the talismans and distributed it to the others. Even though it was a dangerous situation, it was still an opportunity that he could use to try the talismans. They rotated in using the talismans to ward off against the attacks that the spirit was doing.


    Some of them worked but only for a second because the malevolent spirit would only smash it using its strength and would still be able to attack them. This cycle continued until only a couple of the talismans were left to be tested out. Ulysses who couldn''t use any mana would rely on the others to shield him but with every talisman not working, he already prepared himself to work.


    Ulysses leapt in the air to attack the spirit directly but his sword only passed through the spirit''s body since it was only made out of smoke. He was shocked because it was ate realization on his part. A heavy object hit him on the chest and sent him colliding with the wall. The three mages inside the room did not stop in using their power to subdue the spirit but it was also futile.


    The shadow tendrils continued to attack them and were not stopping from its goal of tying them all down. With thest talisman on his hand, Sigma mumbled the spell and the metal te glowed before he threw it towards the enemy. The talisman met with an invisible barrier that was surrounding the spirit but it did not fall down and instead attached itself to the barrier.


    "Explode!" The metal te exploded which sessfully destroyed the barrier and exposed the malevolent spirit.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Isaiah tried to use a binding spell that appeared below and above the spirit to bind it and prevent it from moving. The spell was sessful so Sigma went ahead and used his magic to incinerate the spirit. Since his magic was close to that of the holy magic, the enemy waspletely destroyed. The fight onlysted for a couple of minutes but they were already exhausted.


    A loud apuse echoed in the room after the malevolent spirit was defeated. Cygnus was impressed that one of the talismans actually worked. He thought that the only talismans they made were for protection but he did not expect that the archmage would have created an attack talisman.


    "That was impressive!" He couldn''t help butment. His words angered the archmage further.


    He couldn''t believe that Rigel would still have the mood to p when their lives were on the line during the fight. Sigma also did not understand how a spirit with that much negative energy ended up being summoned by Rigel? He was truly pissed because of how reckless the man was.


    "Why are you pping? You let that malevolent spirit attack us as you watched on the side, is this fun?" His anger was a given but this did not matter to the master.


    "Because you seeded. You defeated a malevolent spirit and one of your talismans can work against them, isn''t that worth celebrating for?" He reasoned out. There was nothing wrong with what he did and instead of being thankful the man was angry with him.


    The veins on the mage''s head bulged at that statement. He was ready to explode when Duke Ghad decided to step in. He coldly stared at Rigel and shook his head towards the archmage.


    "Don''t be too hasty Archmage Sigma, we will deal with this." Ghad did not look back at the mage because his focus was on the young man who looked like he had no idea what he did wrong. "Can you please dispel this barrier?"


    Cygnus frowned but he still did what the duke requested. The white room disappeared and they were already back inside the dining area. Sensing that the atmosphere was not right, the servants conscientiously left. Sigma gave them onest look before he too left. Ezio and Isaiah followed behind.


    The dining room became silent as everyone left. Cygnus sighed then he returned to his seat. He already knew what they wanted to talk about but he really didn''t care. They were people who were necessary for all of his ns so there was no point in listening to them but he would still indulge them.


    "So, what is it that you want to tell me?" He asked bluntly because there was no point in going around the bush at this point.


    "Why did you do that and how did you even manage to summon that kind of spirit?" Ghad was the first one to speak. Ulysses on the other hand decided to stay silent for now and listen to their conversation.


    "Honestly, it is none of your concern because we really don''t have any rtionship with each other aside from me fulfilling your wish and you doing your end of the bargain. There''s no use in questioning my actions because no matter what you say, I will still do everything my own way." He leaned back and crossed his legs as he stared at them. The aura around him changed and the look on his face sharpened, gone was the innocent looking Cygnus.

 Chapter 224 A Glimpse

    Ghad was taken aback by the sudden change in mood of the young man. He felt as though the man was looking down on him and the aura around him was actually suppressing them. In the duke''s eyes, the young appeared to be someone who had experienced a lot in his entire lifetime.


    "Don''t let my looks give you the illusion that you can boss me around or that you can tell me what to do." Cygnus was not pleased. One of the things he didn''t like was being bossed around. "Let''s clear this straight, neither you nor you, are above me therefore you cannot tell me what I should or shouldn''t do." He pointed at Ghad first before he pointed at Ulysses.


    Both men were stunned at the young man''s words. The way he talked and the tone he used did not suit his overall looks. Although they couldn''t understand why Rigel was talking in that tone, they couldn''t resist agreeing to him.


    The oppressive force suddenly disappeared with both of the dukes still shocked to their core. Ulysses gulped and calmed himself before he could finally speak. He had been putting it off from the beginning but now he needed to know the man''s identity.


    "If that''s what you want, then tell us who you are," he spoke after a while.


    "Will it change anything? Nothing will change whether I tell you who I am or not." Cygnus didn''t have the patience to deal with as he was already in a bad mood because of what happened.


    Before any of the dukes could answer, a swirl of ck energy appeared out of nowhere and the butler came out from it. He gave the master a bow before giving the two dukes a nod. He looked around and saw that the people inside the room were tense.


    "May I know what is happening?" He asked after a full minitye that none of them were speaking.


    Ulysses and Ghad decided to remain silent so, it fell upon Cygnus'' shoulder to fill in his own butler but the problem was, he hated exining. He sighed a couple of times before he gave his butler a re.


    "As usual," he shrugged his shoulders and frowned. He refused to talk any longer.


    "Please excuse my rudeness, Duke ckwell and Duke Ginehart, my master a bit prickly about many things especially if you question his actions. I suggest that you don''t bring up this matter in the future," the butler exined. He gave the two adults a smile.


    "We want to do that but we can''t act upon it if we don''t know the reason for his actions. He just summoned a malevolent spirit a while ago and endangered everyone in the room." After the pressure was gone and he was able to calm down, the duke was finally capable of rational thoughts.


    "Ah, yes that''s quite a problem and I apologize for that. This will certainly happen again in the future so please get used to it," the butler answered. He also gave a small bow towards the both of them.


    "I can''t because it can endanger my people," Ghad frowned. "If you give me an eptable reason I will consider it but as long as you continue to brush off the topic, I won''t allow it."


    As a duke and the leader of ckwell, he couldn''t let his people be in danger because of the man. He made a deal with him but that does not include harming his people. If he had known about it, then he would not have agreed to the deal.


    Cygnus was getting ticked because the duke was going on and on about a reason. ''Wasn''t he getting fed up with it?'' Cygnus frowned while looking at the man. He had been ring at him and the butler that it was pissing him off. His jaws clenched the more he thought about it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The master couldn''t take it any longer, the silence, the re and tant defiance he was showing him. Without warning, a shadow was casted upon them. The ground was suddenly covered with a ck sticky liquid that went up above the ankle and prevented them from moving.


    "Reason? Do I need to have a reason to do what I want to do?" Cygnus slowly stood up from where he was sitting.


    His body was covered with a red chaotic aura and his voice became deeper. His pupils turned red and ck veins appeared on his neck and on his forehead. ck tentacles mixed with a tinge of red appeared behind him.


    These tentacles were not ordinary because they could change appearance at will depending on the master''s mood. This time each end of the tentacle was in the shape of sharp ws that moved and clutched Duke ckwell''s body while he was distracted by the sudden change in their surroundings.


    Ulysses sensed that the situation has be dangerous and those ws were bad news. His hand flew to the hilt of his sword as he intended to cut through the w to free his friend. He firmly nted his feet on the ground and bent his knees to give him the maximum momentum he would need to reach and cut the w. He was about tounch himself but Mr. C was faster than him.


    The butler stood in front of him with his right hand stretched to the side to stop him from moving. His left hand was behind his back and his eyes were focused on what was happening in front of them. He was standing stiff and he took a step back which also forced Ulysses to do the same.


    "I suggest that you stay out of this Duke Ginehart and engrave whatever you see in here in your mind. This should be a lesson that you should not challenge the master''s authority." Mr. C took another step back while saying those words to the duke.


    "Why would I stay out of it! Rigel is going to kill Ghad!" Ulysses shouted but the butler gripped his shoulder.


    "Even though the master can kill Duke ckwell, he will not be reckless. As long as a person has a use for him, he will let them live," the butler answered. "So, I suggest that we step back."


    Ulysses looked at the butler''s back and saw no tension nor did he notice any changes on the butler''s usual voice. He looked up and saw that even though the ws were tightly clutching Ghad, it was not enough to kill him. Even so, his hand remained on the hilt of his sword just in case something might happen.


    Ari on the other hand notified the butler of the master''s insanity level and it was at 60% which only means that the master was really angry this time. The butler did not show any change on his face and voice. That level was pretty high and dangerous but the master was still conscious which meant that he still had control over his actions, so, everything should be fine.


    Ghad struggled but the w was tightly shut around him. He could only gaze at the young man with cold eyes. From the first time he saw him, he already had a bad feeling about him and now seeing this side of him only solidified that impression.


    Cygnus grinned, "Yes, you should have followed your instincts and got as far away from me as possible but look at you right now, wriggling to free himself from my clutch. I could end you right now and your duchy with one fell swoop but I won''t do it because I am interested in this ce''s history. One of the reasons why I am tolerating you right now." He raised his hands and moved it from side to side, the w also followed this movement.


    Ghad started to feel dizzy from all the movement that the w was doing but he still forced himself to remain awake. He couldn''t lose consciousness or else he would be failing as a duke. With his hazy gaze, he caught a glimpse of the grinning man who was moving his hands.


    "I-I won''t let you do whatever you want inside my territory!" Ghad still stuck to his principles.

 Chapter 225 Serpent And Contract

    The movements stopped and finally the duke finally had the time to focus his eyes and catch his breath. The w that was holding him moved again until he was a few inches away from the young man. He saw him tilting his head from side to side before he finally looked him in the eye.


    "You won''t? That doesn''t matter though because I can always rece you. I think it is better to dispose of you then I will create a copy of you. It would be very obedient." One of the tentacles rose to the sky and changed into something with a pointed end.


    Ulysses panicked and in the blink of an eye, he was already above the tentacle and used his sword to cut it off. A loud ''ng'' echoed in the space as the duke''s sword made contact with the tentacle. He was surprised and before he could retract, he could already feel his body flying. One of the tentacles swiped at him and hit him on his chest which sent him flying.


    The pointed tentacle continued in its direction and when they thought that it would pierce through the duke, it collided with something hard instead. The impact caused the shield to appear. It was a silver shield that resembled the scales of a snake and it was around the duke. Cygnusughed when he saw this situation. It finally appeared.


    "It seems that your guardian hasn''t abandoned you and that he was not really sleeping," Cygnus couldn''t help butment.


    "I won''t let you hurt the duke," a deep voice followed by a hiss invaded the ce.


    A crack suddenly appeared above them which slowly grew bigger which eventually gave out as a force from the outside broke through it. Arge ck serpent''s head appeared from the crack followed by it''srge ck body. The serpent''s fangs bit the w which destroyed it instantly. The serpent then coiled its body around duke Ghad.


    "I thought you didn''t really care about the ckwell and yet here you are," Cygnus looked at the serpent with glee.


    This was out of his expectation but the test was worth it. Although he already said that he wouldn''t meet the serpent yet, the urge to test it overcame him. And now, the serpent was here and ring at him.


    "You''ve gone too far," the serpent answered. "You, whose fate is already sealed and yet you are still here, walking amongst the living." The serpent''s golden eyes retracted and returned to its original shape.


    Cygnusughed, the ck veins on his skin slowly disappeared as he began to be amused by the serpent. "Deities are really different, you could destroy my barrier and even invade it. Ah, how envious is your power."


    "In exchange for letting this child go, I will give you information regarding that witch hunt that happened a thousand years ago," the serpent ignored his snide remarks and instead proceeded to the main core of the problem.


    "Oh, to go so far for a mere human, you seem close to their family," his gaze shifted to the duke who was sitting on the ground and ring at him.


    "The ckwell family had been under my protection even after they betrayed me. It is an oath I made with the heavens and the earth as my witness. I cannot rescind what I already promised. Besides, the duke''s direct ancestor was someone I considered a friend." The serpent answered and rified at the same time.


    "You know, I haven''t had a deity as my pet before and you possess knowledge that I do not have. Serve me and I will make sure that the duke will live a long life and thisnd will remain under his rule," Cygnus suggested which earned him a gasp from Ulysses and an intensified re from Ghad.


    The serpent maintained its silence. Both of them stared at each other for a couple of minutes before the serpent looked down at the duke. He had been alive for a long time now and he admitted to himself that his power had grown weaker thus the appearance of more and more evil spirits.


    The man who was offering him a deal that he couldn''t ignore was a person who would onlye by in a hundred or even a thousand years. He was someone who had defied so manyws and was still alive. A person who even the lower deities like him would think twice before offending him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "If I am going to ept your offer, I will need a contract and not just your verbal words," the serpent answered.


    "That won''t be a problem," Cygnus grinned. He snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared before him.


    It was no ordinary scroll, it was a piece of paper that could bind him and the serpent into a contract wherein the vitor would die. Cygnus did not hesitate to sign his name on the paper and he pushed it towards the serpent. Even for a deity, it was still normal to get curious so he looked at the name signed on the contract.


    He closed his eyes and angled it to the side before opening them again. Even the man''s name radiates death that just by looking at it, the serpent had a glimpse of what the man had gone through throughout his life. He avoided looking at the name again and instead used it''s tail to make a mark on the paper using its blood.


    The serpent pushed the contract back towards the man. Cygnus smeared a little bit of his blood on the contract. The paper glowed white and ck then the glow slowly subsided. The deal was done and now the serpent would be under Cygnus.


    "Oh, we can talk slowly about that matter after you meet someone from my side. He had been nagging me to meet you." Cygnus knocked on the air beside him and a swirling ck energy appeared where a tanned man appeared.


    His ck hair cascaded behind him coupled with a silly grin on his face, one would not associate him to a dragon with just those bases but his eyes were a different matter. He walked towards the serpent and inspected it from head to tail. He then patted the duke who was still under the snake''s protection.


    "This serpent isn''t bad. Although his power has significantly dwindled to the point that I can''t call him a deity and all he has is negative energy, he is still a good catch," hemented after he assessed the serpent''s condition.


    "He is still a deity though," Cygnus nodded. "I still have a use for him and maybe I can bring him back to his peak and let him ascend. What do you think?"


    "That can be but are you really going to do that?" Ignius expressed his doubts because his master was notorious for not keeping all his good promises.


    "You are right, I might not do it. It will all depend on my mood," he looked at the serpent with a meaningful smile.


    He then snapped his fingers once again and the barrier disappeared. All of them were now back to the dining area. The view inside would shock anyone who would enter and that was what Sigma and the other two with him felt after opening that door.


    The serpent''s body almost upied the whole ce while Duke Ghad was a mess. Ulysses was behind the butler who remained indifferent on the side. Cygnus was calmly sitting on the chair with a half naked man standing beside him.


    "You are a dragon," the serpent finally spoke after he was scrutinized by the other person.


    Ignius nodded, "How did you know?"


    "It is very obvious just by the powering from you and by your eyes," the serpent answered, "you are one of those fearsome creatures that the humans fear."

 Chapter 226 Shock After Shock

    The people in the room were shaken again at the serpent''s statement while Cygnus and the butler remained nonchnt about it. Their gazes all focused on the man who was standing beside Rigel with a silly grin on his face. He looked to be a normal person but to be standing beside the master made him even more inconspicuous.


    Ignius thenughed when he heard thest sentence from the serpent, "I like that description. I am indeed a creature that humans fear and revere at the same time. Do you want to see my real form?"


    The serpent already noticed but the dragon was indeed carefree and said whatever he wanted. He saw as the dragon''s eyes swept through the people in the room with anticipation. If not for the power he felt from him, he would have mistaken the dragon as still a youngling.


    "Say, do any of you want to see my real form?" He repeated his question while looking around. He wanted to show him how magnificent he was but because of the silence he was slowly discouraged.


    "I suggest that you don''t do it Sir Ignius or else this whole manor would be destroyed," Mr. C, who was originally on the side, walked up to them.


    "I can always do it outside!" Ignius insisted. He insisted on it because he really wanted to fly and just wanted to show off.


    "Sir Ignius, please mind your image. You are a mighty dragon and yet you are acting like a spoiled child," the butler reminded which made the dragon silent. He looked around and saw that they were all looking at him.


    He cleared his throat and stood straight. He then returned to the master''s side and did not say anymore words that could tarnish his reputation. Mr. C was pleased when the dragon finally behaved.


    "I will take my leave then and will see you soon," the serpent spoke through the silence. "My powers cannot support this form any longer."


    After that, the serpent''srge body slowly disappeared until it vanished. The room was filled with silence once again after the serpent disappeared. Ulysses walked to Ghad and helped him stand up. Ghad could only sigh as he tried to fix his clothes that got messed up after the struggle.


    He looked around the room and sighed once again. "Let''s move this conversation to my study and let the servants do their job. Dinner has already passed and I''m sure that none of you are hungry after everything that happened tonight."


    Even without them agreeing to it verbally, they all agreed to the duke''s words. They left the dining room and relocated to the duke''s study at the second floor of the manor. The servants went back to clean and were surprised at how unorganized the ce was. They could only look at each other as they did not know what happened.


    All the seats were upied as they all sat down in the small living room inside the duke''s study. Mr. C and the dragon opted to stand behind the master. No one wanted to talk first so they could only stare at each other for a couple of minutes.


    Ignius groaned and leaned a bit closer to the butler and whispered, "Ugh, I''m not ustomed to this. Why aren''t any of them speaking? Is this a staring contest?"


    "You just need to be patient," Mr. C answered back without moving. He was also focused on the people who were just about to start speaking.


    The dragon frowned but he returned to his position and waited together with the butler. Finally, the silence was broken when the archmage spoke. Because he was the most curious among them, he couldn''t remain silent.


    Since they left the room before the serpent appeared, he was not sure if that was the guardian that Ghad had been talking about but based on what he briefly witnessed, that must be the real deal. The serpent had been living in ckwell even before it was established as one of the major territories in the kingdom. Now, he was guessing that something must have happened for the guardian himself to show up.


    One more concern he had was the beaten appearance of Duke ckwell. He looked like he went through a battle and was defeated while the butler and Duke Ginehart were perfectly fine. One more concern he had was the other man who was with Rigel, ording to the serpent he was a dragon but he as a mage couldn''t ascertain if that was true.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Was that really the ckwell''s guardian deity?" His question was directed towards Duke Ghad who had his forehead wrinkled ever since they entered the study.


    "Yes, the presence in the mausoleum is the same as that of the serpent that appeared and he protected me from a near death experience," his gaze went to Cygnus but it was only for a second. "That was the genuine guardian deity."


    "I thought that the guardian deity is in deep sleep?" Sigma frowned after hearing the duke''s exnation.


    "Apparently, he was not. I don''t know the reason why they said that he was sleeping but it is not the case. He just appeared to save me," the duke answered. If not for the deity''s timely appearance, he would have died.


    The prickling sensation of death was enough to haunt him for the rest of his life. He was already powerless because he did not have any magic and his physical abilities were not exceptional and to go through that would put fear in him. He couldn''t help but look again at Cygnus who remained rxed despite everything that happened.


    "What happened? What would prompt the deity to suddenly appear even after he was supposed to be asleep? Who threatened your life?" Sigma asked in session because it was the core detail they were missing.


    Ulysses sighed and rubbed his head. Ghad also closed his eyes because he didn''t know how to exin what happened to them. It was an unpleasant event but it was also considered a learning experience for them.


    "Should I tell them what happened?" Cygnus suddenly spoke. The archmage''s gazended on him then it went to the two dukes but they avoided his gaze.


    Since they were not willing to tell him what happened, he could only rely on the young man. Now their attention was all on Cygnus who was too rxed for theirfort. He had been like that ever since they entered the dining room and even with the guardian deity in there, he wasn''t fazed at all.


    "That''s because I attempted to kill Duke Ghad for being rude and for getting on my bad side," Cygnus said. He didn''t use any filters in his words and didn''t think about the consequences of what he had said. "The serpent came and saved him and after that the guardian deity of ckwell signed a contract with me. So right now, that guardian deity is serving me."


    It was already shocking that he tried to kill the duke and yet he was still proud to tell them that the guardian deity was now serving him. It was too much information that they didn''t know how to ept. All they could do was to remain silent after hearing those words.


    Since nobody was speaking, Cygnus also took that chance to introduce Ignius. "This is Ignius. He is a ck dragon that has been working for me for many years now. He''s a bit of a fool but nheless he is still a dragon so all of you should stay on his good side."


    When all was said, Ignius suddenly reacted when the words finally sunk into his mind. "A fool!? Do you really think that I am a fool master?" He couldn''t believe that his master would tell other people that he was a fool. He was a magnificent ck dragon and yet he was reduced into being a fool.


    "Yes, you are a fool. You can''t even read the situation and start shouting all of a sudden? You are acting like a child in front of all of these people. Shall I say what they currently think of you?" Cygnus slightly looked behind him at the dragon who was seething in indignation.


    Ignius wanted to make a remark but he held himself back as he straightened his back and looked at the people inside the room, "I am not a child. They can think whatever they want and I won''t let myself be affected anymore."


    Cygnus snickered at the sudden change in the dragon''s attitude. He was a simpleton that the master could easily y tricks on. Even a dragon was no match against him when ites to words. Now that the dragon chose to remain silent, he looked at the people once again and waited for any reactions from them.


    He waited for over a minute but none of them talked. Instead of finishing the conversation, Isaiah decided to bid them good night. Ezio also followed after a minute because he needed time to process everything he heard. Sigma sat there for a few more minutes before he too stood up and left but before that he gave the others onest look.

 Chapter 227 With The Council Again

    None of them spoke after the archmage left. They were stubborn in maintaining the silence and maintaining the awkward atmosphere. Ghad remained seated for a couple of minutes before he too decided to leave.


    "Let''s go and rest for now. Too much has happened tonight that I think it is better for us to rest. We can slowly talk about this in the following days." Duke Ghad stood up and gave the remaining people in the room a nod before he walked towards the door.


    Ignius looked at the two remaining people in the room then he gave the butler a questioning look. Mr. C felt the gaze aimed at him that he could only sigh. "We will be outside, master," he spoke up to let them know that they were leaving too.


    "Do you have anything to say to me Duke Ginehart?" Cygnus finally asked the man after he heard the click of the door.


    "Was that really necessary?" Ulysses simply asked. He had no intention of questioning the master, he merely wanted to know if that was a move he should have done.


    "Shall I be honest with you?" Cygnus used his serious and deep voice. "No, it was not on my ns but you know I easily get angry these days and it is better that this happened so that next time none of you would ever question me."


    Ulysses sighed. He covered his face with his two palms and eventually gave up. He leaned back on the seat and looked at the ceiling of the room. The light in the room continued to flicker amidst the darkness and the silence as he slowly came to terms with what was happening.


    Unlike the others, he wanted to clear things with the young man. He epted him as his son and chose to trust him because he did what he had promised to them. Even so, he wanted to know who he was and he already had a feeling that his son, Linius, already knew him.


    "You better talk with your son regarding that matter. I''ve told him everything, well not exactly everything but everything that he needed to know." Cygnus answered his question as if he was reading his mind.


    At first Ulysses had not noticed this fact because he was too caught up with the thoughts in his mind. He was still looking at the ceiling when he heard the young man talk once again. His eyes then widened when answers to the questions in his mind wereing out from Rigel''s mouth.


    "I''m sure that General Linius will dly tell you what he knows. I will give him the permission to talk to you regarding my matters and no, you can''t ask my butler anything because I am sure that he won''t be answering you." Cygnus deliberately answered the questions on the duke''s mind because his intention was clear, he wanted to let the duke know that he could read minds.


    Duke Ulysses did not fail to catch what the young man was trying to say. He snapped his head towards the young man with his jaws dropped in surprise. He saw that Rigel was only grinning at him and he couldn''t help himself fromughing out loud.


    Hisughter echoed in the room and it continued for about a minute before he finally stopped and sighed once again. No matter what he was thinking then from the very beginning, the young man was hearing all of it. It was no wonder why he seemed to be one step ahead whenever he made a move.


    "You are right. I like spoiling the ns of others, that is why I prefer to make my move earlier and not stop there." Cygnus confirmed the man''s thoughts. "So, I suggest that if you have any negative thoughts about me, cease them and don''t think about them especially if I am in the vicinity." His grin widened and the duke shivered because he knew exactly what that grin meant.


    "I''ll keep that in mind then." Ulysses stood up and looked at the young man for a second before he spoke once again, "I''ll take my leave then. You should go and rest too because I have a feeling that tomorrow will be one heck of a day."


    Just as the duke had predicted, the next day was like any other day every time something happens. Well, the past few days had been hectic especially when the young master from Ginehart joined the picture. This time though, it was the council members who flocked at the ckwell manor with serious looks on their faces.


    Since everyone was there, Duke Ghad hosted an unscheduled meeting to answer and quench the council member''s questions and curiosity. He was sure that they were there because of the incidentst night. Word must have gotten out from the servants and it reached the ears of these men and women.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He rubbed his forehead and was set on making sure that the servants won''t be talking about anything that happens inside the manor outside. This also reminded him that he should smoke out the spies in his manor and prevent them from gathering information and rying it to these cunning people. He leaned on his seat and waited for them to speak first.


    Ghad was already tired from looking at the faces of the council even without them saying a word. All he wanted right at that moment was to leave. He would rather face the mountain of documents in his study than to face these people who only knew how to give him problems.


    "We heard that a malevolent spirit appeared in the manor and that your visitor had summoned it," one of them finally spoke.


    "Well, that is one hell of an urate statement. You should have directly added Rigel''s name while you are at it instead of going around the bush and calling him a visitor," Ghad sneered. He was tired of showing these people favor.


    "Your excellency!" the one who just spoke couldn''t believe that he would hear that kind of tone from the duke.


    "You should get used to it by now. I''ve already talked like this thest time we met so why are you still getting flustered? I''m the one who is in a bad mood right now because I have to face you all so early in the morning," Ghad did not stop and told them straightforwardly what he felt.


    The council members were rendered speechless but none of them dared to speak once again. Since one of the topics that they wanted to talk about has been presented, they decided to wait for the duke''s exnation. It was no use even if they got angry because of the duke''s attitude towards them.


    "There was no malevolent spirit that was summoned yesterday. It must have been a figment of imagination from the person who told you about the news." Duke Ghad did not flinch or have any other reactions as he said those words.


    "Are you saying that your servants are lying? They are just concerned about you because that man might harm you!" The same council member who asked the questions immediately refuted the duke''s words.


    "Lying? I never said that they were lying. I merely disproved their statement because nothing of that sort happened yesterday. If you want you can go ahead and ask the other servants about the matter," he calmly answered. He was even confident to tell them to ask the other servants because he was sure that these members were cowards.


    "Are you perhaps challenging us, your excellency?" One of them also asked in a calm voice. Unlike the other, he chose to deal with the duke in a calm manner because nothing wille out if they were to continue arguing with him.


    "Of course not, I am just making a suggestion so that this unfounded story won''t circte after we leave this ce." Ghad raised his hand and shook his hand.


    "If that''s the case, then we will call everyone who was in that room yesterday," the calm one stated. He looked at the other council members and saw them nodding so he instructed the sentinels to go and call for them.


    Nobody spoke as they waited for the people involved to enter the room. First toe were Sigma together with Ezio and Isaiah. Next to enter was Duke Ginehart together with his son and his son''s butler. After that, all the servants who were there yesterday were ushered inside.


    "Now that they are all here, who do you want to ask first?" Ghad waved at all the people who entered while keeping an eye on any strange reaction from the council.


    He was intently observing them and he was not disappointed because he could see that some of their gazes were already aiming at one of the servants. She was a woman with a small figure and brown hair. She had her head bowed down so she must not have seen these council members looking at her. She flinched the moment that he was tapped to speak.

 Chapter 228 Bad Morning

    She nervously looked around after one of the sentinels tapped her shoulder. Her body was shaking and fear was clearly written on her face even before any questions could be asked from her. She was constantly rubbing her hands and her eyes couldn''t focus on one spot.


    "Kindly tell us what you saw yesterday night, during dinner?" Ghad asked with a soft voice so as not to frighten the young woman even more.


    He made his move because he did not want those people asking her. They might pressure her and make her confess to things she had not seen. As far as the duke could understand, the young woman was not there yesterday which means that these council members have people even inside his sentinels.


    They must have promised her something in return for telling a false testimony, well it was not false but she was still forced to do so. This also implied one more thing and the duke narrowed his eyes at the group of servants inside the room. No matter what happened after the meeting, he was already set on finding out all the spies in his territory.


    One of the council members became impatient so he spoke with a raised voice which only startled the already trembling woman. "What are you remaining silent for? Answer the question or do you want to lose your job!?"


    Ghad frowned because the man was ruining the atmosphere. The young woman was already frightened and yet here he was shouting without reason. He looked at the man and gave him a re.


    "Don''t listen to him and take your time youngdy. We will wait for your answer and don''t be afraid because I will protect you," Ghad maintained his soft voice.


    The young woman was still hesitant to answer but Ghad was patient and so were the others, except for the council members. He could feel their restlessness from the air but he didn''t care and when he felt that one of them was about to talk once again, he looked at them and gave them a fierce re. They did not dare speak after receiving such treatment.


    It took a couple of minutes before the young woman finally spoke, "Y-your excellency¡­I-I didn''t, I didn''t see anything yesterday," her voice was trembling and that her words came out as mumbling but she still continued, "I-I was not there yesterday, at the d-dining room."


    At those words, the room fell into silence but Ghad was not done. He then asked the servants who were in there to narrate what happened in the dining room and all of their stories were the same. There was no mention of a malevolent spirit whatsoever. Even the others who were called in left the room because they have the same statement.


    The council members felt indignant at what happened, especially those who nned everything. They thought that they already had a card against the duke but he still managed to evade them. Ghad could see their fists clenched and their tense posture but he did not care.


    "Now, are there any more subjects you want to talk about? We are already here so you better talk because I would be busy for the next few days and I wouldn''t have the time to indulge you," Ghad spoke through the tense atmosphere.


    They were silent, nobody wanted to speak. The duke could only sigh before he stood up from his seat. If you have time to waste here, then so be it but if I find out that you were neglecting your territories just because of these trivial matters, I wouldn''t be as lenient as before.


    Their morning ended in an unsavory manner but at least it was sorted out with those people. A bunch of letters also arrived that morning and were waiting for the duke. He sorted out the letters and found that most of them containedints about evil spirits appearing throughout their ce. There were also reports of such creatures appearing on the mining areas of the territory which was constantly halting their operations.


    These problems had been urring once and a while that they would receive reports here and there but this was the first time that he read so many letters with the same problem over and over again. He could send out his sentinels to deal with the evil spirits but it would mean that the security in the manor and the rest of Central ckwell will weaken. After reading all those letters, he stood up and went to the workroom.


    Even after what happened and despite the questions in their minds, Sigma together with the two young men went to create talismans for the rest of the day. While they were busy with making the talismans with the spell that worked against the malevolent spirit, they heard a knock. Sigma stopped what he was doing and opened the door.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Your excellency, what brought you here?" Sigma asked in surprise. He didn''t expect to see the man himself visiting the workroom.


    "I came to check on the progress of the talismans," he answered, followed by a sigh.


    "Then pleasee inside." Sigma took a step back to let the duke enter the room.


    Ghad stepped in and saw that his heir and Ezio were focused on doing talismans. He quietly went to observe their work and was impressed because they were doing it smoothly. They only learned about it yesterday and yet they were already good at controlling their mana.


    On one of the tables, he found a stack of talismans and picked up one. He raised a sample and was satisfied with its quality. Although he only had a small amount of mana, he could tell that the talismans were of high quality.


    "You are making great progress just in time for distribution." He turned around and looked at the archmage who had prepared tea for him.


    They walked towards one of the doors that led to a sitting room. Sigma ced the tea on the table and sat down on the couch in front of where the duke sat. Ghad dly took the cup of tea and leisurely took a sip.


    "Are there sightings of evil spirits once again?" Sigma asked after they''ve settled down.


    Ghad nodded his head to the question. "Yes, I''ve received at least a hundred letters saying so. I''ve already sent some of the sentinels to confirm if all of those in the letters are true. If confirmed, we will need to send and distribute talismans to the people. I can''t send all of the sentinels in all of those ces. I am afraid that if I do so, the enemy will take that opportunity to attack."


    Sigma sighed. "There''s nothing we can do. We will make as many as we can." He was an archmage, powerful as he may be, it was also impossible for him to drive out all of those evil spirits. A one-man stunt like that was not possible for him.


    "Why don''t you ask Rigel to help you? I''m sure that with his prowess in magic, he would be able to help you create more talismans¡­" Ghad trailed off when he saw how the archmage''s face contorted in displeasure at the mention of Rigel.


    In retrospect, Ghad could understand why the archmage somewhat detested the young man. He was someone who did what he wanted without regard to others. But with Ginehart backing him up, he would still give him the benefit of the doubt even after he nearly died because of Rigel.


    "If it were before all of this chaos, I might have considered your suggestion but right now, I don''t want to have too much involvement with him. It is also for my peace of mind," the archmage answered. "Indeed, he would be of help but I am still not settled with him here."


    "Then I won''t pursue the matter then. He is my friend''s adoptive son and Ulysses trusts him so I can only give him a chance. Besides, I already made a deal with him and I intend to carry it out to the end." Their situation was a bitplicated but they did not have any reason to be antagonistic with the young man.

 Chapter 229 A Challenge

    It was better if they remained on his side than to be on the opposite side. He had done nothing drastic so far, well except when he almost died. As long as Rigel was not angered, their enemies would be the ones suffering.


    "We will finish as many as we can until the sentinelse back for their report. After that we will also take charge in delivering the talismans to ensure that they reach their destination." Sigma volunteered because he knew that the duke was busy with other matters.


    "Thank you. I also needed to visit the mausoleum to check on the guardian. I wanted to confirm something but I am afraid that the spies of the council will take notice if I move now," Ghad sighed. Now that the guardian was awake, he had so much he wanted to ask.


    "I can directly teleport you to the mausoleum but you''ll need to return here on your own. I can go with you," Sigma suddenly suggested but the duke shook his head.


    "You need to finish those talismans. This time, I''ll ask that man to help me. Since he is still on our side, I will use him as much as he wants to use me." Ghad stood up and left the room. He was determined to take advantage of Rigel while he was still there.


    He passed through the familiar hallways of his manor as he kept in mind to not get too close with the young man. Ghad thought about the archmage''s words a while ago and he was right, it would be better for them to keep their distance from the young man. It would be easier for him too to move on once all matters in ckwell were settled.


    The duke reached the young man''s door but before he could the butler opened the door from the inside. A sh of surprise appeared on the butler''s face when he saw the duke but he still managed to give the man a bow. Ghad raised his hand and returned back with a small nod.


    "Is Rigel in there?" the duke asked.


    "He is currently at the library''s manor, your excellency," the butler answered.


    "Thank you, I will be looking for him there then." The duke waved his hand and left for the library.


    The butler looked at his back but he did not say anything. It was rare for Duke Ghad to look for the master himself so it must be an important matter. He stepped out from the room and closed the door behind him before he went in the opposite direction.


    The library was as silent as it had been except for the rustling of papers that came from behind one of the bookshelves where the seats and couches were ced. The duke stepped behind the bookshelves and saw that the young man was intently reading a book. He did not want to disturb him but the young man already heard him.


    "What is it, your excellency?" he asked without closing the book or stopping to read.


    "I wanted to ask for your help," the duke answered. He sat down on one of the vacant seats in the lounge.


    Cygnusughed, "I didn''t expect that you would actuallye and ask me for help after what I did."


    "I decided to still give you the benefit of the doubt for the sake of my friend and besides, aside from almost killing me yesterday, you haven''t done anything that would warrant hatred from me," the duke answered.


    "That''s good to hear." Cygnus closed the book he was reading and faced the duke. "What help can the humble me give you, Duke ckwell?" The master was grinning.


    Every time the duke saw that grin, he felt that he was doing or agreeing to something wrong. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I need a way to go back and forth from the mausoleum to the manor without the spies sent by the council knowing and I believe that you have a way."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He could still remember how the butler came out from a dark crack on the space yesterday. It was surprising but also intriguing. Space magic was a magic that no one in the kingdom could do, no matter how many times they attempted it. Even the tower fell because of their experiments in an attempt to travel to different worlds and yet he could easily do it.


    "Is that all? Such an easy task. I should ask Ezio to do it," Cygnus rubbed his chin. "Are you there?" he suddenly asked out of nowhere.


    A voice answered his question, "What is it?" it was the same voice as the man whom they called Ignius, the dragon.


    "Do and fetch Ezio for me," Cygnusmanded, which earned him a cough from the dragon followed by a curse.


    "Am I your errand boy? Where''s your butler? He should be the one doing these small errands, not me! I am a dragon!" He started toin but his voice slowly disappeared and Cygnus was still smiling.


    "Why would you need Ezio for this?" the duke inquired after the dragon left. He was confused when the young man mentioned Ezio''s name.


    "Didn''t you know?" Cygnus raised an eyebrow and stared at the duke for a full minute and when he saw that the duke was indeed clueless about the matter, he couldn''t help but shake his head.


    "What do you mean?" Ghad was more confused because of the question. He was not that informed of things in the capital. The only information he got was about the attack on the tower and aside from that nothing more.


    "Ezio can use space magic. That''s the reason why the tower considered him a prized apprentice. Haven''t you heard of him because he was famous for that. The favor and attention given to him was unlike any other, especially the Magus Maximus." Cygnus exined.


    Ghad then remembered a news he heard a while back before the magic tower fell. There was a certain child whom the tower favored and he was even sent to the academy. ording to the report he received, the young man has exceptional talents and magic. This magic was what the tower had been looking for.


    "So, he was that child. I hadn''t paid attention to it because problems started appearing during that time and I was busy dealing with them." He received the report way back but he had no time to think about what was happening in a ce far away from his territory.


    The door to the library opened. Ezio and the dragon entered and went to where the other two were sitting. The young man was confused for a moment as to why the master has called for him. The dragon on the other hand casually took an empty seat and grabbed a random to read.


    "Why did you call me master?" Ezio asked in a cold tone. He would use that tone whenever he was in the presence of other people. It was something like a defense mechanism that he formed and now it became an instinct.


    "Duke Ghad here wanted a way to go to the mausoleum and I wanted you to do it for him," Cygnus answered his question.


    Ezio suddenly got nervous after hearing the master''s words. He was not confident enough to create a gate like how his master did it. He shook his head and took a step back. It was okay for him to learn how to fight but to create a gate, it was difficult. So far, he could only do it for a short distance like from the library to the kitchen.


    "Why are you shaking your head?" Cygnus frowned. He could feel the fear from Ezio and he was not happy about it. "Where was your confidence when we were traveling? Have you lost it?"


    "But master, creating isn''t easy and I haven''t done it smoothly well except in crucial times but most of the time I couldn''t control my power so utmost I can only create a gate within the manor. Even creating a gate connected to the outside of the manor is difficult." He stepped back again while giving them his reason.

 Chapter 230 Helpless

    He was afraid. He was not confident. At first, he was determined to get stronger in order for him to meet his master again but when they met again, that desire disappeared. He would practice his magic once in a while but he couldn''t improve which only added to his frustrations.


    "Why are you being so reluctant? You''ve been using your magic well and when I asked you to do such a simple thing you said that you can''t do it?" Cygnus was getting disappointed as the seconds passed by.


    He didn''t like this version of Ezio at all. He preferred the Ezio he first met and the Ezio who was cold, but this cowardice was something he couldn''t tolerate. The people who stood beside him were not this meek and weak.


    "Master, I just, just can''t do it. I tried but I couldn''t improve. I couldn''t make a breakthrough!" He was ashamed. He wanted the ground to swallow him at that moment.


    The room fell silent at that statement and at the pitiful state of the young man. This was the first time that Cygnus felt helpless and speechless at the same time. Ezio was strictly not his disciple or anything, he was just a kid he randomly picked just because he got his attention.


    It was easy for him to kick out this person and leave him on the side of the road but for some reason he couldn''t do it. This must be because of his mother, Elehiya. If not for that woman, he would have abandoned this worthless pup from the beginning.


    "You know that I don''t like weak people and I give you consideration because you could do something that others can''t. Don''t disappoint me right now Ezio, because I can throw you away anytime." Cygnus stood up from his seat and walked up to the young man who had his head bowed. He was slightly shaking which made Cygnus re.


    "I-I apologize master. I-I''ll do it. I''ll try." He mumbled which was heard by the dragon and the duke.


    "Then what are you bowing for? How can you do it when you have your eyes looking down on the ground?" Cygnus snapped and it made Ezio stand in attention.


    The master narrowed his eyes at the young man and the longer he looked at him the more he became displeased. He turned around and returned back to his seat. Cygnus then snapped his fingers and a gate appeared beside him.


    "This is a gate that leads to the mausoleum. Will you be going right now?" He shifted his attention to the duke who had been silent ever since Ezio came.


    "Yes, since I am already here and there''s a gate already. Might as well do this now." He stood and walked up to the gate.


    "Take Ezio with you. He can create a gate that the both of you can use to get back." Cygnus looked at Ezio and gestured for him to follow. "If he can''t create a gate, I''ll send someone to pick you up," he added.


    "I understand." The duke looked behind him and saw that Ezio diligently followed behind. "We''ll be back."


    The duke took a deep breath before he stepped into the dark gate. He was not even sure if it would really lead him to the mausoleum but because the young man was in a bad mood because of Ezio, he was a little bit assured that he wouldn''t be appearing in a different dimension. When he opened his eyes, he was already at the entrance of the mausoleum where the guardian deity was resting.


    "Do not disappoint me Ezio," were the words of Cygnus before Ezio stepped inside the gate.


    The moment he exited at the mausoleum, the gate disappeared behind him. Ghad looked back and saw that Ezio was still standing there without moving. He felt pity for the young man so he walked back and stood beside him.


    "Why don''t you try?" Ghad spoke. "He is a little bit harsh, isn''t he?"


    "I''ll do my best." Ezio nodded his head. Since the master has expressed his will, he needs to fulfill it or else the master might get angry.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Come with me first, let''s think about what we will do after I meet the deity." Ghad patted his shoulder and with no other things to do, the young man followed.


    They entered the shrine and entered the main building where the painting of the ck serpent was ced. Once they stepped in, themps on the wall lit up. They both walked towards the painting and stood there for a moment.


    Suddenly a voice echoed in the room. It was the same as what they had heard from the serpent. It was deep and a tinge of coolnessced within it.


    "You are here," the voice said. "What made youe here?" It asked.


    "I am just here to confirm some things," Ghad politely answered.


    "What is it?" The serpent asked and this time his voice was nearer and that it was not all over the ce.


    "Why did you suddenly appear when all this time we thought that you had been sleeping?" He asked. He was only genuinely curious because for so many years the deity hasn''t shown himself and now he could even talk with him.


    There was a brief moment of silence before the serpent answered. "That''s because you were put in danger and also because my power has weakened through the years. Hibernation was my way of recovering my powers but because that man appeared, I had no other choice but toe out."


    He felt it that one time they entered the shrine. The serpent wasn''t bothered so he let them be but when he felt that power and that blood lust yesterday, he couldn''t let it be. That man was serious the moment he let those sharp tentacles attack Ghad.


    "That man was going to kill you," the serpent''s voice was heavy. "He was not merely threatening you."


    Ghad sighed, "Yes, I know. It was something that took me by surprise." He shook his head after the memories came back. "Your power? What do you mean by that?"


    "My power has been sustaining the barrier that keeps the evil spirits in check and throughout the years, it has weakened especially now that malevolent spirits are appearing. I''m having a difficult time maintaining it and now it has substantially weakened because I used some of it to save you." Themps started to flicker as a shadow passed around the room. "I couldn''t even take my human form because I do not have enough strength to do so."


    Ghad had nothing to say about what he did. It was true that in the past, evil spirits would appear here and there but the number of these pesky little things continued to increase every year and now these things were wandering around the whole of ckwell. This was also the reason why Sigma had stayed in his territory for an extended period of time.


    "Then why did you agree to that contract?" Ghad finally asked. It was the thing he was most curious about. "Why would a guardian deity like you ept such a contract?"


    The duke suddenly felt anger rising from the pits of his stomach at the memory of that. He had no interactions with the guardian deity or whatsoever but he had been visiting the shrine since he was a child so there was still a sense of familiarity between him and the serpent. Ghad took several deep breaths to calm himself while they were on the topic.


    "Because he had the power to destroy whatever evil that is behind your council members. It is certain that you cannot give him your whole trust because he is eviler than what lurks behind those people," the guardian answered. "I had no other choice because right now, I don''t have the power to protect you nor this ce from the catastrophe that is about toe."


    "What are you talking about?" Ghad asked in surprise. He did not expect that a prophecy like words woulde out from the serpent''s mouth.

 Chapter 231 Prophecy?

    The guardian deity was silent for a moment as if he was pondering if he should tell them or not. It was something he had seen in the past. He thought that it already happened because of that incident a thousand years ago and yet those words came to him again. The guardian himself was not even sure if it would be happening this time.


    "Duke Ghad ckwell, this world has started to fall. We may survive now but the future has always been bleak. If one may find a reason to spare this world then we shouldn''t worry but if one may find a reason to destroy this world then we may not survive. The future is not set in stone, no matter how small the hope is, we may have the chance to change it." The serpent''s voice became a whisper in the air that brought chills to both Ezio and the duke.


    "Is this a prophecy?" Duke Ghad asked after he stilled his heart. Those words were already engraved in his mind.


    The serpent did not answer. Ghad waited for it to speak but it never happened. He was not entirely sure as to what the serpent was talking about or who the serpent was pertaining but there was a vague feeling in his heart.


    "This young man is with you, who is he?" The serpent instead asked and avoided the topic about the prophecy.


    "He is Ezio Constantine, apanion of the Rigel," Ghad introduced. Since the guardian doesn''t want to talk about it, he decided that he won''t pursue the matter.


    "A ''dimension walker'', how convenient that someone like you is by his side. It must have been fate that let you meet him. I hope that you will make the choice that will satisfy you and won''t leave you regrets." The serpent was again talking in cryptic words that made the young man confused.


    He was pondering about the prophecy he just said and now he was talking in a mysterious way again. What made him ufortable though was that he was talking about him. It felt like he was giving him advice but there was something more behind his words.


    "I don''t understand¡­" he trailed off while his focus was on the painting of the guardian deity which felt more and more like it was alive the longer he looked at it.


    "You''ll understand when the right timees." The serpent''s voice faded until not even his presence could be felt inside the room.


    Ezio looked at the duke with a frown on his face but Ghad could only shake his head. Even he himself was confused by the words from the serpent. He was also in a state of confusion that he couldn''t think about what the guardian had told Ezio.


    They remained in a stupor inside the shrine for at least ten minutes before the duke finally decided that they should return to the manor. At the mention of going back, Ezio''s eyes widened because he actually forgot about that matter because he was too caught up with the conversation between the duke and the guardian. He hastily walked outside of the shrine to try and create a gate that will lead them back to the manor.


    As expected, his first attempt was not sessful. He tried again for the second time but he still failed. Ghad saw that he was bing more and more anxious every time he failed. His anxiousness was messing with his control over his mana and his magic that was why he kept on failing.


    "Don''t be anxious. I know that you are under pressure right now but you need to focus. You''ll only disappoint yourself and him if you don''t calm down. Emotions y a strong influence in how we control our mana and how our magic will be." He walked up to the young man and patted him on his shoulder.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He could feel the tension on his body with that one tap. He was so stiff that whenever he circtes his mana inside his body, it abruptly stops which also resulted in the magic spell not materializing. If this continued it would take them ages before they could go home using a gate.


    "Anger will make your magic stronger but there''s also the possibility of you losing control over your mana which could make you go berserk. Obsession will help you perfect your magic and mana control but it will also cause you to feel stagnation. Anxiousness will give you the drive to improve but it will mess your mana flow and your magic won''t manifest. On the other hand, calmness will give you the opportunity to explore more and think more. These are just examples of emotions affecting magic." He slowly exined and with those words Ezio finally stopped.


    He took several deep breaths to calm the fast beating of his heart. He even closed his eyes so that he could concentrate. The duke was right, it would not help him if he continued to be anxious. He was worried that the master would be thoroughly disappointed with him so the feeling of rush overwhelmed him.


    Ghad took a few steps away from Ezio and watched from the side. He could tell that the young man had not received proper guidance while he was learning magic. He was not even taught of the basic trait of magic. The tower must have perceived him to be important just because he could use space magic but as to teaching him how to use it, they did not do it.


    After internalizing what he has heard, Ezio slowly felt for his mana core and slowly drew mana from it. He slowly pulled a strand of mana from his core and started to circte it in his body until it reached his fingers. In the air in front of him, he raised his hand and pointed at nothing in particr.


    A red magic circle slowly appeared out of thin air but it was still unstable. It was a bit hazy and the lines were not clear. Ezio frowned because he could feel that his spell was not working so the magic circle broke.


    He did not stop there though, he drew out mana once again and circted it then just as the first time he almost did it, a red magic circle appeared but this time it was bright. Ezio continued to circte his mana to sustain the magic circle until atst a gate appeared.


    Ezio opened his eyes and was surprised because a gate was really in front of him. A proud smile bloomed on his face because of the sess he achieved. His smile was contagious that even the duke couldn''t help but praise him.


    "That was excellent. You learn fast and you should keep in mind that your emotions will determine what your magic will be once it manifests," the duke reminded him.


    He was able to ovee his bottleneck at that moment but if he slips up again, then it would be more frustrating for him. He looked at the gate that appeared before them and with regards to appearance it was more pleasing to the eye because it looked like a gate. The door to the gate opened at that moment and the swirling ck unknown behind it was still the same as the ones that Rigel created.


    "Thank you, your excellency," the grin on the young man''s face was bright and innocent. "I hope that my master would be happy that I can already make a gate."


    Ghadughed for the first time because of Ezio''s enthusiasm, "You shouldn''t have your hopes up. As far as I have seen, your master is not easy to please."


    The smile on the young man''s face faltered but he still maintained it, "Well, you are right about that, your excellency but I will still look forward to it no matter what his reaction will be."

 Chapter 232 Distributing Talismans

    They both entered the gate and came out inside the library where Cygnus, Mr. C and the dragon were waiting for them. First to step out was the duke who looked a little bit pale followed by an awkward looking Ezio. He then pped his hands and the gate disappeared before he faced the duke.


    "I apologize, your excellency, it seems that my gate isn''t constructed well enough," he immediately apologized.


    The moment they stepped inside the gate, the surroundings were not smooth because the inside of the gate was an uneven path and everything was moving like a wave. It made the duke feel a bit nauseous because even the walls wouldn''t stay still.


    "It''s fine, as long as you''ve seeded in making a gate. Now, I will leave the four of you because I need to rest my body and mind." The duke left the room with a pale face and he did not look back.


    Cygnus was silently looking at the young man, who now had his head bowed. The master wanted to see him smug but he was still looking at the floor. He couldn''t understand why this person still insisted on appearing weak.


    "Is the floor that interesting?" He couldn''t help but ask after a moment of silence between them.


    Ezio raised his head and met the master''s eyes. "I apologize, master. As you have ordered, I managed to create a gate and I will continue to do my best to master my own magic." He immediately spoke without listening to whatever the master was about to say.


    "Heh, is that so," Cygnus stood up from his seat and walked up to the young man. He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "I hope that you will be diligent enough to master your magic. If you can be as strong as this dragon or my butler, I won''t have any problems with you. As you know, I am not the kind of person who will babysit you. You need to learn to protect yourself like all of those who followed me are doing." He moved back and stared at the young man''s eyes. "Whatever delusion you have of me, you should forget all of them because I am not like that."


    He smirked and shook his head before he turned around to return to his seat and to his book. Ezio was unable to speak and all he could do was nod his head. He had realized it already, that the master he met the first time was different from the master he was facing right now.


    Ignius suddenly appeared behind the young man and gave him a strong pat on the back that made him cough a couple of times. The dragon thenced his hand on his shoulder and was grinning at him. His gaze went from his head to his foot before he chuckled.


    "You are pretty decent so I''m sure that you''ll get stronger and don''t always listen to the master. It is also good for you to rebel sometimes," he grinned. He thenughed after saying those words and it only made the master scoff. "Come on loosen up, you''ve been stiff ever since you stood there."


    Ezio could only force out a smile at the dragon''s words. He couldn''t do what the other wanted him to do. Ever since his experience at the tower he had been having a difficult time to loosen up. His body was on constant alert because of what they did to him.


    "I will leave you for now then master. I still needed to help in making talismans," he gave them a bow before he hastily left the room.


    From the outside of the room, he created a gate that enabled him to go to the archmage''s work room. Sigma was surprised when he saw a metal door appear inside the room and Ezio came out from it. He raised a brow and looked at the young man which made Ezio a bit ufortable.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He gave the archmage a short greeting before he immediately walked towards his seat and started to make talismans. Isaiah, who was focused on his work, was oblivious to what just happened. Sigma on the other hand was left to ponder about what he saw.


    Afternoon came and so was the report of the sentinel. Ghad quietly read the report from his table and when he finished, he let the sentinel go. No questions were asked because the report was what he already expected.


    The duke then drafted a n on who he would send on the errand of distributing the talismans once they were finished. Just before dinner came, he already finalized the list he would send and all he needed to do was to inform them beforehand. It would be a long week for them.


    A thousand talismans were finished after five days of nonstop toiling from Sigma and his two apprentices. It then took them a day to organize and divide the talismans into the areas that needed them the most. The groups that were formed to distribute the talismans were also ready to move out.


    Ezio and Isaiah were in one group while Archmage Sigma was in another group. Cygnus also took that opportunity to be on the third group while the two dukes would be left in the manor to deal with some other matters. Duke Ulysses stared hard at his son to warn him not to overdo it again.


    The distribution of the talismans began as each group went their separate ways. Their travels were blessed with good weather and they have not encountered any assassinations along the way. They even thought that their task would go smoothly but their expectations were crushed.


    The two young mages reached their first destination and everything was going well not until they reached the fourth ce where they will be distributing the talismans. The moment they stepped inside the small vige, they could already feel a prickling sensation in their skin. The people in that ce were giving them weird looks as they whispered with each other.


    A gaunt man with sunken eyes approached them. He was giving them a smile but it still gave the young mages a sense of creepiness. The sentinels who stood with them did not move and waited for the man to get near them.


    "Wee to our humble town, we were told that someone will be delivering the talismans and we didn''t expect these young lords to deliver them personally," the man spoke after he stopped in front of them.


    "Yes, it is an important task so the duke entrusted us with the job." Isaiah gave the man a smile as he looked around. "It seems that the situation here is not that good," hemented.


    The man, who was the leader of the town, as they had guessed, looked around and nodded his head. "Ever since those evil spirits started to roam around the town, business has not been doing well. Even the people who go to the mine are being affected so we are just getting by, by what we can harvest from our small fields."


    "I''m sorry to hear that. Don''t worry we will ry your situation to the duke once we return to central." Isaiah nodded and assured the man. "We will also deal with the evil spirits scattered around the mining sites so that the workers can go back to their work," he added to make sure that the people won''t worry any longer.


    The leader was happy to hear the young man''s words. He then dly invited them to his abode and served them a warm tea. Isaiah took this chance to exin what the talismans can do since it was different from the first ones that they have distributed in the past.

 Chapter 233 Into A Trap

    "This talisman can ward off a malevolent spirit and it can be used against evil spirits at least five times. You can also set up this talisman in each house that borders your town to create a barrier that can deter evil spirits from entering. In your case, I advise that you do the third option." Isaiah slowly exined what the talismans can do.


    The man was happy to receive such valuable items and to think that they even improved the talismans was great news for them. They gave the town''s leader a total of thirty talismans and even helped them to set it up. Once the talismans were ced in order, Isaiah took the liberty to activate it and reinforce it with his own magic.


    After that, they went ahead to thest town they would visit for the day since it was getting dark and it looked like its going to rain. Ezio was looking outside from the carriage and frowned as the first drop of rain fell down. He thought that the good weather would continue until they returned to the manor but he was gravely wrong.


    The rain started to pour harder and it made it more difficult for them to reach the next town. If the weather was fine, it would only take them thirty minutes to reach their destination. After a grueling and wet trip, they finally reached the town and were met by the town''s leader who ushered them to the inn he prepared for them.


    "We prepared a warm soup downstairs so you cane down and warm yourselves after you dry yourselves," the leader told them with a smile.


    "Thank you so much," Ezio answered. He really wanted to change into dry clothes because he felt ufortable with the rain that was pouring outside.


    The sentinels were already at the dining table and eating so Ezio and Isaiah also took a seat as they were immediately assaulted with the fragrant soup in front of them. It was delicious and perfect for the rainy weather they were experiencing. They all enjoyed the simple meal then they were ushered to the living room where the firece was zing with fire that made the room warm.


    "We appreciate you foring this far despite the weather. We thought that you won''t be able toe," the leader spoke while serving them a cup of warm tea.


    "We were already on our way when the rain started pouring but we still pushed through since the talismans needed to be distributed." Isaiah cheerfully answered which caught Ezio''s attention.


    Hispanion was not much of a talker and his expression was just like that of a stone so he was not used to seeing this side of him. The leader and Isaiah continued with the small conversations as he focused on warming himself. Isaiah then proceeded to tell him how the talismans work.


    The leader dly epted the items and carefully ced them inside the box. Since they couldn''t set them up that day, they decided to do it tomorrow. The both of them also decided to stay for the night since the rain didn''t show any signs of stopping anytime soon.


    Once they were up in their room, Isaiah intended to meditate for a while but he was suddenly distracted by what Ezio was doing. Since he promised to the master that he would improve, Ezio had been practicing daily to create a gate. This time, he managed to actually made a gate that connects directly to the manor. That''s when Isaiah realized that the person was not someone who uses regr magic.


    "Is that space magic?" He stood up and walked towards the gate to take a look at it. He had read some books talking about space magic but he had never seen one. "Have you been using space magic for a while now?"


    "Yes and yes because space magic is my magic although I am not yet proficient with it. So, I am practicing every moment that I am free," he answered with a nod. "Do you want to try it? It''s a gate that will lead you directly to the manor''s living room."


    Isaiah looked at him a couple of times before he was convinced to take a step in. He became a bit nervous but still tried it. After he stepped in, he pushed another door and saw that he was really inside the manor''s living room.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I never thought that you are a space magic user. In this whole world, you must be the only one who can use that magic." Isaiah eximed after he returned to their room. The gate also disappeared like it did not appear.


    "You are wrong my master, Rigel, can create gates and he can even sustain them longer than I could." Ezio shook his head and immediately refuted the other''s statement.


    Isaiah became silent which made Ezio frown. He didn''t expect Ezio to be a space magic user and it even surprised him that Rigel could use it. How much more was the person hiding from them? Isaiah shook his head to get rid of those thoughts.


    Everything around him had gotten moreplicated than when he was still in the magic tower. Surprise after surprise couldn''t surprise him anymore so right at that moment, he decided to ept everything just the way it is. He returned to his bed and lied down instead to sleep.


    Isaiah couldn''t breathe a few minutes after he fell asleep. He tried opening his eyes but he had a difficult time doing so. He tried to move his hands and his feet but they felt like they were glued on the floor. He couldn''t move his boy at all. Even his voice couldn''te out from his mouth.


    He then felt that it was getting more and more difficult to breathe but he did not know the reason why. He tried his best to move and shout but it was no use. His heart started to race because he had no idea what was going on. He tried to use his senses if he could sense Ezio but even that failed.


    Isaiah didn''t know how long he was in that situation. When he heard Ezio''s voice calling for him he slowly regained movement from his limbs. It took him a couple of minutes before he could open his eyes and look at his surroundings. He thought that he was still dreaming because he did not remember the room where they slept being too dark.


    He looked to his side and saw that Ezio was kneeling beside him. "What''s happening?" He asked in a hoarse voice.


    "We''ve been trapped, I don''t know where or how but this ce is pretty enclosed and I have not felt any walls anywhere." He raised the glowing ball of mana on his hand to look around but he still couldn''t guess where they were.


    "It must be the work of an enemy but if that''s the case we should have felt it somehow," Isaiah stood up as he too created a ball of mana that illuminated the room.


    While they were looking around, a wind suddenly blew inside which gave them shivers. They''ve walked quite the distance now and yet they haven''t reached any walls in the weird room. They could also feel that there was something lurking in the dark.


    "This must be an illusion and now we are trapped in here. If we can''t get out, we might be asleep for all eternity." Ezio spoke through the darkness.


    Click. The sound of it was very prominent inside that silent area and it made the two young mages stop on their tracks. They looked at all the directions but they found none. When they thought that everything was now finished, the ce was suddenly covered in a very bright light that overpowered them.

 Chapter 234 Inside A Dream

    When the light vanished, they were now inside a maze. They looked at each other with a frown because of the sudden turn of events. The walls of it were at least five meters high and ten times thicker. They were more confused and convinced that it was not reality.


    "Run!" a sudden whisper echoed in their ears followed by the rumbling and shaking of the ground. They then heard a growl from the back.


    They were taken aback by what was standing behind them. It was a centaur with the upper human body that was full of muscle and it was holding an ax on its hand. It was at least seven feet tall and the centaur''s feet were pounding on the ground ready to go after them anytime.


    "Intruders. No intruders allowed in this area. All intruders will die!" The centaur repeated those same lines over and over again before it disappeared and appeared above the young mages with its ax that was raised in the air and ready tond on them.


    Ezio and Isaiah both managed to dodge and even though they were unsure of what was happening, their instinct to survive was still greater. Since they could use magic in that ce, they managed to stand a chance against the centaur. Both of them attacked but it seemed to have no effect on the centaur. It still kept on charging towards them.


    "It seems that even our magic has weakened," Eziomented when his spells got blocked by the enemy. They were in a bad position, not unless they could wake up.


    Not only a centaur but a pair of ogres also appeared after they managed to outrun the half human half horse enemy. They then realized that they were actually inside a maze that was full of monsters. Their life was now in jeopardy.


    "What do you think of this ce? Is this the kind of ce that will kill us and even our physical body?" Ezio asked after they were face to face with the ogres that were staring at them.


    "I have a feeling that it is. So, we need to be careful. Let''s go and try to find the exit to this ce once we do that, we might get out," Isaiah suggested.


    If this was a scheme from the enemy then that also means that their bodies were in danger. They were not even sure if the sentinels who were with them were still alive. They were careless, to fall into a deep sleep must be influenced by something outside. If it was magic, they should have detected it already.


    Isaiah doesn''t want to suspect them but at that moment it seemed to be the most usible reason. They needed to wake up soon because if they didn''t then he was afraid that the enemy would soon make his move. "Ezio, let''s clear our own way."


    With that in mind, Isaiah did not hold back and summoned lightning that struck the ogres. Although their magic has weakened, his lightning could still hurt and it did. The ogres were down after that one attack.


    "Why do I feel like these monsters are weak or is it my imagination?" Ezio suddenlymented after the ogres disappeared.


    Isaiah also narrowed his eyes but he did not answer. They made their way towards the center of the maze but on their way, the centaur appeared again. It roared and started to charge at them. Both of its hands were now holding ax and it was ready to chop them down.


    The centaur swung his axes but it did not hit Ezio nor Isaiah. They deftly dodged the attacks and were jumping from side to side and sliding here and there to avoid the attacks. Isaiah mumbled a spell while he was running and a ball of electricity slowly appeared on his hand.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He threw the ball towards the centaur but he managed to deflect and redirect it using the surface of its ax. The lightning ball flew away from the enemy but it was swallowed by a dark swirl that appeared out of nowhere the it appeared again, this time the lightning ball struck the centaur on the face. Ezio actually used his gate to deliver the blow.


    Even if Isaiah''s attacks missed, he would make sure that those attacks won''t be wasted. The rush of lightning filled the entire area which slowly numbed the enemy. The centaur finally couldn''t move its limbs because of the lightning that was coursing inside its body.


    Isaiah took this chance to summon a lightning spear. He saw it from Rigel during the exam and he had secretly practiced making it, now he could try it. The lightning spear gave a feeling of power and the heavy pressure it was exerting to the surroundings made Ezio''s skill numb. If that thing missed, it would need his total concentration to be able to transfer it using a gate.


    He steeled his heart as he prepared himself to create a gate big and sturdy enough to hold that spear. Isaiah was already sweating hard as he held up the spear. When he saw that Ezio was on standby, he could finally let it go.


    The spear went down hard. The centaur used both of its axes to defend from the attack and to push it out. Isaiah saw that the centaur was about to blow away his spear so he added more mana into it to make it heavier. The centaur let out a grunt as the ground beneath it slowly cracked and gave in.


    Ezio saw that the centaur wasn''t going down so he made his move. Instead of using the gate to transfer the lightning spear, he chose to use it on the centaur. The enemy disappeared and the lightning spear went crashing down then the gate opened again as it threw the centaur on the ground where the lightning spear struck.


    The remnants of the lightning spread through the entire maze and destroyed all of its walls. The centaur and the maze slowly disintegrated and so were they. The attack must have caused the illusion to waver as they could feel that they were about to wake up.


    Earlier that night, after they''ve had their dinner and practiced in their rooms. They went normally to sleep without knowing that they were already trapped. Once they fell asleep, the magic would activate.


    They waited for midnight toe before they made their move. They transferred their bodies to a carriage since the rain had finally stopped. Even the sentinels were carried and ced in another carriage. They were quietly moved from the inn and out of the town.


    The carriage driver couldn''t stop from looking around while he was driving. They were told to move the bodies into one of the vacant temples located in the forest behind the town. It was only his job to move them and yet he was feeling nervous.


    This was his first time doing this because the one who usually does the job was out sick. He was even more nervous because they were people that the duke sent. He even asked their leader if it was alright to target these people but the leader became angry.


    "It is what the Mighty One asked us to do. So, we should obey or else our town and families will die, do you want that? Besides, the Mighty One said that he will take care of the aftermath so all we need to do is obey," the leader answered angrily after hearing the driver''s question.


    At those words, the driver shut his mouth and did not question the leader''s words any longer. He returned to the present as he noticed that his thoughts were wandering away. With the rain gone, they reached the temple after only an hour of ride and the people inside were yet to wake up. He was relieved because the technique of the leader was always wless and hasn''t failed even once.

 Chapter 235 To Fight A Woman

    Two carriages stopped in front of a worn-out temple in the middle of the forest. The posts and the structure itself were already falling apart and even the inside of it was full of dust. During the three trips the driver had made to the temple, he had been curious as to what they were doing inside the dpidated temple but he dared not ask. He could only stay curious as he looked around.


    There was not much inside the temple, only the old destroyed statues, candle stands and an unrecognizable statue in the middle of the room was there. He shivered as he felt ufortable because of his own thoughts. He shook his head and ced Ezio''s body on the floor. The driver then went back and carried Isaiah''s body.


    They then helped each other to carry the bodies of the five sentinels who were with them. Their unconscious bodies were all dumped there and when they were done, the drivers of the two carriages left. The rattling of the wheels as they left the ce echoed through the dark night until it faded into the distance that they had traversed.


    No sound could be heard in the surroundings even though the temple was located in the middle of a forest. Not even the tweet of birds or the hoot of an owl could be heard. Only the rustling of the leaves as the wind blew gave a little bit of life into that ominous ce.


    A nket of ck smoke then slowly covered the ce which stilled even the wind. The ck smoke then slowly entered the temple and gradually a body slowly emerged from the sea of ckness. First, the head of a beautiful woman with long inky ck hair appeared. She was naked and the only thing that covered her body was her hair.


    As she fully emerged, her lower body was not bearing feet but it was instead reced with a scaly long tail that reached until the outside of the temple. This part of her body was a bit slimy which added to the somewhat shiny ck appearance of it under the moonlight. The woman''s face brightened when she saw the offeringsid down on the floor.


    She could feel arge amount of mana from the two young mages which made her excited. Once she consumes them, she would surely be more powerful. She grinned and evenughed at the thought of her surpassing the others. It was good that these visitors visited the town, their n was indeed effective to lure out people they can devour.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The half woman half serpent spirit did not even give a nce at the other five bodies on the floor. She was only focused on the mages. She moved her massive body and bent down to take a closer look at the two when a tremor shook the temple. She was a bit startled as she looked around but she did not feel any other people around the area.


    Her gaze went back to the two unconscious mages and narrowed her eyes. She saw a twitch on their bodies and suspected that they must be waking up soon. The spirit made the decision to devour them before they woke up. She opened her mouth and fangs protruded from her gums as she was about to bite Ezio.


    A strong wave came from Isaiah and Ezio''s body which knocked back the woman before she could even sink her fangs on them. She hissed with her forked tongue as she slid towards the two once again to consume them but before she could get near them, a ck swirling portal appeared below them and swallowed them. A gate then appeared behind her where Ezio and Isaiah came out.


    They couldn''t believe what they were seeing, it was a huge serpent with the upper body of a woman about to bite them. Luckily Ezio managed to transfer them behind the woman. This must be the reason why they were put to sleep because they were offered as food to the serpent woman.


    The serpent-woman''s body moved which caused the temple to tremble because she sensed that the missing preys she was about to consume were behind her. She used her tail to trap them as she ced it behind them to stop them from escaping her. Ezio noticed this so he used the gate to transport them again to where they originally woke up.


    After that, he used it again to transport them outside of the temple. If it was short distances, he could keep creating a gate but it would also exhaust him but their problem at that moment was the enemy and Isaiah''s low mana. If they fight the enemy, they would be wiped out because their damage dealer used too much mana.


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 236 Barely Managed

    ?


    The enemy flicked her tail towards the direction of Ezio and the others. Ezio chose to block the tail with his scimitar but the force knocked him back and sent him flying backwards. Hended on the hard ground and tumbled for a few feet before his body finally stopped after it hit a tree.


    He spat out blood after colliding with the tree trunk and he could feel the pain on his body. He was also aware of the scratches and wounds he got from rolling on the ground because of the stinging paining from his arms and back. He wheezed and took control of his breathing before he used the trunk as support so that he could stand up.


    The woman''s tail was as hard as a rock, luckily his de was not easy to break. ording to his master, his de was ranked as mythical. Since it did not break, it only meant that the enemy was below the mythical level. Even so, Ezio was not rest assured that he could defeat the enemy because he himself was not strong enough.


    He then summoned a gate and he entered, the gate then appeared above the serpent-woman. He dropped down from above with his weapon positioned to hack the woman. In that instant, a tail blocked the attack and the collision between the tail and the de created sparks.


    Ezio did not stop though, through the gate he transferred to another location with his de ready to slice the enemy. He managed to wound the woman''s side before he again disappeared and appeared at a position far away from the enemy''s tail. His movements became faster as the wounds on the woman''s body increased.


    There were also a couple of times that the tail was able to hit him which mmed him on the ground or sent him flying. However, he did not stop. There was still a couple of minutes before Isaiah could be ready and he did not want the enemy to focus her attention on him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his sword before he appeared again behind the enemy.


    Before he couldnd a hit on his enemy, the woman''s tail was already there and blocked the scimitar. He was pushed back as he entered the gate again to appear in front of the woman but he was blocked again. He then realized that the woman was unto him.


    "This is getting difficult," he mumbled to himself as he transferred again and appeared above the woman''s head with his scimitar''s end targeting the woman''s head.


    The de was only a few inches away from burying itself on the serpent-woman''s head when a sh of ck appeared and mmed on Ezio''s body. It felt like his organs moved and was crushed because of the impact. He could also feel the blood from the back of his throat as hended on the ground. He was really not good at fighting.


    All he could do in that situation was to swing his sword and hope that it would damage the enemy. He couldn''t help butugh at himself even in that situation because of how weak he was. He coughed a few times and he could vaguely hear his name from a distance but the ringing in his ear was louder.


    A shadow was casted above him as he saw the end of the woman''s tail zing downward with so much force that it made the wind around them whoosh. He was going to be crushed into a pulp but his instinct to survive was greater. In thatst minute he used his weapon to block the tail and used that break to open a gate and transport himself to a safer ce.


    "I can''t really hold on," he felt pity for himself. He looked at the direction of where Isaiah and the sentinels were and saw that the enemy was on her way towards them.


    She must have thought that he was as good as dead. He still had mana but the problem was he couldn''t move his body and his vision was getting hazy. He couldn''t concentrate and he couldn''t mobilize his mana to at least create a gate that will transport them elsewhere.


    Isaiah saw how Ezio did his best to give him more time and thanks to that, he was able to recover some of his mana. It may not be enough but he was sure that it was enough to at least make the serpent-woman unable to move. They would then take that chance to escape from her.


    While the enemy was busy with dealing with Ezio, Isaiah had been preparing the spell of his lightning rain and was busy setting it up by creating a trap spell that would make the serpent-woman freeze just in time for him to activate his spell. He saw that the enemy was now moving towards them so he prepared himself and watched with hawk eyes as the woman slithered towards them.


    The moment she entered the trap spell, it activated which sessfully trapped her. He then activated his lightning rain spell above the enemy and let it manifest. Several lightning struck and hit the enemy directly. The lightning entered the open wounds of the serpent-woman which made it tremble because the power from the spell entered its body.


    Ezio saw that the attack was effective, he then used that time to squeeze out thest of his strength and created a gate that swallowed Isaiah and the unconscious sentinels. He then created one behind him as he let himself fall into it. Two gates appeared inside their room in the inn where they came out.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They were able to finally breathe at least because they escaped. Although they were a bit battered and wounded, they were still d that they survived. Now that they were back at the inn, they used one of the talismans inside the room to ward off any evil spirit that might try to enter their room.


    While they were recovering, they were also watching the sentinels and keeping tabs on their condition. After a while, they could see some twitching from their limbs which gave them the hope that they could survive. Although they managed to get back a part of their magic, they didn''t know who to deal with what was happening inside the dreams of the sentinels.


    Their only hope at that moment was for them to ovee their nightmare and wake up safe. The night passed as if nothing happened and when the leader of the town woke up he was so scared when he saw Ezio and Isaiah already at the dining table and were already eating their breakfast. The five sentinels who were with them were also eating already.


    "Good morning," Isaiah greeted the leader who was still frozen from where he stood.


    The man gave a nervousugh before forcefully clearing his throat. He carefully walked towards where the visitors were and gave them a cautious smile. Ezio could only frown as he avoided looking at the man because he might only get angry.


    "Good morning too, young master! How was your sleep?" The leader continued to act like normal in front of them but he was already panicking inside.


    "Good and I feel energetic so thank you for letting us stay for the night," Isaiah answered while Ezio was silently grumbling to himself.


    "That''s good to hear then, young master." The man''s face twitched but he couldn''t remove the smile stered on his face.


    "Since the weather is good, we will set out now and return to central. If you ever face any other difficulties after this, just write to the duke." Isaiah waved his hand and the sentinels stood up. They went out to prepare the carriage they used.


    The leader of the town was bing more and more nervous after seeing that they would be really leaving. If they managed to escape the Mighty One, their town would be the one to suffer because it did not receive the offering. His smile slowly faltered the moment they reached the carriage that was already parked outside of the inn.


    Ezio entered the carriage first but Isaiah took his time. "What are you doing?" Ezio asked in an irritated voice. He couldn''t wait to get out of that ce.


    Isaiah wanted to wait for the leader to speak or at least approach him that''s why he deliberately slowed down his steps. He was sure that the leader had a reason why he needed to do that to them even though he knew that they were sent by the duke. That serpent-woman must have a hand on it.


    "Young master!" The leader finally broke and swallowed his pride. He feared that the Mighty One woulde after them because her prey managed to escape.


    Isaiah was waiting for this. He halted on his steps and turned around to look at the man. "What is it?" He casually asked with a confused look on his face.


    The leader looked around first before he spoke, "May I have a word with you before you leave?"


    "Is there a problem?" Isaiah continued to act clueless despite him knowing what the man would talk about.

 Chapter 237 To Make A Decision

    ?


    Ezio gave Isaiah a look before he leaned back and did not call the man once again. He could only lean on the carriage division with his eyes closed while they waited for Isaiah to finish talking with the leader of the town. He already had an idea what they were going to talk about but he was still in a bad mood because of what happenedst night.


    Although he seemed fine, the wounds on his body haven''t healed yet. He could still feel them throbbing pain every now and then. He frowned because he did not want to stay any longer in that town after his experience with that serpent-woman, all he wanted to do was leave and return to the manor.


    He thought to himself that they could just report what happened and let the duke handle it but by the looks of it, Isaiah intends to help them. Ezio sighed and shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling of the carriage. One of the sentinels then came and softly knocked on the carriage door.


    "What is it?" Ezio asked after he pushed open the carriage door.


    "Are we leaving now, young sir?" The sentinel asked. He and the others were also anxious to leave.


    When they woke upst night, the two young masters exined to them what happened. The sentinels felt shame because they did not even notice that the leader of that town had ill intentions towards them. They felt even more ashamed because instead of them protecting their charge, they were the ones who got protected.


    "Let''s wait for Isaiah first, he is currently having a talk with the leader of the town. I''m sure that he''ll brief us after their conversation," Ezio answered. His eyes went back to the inn where they came from.


    The sentinel nodded and excused himself. He returned to where the others were and stood in attention as they waited for Isaiah to finish. Inside the inn, the leader couldn''t look Isaiah in the eye because of his guilt.


    At first, he was angry because the Mighty One was not satisfied but by the end of it, he was now feeling guilty because of what he did and also extremely worried because his town would be put in a dangerous situation. The Mighty One would surely vent her anger on them because she wasn''t able to absorb any powerst night. He slightly lifted his head to look at the man but he immediately bowed because he couldn''t do it.


    "What do you want to talk about sir? Mypanions are waiting and we are expected to return to the manor today¡­" Isaiah trailed off while giving the man a smile.


    "I''m sorry for taking so much of your time, the thing is, I just wanted to know if the talismans would work against all malevolent spirits?" He wanted to make sure because the Mighty One was no ordinary malevolent spirit.


    "For most, yes, the talisman will work but there might be some exceptions. ording to the books that I''ve read and from the information we received, there are some malevolent spirits that are much more dangerous and powerful. Currently, Archmage Sigma is trying his best toe up with a talisman powerful enough to ward off those kinds of malevolent spirits." Isaiah answered with a smile on his face.


    The man gulped and looked away. "Is that so, then would the archmage be able toe up with that talisman in the shortest time possible?"


    "Hmm, I am not sure. Is there a spirit like that in this area?" Isaiah suddenly asked as he showed him a genuine curiosity.


    "Of course, none, I-I was just asking to make sure. If there''s something like that that would suddenly appear here, at least we know what to do." The man answered with a slightly trembling voice. The man suddenly stood up andughed nervously.


    "Are you sure sir?" Isaiah''s voice went down and became colder. He wouldn''t let the man get away with what he has done.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes, of course," the man answered with confidence. He was now regretting what he did. He should not have stopped them and let them leave.


    "Are you really going to stay silent and would rather risk the lives of your people and your own just to cover up the fact that you have been feeding a dangerous spirit?" Isaiah couldn''t take it any longer.


    He was waiting for the man to speak but based on his observation, the leader of the town was not willing to tell him anything. Isaiah could only talk to him frankly and see his reaction. He couldn''t just leave the town alone knowing that lives were at stake.


    "What-what are you talking about?" The man looked back and was startled because of Isaiah''s serious face and his dark eyes that were looking at him.


    "Don''t deny it, sir. We already know what you are up to and if you don''t tell us what really happened, then I don''t have any choice but to report to the duke what you have been doing here." Isaiah said in a t and cold manner.


    He did not want the man to think that he was easy and that he would be swayed by his lies. If he would leave them be and won''t take action, more people would surely lose their lives. Isaiah steeled his resolve as he looked at the leader with the most intimidating look he could have.


    Isaiah''s features were already matured, his jaws were refined with his paleplexion and hispletely ck irises. His brows were drawn together in a subtle frown that changed the air around him. He might be young but he needed to uphold the duke''s principles.


    The man shivered as he started to back away but a table stopped him from doing so, "I-I¡­" he trembled before he finally broke down. He kneeled on the floor and started to apologize to Isaiah. He even kowtowed a few times to show how pitiful he was.


    "I don''t need your apology. You are the leader of this town and I know that you must have a reason for your actions, all I wanted to know is your ount on how it came to be," Isaiah was firm while speaking.


    "It''s because of the Mighty One. I am sure that you encountered herst night," the man sighed and finally gave in. "It''s been a month I think since we first encountered her. We were terrified because of her appearance and her power. In order to save our lives, we decided to make a deal with it."


    Isaiah then guessed that it was a deal to deliver food for the woman so that she won''t attack the town. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had been wondering how something like that could appear under the nose of one of the council members.


    "Why do you call it a Mighty One when it is just a monster that eats people?" Isaiah red at the man. Calling a monster like that was insulting on his part. ''How could they call it like that, like they were instead revering it instead of fearing it?'' He thought to himself.


    "Because we do not know what to call it. We did not want to call it just a serpent because the town''s people might get scared so we chose a random name to call it," the man reasoned.


    Isaiah rubbed his face and sighed. "We tried to defeat itst night but we were not sessful. We managed to injure it so that must be the reason why it has not attacked the town yet. I will see what I can do so please if you know any more details about it then please tell me."


    With that, the man told Isaiah everything and even the probable location of the serpent-woman. He also told them that they never saw iting out during the day. It would onlye out when the sun had already set. Isaiah took note of all of this before he returned to where the carriages were.

 Chapter 238 Asking For A Back-Up

    ?


    Ezio opened his eyes when he felt the carriage door open. Isaiah stepped in but he did not tell the sentinels that they should go. Ezio frowned because he felt that the man was about to say something ridiculous because of how he was staring at him.


    Ezio sighed and hung his head, "What is it just tell me already," he muttered just enough to let the others hear him.


    "Can you create a gate that directly connects to the manor here?" Isaiah knew that Ezio did not want to go along with his whims but he couldn''t just leave without doing anything.


    "Hah, why did I even expect that we will be able to return? What are you nning?" He raised his head to face Isaiah.


    "Let''s go and report it then get back here. I hope to enlist Rigel''s help to get rid of the serpent-woman," Isaiah answered without hesitation.


    "Are you sure about that?" Ezio wanted to confirm because he knew that Isaiah wasn''t that sold on getting help from his master.


    Isaiah, Archmage Sigma and even Duke ckwell doesn''t fully trust his master. They were all suspicious of him so for them to go and asking his master for help was making him ufortable. He gritted his teeth and got down from the carriage. He reentered the inn to create the gate.


    "I need enough time and concentration to create the gate so please stay outside and don''t let anyone in for the meantime," Ezio instructed them with a frown on his face.


    Isaiah and the man led all the people inside the inn outside. They quietly waited for Ezio toplete the gate and it took him almost twenty minutes toplete it. Once he was done, he waved for Isaiah to enter the inn.


    "My gates aren''t perfectly made so you need to be prepared for a roller coaster ride," Ezio warned before he opened the door and gestured for Isaiah to enter.


    The darkness that swirling behind the door brought out a sense of fear and uncertainty from Isaiah. It would be his first time entering a gate and it made him nervous. He took several deep breaths before he took the first step inside.


    Ezio was right, once he entered the gate, he immediately felt nauseous and ufortable but he mped his mouth in order to not throw up. It felt like eternity even though it only took him a couple of seconds before he saw another gate that he opened. He stepped outside as he inhaled and exhaled to calm his queasy stomach.


    After taking deep breaths he looked around and saw that they were actually in the living room on the first floor of the manor. He sighed and waited for his heartbeat to slow down before he left for the duke''s study. His knock was steady and calm even though he was starting to regret his decision for a little bit.


    "You''re back," Duke Ghad was a little bit surprised to see that it was Isaiah. He thought that they would be arrivingter that day.


    "Yes, I have Ezio create a gate so that I cane here in the shortest way possible because I have something to report," Isaiah answered without going around the bush.


    The two dukes who were currently inside the study had both of their brows furrowed because of his words. They both ced down the documents they were reading to give their full attention to the young man who looked determined right at that moment. Isaiah gathered his courage when he noticed that their attention was already on him.


    "While we were at thest ce to hand out the talismans, we discovered that there''s a high-level malevolent spirit threatening the ce. We faced itst night but we were unable to defeat it. I came here today to request assistance to eliminate the enemy." Isaiah bowed his head after his report and request.


    Duke ckwell looked at his friend so Ulysses gave him a nod. "This would be a problem, Rigel right now isn''t in the manor, but I''ll try and contact him," Ulysses stood up and left the room to look for his son.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "This enemy, how can you be so sure that it is a spirit?" Ghad asked and gestured for the young man to take a seat.


    Isaiah nodded and took the empty seat, "That''s because the leader of the town told me that the serpent-woman wouldn''te out during the day and would onlye out once the sun fully sets. It''s one of the characteristics of spirits that I have read in the book. Her body was also apanied by negative energy that is distinct to evil spirits." He gave a brief exnation to which the duke nodded.


    "How did a dangerous spirit like that appear near the town, does the town''s leader know?" Ghad asked again with a slight frown on his face.


    Isaiah shook his head, "I asked him but he was also not clear as to when it happened or when the spirit arrived, all they knew is that it enjoys devouring humans."


    Ghad sighed in frustration. He removed his jacket and leaned on his seat. A high-level malevolent spirit was bad news. He needed to contact the others who he sent to deliver the talismans to make sure that no high-level malevolent spirits also appeared in their areas.


    After Ulysses stepped out from the room, he walked away and turned a corner until he reached the balcony behind the manor. He then took out something from his pocket which ording to Rigel was a tool tomunicate with him. Ulysses sighed and took a dagger from his side then he used it to create a small wound on his finger.


    A drop of blood was ced on the small clear pearl on his hand and he watched as the ball absorbed it and as it turned red. The blood swirled a couple more times inside the pearl before it disappeared and a light shed out from the pearl. A white screen appeared in the air as it was projected by the pearl.


    Ulysses heard the rattling of the carriage from the projection and was amazed because it can even transmit sound then he saw the interior of the carriage. "Is there a problem father?" Cygnus asked after he epted the call that was transmitted by the pearl he left with the duke.


    "I''m afraid that we have a situation here right now. Are you finished with your task?" Ulysses sighed as he leaned on the balcony''s railings.


    "Yes, actually we are already on our way back to the manor. What situation are you talking about?" Cygnus became curious as to what made the duke call him.


    "Isaiah returned from their task but he also came to report about a high-level malevolent spirit that appeared in thest town they visited and now he is looking for assistance. The only person we know who can deal with that kind of enemy is you," Ulysses slowly exined.


    Cygnus grinned, "Ah so, something like that also appeared in their area. How coincidental¡­" he trailed off which made his statement a little bit vague.


    Ulysses frowned at what he heard, "Are you saying that a dangerous spirit appeared in there too?" If that was the case then it must have been deliberately nned.


    "Yes, we just got rid of it,st night, although it was a bit weak to be called a high-level spirit." Cygnus rubbed his chin before smiling.


    "Alright. Will you be helping Isaiah?" Ulysses asked because he was also unsure if it was right to ask for help from the man.


    "That will be fine," Cygnus answered and before the duke could answer, themunication was cut off.


    A gate appeared on the empty space of the balcony where Rigel and hispany exited from. They left the carriage to return as it was so as not to alert any enemies that might have been spying on them. Mr. C gave the duke a nod before he left the two of them.

 Chapter 239 Need A Back-Up

    ?


    Cygnus gave his father a smile after the gate disappeared. "Where is Isaiah then?" He asked after the duke kept the pearl that he used to contact him.


    "They are currently inside Ghad''s office," Ulysses answered. He started to walk away and Cygnus followed.


    "They really want me to back them up?" Cygnus had his hands behind his back as he was looking around the hallway.


    The paintings and the vases that were disyed on one side while on the other side were windows that showed the forest outside. He knew that they begrudgingly gave him that task even though they were not reallyfortable with him working for them. Though he was in a good mood though, he did his task splendidly and even got rid of the brutal bird spirit that was residing in one of the towns they visited.


    "Yes, the serpent spirit was a bit too much for them to handle that''s why Isaiah made the decision to let Ezio create a gate for him to be able to report on the situation," Ulysses nodded. It was shocking news but they don''t have the luxury to be dwelling on it and to be thinking of how a spirit like that appeared within the territory.


    "Well, if it''s at the same level as the bird spirit I disposed of, then there shouldn''t be a problem. I know Isaiah''s ability and experienced it first hand, so he should have been able to defeat that enemy," Cygnus spoke as he ced his hand on his chin with his brows furrowed.


    "If that''s the case then Archmage Sigma should have faced something simr to," Ulysses stopped walking and turned around.


    "That''s likely and this is too coincidental, don''t you think so?" Cygnus''s head was slightly tilted to the side with an ear-to-ear grin and with his eyes narrowed into slits.


    Ulysses instinctively took a step back because of the ominous auraing from Rigel. He gulped because of the feeling of intimidationing from him. He had been a warrior for a long time now and had faced countless enemies but this level of intimidation, he hadn''t felt it anywhere.


    "Yes, maybe. We should head to Ghad''s study for now to assess the situation," Ulysses answered. He slowly turned around and walked away from the man. Even after a few steps, he could still feel that cold prickling sensation behind his back.


    Cygnus did not withdraw and instead followed behind. The servants they met on that narrow hallway flinched and almost fell down because of the presence behind Ulysses. They dared not look at Rigel and could only hang their heads to wait for them to pass by.


    Ghad and Isaiah, who were waiting for them, felt the threat. They leapt on their feet with magic swirling on Isaiah''s palm and Ghad''s hand was on the hilt of his sword. They could feel that ominous presence getting nearer as their bodies tensed.


    The door to the duke''s study opened and both of themunched an attack but were immediately repelled by Cygnus''s dark power. They were pushed back as their eyes couldn''t be taken off from the man that was emitting such darkness. After a while, the dark power slowly subsided and eventually disappeared.


    "Do you still want me to go?" Cygnus narrowed his eyes. He looked at the empty seats and took the liberty to sit down.


    Ghad and Isaiah finally recovered from their stupor but they did not take a seat. They stared at the man for a moment because they didn''t know the reason why he had shown them his power. Despite that they were still resolute to ask for his help.


    "Yes," Isaiah''s short answer. At this point in time, he did not really care what the other was or who he was because all he needed was his ability to help them.


    "But if you do so, you will be used of getting close to a person who uses dark mages. This story would definitely reach themon people and the reputation of the Ducal Household will surely be tarnished even more. Those council members wille and hound you endlessly," Cygnus wore his usual smile and sat like he was the lord of the manor.


    "Then so be it as long as the problem is solved," Ghad answered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They were a bit slow in identifying the spies sent by the council members because he was good at hiding his presence. It could only be said that the spy was a top-notch professional. It would be on them for not finding any traces of the spy and if word got out once again.


    "Shall we go then?" Since they already made up their mind, Cygnus stood up and went to the location of the gate that was still open.


    He stared at the gate and shook his head. Even after days of practice Ezio''s gate was still crude although it improved in some aspects. Without waiting for them, Cygnus stepped inside and exited inside the inn where Ezio has been waiting. Once the young man saw him, he stood in attention and greeted the man.


    "You really came?" Ezio couldn''t help but ask. He thought that the master would note because he was in another ce.


    "I couldn''t pass up on the fun, could I?" Cygnus answered. Just as he was about to finish looking in the room, Isaiah appeared.


    He was a little bit pale but he did not let it hinder him, "Thank you foring." He gritted his teeth as he forced those words out.


    Cygnus chuckled, "No need to force yourself to get along with me. I can understand your dislike towards me so feel free to be yourself." He waved his hand and continued to look around.


    Ezio suddenly became anxious after hearing those wordsing out from the master''s mouth. It was unlike him to say such words and he was pleasantly amiable for the first time. He shuddered because this was not the master that he knew so something must have happened for him to be in a good mood.


    "So where is this spirit that you were talking about?" Cygnus finally asked after he settled down on one of the chairs inside the inn. He crossed his feet and ced both of his hands behind his head as he slightly leaned back.


    "ording to the town''s leader, it resides on one of the abandoned mines near the temple where it nearly ate usst night," Isaiah answered.


    "I really wanted to visit those official mines and see some pretty stones but with all of this going on with the spirits I can''t even do that." Cygnusined out of nowhere which took the other two with him by surprise.


    "Mines here are being abandoned either because there are no more stones to be mined or because the mining sites are considered dangerous. You''ll have your chance to sight see once we finish our work here," Isaiah exined.


    Cygnus hummed, "Are we going to the location then?" He changed the topic as he stared at Isaiah who adapted a cold expression to deal with him.


    "Yes. Since the enemy couldn''t leave while the sun is up, we will have the advantage." Isaiah nodded before he turned around and walked towards the door of the inn.


    Ezio closed the gate and waited for the master to stand up before he followed behind. The people who were waiting for them outside of the inn were surprised when they saw that there was one more person who came out with them. They couldn''t help but look behind them but saw that nothing was abnormal in the inn because they left the door open.


    "We will be leaving now. We will let the sentinels stay in town and help you to set up the talismans while we go and deal with this Mighty One as you call it." Isaiah instructed the town''s leader which he epted. He was even eagerly nodding his head after hearing that they were going to help them get rid of that annoying malevolent spirit.

 Chapter 240 Theres Something Out There

    ?


    Isaiah together with Rigel and Ezio left for the ce where the serpent-woman was. Instead of using a carriage, all three of them rode horses to reach their destination. Isaiah was on the front because he was holding the map given to them by the town''s leader.


    It only took them almost an hour before they reached the entrance to the mine. The surrounding was pretty much in a disarray as carts, shovels and other things used for mining were strewn all over the ce. It was really abandoned, more like abandoned in haste that the miners did not have the time to take all their equipment with them.


    Once they got down from their horses, Cygnus brought his hand to cover his nose. "This ce reeks." He held the horse''s reins and let it away from the ce. He chose to tie it on a tree a few meters away from the mine''s opening.


    "Reek? I don''t smell anything though," Isaiah frowned as he looked around but he did not see anything.


    Cygnusughed, "How can you smell it when you have not seen death yet? You''ll understand what I mean once you go to the battlefield."


    He walked past him and slowly trudged the dusty way towards the mine. Cygnus could already sense the dark presence inside mine and even the stench of death got stronger. This ce was different from the one where he fought the wraith. That time the wraith was only a newborn but the malevolent spirit inside the cavern had evolved a long time ago.


    Isaiah had seen death but he was not sure what kind of death the man had seen for him to be able to say something like that. Despite his confusion and doubts, he still followed the man behind. Ezio was not a stepte and went along with them.


    They could already feel the evil energy inside the ce and it made the walls feel like it was alive. They could also hear some kind of breathing that wasing from the deepest part of the mine. The more steps they took the more difficult they were able to breathe.


    The two of them were already panting and yet Cygnus was still walking normally. His hands were on his back and he looked like he was just walking in a park. He would look from side to side and show a face that seemed to be satisfied with what he saw.


    They were right he was indeed satisfied and he was admiring how the mine turned out, "This ce is exquisitely built. I could feel the souls trapped in these walls, it''s amazing, isn''t it?" He turned around with a smile on his face.


    Contrary to his happy face the other two with him had their eyes wide in horror. Souls? That was not something they would hear on a daily basis. Trapped in the walls? Their eyes couldn''t help but travel through the expanse of the excavated, man-made tunnel. Exquisite? It was only rocks and soil with souls trapped in it but the man was describing it as something beautiful.


    Cygnus noticed that both of them were silent. He could read Ezio''s mind but Isaiah''s was still quiet as the quietest night he had experienced. He sighed and waved his hands towards them. After that, the pressure from the evil energy in the air disappeared.


    Both Ezio and Isaiah were relieved because of what happened. Now, they could walk easily and did not have the problem of copsing before they even reached their destination. After the amazement, Isaiah looked at Rigel''s upright back and sighed. He was really something else, to be able to do that with just a wave and without a magic circle or an incantation, he was someone with power.


    To what extent, Isaiah doesn''t know because from the beginning, he had never shown his best. He could only wonder and wait to see what he could do, that is if he was willing to show it. They followed the long winding tunnel using the guiding light of the magic orb they were using and felt like they had been walking for hours because they couldn''t see the end of it.


    "Master, how long are we going to walk like this?" Ezio asked with a frown. Although the pressure exerted on them disappeared, the seemingly endless tunnel was making him ufortable and the breathing sound was making his skin crawl.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why are you so impatient, we are almost there, just bear with it for a while." Cygnus sighed then he even rolled his eyes in exasperation at the young man.


    Ezio did not answer and just willingly followed the master''s instruction. The tunnel became silent without their voices and it became creepier too. The sound of breathing started to get louder apanied by some kind of a rattling sound that grew nearer the further they walked towards the center of the tunnel.


    All of these made them alert of their surroundings. Ezio brought out his scimitar while Isaiah was ready with his lightning spells. Then there were footsteps, no it was not footsteps, it was more like someone was dragging their feet on the ground and they could also hear low growlsing from the dark corners of the tunnel.


    "Have you ever encountered zombies?" Cygnus stopped walking and turned around to look at the two young men behind him.


    "Zombies?" Isaiah asked as he was not familiar with the term. Even Ezio was at a loss at the master''s question.


    "Well, they are basically undead but they still have their flesh on and they eat humans. Human flesh keeps them alive and moving. They cannot go out into the sun and move through the nket of the night. They are the reason why this ce stinks." Cygnus answered as arge me appeared on his hand. He then threw it behind his back and hit several bodies that caught on fire.


    With the fire''s help, Ezio and Isaiah saw that there were people behind Rigel but at a closer look they were actually not alive. Their bones were peeking from the parts where the flesh was missing. Their scalps were missing hair and even their teeth were falling on the ground. Their clothes were tattered but even their eyes made them look like they were in a daze.


    They could hear the growlinging from them and the saliva that wasing from their mouth created the feeling of disgust. After the bodies that were caught on fire burned, several heavy footsteps could be heard that were going their way. In a desperate attempt to see their surroundings, Isaiah flung the magic orb in the air and infused a little bit of additional mana into it to make it brighter.


    The moment the light became brighter, they could now fully see their surroundings and assess their situation. Their group was currently surrounded with hundreds of these ''zombies'' as the master had called them. All of them looked so hungry and menacing that they started running towards them.


    Ezio raised his sword and shed diagonally at the zombie that wasing to him. He easily sliced that one into two but more wereing. He did not stop from brandishing his scimitar and hacking his way around the enemies.


    Isaiah on the other hand used his lightning, that has a wide range of effect, and dealt with several of them at the same time. Most of them were burnt to crisp after having a taste of his lightning. There were others that were only chipped and were still moving towards him.


    "Zombies are vengeful spirits, they died without justice so their bodies were easily taken over by evil energy thus tainting their souls." Cygnus exined while he was burning all those zombies who were aiming at him.


    Ezio and Isaiah slowly took a step back until they met the center of the crowd. Both of them were already tired from killing a part of the zombie army.

 Chapter 241 Second Round

    ?


    Ezio''s grip on his weapon tightened as the zombies got nearer and nearer. He could also feel that Isaiah was getting tired of the fight. They''ve been fighting these zombies for who knows how long now but they kepting.


    "They''re endless. Howe there are too many of them?" Isaiah mumbled to himself. While letting his lightning strike them all.


    "This only means that this ce has be their territory and whoever was bringing them here must be someone with real abilities," Cygnus smirked at that conclusion. This was an indication that it was not only the serpent-woman that was in the cave, there was something more, far stronger than what Ezio and Isaiah faced.


    Cygnusughed as he relished in the fact that he could enjoy this quest. In a heartbeat all the zombies surrounding him were incinerated but this time he did not use his usual red me and used his blue mes that were more deadly and dealt greater damage. After the mes died down, even the ground showed ck marks because of the fire.


    Isaiah, who saw how easily he dealt with the zombies did not fall behind, he summoned his lightning and killed almost all the zombies that were around them. Ezio on the other hand took care of the zombies that did not die after the lightning attack. They finished off all of the zombies that were obstructing the way and followed behind Cygnus.


    They finally came to the heart of the mine and saw that the master was silently standing there while he had his head raised up. He was looking at the ceiling even though their surroundings were extremely dark. Isaiah raised the orb and let it float above them so that it could at least illuminate the ce a little bit. Ezio brought out five more orbs and let it float in different locations above to serve as their light.


    Once the orbs were set up, they lit them up and were shocked at what they saw. Both of their eyes were wide in surprise, the scene above them made their bodies go numb even though they were clearly trembling. What the ceiling has were bones lined up like a decoration.


    All of it was clearly human bones. Whoever disyed those bones was clearly sick and out of his mind. While their attention was still on the hanging bones on the ceiling, a hissing sound echoed in the mine. Several snakes appeared out of nowhere and crawled towards them.


    "Herees the serpent-woman you are talking about," Cygnus informed him with his eyes that were already looking towards his front.


    The sound of something heavy being dragged on the ground sounded inside the ce. It was followed by the appearance of the serpent spirit that had wounds all over her body. It''s ck skin and hard tail were something that Ezio and Isaiah couldn''t forget.


    Cygnus assessed the enemy and was surprised at how weak she was. He looked back at the two young men who came with him for a moment before returning his gaze to the hissing woman. Based on his observation, Isaiah should have easily dealt with it and Ezio also used his scimitar to inflict those injuries on it.


    "I''m surprised that you weren''t able to bring it down when the both of you are much stronger that it is," he gave the two a raised brow couple with an using look.


    "That''s because before we even face that thing, we were trapped in an illusion and in order to get out from it, we needed to use our strongest attack against our enemy before we were able toe through," Isaiah exined.


    "Alright, then you should deal with that enemy on your own since you seem fine now. I hope you can defeat it now," Cygnus turned around and stepped towards them. He then sat down on the ground and waited for them to move.


    "Why are you pushing us to fight it when you were supposed to be helping us defeat it?" Isaiah was surprised because of the man''s words. The reason why he called him was because he was not sure if they could defeat it.


    "I already told you that that serpent-woman is weaker than you and that you can deal with it. Why are you hesitating?" Cygnus was getting annoyed because of the man''s bbering. "Besides I''m waiting for something toe out once you finish off that enemy."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus did not say any more words after that and just looked at their direction. Since the master had no n on stepping in, Ezio attacked first. He was in a good condition so there was no point in holding back against the enemy. He would give it his all.


    He leapt in the air and used a gate to get close to the woman''s face. Once he got enough distance, he shed and sessfully wounded the woman''s face. The woman wriggled and used her tail to swat away Ezio. The young man narrowly escaped the tail and appeared beside Isaiah who was still indecisive.


    "I was able to wound her. It would have been difficult for me to do thatst night." Ezio spoke as hended beside Isaiah.


    He then disappeared again and appeared behind the woman with another sh from his scimitar. Isaiah followed up with a precise lightning shot towards the wound created by the scimitar. The serpent-woman shouted as she was shocked by the lightning bolt that entered the wound.


    ck goo flowed out from the wound but the enemy still recovered and used her tail to attack the both of them. This time she did not limit her attacks as she opened her mouth and suddenly screamed towards Ezio who was still airborne after dodging the tail. He was not able to dodge the sound waves that were sent his way.


    The force of that wave pushed him back and pinned him on the wall of the mine. Isaiah did not stay idle and summoned his lightning field which caught the enemy and electrocuted it. He also used it to pin down the enemy on the ground.


    After that, Isaiah summoned several lightning spears that fell down from above and pierced the enemy''s tails and prevented it from moving around too much. The woman let out a groan of pain at Isaiah had done to her tails. Ezio was finally freed after that attack so he moved once again immediately.


    He continued to sh the woman as the enemy also continued to use sound waves to attack them. Isaiah did not stop from using his lightning to stop the enemy''s movements. He was doing it slowly and thanks to Ezio this has be a very effective strategy. They needed to stop the enemy''s attacks first and since she was using her tail to do that, they couldn''t let it be free.


    They rounded the whole ce while attacking the woman endlessly and with Isaiah''s signal, Ezio appeared above the woman''s tail with his scimitar raised in the air and with all the strength that he could gather, Ezio brought it down.


    His de met with some friction and was not able to slice off that tail with one swing but he was able to make a cut on it. The serpent-woman became even more infuriated because of what they did. She forcefully pulled his tail from the lightning spears and used it to attack Ezio.


    "If you won''t be split then I will do it forcefully," Isaiah shouted. He pped his hands in front of him and slowly pulled them apart to reveal a magic circle that does not often use.


    He let the magic circle float on his palms before he released it above them. The enemy sensed that they were going to attack her with full force. She tried to slide away but Ezio stopped her by appearing in front of it and waved his weapon. The enemy was forced to step back a bit while Ezio continuously used his gate to close the distance between them.


    Once the serpent was already below the magic circle that Isaiah prepared, he did not hesitate to bring out the lightning spear that he used in that dream. With its original version back, Isaiah became even more confident that this time they could defeat the enemy. The lightning spear fell down and precisely struck the serpent-woman.


    The attack caused the whole mine to shake. Stones and dust started to fall from above and it made them cover their faces. The illuminating orbs lost their light for a moment because of the shaking and when their light returned, they saw the body of the serpent-woman disintegrating. They finally managed to defeat the enemy.


    They were about to celebrate but when they looked towards Rigel''s direction, it seemed like the world had stopped. There at the wall where he was lying, his body was pinned down by ance that pierced through his chest. In shock, they forgot about their victory and were immediately on their way to help him when a strong gust of wind pushed them back.

 Chapter 242 Something New

    ?


    Even with blooding out from his mouth, Cygnus was still grinning. The creature in front of him was something he had not seen in a long time. The distinct smell of corpses around him and the aura of death that was surrounding him, there''s no mistaking it, the man in front of him was a necromancer.


    Cygnus had seen his kind in a different world. They were powerful and they could summon an army of undead with just one spell. They could even summon dead dragons to their fullest potential which made them difficult to defeat. The only weakness they had was their ability for closebat. It was practically close to none.


    Although he had faced necromancers who could fight with a sword, those were only a few and theycked the sharpness and intuition that a swordsman has. The reason why he was grinning even after getting stabbed was because the necromancer before him was different. He was more powerful, a worthy opponent, or not. He should be the judge of it.


    Cygnus gripped the handle of thence and with his dark energy, thence disintegrated and became ashes. He softlynded on the ground and wiped the blood on his lips. He then let out a loudugh that echoed inside the mine.


    "Very well, very well, something came out that is worth my time!" His eyes were wide as his face contorted into that of a mad man. "Let''s begin!"


    Cygnus disappeared from where he was standing and appeared above them. He raised his hand and let his palm face a certain direction then a ck beam appeared and destroyed that particr part of the mine. The explosion caused the ground to shake and pieces of rocks fell from the mine''s ceiling. The hanging bones rattled at the force of the impact.


    Ezio and Isaiah were blown to the side and they went to the side to avoid the falling rocks. They couldn''t help but look up to see what Rigel was doing. They saw severalnces and spears that were floating in the air and attacking him but he easily swatted them to the side.


    His face was smiling and in the blink of an eye he was in front of a certain section of the cavern. Ezio and Isaiah were confused at his actions then they saw him lean his head forward. They saw him mouthing some words but they failed to hear what he had said.


    Cygnus then straightened his head. He pulled back his arm and clenched his fist then he punched forward. His fist hit the wall which slowly cracked under the force of his punch.


    The crack started from the point of contact as it slowly spread outward. The master watched in glee as the wall in front of him slowly fell apart to reveal a hidden cavern. That ce was much darker than the original cavern they were in.


    What was more terrifying than the darkness was the distinct sound of breathinging clearly from it. It was the same sound that they heard while they were still in that tunnel. The only difference was that the breathing was like a rumbling thunder, loud and full of pressure.


    There were also growlsing from the depths of that ce. They were not sure what it was but it was enough to bring fear to their hearts. It made their bodies numb as they froze from where they were standing.


    Thundering footsteps came from the inside of the cavern followed by a thud as the creature that was making those sounds collided with the unbroken part of the wall. Another thud and the whole wall finally broke down. One heavy footstep followed by the other and out came a creature that they had not seen even before. It was something considered as a legend in their world and on any worlds that the master has visited.


    It was a chimera, with the head of a lion and a goat and a tail of a snake that ended with its head. The monster was roaring as it started to breathe fire towards the Cygnus. The fire did not reach him though because he was protected by an invisible barrier.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''ve been burned alive so that attack won''t be effective with me, you need to do more if you want to at least give me a scratch." Cygnus chuckled as he sent a blue me towards the chimera.


    The goat head of the creature produced lightning that effectively put out the fire before it reached them. The snake head collected the evil energy in the air andpressed it in front of its mouth before releasing it as a beam aimed towards Cygnus. The master sliced off the beam using his palm, which he covered with something dark, in the middle which changed its trajectory. The halved beam of evil energy split in two and bypassed him, hitting the wall behind Cygnus.


    In that enclosed space, all attacks caused the mine walls to tremble and because they were under a mountain, if this exchange of power continued there was a chance that they would be buried alive. Ezio and Isaiah didn''t know what they should do. If they stayed, they would surely get caught up with the fight but if they leave then they wouldn''t know what would happen to Rigel.


    While they were still pondering what they should do, Cygnus lifted his hand and pointed at the chimera in front of him. Several ck orbs made up of the evil energy around them started to form in the air. Once these orbs became stable, he snapped his fingers and the orbs started firing towards the chimera.


    This time it was the chimera that went on defense. All of their attacks were now focused on disintegrating the beams of ck light that were about to pierce through their body. shes of lightning struck down, the zing fire burned even the ground and the snake''s own ck beam negated the other attacks.


    These chaotic mess of attacks finally brought down the mountain and opened the mine. They entered when the sun was still in the sky but now it had begun to set which gave the enemy more leverage in fighting. Thest rays of the sun slowly disappeared in the horizon and even the attacks ceased.


    The dust created by the fallen mountain filled the whole which obstructed the vision of everyone in there. The rumble echoed through the early evening sky scared away any living things within the vicinity of the abandoned mine. Its sound even reached the town, its people and the sentinels who were left behind.


    It brought fear and uncertainty in the hearts of the people as they stared where the rumbling came from. "I hope that they are okay," the leader of the town whispered in the air.


    "They''ll be fine," one of the sentinels answered. He was confident with the abilities of those young masters and besides the son of Duke Ginehart was someone who was extraordinary in talent.


    At the site of the fight, Isaiah scanned his surroundings because he got separated from Ezio. Both of them were not in the condition to fight, especially because they knew that they couldn''t defeat the enemy that Rigel was currently fighting. "Ezio!" Isaiah started to shout the man''s name but it was still difficult to see through the cloud of dust.


    "I''m here!" Ezio answered and he did not know if the other heard him. He couldn''t find his way because there were a lot of broken pieces from the copsed wall that were strewn all over the ce. It took them a couple of minutes before they found one another. They then started to look for Rigel but they couldn''t find him either.


    "Where is he?" Isaiah asked while coughing because of the dust. They tried to look around but they couldn''t really find Rigel.

 Chapter 243 Still Alive

    ?


    Just then, an explosion caught them by surprise. Thistest explosion created a strong gust of wind that blew away the dust that umted in the air. There they saw Rigel who was still facing the chimera however they did not see any other people in the vicinity.


    They jumped back and out of the area of battle because they knew that they would only get in the way. Their eyes followed the movements of the chimera and Rigel who were exchanging attacks in a reckless manner. The chimera was now full of wounds as the time passed and as they continued to engage in battle.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes because the chimera in front of him was slowly healing. It must have been the work of the necromancer. He only caught a glimpse of the man before he disappeared but his control of the chimera was indeed impressive.


    He knew that the necromancer was nearby but he won''t go after him yet. He will slowly destroy the chimera and give the necromancer a reason to think that he was actually weak. The grueling battle dragged on until the chimera''s flesh started to turn into liquid and fell down.


    The two young men who watched this go on couldn''t help but cover their mouths because it was simply horrible. The flesh of the chimera was slowly falling down only to leave the bones intact. It was a gruesome scene.


    Cygnus on the other hand was also riddled with gashes and shallow wounds with his clothes all torn here and there. He ran forward while disappearing and appearing around the chimera which created confusion within the enemy. The master then finally stopped above the snake and using his bare hands, he grabbed the snake''s head tightly before forcefully pulling it apart.


    The snake''s flesh sttered towards him and on the ground but he did not care. He looked at the head on his hand and used his mes to burn it. A loud roar came from the lion''s head after their tail was pulled. Fire came out from its mouth and towards the man but Cygnus only used his palm to stop it.


    "I''m getting bored with this. Don''t you have any more fun creatures in your collection?" Cygnus mumbled but he knew that the necromancer could hear him.


    Even though he was considered powerful, there was still a limit to how long he could keep a monster body moving with his magic. He could bring them back to their peak form and use them to fight but the man who was fighting his creation was of a different level.


    Cygnus dodged the second round of fire that the lion sent his way and also stopped the lightning from the goat. Both of the attacks were stronger and fiercer but all of this did not matter to him though. He could easily disintegrate them by just touching them and he would be doing it now because he couldn''t fight the chimera anymore. It became too weak within his eyes.


    He jumped in the air and let his body freely fall down directly at the back of the monster and with only a light tap, the monster stopped moving. It looked like it froze and slowly it turned gray followed by the appearance of cracks on its skin until it finally became an ash.


    "I destroyed your toy. Are you going to keep on hiding in there or would you prefer it if I shoulde and visit you?" Heughed at nothing in particr and he was speaking to an empty space.


    Anothernce appeared above Cygnus but he managed to dodge thence andnd safely to the side. His eyes were focused on thence that was stuck on the ground. Not long after, a figure appeared beside thence with an evil grin on his face.


    "I will admit that you are good and I know that you haven''t shown your true power yet," the necromancer spoke for the first time. His voice was gritty and was a bit unpleasant to the ear.


    "If you want to see my power, I can show it to you." Cygnus shed in front of the necromancer and in that moment a short gap was created.


    The necromancer fell to his knees and was looking at the person with wide eyes. He couldn''t believe that after hundreds of years, he would meet a person with so much darkness within him. He considered himself strong but in front of this person, he was nothing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you worth my time?" He spoke to actually provoke the man. "If this is how you decide to get defeated then you are much weaker than those I have fought in the past."


    Cygnus snickered and gave the man a condescending look. While he was enjoying that moment, ance struck him on the back and pierced through his body. The master looked at the sharp end of thence that was protruding from his chest. The necromancer stood from his position and took a step back before several more appeared and impaled Cygnus''s body.


    Blood was dripping from the wounds and on to the ground. The soil was getting soaked with blood but the necromancer did not flinch. It was only an act he did not get his enemy''s attention and it was sessful. He looked at Cygnus''s unmoving body before turning his attention to the other two who were hiding from him.


    Ezio and Isaiah were frozen in their ce after they witnessed the brutal demise of Rigel. They couldn''t process what just happened because of the bleeding man that was impaled withnces not far away. They only came back to their senses when the necromance appeared before them.


    "The two of you are weak," the necromancer dered. He released his aura which rendered them immobile and he also summoned twonces that were floating on both of his sides.


    Beads of sweat were falling on the side of their faces but no matter how they did it, they couldn''t move their bodies. They were stuck because of the pressure caused by the aura from the necromancer. Ezio gritted his teeth as he stared at thence that started to fly towards them.


    In thest moment possible, he managed to force his body to move to the side and dodge thence while Isaiah managed to summon a lightning bolt that intercepted thence and rendered it useless. The necromancer frowned when he saw them defying his pressure and even dodging and stopping hisnce.


    He was not happy because of what happened so he summoned morences and aimed them at the other two who just regained their bnce. Thesences flew towards them without warning but Isaiah was not going to back down. From above the necromancer, he created a magic circle and used it to stop thences and hopefully injuring the necromancer.


    "Release!" Isaiahmanded and lightning came falling down. It struck all thences that were about to attack them.


    The lightning also struck the enemy but it did not have an effect on him. There''s no reaction or whatsoever from the man. His face remained stoic and gone was the kneeling necromancer.


    Before he could do anything more though, they heard a crunching sounding from where Cygnus died. They all looked behind them and were shocked at what they saw. Despite the weapons on his body, Cygnus stood up and opened his eyes to look at them.


    "Ah, that really hurt." He held the de of one of thences stuck on his body and pulled it. The long handle of thence passed from his back towards the front.


    More blood came gushing out from the open wound he had but he did not mind. Since he could not pull out all thences on his body, he took the liberty of using a small amount of his power to disintegrate all the othernces still on his body.


    There was blood all over the ce but this did not bother Cygnus and the necromancer''s attention returned to him. He fully turned towards his direction with his eyes full of curiosity. He wanted to know how his enemy was able to stand up even after receiving such fatal attacks.

 Chapter 244 One More Round

    ?


    Ezio and Isaiah couldn''t believe what they were seeing. Rigel was alive and moving. He did not flinch even as he removed all thences in his body. The fear and anger they felt after they saw what happened to him faded and was reced with shock that shook them to their core.


    Ezio wanted to go and check on him when thosences pierced his body but when he saw that he was not moving, he felt despair. He wanted to run towards him and at the same time he wanted to destroy the person who did that to his master. His jaws were clenched and his fists were tightly clenched but before he could even make a move, the enemy was already in front of them.


    They managed to fight back but their attacks had no effect on the necromancer. Then they heard it, the rustling sound. Cygnus was back on his feet with that grin on his face. He looked like he did not die. They could even hear the distinct popping of bones that were getting aligned and the crunching as the crushed bones slowly pieced back together.


    What''s more terrifying was the fact that the blood that was supposed to be sttered on the ground wiggled and flowed back to Cygnus''s body. Not a single drop of his blood was left on the ground. They witnessed how his shattered skull and dismantled face returned to their original state.


    "That really hurt too much. I haven''t felt like this in a long time." He folded his neck from side to side and towards the back before circling his head around.


    Cygnus even stretched his arms then closed and opened his fist to test if his body was working fine. After that his eyes looked at the necromancer, who now had a ck broad sword stuck on his body. The necromancer looked at the sword because he did not even notice that a weapon was already headed his way.


    ck blood oozed down from his wound but this did not bother him that much. The necromance lifted his hand and held the sword''s hilt before forcefully pulling it out. His ck colored blood sttered all over the ce. He raised the sword and lightly tapped on it.


    Cracks appeared on the sword after that light touch from the necromancer, the sword was corroded and turned into dust. "You are one peculiar human," the necromancer''s gritty voice traveled through the air.


    "Aren''t you one too?" Cygnus pointed at the healing wound on his body. It was not as shocking as Cygnus''s but it was still too inhuman for a person topletely heal.


    After seeing all of this, there was only one thought running inside Isaiah''s mind at that moment, he was seeing monsters. Both Rigel and his enemy were monsters, from their powers to their bodies. He gulped unconsciously as his body stiffened and refused to move. He was pinned in ce as he could not take his eyes off them.


    "But you are something else," the necromancer answered.


    He disappeared from where he was standing and appeared above Cygnus with ance in his hand that was pushed towards Cygnus. A broad sword appeared in the master''s hands and he used it to block thence''s pointed de. The first encounter was like watching a slow motion movie but as the exchange of attacks continued, their movements became like a roaring water in the river during stormy weather.


    Their battle became as though they were shadows dancing in the air. Each time their weapons met, it would create sparks and a gush of wind that would blow away dust and rocks on the ground. With the continuous exchange of defense and offense, Cygnus already used a lot of swords and so did the necromancer.


    The necromancer threw one of hisnces which the master dodged and it ended up creating a crater on the ground. Cygnus also swung his broad sword and it ended up slicing the rest of the mountain into two. Isaiah thought that if their fight continued then the entire forest would be ttened and damaged.


    "Are we really going to stay here?" Ezio asked after a while. Although he was fine with it, he felt that they should not be staying in that ce any longer.


    Both Cygnus and the necromancer were so engrossed in their own world that they did not care if they could destroy the entire forest because of their unusual power. Isaiah narrowed his eyes as he watched them continue to battle and feigned to be deaf. He knew that Ezio had a point but for some reason, he couldn''t leave the battlefield yet.


    The necromancer thrusted hisnce forward which met the broad sword''s tip then suddenly something came out from the necromancer''s back and attacked him. From afar, it looked like it was a tentacle simr to that of an octopus but at a closer look, those things that attacked Cygnus were actually dragon heads.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus was pushed back because of how strong the impact was but it was not enough to knock him down on his feet. Three dragon heads actually came out from the necromancer''s back and were now hovering above him. From the different eye color from the dragon, Cygnus could guess that each head has a different power.


    Just as he predicted, all three dragon''s mouths opened with three different colored magic circles appearing in front of each mouth. One was gathering blue me, the other was gathering wind and the other was gathering something invisible to the eye. The fire dragon made its attack first which Cygnus sessfully blocked using his mana infused sword.


    The ck me burned even the ground and turned it ck. Only the patch where Cygnus was standing remained unscorched. The fire was reced with a swirling wind that came from the middle dragon. The wind created a rumbling noise as it hit Cygnus and the ground around him. It even created a crater around where Cygnus was standing.


    Just like the first attack, it did nothing to injure Cygnus as he stood there unscathed. The third dragon released a wave that made the air vibrate because of the high-pitched sound from the waves. It made Ezio and Isaiah cover their ears and yet the master was not deterred.


    "I didn''t think that you''ll be bringing out such a creature to fight me, sadly nothing from their food could destroy me." Cygnus simply snapped his finger and one of the dragon heads exploded in the air. Another snap and the second dragon''s head also exploded then followed by the third one.


    The necromancer did not flinch; instead he attacked once again using hisnce as the dragon heads regenerated. He used thence and the magic of the three dragons to fight Cygnus because he knew that he wouldn''t win. He already sensed it after exchanging blows with the man.


    A ck magic appeared above Cygnus and a sharp skeleton hand appeared in an attempt to push him down but the master easily destroyed the skeleton hand. Several more like that appeared to pin him down or even catch him but all was destroyed with one swing of his sword. The necromancer did not stop though and even summoned a horde of zombies that he sent to attack Cygnus.


    "Is that how you''re going to fight me now?" Cygnus raised his head and looked at the necromancer who was floating above them and looking down on him.


    "If I am going to perish, then I would do it with a fight." The necromancer''s eyes shed red and all of the zombies ran towards Cygnus.


    The master stomped his feet on the ground and several lines appeared from his feet and spread outwards. Once the lines stopped from spreading, Cygnus stomped once again and his blue fire appeared along the lines. The defense made by the master sessfully burned the zombies in one wave.


    Another set of zombies appeared once again and this time they were not burned but were sliced using a death scythe that materialized in the master''s hand. He swung the weapon and effectively halved the dead bodies that wereing after him. A few more swings and all of them were down.


    Wave after wave, set after set, the necromancer was relentless in sending zombies to attack Cygnus. He even followed it up with severalnces that appeared in the air andunched them towards him. The master on the other hand was jumping all over the ce while swinging the scythe in his hand and at the same time dodging thences.


    The necromance wasn''t satisfied yet and he summoned those undead ws to join the fray. He was going all out without reservation because the man has the ability to destroy him but he already guessed that the man was only ying him. And with that in mind, the necromancer decided to just go all out.


    ---


    Note: YNSOV will be participating in the Mass Release Event of Webnovel on May 13th, 14th and 15th. Please sho me your support!

 Chapter 245 An End

    ?


    The necromancer''s attack did not stop. His summoned zombies continued to surround Cygnus but they couldn''t scratch him. Even the skeleton ws he summoned weren''t able to scratch him.


    He was dancing amidst the bones and ck blood as he swung his death scythe. He was even twirling andughing while doing so. He started to jump and use the zombie heads as a step to reach the skeleton ws and destroy them with only one blow.


    The necromancer used his three headed dragon to aim and shoot at the jumping man but all of its attacks were blocked and dodged. Cygnus even used these attacks to destroy some of the skeleton ws. He would position himself in front of the ws and when he felt that a magic attack wasing he would timely dodge to the side and let the attack hit the skeletons. He did this a couple of times but it did not bother the necromancer.


    As long as there was a negative energy in the air, he wouldn''t mind losing those skeletons and zombies because he could easily replenish them. He didn''t blink and summoned even more zombies to deal with Cygnus but it still proved to be futile. The master easily dealt with them and when he got bored by the same attacks, he burned them all with one attack.


    The whole ground that was covered by a horde of zombies lit up into blue zing mes and incinerated them. All the magic circles that summoned the skeleton ws had swords thrusted into them which broke them into pieces. He them jumped up and thrusted himself towards the necromancer.


    Cygnus made a 360 degree turn with his scythe and sessfully beheaded the dragons once again. He thennded on the ground as his scythe disappeared. He turned around and looked back at the necromancer.


    "Is that it? You were able to reanimate a chimera but all you sent to me were those zombies and ws? Are you actually mocking me?" Cygnus spoke with a hint of mocking with it.


    "No, I am not, that''s why I decided to use this." He raised thence and brought it down with the tip facing downwards.


    The tip of thence hit nothing but a magic circle appeared below it. It was huge and spanned the entire forest. Slowly arge skeleton appeared and when it fully came out, it turned out to be a dragon.


    The dragon, which was only made of its bones, roared. The roar filled the entire forest and even reached the town nearby. The people were startled and ran towards their homes to take cover. They were aware that that sound did note from a regr monster.


    Cygnus grinned, "That''s more like it." He floated in the air and faced the monstrosity in front of him.


    He used his blue mes but it did not have any effect on it. He then tried using his ck lightning but the dragon bones remained unscathed. He narrowed his eyes and used his wind storm but it still had no effect. Even his ice magic wasn''t effective against it.


    "You won''t be able to defeat it that easily." The necromancer spoke without any twitch on his face.


    "Is that so?" Cygnus ced his fingers on his chin as if he was thinking.


    While he was caught up in his thoughts, the dragon was already preparing his dragon''s breath. The concentration of mana that was forming before its mouth was colored white. By how the wind hummed and the ground shook, it was an attack with a goal of destroying its enemies in one shot.


    The white beam directly hit Cygnus who did not even bother to dodge. Ezio and Isaiah were wide eyed as they saw the man not moving from his spot and was still thinking. Both of them shouted at the same time but all they received as an answer was a smile.


    The beam hit Cygnus. The attack even created a line of deep crater on the path it took. The trees around the crater were burnt and destroyed.


    p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® Ezio was trembling after the beam hit his master and he wanted to go there and help him but he decided to not go. He knew that he was only getting in his master''s way so he watched the fight in a prickling ce. He already saw how the master survived thatnce attack, so he believed that the beam wouldn''t kill his master and yet despite that, his fists were still tightly clenched.


    The beam slowly subsided and disappeared and so did Cygnus. What was left behind was only a ck spot on the ground where he was supposed to be standing. The dragon let out another roar at its sess.


    Ezio fell kneeling to the ground when he did not see his master. He tried to look around but saw not even a shadow of him. His whole body trembled in anger and sorrow that a gate appeared behind him.


    "Don''t be reckless!" Isaiah''s eyes widened when he saw the gate.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He tried to reach out towards Ezio but he was toote. The man was already gone and appeared above the necromancer. Before his scimitar could even reach the enemy, ance already intercepted his movements


    At thest minute, Ezio twisted his body and evaded thence''s tip. His body fell into a gate as he appeared again behind the necromancer but the same thing just happened. He knew that he was being reckless but be just couldn''t forgive the man who did that to his master.


    He tried his best but it proved that his best was not enough. He was easily subdued and was on the brink of death because of the wounds and blood he lost. Ezio was panting really hard as he looked up at the necromancer who did not even mobilize his dragon to deal with him.


    "Why are you trying so hard and even trying to be a hero?" A voice suddenly spoke beside him.


    Ezio immediately looked to his side and saw that it was his master. He didn''t die and his body was intact. He was wearing his usual smile.


    "Did you really think that a mere dragon could bring me down?" Cygnus chuckled and shook his head.


    He looked up but the necromancer''s face remained the same. Cygnus stood up from squatting down as he slowly made his way towards the enemy. Every step he took made the entire forest shake. From that moment on, Cygnus started to show a glimpse of his power


    The dragon faced Cygnus and released his dragon''s breath. This time Cygnus used his bare hand to stop the beam. His palm faced the beam then he closed his palm and easily negated the dragon''s power. He swiped his hand in the air and a sharp whistle echoed in the air.


    The invisible force collided with bones that kept the dragon moving and destroyed half of its body. The sharp whistles came one after the other and mmed on the dragon''s remaining bones before none of it was left. This same invisible attack made its presence known to the necromancer who tried his best to defend from it.


    The necromancer was pushed back and forth by the force as ck blood started to stain his body and the ground. He tried to use hisnce to at least block one but the force only broke hisnce. He even used the negative energy in the air to cover his body and lessen the impact but he was not sessful.


    "Do you still think that you can defend against me?" Cygnus appeared in front of him and made a roundhouse kick that sent the man flying.


    The necromancer''s body hit the ground hard and created a crack on the ground where hended. A ck sword followed him and pierced him through. It sessfully pinned him down which made Cygnusugh.


    "No matter which world I visit, all necromancers are the same. Weak and only hides behind their pets but you were different." Cygnus bent down and looked at the pinned man.


    "You don''t need to tter me." The necromancer was unmoved then his answer was followed by skeleton ws that appeared below them.


    The ws took away the necromancer while Cygnus needed to jump back in order to not be caught up with the skeleton. The sword piercing the enemy disappeared but before they could get away the skeleton froze mid-air then it broke. Something squeezed it but they couldn''t see what it was.


    Something wrapped itself around the necromancer''s feet and started to swing and m him hard on the ground. The area shook every time it mmed him down. Ezio was speechless at what happened and before he knew it, he was already back at the ce where he was hiding.


    The necromancer was mmed down once again and several swords appeared above him. These swords pierced his body at the same time but he did not make a sound. After that, Cygnus went to where he was and held one of the swords in his hand.


    "So tough," he mumbled. Ripped was the sound that dominated the air.


    At that moment, Cygnus has already removed the sword and at the same time the necromancer''s right hand was separated from his body. He only looked at the person who did it but he did notment. They silently stared at each other before Cygnus grinned and removed the swords one by one.

 Chapter 246 Rest And Attack

    ?


    Each time a sword was pulled out from the necromancer''s body some of his body parts would get torn apart. Cygnus did this without batting an eye and the necromancer did not make a sound. The two young mages who were watching from afar couldn''t fully make out what was happening in there because of the dust that had been in the air.


    "You really won''t die, I''ve already dismantled your body and yet you can still look at me coldly," Cygnus crouched down again and looked at the man''s eyes. "You are practically immortal now."


    "Should I be d then?" the necromancer answered. He really didn''t care since he had already lost his concept of time.


    The man was only continuing to live day by day while experimenting on his magic. He had been living for a very long time now and amassed several bodies that he could use as a weapon. That chimera was only one of them and even that dragon was only a part of his collection and yet he had no desire to bring out anything anymore.


    He could already feel his ending so he did not have the will to struggle anymore. He was willingly waiting for his death and if it was this man then, he could ept his demise. When that malevolent spirit that was born inside his territory came back injured, he suddenly had an inkling that something''s about to happen.


    -


    The necromancer also noticed the sudden increase in the activity of evil spirits in the surrounding and the malevolent ones that had been hiding and limiting their movements were suddenly getting active. Even the serpent-woman became busy with eating humans to increase her power and yet one day she came back wounded while ranting. She was hissing nonstop and pounding on the walls of the mine without rest.


    When he noticed this, he sent out some of his minions to spy outside. ording to what they reported back to them, the barrier of the guardian spirit of the territory had greatly weakened which gave the spirits free reign. They took that chance to strengthen their power so that they could take over the territory.


    ording to additional news, it seemed that there was someone behind all of these. While he was pondering about all of this, this man came and disturbed his abode. It didn''t matter though because their target was the malevolent spirit and yet the man still provoked him.


    While he was lying there a sudden thought popped in his mind and looking at the man in front of him, those talks about a mastermind must not have been baseless rumors. He did not expect to be discovered as he only intended to watch and see how the fight would go but the man discovered that he was there.


    "What do you know?" The necromancer suddenly asked even without hearing an answer to his first question, not that he was expecting from it.


    "What do you mean?" Cygnus had been reading his thoughts for a while now so he knew what the other wanted to know but it was not his obligation to answer the man.


    The necromancer stared at him for a while before he sighed, "You are really good at this, feigning ignorance to most things."


    "It has been part of my personality and I am not the kind that would disclose my secrets just because my enemy is about to die," Cygnusughed.


    There was silence between them after those words as the necromancer had nothing more to say to the man. Cygnus on the other hand was now utterly bored because his enemy decided to surrender. There''s no point in keeping him alive longer. He stood up and lifted his sword before bringing it down on the necromancer''s chest where his slightly beating heart was.


    Once the sword destroyed his heart, the necromancer who was like a puppet remained silent forever. His body slowly turned into dust until not even a trace of it remained. Cygnus patted the dust that clung to his clothes and turned around to look at the direction where Ezio and Isaiah were hiding.


    He started to walk up to their direction and when he reached them, he had a weird grin on his face. He even stared at them without speaking for a couple of minutes before his face returned to his usually smiling and amiable expression. He tilted his head to the side then he looked around to look for the horses they used to reach the ce.


    "Are you looking for the horses?" Isaiah asked when he noticed that the man''s eyes were busy looking around.


    Cygnus nodded. "I''m tired of this ce and want to return. I also need to rest because I felt like I used too much unnecessary energy today."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "They''re gone. The moment that the mountain was ttened, all living things in the area already ran away," Isaiah answered. He did not understand how the man could even think about the horses when they were the reason why they ran.


    "If that''s the case then let''s just use a gate." A ck portal appeared behind Cygnus and without giving them any signal or warning, he left.


    Ezio and Isaiah followed behind because Ezio did not have enough mana to create a gate. They returned to the town, exactly inside the inn where the town''s leader was waiting for them. He was startled when a portal appeared and the three of them came out.


    Cygnus ignored and instead went up without saying a thing. He opened one of the rooms and went ahead to take a bath. Since the bathroom had a mirror in it, he couldn''t help but stare at his body that did not have any scars. Even the ones that he had before he became what he was now disappeared.


    He closed his eyes then changed into dry and clean clothes before he went to the bed and lied down. He looked at the ceiling for a while before he turned to his side and closed his eyes. A few momentster, he was already asleep.


    At the second floor, Ezio and Isaiah were being tended to by a doctor that the town''s leader called. With his assistants, they were busy cleaning their wounds and bandaging them up to stop the bleeding from some of the more severe wounds they got. Throughout the whole process none of the sentinels nor the town''s leader asked anything from them.


    They prepared food and warm soup for them to at least replenish their strength. After they were settled, did the town''s leader finally have the courage to ask them. He was a bit nervous but the question must be asked.


    They were currently in the living room and warming themselves up after their dinner when the town''s leader decided to speak up. "How-how did it go? Did that serpent-woman get defeated?"


    "Yes," was Isaiah''s simple answer. "You don''t have to worry about hering after your town. It''s just that the battle destroyed the mountain and a part of the forest."


    The town''s leader shook his head and even waved his hands. "No worries, we will deal with it and besides we are just thankful that that spirit is gone."


    Isaiah nodded. He did not want to go into detail and tell them what really happened. It was fine to just inform them that their problem has been solved. Even the evil spirits that were roaming around the town were also gone maybe because the malevolent one was defeated.


    "Will the other one be, okay? He hasn''t eaten yet¡­" the town''s leader asked after a short moment of silence.


    "You don''t have to worry about him. Once he wakes up, he''ll surely eat and be in a better mood," Isaiah answered.


    Although he couldn''t read the mind of the man, he could feel that he was not really in a good mood. So, instead of waking him up, they let him be. Since the master was still sleeping, they decided to spend the night in the town before returning to the manor.


    While they were in that town, an unexpected situation arose at the central. The manor was in disarray at the sudden appearance of spirits that wreaked havoc inside the manor. It was sudden that no one expected the attack. The sentinels did their best to defend against the evil spirits but there were too many of them.


    The attack was timed so well that it happened when the archmage and the three young mages were gone. Ghad had no choice but to fight. Even Ulysses drew his sword even though it was not that effective against the evil spirits but it was enough to drive them away.


    The butler was busy getting the employees out of the way and into the main hall where talismans were set up just in case something like that happened. They didn''t expect that they would really use the ce because they all thought that the manor was safe.

 Chapter 247 Masterminds

    ?


    From the outside, a man was standing not far away as he watched what was happening inside the manor. A grin blossomed in his face when he saw how panicked they were and the satisfaction he felt in knowing that the territory would eventually fall into his hands was enough to give him the feeling of ecstasy. Because of the unexpected arrival of the Gineharts, he needed to hasten his ns and that he did when they were busy dealing with those useless malevolent spirits they let loose.


    "Are we going to finally kill that duke?" a whisper was carried in the air and reached the man''s ears.


    "Of course, we are, we went to so much trouble just to distract them and while they are gone, we can do whatever we want!" Enrick answered. This answer was then followed by his loudugh which was followed by several moreughs from behind.


    They relished in the thought that now they got the upper hand against Duke ckwell. They watched as the evil spirits created distraction in the manor. In the far back of the line, someone was also standing and looking at the manor. He was covered by the night''s darkness and only his silhouette could be seen.


    That mysterious man then whispered something in the air. The wind carried his words and the evil spirits in the manor turned blue which burned everything they touched. Fire started to spread inside the manor and some of the sentinels were badly burned because they did not expect the turn of events.


    The dancing spirits outside of the barrier started to ram themselves into the barrier created by the talismans. Each collision would shake the room and some of the vases already started to fall down. The sound of broken vases filled the entire hall. Even the chandelier was ready to fall anytime.


    Before they could create more damage, Ulysses appeared and drove the evil spirits away. His clothes were a bit singed and there were parts where his skin turned red. He swung his sword and kept his distance from them. He danced among the blue threatening lights and tried his best even without magic.


    He was getting used to it when the spirits suddenly changed. The moment that his sword connected with one of the spirits it suddenly exploded in the air. Ulysses was pushed a few steps back because of the sudden assault. He squinted his eyes and saw that one of the spirits was rushing towards him so he dodged and hit the barrier.


    Upon contact, the spirit exploded which shook the room once again and this time the chandelier finally fell down. The employees couldn''t help but scream in fear as they ran away from the direction of the chandelier. Ulysses looked behind him and was relieved to see that none of them were hurt.


    Ghad heard the explosion but he couldn''t extricate himself from the exploding spirits that were surrounding them. He was with some of the sentinels and they were about to go down when the evil spirits changed again. They were busy fending for themselves when at the corner of his eye, he saw several spirits appearing outside of the manor.


    He couldn''t help but curse because it was not over yet. Even if they get out of the manor, they would still be faced with those spirits. He did not expect that they would be assaulted all of a sudden. They were busy with reading and getting a clue as to who were the spies amongst his people when these evil spirits appeared out of nowhere and started to run amok.


    Luckily the butler and the employees were evacuated but they were not in a safe situation yet. "How''s the exit?" He asked one of the sentinels who was facing the hallway that would lead them down to the first floor.


    "It''s still blocked your excellency," the sentinel answered. Their only option was to force their way towards the exit.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was not a wise idea but it''s their only chance of reaching the others who were trapped at the first floor. They were not even sure if they could hold out much longer. Although Duke Ghad was there, it was not a guarantee that they would be able to defend much longer.


    "Let''s force our way then," Duke ckwell answered.


    He turned around and faced the direction of the exit. He gripped his sword and with the magic imbued in it, he swung his sword and all the spirits that it hit exploded. He and the sentinels took that chance to ran towards the stairs.


    They reached the first floor and were surprised at the number of spirits floating in there. Once again they were trapped and with no other way. Ghad was at his wits end because of what was happening and he could only me it to his weakness as a leader.


    Several explosions came from their right side then a man with ck skin appeared as he barged through the spirits without a care. He then stopped in front of the duke and the sentinels. The blue lines in his body were glowing as he assessed their condition. When he was sure that they were alright, he let the nanites on his head recede.


    Mr. C was preparing for his master meal once they came back when these oddly looking evil spirits appeared inside the manor. He had seen spirits before but they at least had a human shape to them but the spirits were only in the shape of a ball. These balls were only floating calmly when suddenly they started wheezing past the whole room and destroyed some cabs, tes, cups and more.


    Mr. C took action and dealt with them easily. Outside of the kitchen people were screaming and running because of the evil spirits.


    He stepped out of the kitchen and saw that those evil spirits were targeting the employees. Since he couldn''t standby and watch, he helped them. He walked the hallway where the kitchen was situated to make sure that none of the employees were left behind.


    Then it happened, the spirits started to ignite and burn whatever their surface made contact with. He did not mind though because of the structure of his body. Mr. C still took care of them effortlessly.


    The spirits changed again and became explosives so he had no choice but to activate his nanites. His skin turned ck and with that he was protected from the spirits. At the foot of the stairs, he saw that the duke and his men were trapped so he made his way there.


    "Are you alright, your excellency?" He asked after the nanites in his head disappeared.

 Chapter 248 Action

    ?


    At this moment, Ghad and the sentinels were speechless when they saw who it was that helped them. The butler''s ability was indeed beyond their expectation. They were marveling at this when they heard the man speak again.


    "Let''s move to the main hall then, I could sense Duke Ginehart and the others in there." He ushered them and went with them to make sure that evil spirits would not be able to hurt them.


    They reached the hall and saw that Ghad and the other sentinels were busy fending off against the exploding spirit. Mr. C then activated his nanites again and went to help and so did Duke ckwell. They were able to get rid of all of them but in return they were already exhausted.


    p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® "What''s the status?" Ghad asked one of the sentinels who could sense spirits. They had been relying on him to navigate the ce.


    "I can''t sense anything inside the manor, your excellency, however there is a lot of it outside." The sentinel answered as he pointed outside.


    They all looked through the window and saw that there were blue lights outside. Ulysses looked behind him at the employees who were trembling in fear and at the spirits outside. Whoever was controlling those spirits were making sure that they wouldn''t be able toe out.


    Even if they managed to survive and destroy all the spirits inside, they won''t be able to get out because the enemy made sure toy a trap for them. Ulysses and Ghad looked at each other before Duke ckwell closed his eyes tightly. There''s one way they could leave the manor without getting detected but if the spy was within their midst and canmunicate with the people who were behind the attack, then it would be useless to use that passage.


    They need to know who the traitor was before they could move. He was also worried that the spirits outside might move anytime right now and barge inside. Ghad was still thinking of the best way to go about their situation when amotion happened within the group of employees behind them.


    Ghad walked towards them to see what''s going on, "What''s happening?" he had a frown on his face because he had no time to deal with them or to deal with theirints.


    "We are going to die! I should have not worked in this ce from the very beginning!" One of the employees suddenly stood up and shouted. He had been skittish ever since the beginning and had annoyed some of the other employees.


    "He''s been like that ever since the evil spirits appeared. I never knew that he would be this coward since he appeared to be strong and courageous from the time that I have been working with him," one of themmented.


    Ghad couldn''t help but frown deeper because of what he heard. "None of you will die, we will make sure that all of us will survive tonight." He reassured them but that man didn''t believe him.


    "How can you even do that? You don''t have magic and the archmage is not here right now! We will surely die! The duke can''t save us! The duke can''t save us!" He started to run around the hall while repeatedly shouting those words.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The duke looked at the butler and gave him a nod. The butler stood up together with two other male employees as they went to stop the running man. They pinned him down but he couldn''t stop from wriggling and mumbling incoherent things.


    "We are going to die, it''s because of the duke. I should have not epted their job, now the evil spirits are here, we are all going to die! To die! They are here to kill us! Kill us!" He mumbled which made the duke sighed.


    Duke Ginehart came near them and heard the man''s ramblings. "He must have been feeling guilty ever since he decided to work for the enemy. No wonder since his employer was willing to send those evil spirits here without even giving them the time to escape. This only means that he was abandoned."


    His words were neither loud nor soft, it was enough for everyone in the hall to hear it. Ulysses shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ghad then he subtly swept his gaze among the crowd and saw that some of them were already sweating and showing signs of anxiousness. Dangerous situations would really bring out fear and the instinct to survive from everyone who were present.


    "You are right about that. They wouldn''t think of saving their men first because they knew too much. They''ll eventually decide to kill them even if they survive now," Ghad added to what his friend said. It was a good bait to see who amongst them would finally reveal themselves.


    The people inside the room were confused as to what the two dukes were talking about while some of them were not as innocent as the others. After they heard that conversation, they couldn''t help but gulp in fear because of the situation. It was true that they were also taken by surprise by the appearance of the evil spirits. Their employer had not said anything about an attack and now they were trapped inside the manor.


    "What should we do now?" Ulysses asked after a short period of silence. He looked around and felt guilty because of the genuine fear in their faces but they needed to continue with their act.


    They had no time to one-by-one check out their backgrounds anymore. They were able to do that to some of the employees but they were not done yet so all they could do was resort to some crude means. Ulysses did not stop from his subtle observation to pin down those people who looked guilty.


    "Fight to death. That''s the only option we have right now." Ghad looked at his employees with a grim smile. "We will do our best to protect every one of you and get you all out of here, so we would appreciate it if all of you could listen to us and do what we say. It will be a difficult battle starting from now on."


    On the other side of ckwell, at the shrine where the guardian deity was residing a person appeared. She walked inside and looked around to have a glimpse of the infamous serpent that protects the territory. Her footsteps were quiet but the serpent could hear it all, even her breathing.


    "What brought you here?" the guardian asked. His voice reverberated through the empty hall of the shrine.

 Chapter 249 Assassinating A Serpent

    ?


    The person who looked like she was sightseeing stopped and chuckled. "Of course, I am here to see ckwell territory''s guardian. We''ve heard about you from one of our people and imagine our surprise when we heard that you still exist. We thought for sure that your slumber will continue until, well, until we conquer this ce."


    "Do you really think that I would stand by and let you do whatever you want?" The serpent was not happy to hear those words. "If not for my power weakening, do you think you can do all of these things?"


    The womanughed again, "We can still move inside the territory even if you are at the peak of your power. It would be limited but we can still weaken you slowly. I guess fate is with us because slowly the barrier sucked you out and weakened you now, we are freely roaming around this ce."


    "You won''t be able to do that for long," the serpent sounded confident with his words because he knew that that man would be getting rid of the enemy.


    "Is that so? But if that will truly happen then I will make sure that you will perish first," the woman answered. She brought out the fan that she always carries and opened it to slightly fan herself.


    The serpent narrowed his eyes at the thing that the woman brought out then he braced himself. Just as he did, a strong gust of wind blew away the painting that was hanging inside the hall. It was ripped into shreds with the pieces slowly floating down to the floor.


    "May I know the name of the guardian deity of ckwell? Even though you are going to perish now, I at least would want to know your name," the woman asked out of the blue.


    The serpent did not answer the woman''s question. He remained silent and continued to watch the woman instead. There was no point in him talking to his enemy. She already started to destroy his shrine and he needed to focus on the woman''s next move.


    The woman could only smile because of the silent treatment so she did not insist on what she wanted. Instead of waiting idly, she decided to just go ahead and destroy everything. Using the fan on his hand, she created a tornado by just waving the fan a few times. The tornado thoroughly destroyed the upper part of the shrine.


    Not a glimpse of the serpent appeared even after the shrine was destroyed. The woman used her fan to cover her mouth and her smile before she raised it above her head and brought it down forcefully. Followed by her motion, a concentrated wind that formed the shape of a drill hit the shrine''s floor.


    It bore through and destroyed the stone floor until the wind disappeared. The woman walked to the hole and took a peek through it. She grinned because through her eyes, she could see an empty space below the shrine. The woman did not hesitate to jump down and with the use of the wind she gracefullynded on the uneven ground below the shrine.


    She started to look around to see if she could see where the serpent was. ording to legend, the serpent had the ability to reshape itself into anything he desired. That was why the serpent has a human form. The woman hummed as she started to walk around while specting what form the serpent had taken.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The guardian deity watched as the woman freely walked around his chamber. He had hidden his body but the woman might find it soon that''s why he must drive her away before that happens. The serpent moved around and it caused the cave to shake.


    The woman was a bit startled but she immediately got her bnce back as she grinned. "It looks like you are really here," she spoke to no one in particr but she knew that the serpent was listening to her. "I''ll make sure that you won''t be able to leave this ce. You''ll die together with that lousy duke of yours." Herugh echoed in that damp and dark cavern but the serpent maintained his cool.


    ''Whoosh.'' Several sharp pointed rocks came flying towards the woman which she easily dodged because she could clearly see theming. More of it came from all directions which she blocked using her wind. She made a 360 degree turn that created wind that surrounded her body and pushed back the stones.


    She stopped twirling and the moment her feetnded on the ground. She came face to face withrge golden eyes that stared at her. The gaze felt like it was staring at her soul and it made her shudder for a moment before she used her wind to get rid of the eyes.


    Once the serpent''s eyes were gone, she was suddenly standing on the surface of the water. She looked around but what was in front of her was an endless darkness. She took a step forward but everything remained the same.


    And then she heard a drop of something hitting the water. She looked behind her and saw that there was nothing in there. She narrowed his eyes with a frown on her face. "This must be one of the serpent''s techniques," she mumbled to herself.


    She looked at both of her hands and found that she did not have her weapon. She shook her head and fully turned back to wait for whatever it was that was going to appear before her. Plip, plop, the water sounded as whatever it was came nearer and nearer to her.


    e¦Áglesnovel`c,om The woman readied herself to fight whatever it was the sound disappeared and instead there were several hands that came out of the water and started to pull her down. She tried to fight back but she couldn''t outpower them. The woman was finally pulled underwater but it turned out that it was not water but blood.


    She forced her body and pushed her body up until she was able toe out from under the pool of blood. The woman took a deep breath so that she could circte air inside her lungs but the air in that ce was so foul that it made him puke. She vomited on the side and coughed a few times before she could finally calm herself.


    Her peace did notst long as several bodies appeared out of nowhere and started to pounce at her. they took turns in pulling her apart and tearing her flesh using their mouths. She couldn''t even scream because her mouth was covered. The next time she came to be, she was with a pile of bones.


    She shuddered as she looked at herself that still had the bite marks from the previous attack and when she started to move, growls sounded behind her. She looked back and saw that there were animals that were salivating while looking at her.

 Chapter 250 On Time

    ?


    The woman pushed herself back and started to run but the ghouls ran after her. She wanted to outrun them but the distance between her and them were not getting farther away and instead the monsters that were after her were getting nearer and nearer. A loud growl came from her behind and before she knew it, one of the ghouls was already mid-air and pounced on her.


    The serpent observed as the woman stopped moving with her eyes in a daze. His illusion has already taken effect and now all he needed to do was to kill the woman''s physical body. He was ready to sink his fangs on her body but then he felt something sticking inside his flesh. He looked below him and saw another woman who had her sword thrusted in his body.


    "Don''t underestimate us. Even if you were able to incapacitate my sister, I am still here as an insurance and you really let your guard down this time. Are you worried for those people in that horrible house?" The second woman grinned and thrusted the sword deeper into his body.


    It was his mistake. The guardian recognized his own mistake as the words of the second woman echoed in the cavern. He was in a rush to finish the fight and be able to help Ghad that he failed to notice the appearance of one more enemy.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® His body slowly disappeared as it returned to the ce where his original body was ced. He had used too much power in order to trap the first woman in his world of illusion and now that he was wounded and weakened even more, he couldn''t sustain that illusion any longer.


    The first woman slowly twitched until her eyes opened. She was finally able to return to the real world but not after suffering too many grievances from the illusion that was shown to her. She knew that it was only an illusion but it felt too real.


    She looked around her in fury because of what she experienced and only saw her sister. "Where is that serpent?" She roared.


    "Rx sister. I injured him a while ago so he won''t be able to go that far." The second sister who appeared stepped towards her sister to console her.


    "We must find him, do you understand?" the older sister emphasized. "I will make him pay for what he did to me."


    Cygnus was only able to sleep for two hours when an incessant calling woke him up. it was Ari, who was floating above him. He sighed and forced himself to sit up but he still had his eyes closed. He was having a good night''s sleep and then he was suddenly disturbed.


    "What''s the matter?" His voice sounded a bit groggy and scratchy after just waking up. He waited for Ari to answer and yet the woman was only staring at him.


    He sighed and opened his eyes to look at the woman. Ari then floated straight and nodded towards her master. It was one of the system prompts that she would not speak if her master was not looking at her.


    "The manor is under attack by evil spirits and I detect the presence of several malevolent spirits gathering outside of the manor. Even the guardian serpent is in a precarious state, what shall we do master?" She reported and at the same time asked.


    Cygnus was silent for a moment before he sighed and brushed his hair up, "That must be the reason why I felt ufortable all of a sudden." He fell silent once more before he decided what he should do. "Ignius, are you there?"


    A dark portal appeared and Ignius came out from it. He looked like he also just woke up because he was still yawning and listless. He gave Cygnus a nod before he sat down on the bed and eventuallyy down on it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What is it?" he asked in his half-asleep state followed by another yawn.


    "Go to where the guardian deity is and help him in whatever situation he is in," Cygnus answered. He stood up from the bed and stretched out a bit.


    "Did something happen?" Ignius sat down in alert with a grin on his face. "Will I be able to fight after I get there?" He asked with a sudden rush of enthusiasm.


    "Yes, and don''t hold back just don''t transform to your original form," was the only reminder that Cygnus gave before the dragon eagerly left to help the guardian.


    "We will go see the archmage," Cygnus dered. He then stopped for a moment because he felt like he had missed something.


    "How about Ezio and Isaiah?" Ari asked. The master pped his hands because he almost forgot about them.


    "We will send them to the manor to help the two dukes," Cygnus opened the door and stepped out from the door.


    He walked down the stairs and found the others who were sitting in the living room. They were surprised to see him but calmed down when he got there. He looked at the two young mages and saw that they had been treated and rested well enough.


    "I''ll send you back to the manor," Cygnus started as he stared intently at the two of them.


    "Why?" Isaiah was confused at the sudden statement. The man just woke up and now he was again speaking vaguely.


    "A situation arose in the manor and your help will be needed there. I will go and meet the archmage then bring him back to the manor. For now, the two of you would suffice." Cygnus waved his hand and a gate appeared in the living room. He even looked at the sentinels, "All of you will be going with them."


    Without any questions, the sentinels nodded their heads. Even through the confusion, Ezio and Isaiah still managed to bid the town''s leader goodbye as they hurriedly crossed the gate.


    What they saw after they exited the gate left them in fear and worry. The manor was on fire and there were several evil spirits surrounding it. They could also see malevolent spirits that had taken a shape moving towards their home.


    Without any reservations, Isaiah mobilized his magic and a wide ranged magic circle appeared above all the evil spirits. He then let lightning rain on them, it was enough to explode all of the evil spirits and enough to scratch those that were of a higher level. He did this for the second time while Ezio on the other hand created a gate that would take him back inside the manor.

 Chapter 251 At The End Of The Fight

    ?


    Once the gate was formed, Ezio did not hesitate to enter. He came out at the manor''s reception area. Ezio started to look around and found their trails leading to the main hall on the first floor. He ran towards that direction and found them.


    He saw that they were surrounding a group of employees and that the atmosphere was not right. He walked up to them without making a sound and stopped a few meters from them, it was enough for him to hear what they were talking about. He was a bit surprised to hear that they were actually the spies that their enemy sent to monitor the duke''s movements.


    "How long have you been rying information to the council about me or about the people in this household?" Ghad asked. By this time, he didn''t feel anything anymore for these people.


    They were all trembling but they couldn''t back down because they were already exposed. Although trembling, one of them answered, "It''s been a year now. We were told to gather information about you and your heir. Also, we were told to report all of your movements, and even the list of visitors you had and their names."


    Ulysses sighed and shook his head. This statement only proved that the council had been plotting this treason for a long time now. He looked at his friend but he only saw a stone-cold face. He couldn''t me him though. The council you''ve trusted to support and help you rule the dukedom were in reality plotting to destroy you.


    "Do you know who else is helping the council do all of this?" Ghad asked again. He didn''t believe that the council could do this by themselves.


    They did not have the power to do so. The ckwell territory''s council was mainlyposed of the small houses from the branch families of ckwell. All of these families had little to no mana and couldn''t use magic so most of them became merchants. Some of them were even granted permission to operate a mine.


    Using evil spirits to attack the manor and cause damage were not something they could do by themselves. He believed that there was someone behind them, someone who could manipte these spirits. That person might also be the person responsible for the recent attacks on the people of ckwell.


    Several people shook their heads. They do not know anything about it because their only role was to pass information. There were a total of six people and they were all from the side of different council members and this gave an idea to Ghad that maybe these people had different interests but have onemon goal, that is to get rid of him.


    The duke did not speak much after that before he asked one more question, "Who among you had been passing information outside while we were being attacked?"


    The people being questioned looked at each other and shook their heads. They all looked clueless and had no idea what the duke was talking about. One of them raised her head and looked in the duke''s direction.


    "None of us did. We were too terrified to be able to do that. We only have one way ofmunicating with our employers and at a specific time at that. Someone from their side woulde to get the information from us," she exined. The other people with her nodded their heads.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ghad did not believe them on the spot because they could be lying but it was also a reasonable reason. If any of them were sending messages to their employees amidst the chaos then that person should have been using magic or some extraordinary means to send some real time information. Both were usible if these people could actually use magic.


    Ulysses who had been listening suddenly had an idea that seemed to be ridiculous but it was the only exnation he coulde up with. "They were not the spy that gave out our location and movements to the enemy. Something supernatural must have been listening to us from the beginning. If someone was controlling those evil spirits to attack us then it is not impossible for him to send a spy that could eavesdrop on us and I am afraid that the enemy might have already heard everything from the beginning."


    True to his words, the mysterious man had been listening to their conversation from the very beginning. He had indeed nted a spirit in the manor and made it invisible so that they wouldn''t be able to discover it. The man hidden through the darkness of the night and the shadows smirked at the revtion that Duke Ginehart gave.


    "You''ve got it right," a crisp and calm voice echoed inside the main hall. It startled the people inside but did not create panic amongst them because they already knew that they were being spied on.


    "You''ve got a talent," Ulysses remarked because he was honestly impressed by the person''s ability.


    "I''ve been told," the voice remained calm and they could hear a hint of joy from it. The person was clearly enjoying their predicament.


    "If you are so powerful that you canmand spirits, why are you giving those council members the right tomand you and you keep on doing their bidding?" Ulysses couldn''t help but ask. It was one of the questions that if not answered would be haunting him till he couldn''t sleep.


    "Doing their bidding, you must have the wrong idea, Duke Ginehart. I am not doing their bidding. I am doing what I want to do and it so happens that they were convenient pawns that I can use for my goal," the personughed without restraint.


    "What do you mean by goal?" this time Ulysses had and the others had already noticed that Ezio was there. So, the duke asked another question.


    The person hummed then chuckled, "Are you genuinely curious or are you just asking that question because you were bidding time for that young man to be able to create a gate?"


    A shadow then spread throughout the entire hall and covered it. The shadow grew a face that was staring at them intently. It suddenly let out a loudugh that made the people inside the room cover their ears. This also broke Ezio''s concentration and the gate that he was supposed to be making disappeared.

 Chapter 252 Their Rescue

    ?


    Ulysses gritted his teeth because of the sudden assault and the failed n they had. He looked around and saw that all of the sentinels were down because of the ear-piercing sound that the shadow was creating. He was forced down to his knees at the effect of the sound waves that dominated the room.


    Ezio, who understood the n, started to create a gate but because of the high-pitch sound from the shadow that suddenly enveloped the whole hall, he lost his focus and also covered his ears. Compared to them the others were not doing well because some of them started to bleed from their eyes, nose and ears.


    It was not looking good for them. All of them were down and that''s the only time that the screaming stopped. They were relieved that it stopped but another problem arose, any attack against them right now would be fatal. All of their men forbat were on the ground and suffering the after effects of the high-pitched scream.


    "No one can outsmart me," the person wasughing as they said those words. She could see everything from where she was.


    It made her happy because they were suffering and it gave her pleasure to see the pain on them. She did not regreting to that ce and giving those people a hand in their evil scheme. It was really satisfying to y with all the people in that ce.


    The smile on her face grew and even with her thick disguise, one could feel the satisfied vibeing from her. She raised one hand and ced a finger on her lips before she decided to give the shadow spirit one moremand. The spirit did not think twice in doing its master''smand and for the second time around it screamed once again.


    Mr. C who had been silently watching from the side looked as the shadow continued to scream for the second time. Honestly, he did not know how to deal with spirits since it had been the master who kept on dealing with them but he could try. He crouched down and let his palms touch the cold ground.


    Strangely enough, he could feel the spirit under his palm, it was different from the usual coldness he could feel from the stone floor that that main hall had. So, by instinct and with the help of his nanites, he generated electricity that he sent towards the shadow. He used the ground and the walls of the hall as a conductor of electricity and it worked.


    The shadow actually felt the surge of electricity and when it got stronger and unbearable its scream subsided. Ulysses and Ghad noticed this and they looked around to see who did it only to see that Mr. C was using his own power to stop the shadow. They did not waste this chance and even Ezio did his part.


    A gate appeared and with the help of the sentinels, the employees were quickly escorted towards it. They did not even hesitate to enter it as they slowly disappeared and appeared on the other side where a gate was created. Ezio could feel his vision going hazy but he could not let the gate disappear because they were yet to get out.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The woman narrowed her eyes because her n was interrupted. She stared at the butler with hate through the spirit so she started to take over the spirit. The shadow spirit suddenly grew tentacles and swatted Mr. C as it then pinned him down to immobilize him. One of the tentacles also did not spare Ezio who was already on hisst feet.


    Both were knocked down, the electricity that was keeping down the shadow disappeared and the gate that was their only exit was also gone. This did not stop Ghad though as he raised his sword and stabbed through the shadow then his sword lit up. It created a series of lines that went through the shadow until it was finally eradicated.


    He slumped on the ground because he exhausted himself. The technique he used was something that he could only use once. He had a little bit of mana in him and he used it to activate the spell on his sword that could destroy any kind of spirit.


    The woman was pushed back to her own body with a grimace on her face. She did not expect that she would be defeated like that and because of that she decided not to stop until she killed them all. She was raging in anger when she felt a presence behind her.


    She froze in ce and did not dare to look back. They remained silent for a couple of minutes before she heard the other''s whisper in her ears. She shuddered and nodded her head. It was amand that she had to obey. The person disappeared and the grin on her face returned.


    With that, instead of focusing on the people inside, she thenmanded through the air that the spirits outside should go all out. Isaiah, who had been dealing with those spirits, was nearly exhausted since he was not able topletely replenish the mana he lost during their battle with the serpent woman.


    When he thought that he was done, the remaining spirits around him suddenly glowed red and evolved into something different. He could feel it though, the malice and negative energying from were enormous. It felt the same with the serpent woman that they barely defeated and now he was facing something simr. The only difference was that there were at least ten of them.


    He cringed and let out a sigh. Isaiah stood straight and faced the malevolent spirits. He had a small smile on his face as several lightning spears appeared above them and with a wave of his hand, they all fell down. The lightning sessfully pinned them down rendered them immobile for a while.


    This attack exhausted him as he slowly fell down but before his body could hit the ground he was caught by a hand. Archmage Sigma came and caught the young mage who had already lost consciousness. He mumbled a spell as a golden light surrounded the malevolent spirits and when he was done, the light disappeared and so did the malevolent spirits.


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 253 Hes In-Charge

    ?


    After his job was done, he was adamant in returning back to the manor as fast as he could but it would take him at least a day to reach central. As for the reason, he did not know why. He was already half way through his journey when they were suddenly disrupted and the carriage was forced to stop.


    He alighted from the carriage and saw that there was a gate that was slowly forming in front of them. He squinted his eyes and saw that it was actually Rigel who came out from it. The man looked around for a moment before his gaze settled on the archmage.


    "I did not expect to see you here," Sigma spoke first after the man approached them. "What made youe here?"


    "I''ve finished my job and took another job but then the news reached me," he paused for a moment before he continued, "the manor is under attack."


    Sigma was surprised at the news, "What are you talking about? How can that be?"


    "It''s the truth. I''ve already sent Ezio and Isaiah there in advance and I came to get you." Cygnus calmly answered and he was not even in a hurry.


    "Then let''s go," Sigma stepped forward but before they could enter the gate, arge body appeared and blocked their path.


    "It seems that we need to deal with those before we can leave this ce," Cygnus looked at the big bellied man in front of them and at the several tigers growling their way.


    The archmage did not hesitate to destroy them in one move while Cygnus showed a bit of his holy magic and sessfully destroyed several of them too. With their pace and their smooth movements, they dealt with all these spirits that wereing after them.


    It took them only fifteen minutes to get rid of them all but this was also enough time for the enemy to create more chaos at the manor. After that, they entered the gate and true enough the situation turned for the worst. Malevolent spirits littered the manor''s front yard and even the back yard was not spared.


    He came exactly when Isaiah released hisst attack. The young man did his best and the archmage could see it, he then defeated the enemies with one move since they were already weakened by Isaiah. There were still some that were left but it was taken care of by Cygnus.


    The council members who were there couldn''t believe that all of those evil spirits they nurtured were destroyed. They trembled in fear because their n did not seed. Some of them were already running away back to their houses to avoid any suspicions. Enrick on the other hand remained as he watched the conclusion of their efforts.


    "You''ve failed," was the woman''s voice. "I told you that we are not ready and yet you insisted oning. I even helped you but you still failed. This was a waste of resources."


    Enrick gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He thought that he could do it now but he still failed and now they do not have enough force to take down the duke. He regretted that he had not done this from the beginning before Duke Ginehart came into the picture.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He gave the manor onest look before he decided to turn around and leave. There was no point in him staying in that ce any longer. He would need to recover and n once again because he was not about to give up on the chance to take over the territory of ckwell.


    After all the spirits were gone, the ce was now left with nothing but destruction. The pirs surrounding the manor were destroyed and only a few of them remained. The gardens and thend were ravaged and were now full of craters that needed to be filled with soil again.


    The majestic manor was also filled with holes and it turned into ck because of the fire and the explosions that happened. The inside of it was more in a sorry state. Almost all rooms were burnt and no furniture or decoration was spared. Everything was broken or destroyed.


    "What would you do now?" Ulysses asked Ghad after they met with the archmage and Cygnus.


    Sigma carried Isaiah back inside the manor where the doctors were ready to look at them. They fixed two rooms and let the two young masters rest for a while the adults dealt with the aftermath of the attack. The spies they caught were ced in one room where they were being guarded while the duke was busy with other things.


    "Since the spies already confessed, I will remove them from their service and let them leave. None of their family members would not be given the chance to work for me nor to the ckwell family ever again." Ghad sat down and took the ss of water that was on the table.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® "How about your council members, what will you do with them?" Ulysses leaned on his seat and rested his head on the chair. "They were really savage and timed it so well. We were almost killed and if that happened, then even Ginehart would lose its leader."


    "If that happened, then they will face the wrath of Ginehart and they would surely not survive and maybe even ckwell would have fallen down already." Ghad said with a frown on his face.


    "That would be true. I can already imagine my wife''s face if I really died," Ulysses couldn''t help butugh even after what they have been through.


    "Yes, she''s a bit vicious." Ghad shook his head and took another sip of water. "I would let your son handle those council members."


    Cygnus who just entered the room grinned when he heard it. "Are you sure about that?" He asked as he took a seat to face them.


    Ghad looked at the man and sighed. He was not entirely sure if it was the right decision but it was better to let someone else handle it. His emotions might get the better of him if he would personally deal with them. He would rather focus on restoring the manor and making sure that his people were alright than to face those snakes that betrayed him.


    "Can I do anything to them then? How about their family members?" Cygnus asked just to make sure.

 Chapter 254 Theyre Weak

    ?


    With things like this, he had the tendency to go overboard and they might not like it. He was practicing self-control right now so he needed to know to which limit he could go. His grin gave the duke creeps and it made him ufortable but he was not about to rescind his decision.


    "Don''t touch the innocent ones. Deal with those guilty ones as you see fit." Ghad relented and gave him free reign. "Just don''t go overboard."


    "What do you mean by overboard? Does bloody going overboard or sending them to a different dimension count as one?" He asked them with a straight face to show that he was indeed serious with his question.


    Ghad did a double take at him before he covered his face with his palms. "That''s fine with me. Just make sure that the innocent ones won''t suffer too much."


    Cygnus grinned and nodded. He stood up and bid them goodbye because he was going to see those people one by one. Ghad looked at his friend with a bitter smile and both of them silently agreed that this would be thest time that they would let that man deal with something. His way of thinking was really far from what they perceived him to be.


    While the attack was happening, Ignius appeared at the shrine where the guardian was settling. He was surprised to see that the top part of the shrine waspletely destroyed and that there was arge hole on the shrine''s floor. Since he did not see anyone around, he followed his instincts and jumped down using the hole.


    He arrived at the cavern where the guardian was resting. It was glowing a light blue color and he could see traces of a fight but there was no culprit. He started to wander around to look for them when he came to another opening and heard some noise.


    The dragon took a peak and saw that there were two women battling a slightlyrger snake. It was a different size than the one that appeared at the manor and he could sense it had gotten weaker to the point that it could be an ordinary snake any moment now. The women were ferocious with their attack and every stab that the other one did was aimed to kill. The other one was providing support by creating wind to distract the serpent.


    Ignius was sure that the serpent would be defeated anytime now. At the corner of his eye, he saw something that was curled up in a corner. It was a small snake with ck skin and golden eyes and it was looking at the fight that was happening.


    The dragon immediately knew that this was the guardian deity''s true body and it had gotten smaller through the course of the time as it continued to spend its power to protect itsnd. Ignius moved towards the serpent and casually picked it up. He wiggled it a little bit and when he looked at the serpent that was fighting, it actually stopped and slowly faded.


    The women then noticed that they gotpany. Both of them jumped back, the moment they saw who the neer was. They could feel an enormous powering from the man who was holding the serpent in his hand.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel "Why are you backing away?" Ignius frowned when he saw their reaction. "Why don''t youe and fight now, since that was what they told you to do. If you really want to kill this serpent, thene and get him."


    His voice became louder as he said those words that caused the cave to shake. The sisters shivered in fear because the man was not simply somebody that they could fight head on. While they were still confused and pondering as to what they should do, a shadow appeared in front of the fan wielding sister followed by a grinning face that was a few inches away from her face.


    "If you continue to stare at me like that, I might presume that you have taken a liking to me." Ignius spoke as his canines were showing. His golden-slitted eyes gave the woman shivers and her knees couldn''t help but buckle.


    Igniusughed because of the woman''s reaction then his gaze jumped to the other woman who looked like she was not afraid of him. This made him excited as he looked forward to what the woman could do. He waited but the woman was taking her time so he took the initiative to get near her.


    At the first step that he took, the woman also took that chance to attack him. She swung her sword and aimed at his throat but the dragon easily dodged. He lightly tapped the sword to the side and yet she was flung to quite a distance.


    "I came here to help the deity because the master said so. I thought that I would be facing strong opponents but I was wrong. The both of you are weak and if not for the guardian''s weakening power, you would have not been able to defeat him," Ignius red at them. He was in a good mood when he left but now his mood was ruined because his expectation was not met.


    The woman with the sword slowly stood up and wiped the blood on her mouth before she held the sword tightly in her hands. The other woman who was holding her fan also recovered from the shock and was ready to fight. The woman waved her fan and it created several tornadoes that she sent towards the man.


    Ignius sighed and easily disrupted the tornadoes. He used his hand to stop each of the tornado and he did that effortless. The woman with sword dashed towards him and swung her sword a couple of times but Ignius was looking bored while dodging the attacks. A series of sharp wind followed the woman in closebat as they aimed to at least wound the enemy but it did not happen. Their efforts were wasted.


    "Look a that, you can''t even scratch me."


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 255 The Serpent

    ?


    The dragon was enjoying the view and he was even grinning while dodging the attacks that were being sent his way. He did not stop from mocking them and ruffling their feathers. There were times that he would let them get near him but at the end he would kick or push them away.


    Both women were panting and they slumped on the ground because no matter what they did, they could never hit the man. It was impossible and now they couldn''t evenplete the task that was given to them. They gave each other a subtle look and that''s when the woman with a fan conjured the strongest andrgest tornado she could.


    It was able to cover the whole of the cave and they took this chance to ran away. Both of their movements were swift and fast but that was clearly not enough. Ignius grinned and something ck extended from his feet towards the direction of the women.


    The dragon''s shadow mped on the foot of each woman. They fell down on the uneven and dusty ground with a thud. The shadow that held them started to coil like a snake around their feet until it reached their necks andpletely stopped from making any movements.


    The sword and fan on their hands were confiscated by the shadow. It lifted the weapons up and with just a little force, both snapped into two. The tornado that the woman conjured also lost its effect andpletely vanished.


    Ignius used his mana to make the light in the cave brighter and he was able to see the sorry state that the enemy were in. He crouched down and looked at them before shaking his head. He then ced his hand on his chin and tapped it a few times.


    "What should I do to the both of you?" He mumbled to himself as he looked around. After a minute of not being able to think of something, he sat down on the ground and ced the serpent on his side.


    "Did that man send you here?" The serpent asked after he curled himself on the ground. His voice was not as deep as it was before because of his current size.


    "Yes, Ari reported that the manor was being attacked and so were you so I was sent here to help you and now I don''t know what to do to them." He pointed at the women who were trying to wriggle out from the shadow that was binding them.


    "I''m surprised that you did not kill them," the serpent moved his head and looked at them.


    "Well, I was told that I can fight them but now that I saw that they were too weak, I feel like they don''t deserve to die by my hands," the dragon answered. He rested his cheeks on the palm of his hand.


    "Should I do it then?" the serpent then asked. His gaze was still on the two of them and he could still remember how he was stabbed and injured by them.


    "Are you sure about it?" the dragon asked. He straightened his body and looked down at the serpent. "You are pretty savage."


    "Well, I am not someone with a good heart and that''s just the way of the world. Since they tried to kill me, then should I let them go?" The serpent hissed. If someone wanted to kill him then he should return the favor.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Alright, you can do whatever you want." The dragon stood up and took several steps back.


    He watched as the serpent grew in size and made its way towards one of the women. It lowered its head and bit the woman. The woman couldn''t even make a sound because the shadow was covering her mouth. She struggled but slowly her movements stopped.


    The woman''s body shriveled as the serpent sucked on her life force to replenish his. After it was done, it looked at the other woman who was already shivering because of what she saw. She tried to move her body and scoot away but the shadow got her firmly locked in ce.


    "This is only payback for what you did," the serpent spoke as he stopped above the woman. Like what it did on the first one, it sucked her dry.


    After circting the life force that he got, the serpent slowly changed into that of a young man. He was wearing an all-ck clothing that did not fit young looks. He had jet ck hair and golden eyes just like the dragon. His skin was unblemished and he looked much younger than the actual age that he was portraying.


    "Is that your usual human form?" the dragon asked after the transformation happened.


    "No, my power is not enough to sustain my adult form so I opted to a younger version to conserve my energy," the serpent answered.


    The dragon nodded. "But I must say, you''ve got an unusual way of replenishing your power¡­" his gaze moved to the shriveled bodies of the women in the ground.


    He called back his shadows and walked up to the guardian deity. The young man was silent with a frown on his face as he stared at his two victims. Although he sometimes did not like doing it, he could admit that it was the most efficient way for him to get back his power. He had not done it for a long time now so it was a bit surreal for him.


    "I''ve done it a couple of times in the past but since I lost half of my power, I did not have enough energy to hunt down anyone." The serpent did not hide what he had done and openly admitted it.


    "That''s true, humans have the ability to strengthen us in many ways," the dragonughed. He stretched his hands towards the bodies and in an instant, they left over skin burned. "Are you going to stay here or are youing with me to see the master?"


    Ignius turned around to look at the guardian deity whose name he still didn''t know. He shrugged his shoulders and waited for him to answer. But even so, he would still drag the man out of the cave.

 Chapter 256 Reitou

    ?


    "I would like to go with you," the serpent answered. Now that his shrine was destroyed and he was already awake with nowhere to go, then his only choice was to follow the dragon.


    Ignius nodded and he started to walk toward the exit of the cave. "Alright then, by the way what name do you use? I can''t just keep calling you serpent or guardian or deity." The dragon stopped from walking and turned around again to look at the man.


    "I go by the name, Reitou." The serpent has not said his name ever since he became a guardian deity.


    Nobody knew what his name was or those who knew had already died. It was something that he thought he wouldn''t remember in his lifetime and yet here he was telling it to someone else. The dragon nodded his head before he grinned and stretched out his hand.


    "Call me Ignius," he also introduced his name. The serpent took the hand and shook it.


    The dragon turned around and continued to walk away. Reitou followed behind him in silence and he only spoke once again after they left the cave. He saw the dragon raise his hands and stretched them out before suddenly shouting.


    They stayed there for a couple of minutes before Reitou finally spoke, "What is that man''s name?"


    The sudden question took the dragon by surprise as he abruptly turned around to stare at the serpent. After staring at him, he then looked around to make sure that there were no others around before walking up to him and leaning forward. He checked the surroundings one more time before he whispered to the man.


    "Why are you asking? Just call him master," the dragon answered. Even though he was powerful, he still couldn''t bear the weight of that name. "The master''s name is not something any of us can freely say. There''s only one person who can do that though and you can ask himter."


    Reitou looked confused because of the dragon''s words, "How can a name not be freely spoken?"


    The dragon sighed and straightened his back. He then patted the other''s shoulder and looked at him with sympathy, "Because the master''s name is a taboo. Not even I can say it out loud. Many had tried but all of them failed and died."


    "Then howe there is one person who can say it?" the serpent asked again. He was like a child that was curious over many things.


    "He''s special I guess and that''s the only reason why the master is keeping him by his side well aside from the fact that he could create gates and travel to other dimensions." The dragon ruffled his own hair and sighed. "I wanted to say the master''s name too but I still value my life so I''ll just be satisfied by knowing his name even though I can''t really say it."


    "The person you are talking about, who is he?" another question which the dragon was obligated to answer because he was the one who told it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It''s that kid that is always by the master''s side, Ezio Constantine. Once we return to the manor you can go ahead and ask him," the dragon answered. After that he refused to answer any of the serpent''s questions.


    He was not patient enough to keep talking to him about these trivial things. One more thing that he was concerned about was that, if he kept answering his questions, he might slip up. It was better for the master or that butler to face the serpent.


    Reitou looked at the man''s back and figured out that he did not want to talk to him any more, so he did not ask any questions. They quietly walked over to the forest and followed the path without speaking to each other. The manor was quite a distance away from the shrine when the dragon finally stopped and looked back.


    "Come here, we won''t reach the manor at this pace and I''m sure that the master is waiting for us." He waved his hand then the serpent walked up to him.


    The dragon then casted magic and both of them started to float. They both floated above the tree canopies of the forest and sped up. In just a matter of thirty minutes they finally reached the manor. Theynded on the frontwn and saw that everyone was busy fixing and cleaning the surroundings even though the sun had yet to rise.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® The dragon and the serpent casually walked to the front door and entered. They then asked where the master of the house was before proceeding. Ignius thought that the master would be there too and without knocking he entered the room.


    Ghad and Ulysses were startled when the door opened and two golden eyed people entered. One of them was the dragon that was with Rigel while the other one was someone they did not recognize. They saw as the dragon looked inside the room with a smile that turned into a frown when he did not find who he was looking for.


    "If you are looking for Rigel, he just left a while ago," Ulysses said. He could tell that the dragon was looking for his master.


    "Is that so, I thought he was here. How about that child that was always with him?" Ignius finally acknowledged their presence.


    "He is resting and he hasn''t woken up yet," Ghad answered. His eyes were focused on the other man with the dragon though.


    "Alright," the dragon nodded his head. He then looked at the man beside him, "You can go and talk to himter when he wakes up. What will you do now?"


    "I will stay here for a while then," Reitou answered. He could feel the burning gaze that was being sent his way.


    "Okay," Ignius stepped back and was about to leave when he remembered something. His eyes went to the two dukes in the room, "I''ll be leaving him in your care then. By the way, he is Reitou. He is that guardian spirit you''ve met before." He did not forget to introduce before he waved them goodbye.

 Chapter 257 Bloody Night

    ?


    After he left, Ignius went on to look for the butler and saw that he was helping in the main hall on the first floor. He watched as the man was quietly helping in lifting heavy things and cleaning the whole ce. He wanted to tease him but he held himself back because they were in public.


    Mr. C noticed the presence of the dragon and took the initiative to approach him. "What is it?"


    "Have you seen the master?" the dragon asked. He wanted to report to him what happened to the task that was given to him but he was nowhere to be found.


    "He went to visit the council members," the butler answered. "Apparently, Duke Ghad allowed him to deal with those people as he saw fit and the master agreed."


    The dragon''s eyes sparkled as his mood suddenly became excited, "That sounds fun!"


    The butler shook his head at how childish the dragon could be. "Are you going to go after him?" He asked just to make sure that his guess was right.


    "Of course, I will!" The dragon''s high-pitched voice attracted the attention of the servants but he did not care. At that moment, all he wanted to do was to go and watch the master in action.


    "Okay, you may go then and please do not disturb him, just help him when he asks for it, do you understand?" Since the butler couldn''t do anything to stop him, it was better to let him go with a reminder.


    "I understand!" Ignius saluted before he scurried away and flew into the dark sky.


    The butler sighed, "It would be a long night." He turned around and returned to his current task. He must finish it before the master returns.


    The first council member that Cygnus visited was one of the two that came with Enrick thest time. It was one of those who had burned all the evidence so that they wouldn''t get dragged to the mud when everything came to light. This time though, he would literally be dragging him in the mud.


    Cygnus appeared inside the man''s bedroom and saw that he was about to go to bed. The man did not even notice that there was another person in the room. He was too rxed that Cygnus was amused at how he was able to even take a bath and go to sleep after what they did.


    "This is truly amusing," his red eyes glowed in the darkness of the room which startled the old man. Even the voice echoed which made him nervous all of a sudden.


    "Who are you?" his voice trembled as he started to look around in his room, "how did you get in?"


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® "That doesn''t matter, what I am curious about right now is that how humans can even sleep after they did something so bad?" His voice was not loud but it felt like it was a whisper to the man''s ears.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The man continued to look around until he finally locked eyes with those red eyes with an iris that was simr to that of a snake. He trembled like a leaf as those eyes continued to stare at him. He stood up and backed away slowly but a few more steps, he gained momentum and ran towards his room''s door.


    He tried to twist the knob but it did not budge. He then pounded on the door and started to scream and yet there was no answer from the other side. The old man stopped when he felt the presence behind him.


    Beads of sweat started to fall on from his forehead and his heartbeat started to beat faster. The shaking of his body did not stop as he felt a hand being ced on top of his. He was hyper aware of all the movements that the person was doing.


    "You feel warm and your heart is going crazy right now. I will tell you something and this will be a secret between us, I hate that all. I despise your warmth and I want to hear your heart stop beating. That''s what suits people like you." Cygnus whispered before he took a step back to watch as the old man continued to tremble in fear. "Humans are amusing indeed."


    After those words, the old man screamed in agony as he felt his body being torn apart. Stters of blood stained the door, the walls and the floor. Cygnus watched as the bright red blood flowed out from the man and he even closed his eyes as he listened to the man''s fading heartbeat.


    "That is too gruesome," Ignius couldn''t help butment. After searching for the master, he finally found him and when he reached the mansion, he heard a scream.


    "Gruesome? Yes, that is one way to describe this scene," Cygnus nodded. He turned around and went to the mansion''s balcony.


    He let the wind caressed his body as he closed his eyes. The smell of dampness from the air slowly soothed his raging blood lust. It took him a few minutes before he could finally open his eyes and look at his surroundings.


    "This will slightly be a very long night," he gave the dragon a grin before he himself floated and took off in the air.


    The dragon chuckled and followed him closely behind. Throughout the night, Cygnus visited several council member houses and all the people rted to the incident were disposed of. All of them died in the same manner. This thrilling event shook the entire ckwell territory as the morning came.


    This event also struck fear to the remaining council members as they convened an emergency meeting to talk about what happened. They were whispering to each other as they looked at the empty seats in the conference room. They were afraid that they might be the next to be found dead.


    "What should we do now? Are we all going to die?" one of them asked. The fear could be clearly seen from his face and felt from his voice.


    "We should find out who is doing this! I''m sure that the duke has something to do with this!" One of them angrily spoke. This was something that was already in their mind but without proof they couldn''t me the duke for it.

 Chapter 258 Collapse Of A Plan

    ?


    Enrick was breathing heavily as he continued to listen to the murmurs andints of the other council members. He could feel a headache as he rubbed his head. Their n had failed and now they were faced with some maniac who was going around killing council members.


    He too had the feeling that it was Duke Ghad who sent that person to assassinate them. As for the question of who, he had no other clue. The way the others were killed was too brutal for it to be one of his sentinels. He might have sent that heir of his but it was unlikely because the job was done by a professional.


    The man tightly shut his eyes because he had a lot to think about. Not only was he thinking about the killings but also because of that person''s disappointment in him. He could still clearly hear that person''s voice in his ear and the words she said.


    "What are we going to do now, Sir Enrick?" One of them turned his attention to the man who had been quiet ever since they started the meeting.


    "You should hire more guards and make sure that you are not alone. We do not know the identity of the assassin and I am sure that even if we ask the duke about it, he would just feign ignorance and brush us aside." Enrick remained leaning on his chair while he spoke. He did not make eye contact with anyone in that room.


    He was already tired and now all of these people were looking at him for a solution. Although he enjoyed the attention, he couldn''t even relish in it right at that moment. The more he thought about it and the more he could hear theirints the more he got annoyed.


    They were all asking him to help them but they couldn''t even think for themselves and make their own decisions. He couldn''t help but think that he had helped useless people. Their voices continued to echo inside the room and it made him angrier. A loud thud silenced the room as Enrick stood up and red at them all.


    "I''m leaving. This matter, take care of it yourselves. I do not have the obligation to be your babysitter. If you die then that''s on you." Enrick turned around and left the surprised and disgruntled council members.


    They were too stunned that they did not have time to answer the man or even refute his words. After their leader''s exit, one after the other, the council members also left without talking much about what happened. Now that their leader abandoned them, they should be thinking of taking care of themselves and preserving their lives.


    This gathering of the council members was not a secret to the duke. The news of it came to him that morning but he did not attend. He only nodded his head because there was something more pressing that he should address. He knew that he gave free reign to Ulysses''s son but he did not expect it to be this messy.


    Ghad looked at the young man that was calmly sipping his coffee even after he was called to face them. He badly wanted to scold him but after he remembered what happened when they got in his way, he decided to just have a talk with him. The urge to tell him what he was thinking overcame him and he would tell it as gently as he could so as not to offend him again.


    "Your thoughts are so loud, Duke Ghad," Cygnus stared at this coffee before he slightly turned his head to where the duke was.


    Ghad coughed and sighed, "If that''s the case then could you consider and make their punishment a little bit more discrete. I don''t want my people to be terrified because of that bloody mess."


    "You don''t have to worry, your excellency. I have prepared something that will surely be fitting for those that are still alive," Cygnus answered. He even chuckled when he thought of his n.


    "May I know what it is?" Ghad asked even though he was not expecting an answer but the master gave him one.


    "I''ll let them experience the pain of being in the presence of those malevolent spirits that they oh so love," Cygnus did not even hesitate to reveal his n.


    The duke was silent for a minute before he sighed once again. "Alright," he relented. He waved his hand to let the young man leave already. He had no energy to deal with the man.


    "By the way, where''s that serpent you call a guardian?" He asked before he could step out from the room.


    "He''s gone to see Ezio," the duke answered. After meeting the guardian deity, he still couldn''t believe that he had a human form and it was much younger than Rigel, he was about the age of Ezio and Isaiah.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus gave the man a nod before he left to where they were. He wanted to see how the guardian deity looked since the servants had been raving about him. He couldn''t help but be curious too as to what he looked like.


    By this time, the serpent entered the room where the two young men were sleeping. He silently sat on one of the empty chairs inside the room to wait for them to wake up. ording to Ghad, they might wake up today so he decided to go and wait instead.


    He saw a slight movement from the brown headed youth and watched as he slowly opened his eyes. Ezio stayed in that position for a couple more minutes before he decided to sat up. After he sat down, he let his gaze roam around the room and was startled when he saw Reitou.


    The man was intently looking at him and it made himfortable. He looked around but saw no other person inside the room except for Isaiah who was still sleeping. Ezio returned his gaze at the man and waited if the man would actually talk with him.


    "Hello," he greeted the confused young man with a nd voice and cold face.


    Ezio nodded to acknowledge the person''s greeting before he spoke, "Yes, can I do something for you?" he asked with his voice that shook a little bit.


    "The dragon told me toe and ask you for the master''s name," he answered. He was straight to the point which took Ezio by surprise.


    It was a question that he did not think would be asked from him. He knew the master''s name and yet he dared not say it casually because he noticed that the others were not addressing him by his name. He narrowed his eyes at the man because he did not know who he was and yet he was asking for the master''s name.


    Reitou could feel the emotioning from the young man. It was a roller coaster ride but he eventually became wary of him. The guardian immediately understood the reason for the other''s unease. He forgot to tell him his name and his identity.


    "You don''t have to worry because I just want to know the master''s name as the guardian spirit that signed a contract with him, I ought to know at least his name, right?" The guardian spoke in order to soothe the other''s unease. "I am Reitou, the guardian spirit of ckwell. I am a serpent in my original form."


    Ezio calmed down after hearing the person''s introduction. Since he already introduced himself, there''s no point in doubting him and besides he was allowed in the manor so he was not one of those people who attacked them. He remained for a while before he looked the man dead straight in the eyes.


    "If you really want to know then I''ll tell you," he started as he paused for a moment for a more dramatic effect, "the master''s name is Cygnus Altair."


    The serpent froze when he heard that name. Even though it happened a long time ago, he couldn''t forget that name. He just didn''t expect to hear it once again in this kind of circumstances. He stood up from his seat and was about to leave the room when the door opened.


    Cygnus entered with a serious face as he gave the guardian serpent a look. It was reasonable for him to know something since he had been living for over a thousand years now. Although nothing could surprise him any longer, he was still a bit speechless when he heard the serpent''s thoughts.


    To specifically remember his name was beyond his expectation because no matter how he tried to recall if he ever met the serpent in the past, he couldn''t remember. He narrowed his eyes, he must have stored it in that ce and needed Ari to look for it. But before that, he could always ask the person before him.


    "Have we met before, serpent guardian deity?" Cygnus returned his facial expression to the ones that he always used.


    ------


    Author''s Appreciation: Thank you so much to everyone who had supported me during my three day mass release! I hope that you continue to support me until this story ends!

 Chapter 259 Of The Past

    ?


    The guardian spirit intently stared at Cygnus for a long time. He was trying to remember how he looked and what happened that day. It was a long time ago that the only thing that remained in his mind was that name.


    Cygnus also remained silent because he did not want to seem impatient. With this kind of information, he needed to be willing to wait. Ezio who was looking at them also did not make a sound because he felt that it was not right for him to suddenly talk and he was also curious as to how the guardian deity knew his master.


    More than a thousand years ago, he has yet to be a deity and was a simple serpent monster that roamed the wilderness. During that time, humans have just epted magic as part of life. That was the time where people were establishing their own names through the use of magic. It was also a time where kingdoms started to covet more power because of magic.


    Rulers created their own magic council and scouted the brightest and most powerful mages to be part of it. The kingdom of Lumiere was not an exception, more than anyone, they were obsessed with power. King Zenos created his own magic council and named four mages to be the Four Pirs of Light.


    These people were treated with respect, envy and fear because they were powerful and they brought numerous victories for Lumiere. And with their position, came prestige and wealth thus the formation of four different houses that supports the royal family. One of those four houses was the House of stair.


    They were known as the strongest family of mages during that time. Even the three other houses needed to show respect to them because they were the king''s favorite. It was something they took delight in and they were proud of it.


    But from that prestige came hate and jealousy. It did not onlye from the other houses but also from the other aristocratic families that saw how they were enjoying everything without hailing from a noble bloodline. Although the four houses were established by mages without noble upbringing, the hate was especially directed to the House of stair because of their numerous achievements and rewards.


    Not only that, it was also because the king''s attention was on them. It was something that the aristocratic families couldn''t ept. Even after the head of the House of stair reached great heights, they still did not ept him nor his family because of them being low born. This was something that the head needed to get used to and when he did, they all learned how to ignore those people.


    Few years passed and yet the House of stair did not show any regression and when the second head of the family was named, the first head retreated and did not show himself to the public once again. Not only that but even King Zenos slowly weakened and died of sickness.


    His first son, the crown prince, became the king of Lumiere and this was the beginning of their tragedy. Ever since he was a child, King Xandro hated Kieve stair, the current head of the House of stair. All his life, he had beenpared to the man and to his achievements that he did his best to be the version that his father would be proud of.


    And as he grew, his hatred towards the man and his family grew. Every time that he saw a person from Kieve''s family, he would feel ufortable and the thoughts running in his mind were all negative. He would mistake them as looking down on him because the king''s favorite was Kieve. He felt like the House of stair was mocking him.


    This anger built up until his father died and he became king. Kieve became the head of the house and for a couple of years they lived in peace but it was broken when the House of stair was seized. Years of nning to bring them down was put into action.


    At first it was just small scuffles and Kieve would eventually fix it but just because of one false rumor that targeted them, everything went downhill. The House of stair slowly lost the trust of the people and even the king did not care about them any longer. They suffered in silence as the usations started to get out of hand and none from the other three families were willing to help them.


    Slowly the prestige and wealth they amassed were gone. The royal family seized thends that were given to them by the former king and removed their authority. They became like decorations just to maintain the image of the Four Pirs of Light. It all became a pretense to the point that they were suddenly used of treason.


    And even without proper investigation, attacks in the pce and several assassination attempts were all med on them. Proof after proof was provided which further pushed them towards the cliff. Kieve was not given the chance to defend himself nor his family because of it. Then it happened, the ughter and burning of those that the king deemed dangerous.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The number one family they targeted was the stairs. Disguised as something for a great cause, troops of mages were sent to subdue them. It was a bloody night, none of them were spared. Everyone was killed and people at that time were terrified as the echoes of tormented screams rang in the air.


    They were strong but they were outnumbered. Slowly, they were killed one-by-one until no one was left. Kieve watched all of this happen and even how they burned his family members alive. It was too difficult for him to watch and do nothing. He was powerless to help them even after his wife was burned in front of him.


    Kieve stair lost his life during that time. Then they burned the prestigious and once majestic manor of the House of stair. After that, they all killed those who could use magic and were not willing to follow the king.


    The serpent who watched all of this happen remembered a smiling boy from the House of istair, who had helped him once. He couldn''t forge his sparkling eyes and dazzling smile which made him return to the manor just to look at him. When all of those events took ce, the serpent was away and when he came back, all he saw in the scene was the burnt manor and several dead bodies on the ground.


    He thought that that child had died and yet here he was standing in front of him after a thousand years. "I did not expect to be able to see and talk to you again." Reitou gave Cygnus a warm smile.


    "How did I even save you exactly?" Cygnus brushed off the guardian''s statement and instead went straight to the point.


    "It was a simple deed. I was wounded and you picked me up and bandaged my wound. You even came to regrly check on me until I recovered. I never forgot that favor and continued to visit your manor until that day," the serpent paused before he spoke again, "I thought that you died."


    "I don''t really remember the details of that night or during the time that I saved you but the information you provided is very useful," Cygnus had no feelings about the guardian deity''s words.


    "Then I am d that I am able to help you even though you do not remember me." It did not matter to the serpent. What''s important was that the young child back then had grown to be a fine young man.


    At that moment, Isaiah was already awake and was silently listening to their talk. Ezio on the other hand was in a bit of a daze because of what he learned. His gaze went to the master but Cygnus was determined not to look back.


    "I honestly thought that it would take me ages to gather information about that incident and with only your memories, I gained a lot of information that I can use when that right timees," Cygnus grinned before he turned around. "I''ll be leaving first. I still have something I must do."


    After that, he disappeared. Only three people were left in the room once again and Ezio took this chance to ask the serpent more information about his master. He wanted to know more about him and to at least have an understanding of who he was.


    "I''m afraid that even if I tell you, you won''t be able to gain much because everything I know is based on his childhood and as to what happened after that and what led him to be the way he is right now, I cannot tell you because I also don''t know." Reitou wanted to help the young man because he could tell that he cared for his master. "It is better for you to ask his butler instead of me or that dragon, he might know something."

 Chapter 260 Hunting

    ?


    Cygnus rode a ck carriage and as he sat down he fell into deep thoughts. The words of the serpent made him think of his past but no matter what he did, he couldn''t remember the specific details of it. All he could remember was the fact that his family was burned and died at the hands of those mages.


    He looked outside of the window and after contemting on it, he returned his gaze to the woman that was now sitting across him. Ari was summoned and she had and idea as to why, so she sat down and waited for the master to speak. She had been monitoring what was happening outside and that included the conversation between Cygnus and the guardian deity.


    "What can you say Ari?" Cygnus asked as he stared at the woman.


    He was leaning on the carriage''s wall and slowly closed his eyes. He crossed his legs and ced both of his hands on top of his knees. He even took a deep breath as his shoulders slowly drooped.


    During these times, Ari would thought that Cygnus was human and not that demon tyrant she had known. There was a certainpassion and mercy in him that even though he was cruel in expressing them, people still flocked to his feet. He was charismatic in every way but also very picky.


    "I don''t know if I shouldugh or be angry with you because of what you just thought," Cygnus did not open his eyes and just spoke through the silence.


    "It is not something to be angry about, master." Ari blinked twice as she intently looked at her master.


    "I''m amused that you could describe me aspassionate and merciful when all I did waspel each and everyone of you to follow me." It must have been because of loneliness that he did all of those things.


    Back then he was young and grew without anyone caring for him thus the urge to have people beside him only grew stronger especially when he became immortal. Along the way, he started to do it for fun because humans tend to leave anyone behind. He had been through it so many times that he decided to stop. Instead of people who would betray him in the future, it would be better for him to have people who would not leave him behind.


    "It''s my own thoughts master and you shouldn''t be surprised at all," she answered.


    Cygnus sighed and opened his eyes to look at the woman, "I did not call you here to talk about that. I summoned you because I wanted some of my memories back."


    "Are you sure about that master? You do remember why we have sealed your memories, right?" Ari''s reaction slightly showed concern because of the master''s request.


    He had never requested anything from his servants, so she became wary of the master because of this oddity in his behavior. Cygnus already expected Ari to answer like that but he still tried. The next time though, he wouldn''t ask for permission.


    "Of course I remember. It''s just that I found something worth my time." He turned his head to the scenery they were passing by and grinned.


    "Master, please think about it first before you decide to ess your memories," Ari advised, "Those memories are something you wanted to forget."


    Cygnus at that time had no worries about that matter. It was a matter he needed to face and this must be time. His family, his identity that he chose to forget were all in there. He wanted to have it, now that he could freely do what he wanted and hunt down the people who caused him such pain.


    This time though, he would not ess them because he had something to do. It wasn''t really an urgent matter and he must have overreacted because of his conversation with the woman. He sighed and took some deep breaths before he chuckled.


    "I won''t ess them for now but the next time, I wouldn''t ask for your permission any longer," Cygnus spoke after his short chuckle.


    "I understand master." Ari couldn''t argue with that.


    If the master wanted to get any specific memory he could have done so without having to summon her. "That''s true. I don''t need your permission to ess my memories. It''s just a show of some courtesy."


    The answer made Ari a bit dumbfounded but it did not show on her face. "Then I hope master that you can show us more courtesy."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnusughed before he waved his hand and Ari disappeared. They''ve been traveling for thirty minutes until theye to a stop in front of a gate. He looked at it and was impressed at how extravagant it was. It was more exaggerated than the coal ck gate in front of Ghad''s mansion.


    Mr. C came down from the coach and opened the carriage''s door for Cygnus. He stepped and looked at the surroundings but there was no one there to wee them. Even the guards that were supposed to be on the gates were missing.


    "It seems that we were a bitte." Cygnus stepped forward and forcefully pushed the gate open.


    He walked on the cemented path that led to the main house and when they arrived, the mansion was actually empty. Cygnus couldn''t feel any other presence in the vicinity except for them.


    "What shall we do now, master?" The butler frowned a bit at the discovery that the people they were looking for fled.


    "Of course we will go and catch them. I''m sure that they haven''t left this ce not long ago." Cygnus ced his finger on the wall of the mansion and found it to be a bit dusty.


    The master stopped and contemted for a while before a summoning circle appeared under his foot. Slowly three spirits appeared with their eyes closed. After they fully came out from their resting ce, the spirits opened their eyes.


    One of them was shaped like a wolf but it''s color was pure ck with red fire around its neck. The other one was in the shape of a bird that looked like a pterodactyl from the books the master had seen when he was in another world. Thest one was in the shape and color of a tiger with a tail of a snake head.


    They all looked at him and waited for hismand. He raised his brow as these spirits became so obedient to him without him doing anything. After Mr. C discovered the ce where they chained these spirits, Cygnus did not hesitate to add them to his collection.


    "You know, that person that imprisoned you, he ran away and I want you to find him and get after him. Don''t let him get away," Cygnus did not need to tell them the specifics as they all let out growling angry sounds.


    The master then waved his hand and the spirits dispersed. He looked on as each of them went to different directions to just look at their enemy. These spirits were conscious and they knew who hurt them. Aside from being very convenient to use, Cygnus had no problem disposing of them.


    They stayed in that abandoned mansion for over an hour doing nothing. Cygnus sat on a chair like he was the owner of the house as Mr. C did not forget to serve him a snack. It has been a staple to the master''s diet that he should have some snacks every now and then.


    After he felt that the time was right, they left and followed the direction where the spirits went. Surprisingly enough, the three of them were in the same location which only means one thing, they found him. Instead of jumping on trees like a ninja, Cygnus opted to fly.


    They reached the area of the incident and watched from above. Cygnus couldn''t help but sneer when he saw how the man peed his pants in fear. His family members were on the side and terrified.


    "So pitiful, they were high and might because of their position but look at that snot and tears on his face!" The masterughed and shook his head.


    He slowly floated down until hended a few feet away from the man being bullied by the spirits. He couldn''t help butugh once again because of what he was seeing. A proud council member was dirty and was on the ground.


    "Did-did you send those spirits after me?" The council member asked in anger.


    When he saw the young man he did not feel any relief and instead he felt anger. Duke ckwell was indeed after them and he even sent this dirty boy from that blood to go and hunt them. He sneered in his mind because he did not see Duke Ginehart as a person worthy of respect.


    "And if I say yes, what can you do?" Cygnus shook his head with augh on his mouth. "With how those talismans had been used, do you think you can hinder me and escape me? I won''t take any chances."

 Chapter 261 Turning Into A Ghost

    ?


    The man shivered at those words. This Ginehart brat should not have been here in the first ce, even that duke. If they were not here then all of their ns would have seeded. It was them, the source of all of their failures.


    Cygnus watched as the man continued to grumble to himself and hisplicated emotions amused him so. He had been constantly cursing him and ming him for all the misfortune he experienced. It was not something new and he was already used to it.


    "Your failure got nothing to do with me


    It is your ipetence that lead you to this situation," Cygnus crouched down and stared at the man. "I never did anything to hinder you nor your ns. Instead you are the ones who became a hindrance to me. I''ve got my own ns aftering here but they were all blown away because of you greedy geezers."


    Cygnus stood up and took a step back, the spirits he summoned took his ce and surrounded the man. The man could feel their anger and could even hear their growls as they slowly stalked him. He pished his body up and turned around to run.


    Cygnus shook his head and now he shifted his focus onto the family the man left behind. There was his wife and child together with several servants and guards who had been loyal to the family. After they were rounded up by the spirits, they did not dare to move because they were afraid that if they did, they would be killed.


    "Look at that, the head of the family left and did not even turn back to look at you guys," Cygnus spoke as he looked at them.


    "That''s because you sent those creatures after him!" The wife answered with so much anger that it made Cygnusugh.


    "Yes, you have a point there. He''ll die anyway so there''s no problem even if he left you." Cygnus nodded as he swept his gaze at the people in there who were cowering in fear. "Don''t be too nervous because I won''t do anything against you or kill you. It''s not the time yet."


    After that, a loud screech followed by a loud boom sounded from the direction where the man disappeared. All eyes were drawn towards that particr ce and different thoughts ran through their minds. Some of them thought that the head was already dead while the others were worried about him.


    Cygnus thought for a moment before he summoned some of his undead knights to guard them. Mr. C was also left behind as the master went off to see what was going on with the man. The nearer he got, the clearer he could see that the spirits were taking turns in attacking the man.


    Several more talismans were used to defend himself from the attacks. It was not enough to deter them and he didn''t have the power to fight them. He cried in frustration as the spirits started to bite here and there.


    He was then slowly covered in blood as hey on the ground motionless. He was still breathing but any minute now, he would surely die. Sensing that their prey is about to die, the spirits went ahead and gave him the final blow.


    His body was unrecognizable because of how brutal the spirits were. It was clear as day that they despised the man. Cygnus looked at their masterpiece and was very proud of it.


    Not long after the man died, something happened which caught them by surprise except for Cygnus. From the dead man''s body, something ck slowly came out. This transformation often urs to those who died with so much resentment and anger, they turn into fierce spirits and some would just rest in peace.


    The ck spirit that came out from the man''s body was distorted and was all over the ce. It kept on mumbling things that the master could not understand. The spirits and Cygnus could feel too much anger and maliceing from it though.


    After a few seconds, the ck spirit or more precisely a ck ghost stopped wriggling. It remained unmoving for a few seconds before it''s head turned around and locked eyes with the master. His big body moved and it suddenly appeared in front of Cygnus.


    "Die! Die! Die!" It continued to mumble but Cygnus did not flinch and let him be.


    "I''ve already heard those words a long time ago and yet here I am, still standing and talking to you." Cygnus spread his arms and answered the messy ghost with a grin on his face.


    The ghost still continued to say those words as if it was a mantra. Then it happened, the ghost''s hand went towards Cygnus in an attempt to smash him. The master dodged the attack and the hand that was used to attack him created a dent on the ground.


    The ghost did not stop from attacking and it created a lot of destruction in the area. Trees started to fall and the shrubs and bushes were ttened to the ground. With the negative energy surrounding the man, his attacks were also fatal.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus snapped his fingers and the spirits started to attack the ghost. They bit and used a bit of magic to destroy the ghost but all of those attempts failed. The ghost was clearly stronger than them.


    After the barrage of attacks, the ghost had enough of it and it moved. With one swat of his hand, one of the spirits was crushed and it disappeared. The same happened to the other two that attempted to defeat the ghost.


    "Interesting," Cygnus watched as the fight went on until all the malevolent spirits he summoned got destroyed.


    The ghost was satisfied for a while but when it looked around, it couldn''t find Cygnus. It growled but still the man did not appear. At the same time, Cygnus was watching behind a ss.


    His eyes remained on the ghost''s skin and when he saw what he needed to see, the ss disappeared. "You are such a pitiful creature, consumed by your anger and insecurities and revenge you turned into a monster and now everything will end."


    Cygnus did not hesitate at all when he summoned a ck fire that engulfed the ghost and started to wriggle around to stop the fire. These ck mes were too much for it to handle that it slowly sumbed to it. The ghost disappeared without a trace and even its human body was incinerated.


    He looked at the ce where the ghost was before he finally turned around and left. He appeared at the ce where he left them as he gave them the bad news. The wife couldn''t believe what she was hearing until she copsed and within seconds, the people who witnessed his power forgot all about it.


    After making sure that there were no seriously injured from the man''s family, he left together with Mr. C who was looking at him intently. Cygnusughed because of the look that the butler was sending his way. He hummed along the way and did not tell him anything.


    For the rest of the day, Cygnus went around punishing those ambitious council members and showing hem his power. Most of them were easily defeated and Cygnus did not even sweat because of it. What mattered to him was that he enjoyed the day.


    Ghad received the report and now most of the council members were dead. He wondered, though, why Enrick was still alive but nobody was there to satisfy his curiosity. He burned the report and carried on with his work.


    "How was Rigel''s work?" Ulysses asked after he entered the room.


    He had been helping around the manor and restoring some of the rooms so that they had something they could use. It was also his way of blowing off steam from the frustration he felt during the incident. It felt surreal that they survived.


    "He''s cleaned up half of them and he is clearly taking his time in cleaning up the rest. Enrick is still alive though," Ghad answered.


    Ulysses chuckled, "He must have prepared something special for Enrick if that''s the case." The grin on his face remained.


    "Do you think so?" Ghad''s brows rose as he couldn''t believe his friends words.


    He nodded. "Yes I am sure of it and all we need to do and wait for it to happen."


    Enrick received the news that more of the council members died that day. The person who reported it also disappeared which only means that their hidden enemy was challenging him. He angrily crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the ground.


    Whoever it was that was messing with him wouldn''t get away from his wrath. He will make sure that when he finds that person, he will surely die a miserable death. His panting grew louder inside the room as he threw the bottle he picked up on the floor. It broke that the pieces flew in different directions which Enrick did not mind.


    "I''ll find and hunt you down."

 Chapter 262 Pinning Blame

    ?


    After his day''s work, Cygnus decided to call it a day and return to the manor. As they stepped inside the manor, several pairs of eyes were looking at him. He looked at his butler for answers but Mr. C only shook his head. Cygnus ignored them and went straight to the second floor as he intended to rest before dinner.


    He was already lying on his bed when he heard amotion outside of his room. He could hear that there were servants talking and were hesitating if they should knock on his door or not. Cygnus sighed and looked at his butler before using his head and giving him the signal to open the door to save the servants the effort of knocking.


    There were gasps of surprise when Mr. C opened the door. The servants were a little bit flustered because they did not expect the door to suddenly open. They nervously looked at the butler and started to push one another to tell him what was happening.


    To save them time, Mr. C took the initiative to ask them instead. "What happened?"


    The servants looked at each other before one of them finally spoke up. "Mister, you see there are people outside and they are demanding an audience with the young master Rigel."


    "Who are they?" The butler did not seem worried so the servant sighed and felt morefortable to speak.


    "I heard that they are associated with some of the council members that had died. They are angry and demanding that Duke ckwell should not hide Young Master Rigel and cover for what he did." The same girl answered, she frowned and felt indignant because of the usations.


    "Did the duke address them already?" Mr. C took a quick peek inside the room before returning his attention to servants.


    "Yes, he is currently outside and having a talk with those people and he also sent us to notify you on what was happening," she answered again with a bit of concern in her tone. She couldn''t also help but take a peek behind the butler but she did not see anything.


    "Thank you for telling me this. I will ry it to my master so you can go back to your work now," the butler gave them a small nod before he stepped back and closed the door.


    He remained behind the door and when he heard that the footsteps were gone, he then returned beside his master. The room was filled with silence because Cygnus actually fell asleep but the butler was not sure if he heard the conversation. Instead of waking him up, he decided to sit down on the empty couch beside the bookshelf to wait for the master to wake up.


    While Cygnus was taking a nap, the group of angry people were still seething in front of the duke. They intended to not leave if that person didn''t appear in front of them. They needed to seek justice for their leaders who lost their life and for them to have that, the young master Ginehart should also die.


    Ghad went ahead to face them and yet they were not yet satisfied. He had been reasoning with them for a while now but they wouldn''t stop. They were insistent in remaining in the manor to wait for Rigel toe. The duke''s patience was wearing thin because they were in the way of the restoration of the manor as if they did not see the destruction outside.


    "You cannot stay here and hinder the servants from their work. Haven''t you seen that we are busy? The manor is in a state of disarray right now and I have many things I also needed to deal with after the sudden deaths of the council members." The duke gave them all a cold look coupled with his cold look.


    The people were silent for a while but they weren''t fazed by the duke''s words. They do not care what happened to the manor or the fact that they were bing a disturbance. They were so focused on the justice they wanted that they actually ignored the duke''s authority.


    "Is the manor more important than the death of the council members? They died and the culprit is inside this building and yet you are more worried about this ce than the people who had been supporting you for so many years!" One of them angrily shouted then a series of agreements followed that statement.


    "If you have any evidence backing up your ims then you are free to use anyone but you only came here with only the words in your mouths. Now you even have the audacity to question my decision and authority?" The duke''s voice was dripping with coldness and contempt at these people who only look at their gain instead of the benefit of everyone. "I do not have time to deal with the death of the council members because they left me so much work and that''s also the reason why you are all there, to deal with their deaths and arrange for their funerals instead ofing here and causing an uproar. How irresponsible!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    His anger could be felt inside the living room where he decided to meet them. He had been holding back ever since they came but he was about to lose it. These people were extremely insensitive and have no thoughts of self-preservation or whatever.


    "Irresponsible? We are not irresponsible, that is why we are here right now to demand you hand over the criminal!" Another voice shouted from the back and it earned another round of agreement from the other people.


    "If that''s what you say then so be it. I won''t argue with you any longer." Ghad sighed and rested his head on his fist as he rxed on his seat and watched them.


    After that statement from him, he did not say any more words and this made the people ufortable because all he had been doing was staring at them. They started to look at each other but no one dared to leave. Some of them even started to talk and throw dirty water unto the ckwell and Ginehart family but Ghad did not flinch nor did he show any reaction. He remained silent.


    "You are all still here? It''s been two hours already," a voice interrupted their tirade and their provocations.


    They all looked back and saw that it was Rigel Ginehart, the person who killed their masters. They stared at him like hungry wolves ready to lunge and devour him. Cygnus grinned at them and shook his head at how they were looking at him.


    "Why are you smiling, you criminal!?" A man from the group shouted. He was ring at Cygnus and was angry because of his grin.


    "Is there a reason for me not to grin when all I see in here are foolish people," Cygnus crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "You all came here using me of a crime I didn''t do."


    "Don''t lie! We have a witness that will prove that you are the person who killed them. We also believe that you also killed the other members yesterday." A woman spoke this time and she had a smug look on her face while speaking.


    "Oh, then where is this witness?" Cygnus wasn''t fazed by the fact that they apparently have a witness. He really didn''t care though. He must have missed something when he was cleaning up a while ago.


    "Don''t even think for a moment that we will tell you where they are!" The same woman answered. She gave the master a sneer as she looked so arrogant.


    Cygnus shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I don''t really care if you don''t tell me. I did not do any of your usations and even if you have a witness that would not be enough besides, they all deserve it."


    This statement made the people angrier. They all took a step towards Cygnus but they failed to reach him because Mr. C, Ignius and Reitou stood in front to block them. The three of them were looking at those people without any traces of expression on their faces. They were like robots and regarded them as a thing instead of humans.


    "If Nina was here, she would certainly kill you all on the spot for this level of disrespect you are showing. If we look at the hierarchical system of this world, a duke is higher than any of you and I as a son of a duke still stands at a higher level from any of you." Cygnus took a step and passed between Mr. C and Ignius.


    "We don''t care and we won''t be intimidated by anything you say and by those people who are protecting you!" One of them spoke despite the tense atmosphere and his shivering body.


    "Of course, they will protect me! I am their master and I am of noble birth. What about you? You are all pretending to be noble even though you are truly not. This level of hypocrisy is really out of this world. Even your usations are ridiculous when you yourselves know that your hands are bloodied." Cygnusughed in mockery at how they were speaking of justice when all of them had killed a number of people just for their own goal.

 Chapter 263 In Conclusion

    ?


    The people''s eyes widened because of what they heard. It made them grit their teeth and clench their hands. They thought that the man was someone crazy because only a person who was out of his mind could say those words. They couldn''t believe how he could be shameless.


    "Shameless?" Cygnus shouted as he bowed his head and covered his face. His shoulders started to shake as he started tough. He then raised his head for a while before he bent his body to the back a bit as he let out a loudughter.


    "What''s so funny?" One of them asked out of irritation. He couldn''t ept the fact that the man was only going tough at them, like he was mocking them.


    "You are all funny and yes, I am mocking you. Since you have the audacity toe to the ce where a criminal is living, I should show you something fun." The master''s body straightened and as he opened his eyes and stared at those people, they started to fall into a daze.


    Cygnus slowly walked towards them and stood just a few steps from them before he started to mumble something that the others couldn''t understand. Every word he spoke created a ripple in the air that even the onlookers could feel. As these waves hit their guests, they would start shivering and their bodies started to crumble to the ground. White foam and liquid started toe out from their mouths.


    They couldn''t even scream in pain because their bodies were paralyzed. They were like worms that were wriggling and stiffening on the ground. Cygnus''s eyes on the other hand were shing a bright red as he was grinning while looking at them.


    Ghad stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards Cygnus. He reached out his hand to pat the young man on the shoulder but before he could Ignius gripped his wrist. The duke looked at the man with a frown and saw him shaking his head.


    "You cannot disturb him while he is in that state or else, you''ll be like them," Mr. C walked to them, "he''s dangerous right now and all we can do is wait for him to finish."


    Ghad took back his hand and let it fall by his side, "Will they survive?" He gave the people on the ground a brief look.


    He was a bit surprised that Cygnus would take the initiative toe to where they were. He thought that he would stay inside his room and he certainly did not expect that he would freely attack them in front of him. Although he was angry at that time, he couldn''t help but feel a bit of pity after seeing their situation. No matter what, they were still part of the people that he was supposed to protect.


    "That depends upon the master," Ignius tantly answered, which was true in every sense. If the master wanted someone to live then that person would live but if he wanted someone to die then that person would die. There were no maybes nor ifs.


    "What''s happening to them then?" the duke asked with a bit of concern in his voice. He then looked around and waved his hand back so that the servants who were with them would leave the ce.


    "They''re being shown something terrifying," was the only answer that Mr. C gave. He did not go into details because he himself had not experienced it but based on what the survivors described, they saw something that resembled hell. "Let''s wait it out a bit."


    After a few minutes more, the people went still and Cygnus took a step back. The glow in his eyes dimmed until it disappeared and returned to their original ck ones. He cracked his neck and rotated it a bit before turning back and walking to where the others were standing.


    With that, Ghad went ahead to check if any of them were still alive. He sighed in relief after he made sure that none of them were dead. He stood up and patted his clothes before calling for the sentinels that were stationed just outside to take the people away.


    "You don''t have to worry too much. They are alive and they will forget what happened here and why they even came here." Cygnus raised his hand and waved it. He did not look back and instead went ahead to the dining room because he was hungry but before he could even reach it, he heard the duke speak.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I am not worried. I''m just a bit concerned because this might cause fear to themon people under my rule. There are already rumors going around that this ce is cursed and that there is a vengeful spirit that roams around killing people," the duke exined.


    "It''s just two days and such rumors are already going around, the rumors in this ce are even faster than that of the capital." Cygnus still had a rxed smile on his face and brushed off the rumors as a joke. "Those rumors will eventually die down so you should do your job well Duke ckwell."


    The people who went there for justice were sent to their homes and after a day of being unconscious, they woke up without remembering what happened. They all woke up in a daze and were at a loss at what they did. All of them looked like empty shells who would go on with their daily chores, eat and sleep without much care in the world. What was even more baffling was the fact that the people around them did not notice these changes on them.


    This fact was reported to Ghad and he did not care much about it anymore. He already figured out that it must be one of Rigel''s abilities. He did not question him any longer and only focused on restoring the peace in his domain and at the restoration of the manor. The days passed that not much event happened and the remaining council members became rxed as there was no news of any killings.


    During this time, Ulysses finally bid Ghad goodbye. He had been gone for too long and he needed to go back to Ginehart to deal with matters regarding the territory. However, he let Rigel remain for the meantime and deal with the remaining people who had caused much trouble for them.


    "Since most things in here had gotten resolved already and my son will be staying, I will be leaving first because my wife would kill me if I don''t return." Ulysses rubbed the back of his neck before letting out an embarrassed chuckle.


    Ghad patted his friend''s shoulder, "I''m sure that Lte had given you enough time to stay here and now it is time to return. Please give her my regards and thank her for allowing you to be here for a period of time."


    "I''ll tell her that. I''m hoping for the best for you Ghad and if you can''t really handle this ce then, you are free toe to Ginehart, I''ll dly give you and there where you can spend the rest of your life." Ulysses also reached out and squeezed his friend''s shoulder before eventually giving the other a grin.


    "I''ll keep that in mind," Ghadughed, "thank you for your help and I''ll be sure to return it in the future."


    Ulysses nodded his head then he looked behind the duke and saw that Rigel was there. He waved his hand at the young man and Rigel as a good son walked up to where they were. Ghad patted his friend''s shoulder once more before leaving them alone to give them time.


    "I hope that you won''t cause so muchmotion in this ce and when you return to Ginehart, I''ll tell Lte to bake you a cake. Be careful always although you really don''t need it." He looked at his son for a few more seconds before he also patted him on both of his shoulders.


    "Don''t worry, I''ve been keeping it to the minimum and I have my ways to keep a low-key profile in this ce. You''ll just be surprised that none of them will even remember what I have done here," Cygnus answered.


    The duke could only chuckle and pat him a bit more. He did not answer and instead pushed him back lightly. He waved them all goodbye before getting in the carriage. They all looked as the carriage disappeared in the horizon before they returned to their works.


    Now that the manor was fixed and those people had rxed, it was also time for Cygnus to finish his business and move on to his next agenda. He too turned around and went back to the manor while thinking of the things that he would be doing after he taught those remaining council members a lesson. He hummed and skipped steps as the prospect of more fun things toe filled his mind.

 Chapter 264 The End

    ?


    Rain started to saturate ckwell once again. It''s just a few days after Duke Ulysses left when the rain started to fall once again. It was already a dreary atmosphere and everything was damp but Cygnus took this chance to deal with some loose ends.


    Enrick stared at the drops of water that got to the window with a frown on his face. This was one of the things that he didn''t like in this territory, the constant rain. The ce already looked gloomy with all the dark clouds hanging around and now it was raining.


    He sighed and turned around just as thunder rumbled through the sky followed by a streak of lightning that seemed to have hit a tree not far away. He looked back and narrowed his eyes as another one struck again. The lines on his forehead deepened because of how the weather was turning for the worst.


    The light in the room flickered but he paid it no mind and went on to rummage on the documents that were piled up on his table. He couldn''t be more bothered by anything right now because his n to seize power failed. Now he needed to start again and make sure that all the details would be perfect. This time he would do it on his own because having others join in your n was more annoying.


    With another sh of lightning, he noticed that something was off inside the room. He stopped what he was doing and looked around but he couldn''t pinpoint what was amiss. The light continued to flicker as he stood there staring at nothing in particr.


    A wisp of smoke came out from the opening of the window and slowly floated to the unsuspecting man. It floated silently and stopped beside his ear where an eerie voice sounded. It felt like the voice came from the deepest of hell, bone-chilling.


    "There are dead bodies on the ground.


    They rise and dance to give you a crown.


    They are here to stay and be together with you everyday.


    The abyss of darkness stares at you


    Pay the price, pay with your life."


    The eerie voice caressed his ear and eventually his entire being. Every word it spoke and left, the ground would shake. He trembled and when he looked on the floor, he could already see them.


    Mangled bodies still dripping with blood were crawling towards him. They were growling and were only focused on him. He nervously took a step back as he eyed the door that would lead him outside. As his foot took another step back, something cold brushed his skin.


    There at his ankle was a ck and bony hand and when he looked behind him, the dead were looking at him. He gasped and attempted to back away but his feet was nted on the ground. He lost his bnce and almost fell down if not for the desk that caught him.


    Enrick shook his foot fiercely to free it from the cold grasp but no matter how much he struggled nothing happened. They kept climbing on him. Their decaying flesh and its stench spread through his clothes.


    "No! Stay away from me!" He swatted the dead using anything that he could reach.


    Stters of blood and flesh fell down on the floor but this did not stop them from crawling upon him. One of the bodies even lost its head but its lower body still clung to him. He hysterically pped them as he started to shout for the guards but nobody came.


    "Guards! GUARDS!" He repeated but no one was listening to him.


    The guards who were stationed outside were even yawning and looked like they were about to fall asleep. Enrick was able to remove all that was clinging to him as he ran fast to the door but when he rotated the knob it got stuck. He tried a few times but it did not budge.


    He started to m his palms on it but all of this was just muffled noises to the people outside. Nobody knew that their master was about to be devoured. They still continued with their daily chores and did not notice that something was amiss.


    "It is time to pay the price. Pay the price, pay the price, pay the price..." The voice continued to mumble in his ears followed by several echoes that filled the room.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The bodies started to distort and became monsters with sharp teeth and red eyes that were ring at him. Even the room looked more ominous as the lights slowly dimmed and the sound of the wind and rain made it even more chilling. With the sh of another lightning, there he saw it, a person was standing just behind the window. He was watching him with a wide grin.


    Another sh and there he could see it, red eyes with a face streaked with blood. Even his lips have traces of blood on it. The man disappeared which startled Enrick. He looked around but all he could see and hear were the dead growling.


    "Your body would be torn into pieces," a new voice whispered to his ear. He looked to the right but saw no one. "Your soul would be tormented in hell," the voice whispered again, "the price you must pay, pay with your own life."


    Laughter. The voiceughed and so did the dead. Theyughed at him and mocked him as they started to chant his weaknesses and insecurities. Weak. Coward. No real power. A pawn. Someone who pretends.


    "Stop!" He covered his ears but he could still clearly hear them.


    His desperate cries for help and for them to stop were muffled as they swallowed him alive. His body was slowly torn apart and he couldn''t even make a sound. He opened and closed his mouth but nothing came out, just the gurgling of blood.


    Before his eyes lost their life, he saw a familiar face that appeared before him. He was smiling and shaking his head. It was Rigel and that was when he realized that it must be him, the person who killed the other council members.


    "How do you like my gift?" Cygnus asked even though he knew that the man couldn''t answer him any longer "It''s befitting you right? Dying by the hands of those you have killed."


    Withst efforts, Enrick tried to tell him something but only incoherent mumbles came out. Cygnus could still read the man''s mind though and he was definitely cursing him. He brushed it off because Enrick was already in hisst breath.


    Enrick''s vision started to get blurry and unfocused. Even his breathing was getting more and more difficult but the visage of that man never left his mind even after it stopped working and his heart stopped beating. Cygnus chuckled because the man was still defiant even after he died.


    A dark ck hole appeared below the man''s body and it swallowed it whole. The council member''s room was actually not a mess. The lights were working perfectly fine and even the weather was sunny outside. Cygnus sat down as his eye color returned to its usual ck after he gave the council member an illusion that eventually killed him.


    It was a method that was less messy and won''t be traced back to him. No body then there''s no crime but that does not matter to him. Now that he had taken care of the main culprit, he would let his minions deal with the others. While they were doing so, he decided to use Enrick''s study to wait for their report.


    Only an hour has passed and yet some of them already returned and after ten more minutes all of them wereplete. They allpleted their tasks without a hitch and also cleaned the ces well. He had gained many things during his stay in the territory and now it was time to move.


    He opened a gate and returned to the manor. Cygnus faced the duke and gave him a smile, "My job here is done and I have fulfilled our contract. Now, the payment, I will ask for it soon so just be ready anytime."


    Ghad nodded his head, "I understand." Although he was reluctant to ept the work as part of the deal, he had no choice but to ept it.


    "Now that I don''t have anything to do in this ce any longer, I will also take my leave and I will be leaving Ezio here to learn under Archmage Sigma, if you would allow it," Cygnus informed the man. Although Ezio can learn something from him, it was better if he could do it from someone who could give him time and attention.


    "Are you sure about that?" Ghad had his misgivings because he was not sure what the other was nning and why he was letting that child stay there.


    "Yes, of course. He''ll surely learn many things while he stays here and I will return for him when the time is right," the man answered.


    "Then I will dly let him stay here," the duke finally agreed. After a few more small talks, both of them went to the archmage''s work area to look for Ezio.

 Chapter 265 Moving On

    ?


    Six months have passed ever since Cygnus left for ckwell and it''s been three months since he left that ce. Five months have passed since Linius and the Hero Association went on that exploration. For thest three months after Cygnus left ckwell, he spent it roaming around the kingdom.


    He was popping here and there and he even went to the capital to visit his bakery and the magic brigade that Linius established. They were all doing well and even Vain was adopting well. After staying there for a couple of days, he decided to take Vain with him which enraged Nina.


    She was angry that the master did not take her. Nina did not stopining from beginning to end. She would rant here and there or would make snarky remarks whenever she saw the master. All of these thoughts were ignored by Cygnus.


    Astrophos on the other hand was still managing Vergessen and was doing a great job on it. He reverted back to his silent self but Cygnus could tell that he was already a different man from the first time they met. On the other hand, the magic tower was restored and the new Magic Council was formed.


    Cygnus heard that several of the rules from the Magic Tower were changed and removed. They''ve also started to form a good rtionship with the Magic Academy which will solidify their power again in the next few years.


    In just six months, many things had already happened. And once again the capital was at peace. There was not much movement from the royal family but Cygnus heard that they had rendered their help in the restructuring of the tower. It was a bold move and he was sure that they already had people inside.


    "That king is really clever and ambitious," Cygnusmented when he heard the news.


    "He''s been taking advantage of the recent events to let his power grow. This kingdom had been divided into several powers. The royal family, the magic tower, the hero association and the four duchy. Now that the magic fell and is under reconstruction, the king would not let the opportunity of dipping his hand into the core of the tower, thus the bnce will slowly gear towards him." Astrophos borated not for the sake of the master but for the sake of the others who were with them.


    "You are right but no matter how much effort he exhausts, he would never take full control of the tower," Cygnus chuckled as he burned the paper that contained the report.


    After that, Cygnus left together with Mr. C and Vain. Their location became unknown to Astrophos as for Nina she refused to know where they went. She stubbornly refuse to acknowledge anything that has to do with her master.


    The sun has only been in the sky for a few hours and yet the heat was already too much to bear. The camp was surrounded with a barrier that prevented the heat from affecting the soldiers and the heroes. They have been in that ce for six months already and yet they were not yet done with their exploration.


    Aside from the blistering heat, there were monsters in that ce that made it difficult for them to move. They were also moving blindly because they didn''t have aplete map of the whole unknown area. They have the heroes to help them scout first but they couldn''t move deeper because of the hidden dangers of the ce thus their progress is slow.


    Some of the soldiers were already so sick of their slow pace that they would constantly re at the direction of the heroes. The general also received severalints because of it. The harmonious rtionship they had at the beginning of the expedition was nowpletely gone. Only the tense atmosphere was left behind.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    There was nothing Linius could do. He told his concern to Sir Acasia Veltran but his request seemed to have fallen into deaf ears. Even though the man was cooperative, he did not see any change in the hero''s side. He even dared to ask and the president told him that the heroes did not want to risk it thus their progress remained slow.


    With no other choice, Linius had to remind and warn his men to be patient and not to cause trouble because if they do then the expedition will take longer to finish. They have been exercising maximum tolerance but he could feel that they''re nearing the end of their patience. If nothing would be done then he was afraid that a fight might break out.


    He rubbed his face and did not stop from brushing his hair up using his fingers because of the problem he currently has. His soldiers were all ready to leave and back out if not for him still staying there. A simple exploration was easy because they have heroes with them who were both capable at physical and magicalbat but hey chose to take their time.


    They were not warriors at all and most of all theycked courage. For the past few days, Linius had been leading his men in scouting the areas they haven''t explored yet. Since they were taking their time, he took the initiative to scout. Thanks to that man''s blood in him, he was able to face those monsters without difficulties thus giving them the headway they needed.


    Within three days of nonstop marking and moving forward, he and his team managed to cover six kilometers of the area. They also managed to secure a path that they could use once they continue. They also managed to find a ce where they could use as a base inside the dense forest. It was a sess, a sess that the heroes were not happy about.


    After they returned from their trip and informed the group of their progress, the heroes started to give him their res. He even heard one of them tantly saying that he was arrogant and a show-off. He brushed it off but his men couldn''t take it any longer. They were not about to stay silent when their general was being disrespected.


    "And what of you? You call yourselves heroes and yet you couldn''t evenpare to the courage that our general have. Timid and coward," one of the soldiers sneered. He gave them all a re. "You can only scout one kilometer in a day and retreat back because you''re scared of unknown creatures and you call yourselves heroes? Hah, how shameless!" He added as he spat on the ground in disgust.


    "How dare you!" One of the heroes also reacted. He stepped forward and gave the soldier who said those words a re. "And what is it to you if we can do only that in a day? Our main work is saving people and not exploring this dry and dustynd. You are even lucky because we are here to help you with this kind of work. Be thankful that we are here to do some hardbor."


    "That''s it?" the soldierughed, "then you should not havee here if you think that you are helping us." He shook his head and looked at the man from head to toe. "Why don''t you go back to that association of yours and continue being pretty because that''s all what the lot of you know to do. We will be sorry if that face of yours got ruined because of this mission. We, the real warriors, will do a better job in exploring this ce without your help."


    After that remark, the other soldiers snickered while looking at the direction of the heroes who looked embarrassed and indignant. The soldiers shrugged their shoulders and continued tough and grin because of them. It was refreshing for them to see those people in that kind of situation.


    "General Linius, is that how you discipline your men?" President Acasia Veltran intervened. He acknowledged that the heroes he brought with him were a bit difficult to work with but it was not right for them to be humiliated like this.

 Chapter 266 Meeting Again

    ?


    At those words, Linius also stepped forward to face the president who seemed to be using them of being undisciplined and being rude. It was already merciful of him to let them go from disrespecting him but now the president stepped up himself. As the leader of the soldiers, he wouldn''t just stand by and let those heroes me them.


    "I have disciplined them well and to tell you the truth President Veltran, they''ve been holding back all this time. You should talk to your heroes instead ofing at us. If they kept their mouths shut then there would be no problem within our group." Linius was not about to back down and let the president put all the me unto them when it was those heroes who provoked them first. "We will be leaving first and make sure to drill some respect and some self-awareness to your heroes before someone else does it."


    He did not wait for the president to speak as he turned around and was ready to leave when they heard a somewhat childish voice from not far. The speaker toned it down and made it a bit high pitched but Linius could still identify the person behind that voice. He stopped and looked to his right side where a familiar young man was leaning on the trunk of arge tree.


    His hair got a bit longer as it softly swayed with the wind. His hands were crossed in front of him and his grin did not change. It was still the same, friendly to some and yet distant to those who already knew him. Cygnus pushed himself up then he walked to where they were.


    "I was enjoying the show and you are ending it just like that?" He swept his gaze to the side where the heroes were standing before returning them to his big brother.


    "I am not in the mood to bicker," Linius answered with a sigh. "We just came from scouting and all I want to do right now is to lie down and sleep for a couple of hours."


    Cygnus slightly tilted his head to the side before he reluctantly nodded. "Alright, we can always continue this next time though." He gave onest look to the direction of the heroes and he even gave President Acasia a smirk that irked the man.


    "Are we just going to let them go?" One of the heroes asked after the soldiers left first. "They''ve been rude from the beginning and now they even have the audacity to look down on us!"


    The other heroes agreed with the statement. Their egos couldn''t ept that someone managed to diss them and make them bad in every way. What if there were other people watching them, then their reputation would be on the line.


    "We need to be patient. If we pick a fight with them right now, we will fail our mission. We must aplish our task and worry about themter," Acasia answered.


    It was not the answer that the heroes wanted to hear but all they could do was frown in displeasure. The president was right, it was better for them to finish their task than to mind those soldiers. No matter what they say, the heroes still contributed greatly to this exploration and the people will know it. They decided in unison that they won''t be outshined by those ordinary soldiers.


    After they''ve finally made up their minds, they also returned to their base camp to prepare for their march. Even though General Linius and his group did the scouting, the heroes were still confident that they would be able to clear arger part of the area. Once their mission was finished, they would make sure that the people will only acknowledge them and those soldiers would be left in the dust.


    Cygnus silently walked beside his brother and together with the soldiers. He was blending well and the soldiers felt that he was evenfortable to walk with them. When others would feel intimidated to be within their midst this young man was not. This only proved that he was indeed from a military household.


    "Howe you are here?" Linius finally asked after they put distance from them and from the heroes who were still standing behind them.


    "Because I''m done with my first agenda so I came to visit," Cygnus simply answered. He had his hands inside both of his pockets.


    Linius looked sideways at the man who suddenly changed his way of clothing. Instead of his usually ck wardrobe, he was now wearing a ck long sleeve topped with a white vest paired with ck pants and some sandals. It was refreshing to see him having other looks but the logic behind his sudden change in looks was lost to him.


    "Who came with you?" Linius asked again after the man answered his first question. It was a must to know who came with his younger brother or else he wouldn''t know what to expect.


    Cygnus raised a brow as he looked at his brother, "Of course, Mr. C and I brought with me Vain."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    At the mention of Vain, Linius stopped walking and fully faced the man. He was looking at him like he hadpletely lost his mind. He couldn''t believe that the master would even choose Vain to apany when the child rarely talked.


    "What?" Cygnus frowned even though he already knew what the other was thinking. It was just a show.


    "Why did you even take Vain with you?" he could not understand why he would do it. "Is there any special reason behind it?"


    It was not because he did not agree. The reason why he was not confident in letting the child go outside was because of his power and what he could do when he would lose control. It was already difficult for them to subdue him during the tower incident and he did not want that to happen.


    "Nothing special. I just want him to go outside and experience the world!" Cygnus spread his hands and grinned but the general would not fall for it.


    Since the master has not given any valid reasons for his actions, Linius would need to conclude that he did it on a whim. He sighed and massaged his head. He finally gave up asking the master because he''ll eventually know it after a few days.


    "How do you know that we will be staying with you for a couple of days?" Cygnus suddenly asked after reading the general''s mind.


    "It''s just a guess," Linius started to walk again as they followed behind his men who took the initiative to give the two of them space. "With regards to these matters, you are a bit predictable."


    Cygnusughed, "You are right. It seems that it became my routine to dip my hands into matters that don''t necessarily need me."


    The general had no words for what the master said so he changed the topic instead. "How was it in ckwell?"


    "So, so but I gained many things there. I even got to form a contract with their guardian deity." He unted happily but this news only gave Linius another shock.


    He was silent for a while because he was lost for words after hearing those words. "I, that''s something I did not expect."


    "Of course, because I just so happened to stumble upon him and he was the first to approach me and who am I to deny it?" Cygnus continued to brag like he had done something worth bragging for he even walked ahead and twirled in glee.


    "How did Duke ckwell take all of those?" he was sure that his uncle would have been shocked to the core because of it.


    "Nothing really because he has no choice to ept it and besides even, he himself agreed to a deal I''ve proposed," Cygnus turned around and winked at the general with his fingers doing the thumbs up sign.


    Now this news was even more shocking to Linius. ''His uncle agreed to a deal by the master? It was impossible,'' he thought to himself. He came to a conclusion after he managed to calm down and that Duke ckwell must have been in a desperate situation to even ept the deal. Making a deal with the master was like making a deal with a demon.

 Chapter 267 He Started It Again

    ?


    It was the only exnation he could think of. Ghad ckwell already had misgivings about the master being a Ginehart so it was impossible for him to agree easily to a deal that the master would present. Linius shook his head and sighed. He couldn''t believe that even his uncle would fall for the master''s tricks.


    Cygnus stopped walking and looked back. He stared at the man who had his thoughts in the open. "You really don''t think highly of me," hemented after hearing the man''s thoughts. He fully turned and red at the general.


    "It''s the truth though. You have tricks that none of your targets can escape from and I believe that you also have the ability topel them if they do not agree." The general shrugged his shoulders because it was not surprising anymore that the man could read his mind. "And I also know that you did note here just to visit or to sight see."


    The master scratched his head and shook his head. "We only came here to look at how things are going. It''s not like we are here to cause any problems."


    "That is difficult to believe, master because wherever you are, there will always be trouble and you even brought with you Vain." The general was not convinced and he would surely keep his eyes out to watch them.


    "If that''s what you want to believe then I won''t force you any longer." Cygnus turned back and walked forward.


    Linius on the other hand did not speak and followed behind. He walked beside the master and silently they returned to the base. Their base was divided into two areas, the area where the tents of the heroes were located and the area where the soldiers were.


    From the looks alone, one could already tell the difference between the two groups. One was pristine and orderly with all their white tents in order while the other was the normal military tents that came in ck color, easy to assemble and easy to disassemble. Cygnus looked at both of the areas but he still preferred the part where the soldiers were having fun.


    They''ve already lit a fire and started to roast some meat and some of them were already pouring drinks. They were eager to celebrate the sess of their leader because it was something they should celebrate and unt. They would make sure that the heroes would envy them.


    "Bring out our best meat!" one of them shouted just as the heroes arrived at their base. He even smirked at their direction which only earned him a re. He brushed it off and even raised a ss of beer towards them.


    Cygnus followed the general to his private quarters in the base where Mr. C and Vain were already waiting for them. It did not escape the master''s observation the look that the general sent in Vain''s direction. He chose to ignore it and instead look for a ce where he could sit down.


    Linius remained silent for a while but his focus was on Vain. This was the first time that he would see the child once again after the battle and after they were sent for the mission. He looked more human right now. The bloodlust and the dark power that was oozing out from him was also gone and now he looked like a normal twelve-year-old boy.


    He was actually d that he looked normal because no one would be able to suspect his true identity. It was better this way but still he needed to keep an eye on him, well on them to be specific. "Now that you are here, I can''t just send you away and I know that even if I do that you won''t do as I say." He finally spoke.


    Cygnus grinned because the general already knew him to that extent. He pped his hands and gave a thumbs up to Vain who answered him with a simple nod. At that time, one of the servants who went with them to cook came in and served several dishes for the general''s guests.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "General Ginehart, the soldiers are waiting for you outside and they said that they would like you to join them," the servant ryed the message with her head bowed.


    "Tell them that I will be joining them after a short rest," the general answered. The servant left and not even a minute passed when another person entered the tent.


    "You are really here!" Lieutenant Arc Lisbon eximed when he saw Cygnus. "I didn''t believe it at first and it turned out that it''s true! What brought you here?" He couldn''t help but ask them.


    "We only came here for a visit and will be staying for a couple of days," Cygnus simply answered, which earned him a nod from the man. "Why don''t you join us for lunch, lieutenant?" He offered which Arc dly epted.


    They ate lunch with gusto and after that the lieutenant led them to the quarters they would use during their stay. After a brief tour, Arc left them on their own and returned to the general and to his duties as the man''s right-hand man. Mr. C familiarize himself with the people who were working as cooks for the soldiers while Cygnus and Vain continued to walk around.


    After dinner, Cygnus sent Vain to sleep while he on the other hand went to join the soldiers in their celebration because his brother would join themter. He was offered some beer and meat which he dly epted. He even enjoyed the stories that the soldiers were sharing as heughed with them and listened to them.


    Instead of lingering outside, the heroes who were still outside returned to their own tents and would try to shut off the noise from the outside. The party started early and it continued until the night fell and nketed over the base. The soldiers were singing and dancing even though some of them were already drunk. Cygnus enjoyed the party and while doing so he couldn''t help but look at the ce where the heroes were.


    It was silent as if there were no people in their tents. Cygnus didn''t think that they were this stiff and uptight. Since they were persistent in ying dead, he would make sure that they won''t forget the night too. He stood up from his seat and silently went to the other side.


    He stood there for a moment in daze before he lifted his hand and opened his palm. A small blue fire appeared on it and he stared at it for a moment. He watched as the me danced on his palm and it even flickered a few times before it silently stilled. Cygnus then lifted his head and his gazended on the nearest tent from him.


    He suddenly grinned before he threw the fire on his palm at the tent. The tent immediately caught in fire and it awoke the hero who was staying in that tent. It also rmed the other heroes who came out from their tents with their swords drawn. They thought that they were under attack.


    The celebration on the other side also halted when they saw the blue fire and theughing Cygnus on the side. He was admiring his work and it looked like he was not satisfied because another small fire appeared on his palm once again. He started to look around and when he saw another tent, he threw it in its direction.


    One of the heroes used water magic to drench the fire so it died before it even reached the targeted tent. Cygnus frowned because he did not understand why his fire was put out. He materialized another small fire and tried to burn the tent again but his efforts were futile.

 Chapter 268 The Commotion He Created

    ?


    This time Acasia appeared and looked at the obviously drunk young man. He approached the man and patted him on the shoulder. "Young Master Ginehart please return to your tent and rest. It is clear that you are drunk right now."


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes at that hand that was touching his shoulder. "I am not drunk and get your hands off me," he pushed the hand away and red at the man.


    Acasia sighed and retracted his hand. He then faced the young man who was ring at him. There was also a frown on his face as he continued to pat the shoulder that he just touched. The president of the Hero Association shook his head then he heard the young man''s mumbled words.


    "Dirty, tsk, why isn''t iting off?" Cygnus aggressively brushed his shoulder. He kept on mumbling that it was dirty which only offended Acasia who could clearly hear what he was saying.


    "Young Master Ginehart," the president called out again and this time Cygnus stopped and looked at him.


    "What?" He frowned but when he recognized the man, he did not let him speak. "Oh, I know you! You are that person, the president of the Hero Association. I''ve heard some stories about you! They say that your association was just a ce to unt the beauty of your heroes even though they really don''t have the skills to be a hero. I also heard that you created the Hero Association because you couldn''t be a hero yourself and because you have money! Are all of those true?"


    Cygnus''s voice was so loud that even the soldiers who were watching on the side heard his statement. Some of them couldn''t even hold back theirughter. All of those were rumors but because it came out from the young master''s mouth, they couldn''t help but think how innocent he was.


    The veins on Acasia''s head started to bulge as he held himself from stepping forwards to beat up the young man who has a loose mouth. He endured theughter and snicker he heard from the soldiers as he still tried to talk with the young Ginehart. He still maintained his professional smile.


    "There''s no truth to the rumors you''ve heard. All of those are just talks invented by people because they do not have any other hobbies but to spread those kinds of lie." Acasia defended himself because he couldn''t afford to be embarrassed in front of the heroes under his association.


    "Is that so¡­" Cygnus did not continue his words when a hand touched his shoulder from the back. He looked back and saw that it was his butler.


    One of the soldiers came running to the tent of the general bearing the news that the young master burned a tent of the heroes. Linius was surprised at the news and the butler who had been there to report to him was also a bit shocked. It was only their first night in the base camp and yet his master was already creating chaos.


    They arrived and heard everything that the master said. Both of them fell into a daze when they saw that the master was not acting himself. Mr. C came to himself when he heard a report from Ari. The master, apparently, had drunk two cups of beer that the soldiers gave him.


    The master would lose himself rarely and to see it now because he drank liquor was a bit refreshing and was also an eye opener. But they needed to stop him or else this might cause more problems for the general. He immediately walked towards his master and tapped his shoulder.


    "Master let us return, you are quite drunk and you need to rest." The butler gently squeezed the master''s shoulder to slowly coerce him to retreat.


    "I am not going and how many times have I told you that I am not drunk." Cygnus was getting annoyed with all of the people that kept on telling him that he was drunk. "And I was just here to let them enjoy the fun!" He pointed at the heroes who still have their swords out.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "By burning our tents!?" one of them eximed. He couldn''t believe that just because of that reason the young man made the decision to set fire to one of their tents.


    "Yes," Cygnus sneered, "that''s because this side looked like an abandoned vige and the only way to let you alle out was for me to do this. I''m just a bit concerned that the heroes are too stiff and awkward. I wanted them to enjoy the party." His lips even pouted while justifying himself and this alone earned the sympathy of the soldiers.


    "You''ve already got their attention master and I am sure that they will attend the party for now, we need to get you to bed." Mr. C gently tugged him back and the master did not resist.


    He looked at the heroes who were looking at him when he thought of something. They might return to their boring tents once he is gone, so he''ll make sure that they won''t be able to do that. So, while he was being ushered back, he raised his hand and grinned at Acasia before he snapped his fingers and all the tents for the heroes burned at the same time.


    Everyone who witnessed the incident were frozen on their spots as they watched the tents be engulfed in blue mes and that no matter how the heroes tried to stop it, the fire continued until only ash was left from their pristinely made tents. They watched with dropped jaws as the tents turned into ashes within only a couple of minutes of burning.


    Linius finally snapped out of it as he sighed and walked up to the president of the association whose gaze remained on the remaining ashes of their tents. He couldn''t believe that something like this would happen to them on the same day that the soldiers mocked them. Acasia couldn''t stop thinking that this must not be a coincidence and everything was actually nned.


    "Sir Acasia," Linius called out after he stopped beside the man. "I will instruct my men to help you set up new tents and I apologize for my brother''s unforeseen actions. I did not expect him to suddenly get drunk and I also did not imagine that he would do this kind of thing."


    Linius was truly apologetic because even though their rtionship with the heroes were not that good, he still had concern for them especially because they were in one team. He just talked with the master a while ago and the master told him that he won''t make any trouble and yet here it was. He could already foresee that any future cooperation with the Hero Association won''t be happening, which in his opinion was also good.


    Acasia took several deep breaths before he managed to answer the general. "No need to worry about us, we will manage."


    "Are you sure?" General Linius asked. He knew that the man was stubborn but to decline his offer? The general was surprised at his stubbornness.


    "Yes, setting up a tent is easy and besides we will be leaving tomorrow so we can manage with only the simple ones. There''s no need for us to bother you," Acasia faced the man with a small smile because he couldn''t force himself to be happy or d.


    "Alright. I will send Rigel here tomorrow to apologize to you once he sobbers off." Linius stepped back and gave the president a small nod before he left. He also dispersed his soldiers and ended the party earlier than normal. The soldiers have noints as they cleared out the area around the bonfire.


    With their magic, the heroes were able to finish setting up the tents they will use for the night. Though indignant, they chose to listen to their president. They still had an image to maintain so even after the embarrassment they remained silent but a man still had his limits.

 Chapter 269 Apology

    ?


    The following day Cygnus woke up and stepped out from his tent to stretch and perhaps to have some coffee or tea. He had his hands stretched out to the sky when a thought resounded in his mind. He looked around and saw that the soldiers who were awake were looking at him with a grin.


    He frowned and wondered what happened so when he read their minds he was a bit taken aback. Yes, he remembered drinking beer and using his magic. He looked in the direction of where the majestic tents of the heroes were supposed to be standing and saw that there was nothing.


    There was also ck powder on the ground which he suspected was the ashes fromst night. Instead of regretting what he did, he even looked proud because of it. Now all he could see on that side were humble makeshift abodes.


    He shook his head and went to where the direction of the kitchen was. His morning was already great and he did not want it to be ruined by not drinking coffee or tea. When he reached them, he saw that Mr. C was already there.


    "Good morning!" He greeted them with an unusual enthusiasm that made the butler shut his eyes.


    "You are in good spirits, young master!" One of the cooksughed when he saw how energetic the young man was. "You seem to have gotten a nice sleep," he even added with a grin.


    "Well yes, especially after I saw what happened to the other side of the base and I have a feeling that my day will continue to be good," he also answered with a smile. He looked sheepish and innocent with a light blush on his face which made the cooks swoon.


    Laughter echoed after his statement. They were indeed shocked at what he did that night but they all had the same thoughts after the shock died down. The heroes deserved it. Not one from the general''s side felt sympathy for them because even the general offered help, they remained stubborn.


    "But you should be careful young master, I heard that those heroes are good at holding grudges against people who offended them," one of the cooks warned. She even lowered her voice to make it seem like she was telling them a horror story.


    Cygnus ced both of his hands on his waist, "Don''t worry, I''m sure that my brother will protect me and besides I can also use magic." The smugness in his voice made the people admire him.


    He was right, the general would definitely protect him and he was also a brilliant mage. There was no need for them to worry so much. The cooks agreed to his words before they continued with their work.


    Mr. C stepped towards him and greeted him. "Good morning master, I''ve prepared ck coffee for you, shall we return to your tent," he stretched his towards the direction where Cygnus came from.


    "Alright." Before they left, Cygnus waved at the cooks then he also gave them a grin.


    The butler ced the cup of coffee on the table inside the tent. He then brought out an assortment of sweets that he had been keeping in their dimensional storage. He even prepared a cup of hot milk for Vain who was already awake.


    "I don''t remember what happenedst night but I bet that I was cool," Cygnus announced. He brought the cup of coffee to his mouth and took a whiff of the strong smell from the coffee before he took a sip.


    "I can show you a recording of what you did," Ari suddenly showed up.


    As always, she looked serious but these days she''s been letting her presence be known. She would pop out of nowhere and dere that she would join them. This must be due to the encouragement of Mr. C who had been her mentor ever since she first joined the master.


    "Okay, y it. I want to see it," Cygnus nodded. The woman did not hesitate to project a video of what he did that night.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus realized that he was indeed intoxicated because he wouldn''t do something like that when he is sober. Well, he would but not in that kind of way. It was still eptable though because he still managed to look cool while being drunk. He was nodding his head while looking at the video and was even impressed at what he did at the end.


    "Please stop being proud of what you did, you''ll need to go to the president and apologize for what happened." Linius informed him from the tent''s door. He just lifted the p that serves as the tent''s door when he caught a glimpse of what they were watching.


    Cygnus looked at Ari and the woman retracted the projection. The master sighed and leaned on his chair, "Do I really need to do that?" He was not a fan of the idea and it was too much hassle for him to do so.


    "Yes. Throughout the duration of this mission, I want to maintain the peaceful rtionship between me and the hero association. We can hate each other but we can''t jeopardize this mission just because of the things that we don''t agree upon. What happenedst night might trigger an internal strife," Linius exined.


    He needed the master to understand how important the mission was and he did not want their progress to get ruined just because of a misunderstanding. He saw that the master stood up from his seat and walked up to him. Linius gave the master a nod before he turned around.


    The both of them walked towards where the heroes were. They were currently waiting for their breakfast to be served when the both of them arrived. Cygnus could already feel the hostility being directed towards him. The heavy gazes were all directed at him even though they all appeared to look like they were looking at them normally.


    The president and the general exchanged perfunctory greetings before Linius gave the master a weak nudge. Cygnus stepped forward and gave the president a small bow before he stood straight. He stood tall and with his height of at least six feet, he really looked intimidating. His body was more on the lean side but the way he stared at them with his sharp gaze made him radiate power.


    "I apologize for what I didst night. I was under the influence of liquor and I was not able to stop myself from creating some disturbance and burning your tents." He sounded sincere and the heroes could not detect any lies from his words but he still managed to apologize to them without looking sorry nor regretful.


    Since Acasia deemed that he was sincere, he did not have any choice but to ept the apology. "Just next time, you should be more careful because you might offend other people who will not let this matter go."


    ''He''s a very good actor,'' Cygnus thought to himself after getting a peek of what the other was really thinking. If not for the face they were maintaining, he would have jumped at Cygnus and would strangle him to death. "I understand and I will be sure to keep that in mind and thank you for forgiving me."


    After that he gave them his hidden weapon, an innocent smile which showed them that he was actually harmless. Linius wanted to frown and look away but he couldn''t do and endure the master''s acting. With that, Acasia sighed and let them go but he would still not forget what happened.


    The whole morning was used to pack up and prepare for their move. They''ll be moving their base to the ce where Linius and his group cleared for them. After the base camp was finally cleared, they all moved out.


    It took them the whole afternoon to finally reach the cleared area for them. Since they were already in the middle of a forest and the temperature was a bit humid, there''s no need to create a barrier that would regte the temperature. What the heroes created was a barrier that would protect them from possible monster attacks.


    For the first night, they slept under the stars and none of themined but on the other side, the heroes were still fixing tents where they couldfortably sleep. This had been the case for the past six months so the soldiers were already used to it. But it bothered them that the young master was going to sleep in a sleeping bag with them.


    "Are you sure that you are okay with sleeping outside? Should we build a tent for you?" One of the soldiers asked after he saw that the young man wasying a sleeping bag on the ground.


    Cygnus looked up at the tall and burly man that was looking down at him and smiled. "I''m fine and besides, me and my nephew wanted to look at the stars."


    The excuse was not really believable but the soldier still bought it. He returned to hisrades and told them what Cygnus said. They looked at the seemingly fragile man who was even paler under the light of the fire and couldn''t help but worry for him. They were under the impression that he was not used to this kind of life.

 Chapter 270 Helping Them

    ?


    Linius saw the small interaction and he knew that his soldiers were worried. Like him, they also had their families so it was a human''s nature to worry for someone who looked weak and ordinary. It was ingrained in their blood to protect those who couldn''t defend themselves.


    "Don''t worry my brother isn''t as fragile as he looks. He is actually strong and even though he grew up in luxury, he is also used to a simple life. He''ll be fine." Linius spoke from behind them with his gaze on the master.


    The soldiers saw that he was looking at his brother''s direction and believed his words. They did not hear the young manin throughout the journey and he was not picky with what he ate which was actually a relief. If it were the child of other aristocratic families, they would have already heard severalints. Luckily the general''s brother was not like that.


    An early meeting was convened the following day. Linius together with his three captains and lieutenant were nning the arrangement of the exploration. They even marked certain ces on the map they drew where each group would reach.


    Their task was to clear out any remaining monsters and put up a g of the kingdom after the area was cleared. It was their way of saying that the ce was already imed. After clearing those ces they will return to the base and rest.


    Once the n was finalized, they called their people and arranged them on their teams. There were five groups that were formed. The general briefed them of their task and reminded them to report back immediately if they encountered any monsters that were beyond their capabilities. With thest bit of reminders, they moved out to their areas to perform their duties.


    Cygnus managed to sneak inside one of the teams and joined them. Of course, Linius knew about this but he did not stop him. There was no way of stopping him because he would not listen to anyone.


    The soldiers saw that the young master was with them. They debated amongst themselves how they should deal with the young man because the general might get angry. One of them cautiously approached him.


    "Young master, why are you suddenly here? Shouldn''t you be at the base camp right now? The general might be looking for you," he asked. His forehead was wrinkled and his brows were together.


    "Oh, don''t worry. My brother knows that I followed you guys. I won''t be a nuisance and I am only here to observe and if something happens, I can protect myself. So, no need to concern yourselves with me." He was grinning and the confidence in his voice made them chuckle.


    "Just make sure you do that. If a monster attacks we won''t be protecting you." One of the heroes who were with them spat in anger.


    The soldier who talked with Cygnus whipped his head back and red at the man. "Then we will protect him. You don''t have to concern yourselves with the young master."


    "Go ahead. If you die protecting that weakling, then that''s your fault." The hero pulled the reins of the horse and led it to the direction where they were going. The three other heroes followed behind.


    The soldier''s frown deepened before he calmed himself and looked at the young man again. "Don''t mind them. They''ve been prickly ever since you managed to burn their tents. Well, they have always been prickly even before that, so just ignore them."


    Cygnus nodded obediently and followed closely behind them. It took them almost two hours before they reached the area assigned to them. Cygnus could already see the mark that the general left and the carcasses of the monsters they''ve defeated.


    They all alighted from their horses and started to spread out to make sure that there are no monsters within the perimeter of the area. Cygnus was advised to stay in the middle, where the mark was left and to wait for them. He did notin and just followed their arrangement.


    While waiting for them, his eyes suddenly glinted after thirty minutes of sitting there and doing nothing. A wide smile appeared on his face when he felt that there was something biging his way. He did not stand up though and waited for them to appear.


    Several people burst out from the tree line while defending from a monster that was after them. The monster that was chasing them resembled a rhinoceros the only difference it had with the normal ones was that it was bigger and instead of having one horn, it had two small additional horns on the side of the main horn. It also has spikes on its back and on its tail.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Magic wasing out from its horn which it used to attack the heroes. Aside from its magic, it also used its tail to attack. It flicked it to the direction of the heroes which hit one of them and sent him flying. It fired magic to the hero it hit which made the man unable to move.


    This angered the heroes as they continued to fire magic at the monster. When magic was having no effect against it, they resorted to their weapons. A sword, a spear and a bow were drawn and used to attack the monster. Cygnus watched as they sloppily used their weapons to wound the monster. It was so boring because the hero who used the bow couldn''t evennd a hit. Even the one who uses a spear couldn''t pierce the monster.


    "That''s understandable master, the rhinoceros''s skin is too tough for their weapons. They''ll need at least a ''Unique Rank'' weapon," Ari spoke in Cygnus''s mind since she was also observing the fight from where she was.


    "They''re heroes and yet their weapons are not in that rank yet?" Cygnus was baffled at the information.


    "That''s because they are covering it up with their magic," Ari answered. The heroes were at least at the rank of a High Mage so their magic was strong but with them relying solely on their magic, they neglected to practice their weapons.


    "They are really confident with their magic, how arrogant. So, they must have been facing monsters weaker than them these past months¡­" Cygnus mumbled to himself and he did not expect anyone to answer.


    "That''s not true, we''ve faced monsters as strong as that one but we did all the work. They would only assist us using their magic and yet they im that they were the ones who defeated the enemies." Marcus, the soldier who had been talking to Cygnus from the very beginning, spoke from behind.


    "That''s messed up," Cygnus raised an eyebrow at what he learned. In retrospect, heroes should be stronger than any normal soldier because they have magic and they could use weapons.


    "Yes, it is," Marcus nodded. He looked behind him and nodded to hisrades. They too joined the fray and fought the monster.


    The heroes retreated to the back and even angrily shouted at the soldiers. "Why are you allte!?" one of them couldn''t contain his anger.


    "We need to deal with the monsters that appear in our area too. All of you are heroes, subduing a monster should be easy for you," one of the soldiers frowned and red at the angry hero.


    This angered the even more but he held himself back. Instead of backing them up with magic, the hero stopped. The others followed his example and retreated from the fight. The soldier noticed this and all he could do was curse.


    Marcus also joined the fight and signaled that they should focus on defeating the enemy. The soldier did not even have the time to get angry because of what they did because they needed to focus on the monster in front of them. Cygnus was amazed at how well they were fighting against a monster that uses magic.


    Their movements were in sync with each other and every sh of their swords would have an effect on the monster. They were attacking the same spot over and over again until they broke the skin. Although it was an effective strategy, it was still draining their energy and exhausting them fast and without the magic support by the heroes, their hard work would be wasted.


    Marcus knew this but he did not intend to stop because if they did, then they would all die. They gritted their teeth and continued but it had been going on for too long that one of them slipped. It caused the rhinoceros to have a window for an attack. It flicked its tail and was about to hit one of the soldiers but an invisible shield protected him.


    A magic bullet also pierced the wound that they had created and it even passed through the other side which directly killed the rhinoceros. Cygnus also made sure to add some lightning to the bullet he fired to make sure that the monster would die. After the rhino fell down, all eyes were then focused on him.

 Chapter 271 Bladed Tongue

    ?


    The soldiers were surprised and in awe at the same time because of what Cygnus had done. They looked at him in a new light and realized that perhaps he was not as weak as they thought him to be. That''s understandable because he even became an apprentice of the Magus Maximus. They must have thought of him as weak because of his pale and sicklyplexion.


    "What''s the matter? Am I not allowed to help?" Cygnus looked at them with a smug look on his face. He especially took the time to give the heroes a lingering look.


    "Of course not, younger master, we were just surprised. You can always help us." Marcus grinned as he sheathed his sword and went up to the young master.


    They were lucky because the young master chose to join them. Now, if the heroes don''t want to help them there would be the young master behind their back. He looked at the direction of the heroes and gave them a sneer.


    "Thank you for the timely help. If not for your magnanimity, we would have died." Marcus bowed towards the master and so did the other soldiers. They were truly grateful because the young master was with them.


    "I couldn''t let you die. My brother would be at my throat if he hears that I let his soldiers die." Cygnus chuckled and shook his head. He was even waving his hand to let them stop bowing but they couldn''t see his movements. "Stop bowing besides if you ever died, I would let our dear heroes take the me. The reason why my brother formed a team is because this is supposed to be a mission that requires working together. I did not expect them to just abandon you guys just because you arete for a few minutes and they can''t defeat the monster even with their magic and weapons. I guess those weapons are only a decoration."


    The statement struck a nerve which made the men in white and pristine garbs angry. They stepped towards Cygnus but the soldiers stood on their way. They gave the young man a re and spat on the ground.


    "Don''t think that because you killed a monster, we will acknowledge or take your words like they are nothing. Your time wille," the leader of the group angrily shouted.


    He was beyond angry and so were the others with him because the man was clearly looking down at them. His smug look and his annoying grin were all indications that he meant to embarrass them with his words. They''ve been enduring sincest night but the man was going too far.


    "I suggest that you watch your words. Threatening the young master will not be in your favor and this will surely reach the general. Even though you belong to the Hero Association, you can''t afford to offend the general or you will face both General Ulysses Ginehart and the Ginehart dukedom. You don''t want them to be your enemy." Marcus stood straight and it made him seem taller than his actual height. His voice was firm and did not allow any disruption.


    The hero gritted his teeth and clenched his teeth before giving the master onest look before he turned around stiffly. He was lucky that he was born in a noble family and what''s more he was even blessed with magic which should have not happened especially within the family of the Gineharts. This must be the reason why the president of the Hero Association didn''t believe that he was a Ginehart.


    Cygnus smirked, ''So there are still people who do not believe my identity as a Ginehart.''


    "We apologize for their rude behavior," Marcus turned around but only saw that the young master was smirking.


    "You don''t need to apologize besides they will not do anything for now because the expedition has yet to be finished. I still have time to y with them," he mumbled.


    His gaze was still on the backs of the heroes that were walking away. Cygnus did not notice the look that the soldiers gave him after they heard his words. He wanted to appear weak in front of them but he forgot about it because of the thoughts running inside that hero''s mind.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What are we going to do now?" He returned to his act and sat down on the stone where he was sitting a while ago. In the blink of an eye, he was back at looking like an innocent young man and being vulnerable which greatly confused the soldiers.


    "We will explore further because we found some traces of alive monsters in the area," Marcus answered. He inhaled and exhaled for him to calm down and when he was done, he returned to treating the young master like he had been treating him from the beginning.


    "Then I should join. I don''t want to be left here alone again and you might be gone for much longer this time," Cygnus stood up once again and was ready to follow them but Marcus stopped him.


    "We need to rest first before we continue. We will eat first then explore further." Marcus looked at hisrades and they nodded.


    They swiftly started a fire and started to cook food for them. They expended too much energy a while ago so they needed to replenish it. They looked in the direction where the heroes were resting and they were also cooking food.


    "Will those guys explore much further too?" Cygnus asked after a while. He was looking at the fire and waiting for the food to be cooked. His butler was not with them so it was good that they wanted to eat first before moving again.


    "I''m not sure. If they won''t explore then they''ll be staying here for a while and wait for us. We need to return as a group. The general wouldn''t be happy if he saw that they returned without the other members of their group. They still need to give the general face." Marcus ced another pot on the fire and stirred it while speaking to the young master.


    "They are really workingzily," Cygnusmented. After that he focused on his food and did not give them any more attention.


    After packing up everything, they left the safe area and explored further. The soldiers followed the marks they left until they reached the end of it. They stopped for a while and stared at the trees beyond thest mark they left.


    "Let''s go," Marcus raised his hand and waved it forward.


    Cygnus saw how they all automatically reached for the hilt of their swords and as their demeanor changed to that of alertness. The bickering he heard along the way disappeared as they moved in silence. Cygnus followed their lead as he watched their surroundings for any signs of an enemy.


    They were only a few meters past the mark when they could already feel that ground shaking. The loud ''thuds'' that wereing from the front made them stop on their tracks. They drew their swords out and waited in silence. The wind blew and the birds chirped as the ground shook stronger the nearer the thudding sound came.


    A big rhinoceros demolished the trees in front of them and stopped with a loud roar. This was much bigger than the first one and there were more spikes on its back and on its tail. The horns on its head were four, two big ones and the other two on the side were a bit smaller.


    Magic gathered on top of its horns and he threw it in their direction. The soldiers and Cygnus managed to dodge the attack but it did not stop there. The monster concentrated magic again on top of its horn then several more appeared above it. It released the magic and it hit several directions where the soldiers ran to.

 Chapter 272 Another One

    ?


    The destruction caused by the several magic attacks destroyed the ground and created several craters. Cygnus raised a shield around each of them to save them from the attack before he himself attacked. He started with low tier magic and struck the rhino directly but the ck lightning he released did not do any damage to the monster.


    The soldiers did not hide behind the young master and took that chance, when the rhino was distracted, to attack. The simultaneous attack was supposed to create an opening for the young master to use his magic but as soon as their des were about to strike the monster''s skin, an invisible force stopped them and pushed them back.


    They flew back andnded on the ground, hard. Cygnus narrowed his eyes as he looked at the monster once again. He used his piercing bullet magic but the bullets just bounced off as soon as they hit the invisible force around the rhino. He did not stop though, he summoned all of the elements andbined it into one attack, the color of the mana turned ck and it was shaped into a spear. Cygnus stretched his arm back then flicked it forward at the same time releasing the spear of magic in his hands.


    The rhino lowered its head and used its horns to stop the spear. The collision of the power persisted for a couple of seconds as Cygnus tried his best to push the spear further but the rhinoceros did not move an inch. Cygnus twisted his hand, pulled it back again before pushing it forward again with additional magic which created an explosion that pushed him back a bit and created a wave of wind.


    They covered their eyes and waited for the wind to die down before they removed their arms that were covering their eyes. The rhinoceros was still standing there and it did not move even after the explosion. Cygnusughed because he now knew why he couldn''t wound or even damage the enemy.


    "What a handy trick," Cygnus stepped towards where the monster was and stopped a few steps away from it. "I did not expect a deity to be residing in this ce and you are even stronger than expected."


    The soldiers were baffled at the wordsing out from the young master''s mouth. A deity would be someone who ascended beyond humanity. Deities were powerful and their magic wasparable to that of a Magus Maximus or it was even stronger. They were usually written in books as legends because no man had ever seen one. All ounts regarding them were either destroyed or hidden from the public eye.


    Cygnus only received a stare from the rhinoceros. It did not speak and after a while, it was covered in a gray fog that eventually faded away. A tall man wearing a ck robe appeared in the ce where the rhino was standing. He has long gray hair that reached the ground and his almond eyes were silently looking at them.


    Marcus and the others couldn''t believe that they were actually in the presence of a true deity. The urge to bow down and prostrate themselves to the man was overwhelming but Cygnus blocked all of this while staring at the deity. It was surprising that he would meet a deity that was not affiliated to anyone in a secluded ce like that.


    "This must be the reason why this forest has been thriving even without human intervention and the reason why you still have that much power." Cygnus pointed around him with an eager grin on his face.


    "This ce has been untouched for centuries because I make sure that no one can enter this ce," the deity answered in a surprisingly airy voice. It was cool and soothing to the ear.


    "And what happened? This expedition has been going on for half a year now and yet you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing." Cygnus tilted his head to the side because he did not understand why and the deity''s mind waspletely nk.


    "A demon appeared and I have spent my days fighting it. When you came, it got disturbed and now it is on the other side of this ce attacking yourpanions," the deity answered.


    Cygnus stepped back and turned around slightly to look at the direction and with his eyes, he saw that the heroes were fighting a tiger with two heads. Its fur was ck and it''s two pairs of eyes were bloody red. He returned his gaze to the deity and gave him another look.


    "You can''t defeat it?" he asked. It was impossible for a deity not to defeat a lowly demon. Cygnus could also tell that the deity was not that weak.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It is not alone," he simply answered without any more exnation. Cygnus guessed that it was not fond of talking. "Now this ce has been contaminated with a ck miasma that not even my power could purify." He suddenly added as he raised his right arm.


    The deity''s right arm was tainted in ck and it was slowly spreading upwards to his body. The master was fascinated because instead of weakening him, the taint was instead making him stronger. Cygnus grinned because he found a treasure.


    It was a deity that could turn into a demon without going mad nor weakening, this one could maintain his rationality and be much stronger. The deity''s past yed a big role in this characteristic and Cygnus was thankful to that because he found something more interesting. He was ecstatic that this world was giving him so much fun and it felt like fate was helping him.


    "What will you do now that this ce isn''t suitable for living? The miasma will remain and this ce has been explored which means humans will starting here and building houses and buildings," Cygnus asked.


    Once humans enter a deity''s home and start to develop things, these deities would weaken and they would find a new ce where they can stay. Some of them would try to live amongst the humans but they would soon be consumed by the negative energy and would self-destruct. Cygnus looked at the deity again with anticipation on his face.


    "I don''t know. This ce has been my home for centuries and now that it has been breached by filthy things, I can''t live here any longer." The deity stared at Cygnus''s eyes as he remained silent for a few seconds. "You, can you give me a home?" he then asked, which made Cygnus''s grin wider.


    "Yes, I can give you a home." Cygnus nodded enthusiastically. This was the question he was waiting for.


    "Then you can take me with you," the deity nodded his head. The deity''s only reason for staying and protecting that ce was because he had been living there and the ce was peaceful and clean.


    "That''s a good decision," Cygnus stepped closer to the man before he asked another question, "by the way what''s your name?"


    The deity stayed silent for a moment before he chose to answer, "I''m called Nahar."


    As he said his name, a magic circle appeared below him and Cygnus. A light came out from the magic circle and then it was reced by a scroll with his name and the master''s name. Nahar read the contents of the paper before he used his fingers to carve out his name on the paper using magic.


    "You have an interesting name. It is a name I haven''t heard for so many years now," Nahar looked at Cygnus''s eyes once again after signing the paper, "and I can''t tell if you are still human."


    "I did not think that even in this kind of faraway ce, my name would be known," Cygnus could only raise an eyebrow at the deity''s words. To think that he too would know about his name made it even more convenient for him to keep him by his side. "I am human but not quite human."

 Chapter 273 Blasted

    ?


    He did not receive response from the deity as he only looked at him. It was not Nahar''s hobby to get involved with whatever someone was feeling. Since he had signed the contract, he would only do his duty and won''t join any nning nor fighting. He would only fight if he deemed it necessary.


    The soldiers were confused as to what they were talking about and even more so after they signed some kind of paper. Marcus wanted to walk up to them but he did not have any additional courage to do that. All they could do was to watch the two of them from a distance.


    After the light from the magic circle faded with the magic itself, they saw the young master walking towards them. He had a grin on his face as he told them that the rest of the area was clear. He was even more happy when he let them know that he made a deal with the deity and now they were free to explore the area as much as they wanted.


    "How about the demon he said that appeared?" One of the soldiers asked because he was actually scared to face one of those.


    "Don''t worry about the demon. If ites, I will deal with it but for now, the demon is a bit upied with those people," Cygnus answered which eased the man who asked.


    After that, thest bit of his statement made them all look at him in confusion. "Are you saying that the demon is currently in that ce?" Marcus finally voiced out the question that was in their minds.


    Cygnus simply nodded which confirmed their guess. Their feelings during that time becameplicated because they were not sure if they should let them be and go help them. They may be rude and disrespectful but they were still theirrades.


    "Why are all of you thinking too hard about it. Let''s explore the ce first. They are heroes. Surely, they can fend for themselves." Cygnus had a frown on his face because of the thoughts in their minds. Humans were really fickle. "Let them fight the demon for a while as we do what we came here for," he insisted.


    After a while, the soldiers reluctantly agreed. They marked all the areas they could mark in a short amount of time before they finally left for the safe area where the heroes were being attacked by a two headed tiger. Cygnus could only sigh in frustration because of how soft hearted these soldiers were.


    He followed after them and when they reached the ce the heroes were already reaching their limits. Their once clean looks were reced with dirt, blood and tattered clothes. They were in a sorry state but Cygnus didn''t care. It was only the soldiers who really cared, well reluctantly cared.


    The soldiers sprang into action and joined the fight using only their weapons. They do not have magic so they needed to manually dodge the magic attacks using their physical strength. The heroes did not fail to help the soldiers and Marcus was d that this time the heroes did not retreat.


    Their bodies and weapons did not stop from attacking. The barrage of magic from the heroes continuously distracted the two-headed tiger. This gave the soldiers a chance to attack. Unlike the rhino monster that had a tough hide, the tiger was vulnerable and easily wounded.


    This scenested for a few minutes and it intensified when they all noticed that the two-headed tiger was getting weak. The ck blood continued to flow from the several cuts on its body and it did not stop there because the heroes started to use piercing magic that further wounded the demon. They were in glee because they felt that they were about to defeat the enemy.


    The leader of the heroes stopped and concentrated a mana on his palm which formed a red colored magic manifestation. Cygnus could feel the amount of power stored in that attack and he wondered why he did not use it the first time that they were attacked by the rhinoceros. He watched as the leader released the concentrated magic on his palm which passed through the air and caused a sizzling sound as it burned whatever it was on the ground before hitting the demon.


    A loud roar echoed in the ce as the red beam pierced the two-headed tiger''s body. It raised its upper body in the air before itnded on the ground once again. The force of itsnding shook the ground and in an enraged mode, the demon''s body started to get bigger.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It''s going to explode!" Cygnus shouted as he immediately conjured a shield that protected the soldiers and himself.


    Dark Light engulfed the whole ce as the two-headed tiger really exploded. The sound was deafening and the destruction it caused was beyond imagination. The whole ce was razed and now trees nor nts survived. The ground turned ck as miasma that came from the exploded demon started to fill the ce.


    The ce became poisonous because of how dense and potent the miasma was. Cygnus pushed himself up from where hended after the explosion. He shook his head to remove the ringing in his ear and to clear his vision. He tried to look around to see if he could find Marcus and the others but the miasma that was floating in the air made it difficult for him.


    "Help¡­" a croaky and soft voice came not far from him. "Help¡­" it said again so Cygnus followed the direction where the voice came from.


    After a few steps, he saw that it was not one of the soldiers. It was the leader of the heroes who thought that he had defeated the demon. His body was badly burnt as the flesh was still sizzling with the outer skin already removed and the poison from the miasma already entered his system. He crouched down to look at the pitiful man when he heard him again speak.


    "Please help me¡­I-I don''t want to die," the man tried his best to speak even though the pain was unbearable. He wanted to live. He did not want to die, especially in a ce like that. He refused to yield his life.


    Cygnus only watched as he pleaded but he did not make a move. After a few seconds, he leaned forward and whispered to the hero, "I can''t help you. You said yourself that you won''t be helping me if I am to be attacked by an enemy therefore you are not worthy of my help."


    The words sunk in to the hero as he realized who it was that was with him. He gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride to ask for forgiveness. "I''m sorry. I-I didn''t mean to. I''m sorry please, please help me¡­" It was getting more difficult to speak and breathe but he was stubborn. The man even tried to raise his hand to touch Cygnus but he was not able to.


    His hand fell to the ground and he started to gasp for breath. He tried to talk a couple of times but all that came out from his mouth was just wheezing. His vision was already blurry from the beginning but right now all he could see was endless darkness. ''The man was not going to help him'' was what he realized.


    "Good that you know. Now you should die arrogant. It''s not suitable for a person like you to die begging because you only looked pathetic." Cygnus stood up and left. He did not wait for the hero to take hisst breath because there was no use for it and it was just a waste of time.


    He first found Marcus who had lost consciousness and the other two soldiers who were with them. He also found the other two heroes who were barely alive and saved them then he moved them all to a safe ce using the gate. Nahar even appeared and watched as the man worked to save those people.


    "Why are you saving them?" He asked in confusion. As far as he knew, the man was not the magnanimous type.


    "That''s because it''s the most humane thing to do?" Instead of a statement it came out as question which made Cygnusugh himself. "This is all an act."

 Chapter 274 Vain

    ?


    Once they were in a safe ce, Cygnus made sure that they were all doing fine before he sat down under a tree. He leaned back and looked up at the tree leaves without saying a word. He wanted to go to the base and sleep but there''s something he needed to do first.


    He summoned a gate and called for Vain. The child came out and looked at his master and at the people who were lying on the ground. He silently stood because his master hadn''t said anything yet. Both of them remained silent until Cygnus heard the rustling of leaves and felt the vibration from the ground.


    "Do you hear and feel that? Someone''sing and I want you to entertain her for a while," Cygnus hung his head as he instructed Vain on what he should do.


    "Should I kill her or let her live?" The child asked. It was a question he would not have asked in the past but now that he had a master, he needed to listen to him.


    "I''ll think about it first, you go and y with her first. If she is worth something then I''ll let her live but if I deem that I can''t use her then I''ll let you kill her." Cygnus raised his head and gave the child a smile. He then waved his hand to let the child go.


    "Will that child be, okay?" Nahar asked as he watched the child''s back disappear within the tree line. Although he felt an incredible power from him, he was not sure if he could really defeat the demon that he had a difficult time defeating.


    "He''ll be fine. He''s durable and he has a very convenient power," Cygnus answered. Even though the child had been tamed and he had regained his reason, his power remained the same.


    Vain arrived at a point where he''ll need to wait for the enemy to appear. He did not have any idea what kind of enemy it was but he would still do his best to carry out the master''s order. He waited while perched on a tree trunk until the enemy arrived.


    Not far from where he was, he could already see miasma appearing and behind it was a woman who was tall like a giant. Her hair was all over the ce and it reached the ground. Each strand of hair was wriggling and scattering all over the ce. Her eyes were red and Vain could see that her hands were practically ws with how sharp her nails were.


    All of these did not scare the child away. He waited for the demon to walk below the tree where he was before he would attack. He readied himself and when it happened, he dropped down from the tree with his power ready.


    His dark mana formed into thin but heavy strands that he used to attack. He started to wave the strands while he was in the air and sessfully cut some of the demon''s hair and even wounded her face. The demon became angry because of the surprise attack. She looked up and saw Vain and without thinking twice she raised her hand and tried to grab the child.


    Vain used his mana strand to maneuver mid-air and evade the woman''s ws. The demon did not stop there. Shemanded the strands of her hair to capture her enemy. Now, he needed to avoid several hairs and two hands that were all trying to get him.


    While on the air, he still managed to dodge and attack at the same time. Several twines of hair were cut but it would just grow up after a few seconds. The cuts on the woman''s bare arms and hands were starting to fade too. Vain then realized that she could regenerate and heal her own body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    This time he flew andnded on one of the branches before the woman''s hands could reach him, he released his mana and just like what happened in the past, everything that his mana touched would be sliced into pieces. The woman''s hair and arms were cut into pieces and even the trees around them did not survive. Vain did not stop there because as he was falling down from the destroyed tree where he stood, he summoned his dark strands again and attacked further, inflicting damage to the demon.


    He did not stop and released another wave of his mana which now reduced the woman''s arm into nothing. The continuous attack prevented the demon from regenerating any part of her body. Since he had arge quantity of mana and there was an abundant supply of dark energy in the ce, Vain had no problem going all out.


    The woman was wriggling and roaring because she lost her arms. She looked at the child hatefully and cursed at him. She became enraged as she absorbed the miasma around her which made her regeneration faster than the child''s attacks. Instead of only growing back her two arms, she grew an additional set of hands that were below where her original arms were.


    Even her hair grew back in the blink of an eye and instead of using individual strands or twine with only a few hairs, she made sure to make each twine of her hair stronger. Vain was unfazed even after the sudden transformation. He still did what he had been doing and attacked the woman. This time though his attacks did nothing to the woman.


    His dark mana strands were pushed back and some of it even snapped because of how tough the hair she used to cover her body in defense against his attack. She then used that momentary opening and swiped her hands towards Vain who was still mid-air. He was hit hard and was pped away from the woman. His body hit a tree which caused him to spat out some blood.


    Vain stood up and wiped the blood on his mouth before looking at the woman who sent her hair to pierce him through. He stood there and used his ck mana to repel the attack. This time his manifested mana was harder and sharper. Vain started to circte the mana around his body and it also started to chip away the demon''s hair.


    The woman retracted her weapon and instead shed in front of the child. With one of her hands, she clenched her fists and punched the dark mana that was protecting Vain. A part of the mana that was surrounding him disappeared and so did the woman''s one arm. The demon disregarded that arm and used another one tond one more hit on her enemy.


    Vain did not blink and instead summoned his dark strand which formed a wall that blocked the woman''s attack. The demon did not stop there and continued to punch and swipe the dark mana around Vain. The two pairs of hands became three until the Vain''s dark mana disappeared. The demon did not hesitate as she opened her mouth and something ck appeared on her mouth which she shot out towards Vain.


    The child employed the same method and used his dark strands as a shield but this time it did not work. The wall he created sizzled and melted until a hole appeared on it and another ck liquid was shot towards him. Vain moved to the side and dodged the attack but when he looked back, he noticed that the ground where the liquidnded had a hole on it.


    Several more liquid was spat towards him which he managed to dodge while also dodging several hairs that wereing his way. Vain did not hesitate to use his power and sessfully repelled all the attacks. He did not remain passive though and just as hended on solid ground, he waved his hand forward which created a dark ark of dark mana that struck the enemy. This one was sharper and not easy to dissipate.


    No matter how strong the arms and the hair twines were, the attack still managed to cut them off. He released several arced des towards his enemy and sessfully halved the woman''s body. In order to prevent it from regenerating once more, he followed up with summoning his dark strands that were reinforced with more dark mana which effectively cut the demon''s body into pieces.

 Chapter 275 Fight Until The End

    ?


    Vain thought that it was done already but then he froze in ce. His body refused to move and he actually felt fear. He slowly turned around and beyond the pieces of flesh that were floating in the air a woman was standing and looking at him.


    She had the same looks as therge demon he defeated; the only difference they had was that the woman was now the same size as that of a regr adult human. The woman grinned and her red eyes were smiling at him. Before Vain could even move, the woman was already in front of him and with only a swipe of her seemingly weak hand, he hit the ground so hard that it cracked under the pressure.


    He could feel his body getting injured from the attack. Several bones were broken and his internal organs also suffered. Blood started toe out from his mouth and nose because of the impact. His vision became a bit blurry but with his regenerative ability, his injuries started to heal.


    "Hi-hi¡­" he heard a sound and when he got near it was actually from the woman. It was supposed to be augh but it came out as something else. "I won''t let you die that easily, hi-hi."


    The woman''s w-like hands went down towards Vain''s body as he stillid on the ground while his injuries were healing. Vain gritted his teeth as he forced himself to roll to the side to avoid the woman''s ws. He was sessful but it was a bit difficult to breathe because he moved without his injuries healing properly.


    Vain felt the w once again so he had no choice but to continuously dodge the attack. Every swipe and movement that the woman''s hands were doing was apanied by a sharp ''wheeze'' of wind that left marks on the ground and on the trees where the sharp windnded. His movements were a bit sluggish because of his injury that he was nicked by the wind and five long marks appeared on his arm.


    The demon was still smiling as she continued with her attack. Aside from her ws her hair was also in action. Twines of her hair started to attack Vain too as they attempted to block all of his escape routes. To survive, Vain used his dark mana to defend himself and sever the twine of hairs that were attacking him.


    He had been buying time and once his injuries healed, he went all out once again and released his dark mana. The wave of his mana hit the twines of hair and sliced them into pieces. It did not stop there because these waves continued until they reached the woman but she used her arms to block the attack.


    Vain saw that his mana wave was not working so he raised his hand, waved his hand and several dark knives appeared in front of him. Since he had the ability to change the shape of his mana at will, it was very easy for him to create deadly weapons that could defeat his enemy. He slightly flicked his wrist and the dark knives flew towards the woman.


    The dark knives passed through the spaces that the woman''s hand couldn''t cover and it hit the woman in the face and on her upper body. Before the woman could remove them, Vain moved his hand in a pulling motion and the knives were pulled away. He then waved his arm in an upward and downward motion which the knives followed.


    The demon was hit again and this continued as the demon became distracted with the attack and she became annoyed with it. Vain used that opportunity to attack with his mana wave that sessfully prated the woman''s defenses. Her arms were cut into two and even her head was severed from her neck.


    Vain did not stop there as he materialized ck swords from his mana and used it to pin the woman''s head on the ground and pierce the woman''s body. Several more swords appeared above and rained down on the woman. The child stopped but he did not let his guard down. He was focused on the garden of swords that his magic created and at the woman''s body that had not moved for a couple of seconds now.


    Once the time was up, the woman''s body started to wriggle and deform like a liquid. It bypassed all the swords on the ground and came to a safe ce where she regrew her head once again. The womanughed as she looked at Vain with glee.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The woman disappeared from where she was standing and appeared behind Vain but a shield simultaneously appeared to protect him. The woman jumped back but she did not stop from attacking. She continued to close the distance between them but the child was good at defending himself.


    As he continued to defend, the woman''s movements started to get faster and faster to the point that it was difficult for Vain to guess where she would attack. So, before the woman could attack a burst of ck spikes appeared around Vain that extended above him. This attack and defense forced the demon to take a step back.


    "You are doing good, child, even if there''s only a demon''s blood running in your veins." The woman''s whole body bulged a bit with her veins turning red and the miasma around the ce started to get thicker and more poisonous.


    Vain could find even within the miasma but now that it became more potent and the poison became deadlier, his body started to feel the strain of the miasma. He shrugged it off though and readied himself for the oing attack. The woman flew towards him and she easily shattered the shield that the child materialized.


    Vain raised his arms that were coated with his mana to block the woman''s ws. He skidded back as the woman pushed him until he stopped because his back hit a tree and in that small time frame, the woman was already attacking him again. He got down and avoided the w then he rolled to the side to avoid the red twine of hair that pierced the ground.


    He crossed his arms and the dark mana strand encircled the woman then he held the strands and coiled them on his hands as he jumped back and uncrossed his arms which tightened the strands around the woman. He coiled the strands again to tighten it because he wanted to slice the woman in several pieces.


    Vain tried his best and used his strength to do so but he failed. The demon''s body was tough and with just a bit of strength from the woman, the strands broke. The woman shed in front of him and caught him on the neck. She raised him in the air as she tightened her hand on the child''s neck.


    The sound of cracking echoed in the air and the thought of dying shed in Vain''s mind. He was starting to lose consciousness and blood was starting to pour out from his mouth once again. Even with how much he struggled and how fast his regeneration was, he still couldn''t free himself from the woman''s iron grip.


    Vain suddenly fell on the ground with the woman''s hand still attached to his neck and as he looked up and saw a man with long wavy ck hair and brownplexion standing before the demon. He removed the hand on his neck and threw it to the side before he backed away from them.


    Vain knew who the man was. He was the dragon that was serving the master. Amongst the people beside the master, he was probably the strongest. The butler was also strong based on their fight during the Magic Tower incident.


    "The master called for me because he was toozy to deal with you and of course he can''t leave this child in danger alone," the dragon dered. "I''m so excited because I''m being called more often now." The man''s deep and loudughter echoed in the area.

 Chapter 276 Only A Dragon

    ?


    Because he was a dragon, he was naturally immune to the miasma that the demon created because even though he was a dark dragon he still had a divine blessing that made him immune to any powers from the darkness. He was stillughing when the woman suddenly attacked. Her ws reached for the man''s neck but Ignius easily gripped the woman''s wrist and twisted it with all her bones cracking and breaking.


    "Not so fast, woman. Don''t overestimate yourself just because you are a demon because your tricks won''t work on me," Ignius informed her before he pushed her away. The demon''s hand twisted back and returned to its original state.


    The woman was furious and she started to attack using the same trick she used against Vain but all of it did not have an effect on the dragon. He would let hernd an attack but it would not even scratch him because his scales were imprable. When the woman realized that the man was intentionally giving her the chance to attack, she became even more enraged.


    The pressure she was giving off increased and her body even grew bigger. Her attacks became heavier but that did not matter to the dragon as he only used his hand to block and redirect the attacks. He was grinning as he saw the woman''s face contorting more in anger.


    The woman raised both of her ws and sped them together before bringing it down with full force. She thought that she managed to crush the dragon but as the dust that floated in the air subsided, she saw that the dragon used only one hand to stop her attack. She grimaced but before she could do anymore, Ignius opened his mouth and breathed fire towards her.


    His ck fire immediately burned off the woman''s body which revealed her demon core. Ignius grinned as he reached out the core and stared at it for a while. He moved the core on his palm a couple of times before he enclosed his palm around it.


    "Are you giving that to the master?" Vain walked towards the man as he looked in fascination at the core.


    "Yes. Why do you want it?" Ignius looked at the child and at his expression as he stared at the core. The twinkle in his eyes was unmistakable.


    The look of fascination disappeared from the child when he heard the man''s question. He looked up with a serious face and shook his head. He dared not because it was something that the master owned. He was okay with just gazing at it.


    Ignius shrugged his shoulder before he tucked it away in his pocket. "If you say so. Now that we are done here, let''s go back now because the master is waiting."


    Vain nodded and kept himself from looking at the pocket that contained the demon core. They walked back to where the master was and saw that he was sleeping with Nahar who was standing beside him. He only opened his eyes when they were already a few steps away from him. Cygnus looked at them and at the child before focusing his gaze on the dragon.


    Ignius pulled out the demon core and handed it to the master. "It seems that the child wanted that core," he suddenly said, which caught the child off-guard.


    Cygnus raised a brow before looking at the demon core on his hand. The red glow it was giving was truly enticing but if the child wanted it then he could give it to him. He was an asset that he saved so it was only logical for him to take care of the child and make him stronger besides, his performance was also impressive.


    "Then I will give it to you," Cygnus handed the core to the child which he happily epted. Since it was given to him, he would use it properly.


    In front of them, he raised the core near his mouth and slowly absorbed the essence from the core. The demon''s core turned into a wisp of smoke that went into the child''s mouth. After he absorbed the essence, they could see his veins glowing red for a second before it disappeared.


    "Well, that went well," Igniusmented. "No wonder he did not die even after those experiments. His body is extremelypatible with demon blood and essence."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus hummed in approval because he already knew that fact. It was also one of the reasons why he chose to let the child live. It was rare for anyone to encounter someone with a body that waspatible with that of a demon.


    Ignius shrugged his shoulders and patted the child on the back. "You should continue to follow the master so that you can grow stronger."


    Vain nodded his head. They then waited for the soldiers to wake up before they could leave. After approximately thirty minutes, they finally woke up. Marcus looked around and saw the young master together with three other people. He suddenly sat up with wide eyes because he recognized the child and the other person with them but the other one was someone he didn''t know.


    "Young, young master Rigel¡­" he called out because he was not sure as to what he should say in that situation. He was a bit confused as he looked around. "What, what happened?" He asked in confusion.


    "Well, you almost died because of the explosion that the two-headed tiger caused and I managed to save you all, well, except for that one arrogant hero. The damage to him was great because he was not able to protect himself from the miasma that appeared after the explosion." Cygnus exined like what he did was normal when in Marcus''s eyes it was not that simple.


    He saw that the young master had not received any wounds and when the explosion happened, he saw a soft white light embracing him and the others. He knew that it was the work of the young master and he even saved the other two heroes. He managed to push himself up and checked on the heroes.


    Marcus sighed when he saw that they were still breathing. He looked at Cygnus and grinned because even after all what the heroes said towards him, he still helped them. Cygnus held back theugh that was about to burst out because of the thought from the soldier.


    If the soldier knew what he did to the leader of the heroes, his opinion of him might change. Cygnus swallowed theughter and controlled his expression. He waited for Marcus to check all of them before they could finally leave.


    Marcus and Cygnus went to look for their horses but sadly they were gone. They could only look at each other in dismay. They returned to the ce where the others were. Marcus remained silent because he was at a loss at what they should do.


    "Since we don''t have any means of transportation, let''s just use the gate." Cygnus announced which made Marcus knit his brows.


    "What do you mean?" he asked in confusion. He looked around but he saw no gates then he looked at the young master again who was now standing beside a door.


    "This is a gate. Although it looks like a door, I still like to call it a gate." Cygnus tapped on the door and even banged on it.


    Ignius walked to the soldier and patted him on the back that almost made him fall. "Don''t worry you will be safe. Well, you might feel some nausea but that''s okay because it would be only for a short while."


    Cygnus pushed open the wooden door and gestured for Marcus to enter. The soldier was reluctantly looking at them because he was not sure if it was really safe. He trusted the young master but the door he did not trust because beyond it was only darkness.


    Ignius carried the two heroes like sacks on both of his hands while Marcus and the two soldiers who were already awake looked at the young master once again. Cygnus gave them a smile and nodded his head. With that the three of them took a deep breath before they stepped inside the gate. Their bodies disappeared through the darkness.

 Chapter 277 Safe Return

    ?


    Marcus and his subordinates were blinded by a white light and when they opened their eyes and saw that they were inside the general''s tent. Linius and Arc were surprised when a gate suddenly appeared inside the tent and Marcus with his subordinates came out from it. Ignius also followed behind with the other two heroes in his arms. Thest one toe out was Cygnus and Vain together with another man who was unfamiliar to them.


    Igniusid down the two heroes on the ground and stepped away from them. Linius stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards them. He gave Cygnus a questioning look before he crouched down to check on the condition of the heroes.


    Linius looked up at Arc who followed behind, "Arc, go and ask the doctor toe here." They''ll need the doctor to urately assess the men''s condition.


    They waited for Arc and the doctor toe. When he saw the men, he sprung into action and removed their clothes so that he could see the extent of the damage that the miasma inflicted. It took him minutes to finally finish his assessment and first aid.


    "They''ll need purification. We will need the help of the others for that and it is also better to inform them of what happened," the doctor informed them. He slowly kept the paraphernalia he used and he stood up to face the general, "you''ll need to talk to them general."


    Linius nodded before they sent out the doctor together with Marcus and hisrades. They too needed some checking. He then looked at Cygnus who had been silent from the beginning to the end after they finally left.


    "What happened?" he was obliged to ask because he was one of the leaders of the exploration and he needed to know what happened.


    "Well, it turns out that the ce you assigned to us has demons within it. We encountered a demon and a deity in that ce. I managed to snag the deity but we were forced to fight the demon. The first demon which was a two-headed tiger exploded itself and created a sea of miasma. I managed to put a shield around the soldiers because I thought that the heroes could protect themselves." Cygnus gave them a brief exnation.


    Ever since the beginning he was not a fan of long exnations. He would let the people around him piece the story together and let them understand. Linius rubbed his face as he found a seat for himself because he already knew that the man had done something again.


    "How about the other hero?" Linius asked because he only saw the two. Although he already had an idea about the fate of the other man, he still wanted confirmation.


    "He is dead. His body was eaten and poisoned by the miasma. I''m not sure why he was not able to protect himself from the explosion. When I saw him, he was already dead." Cygnus shrugged his shoulders as if it was something normal.


    "Are you involved with that death and the severe injuries that the other two sustained?" It was not a farfetched guess because the man could definitely do it.


    "No," Cygnus calmly answered. Linius looked at him with narrowed eyes but Cygnus''s expression did not change.


    The general didn''t know if he was lying or telling the truth, so all he could do was trust in his words. Once the presidentes, they would be in a lengthy discussion because of what happened. He then remembered one more thing from the narration that the master had given.


    "You said that the deity joined your side so is he this man?" Linius pointed at the other man who was with them.


    "Yes. He is Nahar," Cygnus answered and introduced the deity at the same time. "He had been fighting the demon even before we came and we just defeated it a while ago. Nahar had also signed a contract with me."


    The general was not at all surprised. Now, another deity was added to the master''s people. This one was particrly strong because of the aura he was emitting. Linius was confused as to why the master was getting these people to sign a contract with him.


    Linius asked a couple more questions before he stopped and sent them back to their tents. He would now only wait for the hero association''s president toe. While he was speaking with Cygnus, he had already sent a message to them.


    After a while, the president came with a frown on his face and his forehead was wrinkled because of the mixture of feelings that he was feeling. When he read the contents of the message, he did not hesitate tomand two of the heroes to go and purify the poison that entered theirrade''s bodies. After that, they set out and he went to meet General Linius.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Please exin to me exactly what happened." He did not even greet the general and just went ahead to ask a question.


    They have been exploring the site for six months now and they haven''t encountered a demon yet, so howe there was suddenly a demon. It was an unbelievable story because he wouldn''t believe that demons do really exist. These creatures were only a product of one''s imagination.


    "They were attacked by a demon and when the demon was about to be defeated, the demon explode itself which filled the ce with a poisonous miasma. During the explosion, they weren''t able to protect themselves," Linius exined.


    "Impossible!" the president became angry because of the general''s words. "Why wouldn''t they be able to protect themselves from that explosion?" he was furious because he knew that his heroes do not do a sloppy job.


    "That''s how it was reported to me and I have every reason to believe that person''s report," Linius defended because even though it was a lie, the master was firm in his statements.


    Acasia frowned, "Who reported it?" He wanted to know who that person was and the reason why he was there.


    "It is my brother. He followed Marcus and his group with my permission. If not for him, you will have to deal with the loss of three heroes," Linius calmly answered. He was not worried that the master would be implicated because the man in front of him wouldn''t do anything to preserve the unblemished appearance of the hero association.


    "Where is he? I want to talk to him," Acasia demanded. He would only believe it when the witnesses tell the story. He was not foolish to listen to a statement of someone he didn''t knew.


    Linius looked at Arc briefly before the man gave the both of them a curt nod. After a while, Cygnus was back again at his brother''s office but this time he only had one visitor and that he was asking for him. He did not forget to give the president a smile before he sat down to face them.


    "Tell me what happened?" Acasia repositioned his body and focused his intense gaze towards the young man.


    "I already told my brother though," Cygnus frowned because he was not in the mood to read or do anything.


    "Yes, and he has told me the story already but I still wanted to know your story since you are an eye witness," Acasia insisted. Cygnus sighed and with no signs of backing down from the man, he needed to narrate everything again.


    The president listened carefully to all the details that Cygnus gave and when he had no more questions, he bid them goodbye. He did not want to stay in that ce any longer. He needed to talk to the heroes who survived and asked them what exactly happened. He also went ahead and asked the soldiers who have the same stories.


    He waited for the heroes, who were transferred to the medical area of the base, to wake up and tell him what happened because he couldn''t believe their stories. He would only believe what the survivors have to say. He still couldn''t believe that one of his heroes died in a ce like this and that they don''t even have a body to bury.


    The night deepened when one of the heroes finally opened his eyes and his gazended on the president. He pushed himself up but Acasia stood up and gently pushed him back on the bed. He shook his head, which the hero understood.


    "I wanted to know what happened and what gave you these wounds?" Acasia stared at the hero with a serious look on his face because he wanted the man to tell him the truth.


    The man slightly nodded his head, "We were attacked by a two-headed tiger and when we thought that we were about to defeat it, its body suddenly expanded and exploded which left us scrambling that we did not even have the time to create a protective shield around our bodies."


    After he heard the man''s words, Acasia has no other choice but to believe what the others already said. He clenched his fists and remained silent there for a couple of minutes before he stood up and left.

 Chapter 278 A Bit Of A Showdown

    ?


    The president returned to the general''s tent and saw that Rigel was still there. He was lying down on one of the empty wooden couches with his eyes closed. Acasia guessed that he must be sleeping and ignored him.


    "I apologize for my actions a while ago. I just wanted to make sure that all of my information is urate," Acasia slightly bowed his head to show his sincerity. "I would also like to thank your brother for his help in bringing back my subordinates."


    "That''s understandable and that apology, you should say it directly to my brother," Linius gave the man a nod but he was notfortable receiving a thank you on behalf of the master.


    "No need, I already heard it." Cygnus spoke without opening his eyes. He then turned to his side with his back on them.


    Acasia left the tent without looking back at them or even talking. He went to where the heroes were and helped them with moving their subordinates into their camp. They all did this without any words and when the other teams returned from their mission, they were shocked at the news.


    Some of the heroes were indignant and were at a loss in what to say. Some of them didn''t believe what happened but after the president exined everything they slowly calmed down. It was just a waste because the hero that died was one of their most talented ones.


    The whole base camp was shrouded with solemnity and the soldiers did have their usual after mission party where they got loud and drank until dawn. Even though they don''t have the best rtionship, they still respected human lives. The night passed by in silence and when morning came everything returned to normal.


    For the following days, the heroes and the soldiers continued with clearing the areas marked on the map. Cygnus on the other hand stayed with them and had no ns of returning to capital for now. He had been joining them on their clearing operations which made the exploration move faster.


    Within a month they managed to reach the border that was indicated in the map and for a week they managed to wrap up everything and dere the area imed. The heroes returned to the capital first together with Lieutenant Arc Lisbon and some of the soldiers. General Linius remained to oversee the construction of an outpost in the ce.


    Cygnus also remained because he was not keen on returning to the capital first. Besides, the only reason why the lieutenant returned earlier was because he needed to follow up on the request for more manpower for the outpost they were building and to of course report to the king as the general''s representative. Although Acasia was there to report too, Linius still preferred that he too had a report of his own just in case the other party wasn''t fond of giving them due credit.


    Just as he suspected, the Hero Association was trying to get all the credit for themselves. If not for Lieutenant Lisbon''s presence during the audience with the king, they might have taken everything for themselves. Arc Lisbon couldn''t help but look at the hero association''s president with contempt because they even used the death of that hero to reap more benefits for them.


    The president even mentioned that Rigel Maverick Ginehart joined the expedition. He must have been looking for anything that could discredit the general or Ginehart in general. Arc Lisbon couldn''t help but look at the direction of Duke Ginehart who had attended the morning audience.


    "I didn''t know that that young man would be there," King Orpheus rested his head on the palm of his hand after hearing Acasia reporting this matter, "and it seems that the lieutenant failed to report this to me."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Acasia didn''t hide his grin as he looked at the lieutenant with a smug look on his face. He did that on purpose because somehow, he knew that the king wasn''t informed of the young master''s arrival at the base camp. Since it hase to this, he had no reason to lie to the king any longer.


    "I apologize, your majesty, for not telling you that Young Master Rigel went to the base camp. It was supposed to be a short visit to his brother but in the end, he ended up helping us. He was even the person who saved the subordinates of President Acasia from the brink of death and with his help we were able to clear the rest of the whole area with ease." Arc Lisbon did not waver as he defended the young master.


    Acasisa wanted to refute the man''s words but before he could do it, they heard the lieutenant speak again. "With his magical support we finished our job within a month. He was a great help and if he had been there earlier, we would have finished the exploration in at least four months."


    Lisbon nced at the president who now had a pale face. If the president was really going to y this kind of game, the lieutenant would not back down. He has much more to say about the performance of the heroes and if the president insists on going that path, then he has no choice but to reveal it all in front of the king, the generals, the four duchy and the other ministers inside the throne room.


    The tension in the room rose as the two men continued to re at each other. King Orpheus sensed that something must have happened during the expedition. Even all the people inside the room could sense that there was something wrong.


    "Do you know about this, Duke Ginehart?" King Orpheus looked at the duke who was calmly sitting on his seat.


    He nodded, "Rigel informed me that he was going to visit his brother, I just didn''t think that he would stay there and even help. I never hold back my children when they want to do something and I will reprimand them if they did something wrong. As far as I am concerned, Rigel has done nothing wrong by being there."


    The king smiled and the president shut his mouth. He had no more to say because he couldn''t refute the duke''s words. There was really nothing wrong with Rigel being in that ce even though it was an official mission, especially because he was the son of a duke and he did not cause any disturbance during the entire time he stayed there. Well, except for that one time that he burned all of their tents.


    "Since it is not a matter of concern, there''s nothing wrong with Rigel being there. What I''m most concerned about right now is the implication from the lieutenant''s words." The king''s gaze sharpened as it fell down on the hero associations'' president.


    He had known the man for a long time now and they had formed a friendship but the man was doing something out of the king''s eyes again. This has been going on for a while now. He couldn''t believe that the man was trying to mess with Duke Ginehart and was even behaving hically in front of General Linius. How presumptuous.


    "There are some misunderstandings that arose during the expedition but everything has been settled. Everything is in the past now. It is not unusual that there are some things that we can''t agree upon because of our circumstances but we all learned to deal with it," he hastily exined. If they make the issue bigger then not only his name would be dragged down but also the reputation of the hero association.


    "The president is right, your majesty. We already made up and the rtionship between the heroes and the soldiers are mended. As he has said, everything is now in the past." Arc Lisbon seconded because he too didn''t want any more misunderstanding to arise.

 Chapter 279 The Schemes

    ?


    King Orpheus nodded and dismissed them all. It was no use if they already agreed not to dwell on it but he still needed to warn Acasia to be careful with the Ginehart family. The Hero Association was a valuable resource so he couldn''t afford to lose it just because the man didn''t want anything to do with those soldiers.


    "President Acasia," one of the servants called out to the man who was about to leave the room, "the king wants a private audience with you."


    The association''s president led to a door on the side of the throne room which led to a private room that the king uses to entertain his guests. Arc couldn''t help himself from looking at the disappearing back of the man until they were out of the throne room. Ulysses also saw that Acasia was escorted to a private room.


    "You don''t have to worry about that man for now." Ulysses patted the lieutenant''s shoulder as they walked away.


    Even though the duke was sure that nothing would happen for now, they still needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Once the king decided to move, their movements would be limited and Rigel''s identity might be exposed. If that timees, they need a way out and to wash off their hands from him.


    "He might cken again the name of Young Master Rigel," the lieutenant frowned. He just managed to clear the name of the general and the young master.


    "That man won''t dare. Instead, he would be the one getting reprimanded." Ulyssesughed then grinned at the lieutenant. "Instead of worrying about him, I wanted to know how my children are. Ever since he left ckwell, I haven''t seen Rigel."


    -


    "They are both doing fine and I''ve heard that they will both return here once the outpost is done." The lieutenant informed the general as he rummaged through the documents that were in his hands.


    He just remembered that the general had written a letter for the duke. When he found it, he gave it to the duke. Ulysses was surprised to even receive a letter from his son. It was rare for him to do so, so he suspected that Linius might have something important written in there.


    "Thank you and when you return there,e by the manor and get something for the two of them," Ulysses kept the letter in the inside pocket of his ck zer.


    "I understand, general." The lieutenant gave the man a salute and left for the opposite direction where he will go and meet the Minister of Personnel to secure the manpower they''ll need to build the outpost.


    Ulysses also returned to the manor where he immediately opened the letter and read what was written inside. After reading the letter''s contents, he didn''t know if he should be happy or be d of what had happened. Rigel had added another deity into his group which he didn''t know if it was good news or not. He could only sigh and let it be at least his son still informed him of that information.


    At the same time, Acasia was sitting calmly inside the private room as he waited for the king toe. He sighed and clenched his fist because of that lieutenant. He thought that he could report to the king about the expedition alone and yet that man appeared. He did not even know that General Linius sent back his lieutenant at the same time as them.


    The door to the room opened and the king entered. Acasia stood up and bowed to the king once again. Orphes gestured for him to sit again as he too took the seat in front of the president. He even poured tea for himself without speaking.


    After two sips, the king finally looked at the man and talked. "You''ve been doing some unnecessary things again."


    The statement took Acasia by surprise. He didn''t expect that the king would speak in that kind of tone. He forced himself to smile despite the apprehension he was feeling because of those words.


    "Your majesty, I know that you''ve be suspicious of me, but I have not done anything behind your back." He calmed himself and refuted the king''s statement.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''ve told you before that you can''t go against the Gineharts or any of the duchies because you''ll be ruining our chances of bringing them down." The king was not happy with what he witnessed and if Acasia wasn''t warned he might do something stupid that would actually ruin his ns.


    "I apologize. I was just momentarily blinded by anger that I did those things," Acasia bowed his head once again. If not for the lieutenant provoking him, he would have remained silent.


    "If you have any misunderstanding between General Linius, I suggest that you don''t let it interfere with my ns. I don''t want it getting ruined just because of one mistake that you mightmit in the future." Orpheus ced the cup of tea on the table and looked at the man''s eyes.


    Acasia couldn''t help but shiver because of how the king was looking at him. He was not ring and yet he still could feel the pressureing from it. He gulped and nodded at the king''s words. Their talk did notst for even an hour before Acasia left.


    ss wares and books from his table started to fly around the room after Acasia returned to the main headquarters of the Hero Association in the capital. He was pissed off because the king thought of him as an imbecile. He was clearly belittling him just because he did not have any magical or physical ability that could save him. He was frustrated because they were all looking at him like he was ipetent.


    "What are you nning to do right now sir?" A voice from the shadows asked after the man finally calmed down from throwing things inside study.


    "We will still move as nned. Just be wary of the king''s spies that he sent to watch all of my movements. Let''s just act like everything is all normal. I won''t let that person control me forever," Acasia answered as he narrowed his eyes at nothing in particr.


    Lieutenant Lisbon remained in the capital for a few more days before he finally got theplete number of people the Minister of Personnel sent. Before they departed for the new territory under the kingdom, Lisbon checked all of their documents to make sure that all of them were legit workers. After everything was finalized and checked, they moved out.


    After the long journey they finally reached their destination where the soldiers were waiting for them. The workers were fed and told to rest before they started their work. Lisbon on the other hand was busy informing the general of what happened while he was in the capital.


    "He was really cunning. I made the right decision to send you back too but I don''t think that it would just end like that. I''ll just prepare myself once we return to the capital." LInius shook his head before heughed and calmed down in the end.


    "Should I let Young Master Rigel know about this?" Lisbon asked. Rigel was involved so he thought that it was also imperative that they inform him of what happened.


    "No need. I''m sure that he already knew what happened. Instead, let''s focus on the construction of the outpost first and let the people of the capital deal with whatever happens from now." Linius shook his head. There was no need to let the master know because he was sure that he was already informed.


    For the next few days, Linius made sure that the workers were doing their jobs properly before he decided that they should return to the capital. He assigned one of his captains to look after them and report to him once every week. He looked at the master and gave him a nod.


    "Will you be returning with me?" He asked. It would be best if they return first to the capital because he had a feeling that something happened there.


    "Yes," was his simple answer.


    Linius couldn''t help but frown because of how fast the master answered. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the master''s face to look for any clue that might give him a hint as to what he was thinking but the master''s face did not even twitch. The general finally gave up and went back to his tent to pack up his things.

 Chapter 280 Visit

    ?


    They left the new territory and after they were out from the sights of the workers, Cygnus opened a gate that would directly take them to the manor in the capital. Linius did not have any qualms about it because it was better so that they could avoid the eyes of the people. This way they''ll have a head start in knowing what has happened in the capital during the days that they were gone.


    Once their carriage was parked outside of the manor''s doors, they were immediately escorted by the servants and the butler. Ulysses was also informed of their arrival that he went down to meet them. He grinned when he saw that both of his sons were doing fine.


    "You returned earlier than expected," Ulysses opened his arms wide in an attempt to give the both of them a hug.


    Both of them only stared at the duke and tacitly decided to ignore the gesture. The duke has no choice but to bring down the arms he raised and shrug his shoulders. "Alright, why don''t we proceed to my study first while they are preparing for breakfast."


    Ulysses turned around and the both of them followed behind him. As they sat there staring at each other, Ulysses couldn''t help but think that they were in a family meeting. This thought suddenly made him smile.


    "You know that we aren''t exactly a family, right?" Cygnusmented after the duke thought about it.


    "Why do you always like to ruin the atmosphere? Well, as long as you are using the name Ginehart, then you are still part of our family," Ulysses sighed. The man was really stiff in many aspects.


    "Enough of that, let''s talk about what had happened in the city while we were not here. Did something particr happen?" Linius diverted the conversation because he was not much interested in talking about family right now.


    "After that incident in the pce, rumors started to circte around the capital regarding General Linius and his brother that disrespected the heroes of the kingdom. They were spreading a story where Rigel burned the tents of the heroes just because he didn''t like them and that he did not even ask for an apology after that," Ulysses informed them.


    "It''s true that I burned their tents because I was drunk but I apologize even though I did not want to because in my opinion they deserved it." Cygnus couldn''t help butugh at the rumors that were going around.


    "And what do the people say?" Linius asked as he ignored the master''s statement.


    "Most of them don''t believe the story and we made some measures to stop the rumors from getting more ridiculous," Ulysses handed him a document that contained information about the people who were spreading the rumors.


    Cygnus took a peek and could only grin because they were all people rted to the Hero Association. "They didn''t even bother to hide their identities, now I wonder if the president knew about these."


    "My guess is he did not. He has been working with the king for years now and the king always avoided confronting the dukes because we hold the power to go against him. I''m sure that he won''t tolerate this kind of act against you," Ulysses exined. He was confident in himself because he had seen it with his own eyes.


    "I''ll pay the association a visit," Cygnus suddenly dered which surprised the other two men with him.


    "What are you nning again?" Linius asked with a frown because every time he would decide to do something, chaos would follow.


    "Nothing, I will just be there to visit and sightsee because I haven''t gone there ever since I came to this ce and besides there''s someone there that I want to meet." Cygnus became serious as he said those words. The aura around him made the atmosphere dark.


    "Alright, we won''t stop you then." Linius sighed and gave up. He didn''t know why he was still doing this kind of thing when he already knew that the master won''t be listening to him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The next day, Cygnus left the manor and rode the ck carriage that symbolizes the Ginehart dukedom. He was unting and was watching the people''s reaction from where he was seated. There were some surprises and some frowns which indicated that they have undoubtedly heard about the rumors.


    The ck carriage parked in front of the Hero Association which gathered curious looks from the people passing by. Cygnus came out from the carriage with his impable looks and white and gold clothes that made him stand out by just standing in front of the carriage. He looked so soft and fragile with his current get up but the aura of authority could still be felt from him.


    He walked inside the building under the gazes of the people and even with their whispers he still continued. Once inside he looked around but was not particrly impressed because the ce was in and nd. It was one of those ces depicted in games and novels. There were tables where the heroes would sit, a reception area where the heroes would ask for a mission and reward and of course the bulletin board where missions were posted.


    It did not look like a ce where heroes would be, it was more like a ce where adventurers would hang out. No one even went to greet him and most of the people who were in there were looking at him with hostility. Some of them he recognized as some of the ones who joined the expedition.


    Even with the heavy res directed at him, he did not flinch and went ahead to the reception area where a woman was waiting and smiling. She was the only one with that kind of expression on her face despite all the stares that he was receiving. The woman was trained well.


    "What can I do for you, Young Master Rigel Ginehart?" She asked once the man reached the reception area.


    "You know who I am?" Cygnus''s cool and calm voice showed surprise which made the woman''s smile wider.


    "Yes, no one in the Capital City doesn''t know you. You''ve been the talk of the town nowadays," the woman answered with confidence.


    "Yes, I''ve heard about the rumors that are going around about me. If I may say, all of those are just in ridiculous," heughed. He shook his head then gave the woman a small smile.


    "That must have been the case since none of the people really fully believed the rumors," the woman nodded to agree with the man. She might be working for the Hero Association but she still couldn''t afford to offend a noble.


    "Yes, they''re just rumors to discredit me." Cygnus sighed with a slight pout on his lips which caught the woman by surprise.


    The woman''s face heated up but she managed to get a hold of herself and diverted the conversation instead. "What brought you here, young master?" She asked politely.


    "Oh, I''m here to look for someone," his face suddenly lit up as he remembered what he came there for. He ced both of his hands on the table and leaned a bit forward.


    His actions made the woman back away because the man''s face was a bit close. She was afraid that she won''t be able to do her job properly with the young master''s face so near to her. She cleared her throat and managed to steady herself once again.


    "Who might that be, I would be d to help you locate them?" She asked without stuttering even after getting flustered just seconds ago.


    "He is a hero that goes by the name Arcaine Noire and he calls himself the Hero of Light." Cygnus''s head was slightly tilted up while saying the man''s name as if he was recalling who the man was.

 Chapter 281 Confused Hero

    ?


    After hearing the name, the woman and the heroes in there couldn''t help but gasp. The entire room became silent because none of them expected that the young master from Ginehart would know someone from the Hero Association. After the surprise, they then all looked at him with curiosity.


    "Not to be rude, young master but may I ask what your rtionship with Hero Noire is?" The woman asked after she too recovered from her shock.


    Hero Arcaine Noire was not just someone and the Hero of Light that he called himself was justifiable especially after he came back from defeating a ck dragon. At first, no one believed him but after the witness told them everything he saw and when he presented evidence, the doubts from the others died down. Now, he was one of the top heroes of the association and one of the most popr once because aside from looks he also had the skills.


    "Oh, he''s a friend of mine and he told me that I cane here to look for him anytime. I was just a bit busy these past months that I haven''t had the time toe looking for him. Now that I have some free time, I immediately came to see him." Cygnus straightened his back and answered with a bit of smugness on his voice. He looked genuinely proud to call the hero his friend.


    "Is that so?" Even though the woman still has her doubts she still managed to smile towards him. "I''ll let him know that you are looking for him." The woman looked to the side and gave the other person there a nod.


    Cygnus reached out and stopped the woman for a bit. "Oh wait! Please tell him that a friend he met when he killed that dragon is here to see him."


    The woman was a bit confused but she still gave the go signal to the servant who will pass the message. When Cygnus saw this, he let go of the woman''s hand and thanked her. The woman then pointed him to a vacant table and told him to wait for a bit.


    The gazes of the people inside the room followed him until he sat down but none of them were courageous enough to go and talk to him. Cygnus sat down like he owned the ce because of how he sat down like a king and looked over them. After that, he looked at the menu that was ced on the table and picked it up.


    Based on the reaction of the people in there and that woman, it might take a while before he could meet the man. During that time, he would order first and eat something while waiting. Since he had a lot of money on him right now, he did not hold himself back and ordered everything that caught his eyes.


    In the meantime, the servant reached the room where Hero Arcaine was staying whenever he was in the capital. He knocked three times before he was permitted to enter. He bowed his head after entering the room and he did not raise it to look at the man.


    "What is it?" Arcaine asked after a few seconds that the servant stood. He was busy polishing his sword when he was suddenly interrupted so there''s nothing wrong in punishing the servant a bit.


    "A person is in the reception area right now and he is asking to meet you. ording to him, he is your friend and that you told him toe see you anytime¨C" the servant was interrupted when a ng suddenly sounded inside the room. The servant was startled but he did not dare to look up and talk once again.


    "Friend! Hah, when did I ever have a friend? He must be someone posing as a friend just to scam me! I''ve told you already that you shouldn''t entertain those kinds of people!" He stood up and walked towards the servant.


    He then gripped his cor and raised him from the ground in anger. Ever since he became popr so many people had beening and iming that they were his friends only to end up borrowing money from him or using him to boast their status. He was already so sick of it that he specifically instructed the reception not to entertain those kinds of visitors and yet here they were doing it again.


    "S-Sir, the-the man told us that he is a friend from when you killed that dragon¨C" the servant was suddenly on the floor after he said those words. He coughed a few times and massaged his neck that almost broke because of how the hero tightly gripped his cor.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What?" the hero staggered back. "What did you say?" He couldn''t believe that he would hear something about the dragon once again.


    "The man said that he was a friend you''ve met when you killed the dragon." The servant repeated as he pushed himself up and stood again.


    "Do you know who that person is? And even if he said those words, why are you entertaining him?" He became even more angry. He had not met any friends during that time and the mayor who became his witness already disappeared.


    "That''s because he is no ordinary person and we can''t afford to offend him," the servant answered. "The person looking for you is the young master of Ginehart, Rigel Maverick Ginehart."


    Arcaine was stunned as he froze on the spot where he stood. He couldn''t process the information he received at that moment. Why would the young master of Ginehart be looking at him and why does he know about the dragon incident. He couldn''t think straight as his mind was running miles thinking about it and recalling what happened during that time.


    Ah, yes, he met the General during that time. That must be the reason why the younger Ginehart knew about the dragon incident. There''s no need to worry about it. He just needed to act natural and meet the person.


    "I will meet him then," Arcaine decided. He sent away the servant as he tidied the ce first and made himself presentable before he met his guest.


    The servant went back to the reception area after he too fixed himself andbed back his tousled hair. The woman looked at him with pity but she too could do nothing about it. The servant told her that Hero Arcaine would meet the guest.


    The woman looked at the direction of the young master and nodded her head. "I will tell him and I will also escort him. Please stay here for a while." The woman stepped away from his post and walked past the servant. She gave him a gentle pat on his shoulder.


    Cygnus finished his cup of coffee and half of the sweets he ordered when he saw the woman from reception walking towards him. He took note of the time and saw that thirty minutes already passed. He ced the cup on the table and waited for the woman toe.


    "Hero Arcaine has granted you an audience. I will now escort you to his private lounge." The woman still had her smile as she informed him of the news.


    Murmurs started to circte inside the room when they heard the woman confirm that he was permitted to meet the hero. Cygnus gave them a quick nce before he stood and followed the woman. She entered a door beside the reception table and they walked through a corridor that led to a stair.


    The woman climbed up and they walked until they reached the second floor where an elevator was waiting for them. Unlike the usual ones that he had seen from the modern world, this one was powered by magic. They entered the elevator and the woman pressed number nine out of the fifteen numbers in there.

 Chapter 282 Provoking

    ?


    The woman climbed up and they walked until they reached the second floor where an elevator was waiting for them. Unlike the usual ones that he had seen from the modern world, this one was powered by magic. They entered the elevator and the woman pressed number nine out of the fifteen numbers in there.


    The elevator opened to a wide space where tables, benches and a bar were located on both sides. They walked at the center until they reached a certain room and the woman knocked. In that room there were only four doors.


    Arcaine personally opened the door and warmly weed Cygnus like they were really friends. He did not even greet or thank the woman. She bowed her head and left them without speaking. Cygnus did notment on this as he was pulled inside the room.


    "I didn''t expect that you woulde and visit me, Mr. Ginehart." Arcaine led him to an empty seat as he too sat down on the couch in front of the man.


    "Yes of course, I would, since you are a friend," Cygnus answered as he looked around a bit inside the room before his gaze stopped on the man.


    Arcaine maintained his smile before he asked a question that has been bothering ever since he learned that the person who was looking for him was a Ginehart. "If I may ask, I don''t actually remember meeting you during the time that I yed a dragon, so I am not sure why you are referring to me as your friend."


    "Is that so. You have a very poor memory. I even remembered you ring at me becausedies tend to swoon to me because of my looks during that banquet. I even introduced myself to you, do you perhaps remember the name Rigel Anzel?" Cygnus''s grin widened as the man''s eyes also widened.


    Arcaine remembered it now, he was that guy that kept on stealing his limelight when that banquet happened. He stared at Cygnus and the memories from that incident yed in his mind. He didn''t think that the man was actually a Ginehart.


    "Ah, yes now I remember. I didn''t expect that you were actually a Ginehart!" He eximed as if he was excited to finally meet the man.


    "I''m d that you finally remembered," Cygnus grinned, "I thought you actually forgot about me. I was amazed by you so as soon as I got the time, I came to be your friend. It would be cool to be your friend!"


    The hero was fluttered because of how excited and amazed the young man was. After hearing his words, he was convinced that the man was his fan and that he could use him to increase his poprity. He could also be someone who could support him as a hero.


    "I am also actually d that you remembered me and you even came to visit me. I am really ttered that a person of your status would evene and be friends with me." Arcaine started to y along with Cygnus. This was an opportunity he couldn''t pass because the young man would be able to help him make connections in the world of the aristocrats.


    They continued to tter each other until Cygnus finally bid him goodbye. The hero dly escorted him until the reception area where they bumped into the president of the association. Acasia''s lips twitched when he saw who their guest was. He thought that they would still be on the road at this time but here he was the youngest Ginehart inside his building.


    "Young Master Rigel, I didn''t expect to see you here!" He walked up to them and greeted the young man.


    He briefly looked at Arcaine who was standing beside the young man before he returned his gaze to Cygnus. He couldn''t believe that Arcaine would agree to meet the young master of Ginehart when he hated people meeting him. He couldn''t help but think that something might be going on.


    Cygnus couldn''t help but grin at the thoughts running inside the man''s brain. "Oh yes, I came to visit Hero Arcaine."


    "Is that so, I didn''t know that you know him personally..." The president trailed off.


    Cygnus chuckled, "Yes, I met him when he defeated that dragon. I was amazed by his abilities and wanted to make friends. If I had more free time in the past, I would have visited him already."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The president was even more surprised because he had not heard anything about this from Arcaine. He''ll need to talk to the man about this because having any connections with the Gineharts might be detrimental to them. He did not trust any member of that family.


    "Ah, I never thought that the two of you were friends. I''m d that Arcaine has some friends. He has been avoiding peopletely, this is indeed good news." Acasia was nodding his head as if he was happy with the news. "Are you leaving now?"


    "Yes, I''ve got some things I must do and I just came to see Sir Arcaine and I will being here often," he answered with enthusiasm that made the president grit his teeth.


    "I will be looking forward to your visits then," Acasia nodded his head and even patted Cygnus''s shoulder.


    Cygnus finally left the Hero Association with a grin on his face. The first step to his n was a sess. Now he''ll need effort. He rode the carriage once again and the butler greeted him.


    "It seems that you have seeded, master." The butlermented after he saw the smile on the man''s face. It was an expression he would wear when he was victorious in whatever n he was doing.


    "Yes, of course. I even had the chance to meet the president of the association on my way out. Now that the seed has been nted, I''ll just need to water it a bit and let it grow." Cygnus was happy because nothing wrong happened and everything was going ording to his vision.


    "What will you do now?" The butler asked because all he could do was to support the young master from whatever he was thinking of doing.


    "Let''s go to Vergessen, I missed that ce and I needed some information," he simply answered. He was looking forward to what would happen in the future. The kingdom of Lunaira would be spinning in his palms.


    The butler nodded his head and instructed the carriage driver to take them to Vergessen, specifically to the branch near the slums. Under the scrutiny of the people who saw Rigel going in anding out from the Hero Association spurred a new rumor. It slowly dispelled the rumors that Ginehart disrespected the heroes and that they instead had a good rtionship with each other.


    Acasia snapped and pounded on his table with so much strength that it cracked because the rumor that was supposed to destroy the Ginehart was covered up. Although he was angry at first because some rumors like that started to circte around but, in the end, he did not stop it from spreading. Now that they saw Rigel being epted in the Hero Association, now he couldn''t do anything to prevent him from returning.


    All of this would still happen in the next few days and right now, Cygnus was sitting inside his own bakery. All the other customers were sent away with free drinks and pastries in their hands. Astrophos was also there together with the other workers awaiting the master''smand.


    "No need to be so stiff, I''m just here to get the information about the people that Ignius wanted you all to investigate." He waved his hand to make them feel at ease. Since he was in a good mood, there was no need for his employees to feel burdened because of his visit.


    After hearing the master''s words, Astrophos turned around and looked at the head of the team and gave him a nod. They waited in silence as the man went to collect the documents that the master needed. When the man returned, he immediately gave the documents to Cygnus.


    Cygnus silently read the documents and ced them in two categories. They waited for him to finish and after he was done, he looked at Astrophos. The mage walked to the table and stared at the documents.


    "The people on the right, I want them to be investigated more, starting from their family''s roots. The people on the left, I want them to be surveilled and all their movements listed and reported. I''ll be offering a generous amount to all who will do a good job." He pointed at each stack of papers while giving the instruction. "Take your time and I wille back again when I need that information."


    "I understand. Will you be staying here in the capital?" Astrophos asked after he collected the stack of papers and gave them to the employees of the bakery. The employees immediately returned the stacks of documents in the mage''s office and left them to talk as the other employees exited the room.

 Chapter 283 Bandits

    ?


    It took a day for Fhen to finally return to the bakery. He had been busy stalking people and getting information from them that he thought it was already time to return. Once he returned, he immediately transfered the information he gathered to the employees inside the bakery.


    "You are finally here," Astrophos came out from his office once he heard that Fhen had returned.


    "Yes, I got bored from what I was doing so I came to rest and drink some coffee," he grinned.


    Ever since he came to the capital, his bandit way of doing things has lessened but there are still traces of it. Even the way he talked was rough andcked manners which Astrophos already got used to. Even though he was only a bandit, his loyalty to the master was unwavering.


    "The master wanted you to meet him. He must have something to say," Astrophos informed him.


    Fhin was surprised because after that day that they were called to the capital, the master hadn''t talked to them directly. All of their orders wereing from the butler. This was the first time that the master looked for them.


    "Is that so, then should I go to the manor?" Fhin asked because he was still a bit surprised.


    "Yes," Astrophos nodded. "It would be best for you to go and meet the master there."


    "Should I go like this?" Fhin looked down at what he was wearing with a frown. He was wearing ragged pants with ck boots that turned brown because of the hardened mud that stuck to it. He was wearing an old t-shirt that looked unwashed and a ragged jacket with holes on it.


    Astrophos also looked at him, "You don''t have to worry about your appearance. The master won''t even notice it. Just go to him as soon as you can or he might get impatient."


    Fhin nodded his head and bid the man goodbye. The mage was right, he had no time to think about how he looked because the master''s wordse first. He navigated his way towards the manor using the back-alley ways and withouting in contact with the majority of the city people.


    He walked to one side of the manor''s fences and climbed through it until he reached the top and he jumped down. He didn''t want to be seen entering the main gate with his looks so he opted to climb walls. After entering the manor''s vicinity, he casually walked towards the front door of the structure.


    The butler of the house weed him and even led him to the study that the duke had given to Cygnus. Fhin bowed and nodded towards the master before he stood in alert to await the master''s orders. Cygnus yawned for a second before he looked at the man.


    "Now that you are already here, I assume that the others are also here," Cygnus started as he looked at Fhin.


    "Yes, master. They''ve been on stand-by as we wait for yourmand," Fhin answered with a somewhat high-pitched voice that cracked a bit in the end.


    "That is good. I''m nning on giving the heroes some work to do while I infiltrate their ranks. Now, this distraction will be entrusted to you and to your brothers." Cygnus stretched out his arm and ced it above the table.


    "What shall we do, master?" the bandit leader asked. He needed to know what exactly the master wanted so that he could do a good job at doing it.


    "Do what bandits do," was the master''s simple answer. Fhin couldn''t help but grin when he heard what the master wanted to do.


    "It would be my pleasure," Fhin bowed his head with the grin on his mouth and before he left, he asked the master one more question, "do you have any more instructions master?"


    "You can begin anytime. I want it to be spontaneous. It should get their attention," Cygnus answered, "oh and you can begin anytime."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Fhin acknowledged the master''s words and bid him goodbye. He left with a skip on his steps because finally the master had something for them to do. He must show the master that he could carry out hismands perfectly.


    The bandit leader immediately met with his people and told them their work. They became excited because finally they could bring fear to the hearts of the people in the capital and that they were free to do what they wanted. A loud cheer rang in area as they all became excited.


    "When are we going to start boss?" one of the bandits shouted from the back. They were eager to do what they do best and were looking forward to chaos.


    "Why don''t we start tomorrow. Let''s do it with a bang and destroy some properties. Take everything with you and kill everyone on site, oh wait, let''s make sure that there will be witnesses left behind," Fhin instructed. Since the master wanted it to be spontaneous and eye-catching, he added one more instruction, "Let''s also light a fire!"


    At hisst statement, the whistles and cheers from the bandits became louder. And as per tradition, they''ll need to drink booze before doing any job and that night, they celebrated with liquor, food and songs. The next morning, they were still energetic and ready to go.


    They patiently waited for the night toe and when the sun had set their eyes brightened in glee. Their weapons were ready and even their bodies were burning with the desire to shed blood. Fhin looked at his brothers and was satisfied with the fire in their eyes.


    "Let''s go," Fhin raised his hand and waved it forward. The bandits shouted and walked forward towards the city under the nose of the city guards.


    The night was silent and peaceful as the people were silently going to bed or enjoying their night life. The bandits moved within the shadows of the night and silently made their way to their targeted location. It was the richest part of the city where the bigshot merchants were located. This was the ce where one could find the finest clothes and jewels and crafts and everything valuable.


    They looked at the ce and found it empty with only a few guards that were roaming around to guard the shops. Even though they held swords, these guards had no way of winning against a surprise attack. From the roofs of the shops, the bandits jumped and silentlynded behind the guards as they slit the throat of the unsuspecting soldiers.


    In just one fell swoop the guards were all killed without them putting up a fight. They then entered the shops by group and silently bagged all of the expensive things they could find inside. Once all was put in the bag, they then started to break the sses. The loud noise was heard by the adjacent residential area.


    One of the people in that residential part of the ce woke up and looked outside his window. He was about to yell at the person or people that were creating so much noise in the night, when he saw something that made him think that he was dreaming. He could see people moving on the road and destroying the shops below and he could also see them carrying awayrge sacks on their shoulders.


    He closed his eyes and opened them again when he finally realized that there was something wrong. He could also see some bodies on the ground because there were streetmps scattered on both sides of the road. His eyes widened in shock which made him shout.


    "Thieves!" He shouted at the top of his lungs which woke his wife who was sleeping on the bed. The woman stood up and looked out the window only to see those people lighting up the shops.


    "No!" She shouted in the hopes that they would hear her and stop but no matter how much she shouted, the people did not stop.


    The woman ran after his husband who was already on the first floor of their house. The moment he opened his door, the ce was already burning. The man started to run in a panic as he went to knock on the door of his neighbors.


    When the neighbors awoke because of themotion, the fire had already gotten stronger and it made the ce brighter. The smoke also started to rise up from the burning wood and other materials in each shop. This incident caught the attention of the other patrols so they rushed towards the ce of the fire.


    They were taken aback by the scene they met after they reached the ce. One of them even started to run towards the fire and pulled something from it. He dragged the corpse on his back until he reached the ce where the other soldiers were.


    They were still busy assessing the situation when they heard a loud chanting from the other side of the fire. "We bandits will soon rule this ce!" The sentence was repeated a few times before their voices slowly receded and left the ce with their loot.


    Upon the arrival of the mages, the fire was immediately put out but not before destroying everything it touched. Not even a semnce of what the street was before removed. Every shop that caught fire turned into ashes.

 Chapter 284 Chasing

    ?


    This incident reached the king and even thest words of the man was reported. The king did not expect that bandits would suddenly appear in the city. This was the reason there were so many soldiers assigned in every corner of the city to prevent this kind of thing from happening. He couldn''t believe that they were still able to sneak inside the city.


    During that whole night the city was covered in fear and not many were able to sleep. They were too afraid to close their eyes because the bandits might return and target them next. The owners of the shops came running as soon as they heard what happened.


    It was a horrible scene and all of their products were gone. What made it even more horrifying was the death of all the guards that were patrolling the area. No one even noticed that the shops were being robbed because ording to the witnesses, they didn''t hear any sound.


    When they woke up, it was already when the bandits were breaking the ss and windows after they took everything. The wholemotion became messy when fire started to eat away at the shops. The soldiers who were sent to investigate the incident concluded that these bandits were not ordinary.


    Entering the city without being noticed by the guards and killing the patrols without making any sound made them more like assassins than a group of bandits. If not for the stolen goods, the soldiers would really think that they were assassins. All of these suspicious points were sent to the king.


    King Orpheus stared at the report before he took a piece of paper and wrote something. He added some other points that should be included in the investigation. He didn''t believe that they could have done it by themselves. An aplice, there should be a person in the capital who would have helped them but to know more about it they''ll need to capture the bandits.


    He could create a list of people who had the ability to use bandits as their means of growing power but even if he did there was no other way of narrowing the list down. In the end they would still need the cooperation of those bandits. He leaned on his seat and looked at his secretary.


    "Call President Acasia for me and also General Ishmael. Have the Minister of Affairse to me as well," the kingmanded and the secretary left.


    He''ll need to capture those bandits to ease the worries of the people. This has be a big deal because the merchants that lost their business and goods would surely be petitioning him to make more efforts in capturing those bandits. They''ll surely talk about justice and would use their support as a threat to the king.


    It did not take long for Acasia, Ishmael and the Minister of Affairs to arrive at the king''s study. They were already informed of the status of the incident and the basic details about it before they arrived. They already knew what the king would talk about.


    "As you have already been informed, I believe, we are facing a circumstance right now that needs attention. Bandits attackedst night and killed several of our guards and burned some businesses." He started which earned him nods from the three of them. "I''ll be assigning you tasks rted to this event."


    He briefed them of what they should do. Acasia was requested to dispatch some of the heroes to help with the security of the capital and to help the soldiers under General Ishmael to scout the surrounding area outside of the city. The Minister of Affairs was to work in making sure that the people were pacified and assured that they were safe.


    "How about the mages?" Acasia asked because he couldn''t let all of the heroes do the work since most of them were already on a mission.


    "I''ve already assigned them to help in the investigation. The tower hasn''t settled yet and the strong mages that they once had are gone. Their ranks are still not finalized but they still offered their help. I''ll be assigning some to help in patrolling and scouting." Since they were the first on the scene together with the soldiers, they immediately offered their help so their work was assigned.


    They were dismissed after some more details were finalized and the three of them left the king''s study. He then looked at his secretary and extended his hand. The man who had been silently standing on the side stepped forward and handed the king some other documents that he should be looking through right now.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are there any unusual movements from the nobility?" He ced the documents on the table and started to browse through them.


    "None as of the moment. All of them seemed to have been genuinely shocked at what happenedst night," the secretary answered. Before he called for the three leaders, he met with the spies first to hear their report before he went to pass the king''s message.


    "Continue to watch them and take note of all of their movements. Some of them might be faking it." The king did not look up from the paper he was reading but his words carry seriousness that couldn''t be ignored.


    "Yes, your majesty." The secretary bowed his head and left the king''s study to give him the peace and time to go over the documents that needed his attention.


    Cygnus, Linius and Ulysses were currently dining outside when they heard the whispers of the servants that were passing by. The incident that night has be a hot topic that it immediately reached even the duke''s manor. The servants couldn''t stop talking about it because they feared that the bandits might target the manor too.


    "What a raucous," Ulysses sighed. It was supposed to be a peaceful morning for him before he leaves for Ginehart but the news ruined it all.


    "For those bandits to be able to enter the city, something fishy is happening behind the scenes." Cygnus slowly sliced the meat on his te as hemented on the issue at hand.


    "I heard that they were able to kill all the guards without anyone noticing. If I must say, their coordination and skills are way above average," Ulysses alsomented.


    Cygnus nodded in acknowledgement. "Indeed, and it is very impressive. I wonder what the king would do? He hasn''t called for brother to help in the investigation? I''m sure that his Mage Brigade would be able to help them track down the bandits."


    "The king won''t call me. I''ve just recently finished the expedition and he didn''t want me on the spotlight once again. Even with my resources he would avoid me as much as he could." Linius ced down his fork and spoon on the side of his te and wiped his mouth. "That works for me too besides he already had the Magic Tower, Hero Association and General Ishmael helping him."


    Cygnus hummed while looking at his remaining food. "Oh, then he really wouldn''t need you." He couldn''t help butugh at the end. "The king promoted you as a general and yet he refuses to use your services. Ah what an irony."


    "The king has been afraid of the four duchies because of the power they hold. That is why the king has been limiting the activities of each duchy. I will not be surprised if he is plotting something against the four dukes," Ulysses leaned on his chair.


    "Understandably so since your influence isn''t a joke. If you ever choose to work together to bring down the royal family, they will not have the ability to fight back." Cygnus grinned at the duke because for some reason this wouldn''t even happen.


    "Even if the king fret or be worried about it, there''s no way that the four duchies would unite. It never happened before and it would not happen now. Only ckwell will unite with Ginehart as for the other duchy, they are too arrogant for unification." Ulysses has never seen the four duchies in good terms.

 Chapter 285 Clueless

    ?


    Each territory had their own goals and pride that they couldn''t lower their standards. No matter what the king thought about the other two duchies wouldn''t even bat an eye towards Ginehart and ckwell. There was also a long-standing unwritten agreement between them. ''Mind your own business'', no matter what happens none of the duchies could interfere with each other.


    This agreement however doesn''t apply to Ginehart and ckwell since both the dukes of these territories were friends. Whatever the king was thinking, all Ulysses could do was to prepare himself. It was no use in overthinking about it. He would just let him think whatever he wants.


    "Are you still going to investigate though?" Cygnus shifted his attention to his brother.


    "No, let them do that and I won''t interfere. I''d rather be a homebody for now. The king might find me annoying if I start investigating on my own." Linius was quick to answer because he had not desire to add another problem to his already messy life.


    "If that''s the case, then, I will be returning to Ginehart too and keep my hands off this matter." Ulysses stood and looked around the manor. "Look after the manor and don''t create any problems for now. Let''sy low."


    Ulysses bid his two sons goodbye and immediately left the manor. Cygnus and Linius also went their separate ways after breakfast. Cygnus once again went to Vergessen to check on it and also to meet with Fhin.


    "I am impressed with your work." He looked at the bandit leader with a grin because he was pleasantly surprised that they were able to pull out that kind of performance.


    "Thank you master," Fhin bowed and was d because of the praise. He was also relieved because the master was satisfied with their work.


    "I want you to keep up with your work and don''t disappoint me," Cygnus waved his hand. He then pped them and stood up to tap the man''s shoulder.


    "By the way master, what shall we do with the loot that we got?" They only stored everything they got from the stores and didn''t touch anything. The feeling of fulfilling their master''smand was enough for them.


    "You can keep all of it for yourselves. I don''t have any use for them." Cygnus took a step back after he answered the man''s question.


    "Are you sure master? There''s a lot of valuable jewels in those loots." Fhin was surprised after he heard the master''s answer. They got everything because they wanted to offer all of it to the master but he didn''t want them.


    "Just use them for yourselves or for that base of yours. I''ve got plenty of those so I don''t need any more of it." Cygnus shook his head because he had no intentions of adding more junk to his collection. What he has in his dimensional storage couldn''t bepared to what they had taken from those small stores.


    Fhin''s eyes widened and before he knew it, his body was already bowing down in a ny-degree angle. They could indeed use the loot to improve the life of their children back at the base. They won''t be worried about what they should wear and eat. Repairs for their homes would be easy. "Thank you so much master! We will never forget this generosity."


    "No need to be thankful. Think of it as your reward for working hard for me. I just hope that you won''t disappoint me." Cygnus grinned as he turned around with Mr. C. They left the shop after that went to the other branch so as to not make the spies following them suspicious.


    Fhin returned to their base using the gate that the master made for them. He was in a good mood when he ryed the master''s message to all of them. The crowd cheered because of that and they were even more grateful because of the reward. They became even more enthusiastic to go for another round of stealing and killing.


    On the other hand, General Ishmael finished organizing the groups that will patrol the areas around the city. Their main goal was to find clues or even locate the bandits. Acasia also dispatched groups of heroes that would roam around the whole city to prevent any bandits from creating trouble for them just in case they were still inside the city. The mages on the other hand were tasked to track down the bandits because the king doesn''t believe that they already left.


    The surveince of the Capital City Lumier tightened but it didn''t make the people feel at ease. Even after the Minister of Affairs ryed the king''s message to them, the people were still afraid. For three consecutive days, they couldn''t sleep and if they managed to fall asleep, they would just be woken up by any slight noise from the outside.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The investigation was slowly moving because of theck of evidence and clues as to who the bandits were. They barely left traces from the ce of incidence and this caused quite an uproar at the pce because the merchants were not satisfied with theck of result. They couldn''t stop their rage because they''ve already lost arge amount of money and now the bandits were nowhere to be found.


    It was a chaotic mess that the king needed to reiterate to them so many times that he had sent his elite men to capture those bandits. Even the entrance and exit to the capital were strictly guarded and inspected. Once they finally calmed down, they were ushered outside of the pce.


    "There must have been someone among their ranks who can use magic. They could have used teleportation," General Ishmael suggested.


    It was a viable conclusion but the mages hadn''t found any traces of magic being used on the site. Even after rounding the whole area around the capital city a few times did not give them any clues and the mages also didn''t find any traces of magic.


    "Are there any ways to hide traces of magic that a mage used?" The king was now looking at the mage that came with the general to report.


    "There are some of them that can be easily detected but some of them would be difficult to detect. We''ve tested every method to dispel any anti-detection magic around the site but came up with nothing. We tried the more difficult ones which yielded with no results. There are only two possibilities for this, it''s either the bandits did not use magic or they have a magic user within their ranks that has found a way to hide their traces in a way that we can''t dispel," the mage exined.


    "Will there be a chance for us to catch these people if they strike again?" The king wondered out loud.


    He was thinking of waiting for them to attack again while theyy in wait. This way they would have a higher chance of capturing them. Since they''ve already wasted so much time running around without a clue, it would be best to focus their energy inside the city.


    "That would be possible, your majesty. This way our forces won''t be divided when they attack again." General Ishmael agreed with the n. It was better to wait for them than to spend their energy around without any results.


    With that, all groups were recalled and rearranged. They were then redeployed to different areas of the city while waiting for the bandits to strike again. This arrangement remained for a whole week which made the people frown and the merchants impatient.


    "This ce is a bit empty," Cygnusmented when he once visited the Hero Association. Unlike the first time he visited, there were no people in the reception area except for the receptionist.


    "Almost all of them had been dispatched as per the king''s orders," the woman answered. This time the doubts in her mind already disappeared as she calmly talked with Cygnus.


    "Then that means that even Hero Arcaine is not here?" He asked with a bit of disappointment in his voice.


    "I''m afraid so. It would be difficult for you to meet him well, not until they catch those bandits." The woman nodded with sympathy in her eyes.


    "Then can I at leaste here once in a while to drink coffee even if Hero Arcaine isn''t here?" He asked in anticipation which made the woman smile.


    "Yes, of course you are wee here anytime."

 Chapter 286 Festive

    ?


    It was a bright day and the market was busy as always. During this time, the people temporarily forgot about the bandit attack. The streets were busy and full of activity. There were different goods on each stall on each side of the road. It was a lively day for everyone and an opportunity for the enemy to attack.


    Despite the heightened security, chaos and explosions still happened within the midst of the celebration. The people started to shout and scatter in different directions after the first explosion happened. During the second explosion, the market became even more chaotic.


    There was a rush of people who were running towards the exit. They were pushing and pulling each other just to get out of the ce without regard to the other people who were with them. The streets were vacated in the blink of an eye but all of the people were at the exit. Some of them took cover behind their stalls because they didn''t want to get caught in the rush of people.


    Fhin saw this and he grinned. They were able to do a surprise attack thanks to the master''s gate. He looked behind him and nodded to his men. The members of his groupnded on the ground without a sound and started to enter the buildings and rummaged through the stalls.


    The people who were hiding inside or behind did not make a fuss and let the bandits get what they wanted. While they were busy, soldiers, mages and heroes came to the scene in full force. They immediately surrounded the bandits with their swords and magic ready.


    General Ishmael was also there to personally supervise their capture. The man did not need to say any words as he only gestured his hand forward. This signal made all the people at once and they attacked the bandits.


    Even at the face of the kingdom''s military and magic users, the bandits weren''t fazed. While they were being surrounded, another group of bandits silently moved around behind them. They used stealth that the master taught them to do and waited for the right to ambush.


    The bandits were forced to move towards the center of the street and face the forces that were after them. The mages were the first to attack as they used an immobilization magic to restrain the bandits and give the soldiers and heroes the chance to attack. The bandits appeared to be frozen in ce so they were encouraged to attack.


    With their weapons, they stabbed and shed in the direction of the bandits only to be surprised because they were able to avoid their attacks. The mages were also taken aback because they honestly thought that they got them in ce. With a frown, the heroes joined the fray.


    They used their magic inbination with their weapons. But the bandits were protected which could be attributed to the clothing they wore. The mages could see that each time magic would hit the bandits, their clothes would glow silver. They were familiar with the magic imbued with the clothes because it was used to dispel any magic that could cause harm to the user.


    "They''re using clothes that could negate any magic," one of the mages announced which the others heard. This only means that they won''t be able to use magic against the bandits.


    Even the general was surprised because of the information. He did not have the time to even wonder where they got such kind of clothing. Instead of bing flustered, the general maintained his calmness andmanded his soldiers well. Since the bandits couldn''t use any magic themselves and could only rely on equipment, the soldiers needed to step up their game.


    Without any question, the soldiers moved forward and crossed des with the bandits. The market street of the capital became an instant battlefield. The shing and nging of weapons crossing one another echoed in the air. The mages stepped back because they couldn''t really fight without their spells.


    The heroes also brandished their weapons and attacked but the bandits were holding themselves against their enemies. They were not to be underestimated because they trained themselves for this moment. They were confident that they were not going to lose. In that moment of unified thought the bandits suddenly became enthusiastic and their movements became sharper as a de and faster.


    Some of the soldiers were fatally wounded because of the sudden change in the bandit''s movements. They were caught off guard but because of their experience, they managed to bounce back and counterattack. Despite the skills that they showed, they were still outnumbered. The bandits were once again pushed in the center and were forced to take on a defense.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    General Ishmael grinned because they were able to corner the bandits and he thought that they would be able to catch the bandits but then they heard shouts from behind. The mages were caught off guard as bandits appeared behind them and one by one slit them on the throat. General Ishmael turned around and saw this bloody scene.


    Before they could even organize to divide their forces, the second group of bandits were already on the move and running towards them. If the first group of bandits were onlyposed of twenty people, the second group almost equaled the number of the soldiers and heroes that were on the site. This created chaos within the ranks of the forces of the kingdom as the bandits attacked without mercy.


    General Ishmael was also forced to unsheathe his sword and join the fight. During the battle, he was able to wound and kill some of the bandits but the loss on their side was greater than what he had expected. Still, he gritted his teeth because they had a mission to capture the bandits.


    This decision added more loss to their side and before he could call out for them to retreat, the bandits took the initiative. They even managed to get the bodies of theirrades who were wounded and died in the fight. Fhin looked at the general and grinned because he knew that they wouldn''t be able to chase them.


    They turned around and ran away. The kingdom''s remaining forces wanted to go after them but the general stopped them. They were already lucky to stop the bandits from causing more trouble and they don''t have enough people to chase the enemy. Despite that, the heroes who joined them volunteered to go after them.


    Ishmael frowned but because they have the ability to track them, he gave them permission. His remaining men instead gathered the body of the fallen soldiers and mages before hemanded them to cordon off the entire ce. He also sent a messenger to the Magic Tower to inform them of what happened.


    The incident during the market day quickly spread like wildfire and it struck fear to the people of the capital. Even the areas on the far ends of the capitals received the news. They then started to refrain from going to the capital''s center as much as they could because of the event.


    The king pounded his desk, hard, because of what happened and because of the casualty. Now the Magic Tower refused to lend their mages because of the death. The only constion he had was that the Magic Tower would allow any mages to participate if they wanted it. The king could offer a great reward to the mages and that should solve the problem.


    He was also angry because they lost many of their soldiers. He considered them elite but he did not expect that the bandits were more ruthless and had that kind of strength. He tightly shut his eyes in order to calm himself. He even took several deep breaths to help him be calm.


    "I agree with the conclusion that the bandits have a backer. ording to one of the mages who were with us during that time, the bandits were wearing clothes that can neutralize magic and I suspect that all of them had that kind of clothes." General Ishmael spoke even though he knew that the king was not in a good mood.


    "And?" the king asked with his eyes still closed. If that was the case then they''ll just need to find that backer and detain him.


    "The person behind them might be extremely rich. ording to the Magic Tower, imbuing magic on a cloth is expensive and for all of them to ess clothes imbued with magic will mean that they spent a lot of money for it." The general sounded more confident as he stood there with his hands behind his back.


    "Only aristocratic families could provide them with that kind of resources. In our kingdom there are a handful of families with wealth. It''s like we are looking for a needle that fell in a haystack. If that''s the only clue we got from that battle, then it is not enough." Orpheus opened his eyes and stared at the general.


    They could check all the aristocratic families but it would take too much time. Even if they eliminate all the other families that don''t have the finances, there will still be a lot of names that would remain in the list. It was too much work and the people of Lumiere were already overshadowed by fear.

 Chapter 287 A Deal

    ?


    Cygnus was currently reading some documents regarding the people that Vergessen investigated when the news reached him. He grinned when he heard what happened. Those bandits were really doing their best in spreading fear in the city.


    "They''re doing well," he couldn''t help butment after he finished reading thest of the documents.


    "They are motivated by your generosity," Mr. C answered.


    Cygnusughed. "Just a small amount of favor and they are already doing whatever I want. This is really great!" He stood up.


    "Where are you going master?" Mr. C asked after he saw that the master was picking up his coat and putting it on.


    "I''m going to the Hero Association," he simply answered. The butler hastily followed behind as they left the manor.


    They were once again weed in the Hero Association''s headquarters. The woman in the reception gave the man a smile and pointed him at his usual table. Cygnus nodded and went ahead to take a seat after that, he casually ordered.


    He had been sitting there for an hour now when he finally got a glimpse of the association''s president. He stood up and walked to the entrance to greet the man. Acasia was surprised when he saw who it was that was standing on the headquarters'' entrance.


    "Young Master Ginehart, you are here again?" He stopped on his tracks to greet the man who was clearly there to greet them.


    "Hello president. Yes, I''ve beening here and rxing these past few days in hopes of seeing you or Arcaine but all of you seem to be busy," his gaze went behind the president and at the people who were following behind.


    "Yes, we are." He looked back and nodded towards his subordinates.


    They walked past them and went back to the elevator. The two of them were left in the lobby for a moment. Acasia stared at the young man for a while as he tried to guess what was on his mind.


    "Is this rted to the bandit incidents?" Cygnus asked after a while. Now that he was there, he would need to act.


    "Yes, we''ve been trying to track them down," Acasia carefully answered. He couldn''t help but be apprehensive while speaking to the young man.


    "I heard that they''re quite skilled and they killed a lot of mages that''s why the Magic Tower now refused to let any unwilling mages work with the military. Should I ask some of my friends to help? I heard that the king was willing to pay a handsome price for any willing mages," Cygnus spoke with a serious expression.


    To Acasia he looked like he was seriously considering what he had said and it tempted him to agree. Although the heroes could help, mages who specialize in many kinds of magic would be of greater help.


    "But heroes are good too, right? I heard that heroes could solve any problem thates to the kingdom and that they have extraordinary talents that they could use to defeat an enemy," Cygnus added.


    The thought of cooperating with the young man vanished at those words. That was only used to promote the Hero Association. Yes, there are heroes with extraordinary talents but they were also arrogant and didn''t always listen to him. Most of them were always on a mission and they don''t even return to the headquarters after their missions.


    Acasia needed to find a way to keep his association''s reputation intact so he made that line up. In fact most of the heroes in the headquarters were at rank C, there were some at rank B and A and at the moment the only rank S in the association was Arcaine. He was just there to rest for a while before heading out for a mission. They were lucky because at least an S rank hero was there.


    "Those are just rumors. You don''t need to believe them. Of course, we heroes would also need help." The man forced himself to smile despite the anger that was bubbling inside of him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus nodded. "So, how about it, should I let my friends help you? I''ll even make sure to talk with the king regarding this matter. Don''t worry because you''ll get the full credits and my friends will get the money. Isn''t that a good deal already?"


    Acasia was once again being tempted. After hearing that the credits would be theirs, he was ready to say yes. The only problem he had was the fact that the offer wasing from a Ginehart. He did not trust the young man.


    "Why not ept Rigel''s offer?" A voice came from behind the president and saw that Arcaine was walking towards them. "You won''t be at a loss and besides even though I''m an S rank, I can''t manage everything. At least let them work for me."


    The president was still a bit skeptical even with Arcaine''s words. He knew that he could waste the opportunity but to trust a Ginehart was out of the question. He remained silent even after Arcaine reached them.


    "If you are having doubts then I will use my name to vouch for him. I''ve just gone to the magic tower and they refused to send anyone to help me and there are only unwilling mages out there," the frustration on his voice was noticeable.


    With those words from Arcaine, Acasia eventually agreed. He closed his eyes and told them that he would ept the man''s offer. The man''s frustration couldn''t be denied because their enemy was difficult to capture. They were in a pinch because of this.


    "Alright, I will take you up on that offer and I hope that you would keep your end of the bargain." Acasia finally relented and just to make sure, he invited the man into his office so that they could draft a document that records their deal.


    Cygnus did not show any hesitation and followed behind them. Since it was only a written agreement there was no use in worrying about it. He would sign it and be done with it because it was the only way to get the man''s trust.


    Once they were inside, the president immediately drew a document detailing the content of their agreement. He was meticulous because he didn''t want the young man to suddenly back out. It took him only thirty minutes to finalize the agreement before handing it to Cygnus.


    Cygnus browsed through the agreement and after that he signed without hesitation. Arcaine also read the document and affixed his signature on the paper. Once they were done, it was Acasia''s turn to sing on the paper and after everything was done, Acasia used a copying device to create a copy of the document which he gave to each one of them.


    "Then, I''ll send them here tomorrow and I would mee the king to let him know of this arrangement." Cygnus handed the document to Mr. C who had been standing behind him.


    "We will be waiting for you then. For now, why don''t you go down and continue with your food. You won''t need to pay for anything." Acasia offered his goodwill which the master dly epted.


    Both he and Arcaine went down to enjoy the short time of peace they have. The woman in the reception dly served them whatever they wanted. Arcaine was also d because he managed to build his image in front of the young man. Even if he left the Hero Association, he still had one way out and that was the Ginehart family.


    "Isn''t the general going to step in?" Arcaine couldn''t help but ask. The general''s manpower would be a bit helpful, so he wondered why the general was not making a move.


    "I''ve asked my brother about it and he told me that without the king''smand he can''t intervene in the investigation or even lend help. He was stubborn and refused to do anything about it, so right now he is currently training the soldiers under hismand." Cygnus took a bite on his cake after he answered the hero.


    "Oh, I didn''t expect the general to bew abiding." Arcaine was surprised because of what he heard. All this time he thought that the general was someone that would spring into action when a crisis in the kingdom would appear.


    "Yes, he is. With no edict from the king, he will not make a move or intervene within the affairs of the kingdom." Cygnus nodded after taking thest bite of the cake he was eating.


    This was actually eye opening because the hero didn''t expect the family to be a bit uptight with the exception of Rigel though. It was better for him to get the young man''s trust first before he would try to get close to the general or the duke. He was confident that with the help of Rigel that woulde easy in the future.


    After another thirty minutes, Cygnus finally bid the hero goodbye. He went home and went to Linius''s training grounds where he found the man overseeing the training of the soldiers. They were currently doing push-ups at the same time. The moment he stepped in there, his presence did not escape the soldiers but they did not stop.

 Chapter 288 The Same Team

    ?


    Cygnus could hear them shouting that they were already at one hundred ten. He watched in fascination as they did the exercise inplete synchronization even after he let out his magic aura that could overwhelm anyone. Linius also felt his presence so he stopped watching his soldiers and looked behind to see that Cygnus was walking towards him.


    He waited as he asked after the man finally reached him, "What is it?" The frown on his face made Cygnusugh.


    "It''s still the day and yet you are already frowning. What puts you in a bad mood?" Cygnus asked as he looked around.


    Linius sighed, "Just tell me what you want." Linius walked to one of the empty benches and sat down. He waited for his younger brother to sit down too.


    "I will be borrowing Nina for the meantime," Cygnus answered after he sat down. He ced both of his hands on each side as he held the end of the bench. He was not looking at the general even after he finished speaking.


    "Why are you telling me this? Nina has been working for you ever since, so there''s no need for you to ask for permission when you want to pull her out." Linius had no control over what the man wanted to do with his men, that was why he did not expect that the man would go to him like he was actually asking for permission.


    "This is just for formality because she had been working for your Magic Brigade and it would be rude of me if I don''t inform you and one more thing, I''d also like Lieutenant Ainr to join me," the master exined.


    "Why would you need him and why would you suddenly pull-out Nina? What are you nning?" Linius couldn''t hold it any longer and asked.


    He had received reports that the master had been visiting the Hero Association and was interacting with the people there. Now, he came here to ask for his lieutenant''s help without even telling him what was happening. He needed to at least stand his ground this time.


    "I''m nning on collecting a debt and I need their help to make that happen," Cygnus grinned. Well, this was the main reason why he went there but on the other hand another agenda popped up and he was not about to tell the general about it.


    "From whom?" the general''s brows knitted together when he heard that someone actually owed a debt to the master.


    While he thought about it, he realized that he too owed the man a debt because he had helped them plenty of times. This was also the reason why they were supporting him and going along with his whims. It was fine as long as it did not bring harm to his family or to his people, they wouldn''t mind going along with him.


    "A hero who thought that he could get away with injuring my dragon," Cygnusughed. "Remember that person during the dragon attack in the city of Alfonso?"


    Linius recalled that incident and he also recalled that hero. He appeared to be amiable but all he cared about was his looks and in the end he ran away. He vaguely recalled that there was also that time when a hero became popr because he defeated a dragon.


    At that time, he did not think that it was the same hero they encountered. He was also swamped with many things that he did not have any time to think about. Linius once again looked at the master.


    "How could he have a debt with you when you sent your dragon to destroy that town? In the first ce it was your fault," hemented which made the master freeze.


    He looked at the general with wide eyes and unbelief written all over his face. "You are kidding right?" He gasped.


    Linius did not answer but the master could clearly read his mind. The general was serious about it. Cygnus sighed and shook his head before his expression returned to normal.


    "Then it doesn''t matter what my reasons are. I''ll just let your lieutenant work with the Hero Association to capture those bandits." Cygnus did not borate and just told him the main reason why he needed the lieutenant''s help.


    Linius was silent for a moment before he finally relented. Since he was bound by a contract, there''s really no use in denying the master''s request. "Then I will send Ainr to youter. Are you going to the pce then?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yes, as much as I love chaos, I needed to refrain for now so I need to ask for the king''s approval." Cygnus finally stood up after he got the general''s permission. He bid him goodbye and gave the soldiers onest nce before he finally left.


    After he left, the soldiers were finally given the chance to rest. They looked at the general and his dark expression made them a bit apprehensive. They did not have the courage to even speak.


    "Are you sure that you''ll let him be?" Lieutenant Lisbon was the only one who had the courage to do so. He heard what they talked about since he was not an outsider as to who the young master was.


    Although he was reluctant, the general still agreed to let him do whatever he wanted. "There''s nothing I could do and instruct the men to stop following my brother and let him be. Call Lieutenant Ainr and Nina then direct them to my study."


    The lieutenant nodded as he looked back behind and dismissed the soldiers. Linius left the training grounds to wait for the two of them toe. He also needed to organize his thoughts after he had a talk with them.


    Lieutenant Lisbon used the gate and went straight to the Magic Brigade''s training grounds where he saw Nina and Leif arguing with each other again. They have been at each other''s throat ever since Nina was assigned to the brigade. The woman was feisty and did whatever she wanted which always got on the lieutenant''s nerves.


    "Enough of that, the general is looking for the both of you." Lisbon spoke while walking towards them.


    Both of them stopped and looked at the man. They saw that he was serious which means that the general needed them for something serious. Leif stood straight and straightened his clothes while the woman frowned because she didn''t like being called. In her opinion only the master couldmand him.


    "What does he need now?" She sighed and crossed her hands in front of her chest. Her words and actions made Leif more irritated once again.


    "He has something important to do," Lisbon answered. He did not borate on what it was about and made it strictly business. "The general would exin everything to you, so you should go now because he is waiting for the two of you."


    Without questions, Leif gave Lisbon a salute and left first. He had no time to spend in useless squabble with the woman. The general''s orderse first. Lisbon''s gaze bored at the woman who had no intention of moving. Nina then reluctantly followed behind Leif who was already nowhere in sight.


    Leif was the first one to arrive in the general''s office and he was told to sit down as they waited for Nina who was taking her time in walking. After ten minutes of waiting the woman finally arrived and reluctantly sat down. Linius looked at the both of them and observed that the both of them were avoiding each other''s eyes.


    "I''ve called you here because Rigel came to me a while ago. He wanted Nina to return to him and he also requested for your cooperation, Lieutenant Ainr," the general dropped the bomb without any prior notice which caught the both of them off-guard.


    Nina broke out into a brilliant smile when she heard that she would be returning to his master but this happiness died immediately after she heard that Leif was also being requested. The smile on her face was reced with a cold gaze that was directed towards Leif. On the other hand, the lieutenant was shocked because of what he heard.


    He did not expect that the young master of Ginehart would request his help. "What kind of mission are we going to do?" He asked after he managed to calm the beating of his heart.


    "Rigel will discuss with you the details. So, tomorrow you will report to him and assist him to the best of your ability." Linius looked at them while speaking. He too did not know what they were going to do so it was better for Rigel to exin it to them.


    "I understand," Lieutenant Ainr nodded towards the general. This was an opportunity for him as well to know the young master more. He had been amazed by the young man so it was really his pleasure to be able to assist another Ginehart member.


    "I hope you survived," Nina on the other hand couldn''t help but sneer at the lieutenant''s direction.

 Chapter 289 Done

    The general and the lieutenant heard the woman''s words and both of them looked in her direction. The truth was that Leif didn''t understand why the woman was always angry at him when he did not do anything wrong. He always wondered and whenever he tried to ask, the woman would not answer.


    "Of course, I will," Leif answered with confidence, which did not impress the woman whatsoever. He shrugged it off and decided to just ignore the woman.


    They left the study and went their separate ways without talking with each other. Nina decided to go directly to the master and ask him what their mission was. She intended to find him but was informed that he was out.


    During this time, Cygnus was already on his way to the pce. With his brother''s connection, he was able to set up a meeting with the king and for some reason his request was easily approved. This did not matter though because it was in favor to him.


    Lunaira''s pce was majestic as always. The tall structure overlooks the whole City of Lumier as if it was showing its power and dominance. They continued towards the entrance and were met with the king''s secretary.


    The man warmly weed them and personally ushered them to the king''s study where a table of all kinds of treats were prepared for them. Cygnus also noticed that some of the treats were from his own bakery so he felt proud and pleased. The king was not in the study because he was in a meeting so they were ushered to the table and allowed to have some snacks first.


    After about thirty minutes which the master did not even notice, the king finally arrived. Cygnus stood up and greeted the man but he was stopped and signaled to sit down. Orpheus liked the young man so he didn''t mind if he was a bit informal. He then took the seat on the opposite side of the table facing Cygnus.


    "I was d to ept your request because the Magic Tower has been making our lives difficult," the king started. He sighed and shook his head in exasperation because of what happened.


    "Well, I kind of understand them. They did not expect that the bandits would be able to kill many of their mages so they will surely be apprehensive and reluctant. Even without the tower''s initiative I believe that none of the mages will willingly risk their lives again," Cygnus nodded. He couldn''t me the Magic Tower for doing that. They were still recovering from their loss and now they experienced another one again.


    "That is also the reason why I did not press them regarding the matter and instead put out a notice of reward to those who are willing and I am very d that you responded." Orpheus was ted because he received that kind of letter. It was somewhat a blessing in disguise.


    "Well, I have friends who are willing to help and I am also doing this for Hero Arcaine, since he is also a friend. They needed mages and I have a connection so I might as well use it but I can only send three though." Cygnus looked very sincere while saying those words. If an actor would see the master now, they might get impressed by how good he was acting.


    "That''s more than enough. At least we will have help from mages and I believe that mages referred to by the Ginehart will be more helpful." Orpheusughed heartily because he was confident with the young man''s suggestion.


    "Yes, of course. I especially asked for my brother''s permission to let one of his lieutenants lend a hand." Cygnus informed them while he was observing the king''s expression.


    Orpheus''s lips twitched because of the statement. He could see that the young man did not intend to offend him because he was looking at him with wide eyes. He was genuinely bragging about his achievement.


    "I really appreciate it and don''t worry because they will receive thepensation that I said," Orpheus answered. He did not want to talk about the topic any longer so he decided to change the topic. "How is the food? Is it to your liking?"


    "Yes, thank you. I enjoyed them and thank you for preparing bread from my bakery," Cygnus answered with a smile.


    "Yes, there''s much from your bakery that I really like so I let the servants go and buy some," Orpheus answered because he needed to treat the young master well.


    After staying in the pce and finishing almost half of the treats, he left and returned to the manor. Nina jumped and shamelessly hugged the master. She even made some sobbing sound as she clung to the master. Cygnus let her be for the meantime because she''ll be back to herself after this.


    Nina finally let go and looked at the master with her puppy eyes. "I thought you already forgot about me," she said with a trembling voice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "How could I, when I''m the one who brought you here." Cygnus patted the woman''s shoulder to show herfort.


    "Alright I''ll let you go for now because you actually remembered me. So, what''s this mission all about that you even need that man to join?" Nina asked as they walked the stairs up towards the second floor.


    "It''s an infiltration mission. If you do well, I will be able to build my image in front of that person and eventually make him trust me more," Cygnus answered without hesitation.


    "Why are you even going to so much trouble when you can just hypnotize them all and tell them what you wanted to do?" Nina was not used to how the master was acting.


    The Cygnus he knew would immediately use his abilities to crush his enemies. He would not go through with this kind of round about way of doing things. He would immediately destroy things that he didn''t like or even destroy everything after getting bored of them.


    Throughout the time that she had been with them, that''s how she saw him, ruthless and without mercy. He was the most powerful being she had ever met and he was only wasting his efforts in doing things in this kind of way. A frown appeared on her face as she continued to think about it.


    "You don''t have to worry. I''m just ying around after I verify some things, I''ll get back to that. For now, I need to keep up this fa?ade so that I can easily hold things within the grasp of my hands. After I have them all in my palms, I can easily crush them." The atmosphere around the master suddenly changed and his eye color reverted to its original redness for a second. The grin on his face was maniacal but even that was only for a few seconds.


    Nina did not think about it anymore because the master she knew was still there. She sighed because she hasn''t gotten used to how they were working right now. But now that she heard the master, she still has some more things to look forward to.


    "Alright, I''ll do it your way then. I just hope that I can get to action once all your preparations are over," Nina reluctantly agreed and followed the master.


    "That''s good," Cygnus grinned. He could always count on Nina. Saving her was not a wasted effort and now he has loyal followers who won''t betray him.


    They entered the master''s office where Cygnus told Nina the n. She was listening intently and nodding her head in the parts where she agreed. She also helped by inputting some of her thoughts on the n to make it more effective. After their talk, Nina couldn''t help but grin because she knew that the action wasn''t faraway.


    "You''ve been so silent Mr. C, what happened?" Nina asked the butler who had been silent for a while and was only there to serve them drinks.


    The butler did not speak as he stood on the side. It also appeared that he did not acknowledge the woman''s question. Nina stood up and waved her hands in front of the man''s face but his eyes did not even react. She looked back at Cygnus with questions written all over her face.


    "He''s currently undergoing a system update and is currently working with Ari for some upgrades on some of his programs," Cygnus answered.


    "Oh," Nina backed away and looked at the butler before he returned to her seat. "By the way, who else aside from me and Leif would be going undercover?" She remembered to ask.


    "Astrophos will go with the both of you," Cygnus answered as he leaned on the couch. "The three of you will be working together to solve the case."


    Nina''s eyes lit up, "That''s great! I thought only the two of me would work with that Hero Arcaine." She was d that a familiar one would be working with them.


    "I will be briefing him tomorrow too. After the three of you are briefed, we will go to the Hero Association so that I can introduce you to Hero Arcaine," Cygnus chuckled because of the woman''s childishness.

 Chapter 290 Going Witht The Flow

    ?


    The next day Astrophos returned to the manor for the first time in almost a year. He looked at the looming structure and sighed before he took a step inside. He was immediately ushered to the young master''s study where Cygnus was waiting.


    "How was your work in the bakery? Do you like it?" Cygnus asked after the man settled down. He pushed back his chair and went to sit on the vacant chair in front of the man.


    "It''s surprisingly peaceful that I got used to it. I enjoyed it." Astrophos answered followed by a nod.


    Cygnusughed because of the hidden meaning behind those words. "I''m sorry if I interrupted your peaceful life. It''s just that I need you to work a bit before I return you to the bakery."


    "What is it then?" He frowned. He had no problems working in the bakery because the atmosphere was warm and homey.


    He feltfortable with dealing with people and organizing the information they were getting from their sources. He actually quite liked it and preferred it from joining in any fight that the master might ignite in the future. But he knew that he couldn''t avoid it the moment that he received a summon from the master.


    "You''ll be working with Hero Arcaine. You will be helping him in capturing the bandits. Nina and Lieutenant Leif Ainr will be helping you." Cygnus went straight to the point since the man was not up to his usual ramblings. "The three of you will be working on making myself look trustworthy in the face of the president and that hero. After everything is well and done, I''ll take over."


    The mage didn''t know what the master was ying around again but he didn''t have the option to say no. There was no such word as no for the man. "Did you inform Fhin about this matter?"


    "Should I inform him?" Cygnus looked confused because of the question. He felt that he did not need to inform them of the matter.


    Astrophos sighed, "I will inform him so that he could be prepared. Since we are already ying a charade then make it quick and end it shortly."


    Cygnus was silent for a few seconds before he nodded. "It''s up to you then since it doesn''t really matter if they know it or not."


    After that Astrophos left the manor to meet with the bandit leader who was currently waiting for him in the bakery. He walked inside and saw that it was a bit empty which was not normal. Usually, the bakery would be full with people.


    "No customers?" He asked one of the servers who was busy cleaning the table even though it was already clean.


    "There were customers a while ago but they already left. They told me that it was because of the bandit attacks that''s why many of the people in the capital right now are being cautious when going out. I also received a notice that even the bakery on the busiest street of the city is currently empty." The server exined with a frown because she too was not used to the empty bakery.


    "That''s alright. Just continue to serve those who wille." He gave the woman a nod before he shifted his gaze to the man who was calmly sipping his coffee. He was seated on the far corner of the bakery to also hide his identity.


    After the servant went back to wiping the tables, Astrophos also walked towards the man and pulled out the empty chair opposite him. He sat there in silence a few moments before Fhin finally acknowledged his presence. The bandit leader looked up and raised an eyebrow at the mage because of his silence. It actually made him ufortable.


    "What''s the matter, you''ve been silent there ever since you sat down. Is there a problem?" Fhin finally couldn''t take it so he had to ask.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    A few seconds of silence before the man finally answered, "Master is nning something. We were sent to help Hero Arcaine in catching you and yourrades. I want to tell you that you should prepare yourself. This will not be a simple battle and I''m afraid that some of your brothers might die in the process."


    Fhin was taken aback by the news but after a minute he managed to calm down. "Then we will make sure to prepare ourselves if that''s the master''s wish." It was something to be expected after a lot of thought.


    From the moment that the master told them to attack the city, he already had a feeling that themand was not that simple and he was right. It seems that it was just an act for this moment but it doesn''t really matter because they will be dying for the master. His only regret would be that their families would be abandoned.


    He would need to appoint the next leader once he gets back then. Someone who would make sure that their brothers and families would live in luxury and peace. They''ve got a lot of loot from their first attack but that would not be enough for all the families at the bandit valley.


    "Then I should bring out a more worthy performance and get as much as I can before I die." The bandit Leader stood up and looked at the direction of the door.


    "You can always back out from this, you know." Astrophos sighed and looked up at the man with a determined look on his face.


    "We''ve alreadymitted ourselves to this so I can''t back out. The master is truly cruel." Fhin shook his head and helplesslyughed because of the end that was waiting for them.


    "You already knew but why are you still loyal to him?" Astrophos looked at the surface of the table where both of his hands were ced.


    "I already died once and the master just used his blood to revive me. I got stronger and made my brothers stronger and because of the barrier they ced to hide our home, we were able to live peacefully. It was not much but it was enough for me to make sure that our families are doing well." Fhin answered without looking at the man.


    Yes, the master was indeed cruel. He does not have any regard to human life and would always use hisrades for his whims or his ridiculous ns and yet here they were still doing all of his bidding. If anyone would see them right now and know their thoughts, they would eventuallybel them as crazy.


    "How about you? You don''t have a contract with him and yet you are still helping him," this time the bandit leader''s eyes gazed at him but all he saw was the top of the mage''s head because he was still standing.


    Astrophosughed. Indeed, he was also confused as to why he did not leave and continued to remain on the man''s side. "I don''t know. I''m not sure myself."


    "You must have liked something about him then," Fhin chuckled. It was unlike the man to get speechless like this.


    "Well, I''m not really sure but that might be the case then. He is selfish but at the same time he treats the people around him decently. He would kill his enemy and even y with them but the people under him will always experience benefits. He is a walking contradictory. A viin whom I thought I already know but it was only in my own mind." Astrophos looked up and met the man''s gaze. They bothughed before the bandit leader left.


    That night, something happened that shocked the kingdom. One of the noble houses in the kingdom caught on fire. The brilliant orange from the fire lit up the dark sky. No one heard anymotion before the fire but now that everything was burning, screams of agony could be heard from the burning manor.

 Chapter 291 The Operation Starts Now

    ?


    The military immediately responded and even the mages came to help. They took the job of putting out the fire using magic which immediately put out the fire. The soldiers immediately ran and barged inside the manor only to find that all of the people were already dead.


    From the position and location of the corpses, it was clear that the bandits all tied them up and ced them all in the lobby before they burned the entire manor. It was a scene that even veterans from the military would find disturbing. They tried to look for any survivors but they found none.


    One by one, they carried the bodies out and lined them on the ground. A total of thirty people were burned to death, including the servants, guards and the entire family of the noble who lived there. Orpheus was outraged at the news. Now that an aristocrat was involved, those people would surelye to him like a swarm of bees.


    "No one even noticed that the manor was being attacked? What are the patrols and the heroes doing?" He shouted in anger because of the incident.


    General Ishmael was gritting his teeth in shame and anger because they did not even notice that the bandits were on the move. When they noticed it, they rushed towards the area but what met them was something out of their hands already. The fire had gobbled up the manor and they couldn''t even get near it because of how strong the fire was.


    "I firmly believe that they have a mage working for them," General Ishmael answered, "we''ll really need the help of mages to at least track them down."


    The king gritted his teeth, "Go and call Rigel. Tell him to bring the mages he said are willing to help us to capture those mages as well as Hero Arcaine and the president."


    The general wanted to protest but the king''s threatening re shut him up. He gave the king a salute and left the room. Once he was out of the door, he ordered one of his soldiers to ry the message. He couldn''t believe that the king actually considered the help of a Ginehart.


    Before the soldier could even leave the pce, he could already see the Ginehart carriage rushing towards them. He stood to the side to give way to the carriage that stopped in front of the pce entrance. Cygnus came down and without looking at any of them entered the pce. He and hispanions were ushered to the king''s study.


    At the entrance they saw General Ishmael, he was standing like a guard and when they approached him, he only gave them a re. He was especially averse to Cygnus who was wearing a small smile on his face. His frown deepened because of this as he stopped them from entering the king''s study.


    "Are you really going to do that in general?" Cygnus asked with a grin. He knew that the general wouldn''t be able to hold them off.


    "You are very lucky because we are in an emergency but after this, I will make sure that you won''t be able to step inside this ce once again," the general whispered to the master''s ears.


    Cygnus only chuckled and sighed. "General Ishmael watch your words because you might regret saying them." Cygnus stepped past him and opened the door to the king''s study.


    He greeted the man and immediately introduced to him the three mages that would help in the investigation. Lieutenant Leif and Astrophos saluted and bowed towards the man while Nina on the other hand only gave him a small nod. The king did not care though because they were in an emergency.


    The king''s secretary ushered them to their seats and General Ishmael also entered the room and stood behind the king. He silently listened to their conversation and the dissatisfaction on his face continued to be more obvious. He did not like the tone of the young man while talking to the king.


    "Can''t you be more respectful?" He couldn''t help butment after the conversation died down a bit. "You are in the presence of the king and yet you look like you are talking to someone equal to you, how disrespectful."


    Before any of them could answer though, Nina was already on her feet. "Why don''t you shut up?" The force behind her words offended the man. "You''ve been ring at my master ever since we came in and even threatened him. Aren''t you the one being disrespectful first?" She was not happy because of the general''s attitude.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Don''t test me woman because even if you are one, I won''t hesitate to hurt you." The general was ready to fight as he too red at the woman.


    "Thene and I''ll let the entire kingdom know that the general is a brute and only knows how to hurt women." Nina issued a challenge with a smirk on her face.


    "You!" The general was left speechless. He was about to step towards the woman but the king stopped both of them.


    "Enough!" The king made his voice a bit louder to make the both of them stop before he looked behind him at the general. "I''ve already told Rigel to treat me casually because I quite like him and there''s nothing wrong with him speaking to me casually."


    "I apologize as well for my subordinate''s behavior," he looked at Nina ang gestured for her to return to her seat.


    "It''s okay. Now that we''ve talked about what must be done, you can go back and rest for now. I will exin everything to Hero Arcaine and the president about the matter that we''ve discussed," the king smiled.


    Since the atmosphere was tense and he did not want to waste more time in that ce, Cygnus bid the man goodbye. They left and Cygnus ordered the three to go and standby at the Hero Association. After that he left and returned to the manor. All he would need to do now was to wait for results.


    At the break of dawn, the mages finally met the hero that they will be working with. Acasia eyed the three because they did not even give an impact on him. They looked in and weak that he couldn''t believe that they would be the mages that the Ginehart young master would send.


    "It is a pleasure to work with you," as always Hero Arcaine was shing his fake smile as he offered his hand for a shake.


    "It is our pleasure too. I am Astrophos and these are mypanions, Nina and Lieutenant Leif Ainr." He took the hand and shook it as he introduced the other two with him. "I presume that you are the president of the association," he looked at the other man who had been staring at him.


    Acasia nodded, "Yes, I am. Thank you foring and lending us your help." Since they greeted him, it would be rude if he did not return their greeting.


    "Young Master Rigel send us here to help you and besides we will also be earning money from it so it would be a win-win situation." Astrophos was nodding his head and was smiling at them.


    The president nodded again, "Since the team is alreadyplete, I''ll leave the four of you to discuss things." He then took a step back and waved at them before he left. He did not even wait for them to answer.


    They decided to ignore him instead and started to talk about what they should do. After their nning, they immediately left for the site of the incident. Astrophos looked at the damage and he couldn''t deny that it was beyond his imagination. He did not think that those bandits were this brutal.


    "I''ll be using tracking magic then," Astrophos walked a bit nearer the burnt manor. The ce was still swarming with soldiers and some onlookers who came to see what was going on.

 Chapter 292 Acting Smug

    ?


    He went straight to the center of the lobby where all the people died and closed his eyes. He concentrated and gathered his mana. A wave of mana suddenly swept the entire ce and he did not stop sending his mana off. The mana looked like it was pulsating and then he saw it, a red thread.


    Astrophos did not waste time and covered the red thread with his own mana and slowly pulled it towards him. The red thread started to disappear but the mage was able to identify its mana signature and once the mage who used the mana appeared again, he would know who it was. After that, he was also able to feel some traces of not mana but energy that was not that of a human.


    This signature must have been from Fhin. He opened his eyes and he gave the room onest look before he turned around and went back to where the others were. Hero Arcaine was anticipating good news and he was not disappointed.


    Since they were all mages, Astrophos was able to share to them the mana signature of the mage that used fire to burn the manor. Now that they have gotten a clue, Hero Arcaine made a vow to catch the culprit and bring more prestige to his name. The four of them then went on separate directions to find the owner of the mana signature.


    This news reached the king and he was d that the mages from Ginehart werepetent. He grinned because now he won''t be worried that much. Once those noblese and demand for him to take action, he would have something to say to them.


    Just as he predicted, several nobles requested to meet him. They were ushered to one of the meeting rooms inside the pce. They were whispering with each other as they waited for the king to arrive and when he came, silence swept through the room.


    They waited for the king to sit down before they had the courage to ask him anything. The king patiently listened to theirints and worries without giving an input because they did not give him the chance to do so. During their whole tirade, the king remained silent to the point that he was about to fall asleep.


    When they noticed that the king was not speaking, their chatter slowly died down. They looked at the direction of the king and waited for him to speak. King Orpheus raised his brows when they suddenly stopped speaking.


    "I thought all of you will continue until the end of the day. I even thought that I must have been a decoration in this ce." He remarked when they were all looking at him.


    The nobles felt ashamed after the king''s words. They did not mean to chatter all over and ignore the king, they were just ovee with the indignation they felt after they heard the news. Some of them bowed their heads and refrained from talking.


    "There''s no need to worry because I''ve already deployed people to look after the matter. They''ve already found a clue so all we need to do is be patient and wait for the result. In the meantime, all of you should fortify and strengthen your defenses." The king informed them and also reminded them of what they should do.


    "How many days should we endure before they can catch those people? If this continues, we nobles will leave the capital until the matter is settled," one of the aristocrats asked.


    "That''s up to you. The movements of those bandits are not within my control so I am not sure when. I''m doing my best so you should stopining to me and start taking care of yourselves. You are not the only one I am thinking about because as the king, I am also thinking about the other citizens of this kingdom." It was both a reminder and a warning that if they continue with this kind of attitude the king would ignore them.


    The room fell silent after the king''s words and when he noticed that no one was going to speak he finally stood up and left the room. The nobles did not object when the king left the room. After that, they left and returned to their own homes.


    Astrophos and hispanions scoured the whole city to look for the mage but the sun started to set and yet they haven''t found any traces of them. They decided to wait for the night toe because they might strike again. They regrouped and waited for the bandits.


    Just as midnight struck, Astrophos felt the mana signature pulsating. He stood up and nodded at hispanions. He led the way as they ran around the city as they followed the mana signature until they arrived at a manor once again. The fire just started and the bandits were still there to watch it grow before they left.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You won''t get away this time," Hero Arcaine muttered in excitement when he saw that the bandits were still there. He released his weapon and was ready to attack without waiting for hisrades to even speak.


    The herounched himself towards the bandits with his weapon. He was mid-air when he activated his holy magic and embedded it on his sword. He swung down the broad sword on his hand which caught the bandits and the mage with them off-guard because Arcaine used stealth. They managed to dodge but when the sword touched the ground golden chains materialized and flew out to capture the bandits.


    The bandits were caught by the chains as it coiled around their body to restrict their movements. Even the mage was caught on it too. Arcaine grinned because he finally captured them easily. He started tough and spoke smugly.


    The three mages who came with him stood on the side with different expressions on their faces. Lieutenant Leif looked at the man beside him, "What are we going to do now?" he asked.


    "Let him be," Astrophos sighed. "We already did our part. I''m sure that the young master will be satisfied with this. For now, let''s stay on standby just in case a fight will break out."


    Both Leif and Nina nodded their heads in agreement. Their instruction was to help the Hero Association gain prestige so they wouldn''t interfere and would onlye in when the situation bes dire. They watched as the man happily walked around his prisoners whom he had pulled to one corner.


    Astrophos knew that Fhin would not go down without a fight so they need to wait for a bit. Hero Arcaine turned around and walked to where the three mages were. "Thank you for your help. Once the soldiers are here, you can go home and rest for the night."


    The three of them nodded and the hero once again walked towards his captives. He was grinning because he felt ted at the additional achievement he did. Before he could fully relish on his victory, he heard a loud crack.


    In front of his eyes, the holy chains that were binding the bandits broke and were rendered useless. He did not think twice though in releasing another set of chains but before these things could touch the bandits, they were already at different locations. This time, they did not run and collectively attacked the hero.


    The mage used her magic to try and burn the hero. She scattered threads of red mana around the whole ce which will trigger an explosion once the hero touches them. This effect will also happen to the bandits if they touch the threads.


    This did not matter to them though because they were wearing clothes that could protect them from that. With their weapons, they attacked the hero with stabs and swinging their swords. There were some of them without weapons and were using their fists.


    Arcaine wasn''t fazed though and even with more of theming towards him, he readied himself and held his sword tightly. The moment they were at a distance that his sword could reach, he swung it in a circr motion which effectively wounded and pushed back the bandits. The attack triggered the threads to explode.


    Bodies flew away from the explosion andnded on the ground. This opportunity was taken advantage of by Fhin who continued to attack the hero. He was using his fists and feet to attack the hero which was bing effective because Arcaine couldn''t swing his sword.


    Fhin did not stop attacking as he pushed back the hero, triggering more threads along the way. His clothes that were protecting him were starting to wear out and his skin started to turn red. Even the hero''s body wasn''t that much better. Blisters started to form in their skins after being subjected to high heat for so long.


    Arcaine gritted his teeth and endured so when he couldn''t take it any longer, he used his strength to forcefully push back Fhin. The counter attack worked as Fhin lost his bnce at the sudden action from his opponent. Arcaine took this chance to reposition his sword and swung it again towards the man who was about to fall down on the ground.

 Chapter 293 Joining In

    ?


    Fhin saw the iing de and forced his body to dodge. He managed to move to his side andnded on the hero''s right front. Although he managed to dodge, he still triggered some of the threads and it caused another explosion. Arcaine stepped back only to trigger another round of explosion.


    His face distorted in rage because of the annoying threads that were scattered all over the ce. He shifted his attention to the mage who was controlling the threads. He looked for her and saw that she was hiding behind the foliage to hide her presence but the hero still found her.


    Instead of focusing on Fhin, the hero ran towards the direction of the woman without regard for the explosion that he was triggering because he was focused on getting to her and killing her on the spot. Fhin noticed this so he did not stay on the ground. Since his physique was different from that of a normal person, he easily got up and caught up to the hero.


    He bent his feet and stretched it out to kick the man from the side. His target was his chest. Arcaine saw the man''s movements as he bent down and evaded the kick. Fhin did not stop there though and immediately adjusted his body position so that he could m his feet down.


    Arcaine who was currently crouching down moved his body to the side and rolled away from the attack. The bandit''s attack caused a crack to appear on the ground. Arcaine narrowed his eyes at the man because now he knew that the man was not someone ordinary.


    He stood up and gripped his sword in front of him before he lunged to attack Fhin. Without a weapon, Fhin was at a disadvantage so all he could do was to dodge the attacks that wereing his way. He was waiting for the right time to counter attack.


    Arcaine stabbed forward and Fhin jumped back as he put distance between them. The mage tookt this chance and enveloped the hero with her threads that materialized from all of the direction. The bloody color of those threads was ominous and screamed death. With that much thread restraining him, the hero would surely suffer severe injuries.


    Before all of the threads could explode, a shadow interfered and pulled the hero away. After the smoke disappeared, Fhin saw that the hero''s body was not on the ground. He started to look around and saw that the hero was together with three other people.


    The man was not looking good because even though he survived, the man still suffered severe burns. A part of his face was still sizzling together with some parts of his arms and upper body. Even his feet were damaged. Fhin grinned when he saw that and he pushed himself up to face the three of them.


    He recognized the three of them as he sighed and shook his head. He did not want to fight them but it was a necessary sacrifice. He already died once so dying for the second time wasn''t a big deal for him. Fhin looked behind him at the woman who had been supporting them ever since they started this y.


    Fhin saw the woman nod before he faced the three of them once again. He raised his fists and clenched them as he took an offensive stance. Before any of the two could move, Astrophos was already a few feet in front of Fhin. His right hand was stretched out with a magic circle on his palm that materialized rocks that flew towards the man like bullets.


    The bandit leader crossed both of his hands in front of his face to protect it from the zooming rocks towards him. He then heard an explosion so when he put down his hands, all the rock bullets exploded. He used the smoke as cover to stealthily move towards Astrophos who was still looking for him inside the smoke.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He made sure to not make any sound while approaching the man and when he was at a suitable distance, he released a punch. Astrophos felt the shift in the air behind him and when he looked back, he saw a fisting his way. With no time to dodge, his hands automatically moved up to protect himself from the punch.


    The first punch was followed by another then another one until Fhin was giving him consecutive punches, from a jab to a right and left hook and he even attempted to get him through an upper cut but Astrophos managed to evade the deadly blow by leaning his upper body to the back. Astrophos took a step back and when he saw that there was a gap between him and Fhin, he stomped on the ground and summoned earth spikes that forced the bandit to move away.


    The mage who had been watching from the side took that opportunity to surround Astrophos with red threads. Astrophos noticed the threads so he immediately surrounded himself with a thick wall of earth before the threads could fully intertwine around him. The explosion happened just as the wall enclosed around him.


    He survived and with more power he materialized shards of earth that were sharpened and used them to surround his wall. Astrophos released his magic and those shards flew in all directions which forced the woman to go into defense and protect herself. Fhin also used his speed to dodge the high speed attack.


    The wall around Astrophos went down as he immediately shed in front of the woman. Astrophos punched the woman''s stomach which effectively rendered her unconscious and he created an earth prison to restrain the woman. Fhin saw what the mage had done and he was impressed that the mage could actually incapacitate his subordinate that easily.


    Now that the mage was out of the way, Astrophos started to go all out. Flying rocks and shards did not stop from targeting the Fhin. He was able to manage but with the amount that was flying towards him, he was not sure if he could continue dodging them. While he was still distracted with the attacks, spikes suddenly appeared below him.


    If not for his fast reflexes his body would have been full of holes. His body was now filled withrge gash that was bleeding whenever he moved. These spikes would appear randomly on the ground which gave him another problem. This was the problem with pure mages because they could easily use magic even if they were faraway.


    Compared to the hero who was unconscious, Astrophos was a more tricky and stronger opponent. He gritted his teeth because he could already feel that he was getting tire of all the dodging. He had also used quite a lot of strength to deal with the hero. He chuckled because he knew that he was going to die.


    While his mind was wandering, an earth spike appeared behind him and because of how near it was, he did not have the time to dodge. His body was pierced by the spike and the rock bullets and shards hit him hard. He could move and he could already fell that he was about to lose consciousness. The pain in his body started to numb too.


    Fhin coughed up blood as he looked at the mage who was staring at him. He did not have any other emotions in his eyes aside from sympathy. He smiled because at least he died by the hand of someone he knew and this was all done for the master. His eyelids slowly drooped until it finally closed.


    Astrophos clenched his fists even though his face did not show much reaction after he killed Fhin. He closed his eyes and slightly raised his head. When he opened his eyes, the view of the countless stars in the sky met him. Before he could even mourn, the earth prison he ced the mage in exploded.

 Chapter 294 Succeeded

    ?


    He returned to where the others were and stood beside the hero. "What are we going to do now?" Nina asked with a frown. She was looking at the hero with disgust.


    "Let''s wait for the kingdom''s soldiers toe," Astrophos answered before he found himself a ce to sit.


    "How about him, shall we wake him up?" Lieutenant Ainr asked after frowning at the man. He thought that he was strong because he was an S-rank hero but he was disappointed.


    "Let him be and instead carry him here andy him down. Let''s just say that he was injured fighting the bandits." Astrophos shook his head and leaned on the tree behind him instead. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of him as he waited for the soldiers toe.


    Leif carried the unconscious man and ced him on the grassy part of the patch where they sat down to wait. Nina was a bit dissatisfied because she wasn''t able to fight. After fifteen minutes, they could already hear their footsteps on the ground. The soldiers were led by General Ishmael who rushed towards the location after he received the report.


    He was surprised at what he saw after they reached the location. There were bodies scattered on the ground and the signs of a battle littered the whole ce. There was not a part of the open field that did not have a hole on it. He Immediately looked around to find the people he was involved with and saw them on one side of the battlefield.


    They were sitting down and looked to be resting. He alighted from his horse and approached them. That''s when he saw that the one lying down was actually the hero. He also noticed that the man in the middle, had gashes and that his clothes were torn but the other two seemed to be fine.


    "What happened?" he gestured at the injured and unconscious hero who was lying on the ground. He then looked at the three of them particrly at the man who was leaning on the ground.


    "Isn''t it obvious? He fought the bandits alone. We intended to help but he said that he could do it. When he was down, I joined and finished the fight. All of the bandits are there, you can take their bodies." Astrophos answered without looking at the general. He was not in the mood to add anymore exnations.


    General Ishmael was offended by the sarcastic tone from the man but he gritted his teeth and endured because he was in front of his men. Instead of answering, he turned around and started to direct his men on what they should do. He walked away from the mages and supervised the cleanup.


    A carriage came together with a doctor who immediately acted and checked on the condition of the hero. He sighed because he was actually alright aside from the burns that he sustained which could be healed by magic. Some of the soldiers came and carried the hero towards the carriage.


    The doctor then moved on to check on Astrophos and told him that he was fine, with just a bit of healing magic his wounds would disappear. They were then ushered to another carriage that was waiting for them. While walking towards the carriage, he looked at the soldiers and saw that they were lining up the bodies of the bandits and cing them on body bags.


    He knew that those bodies would be burned after the king had a look at them. He was actually d that they all died. That way, they won''t be subjected into humiliation and torture. It was better and it made him relieved.


    They entered the carriage and they left the ce. General Ishmael finished the cleanup and they transported all the bodies back to the pce where the king would check on them. The night ended with one more noble house getting burned down and all the bandits dying. He was sure that the king would be delighted and those aristocrats would be satisfied.


    The next morning, the news of another noble house being burned spread like wildfire and the news that the bandit group who did it were defeated made the people sigh in relief. They were overjoyed because finally the terror that the city had been subjected to has finally ended. Now, they were waiting for more news about what happened.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    They were curious to know who defeated the bandits and the whole day they were anxiously waiting for the pce''s announcement. The king on the other hand was satisfied when he saw the cold bodies of the bandits that caused terror in his kingdom. Now that they were all dead, he could finally rx.


    He ordered the soldiers to ce all the bodies in the za and prepare for all of it to be burned. He also called the Hero Association and Cygnus to his office to discuss the merits they would receive. Acasia, who heard about the news, was grinning from ear to ear because finally another prestige would be written in their history.


    Both parties arrived at the same time and they were ushered to the king''s study. President Acasia was alone while Cygnus was together with the three mages that he lent to help in the investigation. They all sat down and waited for the king to speak first.


    "I am d that we finally solved our problem. Now that the bandits are all dead, I can rest assured that peace will return to the kingdom. I want to thank you all for the effort and service you''ve rendered for the kingdom." The king was smiling and he was really in a good mood.


    "I only did my role as the president of the Hero Association," Acasia sounded smug. He did not do anything but he was still so proud of himself.


    "I heard that Hero Arcaine is still unconscious, how is he?" The king then remembered that the hero was injured while fighting the bandits.


    "He is doing fine now, your majesty. His wounds were already treated and anytime now, he would wake up," the man answered. His expression turned into a sad one at the mention of the hero then he gave a small smile.


    "That''s a relief. We could schedule the bestowing of reward unto him when he wakes up. My secretary will contact you soon." The king nodded and now he shifted his attention to the young man who had been silently drinking his tea.


    "Rigel, if not for the mages you lent to us, we won''t be able to achieve this victory. The bestowing of reward would include these three mages behind you so I hope that you too can attend the ceremony," the king enthusiastically invited.


    "There''s no need to bestow them any rewards, your majesty. The prize money would be enough. Since Hero Arcaine defeated all the bandits, he should be on the spotlight together with the Hero Association." Cygnus shook his head as he grinned at the king. He then looked at the president for a moment before returning his gaze to the king.


    Orpheus was taken aback by the young man''s words. He did not expect that he would not ept such prestige. He then narrowed his eyes when he saw the slight movement the young man did. He sighed because he guessed that there must have been an agreement between the two parties.


    Since he was in a good mood, he would not pry about it. This thing was also favorable for him because the Ginehart won''t be recognized. He then nodded to the young man, "Alright if that is what you want. I will then send the prize money to you by the end of the day."


    Cygnus nodded and showed a grateful look to please the king. Now that the matters regarding the bandits and the Hero Association was settled, he was now free to move. The thought of it made his adrenaline pump as he almost left the room in excitement. The Hero Association would experience the highest prestige and would be recognized would soon fall into his hands.

 Chapter 295 A Discovery

    ?


    The meeting with the king ended with them settling everything. Cygnus left with the three mages when the association''s president stopped them. He gave Cygnus a smile as he extended his hand towards him.


    "I appreciate our cooperation. I hope that we can continue with what we have started." He brought out the agreement they signed and burned it in front of Cygnus.


    "I''m looking forward to our cooperation too," Cygnus nodded and finally left the pce. They rode the carriage with the master satisfied.


    "You are very satisfied, master," Mr. C suddenlymented from outside where he was riding a horse as he rode side by side with the carriage.


    "Of course, I reaped some benefits today and now, I can go through with my n." Cygnus nodded followed by a crispugh.


    Leif Ainr who was with them was a bit confused because of the conversation but because it was not his character to pry, he did not speak. They did not talk about the matter any longer and silently stayed inside the carriage. Once they reached the manor, Ainr went up to the general''s study to report to him.


    After his report, he was dismissed by the general. He went to look for the young master first to bid him goodbye before he left. Nina on the other hand did not want to return so instead of forcing her to go, Cygnus decided to ce her with Astrophos. The both of them also left.


    "Did your update and upgrade go well?" Cygnus asked the man who was now speaking normally. He had been gone for a few days but even so, he was still aware of what happened when he was temporarily on leave.


    "Everything went well, master. I am now fully capable of assisting you once again." Mr. C bowed his head then he gave the master a smile after he raised his head.


    "That''s good to know, now we can proceed." Cygnus nodded as he stood up and summoned a gate that directly brought him inside the association.


    He veiled himself with stealth magic and moved along the hallways without any problem. He explored inside the ce as if he was looking for something but there was nothing in particr that he wanted to know. Before he could leave though, there was still one room that he hadn''t visited and when he took a peek inside, he saw an unfamiliar face.


    After staring at the man for a while, Cygnus suddenly had a sh of inspiration as a memory in his head was suddenly triggered because of the man. He frowned and looked at the man longer as he spoke with the association. He even heard the president calling the man his master.


    Cygnus frowned because the man was bing more and more familiar. He was even on the list of names that the dragon was verifying. The man who was sitting on the couch inside the president''s office looked to be only in his forties. He had graying hair but his eyes looked young. In fact, the vibe around him felt young because he was full of vitality.


    "I heard that the association will receive an award from the king and that Hero Arcaine would personally be rewarded by the king." The man''s voice was deep and full of vigor. It was crisp and clear.


    "Yes, master. Thanks to that young Ginehart we were able to secure that privilege," Acasia unted. He grinned and sat down on the seat opposite his master.


    "Ah, yes I''ve heard of that young man and he is an interesting fellow," the manmented after he heard that man. Ever since he returned to the capital, he would constantly hear that name and his feats during the Magic Tower incident. "I am just wondering why he did not be the Magus Maximus when he defeated the former leader of the tower?"


    Acasia was silent for a moment before he shook his head, "I am not sure too, master. He must have no ambitions at all. I can''t me him though he is still young so he must not understand how important power is in this world."


    The man nodded even though he had his own opinions about it. "That must be because he grew up in a powerful family."


    Acasia frowned after those words. He really hated those people who were born with so much money and power. Although he was also born in an aristocratic family, it still couldn''t bepared to the name of the four dukes in the kingdom. Those people were known to be on the upper part of the pyramid which he was desperately aiming for.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With the Hero Association he was able to stand at the same tform where the four duchies were. But even so, he was still envious and the jealousy in his heart continued to grow each day that he encountered any of the dukes, especially Duke Ulysses Ginehart. As much as possible he had been avoiding topics regarding those people but the whole kingdom would continue to sing praises to the general.


    "And he is a bit na?ve. I can''t believe that he will even agree to that stupid agreement we signed and now he lost the opportunity to build his name to the public," heughed. The joy he was feeling returned at the thought that he had actually outsmarted the young man.


    "That''s good. I will be staying in the capital until the ceremony and after that I will travel again. I hope that you continue to take care of the Hero Association." The man gave Acasia a nod. He was only there for a small visit and took the chance to attend the ceremony too. He would also take this chance to greet the king.


    Cygnus snickered when he read the other''s thoughts. He could already guess that the man was not someone ordinary. He held power and authority. He would need to confirm it during the banquet though.


    The master suddenly looked straight at the ce where Cygnus was casually standing. He stood up and threw the ss that he picked from the table. The ss shattered as it hit the wall but nothing unusual happened even after he did that.


    He frowned as he continued to look around but even after that he did not feel anything. He narrowed his eyes before he sat down once again. Cygnus was impressed because the man actually felt his presence inside the room because of just a snicker.


    "What is it master? Did something happen?" Acasia was startled because of the sudden action from his master. He too looked around but he saw nothing so he returned his confused gaze to his master.


    "I thought there was someone else in the room," his master calmly answered. Slowly the man returned to his original state.


    "Master, that''s impossible no one can easily enter this room because I''ve installed magic sensor devices all over the ce so even if they use stealth magic, the rm will sound." Acasia assured his master but to be sure he would let the guards search the whole ce.


    "Then I will be back again during the ceremony," his master said. He took onest sip of his drink before he left the office.


    When he got out of the office, he couldn''t help but look back again at the president''s office for a few seconds before he turned around and walked towards the exit. He did not even notice that Cygnus was already in front of him. It must have been because his stealth was interrupted when he sneered, that was why he was able to feel his presence.


    Cygnus also returned to the manor with great news which made his mood even better. It was as if fate was working with him because he met one of those people. He couldn''t help himself fromughing out loud as he covered his face. He even bent down whileughing before he uncovered his face that looked like he was about to kill someone with a smile.


    "Did something happen master?" Mr. C asked after he saw the change on the master''s face. His eyes were narrowed into slits with his grin that reached from ear to ear and the air around him became turbulent.


    The ck and red mana that was dormant in his body started to swirl and fill the room because of the joy he was feeling. The furniture inside the room started to turn ck and disintegrate into ash because of his mana. Mr. C watched on the side as this all happened without speaking. He just waited for the master to calm down and answer his question.


    A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and before the master got annoyed, he shed to the door and slightly opened it. He saw that it was General Linius with a frown on his face. He looked back at the master state before he decided to face the general outside.


    He slipped through the small crack and immediately closed the door after he got outside. "What can I do for you, general?" He asked, still polite.


    "I felt something ominous and came here to check, what''s happening?" Linius waited for the butler to answer because he was a bit concerned.


    "Nothing happened general and this is not really the right time. Just know that any destruction the master might do will be limited to this room." Mr. C smiled to reassure the man that everything was okay.

 Chapter 296 In His Madness

    ?


    The destruction continued inside the master''s room while Mr. C was still talking with the general. Linius could still feel the ominous feeling and he did not want to leave. He wanted to take a look inside of the master''s room.


    "What''s really happening?" Linius asked with a frown. His eyes were now narrowed because of the obvious lie that the butler was spouting.


    From that small crack when the butler opened the door, he saw that the room waspletely submerged in darkness. He could see some ck particles swirling inside and even the floor was covered with something ck. Something must have happened.


    "The master will tell you once he calms down right now, let him be. I don''t want you getting swept away by his madness or do you want to try?" The butler suddenly became honest.


    The sudden suggestion caught the general by surprise. He did not expect the butler to suddenly change his tone. "What do you mean?"


    "It is what I already said. You can go ahead and try to face the master''s madness. I just hope that you survive and return with your mind still intact," the butler did not exin anything and just added to the curiosity that was oveing the general.


    He wondered why the butler was stalling him when all he did was ask if something happened to the master. Linius stepped back and looked at the butler, "I won''t and I will leave now." He still managed to control himself and left without even waiting for the butler''s response.


    Mr. C watched as the general left and when he turned the corner, the butler decided to re-enter the room. The corrosion inside the room did not subside as the master was stillughing and grinning. He was leaning on his seat and suddenly started to hum.


    The dark particles in the space started to swirl around the room. The remaining furniture started to float and disintegrate as it joined the swirl. Mr. C loyally stood on the side to wait for his master to return to his own self. That situation continued for an hour before the master finally opened his eyes and the swirling inside the room stopped.


    The ashes fell down on the ground. The room''s state was like a burned house. The walls became ck and even the floor bore the proof of the master''s madness. There were no words exchanged inside the room even though the master was already calm and collected.


    "Do you want to drink tea?" Mr. C asked after a while and when he deemed that the master was now ready to talk.


    "Yes, I want chamomile," the master answered. "I felt like I could use some of its calming effects because I am not calm yet. I feel like I am about to burst out in happiness!" His eyes widened when he suddenly realized what he was saying. "So, this is happiness."


    The exmation made the butler stop. He raised his brows and looked at the ecstatic expression on the master. If this was happiness, then what were the expressions that he had seen other people wear? They were happy when something good happened to them, well technically something good happened to the master but it was not the same.


    Cygnus was happy because he found an enemy that he could defeat. It was an enemy that he had no qualms of destroying. His master''s standard of happiness was truly beyond being normal. He shook his head and instead served the tea that he prepared.


    A table was pulled out from their dimensional storage and ced in front of the master. He then ced the tea and slowly pushed it towards the master. Cygnus closed his eyes as he inhaled the aroma that wasing from the tea.


    "How is it master?" the butler asked after he saw that the master had his eyes closed. He made sure that the tea would be perfect for his master''s taste.


    "It''s good," he extended his hand and reached out for the tea. He took a sip and the effect became better. "This tea is really helpful so many times."


    Mr. C watched in silence as the master enjoyed the tea that he prepared. The room was once again covered in silence. When the master was halfway through his tea the butler decided to ask some more questions to clearly understand his master''s intention so that he could make some necessary preparations.


    "What will you do now, master? Now that you have identified the identity of that person?" He finally asked and this made the masterugh.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "What do you suppose I should do? Let them run around and have a good life when I experienced suffering because of them? That''s not my style. Since that man is rted to the Hero Association, taking control of that piece of the kingdom is much more meaningful now." Cygnus stroked his chin before he leaned back on his chair and grinned at the butler.


    He already killed that Magus Maximus so why should he spare that man when he was also involved with what happened during that time. No one in that dreary world who had wronged him would live their happy long lives. At that moment, he suddenly thought of something amusing.


    "What if I kill even their family generation? That would be fun!" Cygnus''s eyes brightened even more because of what he thought. It was a brilliant idea and if the descendants of those people were all the citizens of the kingdom, it was also not a problem.


    "That would be ideal but are you sure about it master?" Mr. C didn''t have any problems with the master''s way of thoughts but he might change his mind.


    "The original n was to find a ce where we can live peacefully but now that things havee so far, I might as well destroy it too," Cygnus answered.


    Now that the butler has an idea of what might happen, he ought to prepare some things and make sure that all of the people that they trusted would be able to make it for the master''s sake. He started to mentally list the candidates of people who could stay with the master once the world was destroyed. It was better to be prepared than tock something in the future.


    Cygnus could also hear even the butler''s words even though he was exactly not human. "You are thinking far too much in the future." Hemented as he looked at the butler who was already a bit lost in his own thoughts.


    Mr. C snapped back to reality and looked at the master. "I am only preparing for the worst. You''ve destroyed many things before so I should make sure that none of us will die this time too."


    Cygnusughed because of the butler''s remark. After the butler''s update on his system, he felt different and there was more expression on his face right now. The master didn''t know if he should be happy about it. He let it go for now and focused on what he must be doing.


    After finishing his tea, the master summoned Ignius who was still busy with his task. The dragon was grumbling because of the abruptness of the call that he gave the master a re. He slouched on the new couch that the butler took out from the dimensional storage.


    "You did a great job," the master suddenly said, which made the dragon look at him with a frown.


    He did not understand why the master was suddenly praising him when he couldn''t remember what he did. The dragon''s eyes jumped to the butler who had been remaining silent on the side. He was looking for an exnation but the butler remained steadfast and kept his silence.


    "I found one of the people on your list and luckily enough he is affiliated with the that Acasia, isn''t that great!? I think after a thousand years, fate is already working in my favor," the master happily told him the news.


    The dragon was confused at first but then he slowly understood what the master said. After hearing the news, he too couldn''t help but grin. "Are we going to y with him now?"


    "Of course, we will y with him." The master nodded andughed because of how fast the dragon''s mood had changed. "How about the others have you confirmed their identities?" He then asked.


    "Not yet. Oh, by the way how did you even confirm the man''s identity?" The dragon then asked after he realized that the master recognized the man.


    "From some old memory. As you know, I just got a little bit of my original memory since Ari is guarding it tightly so I could only recognize that man. As for the others, I''m not sure if their faces will trigger some more memories," Cygnus answered.


    Ignius nodded. It was very convenient for them if the master could recall but if he does then his fun would be stopped. They all knew that once the master recovers all of his memories then he would cause destruction without them enjoying the process. He was content with doing the job and verifying the identity of those people rather than letting the master go on a rampage.

 Chapter 297 Ceremony

    ?


    For the next few days, Cygnus focused on establishing his connection with the Hero Association. He visited Hero Arcaine while he was recuperating and he also took this chance to solidify his rtionship with the president of the association. He also started to bring gifts to appease the man and make him trust him even more.


    President Acasia was pleased at how polite the young man had be. He grinned as he thought that the young master was feeling grateful to him. He was also getting confident because he thought that the young man was getting inside his sphere of control. To ally with one of the powerful families in the kingdom would surely benefit his association.


    The past grudge that he had against Cygnus slowly disappeared as he continued to think about the benefits that they would reap once the Ginehart duchy would back them up. The president couldn''t help but grin at the thought. He left his office and was about to leave when he saw that the young master was there once again.


    He happily approached the man and gave him a smile. He even went as far as to tap his back when he greeted their visitor. "Young Master Rigel, I didn''t know that you wereing today." He sounded surprised and yet happy with the visit.


    "Oh, I was passing by and saw the building so I decided to stop by and give you these gifts," he looked behind him at his butler.


    Mr. C stepped forward and ced the bag of precious stones that was left from what Duke ckwell had sent to him. When the butler opened the bag and they saw what was inside, they froze in amazement. The people who were there had their jaws dropped at the number of precious stones in the bag.


    "Isn''t this too much?" Acasia asked even though he too was excited at what he saw. Even with his standing and with the name of the Hero Association, he couldn''t purchase this much precious stones.


    "Oh, don''t worry though, president, Uncle Ghad gave those to me and he told me that I could use it however I want so I am giving it to you because some of the stones can be forged to be great weapons!" He made it clear to make the president even more at ease at receiving the gifts.


    Cygnus was right because after the president heard his words, he immediately took the bag and thanked him. He couldn''t help but sneer at the young master in his mind because he was giving away such a gift. The president had noints though because he benefited from it.


    "Thank you so much for these gifts then. I will make sure to use it for the association and for the heroes," he smiled and sp the master''s shoulder and squeezed it a couple of times. "Are you going to go and see Arcaine?" he suddenly asked.


    Cygnus shook his head, "I need to get home early since my parents will being today. They will be attending the awarding ceremony and they decided toe earlier. I just came by to give those stones to you."


    Acasia was overjoyed when he heard that the duke was going to attend the ceremony. With the young master there, he would be able to talk with the duke and perhaps establish a rtionship with him. He then enthusiastically nodded. "I see, then you should go along. I will see you during the awarding ceremony."


    Cygnus nodded and bid the man a goodbye. While in their carriage, the smile on the master''s face disappeared. "What a hypocrite," he mumbled. "Even so, his dumbness would be his downfall."


    The day of the ceremony came and the people were ready to celebrate with the hero who defeated the bandits. The streets were decorated with gs bearing the logo of the Hero Association which was a shield with a lion on hit. The people were jumping and singing in unison the song that theyposed just for that day.


    On the high tform where the ceremony would be held there were four pirs on each corner of the tform and each pir had golden mes that were zing with vigor and color. This amazed the people who were waiting for the ceremony. The moment that the king''s figure appeared behind the tform, cheering and shouting started to echo from the crowd.


    Orpheus raised his hand and waved at the people who came to witness the ceremony that was about to be done. He was smiling and there was no pretense in his actions because he was genuinely happy and energetic. After waving for a while, he slowly put down his hand and the crowd quietened.


    "Thank you so much foring to this ceremony and foring to witness the hero of country receive honor and praise for what he has done for the kingdom." He started which made the crowd focus on his words. "I know that most of you have been terrified because of the bandit attacks. I am happy to tell you that the bandits are now dead and have no way of hurting you again."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    At those words, the crowd cheered and pped their hands. The king was nodding his head while hearing the sound. It pleased him that the people were cheering and enjoying the joyous asion. This would certainly make the people rely on him more.


    "Let me present to you, Hero Arcaine Noir, the hero that allowed peace to return to us once again. At my request, he did not hesitate to help my cause." He stretched his hand to the right and there came Hero Arcaine with his full formal attire.


    Donned in all white with a golden cape on his back, the hero walked with his head held high towards the tform where the king was waiting for him. He even flipped his cape before he gracefully got down on one of his knees in front of the king. He bowed his head and waited for the king to start the blessing.


    "I the king of Lunaira, Orpheus Syentia, recognizes Hero Arcaine Noire as the Hero of Light." He then ced the tip of the sword slightly above the man''s right shoulder then did it again on his left shoulder andstly above his head.


    Arcaine raised both of his hands with his palms facing upward and the king ced the sword on his hand. The hero then slowly got up and faced the people then he held the sword tightly before raising it high above. Before the people could even cheer, the king spoke again.


    "The sword of light has chosen its new owner!" Orpheus announced and then the whole za roared with cheers. Even the ground shook because of how loud they were cheering.


    Their cheering did not stop even after the ceremony and it still could be heard inside the pce. The pce''s hall was prepared to host a banquet to host all the people who attended the ceremony. From the highest echelons of nobility to the lowest part of nobles, almost everyone was there. Lte was already making her rounds while Duke Ulysses was already talking with the other nobles.


    General Linius was standing together with other soldiers who also attended the ceremony. They were emitting a serious aura which made it difficult for people to approach them. Cygnus was already there as he tried to avoid thedies who seemed to be flocking to him.


    He did not have the time to flirt with them because he was on a mission. He waited for a couple more minutes before the president finally approached them with a grin. He even managed to greet the general who was frowning at his direction.


    "Young Master Rigel," the president started before he gave a nce to the general who was ring at him, "may I have a word with you?"


    Cygnus nodded and followed the man. He did not forget to give his brother a reassuring smile before he left. The president led them to a particrly secluded ce where he intended to put forward his request to the young man who looked ufortable.


    "I wanted to ask you for a favor, could you introduce me to your father. I''ve long wanted to talk to him but I haven''t gotten the chance to do that yet." The president did not hide his intention. He was ready to build a connection with the duke so Cygnus thought that he should help him.


    "Alright, I can do that." He turned around and walked towards his father. Acasia was following closely behind.


    Ulysses noticed that Rigel was walking towards his direction and there was someone following behind him. When they stopped a few centimeters away from them, the duke and the people who were talking with him fell into silence.


    "Father, let me introduce to you the President of the Hero Association, Acaisa Veltran." He gestured to the person who was not standing beside him.

 Chapter 298 Meeting The Man

    ?


    Ulysses knew the name of the president but he was still unfamiliar with how he looked. Now that his son was getting closer with the man, there was no harm in getting to know the man personally. Besides, his son was not averse from introducing them together.


    "It is my pleasure to finally meet the president of the Hero Association," he reached out to the extended hand from Acasia and shook it with a smile.


    "No, of course it is my pleasure." Acasia returned with a smile. He looked at Rigel with a satisfied smile before he started to have a conversation with the duke.


    Cygnus left the both of them and instead went to look for Hero Arcaine who had been busy receiving greetings and gifts from the nobles. They were thankful because he was able to subdue the enemy that tried to threaten the peace of Lunaira. They have been showering him with praise that his head has already grown big.


    He saw that the young master of Ginehart was approaching him and he took that chance to exit and greet the young man. This action made the people around him surprised because they didn''t know that the hero was close with the youngest Ginehart. Their conclusions were proven correct when they saw Cygnus smiling and nodding at the hero.


    "My friend,e let me introduce you the noble sons and daughters of the kingdom," Hero Arcaine waived for him and the young man did not hesitate to approach them.


    They were instantly surrounded by the people and this caught the attention of the other onlookers. They became curious of what was happening and were suddenly captivated by the view given by the hero and the young master of Ginehart. Because of the flocking of people towards them, the others couldn''t even make a move and talk with them.


    Cygnus endured the number of people who were surrounding them and their human stench that was clinging in the air. Even their pretense made him nauseated but he held in the urge to vomit. It was overwhelming but for the sake of his goal, he needed to endure it a bit longer.


    Mr. C could see how ufortable the master was but he was ordered to stay put and watch the guests. He then felt that the general stood beside him as they both watched the master''s awkward persona in the middle of those hungry wolves. In that moment they both realized that they actually enjoyed the view especially because it only happens once in a while.


    Hero Arcaine on the other hand was enjoying the attention and the gazes of admiration that were directed at his direction. It was really the right decision to make the young master his friend, now he was reaping the benefits. While he was grinning and happily talking with the others, he noticed the duke and the president not far away. He could tell that they were having a good conversation by the way they were smiling.


    His mood was dampened because of what he saw and his smiles became forced. Cygnus noticed the hero''s demeanor and he couldn''t help but grin inwardly. He then looked around and saw that his brother was not far from them so he decided to introduce his friend to him.


    "That should do the trick," he mumbled to himself before he looked at the hero beside him. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I excuse myself and my friend for a moment because I would like to introduce him to General Linius." He gave them a smile and the people around them parted to give them away.


    They walked towards where the general was standing and Linius could only give them a wry smile. He forced himself to stand and meet them. Cygnus immediately greeted his brother and did not hesitate to introduce his friend to his brother.


    "I am blessed to finally meet one of the greatest warriors in our kingdom," the hero started to tter the general, which did not impress Linius whatsoever.


    For the sake of appearances, he epted the ttery and thanked the hero. "I can''t bepared to you though. I am very impressed that you managed to defeat all of those bandits. Thank you for your service to our kingdom."


    The hero nodded and he started to engage the general in a conversation. He thought that even though he was not able to meet the duke himself, it was also good that he met the general. Cygnus finally left the two of them and used magic to navigate through the crowd to leave the ce. He exited the ball room and went to the back garden.


    "You did well there, master," the butler praised his master who was able to stand inside that crowded ce for over an hour.


    "I don''t feel like that is apliment. I''m exhausted, these kinds of social gathering are really not my thing," he sighed as he used his hands to support himself as he leaned back to look at the now dark sky.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You shouldn''t force yourself then," a woman''s voice interrupted his rest. He looked behind him and saw that it was Lte.


    "If not for the sake of my goals, I wouldn''t even attend that kind of event," Cygnus answered. He yawned and all he wanted was to just go home and lie down on his bed.


    "Then rest for a while before you return inside. Your father and brother will surely be as bored as you right about now," the woman softlyughed and Cygnus could already imagine the two of them frowning.


    They sat there for a couple more minutes before they both stood up and returned inside. The first person that caught the master''s attention after they entered the ballroom was the tall man that was now talking with the duke and the hero. This made the master grin as he enthusiastically walked towards them.


    Lte was surprised at the sudden change in the man''s emotions and when she saw the direction where he was going, she couldn''t help but frown. He saw his husband and the president then an additional person was with them. She wondered if that person was the reason why the young man suddenly felt energetic.


    "Father!" He called out in a loud voice which caught the attention of the two other people who were with the duke.


    "Ah, Rigel. Good timing, this man right here wanted to meet you." Ulysses gestured at the man the master saw inside the president''s office. "This is Sir Aberleign Sunox, the president''s longtime friend and master."


    "It is an honor to meet you, I am Rigel Maverick Ginehart." He introduced himself and offered his hand to shake hands with the man.


    Aberleign Sunox looked at the young man for a moment before he took the other''s hand and shook it. He was indeed young but his achievements were not that ordinary. From his initial impression of the young, he indeed has a high amount of manapared to the other mages he had encountered. It was worth it to be the Magus Maximus''s disciple.


    It was just a bit saddening that the Magus passed away. If his experiments were not discovered, he would have been living a good life right now. Aberleign Sunox decided to keep an eye on the young man and see what he could do. If he was worth investing in or not.


    All of the man''s thoughts were not hidden from Cygnus''s eyes. He was d that he did all of that and now the people he was looking for wereing to him without him doing any effort. Now that the man had established the start of their connection, he would make sure to savor every moment of their pain.


    "I have heard of your amazing feats and I didn''t expect that you are truly young." Aberleign nodded in approval after observing the young man.


    "You tter me. I am just running around and doing what I want to because my parents are supportive of whatever I want to do," he showed them an innocent expression and then he nced at the direction of the duke and his wife with a smile.


    Aberleignughed and patted the young man''s shoulder. "The duke and the duchess must love you so much. There is this one thing that I was wondering about," he then started which earned him a confused look from Cygnus.


    "What is it, sir?" he asked with his voice subtly cracking because of nervousness. Aberleign heard the cracking as he smiled and shook his head.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not a thing that you should be worried about. I was just wondering why you didn''t be the Magic Tower''s new Magus?" He finally asked because it was one of the things that he was most curious about.


    "Oh, that''s because I don''t want to be tied down to that ce. It is a great ce but I only went there to improve my magic and I did not have any ns on staying there long because I don''t want to further defy my parents," he smiled and let him know the fabricated lie he prepared for that exact moment.

 Chapter 299 Lets Begin

    ?


    Aberleign did not expect the young man''s answer. He also remembered that the Ginehart duchy doesn''t wee mages except for the mage that was working with Duke ckwell. This must have meant that he was just permitted to enter that tower despite the objections from his parents. Even so, there was nothing wrong with him expressing his interest in the young man since he was not affiliated with any organization.


    "You have two outstanding children, your first born is a general while your second born is a brilliant mage." He looked at Ulysses and gave him a smile. He was starting to patronize the man because he wanted to make the young mage an acquaintance and maybe make him his sessor too.


    "Yes, they are," Ulysses was proud because of them and he wouldn''t be ashamed to praise them and dote on them.


    Cygnus was silently smiling on the side as he watched the both of themughing together. It was amusing to know what they were both thinking. "May, I ask what does the elder do? By how Sir Acasia treats you as his master, you must be an outstanding person." He looked so innocent as he asked the man.


    "I am a wandering Sage." Aberleign answered with confidence. Because he did not want to get tied down to the tower, he left the kingdom and went wandering around the world thus the tower was left to his friend.


    "Oh, a Sage!" Cygnus showed some excitement. He took a step forward towards the man and looked at him with shining eyes.


    Ulysses looked at the young man and he was impressed at the extent of his acting. If he did not know the master''s true nature, he would have surely fallen into that innocent look. He looked at his wife who was also smiling just as she raised her head to look at him. They had the same thoughts and all they could do was justugh it out.


    "Yes. I just came back for a visit and I will be traveling again soon. I might stay here for a couple of weeks or even months depending on my mood," he responded with a smile. He appeared enthusiastic and interested because he wanted to get the master''s attention.


    Now that Cygnus was disying interest, the man decided not to let it go. The master was d that the man was a fool. A Sage and yet he couldn''t even recognize that the person in front of him was an enemy. This was to the master''s favor though because he could y with the man a little bit longer.


    He didn''t even expect that the man was a Sage, it was a rank that was higher than the Magus Maximus. He must have obtained it while he was wandering around. Cygnus was not impressed at all because even after a thousand years, he could only reach the Sage rank. This must be a retribution for their sins and now he was there to make them all pay.


    "Then will you be staying at the Hero Association?" Cygnus asked. He was hoping that the man would say yes as his expression showed.


    "Yes. I will be staying there so if you want to visit me or even learn from me, I will be there." Aberleign did not hold back and hinted at what he wanted to happen. Even though Cygnus acted na?ve, he understood his meaning. Ulysses and Lte also got the message from the elder.


    "That''s good. I want to hear more about your travels so expect me to visit you often," he enthusiastically nodded. He was excited to get to know the man even more.


    After they spoke, Linius and Arcaine showed up. They both greeted each other and were introduced to the elder. They gave the man a small bow to at least show him respect. After a couple of words were exchanged, Ulysses and his family bid them goodbye. They excused themselves and bid the others on their way out.


    "That man is interesting," Cygnusmented while they were inside the carriage. He was looking at the lights on the street outside with a rxed expression on his face.


    "Do you know that man?" Lte asked in return because she saw how excited the young master became after he saw that Aberleign was talking with Ulysses.


    "I only know his face since I have seen in the Hero Association president''s office and in the files that I let Ignius collect. I finally got to know his name even though I already read it. He is also a man from the past that I must vanquish." There was no hesitation in his voice as he said those words. He was that confident that all the people inside the carriage wouldn''t talk about it outside.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you going to kill him?" She asked once again. She was concerned that the young man was getting consumed by the anger and revenge that he wanted to do.


    He moved his gaze away from the view outside and looked at the woman. "There''s no other way. He must die. I am not being consumed by anger or whatever because I am very rational right now. He is actually lucky because I am not going to burn him alive." His eyes narrowed with that grin that made the room cold and made the people inside shiver in fear.


    Lte did not question him any longer and even the duke and the general remained silent. They knew that the master could read minds so they knew that he already knew what they were about to say. Cygnus indeed knew everything but he did not care. His decision would not change no matter what happens.


    For the next few days, Cygnus started to visit the Hero Association more often. He was there to talk with the Hero of Light or sit with the Sage and hear his stories. The ce gradually became a ce where he was allowed to enter even without permission. Even the higher floors became essible for him.


    This only showed the people that the Hero Association was now on good terms with the Ginehart duchy. There were also times that the president, the hero and the sage were invited to the manor where they were served with the best food. This became news to the whole capital which made people look at them in the good light.


    Now that Cygnus already got a hold of the Hero Association he needed to proceed to the next step and that was taking control. He visited the association and as usual, he was granted ess to the president''s lounge where he was allowed to wait for them. The first one to arrive was the president who approached him with a smile.


    "You are here. You really like this ce!" The president chuckled as the young man nodded his head in response to his statement. It was fine though because they were reaping the benefits.


    After the awarding and the news of the Hero Association bing allied with the Ginehart, their reputation grew. Now more and more people were registering to be a hero. Their organization was growing and would be able to surpass those of the other organizations in the other kingdoms.


    While the man was savoring his victory, he noticed that there was something wrong in the room. He looked around but he did not see anything unusual. He then heard the young master''s voice and when he looked at the direction of Cygnus, he froze.


    The man was grinning at him like a maniac. His body automatically stepped back because of the dark aura that wasing from the young man. In the president''s eye he could see a dark being behind the young man and it was staring at him with his red eyes. It was emitting pressure that he hadn''t felt from the past.


    "I''m d that you are enjoying the benefits that my rtionship with you is bringing. Now it''s my turn to reap benefits from you," the master spoke with his low and intimidating voice that resounded inside the room.


    The president trembled as he fell on his knees at the sheer power that the young man was emitting. He couldn''t believe that he was deceived by the person. Acasia thought that he was the one deceiving the man and yet now he realized that he must have yed within his palm. "What do you want?" he asked with a trembling voice.


    "Your loyalty." Those were thest words that the president heard before he was totally surrounded by darkness as his consciousness finally faded away.


    Cygnus looked at the unconscious man with a grin as a ck magic circled appeared below him. This magic circle consumed the president and after a few moments it returned the unconscious man. The stillness that surrounded the area disappeared and everything went back to normal just as Hero Arcaine arrived.


    "Sir Acasia, Rigel," he greeted the both of them, which they returned with a nod.


    "Now that Sir Arcaine is here, I will be leaving and let him apany you," Acasia stood up and bid the two of them goodbye. Cygnus watched the man as he disappeared inside his office with a red glint in his eyes.

 Chapter 300 Interlude

    ?


    Cygnus looked at the man and greeted him too. They started talking about anything and Arcaine suggested that they go to the Hero association''s training ground. Cygnus became curious so he agreed and when they reached the ce, there were already people in there.


    Most of them were busy training their weapon handling skills. Cygnus was fascinated because he didn''t know that even the Hero Association had this kind of ce. His eyes couldn''t stop looking around and were amazed at what he saw. He also saw some heroes sparring with each other.


    "I didn''t even realize that something like this exists in this ce!" He eximed which made Arcaine grin. He was getting swept up in the innocence and naivety that the young man was showing.


    "Yes, it''s not much but it still gives the heroes the chance to train and improve their skills." Arcaine waived his hands towards the training grounds.


    After that tour, Cygnus had the chance to spar with the hero using weapons. Although he was not adept at using a spear, it was still a good chance to practice. He was not much of a weapons master because most of the time he would use magic to resolve everything. Why would he use a weapon when he could pierce through his enemies with his magic.


    After the short sparring, he was panting as he sat on the ground with the spear on his side. He hadn''t exercised this much ever since he could remember. The hero walked towards him and offered his hand which Cygnus epted. He was pulled up and offered a towel and a bottle of water which he dly epted.


    "You are good with a spear. Have you been secretly training?" Arcaine grinned. There was a teasing tone in his voice which almost made the master cringe but he held himself back.


    "Just a past time. I''m more inclined in using magic than using weapons. With magic I can do anything I want and kill anyone who gets in my way," Cygnus''s voice went down a few octaves and for a moment the atmosphere chilled.


    Arcaine was a bit startled as he looked at the young man who was walking beside him. He did not notice anything amiss on him so he looked around but everything was normal. He frowned. ''It must have been my imagination,'' he thought to himself.


    "What''s the matter?" Cygnus noticed that the hero seemed to be anxious all of a sudden. He too looked around but he noticed nothing abnormal. The people in the training ground were still fighting and practicing like what they had been doing for the past hour.


    Arcaine shook his head, "Nothing. It must have been my imagination. I must have been still on edge because of the recent incident." He calmed himself and gave the young man a nod.


    "Alright," Cygnus nodded. He returned his gaze to the front and continued walking to where he left his coat.


    He saw that Mr. C was standing on the shed where he left his coat and some of his things which were already in the butler''s hands. Mr. C bowed towards him when they reached the shed and helped him with his coat. "The duke has called for you. He says that they will be returning to Ginehart so he wants to spend a little bit more time with you and Master Linius."


    "Oh, is that so." Cygnus looked at the hero, "I should get going now Sir Arcaine. Thank you for letting me spar with you. I''ll be back again one of these days."


    "No worries. I got something I need to do too." Arcaine waved his hand. After that Cygnus left together with the butler.


    After they were already not in sight, the smile on the hero''s face faded. He sighed and brushed his hair up and a frown appeared on his face. He even shook his head and gritted his teeth. "It''s so tiring to babysit," he mumbled to himself as he walked away from the training grounds.


    <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The y continued even after a month had passed. The characters were ying their parts ording to the script. The deception and lies continued to stack up every minute that passed by. The audience were getting mesmerized as they too were getting embroiled in this borate story the mastermind was weaving.


    His grin as he continued to remain behind the scenes and on the front line couldn''t bepared to the joy that he felt from the past stories he directed. This one, in his opinion, was by far the best he had ever witnessed. It was thrilling for him to see that all of the people he chose to y those characters were doing their jobs well.


    He looked at the plot and was satisfied with how everything was moving. He was a bit impatient but he needed to reign it in because he was aiming for perfection. He knew that the audience wouldn''t like it if the story suddenly progressed too fast. The longer they savor their roles, the more brutal they would fall.


    A pair of hands was bound and raised above a man''s head. The ce was dimly lit with only the torches of fire serving as its light. The walls were made of brick that became damp and moldy at the passage of time. Only the droplets of water echoed in that lonely ce.


    The man whose body was hanging from a rope that held his bound hands hadn''t moved for a while now and the other man who had been watching him was getting bored. He had been sighing for the past few hours already and yet he refused to stand up to wake the bound man. He couldn''t even be bothered by such a trivial thing.


    He started to tap his fingers on the table and as he moved his head to the other side of that damp and cold ce, the torches automatically lit up. Another man was bound against the wall just like the other man beside him. Unlike the first man, he was wide awake but it was clear that he was not in his right mind.


    His eyes were wide but it was unfocused as his pupils kept on moving without stopping. He did not even notice that the torch beside him was already lit up. He just kept on mumbling to himself with incoherent words. After a couple of minutes, his eyes got a glimpse of the sitting man who was watching him and in that short span of time, he was already screaming.


    "Tsk." The man frowned and the screaming suddenly stopped. A spear coated with a dark smoke had already pierced the man on the stomach. Blood started to gush out from his mouth and it effectively shut him up.


    His gaze then moved to the right side of the first man where a woman was also hanging on the wall. She was wriggling and kept on moving her body even though she knew that she couldn''t escape. Her once pristine and expensive clothing was tattered and stained with blood. Her hair was a mess as a result of her relentless struggle.


    She tried to speak and curse at the sitting man but she couldn''t do it because there were no wordsing from her mouth. No matter how she tried it was futile because her tongue has been cut off. She could clearly see but she couldn''t even express herself or even her regret. The anger in her slowly faded and only desperation remained as she wanted to apologize to the man.


    The man who was watching her scoffed. Any apology at that point in time already lost its meaning. Nothing could ever move him now because his heart had already shattered and turned to dust when he lost everything. The remaining sympathy he has was only reserved to the people who did not leave him behind.


    A whip of dark mana went straight towards the woman. The woman''s eyes widened at the burning pain she felt but no scream came out from her mouth. Her body started to bleed and before the pain could at least subside, another whip of dark mana cut through her. The cuts were so deep that it even reached her bones.


    Just as thest whip disappeared, the man in the middle slowly woke up. He shook his head as he slowly looked up to see where he was. He squinted his eyes and saw that he was inside a dungeon or an underground prison. When he looked around, he saw the other two people on both of his sides and recognized them. He couldn''t believe that his two missing colleagues were in that kind of ce.


    He also noticed the man who was sitting not far away from them. He had his feet crossed as his ck hair cascaded to the floor. He immediately recognized who it was and he became angry. The man wanted to attack the sitting man but he couldn''t because he was bound.


    "How dare you! What do you want?" He asked with his jaws clenched but the man did not answer for a few seconds. He was just staring at him intently. This unnerved him but the anger in his heart was greater than his fear.


    "What do I want? I want your suffering and the suffering of those people whom you care the most. It is my pleasure to let them feel pain that they would crawl on the dirt covered ground to plead for their lives. They will die miserably because of you." The man''s answer brought chills to the hanged man. The person speaking to him right now was not the innocent and na?ve young man he met but the devil himself.

 Chapter 301 Appearance Of The Crown Prince

    ?


    The kingdom of Lunaira had been known for centuries of magic thus they were more popr with their mages. It was a kingdom that all magicians were dreaming of visiting but at the news of the Magic Tower getting destroyed and the evil deeds of the Magus Maximus, people from other kingdoms started to doubt and avoid the kingdom. At the rise of the Hero Association, the kingdom slowly gained its lost reputation.


    Heroes from the association were getting recognized and getting the best treatment no matter where they were. King Orpheus was pleased because of this that he started to treat the association with care and this made the president satisfied. It was already a good deal because his branch of the Hero Association was now on top of the Magic Tower.


    "Father, let me visit the Hero Association." Crown Prince Renzo Syentia barged inside his father''s study.


    He came back from a trip and heard everything that happened in the kingdom while he was gone. The crown prince was sent on a diplomatic mission together with his advisor, Lindon Ginehart. After hearing everything from the report that his captain of the guards summarized, he couldn''t help but had the urge to make a personal connection with the association.


    "Why would you want to visit that ce?" The king frowned after hearing his son''s request after he came back from his diplomatic mission. "Shouldn''t you be reporting to me first?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "I''ve already written a report about that," he looked back at his secretary and gestured for him to give the report to the king, "I''ll leave you to read it father."


    The secretary carefully ced the stack of papers on the king''s table then he slowly took a step back. King Orpheus looked at the papers then looked at his son who was grinning at him smugly. He couldn''t believe that his son would resort to this kind of tactic. He sighed and let the prince go since he didn''t have the time to talk to him.


    Crown Prince Renzo left his father''s study and left the pce to visit the Hero Association. Since he wasn''t able to establish a connection with the Magic Tower, he would do everything he could to get the association on his side. The n was already set in his mind but all of it vanished when he saw who was in the association.


    "What are you doing here?" He was frowning at the young man who was currently sipping coffee on his usual spot inside the association''s reception area.


    "I am here to have some coffee," Cygnus answered without even recognizing who was the person asking him.


    It was customary to stand up and greet any royalty but Cygnus did not do it even after he saw the crown prince. The other people who were present all stood up and bowed towards the prince but he ignored this basic etiquette as they called it. Cygnus was not used to bowing to others, especially to people who he thought didn''t deserve it.


    He would only bow when needed in his act and all of it would only be akin to a curt nod. This action made Lindon angry but Renzo stopped him. He walked to the man and instead asked him why he was there.


    "Is this a ce where you can freely drink coffee?" The prince still asked despite the obvious dislike from Cygnus.


    "Well, that''s because Ms. Lietha already knows me and I have been to this ce so many times that I am now considered part of their ranks." Cygnus carefully ced his cup of coffee on the table and looked up to meet the prince''s eyes.


    The prince''s eyes narrowed but he did not back down. "What a good excuse. I never knew that you would even hang out in a ce like this."


    "Isn''t that the same with you, your highness?" Cygnus tilted his head to the side as he looked up at the man with slightly wide and watery eyes. This had been effective to most people so he tried using it to the crown prince to see his reaction.


    Renzo was taken aback at the other''s actions. He took a step back like he was touched by a poison. His face even contorted because of it and he stared at the young master of Ginehart in disgust. "Do notpare me to you."


    Acasia heard that the crown prince was in the association so he rushed down to meet and greet him. What he saw was beyond his expectation. It seems that the crown prince and the young master of Ginehart didn''t get along. He stood by the door and continued to watch them for a while.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It also did not escape his eyes the other man who was with the crown prince. ording to what he knew about the Ginehart family, the man was Lindon Ginehart. He was an influential person but after he became the royal adviser of the crown prince, his prestige went up even more. He was considered a genius and brilliant in the field of politics.


    Acasia also heard that this cousin of Rigel was aiming for the position of head in the Ginehart which he knew that Ulysses wouldn''t give up to just anyone. The man was clearly expanding his power by using his connection with the crown prince. Acasia felt that something would surely happen within the Gineharts one of these days.


    After some time, he finally approached them with a smile. He bowed and greeted the crown prince. "Wee to the Hero Association, your highness. If I knew that you wereing today, I would have personally weed you." The man still had his hand on his right chest as he looked at the crown prince.


    "No need to fret over these small things. We came here not to gain attention or make amotion. I just want to have a talk with you President Acasia Veltran." Renzo smoothly answered as he transitioned to his prince demeanor.


    "It would be my pleasure to finally have a conversation with you, your highness," Acasia eagerly nodded and epted the man''s offer. "Please excuse as for a while young master Rigel. Hero Arcaine will be here shortly to apany you on your sparring." The man''s gaze shifted to the man who remained seated.


    "Alright. I''ll just wait for him here." Cygnus grinned and he even gave the president a thumbs up.


    Acasia led them to his study in the second floor where he diligently served them with refreshments and an assortment of snacks. He sat on the empty seat on the right left side. They were silent for a while as they took the first sip to the drinks that were given to them.


    Renzo ced the ss of orange juice on the table before he finally spoke. "I did not expect to see that Rigel Ginehart would be here," he started.


    "That is because he is a friend of Hero Arcaine and he has been a good acquaintance to the other heroes in this ce," Acasia answered.


    Although the crown prince had his fair share of influence, it was still a big difference to have the strongest ducal family on their side. If he could have the prince backing him and the association then it would be easier for him to expand his influence. The royal family and the Ginehart, what a great way to have power.


    "So, the rumors are true that Hero Arcaine and Rigel are friends?" At first, he did not want to believe those silly words but now that the president had confirmed it, there was no doubt in his mind.


    "Yes. The rumors are a bit exaggerated but it is true that the two are friends and Hero Aracaine values young master Rigel." The president did not deny it because if he did, his rtionship with the young master would be constrained.


    "I didn''t expect that your cousin actually knows someone from the Hero Association, what a coincidence!" His face looked calm but his tone said otherwise. He was not happy to know that Hero Arcaine was actually Rigel''s friend.


    "I did not know about this too, your highness. My cousin and I have never been close and he despises me so as much as I can, I will always avoid him. Besides, I did not have contact with him when we were still children because the duke has hidden him." Lindon immediately defended himself because he did not want the prince to get so angry.


    "Should I introduce you to Hero Arcaine too?" He interjected which caught the crown prince''s attention. "I''m sure that Hero Arcaine would be d to finally meet you, your highness."


    "That''s a good idea," Renzo nodded his head. It was a good way to gauge if the man was worth investing in. He could even learn a thing or two about Rigel Ginehart.


    "I will arrange a meeting with him then after our conversation." Acasia was d that the crown prince was easy to pacify. Now that crown prince Renzo came to him on his ord, he wouldn''t let the opportunity slip his hands.

 Chapter 302 An Edict

    ?


    Crown Prince Renzo was satisfied with the arrangement that the president made for him. He was scheduled to meet the hero the next days to get to know him. He would make sure that the hero would choose to support him instead of sticking with that Ginehart.


    His mood dampened when he remembered Cygnus once again. Ever since he first set his eyes on the man, he already knew that they would not get along. The man was acting like a child and innocent even though the crown prince could feel that he was not. Once he became king, he would make sure to deal with the man or he could do it earlier.


    Renzo''s eyes went to his adviser who had been silent for a while now. Lindon Ginehart was an ambitious man. The crown prince knew that he used his connections from the academy to get to where he was now. He had noints because his adviser was actually good with his work and he finishes his tasks on time.


    Even though he looked a bit tamed on the outside, the adviser was actually calcting and unmerciful. He would do anything to get his hands on anything that he wanted. How did he know this because he let one of his men investigate Lindon. Even while he was in the academy, he had someone stage an ident for one of the students for offending him. He managed to get his way around the incident and even graduated on the top of his ss.


    The Crown Prince also knew that he wanted to the Ginehart duchy and that he was aiming for the position of head. It was also the reason why he did his best to make a connection with him, the crown prince. Renzo called him and told him all of things but the man was not ashamed and instead he came forward to ask him for an alliance.


    Renzo liked his confidence and shrewdness so he agreed and they came to a deal. Now, the adviser was working for him to gain more power while Lindon was busy preparing to take over the Ginehart duchy. He had been amassing power from the other branches of the Ginehart and was waiting for the right time to usurp the position.


    "What are you going to do now? It seems that Rigel had the backing of the Hero Association right now." The crown prince asked after a while. He wanted to know what the other person was thinking.


    "I will help you get the association''s full support. I won''t allow them to gain more power." Lindon looked at the crown prince. He couldn''t believe that at the short amount of time of that he was gone, so many things had already happened but it was not yet toote. He could still fix this.


    He would need to make his move ahead of time to suppress Linius but with how the man hasn''t participated in the battle against the bandits, the king must have pulled some strings. This was the right time to move and put him in ce. "But first of all, I''ll need to get rid of the General Linius. I heard that our southern borders are constantly being attacked with monster."


    "I''ll talk to my father about this matter. I am sure that he would be pleased because there would be one less Ginehart in the capital." Renzoughed at the thought because he knew that even his father was wary of that family.


    Aside from being an influential family with both wealth and power, the family also carried royal blood within their veins. Even though they were not pure blooded, they still had the right to inherit the throne. Ulysses had not shown any interest to the throne and was keeping his rtionship with the king at the level of acquaintance.


    Even without motives though, the king was still wary of them so he had employed several rules just to restrict them. Now that another Ginehart was a general, the family''s name soared again so he was not keen on giving General Linius any missions that could make him stand out more. If he tells the king the adviser''s suggestion, the king would definitely agree.


    Just as they predicted, King Orpheus immediately agreed to the crown prince''s suggestion. Even General Ishmael had a wide green on his face. He thought that it was already payback time to that family that he hated. After that, the king did not waste time and told his secretary to make an announcement.


    The secretary immediately drafted the letter and let the king check it. King Orpheus nodded his head after he read the letter. "Please send this letter to the Ginehart manor and tell them that I am waiting for a positive response."


    "Thank you so much for granting our request, we will be leaving now," the crown prince and his adviser bowed their head toward the king before they left the door.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I didn''t know that the crown prince had that kind of ideas. It is very refreshing." General Ishmael was pleased because of what was about to happen. He had been waiting for this day.


    "Something must have happened but even so, it would be better to cut their power before it grows even more." The king looked back at the general as his face looked serious.


    The Ginehart family shouldn''t have gained more power but during that time, he couldn''t do anything. He needed to promote the major or else the people would notice his dislike of them. So at the end, he agreed to make the man a general.


    And now, he did not want the general to gain even more poprity so at the mention of him being sent to the south was wee. He did not hesitate to sign the announcement and made the general''s departure as early as he could after he made preparations. Because he was still under the king''s rule, Linius wouldn''t be able to say no or else he would be subjected to treason.


    The letter reached the Ginehart manor. Linius went out to ept the royal edict and as customary, he kneeled and lifted his hands to ept it. After he epted it, he stood up and went ahead to read it. The messenger closely watched the general''s expression but he did not see anything unusual as it remained neutral.


    "I will obey the king''s orders. I will be leaving after three days of preparation and will subdue due those monsters to make our kingdom safe." General Linius bowed his head together with the servants who were present.


    The messenger nodded as he returned to the carriage and left. After the carriage left the manor''s premise, Linius sighed and shook his head. He had just surpassed a difficult task and became a general but even so, he was still treated like he was not one. The king''s wariness of them has achieved new heights.


    The southern border of the kingdom was facing an unknown jungle that they dare not venture into. The weather at that ce was also harsh. It was mostly windy and cold that it could freeze people who would be left out during the night. It would also take them a month before they could reach the kingdom''s military base in that ce.


    Within that amount of time, the general was afraid that they would do something against his family and the person who killed his real brother might appear again. He appeared to have forgotten it but it has been engraved in his heart and mind. The master had promised that he would bring his brother''s murderer to the light and deal with him.


    "You should go. This is a good bait to lure your enemies out. Once you are gone from the capital, the moths will surely be attracted to the me. After that I could easily crush them and wipe them out from the face of the earth." Cygnus urged after he heard the news. He was inside the manor when the edict came and the general freely told him what was on that piece of paper.


    "Will that be okay?" He was not sure about the master''s word, "My father is currently busy in Ginehart and surely they wille at you once they know that I am not in the capital."


    "You worry too much general. I can take care of myself and besides they are easy to deal with. Who do you think I am? I can even kill them with one hand once they try to do me harm," the master answered with confidence. The man''s worries were ced in the wrong person. "You should worry about yourself. Your journey to that ce won''t be easy and some might think this as an opportunity to get rid of you."


    "Indeed they would. I am sure that those noble families had already received a letter regarding the king''s edict. I am not even surprised if some of them are already preparing to assassinate me."

 Chapter 303 It Has Begun

    ?


    For the next three days, Linius and his men started to prepare for their journey. Supplies and weapons were loaded. The general did not even forget to bring his Magic Brigade with him. It was to prepare for the worst-case scenario that may happen while they were enroute to their destination.


    Linius looked at the master who was currently lounging in the gazebo ant the garden behind the manor. He had his eyes closed but Linius knew that he was awake. He took the empty seat on the left side of the gazebo and sat there without speaking.


    "Do you have anything to say, general?" Cygnus asked after a while because the man only sat there without speaking which was a bit uncharacteristic of him.


    "I will not be the only person who will be in danger. Once I leave the capital, eyes would surely fall on you. The wolves and hounds will surelye after you." He started to speak without even giving a nce to the man.


    He knew that it was meaningless to tell him all those things but it already became his habit and the man had been part of Ginehart for so long now. Along the way, he already thought of him as a brother even though he was clearly older than him by a hundred years. The master might not appreciate it but he would continue to treat him as a part of his family.


    "You don''t have to worry about those lowly animals. Did you already forget? I have a dragon and a serpent. I can always let them feast on those who will try to devour me," Cygnus answered.


    It was not a secret that almost all nobles in the kingdom were eyeing the Ginehart and every opportunity they could find to bring them down would be a wee chance for them. Cygnus opened his eyes and shifted his head to the side where he openly stared at the general. The man''s thoughts were a bit foreign to the master, he understood it and yet at the same time he did not.


    "You have some funny thoughts in there," hemented. The concept was lost to him as he had to grow up without his family.


    "You don''t have to understand them though," the man stood up, "I''m just reminding you to be careful because anything might happen."


    He gave the master onest nce before he waved his hands and bid him goodbye. Cygnus did not go back to his nap and instead he remained silent on his seat for a while. He was looking at the scenery beyond the blooming flower garden. Family, a word so foreign and yet so familiar to him.


    The rumbling of the ground as several horses and carriage left the Ginehart manor caught the attention of everyone. They marched bearing the g of the kingdom and the Gineharts. It was like a majestic parade that everyone would usually witness when there were grand asions. The people remained solemn though because they knew that the soldiers were going to battle.


    It was a fascinating scene. Cygnus was flying above the parade and at that moment, he suddenly snapped his fingers and several magic circles were drawn above the street where the soldiers were walking. Once the circles wereplete, several petals of multicolored flowers fell down as it showered the soldiers with its unique fragrance.


    The people who were watching on the side were in awe and when they looked up, all the circles disappeared. There was no trace of the person who did it. Linius had no idea who it was but he appreciated the gesture. He would return from the south victoriously.


    Just a few days after their departure, the Ginehart manor already experienced several break ins. There were no casualties but there was a lot of destruction. These acts were only used to test the waters and to see how the people inside the manor would react.


    These kinds of taunts were not going to work against Cygnus though. He acted scared and worried that he would bring with him several guards whenever he left the manor. The guards in the manor were also doubled to address the issue. The wolves watched this reaction but they were not fazed as they moved on to the next step in their ns.


    "They are starting to move," Ignius spoke after he came out from a gate. He sat on the couch and crossed his feet with his arms spread wide open against the couch.


    "That''s good, we can wee them all with open arms," Cygnusughed. He wasn''t doing anything and yet his enemies were delivering themselves to him.


    At first there were only light knocks but as the days progressed it also escted. His bakery was boycotted as there were rumors destroying his business''s reputation. Apparently, his products were subpar and the worst one was that a client of theirs apparently fell ill after prolonged intake of the pastries that were being sold at the bakery.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    This was one of the reasons why authorities raided the bakery but at the end of the day, they found nothing. Even though the matter was cleared, the shop''s reputation already suffered a blow. His time spent on the Hero Association also dwindled which gave the crown prince the chance to wiggle his way towards the heart of the group.


    Things only got worse when no news from the southern border regarding the general''s arrival did note. The manor turned bleak because of what they heard and yet that was not the end. The Ginehart duchy was put in a difficult situation just because of a deal they made in one of the kingdoms they were dealing with.


    With all thesebined problems, the people''s opinion towards the family became a bit on the negative side. Even the hero association that had been backing him suddenly had a change of mind. it became more and more difficult to meet the hero and the president, as if they were avoiding him.


    Since he was still acting na?ve, he would show his vulnerable expression to attract more customers but it was not happening now. This was the first time that his shop hadn''t been full. Even his shop''s earnings plummeted down because of what was happening.


    After all of that, the assassinations came like a wave. At first, they would send a group of three people to stab or even burn him but their ns were already known to the master, so he managed to evade all of those attempts in his life. While he was busy evading their attacks against him, something good reached him.


    "Three of the people in the list are confirmed. What shall I do with them now? Kill them or eat them?" Ignius who came to report was getting excited at the possibility of him getting back to flying and scaring people.


    "That''s good to know. Have they joined the chaos?" Cygnus asked after a while. It would be better if they joined the chaos that way all the characters in his y would bepleted.


    "Two of them are, because they are supporting two different noble families," Ignius answered while he was rxing on the couch.


    "Good," Cygnus grinned. The first plot of his y was about to happen and he would let the people know terror.


    While he was celebrating, Ari''s voice echoed in the silent room. She had been silent for the past few days because like the butler she underwent a system update. After hearing the n and the exnation from the master, he became curious.


    They were still enjoying their lives when an unknown error urred at the folder where the master''s memories were stored. Although Ari underwent an update, something like this still happened and with that simple crack on the file, hell slowly but surely descended in the capital.


    These events would still take ce in the near future, for now the kingdom''s peace was about to be broken. The king knew what was happening but he chose not to interfere. This was something the nobles started without consulting him, so they would need to bear the consequences of their actions.


    The attacks did not stop and yet Cygnus already knew who these people were. He had a list of their names floating in the air as he then pointed at a particr name. That night the master called forth his dragon as he pointed at the list. Ignius looked at it and he noticed that one name was highlighted.


    "What do you want me to do, master?" Ignius had a grin on his face as he asked that question even though he already knew what the master was about to say.


    "Destroy them, eat them, I don''t care. Just do it silently and I will send you some recements that you can use," the master simply answered. His eyes were narrowed as they stared at the list of names.


    "I understand, master. Please look forward to a good result," the dragon answered. He even bowed his head with his eyes glowing gold in the dark.

 Chapter 304 The Dragon

    ?


    That same night, a shadow was casted over one of the noble houses that had been targeting the Gineharts. The dragon''s body hovered above the manor that stood amidst the greennds of the capital. It was located in the western side of the capital where there was plenty of greenery.


    The golden eyes stared at the manor and with magic, he could see people inside the house and there were a lot of them. Apparently, the owner of the manor was hosting a party. His goal was to kill them all and the best method for that was to burn them all without leaving a trace but before that he could go inside first and y with them. Ignius enclosed the whole manor in a barrier that hid it from the entire world.


    No one would be able to enter it without his permission. He could even do whatever he wanted inside the barrier without the outside world knowing. Since the master allowed him to kill them, it would be better if he would savor them first before doing so.


    Once the barrier was established, he roared and the ground shook. The people inside the manor were surprised at the sudden noise. They thought it was thunder but when they looked out, they started screaming. The screams were music to the dragon''s ears because it was the first sign of fear from his prey.


    Another roar shook the entire manor before Ignius raised his ws and wed out the manor''s roof so that he could witness them all running around in fear. He was pleased when he saw them stumbling on the ground as they ran to the exit of the manor. They were pushing and stepping on theirpanions that were down on the ground.


    This reaction from the humans had never gotten old and no matter what world they were in, it remained the same. It was amusing at first but he quickly got bored. The visitors were running around and tried to get away from the man but there was no way for them to be able to leave.


    In annoyance that he only had a short fun that night, Ignius used his fire breath and burned those who were knocking and punching the barrier. The people who were yet to reach the exit saw what happened. Gasps and exmations of surprise filled the entire ce. Those who were in close proximity from the burnt people could feel the heat as they stepped back from the zing red fire.


    "You won''t be able to escape this ce or even call for help. It is futile." A deep and gritty voice boomed in that enclosed space.


    The people trembled at the eerie voice because they knew that it was from the dragon. They looked up at him with tears in their eyes and Ignius could detect desperation from them which made him grin. His body slowly shrunk until it turned into his human form. In this form he was less terrifying but with his ck aura as the ck dragon still leaking, he looked intimidating as he walked up to them.


    He gave them a grin as heughed when he saw their expression. There was a man in front of the group wearing a frown on his face. Amongst them, he was the only one who looked not intimidated by his presence. Ignius''s eyes glowed as he focused his gaze on the man and he was impressed at what he saw.


    The man possesses mana which was able to lessen the effect of his intimidation. He stopped in front of the man and leaned down to meet his eyes. "I know you. You are the owner of this manor. Your face was on the file that Aripiled for me."


    "Why is a great dragon here in this ce? And you even ced a barrier around my manor just to hide your actions." The man asked without fear even though the people behind him were already passing out because of the aura that the dragon was leaking.


    "That is because my master was not happy with how you were doing things. You and the other people in here tried to kill him." Ignius did not hide that fact because they were already going to die anyway.


    The man''s frown deepened after hearing the dragon''s answer. "Are you telling me that Rigel is your master?" The man finally asked because he was the only person that he wanted to get rid of.


    The dragon snapped his fingers andughed. "You got that right! He is my one and only master. If you''d ask me, he is the best." He even managed to brag about Cygnus even in that kind of situation.


    "I can give you riches and women as sacrifices, just let me go." The man started to bargain which surprised the dragon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "You want to trade me?" Ignius thought that his eyes were damaged after hearing the man''s statement. He looked at the still awake people behind him and their expression of outrage at the man.


    "Yes, there''s no other dragon in here, is there?" The man still had the audacity to retort even though he was the one in a disadvantage.


    Igniusughed out loud, so loud that it caused vibrations in the air. "I am afraid that even if you empty your treasury or the kingdom''s treasury I won''t be satisfied. Women?" The dragon shook his head, "You are really willing to sacrifice them? How foolish and what kind of children''s storybooks are you reading? I don''t have any use for them."


    The man took a step back because he sensed that it would not be easy to out smart the dragon. He gritted his teeth and the anger he felt towards the young master of Ginehart surged like a tide. He did not know that that person was actually hiding a dragon within his ranks, how cunning.


    "If you kill us now, the whole kingdom will know of your deed and that a dragon is wreaking havoc in this ce. The heroes will surelye to subdue you." The man continued to step back after saying those words. He wanted to see if the dragon would panic even for a little.


    "I don''t really care. I am a dragon and it would take more than a hero to kill me. Aside from that, I am an entitypletely different from you." The dragonughed at the sad attempt to threaten him. These humans were clearly foolish. "And those heroes, they won''t be able to touch me."


    At that time the security of the manor finally managed toe to their rescue. "What took you so long?" The owner of the manor shouted at the soldiers who only came after the destruction was already made.


    The soldiers did not respond to the man''s words as they only looked at them nkly. The man was taken aback by the state of his guards. They were elite soldiers he employed to protect them and yet they were just standing there and looking at them.


    "They won''t obey you. They are all freed from your control and the pent-up anger they are hiding in their heart will now devour you," the dragon answered the question on their faces.


    It was not only the soldiers who came but also the servants came to gather around them. They were not responding to the man no matter how he called their names. Ignius leapt back and floated in the air since he would be watching them ughter each other.


    "If you want to live, you should use your weapons too. Thest man standing would leave this ce." He announced which made the remaining guests look at each other.


    They couldn''t let the guards and servants kill them. Some of the nobles already picked up their weapons and unsheathed their swords. They were ready to fight and kill anyone who would be their way. The killings started the moment they realized that they could actually do it.


    Driven by adrenaline and the desperation to survive, they started to swig their swords. And the massacre happened, those soldiers and guards were only being controlled by mind magic even the servants were so technically they were still alive but just under his control.


    The ground turned red as the people inside that ce continued to kill each other. The person on the front line was taking the lead because he had mana and he uses it to stop the movements from his opponent. It was only the start and yet most of them were already dead.


    Body after body fell to the once luscious green covered ground. There were already five more people alive with their swords ready to cut down their enemies. They all looked at each other and without exchanging words they started to cut down each other until nobody was left alive aside from the owner of the manor. The weapon on the man''s hand fell to the ground after he saw the aftermath of what happened.

 Chapter 305 World Breaker

    ?


    The smell of blood assaulted his nose as he looked around and saw all the bodies scattered on the ground. He couldn''t believe that something like this would happen within a short amount of time. It was supposed to be a party where he could unt his power and his achievements but it became a massacre.


    A w appeared from behind him as it caressed his face with the dragon''s body floating like a smoke behind him. "You''ve survived and now you can leave this ce freely," the dragon whispered. His voice was enticing, "Or would like to die by my hands. I will make sure to use you thoroughly."


    The owner of the manor had lost his mind as he slowly nodded his head to let the dragon take him. Ignius grinned as he once again transformed into his dragon form and swallowed the man whole. Heughed loudly after he finished with his task. His dragon eyes looked around at the bodies and was disgusted so he used his fire to burn them all.


    No bodies were left after the fire disappeared and when he was satisfied, he brought out several dolls from his master. He then tapped one of the doll''s foreheads that emitted a purple light after the light touch. After the light appeared on the first doll, purple lines ran down from its forehead down to its feet as it scattered around the whole area.


    The purple lines touched the other dolls and they too started to light up. After all the dolls lit up, they started to move and the dragon watched in fascination whenever he saw them starting toe to life. Slowly the dolls started to move around and after a minute, human features started to appear on their faces.


    The resemnce to the people who had died just now was uncanny. Even the man, who was the owner of the manor started to appear in one of the dolls. After a few more minutes, they were already talking and having a conversation with each other. Once all the humans who were dead were reced with the dolls from the master, Ignius casted an illusion magic of the legendary ss to hide the destruction of the manor.


    After everything was back in ce, the dragon then removed the barrier and left the manor like nothing happened. The people who were in the party enjoyed their night before returning to their own manors. Igniusnded on the master''s balcony and entered the dark room which was only illuminated by the red glow from the master''s eyes.


    There were several screens in front of him as he watched his spies enter their houses. He had a grin on his face as he couldn''t hide the glee that he was feeling after taking control of several people. Now he would be updated on any move that those houses would try to pull off.


    "I am pleased with your work." The masterplimented him and the dragon was happy to ept the master''spliment. It was rare for him to be giving apliment so he would make sure to savor it.


    "I am d that you are pleased, my master." Ignius had his head bowed even though the master was not looking in his direction. His words were already enough.


    "Now, we have spies within half of the nobles. I would like you to monitor these families," he pulled up the file he had and pointed at the names that weren''t crossed out yet, "I want to have them monitored. Use the remaining dolls you have."


    "I understand, master," the dragon answered. "I will make sure to fulfill your wish once again." He then disappeared from the room.


    "Ignius is really working hard," Ninamented as she came out from one of the corners in the room. She walked towards where the man was sitting and leaned forward to look at what the master was watching. "They didn''t even notice anything amiss from their families that returned, how weak," she mocked.


    "That''s how they have been. It is a reason why they are called weak. No one would be able to detect the difference unless they are at my level or above me or they are special." The master grinned as he swiped out the screens one-by-one. "Besides, Ignius hasn''t done any work so I am sure that he was excited by this task."


    "How about me, master? Do you have any work for me?" Nina asked. The lights in the room slowly returned and the master''s eyes returned to their usual ckness.


    "I have something from you but that won''t be today. Let''s wait a bit more." Cygnus answered as he stood up and went to the balcony that overlooks the now darkened garden.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I''ll be looking forward to it, master!" Nina became excited as she bid the master goodbye and left the room.


    Cygnus looked up at the moon and smiled. There''s no more ying because the whole kingdom of Lunaira would eventually fall in his hands. Also, those people would eventually take the bait and would fall into his traps.


    At a different world, a group of men stood in a circr formation. They were wearing white robes with the sun and the sword insignia on the backs of their robes. The sun was of gold color while the de seemed to be glowing silver. Their bodies were coated with a white light as they were chanting unrecognizable words.


    A ck lightning appeared on the center of their circle formation as a crack slowly formed. The crack grew into the size that could fit a full-grown man. A man emerged from the shadows but unlike the eight people, he was wearing golden armor with a white cape attached to his back. He had two weapons with him, his sword that could cut darkness and his spear that could pierced through anything.


    "Is this urate?" His deep voice asked the priests who had been assisting him ever since they were sent to kill and destroy the ''World Breaker'' as they called him.


    "Yes, after so many failed attempts we were able to finally find his location." One of the priests answered. They had exhausted so many resources just to find the ''World Breaker''s'' location and now that they found it, they won''t let him go.


    "Alright, let us go." The man nodded his head and led the way. He had done this so many times that he became immune to the effects of the dimensional portal.


    The priests closely followed behind until they came to the end of the portal and appeared in a forest. They looked around but they found no people around. The man who was their leader did not say a word and started to walk around so that he could get a grasp of where they were. After walking for a while, they still hadn''t found any traces of human civilization nearby.


    "I''ll use locate. There''s no use in us wasting so much energy looking for people." He let his mana flow and the blue warm color spread in all directions. Waves of his mana covered kilometers and miles until he finally detected a ce.


    It was a small vige but it was better than nothing. After that he teleported them near the vige where they started their search. With their brilliance, they were immediately weed inside the vige because the people there thought of them as heroes.


    That was the first valuable information they got, heroes exist in this world and they could utilize them to destroy the enemy. They were given food and a ce to stay as they asked the chief of the vige regarding the world. The chief did not hesitate to answer them.


    "This is the El Merey Kingdom, the closest kingdom to the kingdom of Lunaira," the chief answered. He then started to exin the situation in the ce but the priests and the man were not really interested.


    They did not know where the enemy was in that vast world so just like old days, they needed to find him manually and using crude methods. Despite their familiarization of their enemy''s habits and movements it would still be difficult for them to locate them. The leader was also sure that the ''World Breaker'' already noticed their appearance.


    As the leader guessed, Cygnus was alerted of the appearance of a portal. He sighed because he already had a guess on who used the dimensional portal. In his lifetime, there was only one group who could open a gate. The group was called ''Justice of Life''.


    They were a group of fanatics who called themselves priests and knights of justice. This group had been going after Cygnus for hundreds of years now and yet they haven''t gotten near him even after following him through different worlds. Even though their appearance was a bit early, Cygnus was still satisfied because he would be able to get rid of them too.

 Chapter 306 Justice Of Light

    ?


    Cygnus suddenlyughed which made his butler frown. There was nothing to be happy about during these times. It was a bit unusual for him to be acting like this. Mr. C approached his master with the intention of asking what made him happy.


    "Did something happen, master?" He asked as he usually does whenever he finds his master''s action as unusual.


    "They are already here," was his only answer. It took a couple of seconds before the butler finally understood his master''s words.


    "So, those damn priests and that annoying knight are already here. It took them longer this time." The butler''s demeanor suddenly changed. He became like a gangster who was ready to go and ask for a fight. This was also the first time that he cursed.


    Cygnusughed when he heard the sudden change in his butler''snguage. "Don''t worry, we have plenty of time to prepare since they are not in this kingdom yet. Their presence is so far that I am guessing that theynded in a different kingdom."


    The butler returned to his usual self and nodded his head. "Nevertheless, I will still be informing the others of the appearance of that group."


    "They have weakened and now is the right time to annihte them. I also gained new pawns that I can use against them and there is that man from the ckwell too." Cygnus twirled around because this time around he would make sure to thoroughly destroy them.


    "Well then, I will leave for a while, master." Mr. C left the room leaving the master to his own happy devices.


    After the butler left, he contacted Ari and told her to gather the people around the master for an emergency meeting. In one of the manor''s drawing room, Mr. C was waiting for everyone to arrive. The first one to arrive was Ignius and his carefree attitude was reigned in. Nahar also arrived as elegantly as he could.


    A gate appeared and came out Astrophos and Vain then followed by Nina who was still had a grin on her face. Ezio and Reitou were also summoned through the gate. After everyone was summoned, Mr. C looked at them before he started.


    "Thank you foring to this impromptu meeting," Mr. C greeted them. "I''ve called all of you here because I have urgent news that all of you must know."


    At those words, the people inside the room remained silent and on alert. Ignius could also feel the curiosity because even him was curious as to the reason why the butler called them all. He narrowed his eyes because this never happened before but after a while his eyes suddenly widened in realization.


    "Are they here?" The temperature in the room spiked up as the dragon''s voice came out as a growl. He even stood up from his seat and marched towards the butler.


    "Please rx, ck dragon. I will exin everything to the others and to all of you. The circumstances might change in the nexting days." The butler raised his hand to stop the dragon from further stepping forward.


    Ignius took a deep breath for a couple of times before he took a step back and went back to his seat. He would listen first before he would make a decision as to what he should do. The appearance of those people must have already been felt by the master, that was why the butler was here.


    "That group called ''Justice of Light'' has arrived in this world. ording to the master they are not in this kingdom yet so they most likely arrived at a different kingdom. Although the master told me that there is nothing to worry about, I still want all of you to be prepared, be alert and be wary of them." The butler revealed to them together with a reminder.


    "Who are these ''Justice of Light''?" Ezio asked with a frown. This was something new to him and he did not know the reason why they were gathered just because of a group of people.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "That group has been hunting the master ever since we the master caused destruction in their world. It has be their sole purpose to kill the master. They have been following us to every world we explore and trying their best to destroy the master but they never seeded." The butler exined which earned him several surprised expressions from those who did not know of the matter.


    Ezio did not expect that someone was actually brave enough to chase the master. "How could they even travel through space when the only people who could do that are space mages?" He asked when he realized that there was something odd about them.


    "Travelling through space is not only limited to space mages. As long as one has enough power to open a dimensional portal, then they too can travel through worlds. Those people have artifacts that can help them track and open a portal to any world where the master was." He cleared the misconception regarding traveling to different worlds..


    "How can we identify them once we encounter them?" This time it was Astrophos who asked a question.


    He would need something that could differentiate from the normal human beings so that he could send some people to scout the different kingdoms near Lunaira. They would need information on any new people or unusual events that had been happening around the kingdom. It would be beneficial for them to get a hold of any news that might be rted to this group.


    "You''ll immediately know them because nothing about them is normal even if their presence differs from those of normal humans. Remember, they had been chasing the master for a couple of hundred years now." The butler''s tone went down a few notches while telling them that information.


    They all nodded their heads. "I will ry to you any information that I can gather regarding the other kingdoms. The butler is right, we need to be prepared at least even though the master isn''t that worried about the matter."


    After they came to an agreement, they slowly dispersed with different thoughts in their minds. Ignius, who had the most extreme reaction during the meeting, stopped Astrophos. "If you are going to investigate those people, I will lend you some of my wyverns. They will be able to help you gather information. Once you bond with them, you''ll be able to get the dragon eye."


    The mage nodded. "Then I will dly ept your help." There was no reason for him to turn away the man''s help. He knew that the master had assigned a task to him and it must be frustrating not to be able to do anything in this situation, especially for him who has the longest bond to the master.


    "Alright, I will send them to you tonight." Ignius''s tense expression eased a bit after the mage agreed. Now he could at least rest easy while carrying out the master''s orders to him.


    That night, two wyverns arrived at the front door of the Vergessen bakery. They were both in a human form courtesy of the ck dragon. Both were proficient in speaking thenguage and their actions didn''t differ from those of regr humans.


    Astrophos was satisfied so he immediately bonded with them through the exchange of blood and just as Ignius said, he gained the dragon eye. This skill grants him the ability to share the vision from the wyverns, whatever they would see, he too would see it. It was a very useful ability because in this way he could have first-hand experience of gathering the information.


    After the bond was formed and after training for them for a couple of days, he sent them away to their first mission. Just for the first three days, the wyverns already gathered quite a substantial amount of information but none of them strikes as something rted to that group.


    There was not much news in the kingdom for those days and it felt more and more like the calm before the storm. The aristocrats felt that way and even the king felt ufortable because of how silent it had be. The sudden halt in the attacks against the youngest Ginehart was concerning because the young man hasn''t shown his face for a couple of days now.


    Many tried to have a talk with him but he refused them all. Perhaps the only people who weren''t bothered by all of these were the crown prince and his adviser. They continued to build their connections with the Hero Association during the times that Rigel was not there. Crown Prince Renzo also got to know Hero Arcaine and the hero had been leaning to his side because of the benefits he was about to reap and because of the status of the man. He even thought that he was better than the youngest Ginehart.


    These events progressed as the ck dragon continued to attack the families on the list and change them into dummies that were absolutely loyal to the master. Once everything was set in ce, the master would appear again like nothing happened.

 Chapter 307 Establishing Themselves

    ?


    The ''Justice of Light'' smoothly assimted to the vige where they first appeared. They did not look for the ''World Breaker'' immediately as they had done before. They were aware that their power had weakened after so many dimensional travels and their resources were a bit depleted. They needed to regroup and gather resources.


    Instead of going around blindly, the leader of the group decided to establish the Justice of Light in that small vige. They helped the people in that ce to prosper using their ''holy'' magic and within three months of their stay, the vige grew and became somewhat a holy ce. The news of these people doing miraculous deeds spread through the El Merey Kingdom.


    Their influence spread like wildfire after their deeds were known and many people came to pledge their allegiance to the Justice of Light. It quickly became some kind of religion and the people came to revere and worship them, especially the knight. With this growth, the group started to gather resources that they could use to fight against the enemy of the world.


    In this way, they immediately established contact with the king of El Merey. Their actions were fast as they traveled to the kingdom''s capital to personally meet the king and show their sincerity. After they reached the capital, they were immediately escorted to the pce and treated as VIP guests.


    "Greetings your majesty," the knight and the priests who were with him kneeled in front of the king in the throne room, "we are honored to finally meet the ruler of this kingdom."


    The hall was filled with whispers as the man was bowing but he did not remove the helmet that was covering his whole face. This incited the people to have a different opinion on the man but the knight shrugged them off. He was confident that they would be epted once the king gave his acknowledgement.


    The king was pleased at how polite and respectful they were even though the knight still had his face covered. He already heard the reports that the knight never removed his helmet no matter who he was talking to but it was fine because he would see that face soon. "Please stand up. There''s no need for you to kneel when you are messengers of the gods."


    They stood up after those words and faced the king with confidence. The king was satisfied with them and so instead of continuing their meeting in the throne room he invited them into his private drawing room where they were served with food. After they were settled, the king finally started to ask them questions.


    "I''ve heard that your group has spread its influence throughout my kingdom," the king started. It was clear that he was testing them. He would start to weigh the pros and cons of letting the group continue to grow in his territory based on his answer.


    To show that they were sincere and that they don''t have any thoughts of bringing harm to the kingdom, the knight ced his hands on his helmet and slowly pulled it up to reveal his face. His golden blonde hair flowed out from the helmet and even his golden eyes shone brightly even during that time of the day. His appearance was breathtaking and it put the king in a trance.


    "We apologize for what happened. We only did what we were supposed to do and we did not think that it would spread rapidly. Because we cannot turn them down, we decided to just ept them and everything just happened beyond our control." He started to exin and every word that came out from his mouth made the king and everyone in the room fall deeper into a trance. "We mean no harm to your kingdom."


    The king took a few seconds before he finally answered. "Yes, I understand. You and your group don''t mean harm to my kingdom. That''s a relief and I am d that you and your group are here in my kingdom. I will make it so that you can establish yourself in the capital."


    "I, Onyx Gertrude will make sure that this kingdom will prosper under out protection." The knight dered which made the king nod.


    The effect of his voice slowly calmed but the effect was still there and whatever Onyx said the king would immediately agree. "That would be good news to me and to the people who have been following you. If you can help to make my kingdom powerful then there would be no problems between us."


    "Of course, your majesty. We will do our best to protect El Merey." Onyx dered without hesitation and they came to a final deal.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The ''Justice of Light'' finally established themselves in El Merey''s capital. Their patrons grew and even the king became one of them. Most of the kingdom''s nobility started supporting and following them. It was a major sess for them and now that they had some power, they started to gather information about the ''World Breaker''.


    Aside from getting connected with the pce, they also met with the kingdom''s hero association. Although hero associations in different kingdoms were connected somehow, they were still considered independent organizations. Onyx Gertrude met with the association''s president and somewhat convinced them to work with them.


    "We received a revtion. Someone with the power to destroy this world has arrived and we were tasked to find people to defeat him." This was the opening statement that the knight gave when he finally met the hero association.


    The president''s interest was piqued and this reaction made the knight pleased. "How can I believe these words? Your religion has just been established and although you''ve helped this kingdom, I cannot ept any request without any basis."


    "We call him the ''World Breaker'', he had destroyed several worlds as he had the ability to travel through space, a power that only he could do. The god of life, Haerith, whom we serve gave us this revtion." He started to infuse power in his voice which made the president slowly calm down.


    The hero association undoubtedly fell for this trick. "What kind of person is he?" He asked. He then picked up the pen and paper on his table and started to write down what the man would say.


    "He is a dangerous man who can use dark mana. He can disguise himself and fool anyone who will have contact with him. He looks young but in reality, he has been alive for a thousand years. He has red eyes much like that of a demon''s." Onyx slowly described their enemy although he had no concrete description of his physical appearance this was enough to at least cause a stir.s


    "This is a bit vague but I will do my best to let the heroes watch for any person with these kinds of characteristics." The president reread what he had written and even though it would be a bit difficult to find a person like what was described, it would still be good to do what the other hasmanded.


    "In addition to that, I will be adding a reward to those who can give me any valuable information which can be rted to that person," Onyx added. "As a holy knight, I can give them the protection of the god of life which willst for a lifetime. Having the protection of the god of life would ensure them a long life and protect them from any danger and a million gold coins on top of that."


    The president was surprised that the knight would be generous enough just for a small piece of information. That amount of money was enough for someone to livefortably for a couple of years. He became eager but the man''s next word made him half for a bit.


    "I would also like it if you could share this request to the other hero associations of the other kingdoms." This bit made the president frown but in order to pacify him, the man was ready, "Don''t worry, I will give your association five hundred thousand gold coins and if a hero from your association can bring me valuable information, I will double the reward money."


    The president became alive again after hearing the man''s offer so without hesitation he agreed. They came to a deal and not even an hour has passed after the man left the association''s building, a notice was already posted on the bulletin board. Once that piece of paper was posted, people already flocked around it because it wasbeled as having the highest priority.


    Their eyes brightened at how much money would be given for a just information gathering. Even the low-ranking heroes became interested and within just a day, the association was empty. This news traveled across the city and even the mages of that kingdom became interested. Thus, the whole kingdom of El Merey started to get their hands on any information that could be rted to the details of the mission.

 Chapter 308 High Price

    ?


    The hero association''s president sent several letters to the different kingdoms and eventually it reached the Lunaira Kingdom. Acasia received the letter and thought of it as nonsense before he even read it. He and the president of the El Merey kingdom weren''t on good terms so he begrudgingly opened the letter.


    His eyes widened when he read the contents of the letter. His grumpy face was reced with a grin and a trace of excitement could be seen from his eyes. He stood up and knocked over the chair to the floor as he hastily went out.


    Acasia saw the association''s clerk who just came back from having her coffee. The president dragged her and mmed the paper on her table. The clerk was still in a daze because of the president''s unusual actions.


    "Make a notice based on this letter and put it on the highest priority of the mission board," Acasiamanded.


    The clerk looked at the paper and her eyes widened. She woke up from her daze and took action. The notice was immediately posted on the mission board.


    The heroes and visitors that were there flocked on the mission board in curiosity because the notice was ced on the highest priority part of the board. Murmurs echoed in the lobby once the rewards were read. They whispered with each other because they couldn''t believe what they were reading.


    President Acasia came out from his office and walked towards the people who were having doubts regarding the notice. He coughed out loud to get there attention. The people in the room looked back at the man as they became silent.


    "I know that you have doubts but that notice is true. The El Merey kingdom already made a move and so did the other kingdoms who received the letter. Although we don''t know about that religion, the reward money is enough for any of us to live afortable life." The president addressed their doubts. "That reward money is real and is validated, so no need to worry about its authenticity."


    After that statement, the people inside the room were relieved. They then formed groups to n on how to gather information. Acasia on the other hand went to meet Arcaine, who was the only hero in the association right now.


    "Do you want to take on the mission too?" He already sent someone to inform him of the mission while he was talking with the others on the first floor.


    "Yes, I think it is easy enough." Arcaine answered with a grin. When he saw the notice, he was immediately intrigued and the reward money was very tempting. "It''s only information gathering so there should be no problem."


    The president nodded, "I''ll notify the other heroes so they can simultaneously gather information while doing their mission."


    Arcaine has no problem with this because it was apetition and besides there was still the possibility that the client wouldn''t want the information they''ll give. He nodded towards the man and after that he left the city. This news also circted around the city and even the king was informed about it.


    "To give such a reward for only information, this group is surely generous." The kingmented but what really caught his eye was the person whose information they wanted to know. "''World Breaker'' , that''s a unique nickname, sounds ominous andical at the same time."


    "I have tried talking to our contacts in El Merey and the group thatmissioned the request is called ''Justice of Light''. Apparently, they are a new group that can do miracles and they have helped the kingdom to prosper," General Ishmael added. He then handed a written report to the king detailing the group''s information.


    Orpheus hummed in thought. It was fairly a new group but to think that they already have that much influence in the El Merey kingdom means that their power was no joke. They even managed to build a connection with the royal family.


    "I want you to observe them and report back to me. They''ll be a valuable asset if we can get them to have a branch here in Lunaira. And I want to learn more about this ''World Breaker''." Orpheus ced back the documents as he gave the general a look.


    Without hesitation, the general gave the king a salute and left the study tomand his spies with the king''s mission. If what was written on those papers were true, this ''World Breaker'' person might be a dangerous enemy. A person who could destroy worlds, sounds a bit absurd but it was better to be prepared than caught off-guard.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Orpheus, who was left alone, was in deep thoughts. Though he was not a fan of prophecies, that name was a bit intimidating. He found it funny at first but the longer he thought about it, he was getting an ominous feeling about it. He could only sigh and put it at the back of his mind for the time being.


    Vergessen bakery, the branch that was located in the slums, was busy. The talk of that notice reached even that part of the city. The ce was filled with the loud conversations regarding the matter as most of them were interested to try their luck. One million gold coins was no joke and this was their chance to change their status in their life.


    Astrophos who was handling information was busypiling the reports he got from the wyverns regarding this new group or this religion as the others may have called it. This was something that they should be taking note of. Afterpiling everything, he used the gate to reach the Ginehart manor in the capital that had been silent for a while now.


    After the assassination attempts and no news from General Linius, the master wasn''t in the mood to go out. Some may think that he must be depressed because of what was happening to his family but they were wrong. The master was currently enjoying spying on the families that were involved with the attempts.


    Astrophos was actually impressed that the master had that kind of technique and now half of the nobility in the capital city of Lunaira were already in his control. Ignius worked double time and finished his mission in just a week because he was eager to find the people who were after the master. If not for the master stopping him, he might have shown his true form and attacked anyone in sight.


    He looked at the documents in his hand once again and at the familiar name. Justice of Light, he couldn''t believe that they did not even hide their identity while the master''s identity was not known around the kingdom. He didn''t know whether they were stupid or just in dumb for exposing their identity.


    Astrophos knocked on the door before opening it. Just as he entered, he already saw the master''s hand stretched out towards his direction. Without any words, he walked forward and handed him the document that hepiled.


    Cygnus browsed through the report but there was not much changed in his facial expression, not until he finished reading. He let out a loudugh as he brushed his hair up before leaning on his chair. "Crazy bastards."


    The master''s crudenguage would sometimes surprise the mage because he was already used to his noblenguage. In his thoughts, the master was crazier than those crazy bastards though. Even without a n, the master could still kill them.


    "I like your thoughts," Cygnus grinned. "Yes, I can kill them whenever I want but for now, I am curious as to what they are going to do to kill me."


    "Shall I inform the others about this news?" Astrophos asked after the master returned the document to him.


    "I''m sure that they already know about it. I''m aware that they have spies all over the kingdom and in the other kingdoms. Those people are impatient so I am sure that they will being to me soon." Cygnus waved his hands. He knew how his people work so there was no need to worry about them or hide anything from them.


    "Then, I will take my leave." The mage bowed before he left the room. Just as he got out, he met the butler so he gave him a small nod.


    Mr. C entered the room and went straight to where the master was. "He must havee to report to you what is happening in the kingdom and in the other kingdoms right now."


    Cygnus nodded. "Don''t make any moves yet. I wonder what they are going to do once they get information about me and I want to know why they didn''te to me the moment they arrived."


    "Our people are already gathering information about them so you don''t need to think too much about it, master," the butler answered. "And one more thing, Sir Aberleign came by again just a while ago and he was asking when he can meet you."

 Chapter 309 Farce

    ?


    Aside from Aberleign, there were also some other families who tried to go and talk to the master but they were all turned away. They were only there to get some news or information that they could share with the other nobles. Now that he was ready toe out, Cygnus would at least meet one of them.


    "I''ll meet him tomorrow then. It''s time to stretch out my hands and feet after resting for a couple of months." Cygnus stood up and stretched out his limbs with a grin. "Now that I have control of those families, shall I n a banquet to celebrate my birthday?"


    "What shall we prepare for the asion?" Mr. C immediately asked without asking why the master was suddenly nning a birthday party when he didn''t even celebrate his birthday.


    "Most importantly are invitations. I want you to distribute them ordingly. I trust that you already know all the people I am going to invite." Cygnus left his study and walked out after leaving thosemands.


    Mr. C followed behind his master until the manor''s lobby where he stopped for a second. He was thinking of a ce that he could visit after his months of no appearance performance. Ever since the assassinations stopped, even the rumors disappeared. The mastermind behind those attempts must be wondering why the other families were not moving like how he wanted to.


    "I''ll visit my dear cousin," Cygnus dered out of the blue. He walked towards the main door and it was opened for him. A carriage was already waiting for him too.


    The carriage left the manor and created quite a stir as it passed through the streets towards the direction of the crown prince''s adviser''s home. The ck carriage bearing the Ginehart crest stood out and incited murmurs from the citizens who saw it. Cygnus could all hear what they were saying and he knew what they were thinking.


    "Ginehart hasn''t fallen yet and yet they are talking like the family doesn''t exist anymore. If the duke knows what they are thinking, he will surely be disappointed." Cygnus murmured with his chin resting on his palms as he looked outside through a small gap on the curtains of the carriage''s windows.


    "I heard that the duke already fixed the issue but I wonder why he hasn''t made any statements yet," the butler suddenly spoke.


    "He must be biding his time," the master answered.


    They finally reached Lindon''s residence in the capital. Although the guard was already aware of his identity, they were still made to wait outside of the mansion''s gate. Mr. C was displeased with the arrangement so he alighted from the carriage to confront the guards.


    "Is this how you treat your master''s family?" He asked with his voice raised a bit. He couldn''t believe that they would dare treat his master this way.


    Cygnus parted the curtains of the carriage and looked out the window. "Mr. C, pleasee back. Let''s just wait for them to open the gate. You don''t need to make a fuss because it would be a bit embarrassing for them if we cause amotion here."


    With the master''s orders, the butler returned inside the carriage but not before giving the guards a re. He closed the door to the carriage and returned his expression to his normal one, rxed and cold. Mr. C and the master silently waited for them to let them in withoutints.


    Their carriage stayed outside of the mansion for an hour before they were finally allowed to go in. They were led to one of the mansion''s drawing rooms where they waited for another thirty minutes before the man finally met them. He walked towards them with his haughty and frowning look.


    "I apologize for letting you wait. I didn''t know that my guards did not even let you enter. I will punish them ordingly and remind them that they should be mindful next time." Lindon immediately apologized even before Cygnus could say anything.


    "No need to worry. You must have been busy?" Cygnus asked. It appeared to be an innocent question but it was enough to let Lindon''s guard down a bit.


    "Yes. This talk about the ''World Breaker'' is keeping me busy," Lindon answered. Because the prince was interested in the man, Lindon was obliged to find any information about him.


    Cygnus was surprised. "Are you looking for information regarding the man too?" He couldn''t help but wonder because the issue was hot right now.


    Lindon gave him a look before he answered. "Not me exactly but the crown prince. He wants to know who this ''World Breaker'' person is."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you sure that you should be sharing this information with me?" Cygnus was not sure why his cousin was being generous and telling him all of this.


    "This is not a secret. Since the notice was given even to the public, there is no problem even if the aristocrats participate." Lindon raised his brows before he sighed and rxed his posture. "Are you interested in the man too?"


    Cygnus shook his head. Why would he be interested in his own self? "I don''t have any interest in joining the fray. I''d rather stay at home and enjoy being alone right now."


    Lindon was not sure if his cousin was telling the truth. There was nothing much to learn from him especially because the information regarding him was limited. After those assassination attempts, he suddenly went low and didn''t appear for a few months. Even his uncle was not saying anything even though the problem in Ginehart was resolved.


    The people he sent after General Linius haven''t been reporting to him. After their third report, theirmunication was cut off and he had no way of knowing if his people were still alive. What was more surprising was theck of response or letter from the general too.


    "Do you have any news regarding General Linius?" He asked as he started to try and get something from him.


    Cygnus shook his head and his face saddened at the mention of his brother. "Nothing yet. I''m actually worried because I haven''t received anything from him yet. I told him to write to me immediately when they reach their destination but there is no letter yet." The frown on his face deepened after he said those words which made Lindon squint a little bit before his expression eased.


    "I have dispatched some people to go and look for them but even I lost contact with them. I''m going to send another team to investigate what happened so you don''t have to worry. I will inform you if we find anything." Lindon covered up his intention.


    Cygnus could say that he was expert at these kinds of conversations. He could lead a person to believe him but this would not work on Linius. He calmly nodded as he picked up the cup of coffee that was served for them. He raised it towards his mouth but he suddenly stopped before taking a sip.


    His expression changed as a grin appeared on his face. He returned the cup of coffee on the table. Cygnus crossed his legs and stared at his dear cousin who was looking at him with knitted brows and a frown.


    "Is the coffee not to your liking?" Lindon downyed it and shrugged at the sudden change in the air around his cousin.


    "Can you stop ying already? Honestly, this is getting boring." Instead of answering Cygnus said those words out of the blue which caught Lindon by surprise.


    "What are you talking about?" He was trying to avoid the statement and figured out that Rigel might only be bluffing.


    "All of this farce, I''m getting tired of it." He waved his hands in the air. "I know that you used those noble families to send assassins to kill me. You even went through all of that trouble to spread false rumors against me and I lost customers. Aren''t you tired?" Cygnus leaned forward and looked at his cousin''s eyes.


    Lindon''s fists clenched tightly but the expression on his face didn''t change. "Your usations don''t even have any proof, why are you doing this?"


    Cygnus chuckled and shook his head. "You are really good at this. I bet that you are the person who killed the general''s younger brother and you brushed it off like nothing happened."


    Lindon''s eyes widened at the man''s statement. He was about to brush off the statement but a certain word caught his attention. "What-what are you talking about?" He stammered as he stared at the person who was in front of him.


    "The younger brother of General Linius and the youngest son of Duke Ulysses died because of a fire that ate the house where he was being cared for. The family suspects that it was nned so I wasmissioned to look for the mastermind and bring him to the family." Cygnus''s grin widened as he watched Lindon''s contorting face. It was really amusing to see them getting ufortable under the scrutiny of a truth they tried so hard to hide.

 Chapter 310 Breaking

    ?


    Lindon was confused as to what was happening. He didn''t know why the man in front of him was talking like he was not the son of his uncle. His features were very simr to Duke Ulysses which was undoubtedly a sign that he was a Ginehart. He looked at the man again but all he could see was a person entirely different from the one he had been talking to just a while ago.


    "Who are you?" He stood up and took several steps back away from the man. He looked around but saw that his servants weren''t moving.


    Cygnus couldn''t contain the glee he was feeling at the face of his opponent. "Someone you can call the grim reaper. I''m surprised that you believe that farce and just suspected for a while. This only goes to show that you don''t know your own cousin''s face and yet you still burned him alive."


    "You are wrong," he mumbled. He kept on stepping back until his back finally hit the door. He felt for the door knob but the moment he was about to twist it open, Cygnus appeared before him.


    "Are you going to run away?" Cygnus whispered. He grabbed the man''s shoulder and gripped it tightly before he forcefully pulled and threw him in the opposite direction.


    Lindon hit the corner of the sofa where he sat andnded on the floor. He pushed himself up but before he could stand, a foot was already barreling towards him. The butler''s foot connected with Lindon''s stomach and it caused him to be pushed back and hit the wall. He wheezed and coughed as he tried to catch his breath after the impact.


    "What-what are you trying to do?" He tried to speak and stand but he failed as he slumped down on the floor once again.


    "I am only fulfilling a contract that I made with the duke and the general." Cygnus walked to where the was slumped down and stared down at him. "I think this is the right time for me to fulfill what I have been asked to do."


    "No! No! Don''te near me!" He shouted as he pushed himself back so that he could put distance between them.


    Everyone was just going too fast. He entered the room with confidence because he wanted to intimidate his cousin and show him who was the boss. He even executed all of that farce just to make this cousin of his discouraged. Lindon knew that he seeded because of how na?ve he looked.


    Lindon was thoroughly confused and the power that wasing from the man came from the darkness. He had encountered it once when he was a teenager and ady suddenly appeared before him. She was someone crazy and as soon as she saw him, she started to spout some nonsense.


    She said that she was an immortal and that no one would be able to kill her. After that, she suddenly attacked him and he lost consciousness but he couldn''t forget the feeling of that power. It was simr to what he was feeling from the man in front of him.


    His body was suddenly seized with fear because when he looked at the man, he was now looking at a person with red eyes. It glinted through the slowly darkening room. Lindon started to look around for something that could fend off the demon in front of her.


    "There are some interesting thoughts inside of your head." Cygnus spoke as he crouched down and pinned the man with his eyes. "Let''s get to know more about it then." He raised his hand and lightly touched the man''s forehead.


    Lindon screamed in pain because of the forceful invasion of his mind. There was resistance so the master needed to pour out a little bit more of his mana to break all the restrictions in his mind. He didn''t care even if he needed to break the man''s mind as long as he could obtain the information he wanted.


    It only took the master a minute to fully ess the man''s memories. He grinned as he found something interesting in those memories. He retracted his hand and took a step back. Lindon''s body slumped down even further. Saliva was dripping down from his mouth and his eyes became nk.


    "I''ve found another one." Heughed as he looked back at his butler. "I need Ignius to add her to the list of those people and find where she is hiding."


    The air stirred and a gate appeared where the long-haired human form of the dragon came out. "You called for me master?" He grinned as he observed the room and then he finally saw the man on the ground. "Oh, isn''t this that arrogant Ginehart?"


    "I called you here for a more important matter," the master frowned.


    Using only his mind, Cygnus let the man behind him float. He then turned around and stabbed the man in the heart. He brutally pulled out the man''s heart before turning back towards the butler and the dragon. Cygnus grinned before he crushed the man''s heart without hesitation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Any more questions?" Cygnus asked. He gave his two aides a look as he waited for them to speak.


    "Of course, we don''t have a question. We are here to listen to yourmands." Ignius bowed his head in respect because he didn''t want to further ruin his mood.


    "I''ll send you a picture of a woman''s picture and I want you to look for her. Once you find her, add her to that list." The mastermanded to which the dragon nodded.


    "I will carry out your order master," the dragon agreed. He then eyed the body on the ground.


    "I''ll rece him with a doll. I was supposed to use him for a while but my patience ran out while talking with him." Cygnus sighed as he looked at his hand that was stained with blood.


    The butler immediately pulled a handkerchief from their dimensional storage and handed it to the master. Cygnus took his time to wipe the blood after he sat down on the couch. He then snapped his fingers and a magic circle appeared on the ground which summoned a doll.


    "What will you tell the duke and the general?" Mr. C asked. He thought that the master would let the man live because of the contract he had with the Gineharts. He didn''t think that the master would kill Lindon immediately.


    The master was silent for a while because of the question. He tilted his head from side to side while thinking until he stopped and looked at the butler. "I forgot."


    Mr. C could do nothing about the master''s response. He couldn''t scold him so he could only close his eyes. "What shall we do then, master?"


    Cygnus eyed the bloody body on the ground and with a sigh, he once again snapped his fingers. A ck magic circle appeared below the dead body and swallowed it up. After a minute, the circle summoned the body once again but this time Lindon was alive once again.


    The adviser to the crown prince looked around as he was still a bit disoriented after what happened. He clearly felt his chest being pierced and he even saw his heart getting ripped out and yet he was still alive. His first instinct was to touch his chest to feel if his wound was still there.


    Lindon could still feel the wetness on his clothes but his skin was perfectly intact. He looked down and saw that his mind was not ying tricks on him. It was indeed healed. He kept on touching his chest until he realized something. He even closed his eyes in hopes of hearing his own heartbeat but there was none.


    "You won''t hear anything because I already crushed your heart and reced it with a magic core that bears my power. I can always stop the core whenever I like, so you''d better behave." Cygnus answered his unspoken question.


    "What did you do to me?" His voice trembled when he heard what the other had to say. He stared at the man with wide eyes as he pushed himself to stand up.


    "You should be grateful because I brought you back to life. If not for that contract, I would have left you dead." The master became annoyed because of how slow the other was. ''He was branded as a genius but why was he being all confused,'' the master thought to himself.


    "Are you telling me that I''ve be an undead?" He asked once again. His mind was not yet functioning well.


    "What do you think?" Was his only response because he was getting tired of answering Lindon''s every question.


    Mr. C saw that the master was getting more and more annoyed because of the man so he took a step forward and gave Lindon a smile. "Let me take over. Due to a contract, the master decided to revive you and now that you are revived the master is basically your master now too. So, I suggest that you obey whatever the master says if you still want to continue living. And yes, you are basically an undead now."


    That made Lindon freeze. He was an undead and he doesn''t possess a heart. He was breathing and yet he was not alive. A crispugh filled the room after he came to that realization.

 Chapter 311 A Chance

    ?


    Lindon sat in a daze inside the drawing room. He had been in that state for a while now even after Cygnus retracted his oppressive aura. He couldn''t believe that the person who had been living in his uncle''s estate was not really his cousin.


    He looked at the other man, who was changing his clothes, one more look before he sighed in dismay. All his ns has been thwarted and now he was forced to serve this unknown man. He could feel the disgust brimming in his heart and the hatred that was bubbling frim his inside.


    He even wondered if General Linius and Duke Ulysses knew about the man. The word ''contract'' also made him frown. Questions like, ''who made a contract with the man?'' and ''what kind of contract was it?'', were running around his mind.


    "Stop sulking. It won''t do you any good if you keep that up. But if you want to die again, then feel free to challenge me." Cygnus turned around and fixed his stare at the man. "And that contract is for me to find who killed Maverick Ginehart and bring him to the general and the duke."


    His annoyance was going to reach the peak because of the thoughts that were running inside the Lindon''s head. He was now regretting that he made the person an undead. He grimaced and gave the man a side eye.


    Lindon opened and closed his mouth but the words didn''te out. He could already understand the situation he was in. The contractors were his cousin and uncle. He also realized within that time that they must have already known that the fire was no ident.


    Cygnus ignored the man as he marched towards the door but before he opened it, he looked back. "Whatever you say or do, I know it all. I suggest that you be careful from now on."


    Mr. C opened the door and they marched out without looking back. Cygnus already wasted time in that damned ce and even dirtied a set of fine clothes. If the man had some tact, Cygnus wouldn''t feel the need to kill him but he was slow and dumb.


    His patience these past few days had been very, very short and he was easily irritated. He frowned as they walked down the stairs that he let out a small amount of his dark mana once they reached the first floor. The grand staircase decayed and in the blink of an eye it copsed.


    A loud boom echoed in the mansion as the stairs hit the ground. The floor leading to the main door was stained ck and even the door decayed without the master holding it. The door was destroyed and he nonchntly walked past it.


    The servants in the mansion were terrified at what they witnessed. They ran and hid anywhere faraway from the main lobby. Lindon appeared atop of the destroyed stairs with gritted teeth.


    Once Cygnus was seated inside the carriage, he called for Ignius. "Clean the house up, rece every servant with dolls. I don''t want that man to feel at ease just because he is alive."


    "Your order will be carried out with finesse," the dragon answered. He bowed his head and disappeared.


    Screams and pleading echoed from inside of the mansion. Cygnus sat in the carriage with his eyes closed. The butler on the other hand was now standing beside Lindon.


    "Let it be. You can''t stop a dragon once it started ughtering." The butler advised as he stood there with both of his hands behind his back.


    Lindon was about to go down and stop the dragon but the butler appeared beside him and his movements were suddenly restricted. He couldn''t move any of his hands and feet as he could only watch and listen. He thought that they were already leaving but suddenly the other man who was with them entered the mansion again.


    Ignius then started to go after the servants. Lindon wanted to go down and help but with the appearance of the butler he could do nothing. The dragon continued to ughter the mansion''s servants. He did not leave anyone alive.


    The mansion was soon filled with the fishy smell of blood and the bodies of his servants. Lindon watched helplessly as the dragon munched and swallowed their dead bodies. He also saw how the dragon summoned dolls and how those lifeless things started to move.


    One by one those dolls became the dead servants that the dragon ate. It was like watching a horror movie in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, his servants were back like nothing happened.


    "What do you think?" Ignius floated up to the second floor where Lindon was being held by the butler. "Did you like my work?"


    Lindon was overcame with fear and uncertainty. He wished that he remained dead instead of being alive and watching that gruesome scene. He couldn''t stomach what happened that the urge to vomit came over him but he couldn''t.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was too much for him even though he was already an undead. "What do you think would I think? Should I praise you?" The irritation in his voice was enough to make the dragonugh.


    "Such an amusing one. He was just trembling and all confused a while ago but here he is now, being all sassy with his answer!" The dragon was patting his legs whileughing.


    "After much realization, he must be back to himself. The master overdid himself once again. This man dug his own grave." The butler talked as if Lindon was not there.


    They were supposed to let the man do whatever he wanted and nt a spy amongst his men but he chose to offend the master. Now he became the spy and loyal servant of the master with his magic core being controlled by the master. Honestly, the butler thought that it was more effective.


    "Isn''t this better though. He will say everything the crown prince does and we can stay ahead until the master decides what he would do with this kingdom." Ignius answered while giving the man a look from his head to his feet for a couple of times.


    The butler released the restriction on Lindon and faced him. "The master''s patience nowadays are irregr. You better remember that you cannot disobey the master or you will be sent to a ce where you will suffer eternally."


    It was thest warning before the butler and dragon disappeared. Lindon slumped to the ground and tightly shut his eyes. His ambition was now beyond reach.


    Before they left, Ignius casted a restore magic on the mansion and it returned to its original form. Ignius sat inside the carriage with the master. Cygnus opened his eyes and looked at the dragon.


    "I''ve done what you have ordered master. Are you satisfied?" The dragon asked with a grin.


    Cygnus looked at the mansion and nodded his head. "Now focus on the identity of this woman." He raised his palm at the level of his chest and opened it.


    A photo of the woman from Lindon''s memories popped up from his palm. The hologram was created and enhanced by Ari from the memory that the master passed on to her. It was a woman with long chocte hair and a bit of a dull green eyes. She had a scar on her forehead and a crazy grin on his lips.


    "Oh, so this one is immortal too." Ignius grinned in fascination because of the picture.


    He already had three people in his list and now another one was going to be added soon. Heughed because he liked the challenge. He bowed his head and epted the mission that was given to him.


    Cygnus returned to the manor only to find that Aberleign was there and waiting for them. He stood up and meet them with a smile. He was d that the young man was already out.


    "I''m happy to finally be able to meet you again, young man." He stretched out his arms and opened them towards him.


    He was aiming for a hug but Cygnus was not a fan of it. Instead of epting it, he raised his hand and shook the other''s hand. "Yes, it''s been a while, Sir Aberleign. What brought you here today?"


    Aberleign brushed off the young man''s attitude and chuckled. "I''m here to see if you are doing okay. You''ve refused to meet me so many times and you haven''t beening to the hero association."


    "Ah yes, I''ve been recuperating and meditating because of what happened these past few months. Luckily, I bounced back and is ready to go out once again." It was a tant lie but Cygnus didn''t care if the man noticed it or not.


    "That''s good to hear. One reason I came here is to ask you if you want to join me in my journey to El Merey? I am scheduled to meet the leader of the ''Justice of Light'' because of a request they have, would you like toe with me?" Aberleign did not hesitate to ask him.


    Cygnus didn''t know if this was fate or not but at the mention of that kingdom, his eyes brightened. He wanted to know what those people were doing right now.  So, in a heartbeat he agreed.

 Chapter 312 Within His Control

    ?


    Aberleign was d that the man decided to join him. He then proceeded to tell the man his schedule and when they would leave. After their short conversation, Aberleign finally left because that was the only reason why he was there.


    "Are you sure about this master?" The butler asked. It was a bit abrupt and any information that the master would need could be known through Astrophos.


    "It''s just a small visit and a small interaction. I won''t even reveal who I am and will go there as that old man''s guest." Cygnus brushed past the butler towards his bed where heid down. "Please pack whatever we will be needing for the journey."


    A loud knock on the master''s door made the two of them look at the direction of the door. Mr. C returned his gaze on the master who mouthed one word ''Nina''. The butler went to open the door and there she was, Nina. She was wearing her usual bralette topped with a jacket and leather pants that hugged her legs. She was even wearing boots with high heels.


    She strode inside and crossed her hands in front of her chest. "I heard that you are going to travel to El Merey, I want toe." She was straight forward and she was not clearly not expecting any rejection from the master.


    Cygnus was feeling that Nina was bing bolder as the days passed by. She started acting like this after she returned from the magic brigade of General Linius. It must be because she was not in action for a long time now.


    "Alright you cane but don''te with that kind of outfit. The El Merey kingdom right now is considered a holy ground and dressing like that will undoubtedly get the attention of people. I will only go there to take a look." The master sat up from his bed and looked at her from head to toe.


    Although he had no problem from the way she dresses, they were going to a ce to sightsee and not to get some attention. Nina on the other hand looked down at her clothes and shrugged her shoulders. She even brushed her hair and flipped it back.


    "Alright, I''ll do as you like, master." Nina agreed since she had no problem with changing her style once in a while and she was confident that no matter what she wore would look good on her. "Are you really just going to take a look? Aren''t you going to stir up some trouble?" She was really eager for some action.


    "No. This time, I won''t be the one causing trouble. Let''s just wait for them to stir the boiling pot. Besides, everything on my side is already prepared." Cygnus waved his hands to let them stop asking. "Your long awaited fight will happen very soon. You only need to be patient."


    At those words, Nina became excited. Unlike the other worlds where they had been, this ce was different. There were many things in this world that were oddly connected to the master. She asked Ari once and had a glimpse of this world a thousand years ago based on the unlocked memories of the master. It was an awful world.


    "And I will be plunging this world again in that fire but before I do it, I need the main characters to be in ce." The master''s voice was rxed because everything was going in his favor. "I think I''ll need to send Ignius to the other duchy and let him take care of them."


    "Can he do it?" Nina was a bit doubtful because as far as she knew the dragon had other tasks that were given to him.


    "Astrophos and Vain will help him. I heard that he let Astrophos use some of his wyverns just for spying and gathering information." The masterughed because of how serious the dragon was taking all of hismands.


    "He must be enjoying what he is doing. He had been staying in that hot and dark ce ever since we came to this world that is why he is happy to get to do yourmands. So, I suggest that you continue to use him since he also works efficiently." Mr. Cmented from the side where he had been silently standing.


    "Yes, you are right. I should do that." Cygnus did not even think twice and a gate appeared in the room where the dragon came tumbling out. Hended on his butt and sighed at the abruptness of his master''s calls.


    "You''ve called for me again master?" Ignius asked. He just left the manor before they alighted from the carriage and now, he was being summoned once again.


    "I have another task for you," the master answered, "I''ll be sending you to the other two duchy of Lunaira and get me some people working there. You can also search there for that woman. I''ll be sending Astrophos and Vain to help you secure a footing in those duchies."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Are you going to take control of this kingdom?" There was a grin on the dragon''s face as he stood up to stand up straight.


    At the prospect of controlling the kingdom, the dragon became excited. Aside from treasures, the feeling of dominating humans was something that could make a dragon exhrated. Several scenarios were already appearing inside the dragon''s mind just because of his own guess.


    "Isn''t it better to be able to do that? That way I can control whatever is happening in this kingdom and once all of my main characters are gathered in one ce, it will be easier to let them suffer." Cygnus only confirmed the dragon''s guess and it made the room anxious.


    "I will be carrying out your orders then master." The dragon bowed as he disappeared because he was eager to finish all his tasks. He was excited to see the kingdom burning.


    "That is a good n, master! Let''s make this ce fun!" Ninaughed and even after exiting the bedroom she was stillughing. She was getting excited too because once that happens, an unending shedding of blood would ur.


    Mr. C was also tasked to send a message to the duke regarding the matter because he was toozy to do it. Since there was already a gate that connected the two manors, the butler only needed to cross and he would arrive at the Ginehart duchy. The servants in the manor did not stop him as he went up to the duke''s study.


    After he knocked, he was allowed in. Lte was also there because he was talking with his husband regarding the next step that they will be doing. Mr. C gave both of them a bow before he stood in attention to wait for the duke''s signal.


    Ulysses had been working nonstop to fix the misunderstanding that almost destroyed his territory. Luckily, the problem was finally solved but he remained silent. Now that a message from his son came, he thought that it was also now the right time to show the kingdom that Ginehart was still standing.


    He waved for the butler to take a seat on the empty couch on the opposite side of the table as he faced them. Mr. C took the seat before he asked them a question. "How have you been these past few days duke?"


    "I''ve been doing good because we managed to fix the problem and punish the people who were behind those malicious rumors. They just wanted to ruin our reputation because of the power I held by saying that we haven''t fulfilled any of the business deals that I signed." The duke ranted for a short while before he took a deep breath and grinned at the butler.


    The butler nodded. "I see. I congratte you then for solving the problem." The butler then summoned a small square in the air with something ck swirling within it. He then dipped his hand on the swirling ck and finally pulled out a dagger that he pushed towards the duke.


    "What is this?" The duke was confused because of the dagger. He picked it up and unsheathed it. He admired it for a moment before returning it to its sheath.


    "It is a gift from the master. That dagger is at least of the Mythical level and you can use it to defend yourself," the butler exined.


    Ulysses was surprised at the level of the weapon. He carefully lifted the dagger once again and looked at it a bit more intently. Weapons of such level were difficult toe by but they were only giving it as a gift. "Are you sure about this?"


    "Yes, and you should ept it because it mighte in handy one of these days." The butler nodded as he looked at them silently after answering.


    The duke took a deep breath before deciding to give it to his wife. He was already unparalleled with the sword so the dagger would better suit his wife. He could also feel that there was a hidden meaning behind the butler''s words. It was better for them to prepare than to be caught off-guard.


    "Are you here to tell me something that might happen in the future?"

 Chapter 313 El Merey

    ?


    Mr. C smiled and looked at both of them. He sat straight and waited for a few minutes before he started to speak. The duke was right, it was a matter of the future and his only mission was to tell them the possibilities to let them have time to prepare.


    "The master will be traveling together with Sir Aberleign to El Merey. They are going to meet a group called ''Justice of Light'', which in retrospect is the master''s enemy who came from the other world. They had been after the master for a while now and now they are here." The butler started to exin and this information caught the duke and his wife''s attention.


    "What will happen now that the child''s enemy is here?" Lte sounded worried. The first reaction she had when she heard about the information was to worry about the young man.


    "Please expect the worst-case scenario," was the only answer that the butler gave. He did not expound on it either.


    He stood up and was about to leave when the duchess stopped him. "Will he be fine?" It was a genuine question so the butler stopped and turned around to look at her.


    "He will and I suggest that you think about yourselves first. When the master deres war, there will be no civilians in his eyes," the butler answered. "And I also suggest that you stop thinking of the master as a child. He is already a thousand years old and there''s no need to do so for him."


    With that, the butler left. He didn''t have anything to say. It was up to them to decide what they should do. In the butler''s eyes, the resolved problem of the duchy didn''t need to be done because this world was about to be destroyed.


    He looked back once again at the majestic manor and sighed. Bonds like family and friends were all useless to the master. Although they as his servants consider him a friend or a family, the master didn''t think the same. He might look docile but his very blood was a viin. He may look rxed and would sometimes express some emotions, one wouldn''t know if all of those were actually genuine.


    The butler returned to the manor and went ahead to prepare for the journey. ording to the schedule that Sir Aberleign gave them, they would be leaving three days from now. He would need to talk to Ari before they leave because she might go offline one of these days.


    While he was in the kitchen and preparing some meal, Mr. C contacted Ari and the woman appeared. The woman was still the same as she floated in the air. She hovered for a while because the butler was not asking her any questions.


    Mr. C ced thest of the cookies that he baked on the te and finally put his attention on the woman. It was a bit out of character for her to be this silent instead of pestering him what he wanted to know. Ari must have been working hard behind the scenes.


    "What is the status of the master?" Mr. C asked. After the master''s insanity level hasn''t returned to zero, he has been constantly checking up on the master''s level.


    "Actually, the master''s insanity level has increased by five percent. He is now at the thirty percent insanity level." Ari answered with her monotonous mechanical voice.


    The butler frowned, now that the master''s enemy was here and the dragon was gathering those relevant people from the master''s past, it was no wonder that his insanity level was going up. Mr. C''s finger started to drum the table after the report. "This is going to be one hell of a destruction. How about the master''s memories? Has he tried to ess them?"


    "No, he hasn''t. But there are indications that he might do that one of these days. Once he has full ess to what he once sealed, then it is over. I won''t be able to do anything once that happens." Ari informed him and also warned him. "This has never happened before."


    "Yes, it hasn''t but because of the stimuli he received from this world, we can already consider that this world is as good as dead." Mr. C''s fingers stopped tapping the table. "There is no need to worry about anything anymore."


    They would just let it be and let the master do whatever he wanted. It was no use even though they tried to stop him or have sympathy with the people who were going to die. Their only purpose was to serve the master unconditionally and do his every bidding.


    "It is unfortunate but we can''t do anything anymore to stop this and there is no point in doing so." He looked at Ari and gave her nod.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The woman understood what the butler was trying to say. Ari disappeared as she went back to her slumber for an update. Mr. C also returned to the master''s room to serve him the cookies he baked. After that, he left to check on the bakery before they set forth.


    Three days passed by and everything was ready for their trip. Sir Aberleign came to the manor with his carriage bearing the insignia of the Hero Association. The door was even opened for him and after the master entered, the old man followed behind the butler.


    Cygnus could sense that Aberleign was not happy with the butler riding with them. But before the door couldpletely close, a woman jumped inside and grinned at them. Cygnusughed when he saw it was. He almost forgot that Nina wasing with them.


    "I didn''t expect that you''ll be bringing one more person aside from your butler," Aberleignmented. He thought that the young master was the only one who would join him.


    "Oh, that''s because Nina is one of my bodyguards and my parents insisted that I bring one more person to protect me. Although they trust your abilities, they would feel more at ease to know that there is one more person protecting me." Cygnus exined so innocently that Aberleign found it difficult to say anything against it.


    "I understand," the man answered. Since there was nothing that he could do, they traveled with Mr. C and Nina. He needed to ept them reluctantly and endure the one-week travel with them.


    "By the way, this is Nina." Cygnus pointed at the woman who was grinning at them. She even waved at Sir Aberleign which he returned with a small nod. "And my butler is called Mr. C."


    Aberleign had no intention of getting to know these people but the young man still introduced them to him. "I am d to know you. I am Aberleign Sunox, a consultant to the Hero Association."


    "It is our pleasure to also meet such a prestigious man." The butler returned the nod. He then gently elbowed the woman beside him.


    "Thank you for letting us go with you," Nina answered. She was only forcing herself to smile for the sake of her master even though all she wanted to do at that moment was to frown and re at Aberleign.


    Their journey towards the other kingdom was known to the king and the crown prince who had been watching the young man. When they learned about it, they were curious as to why he wanted to go to El Merey but they didn''t know about it. For now, they would let it happen and it was better for him to not be in the kingdom for a while.


    The journey to El Merey was uneventful. It was like they were letting them pass without worries which was getting on the master''s nerve but he still managed to reign it in. After a week of sitting on the carriage without doing nothing or just reading a book they finally reached the kingdom.


    They were immediately granted ess inside the kingdom and were even ushered to a mansion where they would stay. Cygnus was impressed at the hospitality they were showing which only shows how they gave importance to this meeting. He looked at Aberleign who was talking with several men in white robes and thought that he was such an important person.


    After he talked with those people, Aberleign walked up to them. "We will be meeting the holy knight tomorrow so for now, you can go ahead and explore the capital city." This was enough to get Nina excited as she looked at the master for confirmation.


    With nothing to do, Cygnus agreed. They left the manor and were even given a guide to show them around. Since they suggested that they walk, that was what they did. The guide was exining everything and everywhere they went until they reached a church that was in the center of the city.


    It was magnificent and looked so pure with all the natural greens surrounding it. The guide told them that they could enter and Cygnus was d to oblige. They entered the church and saw that there were many people praying. The guide was secretly observing their reaction and saw that they were showing interest.

 Chapter 314 Eternal Hero [Bonus ]

    ?


    They took their time exploring the temple and the guide became even more talkative every time they showed an expression of awe. He became eager that Cygnus could literally see the man''s eyes bing brighter and brighter. He contained hisugh at howical he saw the guide was.


    "You must be extraordinary people for you to be able to join Sir Aberleign," the guide started. He was actually surprised when he heard that the ''Eternal Hero'' was actually traveling withpanions.


    The guide was in a bit of doubt when he entered the manor that was given to the hero. He followed the manor''s butler and walked through the tiled lobby of the manor. The lobby was sparsely decorated but one could immediately tell that all of the materials used to build the ce were of high-quality stones. The marble used for the stair''s railing and steps were shiny and clear.


    The butler guided him to one of the manor''s drawing rooms and saw three other people who were with the hero. One of them was particrly eye-catching because of the elegant aura he had. His posture as he drank tea was marvelous and the energy from his mana was bright and warm.


    He could also tell that the man''s clothes were of the finest fabric. The guide was confident with his observation because he had been dealing with such fabrics ever since he joined the ''Justice of Light''. To the point that with just one look he could already tell if a person was from a rich family or not. Even the woman who was sitting beside him was impable.


    Her pure white dress entuated her body but not in a sensual way. It was fitted on her upper body and just dropped down after that. It was a nice contrast to her tanned skin and softly curled ck hair. The other man who was standing behind the two was watching them with concentration. He gave off the vibe of springing into action once he noticed that any of the two would need something.


    The guide was right. Once the cupcake on the other man''s te was finished, he immediately walked to the empty space beside the couch where the man was and swiftly reced his te of dessert with a te of cookies. This confirmed the guide''s assumption that they must be from a wealthy family.


    When the time came that he would act as their guide, he decided to just exin some things and observe their reactions. Once he had a grasp of how their facial expression changes to things, he could move on to his next move. Now was that time, he was finally able to ask them a question which will start a conversation.


    "Extraordinary? Well, you can say so." Nina ced her hands behind her back and gave the guide a smile. Her face brightened and in the guide''s eyes, she was sparkling.


    "Is this your first time traveling to a different kingdom?" The guide slightly shook his head and got himself back on the game.


    "How did you know?" Nina made her mouth in an ''o'' shape and made her eyes wide with her hands suddenly slightly covering her mouth.


    The guide was taken aback and coughed a few times before he could bring himself to answer the woman. "Ahem, that is because you are easily amazed by the things you are seeing in this ce." He grinned.


    Nina narrowed her eyes for a moment before she returned to her innocent act. "Yes, it is our first time and I''m actually d that I am able toe!" She even softlyughed after saying those words.


    The guide was feeling satisfied because of Nina''s answer. His eyes then caught Cygnus who had wandered away while they were talking. The guide noticed that he had been staring at the statue of the holy knight for a while now.


    He walked up to Cygnus and stood beside him. "That is the holy knight, Sir Onyx Gertrude. He is the leader of the ''Justice of Light''. I''ve only caught a glimpse of him but the feeling of his holy power is no joke. You are lucky because you will be meeting him tomorrow."


    Cygnus remained silent after that information and only stared at the statue. His mind was not really on the person who was standing beside him. Cygnus was busy thinking of ways on how to make the said holy knight suffer. It would really be satisfying for him to see the person on his knees begging for his life.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It''s all thanks to Sir Aberleign," Nina answered. She knew that the master''s mind was not with them at the moment and she did not want the guide to be thinking ill of them. "The young master is not ignoring you. It''s just that he gets like that when he sees something that fascinates him. Let him be for a while." Nina winked.


    As a result, they took a few steps back and let Cygnus admire as much as he wanted. On the other hand, the guide took this chance to engage the woman in some small talks. Nina was not stupid to notice that the man was actually fishing for information. He had been doing it ever since they started that silly tour.


    "May I know what your rtionship is to the ''Eternal Hero''?" The guide finally asked. It was a question with an answer that was worth quite a sum of money.


    "Eternal Hero?" Nina tilted her head to the side with her brows a bit furrowed. "Are you perhaps referring to Sir Aberleign?"


    The guide looked at the butler and at the woman a few times before he finally settled at Nina. "You mean you didn''t know?" He was a bit unsure but based on their faces it was a fact.


    "The young master only met Sir Aberleign from a banquet in Lunaira. We didn''t know of his status. All we know is that he was a consultant to our kingdom''s hero association." Nina looked up for a bit while thinking of the things she heard about the man.


    "It''s not that simple. He is a pretty well-known hero because of his strength and because of how aloof he is. He will appear and disappear without anyone noticing. Apparently, he is also an immortal ording to the witnesses thus the name ''Eternal Hero''." The guide dly exined for them and he looked so proud while telling them of Aberleign''s achievements.


    "Are there other people who are like him?" The topic brought out Cygnus from his concentration. He walked towards them and looked the guide in the eye.


    The pressureing from Cygnus made the guide tremble. He gasped for breath and was able to do so after Cygnus rxed. The guide took several deep breaths before his breathing returned to normal.


    "I apologize," Cygnus frowned. He lost control for a moment after he heard that Aberleign actually became a hero. "I was just excited after I heard that Sir Aberleign is actually a hero."


    But now that he calmed down a bit, he thought that it was not a surprise. If one of them became the Magus Maximus then the others wouldn''t be far away. He also remembered the file that Ignius gave him and recalled the information under each name. They were indeed in positions that gave them worldwide recognition.


    The guide looked at the young man and brushed off what happened because he really looked sorry. His head was bowed and his hands were fidgeting. He sighed and lifted his hand to pat Cygnus''s shoulders to assure him that he was not angry.


    "It''s alright and please understand why I asked that question earlier. I am just surprised that the hero traveled withpanions when he usually doesn''t do that." The guide wasughing it off as he gently coaxed Cygnus.


    "Oh, it is because I am under Sir Aberleign''s protection." Cygnus immediately changed his disposition and became cheerful. There was a grin on his face and even his cheeks were a little bit tainted red.

 Chapter 315 Request

    ?


    He was acting a bit embarrassed which made the guide speechless. He couldn''t believe that this young man was under the Eternal Hero''s care. It was the first time that one of the legendary figures in the world actually got himself an apprentice.


    ''This is great news!'' He thought to himself. ''I will be able to sell this information a bit more expensively!'' His grin widened at the prospect of earning more after that tour.


    While the guide was enjoying the feeling of ecstasy from learning first-hand information, the master was busy reading his mind. He too had gained some valuable information that would make his search easier. This was the right time to ask the guide other questions.


    "Are there other people like Sir Aberleign?" He asked with anticipation in his eyes. If not for the image he was taking care of at the moment. Anything he could use against those bastards would be wee because he wanted to make sure that those people would suffer.


    "ording to records, yes there are." The guide nodded without even suspecting that the person in front of him was already plotting something inside his mind.


    "Where can I find these records?" The interest in Cygnus''s voice made the guide even more willing to tell him. He would always wee people who had the same interest as him.


    In his mind there was nothing wrong with sharing this kind of information. He stepped forward and leaned forward a bit. He looked around them before he whispered towards Cygnus. "You can find it in the royal library. I just snuck in there once and read the record."


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes. "Will I be able to enter there if I request using Sir Aberleign''s name?" He was curious to know more about this group where Aberleign belonged. He was not expecting to learn any other information from this journey but fate was indeed working with him.


    The guide leaned back. He was shocked at first but then after a while heughed. He even wiped down the tears that fell down from his eyes. He was amused at how straightforward the young man was.


    "You can always try since Sir Aberleign holds great prestige." The guide nodded towards Cygnus then he turned around. "Let''s continue with the tour then."


    They continued walking around most parts of the capital city of El Merey. The guide still continued chirping around the ''Justice of Light'' and was making every effort he could to reel them in. Cygnus found itughable that even this kind of job was still connected to that fake religion.


    The tour finally ended and they thanked the guide who did his best to convince them to join the ''Justice of Light''. They returned to the hero''s manor and the butler did not forget to pay the guide handsomely. Mr. C patted the guide''s back after he gave him a pouch of gold coins.


    The guide was thrilled because of the amount of gold in the pouch. He did not expect that he would receive such arge sum of money. He was now satisfied even though he was not able to convince them to join the religion. He left the manor satisfied because aside from the sum that was given to him by Aberleign, he still received additional payment.


    Just as the group entered the manor, the butler greeted them and ushered them to the dining room. Sir Aberleign was already waiting for them as he sat at the head of the table. Cygnus was guided to the hero''s right side while Nina sat on the chair next to him.


    Cygnus nced at the table and saw that there were a lot of dishes that was prepared. There was meat and fish. There was also a variety of vegetable dishes and a couple of desserts. He couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at the extravagance. The table cloth that was used was in the color of gold and even the bouquets of flowers were exquisite.


    "How do you like the arrangement?" Sir Aberleign asked when he noticed that the young man was looking around. He first looked at the food and at the decorations that were on the table.


    "Isn''t this a bit extravagant with only the three of us eating?" Cygnus faced the man as he answered. Actually, the meal that was being prepared at the Ginehart manor was more extravagant than what they prepared right now.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Aberleignughed at the young man''s question. "That is because I am not sure what you like, so I just ordered the kitchen to prepare a wide variety of dishes where you can choose from." The young man grew up in a wealthy family so he was only doing the right thing.


    "Oh, then thank you for your consideration." Cygnus enjoyed extravagance but thanking someone was not a habit he acquired. He sounded awkward but this did note across as weird to the hero.


    "Please," Aberleign smiled. He stretched out his hand to let the young man choose the food that he wanted.


    Mr. C came forward and reached for the dishes that the master pointed at. He then cleanly ted all of it in two tes and ced it in front of Cygnus. The butler then took a step back and quietly stood behind his master. Nina on the other hand didn''t care about the difference in treatment and just picked what she wanted to eat.


    Aberleign took note of everything that transpired in that short amount of time before he too ced food on his te. The dinner was silent and they enjoyed the food that was prepared for them. The servants who had been standing on the side stepped forward and picked out the tes that contained the viands. They left the tes of dessert.


    "How was our tour?" Aberleign finally asked while he was cutting the cake that was on his te. It was a chocte cake that he specifically requested from the kitchen after learning that the young man liked to eat sweets.


    "It was fun and informative. I learned many things and because of that I have a request." Cygnus ced the fork on his te and stared at the man with glistening eyes like a child.


    Aberleign was taken aback by the unexpected statement. "What is it if I may ask?" He became curious as to what prompted the young man to suddenly ask him for a favor.


    "Are you able to meet the king of this kingdom?" Cygnus asked. He had a high expectation that the man would say yes.


    "Yes, I can. Why did you ask?" Aberleign became even more curious because the king was suddenly involved. It was already unusual for him to be talking about requests and now the royal family was involved.


    Cygnus nodded. "That''s good. You see, I like reading books and I heard that the royal library here has some interesting collections that aren''t avable in Lunaira. I would like to have an ess to that library." His answer was straightforward and without pretense.


    Aberleign leaned back on his chair and continued to eat the chocte cake he sliced into small pieces. "I thought it was something outrageous. Alright, after our meeting with the holy knight tomorrow, I''ll meet with the king."


    Cygnus grinned and hummed while slicing the cake on his te too. "I will be looking forward to it then."


    After the dinner, they were shown to their rooms. Cygnus chose to not disturb Ari with the matter of the library because she was busy with her upgrades and cleaning. It would be better too if he could enter the pce himself and take a look at himself. He was looking forward to it.


    As the night deepened, Aberleign summoned one of his trusted people and gave him a mission. It was to track down the guide that was with Rigel and ask him what he had been talking about during the tour. He wanted to confirm that Rigel was only making that request out of pure intention.

 Chapter 316 In Between

    ?


    The ck smoke saturated the entire room and made the atmosphere even dreary. Mr. C, who was supposed to be standing beside the bed, took several steps back until he reached a corner of the room. Even for an AI like him, this smoke was still corrosive. A thin film that was simr to a stic sheet covered the butler as he waited to let the smoke disappear.


    "Should I have killed that guide?" The master''s deep voice came from behind the smoke and it reverberated inside the dark room.


    Through the butler''s eyes, he could clearly see the master. He was still sitting on the bed but some parts of his skin were dyed ck and the glint on his eyes became a deeper red. His mouth was curved into a frown.


    "It was the right decision to let the man live, master. You''ve decided to keep a low profile so if you killed that man, the first person they will put the me on will be you." The butler answered because he was still capable of talking.


    "That''s right. I should rest for now and just look forward to what I will discover in that library." Cygnus closed his eyes andid back down on the bed. Even after he was asleep the smoke did not dissipate not until the early signs of dawn.


    As the sun rose, the corrosive smoke fully disappeared leaving the room in a sorry state. All sides and walls of the room were tainted ck like it was scorched by fire. The furniture was destroyed except for the bed where the master was lying.


    The butler did not make a move to fix the room because he did not have the ability to actually fix it. He needed to wait for Cygnus to wake up and restore magic inside the room. Even though time was slowly passing, the butler still did not move to wake the man up because it would be a fatal move.


    After another hour, the master opened his eyes and looked around the room. "I already had a bad night and now even the room doesn''t look pleasing to the eye." He sat up and snapped his fingers which summoned arge magic circle that filled the floor of the whole room.


    With another snap of his fingers, the magic circle filled the whole room with a red light and when the light was gone, the room returned to its original look. The pristine white walls, ceiling and floor returned to their marbled color of white. The carpet returned to its original red color. Everything inside the room looked new.


    After he changed his clothes, they went down to have breakfast as they waited for the hero toe back. The butler of the manor informed them that Sir Aberleign left early in the morning to take care of some things that needed this attention.


    "Sir Aberleign said that the young master can explore while waiting for him toe back. There are many rooms in the manor that you will surely like and Sir Aberleign also informed me that you like reading books so the library has been opened for you." The butler passed the message that the Eternal Hero left with him.


    "Thank you. I will check it outter." Cygnus nodded and before the butler could leave, he remembered something. "Have you seen thedy that was with me yesterday?"


    "Ah yes, thedy woke up early and told me that she would go out and explore the city a bit more. Before I can ask if she''ll need a guide, she already left." The manor''s butler informed them.


    "I understand." Cygnus grinned and continued to the dining room where the food was already prepared for him.


    After an uneventful breakfast, Cygnus decided to explore the library that was located on the left wing of the manor''s second manor. He quietly walked through the hallways until he reached arge wooden door. Cygnus pushed open the double doors and stepped inside.


    The musty smell of books assaulted his senses as he continued to step forward. There was also the unmistakable earthy and wooden scent that came from every direction of the room as one of the small windows opened. They must have opened it to let the smell of stacked and dusty books be reduced.


    Cygnus looked around the room and he couldn''t help but notice that the ce hadn''t been used for a long time. The leather couches were stained by blotches of ck which must have been caused by molds that had grown in the room. He walked up to the first shelf that was near him and skimmed through the titles of the books.


    The long and slim fingers reached out for the first book that caught his attention. His pale skin contrasted with the brown binding of the book. One of the servants who happened to pass by was dumbstruck by the contrast of Cygnus''s figure who stood amidst that deste and lonely library. He stood for a couple of minutes before he finally came to himself and left in a hurry.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus looked back at the spot where the servant was standing. The door closed on its own before Cygnus returned to what he had been reading. He closed the book and ced it on the table before he started to walk around again.


    The library was full of books that covered a wide variety of topics from magic to weapons to politics to economics to agriculture and many more. He only chose a couple of interesting ones then he settled on the couch and started to silently flip through pages of his chosen book. He passed the time in this manner until Mr. C came to get him since Sir Aberleign was already there.


    They immediately left for the Justice of Light''s main headquarters where the holy knight was staying. The ride did not take that long because the manor was only thirty minutes away through a carriage from the headquarters. As the carriage approached the ce, Cygnus could already see the difference.


    The streets near the headquarters were less crowded and there were no businesses around. It appeared solemn which only made Cygnus disgusted but he still skillfully hid his annoyance. Aberleign on the other hand seemed rxed because of the report he got from the man he sent to look for that guide.


    "Have you talked with that man?" He asked early that morning when the spy came back after being gone for the whole night.


    "Yes," the man answered. "He told me that the reason why young master Rigel wanted to enter the kingdom''s library was to look for records about you. He also said that it was because the young master admired you based on how eager he was to know more about you.


    Aberleign stopped fixing the cor of his clothes after he heard those words. He turned around and looked at the man who was d in ck. He was kneeling while giving his report so he did not see Aberleign''s reaction.


    "That''s good then. I thought that young master Rigel was not so keen on following me but this is good news." Aberleign chuckled before he turned around again to look at himself in the mirror. He continued to button his clothes.


    After he was done changing, he dismissed his spy and called for the carriage. He left the manor and went straight to the pce where he was immediately granted an audience with the king. Aberleign went ahead to hug the king to show that they were indeed close.


    "What made youe here so early in the morning?" The king asked after that brief hug. He gestured for the hero to take a seat.


    "That is because I have a request to make," Aberleign answered. He sat down and gave the king a smile.


    The king looked at the hero twice before he was sure that the person in front of him was really the Eternal Hero he knew. As a person on a high pedestal, he had never heard Aberleign asking for a favor. This would be the first time which made the king even more curious as to what prompted the proud man to request for something.


    "What kind of request would that be? If it''s not that difficult I can do it." The king gave a positive response.


    "I would like for someone to get ess to your library," the hero answered. "He is a young man under my protection and the son of Duke Ulysses Ginehart."


    That name was famous even outside the kingdom of Lunaira. The king of El Merey was surprised to hear that nameing out from the hero''s mouth since the duke was well known for his hatred of mages. Aberleign Sunox was not only a hero but was also a mage.


    "That''s an unusual requesting from you and I didn''t know that you had been interacting with Duke Ginehart," the kingmented.


    "Indeed, but the second son of the duke is an excellent mage so I took interest in him. Luckily the duke dotes on his son and didn''t stop me from interacting with the young man."

 Chapter 317 Meeting

    ?


    This was indeed news to the king. For a mage to be born in a family like the Ginehart was a surprise. The young man was lucky because even if he was a mage, the duke still favors him. If he was born in a different family he would have been kicked out.


    "I didn''t know that the duke has a second son and that he is a mage. I only heard about his first born who just became a general a couple of months ago." The king patted his thighs with a grin. He was d to learn of this because he didn''t even know that the duke had a second son.


    Aberleign couldn''t help but frown when he heard the king''s statement but then he realized that it was possible. The duke''s second son''s identity was a secret to the public and it was just recently that they introduced him to the society. Besides, the duke has the power to stop all rumors from getting out of the kingdom.


    "Anyway, if that is your only request, I can grant. It is only the library so there''s no big deal in letting that young man use it." The king finally agreed because he also wanted to meet this son whom the duke favors.


    After that, Sir Aberleign left the pce and returned to the manor which now led them to where they were now. Their carriage was already inside thepound of the Justice of Light''s headquarters. They rode for at least fifteen minutes more before they reached the main entrance to the headquarters.


    Cygnus took a peek outside and saw that there was a man standing there like a statue. He was d in a golden armor that covered all of his body including his face. There was even a sword hanging on his waist and a number of servants stood behind him. Cygnus couldn''t help from grinning internally because he would finally meet his main pursuer.


    The carriage stopped in front of the man with both Aberleign and Cygnus alighting from it. The three of them inclined their heads in a bow directed to each other. The man who was d in golden armor made the first move to approach them.


    Although the armor looked a bit heavy, the man still walked lightly and they barely heard any sound from his movements. He stopped in front of them and was the first one to extend his hand. Aberleign reached out and shook the hand that was offered to them.


    "Wee to El Merey and to the headquarters of the ''Justice of Light'', Sir Aberleign Sunox, the Eternal Hero. I am Onyx Gertrude, the holy knight stationed in this ce." The man finally introduced himself as he shook hands with Aberleign.


    "It is my pleasure to finally meet you Sir Onyx Gertrude." Aberleign returned the greeting. He then gestured to the man beside him and introduced him. "This is Rigel Maverick Ginehart. I invited him today because I want him to meet you."


    Onyx nodded and measured the young man from head to toe. He could already feel the amount of mana that the young man possessed and was impressed. For a person of his age to have such an incredible pure mana was truly amazing.


    ''This Aberleign is truly cunning.'' he thought to himself after he assessed the young man.


    "Are you perhaps rted to Duke Ginehart who was called the god of war?" Onyx turned his attention to the young man.


    Cygnus nodded. "Yes, he is my father." He answered with all honesty and Onyx didn''t feel any arroganceing from him. It was a show of pure admiration to his father.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Ah I didn''t know that he had another son!" Onyx''s voice wasced with surprise but Cygnus knew that he was not. He already knew about his existence which only means that he investigated the kingdom of Lunaira.


    Cygnus would not even be surprised if Onyx knew all the members of the royal family, the four duchy and the four great generals. Although it was alreadymon knowledge, knowing about their background and the little details was on a different level. The holy knight was thoroughly prepared.


    "He was just introduced to the public recently so information about it might have been influenced by the duke." Aberleignughed at the holy knight''s reaction. They were the same with the king but he was not a fool.


    "Alright, why don''t we enter first and continue with this inside. We''ve prepared a feast that everyone would certainly enjoy." Onyx nodded before he stepped aside and stretched his hand towards the entrance to the headquarters.


    They were led to a spacious room which was arranged to be a living room. There were white couches lined with gold and the ss table in the middle was filled with food. They were ushered to the seats and were immediately offered with sweets.


    After a short while of tasting the food, their conversation continued. "Thank you for epting my invitation to meet you, Sir Aberleign," Onyx started.


    Aberleignughed. "Of course, since I was also curious as to what the holy knight they admire looks like and true to their words, you are d in gold."


    It was Onyx''s turn tough at the man''s words. "Indeed, I am and I hope you can forgive me if I cannot remove my helmet in front of you." The man inclined his head a little bit.


    "You don''t need to apologize. I understand if you don''t want to reveal your face." Aberleign shook his head. It was no big deal because he would soon see him though. "Now, I am curious as to why the famous holy knight wants to meet me?"


    The holy knight was silent for a moment as his head moved to look at the young man who was busy eating. Aberleign noticed the holy knight''s action so he gave him a nod. There was no problem even if the young master would hear what they were going to talk about.


    Since the Eternal Hero agreed, Onyx decided to finally speak. "Then I won''t be polite. We would like to expand our influence to your kingdom and we will need your help for that."


    They already dominated the El Merey kingdom and yet there was still no news regarding the ''World Breaker''. During the time that they were pursuing the man, they could feel his power in a mile and yet for some reason, they couldn''t locate their enemy. Even the highest priority notice given to the different hero association, wasn''t yielding any results.


    People were flooding the hero association to give information but most of them have no value at all. Some of the information was even made up that the Justice of Light needed to drag those people away. Every day, they were so saturated that they couldn''t do their work inside the headquarters.

 Chapter 318 Real Motive

    ?


    Slowly the peopleing and going in the headquarters dwindled because they soon realized that the task was not that simple. The information that the holy knight needed was difficult to obtain. Now the only people who were looking for information were those who belonged to an organized group. To address this problem, Onyx decided to reach out to the other kingdoms.


    "Then why didn''t you talk to the king?" Aberleign was a bit confused as to the real motive behind the meeting. If the holy knight really wanted to expand his influence, he should have set up a meeting with King Orpheus of Lunaira.


    "I wanted to build a connection first. I am well aware that it is not easy to enter Lunaira because of how the kingdom has the royal family and the four duchies. With an influential person backing our organization, then it would be easier to establish," Onyx exined.


    Lunaira was not as easy to infiltrate as El Merey because of the presence of the dukes and the four generals. He couldn''t afford to mess up and anger any of those powers because it might spell disaster. They did not have the time to be inciting a war against any of the kingdoms without knowing where their enemy was.


    If that happened and the World Breaker would learn of this, he would eventually use it to his advantage. They couldn''t let him slip once again. They needed to defeat him once and for all.


    "You already had an influence in this ce, so why the sudden decision of expansion?" Aberleign wanted to know the real reason although he already had an idea about it.


    "I will tell you the truth, Sir Aberleign. It is because of the World Breaker. The wider the scope of our influence is, the higher the chance that we will be able to find the man." Onyx admitted and it was okay to tell half of the truth.


    "Is that man really that dangerous?" The Eternal Hero had been curious about it ever since he read the notice. To issue that kind of notice meant that they were serious in finding this man.


    Onyx was a bit quiet for a moment before he answered. "Yes. You don''t have any idea how dangerous that man is." The contempt in his voice was so obvious. "The reason why we call him the World Breaker is because he has the power to destroy a world. The god we are serving showed to me the devastation he had caused to whatever world he was in," he continued.


    At the mention of another world, Aberleign became even more curious and at that moment a name shed in his mind. It was from his old friend, the Magus Maximus. He talked about it once with him, the stories of a person who could tore open the space and travel into another world. It was one of the things that he had been experimenting with before he died.


    "Does that man have the ability to travel across worlds?" It sounded like folklore but because of how the Magus Maximus had been talking about other worlds when he was still alive, Aberleign wasn''t that averse to the idea.


    "Yes. That man can easily manipte space and leave that is why he must be stopped. He has already destroyed so many worlds and I don''t want to see this beautifulnd turning into ck." Onyx spoke with so much conviction that he had been sitting straight and alert.


    "That kind of man would be difficult to find." Now he was also interested in this person. A man with enough power to destroy a world would be a good fit to him.


    The room fell into silence as they waited for the hero''s decision. It took him minutes to finally agree and help the holy knight. Working with them would be beneficial to him too; there was no harm in helping him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I understand. I will inform the king and the leaders of each duchy regarding this matter." His hand moved and patted the young who was busy taking a bite from all the desserts that were disyed.


    Cygnus could feel that the holy knight was looking at him so he shrugged his shoulders. "No matter how you look at me, I can''t do anything." Cygnus suddenly spoke. "He is my father but he is also the leader of the Ginehart duchy so all decisions regarding our territory alle from him."


    Cygnus was shaking his head as he said those words. He wouldn''t let it be easy for these bastards to enter his own territory. So, this was the reason why they were eager to meet the hero. Cygnus criticized the man''s action and deemed it unnecessary trouble.


    Though it would also be in his favor if they could enter Lunaira. Once they were inside the kingdom, he could easily toy with them. ''Isn''t that a good idea?'' he thought to himself.


    "But I can help you by putting in good words to my father. I can try to convince him and I can also try talking with Duke Ghad ckwell." He suddenly offered which piqued the interest of the holy knight.


    "That would already be a lot of help for us," he cried in joy. Even the servants inside the room felt relief at the young man''s words.


    "I cannot guarantee though that they will agree. All I can do is talk to them and try to persuade them but the final result will still be in your hands. You should strictly follow their rules." Cygnus added as an afterthought.


    "We appreciate your effort and the next time we meet. I hope that we can receive good news from each other." Onyx couldn''t believe that the young man would volunteer to help them.


    The details of the n were discussed a little bit deeper and when everything was finally settled, Aberleign stood up. They bid the holy knight goodbye and left the ce. After they returned to Lunaira, the n would be put into motion.


    "We still have time. Do you want to visit the royal library?" Aberleing asked after they left the headquarters.


    "Am I allowed?" Cygnus''s attention went to the hero as he looked at him with wide, eager eyes. He was more excited to go into the library than meeting the holy knight.


    "Yes. I already got the king''s permission," Aberleign nodded. So, when he saw that the young man really wanted to go, he instructed the driver to take them to the pce.


    Cygnus certainly learned a lot of information in the two days that they were there. But the most crucial information he needed to know was in that library. Once he got a clear list of the other people who were probably immortal, he could now go ahead and make them all suffer.

 Chapter 319 An Assassin Appeared

    ?


    The royal library was in a different building inside pce''s grounds. Because it was huge, the king decided to build it independently. Cygnus was standing before the huge doors that lead to the library. Since he was given special permission to enter the library, he was the only one allowed inside.


    The royal guards opened the doors and let him enter. Cygnus dly epted and stepped in before he heard the loud bang of the doors closing. The ce was indeed spacious and every corner was filled with shelves and shelves of books. It was an expressive collection that would definitely blow any book lover''s mind.


    Cygnus inhaled and the earthy smell of books tickled his nose. He stepped forward and was impressed because the whole ce was carpeted with a deep brown in carpet. There was also a ce dedicated to reading, a lounge that was filled with couches, a table and some other chairs.


    He looked to his left and started to use his vision to look for what he came there for. He even released a little bit of his mana that scattered through the whole ce. The reddish smoke lightly touched each book and information from that book would automatically be sent to Cygnus.


    He walked to the lounge area and chose a reclining chair that was nearest to the window. He sat down and made himselffortable as his mana continued to look and gather information from all the relevant books in the library. He was a bitzy to walk around and actually read any of them.


    He closed his eyes and just let his mana roam around. The whole inside of the library was then saturated with his mana. After a while, slowly the mana retreated and returned to him. Since he still had time, Cygnus decided to sleep for a while and let the time pass by.


    The whole library was submerged into silence as he slept. Thirty minutes had already passed when a man appeared from the shadows. The man was d in ck and only his eyes could be seen. There was a sword in his hand as he descended down towards Cygnus who was sleeping.


    The man''s movements were silent and even as he detached himself from the ceiling, no sound was made. Before the sword could even stab the master, Cygnus caught the tip of it by using only his fingers. He opened his eyes and swung the man away from him.


    The assassin easily gained his bnce and he did not waste his time and attacked again. Cygnus was already standing up as he faced the man head on. The assassin swung his sword nonstop but Cygnus parried each swing by just using his hand. There were no signs of slowing downing from the assassin and instead his movements started to speed up.


    "I was looking for you and didn''t see you from that holy knight''s side. I thought they left you behind," Cygnus chuckled while maintaining his defense against the man.


    There was only one reason why this hidden assassin would attack recklessly. This means that he was exposed. Cygnus wanted to apud the man, who had always been d in ck, because he still recognized him despite all the things Cygnus did to his identity.


    Even though the Justice of Light wasposed of those priests and that holy knight, they were only the front. They serve as the appearance of the organization and most of the time they were only in-charge of opening a gate. Those priests were also disposable as they could die when they consume their life span to open a gate.


    Onyx Gertrude''s main role was to make sure that they have enough priests for the ritual thus they start establishing their influence to meet that quota. But one must not underestimate him because he was a knight and that means that he could fight. His strength was also not a joke.


    Despite all of that light, there were still people hidden in the dark. They were the assassins who gather information and kill targets that the organization deemed as an obstacle to their power. It was true that Cygnus destroyed their world but that''s because they were asking for it and now, they hold a grudge. They were such petty people.


    "I wouldn''t mistake you no matter what form you take. If Onyx was not that stupid and drunk with power then he would have recognized you too, World Breaker." The man''s voice was deep and was slightly muffled by the cloth that was covering his face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I really like the name you gave me. It''s a little bit corny but World Breaker has a unique ring to it." Cygnus waved his hand and an invisible attack headed towards the man.


    The assassin jumped and avoided it. The attack destroyed several bookshelves at one strike and Cygnus was ready to unleash one more attack towards the assassin who was now hanging on the ceiling. He once again waved his hand and the attack flew towards the assassin who once again dodged.


    Arge and deep line was carved on the ceiling after it received the whole impact of the wave that Cygnus sent towards the assassin. If not for his flexible response, he was sure that he would have died already because of how powerful the attack was. The master looked at the assassin who was jumping from bookshelf to bookshelf so he raised his right hand and a couple of magic circles appeared in the air.


    Blue mes were summoned from those magic circles and floated in the air. He narrowed his eyes and unleashed the balls of blue mes towards the assassin. Explosions sounded inside the library and yet no one from the outside came to take a look. Because of this the master did whatever he wanted and summoned any kind of element he wanted.


    The assassin was dodging here and there but he was having a difficult time because the library was not enough for him to maneuver. He could hide inside the shadows from time to time but he knew that the World Breaker was capable of anything. After the barrage of blue mes,rge ice chunks with pointed ends appeared above.


    Cygnus gestured his raised hand down and all of that ice fell down. The assassin managed to dodge all of that but it was not the end because he was hearing a ''crackling'' sound like that of a lightning. He was busy rolling and jumping from side to side to avoid the ice attacks. Even though he heard the sound, he did not have the time to avoid the lightning that was headed his way.


    Instead of dodging, he used his de to block the attack. This move caused an explosion and this pushed him back. His back hit the building''s pirs and it even cracked under the impact. The assassin coughed a few times before he managed to stand up.


    He looked at the enemy and saw that he was surrounded with a ck fire that didn''t consume him. This fire was very familiar to him because the World Breaker used it to burn everything that was dear to him. The assassin was well aware of how cruel the organization was but those innocent people didn''t deserve to die.


    "You are still pathetic even until now. You''ve already lived for a couple of hundred years now but you haven''t gotten stronger." Cygnus suddenly disappeared from where he was standing and appeared before the assassin as he whispered. "You should let your demon out and use it to fight me, that way you might still have a chance."


    Cygnus ced his hand on the man''s shoulder and gripped it tightly before he pushed him down. The force of the push was like there was gravity pushing him down. His upper body hit the ground and caused it to crack. Cygnus then proceeded to sit on his back.


    "Come on, show me your demon. I know that you made a contract with a demon just so you can chase after me even to the end of all worlds. I can feel it and hear it whispering. The demon wanted to be out in the open and create chaos!" Cygnus raised his hand to his eye level and folded his thumb, ring and pinky finger leaving only the index and pointing finger.


    ck mana appeared on the tip of the two fingers then he put that mana inside the assassin''s body through the back of his neck. Cygnus could already feel that the assassin was starting to wriggle and he could also hear his bones cracking. The master jumped back and waited for the assassin''s transformation.


    The assassin''s body slowly bulged up and ripped his clothes. Even his pale skin color changed into a reddish one. The assassin slowly stood up as the transformation was happening. The cloth that was covering his face became undone and his hair got longer. Two horns appeared on his head and his hands both turned into a w. His appearance was certainly far from his human form just a while ago.

 Chapter 320 Frightening

    ?


    Onyx, who had been resting after his guests left, jumped out of his seat with wide eyes. This sudden action caught the attention of the servants. He looked at the window and gritted his teeth. He instinctively knew that someone used their demonic powers.


    He turned around and left the room. The sound of his hastened footsteps echoed in the halls. The servants gave way for him but they couldn''t help whisper at each other after the holy knight passed by. In a sh he was already outside of the headquarters and stood there for a while.


    The demonic energy was prominent and unlike any other. It cannot be masked by any magic because no matter how one would cover it, the malice and darkness couldn''t be hidden. It was especially standing out in a ce where no demonic activities urred.


    Once he pinpointed the location where it wasing from, he left in a sh of light that was drawn in the sky. He couldn''t let anyone with demonic energy live. If he did, their secret would definitely be revealed.


    Aberleign, who had been waiting for the young master in the garden beside the library froze. The cup he was holding slipped and rolled on the grass. The coffee spilled as he stood up with his attention on the library. Although it was faint, the unmistakable feel of a demonic energy was lingering in the air.


    "What''s the matter sir?" Mr. C asked even though he already knew what was happening inside. The master went ahead and did what he wanted.


    "There''s something wrong inside," he answered. His gaze was still focused on the building.


    From the outside, there was nothing wrong and they couldn''t hear anything. Even the royal guards who were stationed outside were not moving. Aberleign frowned because he could feel it and it wasing from the library but everything was normal.


    "Are you sure, sir? If there was something wrong then the royal guards would be the first to move, right?" He sounded worried and Aberleign came to his senses.


    He turned to look at the butler and shook his head. "It must have been my imagination. I''ll just go and have a look just to make sure."


    Mr. C nodded and watched as Aberleign went to where the royal guards were standing. He saw how he was gesturing and how the conversation escted. He looked angry but the royal guards didn''t bulge. They stood there and didn''t move even before Aberleign.


    The man returned to where Mr. C was. "How many more minutes until he wille out from the library?" He asked the butler with a serious look on his face. His brows were furrowed and his lips were set into a thin line.


    "There''s about thirty minutes more," he answered. "Is there something wrong?" He couldn''t help but also look at the building.


    Aberleign shook his head. "Nothing, I am just a bit angry because the guards don''t allow anyone to enter the library." He sighed and returned to his original seat.


    "I didn''t think that they would be so strict in this ce," Mr. Cmented.


    He reced the cup that Aberleign lost and gave him another batch of freshly heated coffee. After serving the man, he couldn''t help but look back at the silent library. ''My master must be having a lot of fun inside,'' he sighed.


    Cygnus summoned a line of ck fire and shot it like a bullet towards the demon that was rampaging inside the library. He wasughing as he summoned another round of it. The assassin turned demon used a ck barrier to protect himself from the attacks but with the continuous barrage that was being sent his way, the barrier started to crack.


    "Come on, don''t hide behind that hideous thing you call a barrier. The barrier I ced around this ce is more decent than that. Look, it''s already going to shatter!" Hisugh boomed inside the library.


    His taunts were actually having an effect on the demon. Once the barrier cracked, the demon disappeared and appeared above Cygnus. His hand was pulled back and his ws were opened wide. He thrusted his hand towards the man but Cygnus managed to side step.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The demon''s hand hit the library''s floor which caused a dent to appear on it. It did not stop there though as itsrge body moved fast in the air that it appeared behind Cygnus this time. It used its ws to scratch the man''s back but the w hit nothing.


    Cygnus''s body that was supposed to be standing there turned into a smoke after the demons swung his hand. It growled and looked around to look for its enemy. The smoke that came from the fake body that it attacked scattered and slowly filled the room.


    "Is that all? You can''t evennd a hit on me." A whisper echoed in its ears. The sound made the demon attack towards the direction where the voice came from.


    It only hit a mass of smoke and theughs and taunts continued to linger in that ce until it felt a presence behind it. It was different from what its enemy felt like before. The demon growled and turned around to face whoever it was that was behind it.


    Its ws were ready to sh away but it stopped mid-air. The demon trembled as it staggered back but before it could run, its hand was already separated from its body and sttered on the wall as it became a pool of ck blood. A loud howl came from the demon with his other hand trying to cover the wound from his lost arm.


    The demon continued to stagger and tremble because of the presence of something that should have not been there. In front of him was something that was covered by the smoke. Its shadow was wide and on the upper of it were red eyes that were looking at him coldly. The demon whimpered and fell on his knees as he bowed to the being behind the thick smoke.


    "You coward," a whisper sounded beside his ear once again. He looked to the side and saw that it was the original man.


    The demon growled but it slowly disappeared and left the assassin''s body as its host. Although he was bound by a contract, it doesn''t matter because the man was going to die. Cygnus stared at the man who was lying face down on the ground.


    Now that the demon left his body, the assassin wouldn''t have any more way to fight him. Even after getting a contract with a demon, he was still weak. Cygnus kicked the man a couple of times but the assassin did not respond.


    "What a waste," he mumbled. He snapped his fingers and the assassin''s body started to burn in ck fire.


    After that short warm-up, the whole building of the library shook. Cygnus looked above and with a grin he dusted himself and went back to his seat. Once he was seated, he waved his hand and casted a restore magic on the library. Then he went back to sleeping as he waited for his new visitor toe.


    Onyx left the headquarters in a haste to find the source of the demonic energy. He flew andnded heavily on the library''s roof. Hisnding caused the building to shake and it also alerted the royal guards in-charge. Aberleign and Mr. C looked at the golden armored man whonded on the library''s roof.


    Before they could know what was happening, the royal knight already punched the library''s roof and sessfully destroyed the roofing. He punched a couple more times before a hole that could fit him was created. From his position, he jumped down andnded on the library''s floor. The royal guards immediately opened the doors to the library and pointed their weapons at the holy knight.


    Onyx did not care though as he started to look around but he did not find anything unusual inside the ce. They then heard a soft rustling and they saw that it was Cygnus who was sleeping on one of the reclining chairs. The holy knight wanted to walk a little bit more inside the library but the royal guards did not agree.


    While themotion was happening, Cygnus opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times before he was able to focus on the sounds around him. When he looked in the direction of the door, he saw that the royal guards were escorting Onyx out. Aberleign and Mr. C went inside and saw what had happened.


    "Sir Onyx, what are you doing here and what made you punch the roof?" Aberleign was surprised at the holy knight''s actions.


    "That''s because I felt a demonic energying from here. I did not want to wait any longer so I used the easiest way I could toe and confront the demon," was his simple answer.

 Chapter 321 Illusion

    ?


    They were already outside of the library when Cygnus came to them with half lidded eyes. He looked at the royal guards and at the holy knight who was being escorted out together with the butler and Sir Aberleign. He acted confused and silently listened to them.


    When he heard the word demon, he couldn''t help but speak up. "What demon?" He tilted his head to the side as he looked at them in confusion.


    After reading all those books, he decided to take a nap and was woken up because of themotion. Cygnus already got so used to acting weak and pitiful that all of them looked behind him. His na?ve and innocent look made them stop and fixed themselves.


    "Haven''t you felt anything out of ce inside the library a while ago?" Onyx decided to ask. It was no use hiding these kinds of things to a person who could give him information.


    Cygnus shook his head. "I did not feel anything. If I did, I would have woken up already," he answered. "Did a demon really appear?" He turned around to look at the inside of the library but there was nothing in in sight.


    Without hesitation, he released his mana and started to scour every nook and cranny of the room. This action took the people aback. They did not expect the young man to suddenly release arge amount of mana and even use it to check the library.


    "It''s there, something weird. Something different." He spoke without turning back to look at them. He was focused on what he was doing.


    The holy knight stepped forward. "Where?" He asked as he too stood beside him. Since the young man was already using his mana, there was no need for him to interfere.


    Cygnus raised his hand and pointed to the left. "Behind that bookshelf. I could sense something dark in that ce."


    Onyx did not waste time. He shed towards the back of the bookshelf but he saw nothing. "There''s nothing in here!" He shouted back to let the young man know but after a while, he heard no response.


    He walked out from behind the shelf and saw that there was no one. The ce where the young man had been standing was empty and when he walked towards the door, he saw that the royal guards and the guests were not there.


    His hand went to the hilt of his sword and pulled it. Onyx held the sword in front of him as he looked around. He slowly explored every in between of the shelves but found nothing. Behind the mask, he was already frowning because he wasn''t sure of what was happening. He was still trying to figure out why the other''s disappeared.


    Onyx rounded the whole library but found that nothing was amiss. The only thing that made this unsettling for him was the fact that his surroundings were silent, very silent. He decided to walk back to the door and leave but when he got back, the door disappeared.


    He then felt a cold wind that passed behind him. This was much like those horror stories he heard so much about. If he was not a knight, he would have believed that it must be a ghost. He turned around but found that no one was there, just some smoke.


    After that a deepugh echoed in the room and the once well-lit library slowly turned dark. The bookshelves started to melt into a puddle that disappeared on the ground that had turned into ck water. Even all the furniture inside slowly disappeared until only ckness was left.


    Because Onyx was a holy knight, his body started to emit a glow that gave him at least some semnce of idea on where he was. The deepughter that sounded like it came from deep inside a cave, resounded once again. This time it was louder and more pronounced. It felt like the owner of the voice was beside him.


    "A coward." The voice finally talked but it was still followed by augh. "Weak. Hundreds of years have already passed and yet cannot destroy me." The voice started to taunt the holy knight.


    "World Breaker," Onyx growled. He started to infuse mana on his sword and it started to glow a golden light which made his surroundings even brighter.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Onyx did not see anything but smoke. From not a far, he saw that the smoke formed into the shape of a person. On its ck smoky face, two red eyes were staring at him. Onyx was familiar with those gaze as he had seen it so many times but even so, the waves of fear still affected him.


    "I am not weak and coward. I will definitely kill you this time!" Onyx''s body also glowed bright in an intensity that can blind a man. The whole area was illuminated and the darkness was chased away.


    The smoke that was initially there also disappeared but the feeling of someone watching him was still there. Even though the whole ce was already filled with light, he knew that the World Breaker was looking at him. Onyx could feel the heavy presence still pressing around him.


    "Yes, you are. You even fell for this simple trick." Arge ball of ck mes appeared above the holy knight. It casted a shadow and this shadow grew bigger as the ball grewrger.


    Onyx did not flinch; instead he jumped and sliced the ball of fire into two. Once the ball was cut in half, it slowly faded away. The holy knightnded on the ground which immediately cracked and plunged him into an abyss.


    From the bottom of it came hundreds of tree sturdy vines that coiled around the holy knight''s limbs and body. He tried his best to move his hands and use his sword but the vines were holding onto him tightly. He was slowly dragged into a ck water and plunged underneath where more vines coiled around him and locked him in ce.


    For a few seconds after hisst struggle, there was no movement from the vines. It took a couple of minutes before the ball of vines that surrounded the holy knight exploded. The vines were torn into pieces as Onyx tried his best to swim up but it was difficult.


    Aside from the water''s ck color, every movement of his arms were heavy and no matter how he used his feet to propel him up, he couldn''t move an inch. Before he could do anything, he was suddenly swept in a big wave that pushed him further below the water.


    Onyx opened his eyes and he woke up on a river bank. He looked around but he saw nothing. He was really in an illusion created by the World Breaker and if he could not get out, he would die. He touched his waist and felt that his sword was still with him.


    In an illusion like this, the creator had the right to change everything depending on his mood or choice. There was no way that he couldn''t get out. He knew that there would always be a way for him to wake up in the real world.


    "Can you do it though? And I''m getting bored already," the voice spoke again. It had been sending the man to different parts of the illusion but he was getting tire of it. "I''m sure that we will meet again so I''ll let you go for now because I need to prepare my gift for you." Itughed and slowly faded away.


    Onyx was confused for a moment before he was violently whisked away and brought back to reality. He opened his eyes and was surprised that he was actually in his room. He looked at the window and saw that it was already evening. He was a bit disoriented because he really thought that that was reality.


    He shook his head as he got up. He put on his armor and helmet before he got out. The halls were silent but it was understandable because it was already dinner time. He instead went to the dinning room to make sure that no one was missing. And yes, they were all there and eating their food.


    "Is there a problem, Sir Holy Knight?" One of the servants walked up to him when he saw that the holy knight was in the kitchen.


    "Nothing," he shook his head. "Please enjoy your meal." He turned around and left. ''That must have been a very bad dream,'' he thought to himself.


    In the royal library, Cygnus opened his eyes andughed. He stood up and stretched out his hands before he decided to leave the library. Although it had already passed the time that was given to him, it was still alright. He looked on the floor and saw that the demon he was fighting a while ago was still there. He waved his hand and the body was burned.

 Chapter 322 Another Plan

    ?


    The smell of the burning body overpowered the musty smell of books. If not for the barrier that the master ced inside the room, the smell would have reached the people outside. Once the body was thoroughly burnt, he restored the entire room into its original state before he went out.


    Cygnus pushed the door open only to be met by two frowning people. He grinned and shrugged his shoulders because he took too long inside the library. "Thank you for your patience," was his only statement after making them wait for over three hours.


    "You were supposed to finish an hour and a half ago," Aberleign pointed out with his frown deepening. "If not for the king''s generosity, the royal guards would have dragged you out."


    "I really apologize." He still said even though he was not really apologetic. "I was really engrossed and amazed with all the books inside so I didn''t notice how the time had passed already."


    Augh came from behind the butler and Aberleign after the master said those words. He even looked sheepish while saying those. The two men turned around and gave a bow to the approaching man. Cygnus looked at him curiously and guessed that he must be the king.


    Behind the approaching man was an entourage of servants and his clothes were made from expensive materials. The attitude of his butler and Aberleign together with the royal guards gave it all away. He did not expect to personally meet the kingdom''s king.


    "I hope that you enjoyed the variety of books inside our library," the man spoke with a smile. He stopped and that''s when Cygnus slightly inclined his head toward the man.


    "Yes, I did. You have so many interesting collections and I have learned a lot." He answered with confidence and did it in a very informal manner that ticked the people who were following behind the king.


    The kingughed and nodded his head. "Yes, there are indeed interesting books in there. It''s just a shame that none of my family members are willing to read those books or use the library. Even I myself, will also onlye here when I am not busy."


    "Thank you for this opportunity," Cygnus answered. He did not change his way of speaking even though he was fully aware of the deadly stares aimed at him.


    "Do you always speak to others in this manner?" The king asked. Although he had no problems with it, the others will find it very offensive.


    Cygnus nodded. "This is also how I speak with King Orpheus. He permitted me to do so because I was not used to all of these etiquettes." He scratched his head andughed it off.


    "You are an interesting fellow. It is also a great opportunity that I am able to meet you. To think that the war god had a mage as a son, it made me curious," the king spoke. It was also the reason why he freed his afternoon just to visit the library.


    Cygnus was about to answer when he saw that one of the servants started to whisper something to him. They waited for a moment before the king finally looked back at them. "Dinner has been prepared. Let us go and join me."


    They followed behind the king and his entourage since they had nothing to do after the visit. There was nothing wrong in indulging the king first while they were still there. They would be returning to Lunaira tomorrow so it was also a good way to end the trip.


    The king''s table didn''t disappoint. It was like a feast even though they were the only guests there. The dinner itself was silent but after they got to the dessert, the king started a conversation that was only revolving around Cygnus. It looked like he was very fond of the young man.


    "If you have time in the future, you can always visit this ce." The king offered because the man was very engaging and interesting.


    "I will keep that in mind, your majesty." Cygnus answered and nodded a couple of times just to show his enthusiasm. After the dinner, they left the pce and returned to the manor.


    Inside the master''s room, Nina was already waiting when they returned. She was sighing when they entered and looked like a sad puppy as she looked at the master. She was only gone for a while and yet something fun happened and she wasn''t able to participate.


    "I felt your aura and something demonic, what happened master?" She asked because even though she did not participate, she still wanted to hear the details of what happened.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "It''s an assassin from the Justice of Light," Cygnus summarized. They would immediately understand even with those words only.


    Nina was taken aback. She stood up and checked the master. When she was sure that he was fine, she was relieved. "Did they find you?"


    "Just that one assassin. The holy knight is quite dumb so it would take a while for him to discover who I am." Cygnus waved his hand to show them that it was not a problem. "Besides, we have a more pressing manner to take care of."


    Cygnus summoned Ari and with his mana he transferred all the relevant information he got from the library. Ari on the other hand organized all the information before shing it in front of them. Nina was amused when she saw the list of names on the hologram. Some of the names were already on the list that Ignius organized.


    "We''ve got three other names in here that weren''t added to the list. I did not expect that these people would be heroes that people look up to, how disgusting. After what they did to my family, they became heroes." Cygnus spat in disgust. He looked at the list and the urge to burn and torture them alive was getting stronger.


    "Oh, this name sounds familiar," Nina pointed at one of the names. "I seemed to have heard some rumors about her while I was going around."


    "What kind of rumors and where exactly did you go that you''ll be able to hear this kind of rumors?" Cygnus wondered after listening.


    Nina has been going anywhere and will return with some information. Some of them were unreliable at times while some of them were very helpful. She had been this kind of woman ever since and this free attitude made the others envious. She could do whatever she wanted without getting much consequences and this was the reason why she became a subject of hate.


    "That this woman was an aloof person. She lives in the middle of a forest within El Merey and has been living there ever since who knows when. She was branded a witch because apparently, she does not grow old." Nina recounted what she heard from the shady areas in the kingdom. If one wanted information, it was the best ce to be.


    "How can you be so sure that that woman is the same as the woman in the list?" Mr. C inquired because he did not hear the woman mentioning the name.


    "It is her name. I just heard it once and the person who said it was scolded by the other person with him. He said that saying the woman''s name out loud will bring a curse to the person and to his entire family." Nina exined because she was afraid of getting cursed just in case the rumors were true.


    "Why do I feel like it is an absurd im?" Just as expected, the butler did not buy it. It was impossible unless the person was as powerful as the master.


    The reason why no one could freely state the master''s name was because his name was cursed. He did not know who did it but he had a hunch that the curse was made by the master himself. The first time he uttered that name, the butler, even though he was an AI, was also affected and had his whole systempromised because of it.


    "I think I should go and pay a visit to this woman," Cygnusughed. Since they were already in the kingdom why not make a short trip and have a look.


    "But we are already leaving tomorrow." Nina expressed her doubts. "And we don''t know which forest she is living in," she added. Despite hearing the story, the people who were talking about it did not mention where the woman lived.


    "We can always make an excuse and just let that foolish man believe it." Cygnus was not worried because to him what''s more important was to meet the woman.


    "I understand," Mr. C bowed, followed by Nina. "We will go around to know more about this woman and report to you immediately which forest she was living in."


    His servants disappeared as they blended with the darkness that apanied the night. Gathering information was something they got used to doing because it was a valuable weapon. Their shadows went straight to the ces where they could easily get information.

 Chapter 323 Someone New

    ?


    Cygnus slept peacefully that night while his people were looking around for information regarding the witch. At the break of dawn, Cygnus woke up and prepared by himself before he left his room and walked towards the kitchen. On his way to the stairs, he bumped into the eternal hero.


    "Good morning, Sir Aberleign," he greted and waved at the same time when he saw the maning out from his room as well.


    Aberleign nodded and returned the greeting. "Your butler is not here," hemented after he noticed that Mr. C was not beside the young man.


    "Oh, that''s because I sent him on an errand. During our exploration the other day, I found some things that I wanted to buy. So, I sent him and Nina to get all of the souvenirs before we leave this ce." Cygnusughed it off. It was an excuse he just made up on the spot when he noticed that the man was looking around.


    "Ah, I understand," Aberleign nodded, "are you going to the dining area then?"


    "Yes," Cygnus answered. They started to walk together and started their conversations with trivial matters.


    They ate together and after breakfast an unexpected visitor came to visit them. They only saw him yesterday and yet he took the initiative to visit too. Both Aberleign and Cygnus met the man in the manor''s living room.


    "It is unexpected to see you here, Sir Onyx!" Aberleign was the first one to approach the other and offered him a seat.


    Cygnus followed behind and he couldn''t help but notice that the holy knight''s head was tilted towards his direction. It must be because of the illusion he gave the man yesterday that was why his curiosity was directed at him. Cygnus feigned ignorance and did not let the man notice that he knew about his secret gaze towards him.


    "Yes, I apologize foring without notice." The holy knight nodded his head with his head still tilted slightly towards the young man.


    This action has not gone unnoticed by the eternal hero and he pointed it out. "Do you have something to say to the young master?"


    This question made the holy knight return his gaze to the man in front of him. "It''s nothing. Now that I see that he is alright, I can now rest easy."


    "What do you mean by that? Why would Rigel not be fine?" Aberleign tensed up because of the meaning behind those words. He was the eternal hero but he was not ready to face those people when something might happen to the young man.


    Onyx shook his head. "Don''t get me wrong, Sir Aberleign. It is because of a bad dream that I hadst night. Since nothing happened, then everything is fine."


    Aberleign narrowed his eyes. "What kind of a dream is it that you even came to check on him?" He suddenly had a terrible thought about it. ''Was it a coincidence that he also felt a demonic energy yesterday?''


    "It is about a demon attack and the target was this young man but luckily it was only a dream." Onyx gave a brief exnation which strangely coincided with what he felt yesterday.


    Onyx on the other hand did not notice the strange look on the eternal hero''s face because he was observing the young man''s reaction. But despite the things he said, the young man remained calm and curious at the same time. He was looking and listening at them intently that he did not even touch his coffee or the cookies that were served for them.


    "A demon? Do they really exist?" Cygnus finally asked and broke the silence that arose inside the room.


    The holy knight fixed his posture and properly faced the young man who was looking at them. Even Aberleign sighed and retracted his gaze on the holy knight. Since it was only a dream, there was no need to pursue the matter anymore.


    "Yes, they exist. They are creatures that only know how to inflict pain on humans and I am afraid that they have started to show up in this world too." The holy knight looked so upright while saying those words. "And it is our duty as the Justice of Light to defeat and kill these demons together with the World Breaker."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Cygnus wanted to speak so badly but he held himself back. The man was speaking like what they were doing was worthy of praise. These people do think highly of themselves even though they haven''t done anything to benefit humanity.


    "That is amazing. If you ever go to Lunaira, I will tell my father to support your endeavor and your pursuit in destroying this World Breaker." Cygnus showed his excitement like a child which Onyx appreciated.


    ''How na?ve,'' the holy knight thought. It was really easy to manipte these people. Just show them something amazing and they would immediately believe you. They would be able to spread their influence in Lunaira with the help of the Ginehart.


    "Thank you for the offer and I really appreciate it. We will remember this." The holy knight looked humble and his voice was so gentle.


    It did not have an effect on the master though as he continued to smile and the eternal hero did not even notice it because it was a subtle action. After that, holy knight left and bid farewell. While they were sending him off, Nina and Mr. C also returned with two carriages.


    ¡¤?¦Èm "Oh, you''ve bought quite a lot of things!" The holy knight said after he saw the contents of the two carriages that parked in front of the manor.


    Cygnus smiled, "Those are for my family and friends. Most of the things are for my mother." It was an excuse but he would still give it to them as gifts. They would appreciate and cherish it. He was sure about that.


    Onyx bid them goodbye and finally left. Nina and Mr. C went ahead to arrange all the things they bought before fitting it all in one carriage. After that, they too prepared for the long journey ahead. Aberleign and Cygnus bid the manor and the servants there.


    Just like before, their journey was smooth as they returned to the kingdom. Aberleign returned to the Hero Association after dropping off the young master in his own manor. When he reached that ce, there was a bit of amotion because Arcaine was present. He could feel the excitement in the air because one other person was inside the room.


    "Oh, if it isn''tdy Evari ude. I didn''t expect to see you after I returned from a short journey. Was your mission a sess?" Aberleign spoke from behind the crowd.


    They made a way when they heard his voice and realized who the voice belonged to. He walked up to the two people who were the center of attention and gave them both a nod. The woman he called Evari ude has light blue hair and a polite smile on her red lips. Her eyes were of silver that could captivate the people who would see them. She was one of the S-ss heroes that the association has.


    "Sir Aberleign!" She eximed when she saw who the man was. "It has been a long time since I saw you. Are you staying here for good?" She couldn''t help but ask because the old man doesn''t usually show his face in the association.


    As far as she knew, the old man was often traveling and he hated being tied down in one ce. That was the reason why even though he was a part of the hero association, just a handful of people knew about him. It was truly a surprise that she would see him and he looked like he had been staying in the association based on the calm expression of the people around.


    Aberleignughed, "As always I don''t have ns on staying here forever but I might be here for an extended period of time." This answer piqued the interest of the newly arrived hero.


    "And that is because?" Her smile widened and her excitement made the people also curious.


    This was the first time that they would also hear why the elder was there. It was not a public knowledge but some of those who had been in the association already knew the reason as for the others, they were still a bit curious. Aberleign felt their anticipation and he did not have any intention of disappointing them.


    "That is because I''ve taken someone under my wings and even though he hasn''t acknowledged me yet as his master, we are getting along well." The old manughed which showed that he was in a really good mood.


    "Is that so. Now I am even more curious as to who has caught the elder''s eyes. He must be an exceptional person if that''s the case." Evari wanted to know and once she knew she would give that person a visit to see if he was truly befitting as the elder''s disciple.

 Chapter 324 Razed

    ?


    Aberleign was amused at the excited look on the woman''s face. He too felt a bit proud because of all the attention they were giving him. They would definitely be in awe once they knew who his disciple was.


    "Rigel Ginehart, he is the one." After saying that name, the entire hall became silent.


    The people started to whisper to each other because of the name. The Gineharts were a bit controversial until this day because of the usations that the duke suffered. It was also a hot topic right now the sudden disappearance of General Linius. One other topic was the sudden istion of their youngest.


    "Are you sure about that elder?" Evari had a frown on her face because of what she heard.


    The ducal family was shrouded with rumors so the female hero didn''t know if it was a good thing for the elder to consider the man as his disciple. She could also feel that the others felt the same. She even gave a nce at Arcaine who had been silent beside her.


    Aberleign already noticed how the excitement died down when he said Rigel''s name but he did not care. Even with all the rumors, the Ginehart would not lose theirposure nor power. Besides, their youngest son was someone powerful.


    "Do you really think that the duke would back down or hide just because of those rumors? He might be in his home right now and rxing while all the people are busy gossiping about him and his family." He shook his head and started to walk forward.


    Evari and Arcaine gave way for the elder. He walked passed them whileughing because he knew Rigel''s value and if the people around him didn''t see it then that doesn''t matter. The people who heard himughing almost thought that he had gone crazy but they knew deep down that what he said was true.


    The people in the hall slowly dispersed after themotion and only Evari and Arcaine were left at the bar. Ms. Leithia served them some cocktails and smiled at them. Evari was lost in thoughts while staring at her drink.


    "Why would the elder even defend them like that?" Evari could not understand the elder''s motives.


    Arcaine, who knew the importance of connection and power, shook his head. Evari ude was a hero who doesn''t engage in the world of politics. She rose to the ranks without relying on anyone but in a world where anyone could be brought down, people like them needed a golden thigh where they could hold on.


    "You are not a political person so you won''t understand. If you pay attention once in a while, you''ll know." Arcaine sighed before he drank his drink in one gulp.


    "What do you mean?" Evari looked up and gave Arcaine a questioning look. She was still holding her cocktail ss but her full attention was on the man.


    Arcaine raised an eyebrow. He did not have the intention to answer but he knew the woman''s persistent spirit. "Because even if rumors continue to circte against the Ginehart duchy, their power will not diminish. They will still be part of the four duchies that lead and support the kingdom."


    Evari still looked confused that Arcaine became a bit frustrated because of the woman. All she knew was fighting and doing some mission. She could easily get and follow instructions even though they were a bit cryptic but a simple matter rting to politics, she did not understand.


    "The elder wasn''t bothered because Rigel Ginehart is a valuable asset for him to maintain his connection with Duke Ulysses Ginehart. With that kind of power, even the king or kings of the other kingdoms will think twice before offending him." Arcaine exined to make the woman understand.


    Realization dawned on the woman and her face lightened after she understood it. "So that was the reason." She nodded her head as she could not understand these things regarding power and influence.


    While the hall was in a state of silence and the news of another S-ss hero arriving reached Cygnus, he still felt rxed. All the information regarding the new hero was all written in a document that Ari summarized for him. She also had information on the other S-ss heroes in the kingdom and on the other kingdoms.


    "Let them be, what we must do right now is capture those people." Cygnus swiped the holographic report in front of him and it disappeared. "My dungeon, how is it going?"


    "It is ready to use master." Mr. C bowed his head.


    "That''s good, now we can slowly bring them all to that ce." Cygnus grinned as he jumped up from his seat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    A gate appeared inside the room and he entered. Nina and Mr. C followed behind as they appeared above a forest inside the El Merey kingdom. ording to the information, the witch was living in what they called the Dead Forest.


    With the help of Ignius''s wyverns, they were able to have a view of the forest thus the master was able to create a gate that directly connected there. It was exactly not a dead forest because from above, the canopies of the trees were vibrant green. It was actually pleasing to the eye.


    Even though the forest looked alive, it also felt dead at the same time. This must be the reason why they called it the Dead Forest because they could not feel any living being beyond those luscious leaves. Mr. C and Nina looked at the master but he did not have any reactions towards it.


    "Let''s go," hemanded. They flew towards the center of the forest.


    Before they could fly nearer, they were repelled by a strong wave of mana. Cygnus chuckled and used his hand to stop the second wave that wasing their way. "Impressive!" He muttered with a grin.


    Without much hesitation, he stretched out his hand towards the direction where the mana waves wereing. He snapped his fingers and a red wave of mana with distorted lines of lightning appeared and opposed the gray mana wave aiming for them. Cygnus did not stop there. He snapped his fingers a couple more times and sessive mana waves of his own appeared.


    The gray and gloomy mana waves tried to keep up but all of it were destroyed. The red mana waved did not stop and continued it''s path towards straight. The woman who was controlling the mana waves changed tactics and created a barrier to protect herself from the attack.


    Cygnus''s mana wave collided with a barrier and broke but the remaining energy from it bulldozed the surroundings around the barrier. The trees were razed to the ground and burnt so that only the ashes remained. The woman saw the devastation that a fragment of that mana wave caused and it made her heart stop for a moment.


    That was a feat that no human could do. The person who released that much mana without looking exhausted was a monster. She felt them enter the forest so when they got near her abode, she tried to stop them. She wasn''t expecting that one of them would retaliate.


    "Are you hiding?" She heard a youthful voice from above and saw a young man together with a woman and an elderly man who looked like a butler.


    The witch did not answer. She wanted to ignore them as she added moreyers to her barrier. The person who spoke was dangerous.


    Cygnus frowned because he could clearly see the woman inside the barrier but she was not answering. "Oy, are you the witch that they are talking about?" He asked again but still he did not receive an answer.


    He was inherently impatient from the very beginning and now the person he was talking to was not answering him. Cygnus knocked on the barrier. A loud cracking sound echoed inside the barrier and when the witch looked up, she saw that the firstyer of her barrier had a fissure and that it could break anytime.


    Cygnus only used his knuckle to slightly knock on the barrier but it already caused it to copse. He knocked again and this time, the firstyer of the barrier shattered into luminous pieces that disintegrated in the air. Cygnus saw that there were still barriers and his patience was running thin.


    "Butler," he called out. Mr. C floated beside him and bowed. Cygnus pointed at the barrier.


    The butler nodded and floated towards it. He pulled back his hand as his whole body turned to ck. The nanites became concentrated around his hand. After he made sure that it had enough power, he released a punch.


    This punch caused a rumbling sound but it only managed to break a thinyer of the barrier. He frowned and took a step back because he could feel that Nina was on her way. Nina also tried to punch the barrier but it only made the crack made by the butlerrger.


    Nina also took a step back and looked at the master with a sheepish smile. She scratched her head andughed awkwardly. She then avoided the master''s gaze.


    "Useless," Cygnus muttered. He knocked on the barrier and a louder rumble shook the entire forest.

 Chapter 325 Captured

    ?


    The witch was confused as to what had happened. She created a hundredyers of her barrier to fend off against the intruder and yet all of it shattered with one single strike. The force of the barrier shattering created a cloud of dust that filled the entire forest.


    She was also pushed back and suffered some injuries because of the bacsh she got from the force of the attack. Whatever the intruder did, it still affected her. She could feel that her organs suffered a shock simr to that of an electric shock. She forced herself to stand up despite the pain in her body because she could already feel them approaching.


    The witch took several steps back and this sudden action made her groan. She had no choice though, she needed to get away before they could reach her. She needed time to recover to be able to fight them again.


    She only managed to run a couple of meters with her speed magic and yet the intruder was able to catch up. She cursed under her breath and urged her magic to go faster. In a matter of seconds she was already a hundred meters ahead but she came to realize that it was futile.


    Cygnus watched as the woman started to run away after the barriers broke into pieces. She was quite persistent so he let her go ahead before chasing her. Cygnus could tell that she was injured and yet she could still use magic. He came to know that the woman also had a special talent after observing her from where he stood.


    After a couple of minutes, he decided to follow and closed their distance at an incredible speed. The woman noticed so she moved faster but Cygnus onlyughed. No matter how fast the woman run or fly or even teleported, the master would always catch up to her.


    "You won''t be able to outrun me!" Cygnusughed.


    He sped up from above andnded along the path of the woman. As soon as his feet touched the ground, a high and thick wall of earth appeared. This wall covered the span of the whole forest, from left to right and it''s height reached the skies.


    The woman was startled as she came to a halt. From afar, she could see a man sitting on a seat made of earth as if he had been waiting for him. She had her fists clenched and her teeth gritted.


    If she could not move forward, then she''ll have to go back. She turned back but before she could take a step, a voice pinned her on the spot. Her body suddenly felt heavy and her movements slowed.


    "Don''t run. I don''t have enough patience to keep chasing after you." The voice sent shivers to his spine because it was so near.


    So near that she couldn''t help but think that the intruder was behind her. She tilted her head and tried to look back and there he was just an arm''s reach from her. Her eyes were wide andrge beads of sweat trickled down the side of her face.


    He was supposed to be far away. She made sure to stop at a distance that could give her the chance to flee and yet how was that man this near. She was confused as to what happened to that distance.


    "What are you?" She asked with a trembling voice. She avoided his gaze.


    Cygnus disappeared behind her and appeared in front of her frozen body. "Now you are talking. I thought you were mute." He said instead of answering the woman''s question.


    Cygnus stared at the woman and just like the other people on the list, she looked young. She looked like someone in her early forties but Cygnus knew that it was not true. He also confirmed that the damage inside her body already healed.


    "What do you want and why are you attacking me?" She asked again.


    "It''s because you attacked first. I was going to resolve all things with diplomacy but then several mana waves were aimed at us," Cygnus answered.


    He looked at the woman like she had lost her mind. Yes, they were there to capture her but he was willing to have a conversation first. But, the witch still attacked so he couldn''t help but be violent.


    "That''s because you intruded in my territory!" The woman shouted. She was trying to get out from the invisible binds that were holding her off.


    "Should I apologize for that then?" Cygnus crossed his hands on his chest and raised an eyebrow.


    The woman only red at him and did not speak. She could already tell that he was not a man who would apologize or anything. Instead of answering, she was wriggling her body and trying to move.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes. "I told you that you won''t be able to get away."


    The invisible force tightened around her and it slowly revealed a red color. The cracking of bones could be heard from the woman and she screamed in pain. Her insides were being crushed and yet the man hadn''t shown any sign of stopping.


    Blood was starting toe out from her mouth, nose, eyes and ever her ears. Her loud screams were soon reced with choking sounds as she tried to speak and breathe. She was desperately looking at Cygnus as she hoped that he would stop.


    The master did not. He tightened the mana chains around the woman until she was barely alive before finally releasing it. The woman''s body flopped on the ground like a ragged doll.


    Cygnus returned to his seat just as Mr. C and Nina arrived. Their gaze couldn''t help but linger on the sorry state of the woman. The woman was twitching as she was covered in her own blood.


    Cygnus did not speak and just watched the woman in silence so Nina and Mr. C also followed suit. The woman''s body started to tremble as her cracked bones slowly mended. Her deformed skin started to get smooth and the blood on her body disappeared. After a few minutes, she looked like a new doll.


    She opened her eyes and pushed herself up with a groan. She coughed and looked around then she felt the presence behind her. The witch looked back and saw three pairs of eyes looking at her.


    "How much have you paid for that ability?" Mr. C asked when the woman''s attention was on them.


    The woman trembled and pushed herself back. She did not want to stay in that ce with them. She was living her life in silence and yet why were they persistent in looking for her.


    She shook her head. She did not want to speak to them. She just wanted to live in peace. She already isted herself from the world and regretted whatever she did in the past but she couldn''t.


    "Of course you won''t because now that I am here, you won''t be able to forget what you did in the past. The countless lives that you took in the name of justice, I will avenge them all." Cygnus stood up and slowly walked towards the woman.


    He crouched down and reached out to lift the woman''s chin. He looked him in the eye and shed his red bloody eyes. The woman shivered and her body was shaking badly.


    "A thousand years of unpaid blood, you will repay it now." Cygnus tightened his grip on the woman''s chin.


    He released and pushed the woman back before he signaled for Mr. C to take her. She was weak and her mind was in disarray. Her state was pitiful but Cygnus didn''t care.


    A gate appeared and Mr. C dragged the woman by the hand. They disappeared beyond the darkness while Nina and Cygnus were still outside. Nina did not urge him to follow immediately and just waited with him.


    When the master was ready to live, she finally spoke. "Are you going to leave this ce like this?"


    Cygnus stopped and thought about it first before nodding his head. "Let this be a sign for those people."


    They left the Dead Forest as it was after the fight and after that, words started to circte in the El Merey kingdom. There were rumors that a monster destroyed half of the forest while others had different opinions. Those with otherguesses believed that the cause of the destruction was a person.


    This was because the Dead Forest was the dwelling ce of the witch. Also there was no proof that a monster could cause that kind of destruction. There must be someone out there who hated the witch, enough for half of that forest to be destroyed.


    The king of El Merey immediately dispatched a team to investigate the matter. This was not aughing matter because the destruction was made by a single power. If that was the case, he couldn''t let that person go.

 Chapter 326 Begin To Hunt

    ?


    Not only the kingdom of El Merey, but even the other kingdoms were also informed of what happened. None of them made a move but they were watching like a hawk. In a secluded part of El Merey several birds were sent flying bearing news to the intended receivers.


    Cygnus smiled when he saw this. Although they already knew the location of the other three on the list, there were other two that they knew nothing of. After the master got all the information in the royal library, they were able to narrow down the list into the group that the books referred to as the ''Circle of Eight''.


    While the birds were on their way to their destinations, five of them were intercepted by the people working for Cygnus. They ced tracking magic on each of them and released them. After the tracking magic was ced, Cygnus could now have a view of where the birds were going.


    Each of the members of the Circle of Eight received the news. Each of them had different reactions regarding the news but what''smon was that they were all angry. All of them believed that they were the absolutes in that world and now that someone was threatening the power they held, they wouldn''t sit still.


    Aberleign crumpled the paper where the message was written and burned it with fire. He leaned on his seat and sighed. He had been alive for a thousand years now and this was the first time that someone was willing to challenge them. Based on the battlefield''s description after the fight, half of the forest waspletely destroyed.


    Although the witch was strong, he was not sure if that destruction was caused solely by her. Aberleign shook his head. ''No, I can''t underestimate the enemy. He might be the reason for that destruction.'' He thought to himself. There was also no indication that the witch died so he could assume that she was still alive.


    "If that''s the case, then there''s a big possibility that she was being kept as a prisoner by the person who did that," he mumbled to himself.


    Aberleign decided to request for Evari and Arcaine to do a mission for him. He must track down the person who did that. As he was about to call for them, he suddenly remembered the words of the holy knight. The term World Breaker lingered in his mind and a terrible conclusion came to his mind.


    Arcaine and Evari entered the elder''s office after they were summoned. The man offered them a seat which they dly took. They waited for the elder''s words which took a while. Aberleign sighed several times before he finally looked at them and told them his request.


    "I received the news that one of my friends disappeared. I wanted to request the both of you to go and investigate what happened. I also request that you track down the person who did it." The man started which made the two heroes a bit taken aback.


    It was a request that would never happen because the elder was strong enough to manage his affairs. "Are you sure about that elder? Will you really be entrusting us with that mission?" Evari was the first one to ask.


    "Yes. Arcaine already had a lead," the elder looked at the man, "this might be rted to the World Breaker that you already investigated."


    This point made Arcaine more attentive to the topic. He found some clues that might be rted to the World Breaker but he was not sure if all of it were useful. If he could find more clues regarding the man with this mission then it would be a jackpot for him.


    "Then I won''t be polite and ept this mission," Arcaine answered. World Breaker, a person who was capable of destroying worlds, if he could meet that person then he could ask him to take him in.


    "Then I would leave that matter to the both of you," Aberleign smiled. He then stood up and went back to his table to pick up the documents he prepared for the mission.


    Evari looked at the both of them with wide eyes because they did not even hear her opinion regarding the matter. She was about to speak up when the elder was already back and giving them the document. She sighed and raised her hand. This action caught the attention of the two men.


    "What is it, Evari?" The elder was surprised when he saw the woman suddenly raising her hand. He couldn''t help but give a smallugh when he realized what was happening.


    "I haven''t given my opinion yet and everything is already settled," she frowned. She won''t let these men lead the conversation.


    "Ah, I apologize." Aberleign slightly inclined his head. "Do you have anything to say?" He was a bit excited that when Arcaine agreed he immediately took it as both of them agreed.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "First, I have a question on who this World Breaker is?" She asked because she was a bit lost when their conversation suddenly jumped to the topic about this World Breaker.


    Aberliegn shook his head. He forgot that Evari was not a person who was well-informed. Every time she got a mission, she would focus on it and nothing could distract her. "He is a person with the power to destroy our world. That information came from the kingdom of El Merey. The Justice of Light recently requested information from all the hero associations and they gave arge amount of money as reward."


    Evari nodded. She already heard about this Justice of Light after her mission because she passed by the El Merey kingdom. Since this World Breaker has an ominous name and he sounded dangerous, then she was willing to help.


    She''ll need to thoroughly read the documents given to her so that she could at least prepare. She gave the other man who was sitting at the end of the couch a smile but Arcaine ignored her. This was a normal urrence so she could only ept the cold treatment.


    "I will help then," Evari finally decided. She would help the elder and now protect the citizens at the same time. There was nothing more satisfying to a hero like her than to bring justice to the people and punish evil.


    "Thank you," Aberleign nodded. The elder smiled but in his mind, he was happy because the woman was easily coerced. "Now, the document that I gave you contains the details of your mission and I am hoping for a good result."


    "We will do our best, Sir Aberleign." Arcaine gave the elder a confident smile before he stood up followed by Evari. "We will go back first and prepare for the mission."


    Aberleign nodded and waved his hand. After they left, Acasia came and brought a box of pastries for the elder. "I saw Arcaine and Evari, did something happen?" He ced the box on the table and took a seat on the empty seat.


    "It''s because I gave them a mission. One of the members of the Circle of Eight disappeared and it might be rted to the appearance of the World Breaker," he exined. He sighed and shook his head for the nth time.


    "That is a problem. Are they going to El Merey then?" Acasia became alert after that statement. He couldn''t believe that there would be a time that one of the immortals in their world would be defeated by someone more powerful.


    It was already unusual for a Circle of Eight member to be defeated but to think that they even disappeared was something rming. The elder did the right decision to send two S-ss heroes for the investigation. The World Breaker, whoever it was, was now giving them problems.


    "Yes. I hope they find whoever did it and I will personally see to it that whoever is behind these will die a painful death," he sneered. Aberleign was ready to destroy anyone who would threaten his authority and power.


    "I will ask the other heroes to ry any relevant information that can help us," Acasia volunteered. He would use all of his connections just to help the elder.


    "Thank you," the elder acknowledged his efforts, "I''ll make sure to add more funds to the hero association."


    At the pce of Lunaira, the king also received the report regarding what happened. He frowned after reading the contents of the letter. Simr to Abereleign''s guess, the king also suspected that this World Breaker person was behind the attack.


    "Has the hero association made a move?" He asked the general who was standing beside his table.


    "Yes. It seems that Sir Aberleign gave two S-sses a mission that is rted to the World Breaker and the incident at the Dead Forest of El Merey." Ishmael diligently answered because the information was already sent by the spy inside the association.


    "Alright, let them handle the matter then. But once the World Breaker shows any ill-intention against the royal family, then I don''t have a choice but to also track him down."

 Chapter 327 Sudden

    ?


    This news immediately reached Cygnus''s ears. He looked at the board he was looking at that time and smirked. One of the pieces on the board floated up. Once it reached the height of the master''s eyes, it exploded.


    "They are on the move. How convenient." Another piece from the board floated and exploded. He waved his hand above the board and everything on it disappeared.


    "There''s a possibility that Sir Aberleign will meet up with those people, what are we going to do with that?" Mr. C asked after he received another information via the spy they nted near the elder.


    "Let''s have fun and capture them all," Cygnus answered. He did not even think twice and gave the order.


    Nina who was there showed a crazed and excited look. She couldn''t help it but jump in joy because of the news. She was eager to battle once again and she couldn''t wait but destroy at least one of the Circle of Eight.


    "I will inform our people then." Mr. C bowed his head before suddenly standing still on his spot.


    He was contacting Ari and telling her the master''s orders. The woman then will send the message to the people who would do the mission. After that Mr. C returned to his body and saw that Nina was already pestering the master. She was bbering without pause and Cygnus could only stare at her.


    During these times, no answers were needed for Nina. They would usually let her be because this phase would eventually die down. They endured the woman''s chattering for a good thirty minutes before she bid them goodbye when she suddenly thought of something.


    "I will go and prepare some things first. Please notify me once we are scheduled to go." Nina had a skip on her steps as she left the room.


    "How are the others?" Cygnus shifted his attention to the butler. The board reappeared on the table and there were obviously new pieces added to it.


    Instead of the usual ck and white pieces red pieces appeared. Each white pieces were carved in the image of a staff while the ck pieces were carved in the shape of a horse. The red pieces were a bit special because they were carved in the image of a w hand.


    Cygnus then ced the red ones around the white ones. He narrowed his eyes as he lifted one of the pieces and knocked over the white pieces one by one. After thinking for a moment, he then summoned for Astrophos who was busy organizing information that he got.


    He was inside his study when he suddenly appeared inside the master''s room with a feathered pen and paper still in his hands. He was shocked and looked at the master and the butler who were looking at him calmly. After a few moments of silence, he finally sighed and ced the things on his hand on the nearby table.


    While doing so, he also noticed the board that was on the table and the unusual pieces in there. What actually caught his attention was the red pieces that looked so ominous even amidst the ck and white. Astrophos shook his head as he took a deep breathe before he finally faced the master.


    "Are you curious?" Cygnus asked after he saw the interest in the man''s eyes as he stared on the specialized board that he had.


    "Not to the extent of wanting to know it badly," Astrophos shook his head. He was more interested to know the reason why the master called for him in that manner.


    "The white pieces are those that will fall under my trap soon while the red pieces are those who will make sure that it will happen and for that to be a one hundred sess, I want you to release the wyverns and start scouting these relevant areas." A map appeared on the table and it reced the board.


    On the map there were several ces that were circled and the master pointed at them all. Astrophos immediately nodded after hearing the master''s instructions. The wyverns were then sent to these ces and they became the master''s eyes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Several projections of the ces appeared out of thin air. After everything was set up, the master pped his hands and several people fell to the ground from a gate that suddenly appeared above them. Nina was in the middle of packing her clothes. The dragon was still half asleep and there was also Vain who was standing beside him.


    Reitou who was helping Ezio and Isaiah was also summoned together with Nahar who was rxing in the base. They both looked at the people around and looked at the master in question. They were suddenly summoned and it looked like they were going to have a meeting.


    "All of you are here because I will be giving you all a mission. This is a mission you needed toplete no matter what happens." Cygnus started while looking at all of them. He started from the two guardian spirits then looked at the other people in the room.


    The room was silent as they waited for the mission. They had been serving the master for a considerable amount of time now, so Ignius and Nina already knew what would happen. The other three were still anticipation a satisfactory answer from the master.


    "Your targets will be the Circle of Eight. I will be sending you to their locations and I want you all to capture them. I don''t care no matter what method you do as long as you bring me results, everything for you will be fine." Cygnus swiped from right to the left in the air to reveal a map with marked locations on it.


    "When are we going to go?" Nahar asked after they all studied the map that was shed in front of them.


    There were five locations which means that they would facing this Circle of Eight one-on-one and head on. Even though they have confidence with themselves, the guardian spirits were a bit reluctant because they were not as powerful as they were before. There was no way that they could defeat any of the members of the group.


    The Circle of Eight was a famous group because of the power that each member have. Each of them had the ability to wipe out a kingdom if they so want to. Unlike the guardian spirits who have long lives, the Circle of Eight lived like immortals as their strength grew while the guardian spirits weakened.


    "Now," Cygnus answered. Before any of them could even object they all disappeared in the room and appeared on the five locations of the map.


    They were randomly transported so the guardian spirits might fight the strongest members or not. Nahar looked around before he sighed. His question was answered but they were not even given the chance to speak or ask more details. He sat on a t stone and frowned at the green leaves that were surrounding him.


    He was sent to the middle of the forest. While he was sulking, a floating square hologram like what the master was using appeared in front of him. There were also words written on it and when he read it all, he stood up. Since all has been prepared there was nothing he should hesitate about.


    Nahar walked straight until he reached an open clearing. There was nothing in the clearing but ording to the message the house of one of the members of the Circle of Eight was surrounded with an invisibility magic. This magic not only hides the dwelling ce but also reflects the clearing to make it even more difficult to detect.


    He took several steps forward and after ten steps he stopped. He then reached out and found that there was indeed something hidden in there. Although he couldn''t see it, he could still feel it. After pinpointing a location on the surface of the hidden house, he channeled his power to his palms and caused a wave that interrupted the barrier and finally revealed a one-story house.


    After observing it, Nahar concluded that there was no one inside the house. If there was, then they would be attacking right about now. The owner would have felt Nahar'' magic but there was no reaction at all. Instead of looking for him, Nahar destroyed the house''s padlock and entered.


    He started exploring inside and saw that there were many weapons hanging on the walls. ''The owner of this ce must be someone who enjoyed using weapons.'' This thought ran through his mind as he examined everything inside the room.


    Just as he was getting bored and deep and gruff voice came from Nahar''s back. When he turned around, he saw a burly man that was standing in there. He was ring at Nahar to the point that he wanted to destroy the trespasser that entered his home. The big man walked inside with his teeth gritted because he saw how the woman had been touching all of his collection.

 Chapter 328 Guardian Spirit Power

    ?


    The man walked with big strides towards Nahar and reached out to grip his cor. He pulled the man towards him using the part of his clothing that he was holding. Since Nahar has a lean built, he was easily pulled and lifted up to meet the burly man''s eyes.


    "Who are you and how did you get here?" His voice caused a vibration that shook the entire house but it did not affect Nahar.


    Nahar frowned then he lifted his hands and held the other man''s hands before lightly squeezing it. He used magic to enhance his strength which made a cracking sound. The burly man loosened his grip and dropped Nahar whonded on his feet gracefully.


    He automatically fixed the cor of his clothes. In an instant the long-embroidered robe he was wearing fastened by a belt returned to its pristine appearance a while ago. He gave the tall and big man a re because of his barbaric acts. He was a guardian of the forest and no one has ever disrespected him like that before.


    "That''s none of your concern however I can tell you that I am here to capture you as per my master''s order," Nahar answered. He was acting calm but the rage in his heart was on the verge of exploding.


    The darkness inside of him that umted for hundreds of years was starting to spill out. Ever since the master found him in that forest, he hadn''t experienced a fight or joined one. He had been wandering around the capital''s forest and lounging around in the base. Now that he was given the chance to show what he could do.


    The unease and uncertainty he had been feeling from the time they were summoned disappeared. He was a guardian spirit with a power as ancient as that world and yet he doubted himself. He sighed at how undignified he had be because ofying low these past hundred years.


    A realization dawned on the burly man at those words. He just received a message detailing the disappearance of the witch and herees a person who wanted to capture them. Those people were right in assuming that they were being targeted.


    "I won''t allow you then," he growled. All the weapons in the house trembled before all of them flew and pointed their sharp end towards Nahar.


    Without much word after that, the burly man released the weapons towards Nahar. Hundreds of deadly weapons went straight for Nahar but despite that, he remained calm. He did not even move an inch after the attack because a powerful barrier was surrounding him and preventing the weapons from moving further.


    The burly man did not also give up and continued to control and push the weapons using his mana. Nahar''s green swirling barrier was suddenly mixed with a bit of ck energy that he had acquired from his long life. The barrier grew in size and pushed back the weapons.


    Nahar narrowed his eyes and without hesitation, he expanded the barrier once again. The barrier was already upying almost half of the house and it was threatening to destroy it. The burly man finally showed a frown on his face as each of the weapons started to be surrounded with a red glow. The push that the weapons were exerting became stronger.


    This change in the man''s tactic did not make much of an impression on the guardian spirit of the forest. Instead of being timid, he added more mana to his barrier and expanded it a bit more. The expansion made the burly man grit his teeth. Even so, Nahar did not stop from making the scope of his barrier wider.


    In the blink of an eye, a barrier that was supposed to protect someone from an attack became a weapon in the hands of Nahar. With another surge of his mana, the green barrier exploded outwards and destroyed the house. It repelled all the weapons and rendered them useless.


    The burly man was unscathed though because he was able to raise a shield of metal in time to fend off against the explosion. The shield broke after the wave as the man decisively jumped back and widened the distance between them. He couldn''t believe that there was someone who could make him step back.


    His strength was not to be underestimated because amongst the Circle of Eight, he was the sturdiest and strongest when ites to physical strength. Nahar smirked. He flew towards the man with his green and gold robe fluttering with the wind towards the man. His hands were suddenly wrapped with vines as he delivered a punch to the burly man.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The man crossed his hands in front of his face to stop the punch. He was pushed back because of the force from the punch. He was surprised that the elf was able to use that kind of technique to fight him. He gritted his teeth and steeled his body.


    He stopped his body from backing up and by doing so, his muscles started to bulge even more. The veins were popping as he nted himself firmly on the ground. When he felt that the force weakened, he pushed forward his arms and sessfully pushed away the elf.


    Naharnded gracefully, he twirled a couple of times before he was able to find his bnce. He grinned towards the burly man, "That was good but if you won''t bring out your full power then you won''t be able to defeat me."


    Nahar''s body was then wrapped around with ck smoke intertwined with his natural forest mana. The contras of violence and calmness around him gave the burly man a shiver of fear. This time he was not sure what kind of attack woulde from his enemy.


    With that in mind, the burly man did not stop from supplying mana to his veins and muscles. A lot of metal were also summoned and all of it molded into his body to serve as an armor. He grew in size but Nahar wasn''t fazed. Even though he specializes in long distance magic and agility, his strength was not to be trifled with.


    This time the burly man attacked first. He intended not to give his enemy the chance to retaliate. With his speed, he was in front of Nahar and was already punching from different angles to weaken the man. He had been doing it for a couple of minutes now but there was no effect on the man.


    The burly man did not stop though and even injected mana to his armor to make his punches more powerful. This time Nahar finally responded and made a counterattack. He used his palm to stop one of the burly man''s punches. He then caught the arm and swung him to the side.


    Nahar watched as the burly man flew andnded on the ground heavily. He saw that there was no movement from the man so he walked towards him to check if he was still alive. He kicked the man and there was no reaction at all. Nahar then crouched down a bit to pull the helmet of metal from the man''s head.


    He held the end of the helmet and when he was about to pull it up, an arm wrapped in metal gripped his wrist. It was tight and Nahar was not given the chance to move because the burly man was on his feet in a sh. The burly man then lifted him and smashed him to the ground.


    He did not waste time as several sheets of metal appeared andnded beside Nahar then it bent and wrapped around Nahar. Theseyers created a seal that could not let any of its prey move. The burly man did not stop there though. He even resummoned his weapons and controlled them to pierce through the metal.


    Nahar did not speak nor gave any reactions at all even though his body had been pierced from all sides. After the barrage of attack towards him, his body slowly faded and only his clothes were left. The burly man was surprised at what happened so his eyes went straight around the forest. He was trying to look for the person that suddenly disappeared.


    "You are merely a thousand years old man but I am a guardian deity." Nahar whispered from behind the enemy before touching his back lightly.


    Nahar then disappeared after leaving those words to the man. The burly man turned around but he did not see anyone and instead there were vines intertwined with one another for form a pointed vine that wasunched. The burly man jumped from the right to the left to avoid the attacks and yet it did not end there.


    Several more vine spikes came from behind him. He had no other choice but raise a metal shield around him to protect himself from the deadly vines that were being sent his way. The thump from the vines echoed inside the metal shield until it died down. The burly man wanted to bring down the shield when something appeared at the corner of his eye.

 Chapter 329 Caged

    ?


    There on his right side was his enemy. He was floating in the air and had no physical body. His skin color was a pale green and his eyes were as dark as the night sky. His blonde hair was floating in all directions together with his robe. There was also a swirl of vines and leaves that followed him around.


    The burly man did not expect his enemy to suddenly transform. He stretched his hand towards the remaining weapons he had and threw them towards the floating Nahar. All those weapons passed through him and did not create any damage. He gritted his teeth and tried several times but all of it just passed through the corporeal body of the elf.


    "Do you really think that any physical attacks will hurt me?" Nahar sneered, "This is my true form as the guardian spirit of the forest and in this form, nothing can hurt me."


    Nahar stretched out his hands and slowly raised them followed by a series of ck pointed rocks that came from below the earth. It filled the entire ce that the burly man needed to dodge and protect himself. Even so, Nahar did not stop because the wind around the man stirred.


    Leaves and even the dust from the ground started to float and create a gray deadly tornado that trapped the burly man. He had no room for a counterattack and could only try to protect himself. He enclosed himself inside a metal box that he created and silently dug through the earth using his metal magic to escape.


    He was cursing himself because he did not expect to encounter a spirit in his entire life. The spirit was already dangerous enough on its own but a master behind a spirit was even more dangerous. To be able to tame a spirit, a guardian spirit at that, one needed a tremendous amount of mana to at least bind it.


    To create a contract with it, even more mana was required and it was not even a permanent contract. It was something temporary where the contract would end once the promise was fulfilled. Aside from that, it would also give a heavy toll on one''s body.


    "So, that was a guardian spirit," the bulky man mumbled to himself. He sighed and did not look back even though it was a chance of a lifetime to encounter one, he would still not risk his life for it.


    While digging like a mouse, the burly man also came to a realization after having a taste of what someone powerful could do. They were truly iparable to the likes of him who only had a long life and strength. If in front of the other humans, he could still boast because his magic was beyond their level.


    And yet, at the face of a greater being he was like an ant, ready to be crushed any time. The arrogance he had at the beginning was smashed into pieces. Whatever reason why they were targeting them, he did not care. What matters to the man right at that moment was to escape and survive.


    Nahar narrowed his eyes and the rumbling tornado he created disappeared. There was no reaction from the burly man and the whole surroundings were silent which was unusual. The metal box he used to protect himself was still there. Nahar then summoned a ck rock that pierced the metal box and carried it all the way up only to reveal an empty space.


    The hole that the burly man created also disappeared like nothing was in there the whole time. Nahar became angry because his prey got away. He floated around but felt nothing. He floated above the trees so he could have a wider perspective and did not see anyone running away.


    "This won''t do, the master will surely be angry if I don''t capture that person." he mumbled as he looked around.


    Since using the naked eye did not bear any fruit, he resorted to using the entire forest to look for his enemy. He injected mana to the ground which quickly spread through the whole forest that acted as sensors. He would immediately know if there was a person trying to escape from him.


    After a few minutes, his mana touched something out of ce underground. He used another wave of his mana to confirm and he was right, it was a person trying to escape. The burly man has dug quite deeply in order to avoid detection but Nahar still found him.


    Nahar''s corporeal body floated down and hovered a few inches above the ground. He then focused a considerable amount of mana into his hand and used it to split the ground in half. He raised his mana covered hand and brought it down in a slicing action.


    The mana from his hand prated the ground until its deepest depths and sessfully cut off the burly man''s escape route. He then used his ck stones and raised them below just to force out the burly man to emerge from the ground. Nahar did this patiently and calmly while waiting for the man to finally surrender.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The burly man was shocked at the sudden attack that halted him from his progress. He knew that he was already found out and when he tried to create another way, those ck pointy rocks appeared in all directions blocking him. He knew that his enemy was forcing him out.


    With nowhere to run, the burly man decided to go above ground and face the spirit once again. Although he was not confident to win, he was not going down without even attempting to win. His resolve became firm and so did his next attacks.


    This time he was not using the weapons he collected and was instead molding weapons in the metal that he was summoning. These weapons were sturdier and much more powerful than the ones he kept for himself. Every attack that he did, did not do much damage to Nahar.


    By the end of it, the burly man eventually exhausted himself and fell to the ground in a kneeling position. He had his head bowed down in defeat. Nahar assumed his physical body and walked straight towards the kneeling man.


    "That''s how the likes of you should be, kneeling on the ground." Nahar sneered as he patted the man''s head. He was about to take him away when he felt pain in his body.


    Although he was a spirit, once he assumed a physical form, he could get hurt like any human would. He looked down and he saw that there was a protruding ck sword from his chest. He looked at the man who had his head bowed a while ago only to see him grinning at him.


    "Although I am no match for you, I do not intend to surrender that easily." He dered as more swords struck Nahar.


    The guardian spirit''s body was riddled with weapons but he did not fall down. He red at the burly man and before pinning him down using a tornado before he took several steps back to take care of his damaged body. The blood was already oozing out and flowing into the ground even without the weapons being removed.


    He gritted his teeth and pulled those swords out. Every weapon he would remove would cause blood to gush out from his wound but it won''t take long. His healing abilities as a spirit closed the wounds in seconds.


    Nahar managed to get rid of all the weapons and once he retracted the tornado, the burly man was already unconscious. He sighed and created a cage that would contain the burly man because he did not want to take chances again. After the cage was done, he found a ce where he could sit and wait for the master''s next orders.


    Cygnus watched the entire fight and he was impressed because of the strength that the guardian spirit disyed. Nahar was already strong enough even after they met but he did not think that his power as the guardian spirit was not something to be taken lightly. Now he became excited to see how Reitou would ovee his assigned target.


    Cygnus then waved his hand and a gate appeared which also appeared at where Nahar was. Once he saw it, he levitated the cage and let it float behind him as they left that ce. The traces of that fight remained and it would cause another round of rumors.


    Nahar and his target arrived at a dungeon where Mr. C was waiting for her. He could already tell that the ce was newly built because the bricks and metal used were all new. After admiring the ce for a moment, he then pushed the cage slowly inside a cell that was opened by Mr. C.


    Once the cage was ced down, he also dispelled the ck rocks. The prison cell door closed and a symbol appeared on where the locks were supposed to be. He tried looking around but saw that the master was there.


    "Please," Mr. C gestured his hand for them to enter, "the master is waiting for you."

 Chapter 330 Black Serpent In Action

    ?


    After they entered the portal, they returned to the Ginehart Manor at the capital. The master was currently sitting in the manor''s living room on the first floor. He had a lot of snacks on the table and was currently sipping tea while watching several holographic screens.


    "You are back," the master spoke. He did not even look up to see who it was because his eyes were focused on one of the screens.


    Mr. C guided Nahar to one of the empty seats adjacent to where the master was sitting. He was sitting at an angle where he could also watch what was happening to the other members of the master''s group. The butler also conscientiously offered the guardian spirit a drink.


    "That was impressive. It was my first time to see a spirit''s true form and you were not weak either. I thought you had weakened because of the dark mana that infected your forest." Cygnus remarked after the man wasfortably sitting.


    Naharughed, "Thank you. I did be weak but for some reason I had ovee that weakness and managed to turn it into my power. Now I can easily revert back to my spirit and human form without problem. That time when we met at that forest, I was stuck with my human form."


    "Nevertheless, it is still a remarkable growth. I didn''t think you''d still grow." Cygnus was clearly happy while saying those words.


    "It is all thanks to you. I think your dark mana has helped me stabilize a lot." Nahar did not forget topliment the master.


    To be stuck in that years for thousands of years made him somber and aloof to the world. He forgot how it was like to be able to freely roam without restrictions. He was bound and he thought that he was going to disappear just like that. Thanks to the master for giving him a chance.


    Cygnus chuckled and a wide grin appeared on his face. "I don''t need words. From now on, you should continue to perform beautifully for me."


    Nahar nodded and acquiesced to the master''s words. There were no words that followed thatst statement as they watched what was going on to the others who were sent to subdue the master''s enemies. What the master had erged was the fight between Reitou and a member of the Circle of Eight that could summon creatures from the abyss.


    Just like Nahar, Reitou was thrown to a ce of ruins where no people dared to enter. He was confused and lost for a moment because the details from the master were not clear enough. He only understood that they should capture some people and then he was suddenly hurled where he was now.


    He stayed in the same ce and did not move because he did not have the energy to do so. They just did an experiment at the ckwell duchy when he was suddenly summoned, so he decided to wait. Reitou just spread a little bit of his gray mana around the ce as bait.


    Wherever he looked around, there were only copsed buildings with overgrown grasses and wildflowers on them. Based on what he felt from his mana, the ruins span out into a few miles in diameter. This made him conclude that this ce was a fallen city or even a kingdom. This did not matter though because he was there for something else.


    It took about ten minutes before a person appeared a few meters away from him. The man was tall andnky. His face was sunken and his eye sockets were popping like they were about to fall out. The man was only staring at Reitou without moving and they remained in that kind of state for a couple of minutes.


    "Aren''t you going to attack me?" Reitou asked with a low voice that still reached the man who had been staring at him.


    The man took his time before he answered. "I will not. I can tell that you are strong. I''m just wondering why a man like you is here in my territory?"


    "That''s because my master wants me to capture you and bring you to him," Reitou answered. He stood up from the fallen pir of a building where he was sitting and slowly floated towards thenky man. "If you won''t attack then I have no choice but to attack first."


    Reitou transformed into his serpent form and flicked his tail towards the man. His moving tail stirred the dust from the ground and a loud ''ng'' echoed in that open area. Reitou could feel that his tail collided with something hard.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    When the dust settled, he could see arge shield that was in between him and thenky man. So, this was what it was. Reitou did not stop and continued to hit the shield a couple of times. He also tried to hit the man from other directions but thenky man was able to move thatrge shield with ease.


    If that was the case, Reitou decided to erge his body which also caused his attack power to increase. He also added some corrosive poison to his tail. The serpent''s eyes narrowed before he flicked his tail and hit the shield once again.


    The poison was smudged on the metal shield and it started to eat the material. After a few more hits, the shield finally corroded and already had a hole on it. Reitou flicked his tail once again and this time the shield broke.


    He did not stop his tail''s momentum and continued to attack. Thenky man then summoned two weapons that blocked the tail. Even though the weapons corroded easily, it still managed to give him time to get out of the way from the tail.


    He rolled on the ground and summoned more weapons before crouching on the ground and using his leg''s strength to push him up in the air. Thenky man was holding a sword on both of his hands and behind his back were a line of weapons that were pointed towards Reitou. He then shed forward and tried to stab the serpent''s head.


    A ck smoke surrounded the serpent''s head which broke the weapons that thenky man used. Reitou lifted his tail and flicked it again towards thenky man. He was hit and hended on the ground hard. The ground cracked but thenky man was still alive.


    Thenky man slowly stood up and several magic circles appeared around the serpent. Several weapons appeared and attacked the serpent. After the first wave, several waves followed after that. with thenky man''s overwhelming mana, it was possible.


    Reitou defended himself from the onught of the weapons and lost sight of thenky man. To avoid being attacked, Reitou decided to return to his human form and used his mana to dispel all the weapons. Each weapon was thrown away and hit the ground but thenky was out of Reitou''s sight.


    He looked around but did not see the man. Reitou frowned so, he let his mana loose once again to find his enemy. He had no time to y with him and he was not in the mood because he was tired from working day and night.


    Just to make sure, he even injected poison into his mana and let it scatter around. The nts started to wilt after the ck mana in the form of a smoke passed through them. Even the rocks and ruined buildings turned ck and started to chip away.


    Thenky man who turned invisible tried his best to avoid the ck by hopping from one ruin to another. He gritted his teeth because of how things were going with them. He was living his life in peace and then suddenly someone was targeting them.


    Reitou couldn''t feel anything and used hisst resort. He raised his hand and the ck mana followed his hands direction. All of it went above and covered the sky. The dark mana then filled every space of the ce which made it difficult for thenky man to hide.


    Not long after, his cover was discovered. Although he was invisible, Reitou could tell where he was hiding. A gray magic circle appeared above thenky man and a ck dagger appeared. It was coated with poison and it was projected towards thenky man.


    Thenky man was able to dodge but the dagger kept on following him wherever he went. Without much choice, he summoned another shield to protect himself and at the same time he threw several weapons towards Reitou who remained at the center of the smoke field.


    Reitou sensed several objectsing his way so he waved his left hand and sessfully changed the trajectory of the weapons. He then stretched his hand and created several magic circles around the position of thenky man. Several more daggers appeared and chased thenky man around.


    He was using his shield and swords to stop the daggers but they suddenly became faster and a bit difficult to spot because of the smoke. He did his best but even that was not enough because one of the daggers grazed his arms. It was only a shallow wound but he immediately felt pain, a burning pain that spread through his entire body.

 Chapter 331 Undefeated

    ?


    The man slumped on the ground as he held the wound that was inflicted on him. He could feel that there was something moving around his body like a snake, squirming and cold. He was panting and having a difficult time breathing.


    Reitou could feel that his enemy was down. He retracted the dark smoke that was filling the space and saw thenky man. He sighed and walked up to him.


    "If you had surrendered earlier you wouldn''t be suffering right now," Reitou said to the man.


    He crouched down to see how far his poison went but was surprised when he saw the man''s body. It was obviously rotting because of the poison and he looked almost dead but he could still feel the other''s mana. Thenky man''s body became dust after a while but Reitou wasn''t convinced yet.


    If they were able to live a thousand years like the master, then they wouldn''t die this easily. He stood up and looked around but did not see anyone in sight. The man must be hiding somewhere the serpent couldn''t see.


    ''In that case, I won''t let you detect me easily.'' Reitou sneered in his mind. He transformed into his serpent form and made his body as small as possible. He also hid his mana signature and blended into the surroundings.


    Thenky man who was deeply hidden at the center of the ruins was confused because he suddenly couldn''t find the man in ck. He tried to mobilize all the mana sensors he had all over his territory but none of them responded. He became frustrated and nervous because the man might already be near him.


    Several shields with spikes appeared around him and around the ce where he was in. He also ced hidden traps all over the ruined building where he was hiding. They were nted on the ground, on the walls, on the fallen pirs and even in the air. All weapons at his disposal were ready to be summoned at any mana fluctuation near him.


    Reitou who was crawling in his ck serpent form felt the use of mana not far away from where he was searching and followed the direction. He came to a secluded building that was surrounded with moss and vines that almost covered the entirety of it. His serpent head tilted to the side as his golden eyes narrowed and his pupils further became thin slits stared at the direction of the building.


    One of his abilities as a guardian spirit was to sense mana no matter how faint or how small the mana was used. He could still see the path of mana and its shape. Even though he couldn''t guess what spell it was, it was still his win because he knew ahead of time that there would be an attack aimed his way.


    In this case, Reitou saw that there were several mana circles hidden on the ground and on every visible part of the ruined building. There was almost no vacant space because the magic circles were ovepping each other. That member of the Circle of Eight was really cautious and didn''t even leave any opening for him to exploit.


    Reitou shook his serpent head and slid away from the building. There was no way of alerting the enemy without making a noise, so he decided to not attack stealthily. It has been a long time since he used his original body and it was alright for him to do so. Reitou wanted to end this fa?ade fast so that he could go and rest.


    After he found a ce where he could release his body, he did not hesitate to do it. His serpent body slowly grew in size and this action alerted thenky man of his enemy''s presence and direction. All of his senses were focused on that one ce and he readied an attack that he hoped would destroy the man.


    The sun was covered by a shadow that spanned meters as a tall and intimidating serpent appeared in the ce. All the sensors that thenky set up were giving warning signals about the monster that appeared. It had the body of a snake but its head had horns on it. Its body was covered in hard and shiny ck scales that contained poison.


    In the past he used this to protect the ckwell territory but when he slowly weakened, he could only use his overwhelming presence to keep the ckwell''s enemies. Now that he regained his power because of the contract he formed with the master, he could fully disy his magnificent form. There was nothing in that world who could stop him now except for the master.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Reitou moved his body and it caused the ground to shake. His massive body crushed and ttened the remaining rocky ruins of the city. The poison from his body seeped through the ground and disabled the sensors that thenky ced underground.


    With his absolute defense, Reitou reached the ruin where thenky man was hiding. Every space that his body passed through activated all the traps within it but it did not affect Reitou. All those traps did was tickle him and there was no real damage at all.


    He lowered his head and peeked at the small entrance of the ruins. There at the deepest darkest of the ruins a man was shaking while creating more magic circles that summoned countless weapons that attacked the serpent. However, no matter how thenky man summoned weapons to attack him, the serpent waspletely fine.


    With no other choice raised his head once again and positioned his mouth above the ruin. He opened his mouth and a ck magic circle appeared below it. Just like dragon''s breath, the serpent released a ck beam thatpletely melted the whole of the building. It then revealed a man who had his eyes wide as he stared at the serpent''s eyes.


    His entire body was shaking and he looked like he could fall apart any time. Reitou hissed as he lowered his head towards the trembling man to show his displeasure. Even though the man was afraid, he was going to try whatever he could to at least injure the serpent if he could.


    The sky suddenly rumbled as dark clouds gathered in one direction. It whirled in the sky which formed a whirlpool that slowly revealed the tip of a massive sword. Much like how the serpent shook the earth with his true form, the sword caused the heavens to release lightning.


    "This is a sword I developed to kill monsters like you," thenky man mumbled. Although it was a bit soft, Reitou heard it just fine.


    He looked up at the sword but he was not afraid at all. He was a creature born with power and that power umted through the years. Although he lost it once, he was able to get it back and there was nothing holding him back from using it again. As the ck serpent that brings disaster to the world, he wouldn''t let himself be defeated.


    Reitou waited for the sword to descend down and without flinching he faced it head on. He used the tip of his tail to block the sword. His eyes slightly widened at how heavy the sword was and if it was to fall into the ground, he was sure that it could create a destruction beyond human imagination. It was indeed an impressive weapon but it was not enough to defeat him.


    While his tail was stopping it from descending, he quickly moved his body and coiled around the massive sword. He slowly tightened his body around the sword and he could feel that his scales were breaking because of how sharp the sword was but he did not stop. It did not take a long time before the sword finally gave in.


    It slowly broke through the pressure of Reitou''s body and mana. The cracks were not visible at first and the momentum hadn''t stopped but after a while the sword''s cracks became bigger and it started to chip away. The momentum it had lessened until it disappeared and the weapon finally broke. Its pieces rained down which made thenky man finally surrender.


    Seeing his life''s work getting destroyed before his eyes, he suddenly felt that his long life wasn''t worthwhile. He devoted himself to creating a weapon that could destroy but it was crushed that easily. He could only stare at the empty space in a daze.


    Reitou returned to his human form with his ck clothes intact. He strode toward the man with the back of his coat fluttering in the air. He then stood a few inches away from the man before he sneered. "It was impressive but it did nothing to kill me."


    Right at that moment, a gate appeared behind thenky man Reitou had no qualms in dragging the dazed man inside. They appeared at the dungeon and thenky man was thrown into one. Reitou then followed the butler to another gate that led to the living room.

 Chapter 332 Flirting Dragon?

    ?


    They stepped out from the gate and the butler politely greeted the master. Reitou also gave the man a bow before he looked around. Only three people were in there which means that he and the elf were the only ones who finished their mission.


    "Do we have any more things to do, master?" He asked as he refused the butler''s gesture for him to take a seat.


    Cygnus shook his head. "You can go ahead and rest. I''ll call you back if there''s anything and you did a good job out there."


    The master''s grin was wide but Reitou did not pay attention to it. He only nodded when he heard that he was allowed to rest. He then turned around and went up to the manor''s second floor where a servant showed him to one of the guest rooms.


    Once the door was closed Reitou changed to his serpent form and slithered towards the bed where he curled to himself. He was going to rest for the whole day and ask permission to return to ckwell. Those children might be wondering right now where he was.


    At the living room after the serpent left, Cygnus returned his gaze on the remaining three holographic screens that were disying three different fights. Nahar looked again and he retracted the first thought he had. It was not a fight for one of the people that the master sent to subdue the members of the Circle of Eight.


    Ignius was sent to a rocky mountain top. The clouds could be seen from where he was standing and the chilly wind blew above. His wavy hair was blown in different directions but he did not care because he instantly fell in love with the ce. It was an ideal ce for a dragon like him.


    While he was admiring the view, the door to the house behind me opened and a young woman stepped out. She looked at the dragon''s back with curiosity and slowly approached him. Even though he looked like he was admiring the view, he already knew that someone was approaching him.


    "You smell like a dragon." Ignius turned around and looked the woman in the eye. He tilted his head when the woman stopped from approaching him.


    She was wearing a dress that hugged her body and had a high slit. It was also strapless and the red color could easily allure any man especially with her voluptuous body. Ignius wanted to sigh but he stopped himself from doing so because the woman''s breasts were about to pop out from her dress.


    He did not feel any fearing from her which was a normal reaction for any humans who would see him for the first time. It was maddening but at the same time interesting. This must be what the master felt when he first met that boy, Ezio.


    Ignius''s golden eyes shed golden and red as he decided to walk up to the woman. He stopped a few inches from her and they both stared at each other. They were like in a romance drama and if it would rain, the picture would be perfect.


    This was what the master was also thinking. So, on a whim, he tapped the screen and a magic circle appeared above them followed by the pouring rain. Cygnusughed when he saw how surprised the two were because of what he did. After a few minutes ofughing, he finally calmed down and watched the show silently.


    Ignius sighed after getting drenched in the unexpected rain. The master must be enjoying his situation right now. He then used magic to dry himself and so did the woman. Both of them entered another staring contest before the woman finally spoke.


    "You are a dragon." It was not a question but rather a statement as she roamed her gaze on Ignius''s form.


    He was wearing a ck shirt that hugged his body that showed his muscles. Below, he was wearing some baggy pants that went fit towards his ankles. His overall look was paired with an open sandal that doesn''t really match what he was wearing. His dark toned skin glistened under the sun after the rain disappeared. Even his hair looked soft to the touch.


    In the woman''s eyes he was a perfect man. Ladies would definitely swoon over him especially with his golden eyes that flicker here and there. He looked magical unlike the dragon she first met when she first found this ce.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Cygnus couldn''t stopughing as he read what was on the woman''s mind. If Ignius would know what she was thinking he would definitely frown and sneer at the woman. The master did not let him know though and would just watch how this situation would unfold.


    "Are you here to kill me?" The woman asked again after she did not hear a response from the man.


    "No, I am here to have fun." Ignius smirked as he narrowed the distance between them.


    He stood in front of her and bowed his head just to look at her. The woman on the other hand raised her head to meet his eyes. The difference in their height became ring after they stood that close to each other. They were like lovers in that position and Nahar who was watching with the master shook his head.


    "What kind of fun will that be?" The woman''s voice suddenly became airy which made the dragon roll his eyes.


    "Do you want to try it out?" Ignius stretched out his hand and circled it around the woman''s waist. This action drew her closer to him as their bodies were already touching each other.


    The woman let out a giggle that made the dragon grit his teeth. He was not good at these kinds of cheesy things but he would endure because this was the only way he could know how the woman subdued a dragon. He already had an idea but there''s one more thing that he wanted to confirm.


    The woman held the dragon''s hand and pulled him towards the house that was in the middle of that ttened top of the mountain. Ignius let himself be pulled and as they entered the house, he couldn''t help but marvel at what was inside. The inside of the house was decorated with jewels and precious stones and even all the furniture was made of gold.


    "Do you like it?" The woman asked after seeing how the dragon was looking around her house.


    She specifically made it like this because the dragon who owned the mountain had a horde of treasures at her disposal. She would also use the gold coins to splurge and stay in cities for an extended period of time. She was living avish life and she enjoyed it.


    If not for the letter that she received, she wouldn''t have returned to this house. She was supposed to get some things and leave immediately and yet this man appeared out of nowhere. Because she consumed dragon''s blood, she felt the man even though he was trying to hide his identity.


    "This ce is amazing! I really like it! I''ll ask my master to get me this ce once I am done with this mission," he eximed.


    The woman''s smile faltered at the statement but she went back to her smiling face after that little slip up. She smiled and hooked her hand on the man''s arms and got closer to him. She subtly rubbed her body on the dragon''s body.


    "Why don''t you follow me, I''ll show you something better." She looked up with her smile. She was also intentionally shing her cleavage to try and let the dragon lower his guard.


    Ignius acted as if he was smitten and nodded his head. He was pulled to the house''s living room. The woman then detached herself from him and went to the table where a candle was and twisted it. A loud pop followed by a screeching sound caught the dragon''s attention.

 Chapter 333 Easy Win

    ?


    He looked to the side of the living room and saw that there was an opened hidden door. Behind that was a secret passageway that led down. The womanughed sweetly before she once again pulled Ignius. They went down the flight of stairs that seemed to be unending because of how deep the cavern below the house was.


    It took them at least twenty minutes before they finally came to a t surface that, based on Ignius''s view, was enough to house a full-grown dragon like him. The woman pped her hands and the embedded luminous crystals in the entire ce lit up. With the light, the ce was indeed a ce where a dragon once lived.


    Ignius could see some scratch marks on the wall and he could also see gold coins at one corner while there were baskets of precious stones. The entire ce was filled with all the shiny and valuable things that a dragon would want. His grin widened when he saw all of it and the urge to take them all was making him giddy.


    "What do you think of this ce? I personally think that this ce suits you." The woman raised her palm and lightly touched the dragon''s back.


    Ignius stopped walking around and stood for a while as if he was enjoying the woman''s touch. He suddenly turned around which caught the woman off guard. She stumbled back but before she could fall on the hard ground, the dragon caught her by the waist. Their lips were only centimeters apart from touching.


    They stayed in that position for a few seconds before the dragon spoke. "If you caught that dragon using this tactic it won''t be effective to me. I''ve long been immune to the seduction of humans." He released the woman and let her slumped on the ground.


    The woman became indignant and, in her hands, there appeared a bottle filled with a pink liquid. She pushed herself up and stood up before throwing the bottle on the ground. It broke and a pink smoke quickly filled the room.


    Ignius frowned when he inhaled the smoke. He felt a tingle inside his body but not to the point that he should be concerned. He then slowly felt hot and that was when he realized what it was. Heughed out loud at his discovery.


    "The dragon who owned this ce must be full of lust. So, this was how you killed it. What a weak dragon that he fell into your trap." Igniusmented as he walked towards the woman who was only looking at him with wide eyes.


    "How are you still okay? I even mixed my own blood on that potion to make its effect stronger and yet you are fine!? What kind of a dragon are you?" She shouted as she backed away in a panic.


    Her potion that helped her kill the dragon wasn''t enough to incapacitate her enemy. She was not the type who knew how to fight. She relied on her potions to defeat an enemy and most of the time, she had people who would help her. She was the greatest potion maker and yet she did not know how to fight.


    Another bottle appeared in her hand and she hurled it towards the man. Ignius raised his arm to block the bottle and it broke. The contents got on his body and it started to sizzle. The content of the bottle was actually an acid that could easily burn anything that it touched.


    Several bottles were thrown his way and they all had the same contents which sessfully scalded him. Ignius remained standing until the woman took that chance to run towards the exit. She reached it safely and she looked once more to make sure that the dragon was still there.


    She cursed when she saw that the dragon was already facing her direction. Once she stepped on the stairs, she mmed her palms on the wall of the stairs. A wall of stone slowly descended and closed off the room.


    The woman did not hesitate to run up the stairs while simultaneously smashing the side walls and letting all the walls fall down to further seal the room. She ran until she finally reached the top of the stairs. She hurriedly closed the thick stone door before she left the house.


    She looked at the house and slowly stepped back while focusing her senses on anything, any sound or indication that the dragon was not after her. She sighed and was about to leave the top of the mountain when she heard a chuckle that came above her. She screamed in surprise when a dragon head was looking at her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Do you really think that you can run away from me? That trap of yours was not meant to stop a dragon. It was meant to trap a human." Ignius''s rumbling voice echoed and shook the ground.


    His enormous bodynded on the empty space as he avoided the house. He snarled and the wind from his breath was enough to knock the woman down. She was trembling in fear because the dragon in front of her cannot bepared to the one that she killed.


    It was a ck dragon that upied the span of that ttened mountain which was enough to house a small town. She started screaming and ming and saying incoherent words that the dragon could not understand. He thought that she had gone crazy.


    After all the shouting died down, he returned to his human form and approached the woman. He chuckled because she already fainted because of fear. A gate then appeared and he carried the woman and threw her inside a prison cell. He then returned to the house and took all of the treasures for himself.


    He added all of it to their dimensional storage before he returned to the manor. He was happy and satisfied with the result of his plundering. Even though it was not an exciting fight, he didn''t care because he had gained yet treasures.


    "I thought that that woman would even give me a good fight because she consumed dragon blood but I was wrong. That was a bit disappointing." Heughed after taking the seat beside the master.


    "It was really entertaining to watch that scuffle. She really did admire you but you were a bit too much for her." Cygnusughed along with him and both of them wereughing.


    Nahar was peacefully drinking his third cup of tea and was enjoying their peace. Whatever the master was nning, he would be there to support him. He took another sip and even let out a sigh.


    "What if I am nning on destroying this world?" Cygnus suddenly asked which stopped Ignius fromughing.


    "I would dly assist you. I no longer have any attachments to this ce," was Nahar''s straightforward answer.


    "That''s good to hear because this world has just entered its countdown." Cygnus stretched both of hands as he stared at the ceiling. "This ce that destroyed me would soon turn into nothingness."


    Nobody inside the living room disagreed. It was already given that the master would destroy it just like what he did to the others. The only difference was that he was taking his time and would be getting his revenge. Even with iplete memories, the feeling of betrayal was renewed within him.


    "Well enough of that, let''s watch how Nina and Vain are doing." The master returned to his position and was now focused on the one remaining holographic screen in front of him.


    It just so happened that the targets given to Nina and Vain were in the same ce so it would be a two-on-two fight. Four pairs of eyes now paid attention to them and their fight. Nina was explosive and fiery while Vain was silent but deadly.

 Chapter 334 Two Vs. Two

    ?


    They were faced with a woman who was dressed in a green dress that reached below her knees. She has blonde hair and even though she looked like a teenager, the spectators could feel that she won''t be an easy opponent. The man beside her was dressed casually with loose t-shirt and pants that was tucked under his boots.


    "They really look strong," Nina whistled. She looked at the both of them from head to toe but she did not show any fear.


    She looked at the child who was with her and patted his back. They were going to face the two of them so they needed to coordinate with one another. Thanks to the master''s influence on the both of them it would be easy to sync their attacks and capture thest members of the Circle of Eight.


    "Do you think you can defeat us?" The woman who looked like a teenager suddenly spoke. Her high-pitched voice made Nina cringe.


    "Of course. I''m pretty confident that I am much stronger than you, granny." Nina smirked at the woman''s direction.


    This provocation made the woman angry that she almost attacked them but the man with her grabbed her arm. The woman looked at the man with a re but the man shook his head. The woman pulled back her hands and red at Nina.


    "Let''s say if you can stay confident once you see what I can do," she grumbled. She could only feel indignant.


    "Are you the one who took one of ourrades?" The man asked after the woman was done with her grumbling.


    "Comrade? Oh, are you talking about that woman who was first captured by the master? The one living in the Dead Forest?" Nina tilted her head and even ced her hand on his chin.


    The man narrowed his eyes. "So, it was you and whoever was behind you. Is it the World Breaker? I heard that he was strong enough to destroy a world."


    Ninaughed and shook his head. "What a ridiculous name but it suits our master well. None of you can bepared to him."


    "If that''s the case, I would like to propose something to your master," the man said. If he could convince the World Breaker to let them work under him, it was better than being imprisoned.


    "Ooohhh, a proposal. You can bargain with him once I defeat you. I am not here to talk to the both of you. I am here to capture and my master''s words are absolute." Nina answered without flinching or even thinking about it first.


    Before any of the two could react, Nina was already throwing bombs towards their targets. Vain''s dark mana already spread around the woman and the man. The dark strings formed from his mana also attacked and easily subdued the enemies.


    Nina wasughing like a maniac as she threw all the bombs that immediately exploded as they made contact with them. Several explosions happened and the smoke became thick. The mana strings loosened, so he looked at Nina and gave her a nod.


    After the smoke subsided, the man and the woman weren''t where they were standing. Nina and Vain calmly looked around for any signs of their whereabouts. The woman appeared behind Nina and swung the baton she was suddenly holding.


    A strong gust of wind hit Nina on her back and it sent her straight down to the ground. The woman did not stop and swung her baton several times. Each gust of wind contained a sharp edge that cut through Nina''s back.


    The woman in the dress wasughing while attacking Nina. She even had her eyes narrowed while looking at the blood that was starting toe out from the wound that her attacks created. The sight of blood excited her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Vain on the other hand was dodging the other man who was attacking him head on. His body was unusually hard and difficult to scratch because of how he was strengthening it with mana. Vain was extremely lucky because he was able to train with the soldiers under General Linius so he was trained to be agile and alert.


    He could easily dodge the punches and kick that the man was sending his way. Vain also trained his stamina that he felt he could do it for a long time. The man noticed these traits because like Vain, he was also trained to fight.


    The man stepped back to create distance in between them. He decided to surrender but seeing that none of the two people who were there to capture them would easily let them go, there was no other way but to fight. He inhaled before he disappeared from where he was and appeared before Vain.


    He gave Vain a straight punch which the child easily dodged by just moving his head slightly to the right. Despite that, Vain could feel the blood that was strickling from a wound that appeared on his cheek. The explosion that happened behind him was also proof that the man''s punch was not ordinary.


    Vain immediately took several step backs as he looked at the man. With enough concentration, he could slightly see something that was swirling around the man''s fist. It must be the man''s mana. Vain then covered himself with his own ck mana and a series of mana strings appeared.


    This time the strings were shaped more like a tail. These tails were thick and more concentrated with mana. The air was even buzzing because of the power that the tails were exuding. There were twelve tails in total. At first, he could only do nine tails but now his power grew.


    The man who saw this transformation chuckled because it was beyond his expectation. This even caught the other enemy''s attention. She looked back and saw Vain''s tail. On a whim, she stopped attacking Nina and went to where the two men were fighting.


    "That is so cool," she eximed. The man with her couldn''t help but shake his head because of how careless the woman was.


    "What are you doing here? We still have another enemy." He gave the woman a side-eye but she only ignored him.


    "That woman is so weak. I want to fight someone stronger." The woman even had the audacity toin and demand.


    "You shouldn''t underestimate me, granny." Nina appeared behind them with the distinct purple magic circle shining below the two of them.


    Chains of mana caught the both of them followed by a cage of ck mana that enclosed the two of them. Both the woman and the man were surprised because they did not even feel the appearance of the magic circle below them nor the presence of Nina who appeared behind them. After they were caught in the trap, Nina did not forget to gift them with a loud and painful explosion.


    The woman screamed in pain because inside Nina''s bombs were little pins with poison and acid. The burning smell of flesh became distinct in the air and this made Nina grin. Just as she expected, inside the cage, the woman was writhing in pain because of the blisters in her skin.


    Her body was also littered with the pins that Nina included in her bombs. From what she could see, the woman had a difficult time healing because of the pins embedded in her skin. She was screaming and screaming that it was starting to get into Nina''s nerves.


    Without thinking about it, a purple spike from below the woman appeared and pierced through her face. This attack sessfully shut the woman''s mouth but it also gave a brutal image to the spectators. Nina did not care though and now her gaze was focused on the man who remained unscathed despite her attacks.


    The man was unusually calm and did not even make an effort to protect the woman. Nina shook her head and looked at Vain. "He''s all yours now." She pointed at the man on the cage who was now separated to the woman.

 Chapter 335 Complete Victory

    The man did not even notice that the one cage they were in became two and now he was on the other one. He remained unfazed though and waited for the attack toe. Vain did not disappoint and used his tails to attack. All tails had the intent to put a hole in his body. The man could not allow it so he circted more mana inside and outside of his body to withstand the oing attacks.


    The first few tails, he managed to dodge and the others he managed to block. After blocking the attacks, he suddenly released a wave of his mana that destroyed the cage that gave him more room to move. He then faced the tails with his fists and managed to damage them.


    "Oh, that''s some cool move. I didn''t think that you would be able to withstand those tails or have your tails be weak?" Nina looked at the child beside her.


    Vain closed his eyes and when he opened them, the tails were back to their original shape and became fiercer and sturdier. All twelve of his tails were attacking the man simultaneously and from different directions but the man''s senses were also sharp. He never faltered to feel where the attacks wereing from.


    Strings of ck mana also appeared out of nowhere and bound the man in ce. "I can''t disappoint the master." He mumbled as he walked towards the immobilized man. With his tail, he attacked once again.


    He felt the tails colliding with his body and despite him mobilizing his mana to fend off the power of the attack, there was still pain. He gritted his teeth and persevered amidst the pain. His muscles had gottenrger but the strings were difficult to break and he could see that the child was walking towards him.


    With much struggle, he managed to break free but before he could even move, another set of strings were once again holding him back. Using the tails, Vain let himself be pulled towards the man and in his hand a ck sword appeared. Infused with his dark mana, he stabbed the man with the sword.


    It prated the man''s body easily and interrupted the mana flow inside his body which weakened his defenses. In onest attempt to break free, the man mobilized his mana again and broke the binds before he dragged his body back and jumped away from the child.


    The man then pulled the sword that was stuck in his body and discarded it to the side. He looked up at the child and realized that he could not win. He was a top tier fighter but faced with such power, he knew that he wouldn''t win. But despite that, he wanted to try.


    The wound on his body healed in an instant before he shed in front of Vain. He released several straight punches infused with his mana but the tails were there to block it all. The tails would be damaged because of the force of his mana but it did not leave a scratch on Vain.


    He was not done though and continued with his assault. A right and left jab followed but it all yielded into one oue: his defeat. This time it was him who was getting pushed back. The tails started to attack him and he could feel the wounds they were causing in his body. His mana cirction was not working any longer.


    After a few minutes more of enduring, he suddenly kneeled down in defeat. Vain was surprised and stopped his attack. "Are you surrendering?" He asked with a frown on his face.


    "Yes, because I know I can''t win against you," the man answered. He raised his head but after a few seconds he bowed his head and looked at the ground.


    Vain looked behind him and saw that Nina was nodding. "Alright then." Vain bound the man using his mana strings.


    A gate appeared and before they could enter, the woman who was stuck from being pierced suddenly moved and summoned a tornado that started to uproot all the trees around them. The spike that was embedded in her face also disappeared as she healed in an instant. She stood up and red at the woman.


    The poison and blisters in her skin disappeared as she slowly floated in the air. "Don''t think that you already defeated me!" She shouted in anger. She raised her baton and let the tornado move towards where Nina and Vain were.


    Nina chuckled as she raised her hand towards the tornado that wasing their way. A gigantic purple magic circle appeared before her and, in an instant, it swallowed the tornado and made it appear like it did not exist. The floating woman had her eyes wide open because of what happened.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Don''t expect too much. Unlike the likes of you who did nothing for the past thousand years, my master had done everything to get stronger for this moment." Nina''s voice echoed beside the woman''s ear. It even brought chills to her back.


    She turned around but her neck was suddenly gripped tightly. She squirmed and tried to pry away the hand that was squeezing her neck but it was no use. She even let go of her baton as her strength slowly faded away. When Nina saw this, she threw the woman directly to the opened gate.


    Vain followed behind with the man walking behind him. After they entered, Nina also floated down and shrugged her shoulders. Both of them came to the dungeon and saw that there were already people who were imprisoned.


    "Are they all there?" Nina asked the butler who had been waiting for them. She saw the butler nod.


    After her question, a gate appeared and Nina did not hesitate to enter. She was followed by Vain and Mr. C. They all came to the living where the others were. Nina looked for a ce where she could sit and went straight towards it.


    "Now, what''s the agenda?" She grinned at the master who had a raised brow while looking at her.


    "Nothing and who told you to sit there?" Cygnus asked but there was no annoyance in his voice which was a good sign for Nina. It only meant one thing; she could do anything she wanted to do.


    "Well why are we all gathered here after capturing those people?" She looked at Ignius and at Nahar but none of them was willing to answer her.


    "That man you captured, I want to talk to him," Cygnus said with a straight face.


    He wanted to hear what kind of deal the man was willing to strike with him. He stood up and walked towards the gate that hadn''t closed yet. The others who saw this immediately stood up to follow the master. They appeared in front of the cell where the man was kept.


    The man who wanted to strike a deal with the boss raised his head when he heard the footsteps and saw the shoes that stopped outside of his cell. He met dark eyes that were looking at him like he was already dead. The longer he looked at those eyes, the fear in his heart slowly grew until it made him shiver unconsciously.


    "I heard that you wanted to talk to me and give me some kind of a proposal." Cygnus spoke after the man''s attention was already on him.


    The man gulped and gritted his teeth as he tried to calm the pounding of his heart. Beads of sweat were starting to fall down on the side of his face. His hands felt mmy and his breathing has gotten faster. This was the first time that he felt this kind of pressure from just staring at someone''s eyes.


    "I-I want to offer my services to you. I believe that I can serve you well with my abilities." He managed to blurt out and the first to react was Ignius who suddenlyughed.


    "You are making this statement even though you don''t know the reason why you are here. Are you that confident that I will ept you?" The smile on the master''s face widened and it became sinister that it added to the fear that the man was feeling.

 Chapter 336 The Mastermind

    ?


    After thinking for a moment, he then decided to ask. "Then why-why did you capture us?"


    Cygnus let out a loudugh that echoed in the dungeon. "Why?" He repeated the man''s question. Cygnus brushed his hair up and crouched down to look at the man in the eye. "It''s because I am going to torture you and let you experience the true meaning of pain."


    The man was stumped and rendered speechless. He did not know how he should react because of the statement. ''Why would this man torture them when this was the first time that they would be seeing each other?'' He silently asked himself.


    "Are you sure that this is the first time you''ve seen me?" Cygnus asked loudly.


    The other prisoners in the cells were already awake at that time and were all listening to him. They were all thinking about the same thing. In their one thousand years of living, they did what they wanted and killed those who went against them. No one would know who they were before they became immortals.


    "A very presumptuous assumption. Did you think that your sins of the past would be covered up by the passage of time? Well, all of you are wrong because I am here to remind you of what you did." Cygnus stood up and took a step back as he admired how these people were being detained in a cell. "But before I do that, I will invite one more person to join you all."


    He turned around and walked back towards the gate. He suddenly stopped and without looking back the master spoke, "Ah yes, I forgot to remind you all, enjoy your stay in this ce."


    After that event, the people who captured the Circle of Eight returned to their duties. Cygnus on the other hand wrote a letter to the man who was enroute to where their meeting ce was. He entrusted the letter to one of Ignius''s minions and instructed it to wait at the rendezvous point.


    Aberleign was on his way to the ce where he and the others agreed to meet. He wanted to talk to them and also to warn them that they should be careful. It took him a day to travel and during the night, he found an inn where he could temporarily stay.


    Early the next morning, he departed and reached a secluded ce between the kingdom of Lunaira and El Merey. It was a small forest thought to be inhabited and no one usually enters this forest. So, they decided to meet at that ce.


    It took him an hour to finally reach the center of the forest where ake was calmly situated. He looked around but saw that none of the members of the Circle of Eight was there. He frowned and he suddenly felt that there was something in the room.


    Matter concerning the circle would always make the members anxious and their desire to fix it would always prompt them into action. This time it was concerning that none of them showed up when it was already time for their meeting. Aberleign let his guard up when he realized that someone was actually in that ce.


    The man was hidden behind the trees and he was dressed in an all-ck clothing like that of a butler. He was also wearing white gloves and had a head of ck hair. His skin was tanned unlike themon skin of the citizens of Lunaira.


    Aberleign carefully approached the man and he stopped at a distance. The man felt his presence so, he side-stepped and looked at the person who came. He gave Aberleign a quick look before he too stepped forward.


    "Wee Sir Aberleign Sunox, an esteemed member of the Circle of Eight," the man bowed. "My master wanted to meet you in person, so he sent me to meet you and give you this letter." He stretched out his hand and handed Aberleign the sealed letter.


    Aberleign received the letter and stared at it for a few seconds. "Who are you and who is your master? Is he the World Breaker?"


    The man actually smiled and shook his head. "My master, you will meet him if you follow what is written on that letter."


    The man bowed and did not give him any more information about who the owner of the letter was. He then turned around and walked away. He went in the opposite direction of where the elder came from. Aberleign watched as he disappeared behind the foliage and after that the feeling of being watched disappeared.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Even after reaching the inn where he stayed, he could only stare at the sealed letter. He did not know if he should really open it or ignore it. He took several deep breaths before he finally had the courage to remove the seal and unfold the letter that was in it.


    Aberleign silently read the letter and even did it for the second time before he threw it on the table. There was not much written in the letter, only an address and a few words. He stood up and prepared to leave once again. There was no point in him pondering over that letter so he should just go and meet the one behind it.


    The letter he left behind disintegrated and disappeared. Now, only Aberleign knew what the contents of it were. Instead of using his carriage, he opted for a horse for faster travel. He rode the whole night without rest until he reached a very familiar ce. He had been to that ce a couple of times because he had been visiting his future disciple.


    The gate was opened as if weing him and without hesitation he stepped inside the manor. He rode to the manor''s front door and alighted from his horse. The door was even opened, so he entered without any fuss. The manor was silent as the servants were not there to greet him.


    His attention was caught by the light that was still in the manor''s living room. Aberleign walked in there and saw that Rigel was there. He was reading a book and only the flipping of pages could be heard inside the ce. Aberleign casually took an empty seat in front of the young man and they remained silent for a while.


    "I never thought that you would be the one. I never noticed." These were Aberleign''s first words after a moment of silence between them.


    Cygnus closed the book he was reading and ced it on the table before he faced the elder who came to the manor because of the letter. He did not like going into circles so he just straight up told him to return to the capital and meet him at the Ginehart manor. Since he was the only character missing from his y, it was only a waste of time to y with him when he could do that after capturing him.


    "That''s because you don''t know how to look," Cygnus answered. He shook his head and even sighed, "You were only looking at my ability."


    Aberleign did not answer. He did not have words to refute that im because it was the truth. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Why are you targeting us? And are you the World Breaker?"


    "You know, every time I hear that name, I can''t help but shudder. I do not know how that knight even came up with that ridiculous name!" He eximed followed by a sigh. "I really don''t like that name."


    This answer confirmed the second question that Aberleign asked. He gritted his teeth because they were obviously yed. The person the world has been looking for was actually just here. He had been interacting and even thought that the person would be his disciple.


    Aberleign thought that this must be the reason why he was reluctant to ept his offer. This man was truly dangerous, his fa?ade was perfect that no one would even suspect him. He already established himself as the second son of Duke Ulysses Ginehart and the whole family attested to it. He was a terrifying man.


    "Terrifying? That''s a very creative way to describe me but I think so too. I am terrified that sometimes I feel terrified of unintentionally destroying this world without even having my revenge." Cygnusughed after he read what was inside the man''s head.


    "Revenge?" The elder grasped this key point and the room suddenly became cold. His gazended on Rigel and saw that he was looking at him like he was already a dead man.


    "Let me ask you something Aberleign, have you ever heard the name Altair?" Cygnus asked with a straight face.


    The elder flinched at the mention of that name. It was a name he would not forget for the rest of his life. If not for that incident a thousand years ago, he would have died already and would not be living a cursed life. He thought he was going to gain power but, in the end, all they got was immortality but their power did not grow.

 Chapter 337 A Taste

    ?


    The elder couldn''t help but stare at the man because of that name. He trembled with his fists clenched because of the smile that Rigel was giving him. In an instant their surroundings changed and they were not in the living room of the manor.


    They were sitting in a closed room with amp above their heads. Instead of sitting on the couch, they were now both seated on a chair that were facing each other. Aberleign nervously looked around it and every wall of the room was built with solid bricks. The creaking of themp above them made him more anxious.


    "I''m d that you didn''t forget that name." Cygnus had a smirk on his face while looking at the man. "Because that name is the very reason why you are here right now."


    "How? How did you know that name? It''s been a thousand years¡­" he trailed off when he got a good look at the person who had been sitting in front of him.


    Cygnus''s body slowly shrunk into his child self and sat there calmly in front of the man. He still had his ck hair but it was a bit longer and reached his shoulder. He was also wearing a white robe tied at his waist with a golden band that was embroidered with red lines on the upper and lower part of it. At the middle of the two red lines were red leaves that were also embroidered in red thread.


    Aberleign had his eyes wide as he tried backing on his seat that made the seat creak. He stood up and knocked over the chair he was sitting on. He took steps back, trembling, because of the person in front of him. Those eyes and that band that only the Altair were allowed to use.


    The Fire Tree was a tree that only existed a thousand years ago. It was the symbol of power to which the Altairs were known. They were the only family that the king allowed to wear the color red because red at that time was only for the royal family. That family was both admired and feared because of their power and intelligence.


    It was already extinct and everything about that family was wiped out. Yet, the person in front of him was able to mimic them. "How? Who are you and why do you know that name and that symbol? Why do you look like that?" He asked with a shaky voice.


    Cygnus leapt down from the chair and walked towards the man with his childlike look when he was ten years old. He grinned at the man andughed. "Why? Are you afraid because your evil works would be exposed?"


    "No! Stay away from me!" Aberleign shouted and even raised his hand to stop Cygnus. He wanted to use magic but it was not use because nothing happened.


    "You can''t use magic here because I made it so. This ce is my territory and no matter how you shout or struggle no one wille to help you." Cygnus informed him after he saw that the man was frantically looking around.


    "What do you want?" He was trembling and yet the master still refused to answer him. He only stared at him without speaking whichpletely unnerved the elder.


    Cygnus returned to his seat and watched as the man was looking at him in fear. "I didn''t know that you people can feel fear and yet you did not feel anything when you burned them alive. And, because of that, I also burned that Magus Maximus."


    Aberleign was surprised at what he heard. "You killed the tower master?" He couldn''t believe what he was hearing. The tower master was a skilled mage and yet he was defeated.


    "That''s because during that time, some of my memories returned and I saw his face clearly. If I had not remembered, you would be safe right now." Cygnus did not hesitate to give him the answer. "He was no match to me," Cygnusughed.


    "Are you from that era?" He asked once again even though he was currently being overwhelmed with fear.


    "Yes, you go it right. I thought it would take a long time to realize who I am. My name is Cygnus Altair, the only survivor from that time and just like you all, I have been alive for a thousand years now." He also said even though the elder was not asking for the details.


    "Cyg-" Before he could even finish what he was about to say, he was already on his knees and coughing out blood. He looked up at the child and he had a smile on his face.


    "How audacious. You don''t have the right to say my name. Look at what it has done to you. How pitiful." There was a smile on the master''s eyes as he was speaking those words. Aberleign already knew that his care was not true.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He coughed more blood before he could finally speak. "So you are that child. I remember your name on the list and I saw you get swallowed by darkness together with another young boy."


    This statement removed the smile on the master''s face. This was a topic that he did not want to talk about. It was a taboo and the room started to shake because of that statement. Ari started to give out several warnings to the people who were close to the master.


    "Insanity level is now rising, 45%, 47%, 50%..." Ari''s serious voice sounded in their heads as she warned them.


    Mr. C, who was supposed to be with the master, couldn''t find him. He started to look around the manor but failed to find them. They were supposed to be in the living room but they were gone. The master must have taken them to one of his favorite worlds to torture people.


    "Did you find him?" Ignius approached the butler but he shook his head. Ignius sighed because something might have triggered the master once again.


    He came back to the manor because of the warning from Ari. Even Nahar was there to spectate because he had not seen the master in real action and he was ignorant of this insanity level that the voice was talking about. They looked all over the manor and came up with nothing.


    Since they couldn''t find him, all they could do was wait for him to appear once again. Ari''s voice was still echoing in their heads but before the countdown reached 60% it stopped. They all sighed in relief because of that because it only meant that the master was able to calm himself.


    They did not wait for long because after ten minutes, a gate appeared inside the living room and Cygnus finally came out. Several pairs of eyes looked at the master with wide eyes because of how he looked. His clothes were stained with blood and there was a satisfied grin on his face.


    Cygnus stretched out his hands and Mr. C gave him a towel. He wiped down his face and snapped his fingers to change his clothes before he returned the towel. The people who were with him couldn''t help but look back at the ce where he came from. They saw a bloody body in there.


    "Take him to his cell. He''ll heal soon and I want him in there. He should have not opened his mouth." Cygnus looked back and gave the unconscious man a re.


    He left the room and left them to deal with Aberleign. Mr. C entered the still opened gate and checked on the man. He crouched down and saw that all of the elder''s bones were broken or even crushed. His feet and arms were twisted which exins the stter of blood on the ground and on the walls.


    "That''s one brutal way to do things." Igniusmented from the back as he looked down at the elder. "The master must have vented his anger on him really well."


    Nahar also entered and looked at the scene only to agree with the dragon''s statement. "The master''s temper is totally out of this ce." He shook his head and stepped back after getting enough of the bloody scene. Mr. C on the other hand carried out the man and into the living room.


    "So, how do we get to the dungeon?" Ignius asked. They looked at each other before the butler sighed.


    "I''ll show you the way." He then signaled at the dragon to lift the man using magic. A golden glow surrounded the man and he slowly floated in the air.


    Ignius did what the butler signaled and they followed the butler to wherever he was going. They left the living room and walked past the lobby into the inner part of the manor. They walked past the kitchen until they came to the hallway where a door was.


    Mr. C opened the door and led them inside. He then lit one of the torches and knocked on the wall beside the lit torches. A secret passage appeared which led down and when he stepped down, several torches lit up to show them the way down. The dungeon was created just below the Ginehart Manor.

 Chapter 338 The Last Member

    ?


    The people trapped in the cell became alert at the sound of footsteps that echoed in that enclosed and dreary ce. Their eyes were all in the direction where the footsteps wereing. The tense atmosphere could be felt as Mr. C and the others got near the area where the cells were ced.


    "Oh nice, you are all still awake!" A familiar voice echoed from the dark even before the trio reached the lit part of the dungeon.


    Ignius could already see them from afar because of his dragon vision. He could also feel the anxiousness and trepidation that some of them were feeling. They were considered to be the strongest people in that world and yet they were so weak. He shook his head in the dark as he realized how low this world has fallen because of their standard of weak and strong.


    The prisoners did not answer and only waited for them to appear. What they saw made them angry instead. The unease they were feeling all disappeared when they saw what the butler was dragging behind him.


    "What did you do to him?" One of them asked with fire in his eyes. He pped the prison bars hard because of what he was seeing.


    Ignius looked down at the elder who was still bloody and being dragged behind them. "Oh, the master was a bit rough with him. It was just a simple interrogation but this man must have said something that incited our master''s anger so he ended up like that." He shook his head and even clicked his tongue.


    He then looked at the people inside the prison cells with a gold sh that came from his eyes. The people in there felt fear and the woman who faced the dragon shuddered because she was traumatized by their fight. The others were able to ovee the slight intimidation and returned to themselves.


    "So, if you do not want to end up like this man, you should be careful of your words. Lucky you all because you can heal even after getting gravely injured. If you were all ordinary humans, all of you would easily die." Ignius added while the butler continued to drag Aberleign''s body into one of the empty cells.


    After opening the door, he threw the man in there and pped his hands to get rid of any imaginary dirt in there. The cell automatically closed and the anti-magic function kicked in.


    "Alright, let''s go back." He nodded at the elf and the dragon before he turned around but he was stopped by a question from Nahar.


    "There are supposed to be eight people in here, so why are there only six?" He was still looking at the prisoners while asking that question.


    Ignius froze for a moment before he sighed. "I forgot about that. I was monitoring thest one andpletely forgot about her. As for the other one, he already died at the hands of the master. He was burned alive." The dragonughed after his statement.


    It was ominous and menacing. With just augh, the whole ce trembled and shook. The memory of that day made him excited and he couldn''t wait to see the master in a rampage once again. But of course, he couldn''t ruin the master''s n so he''ll patiently wait for that day toe.


    "Enough, let''s go." The butler frowned and stopped the dragon from saying anything further.


    Nahar and Ignius followed the butler without saying anything anymore. They were left in that ce unsure of what would happen to them in the future. All they could do was to wait and learn the true motive behind that man''s action.


    Not long after the six members of the circle of eight were captured, the entire continent was in uproar after they learned of that fact. The spies who were working with this group shocked the whole world when they stepped out and dered the disappearance of these esteemed immortals. It was a consensus they came up with after they tried to look for their master and came up with nothing.


    Because of this news, the name World Breaker became even more popr as more and more conspiracy theories started to circte. The Justice of Light also became more active in spreading their words and letting the people know of their goal. More and more people started to believe them because of the fear they felt after knowing that the Circle of Eight had been subdued and nowhere to be found.


    King Orpheus also became even more concerned because the pir of the royal family was a member of the Circle of Eight. She had been living in the pce for a long time now and doesn''t oftene out. He was inside his study and was sighing because he didn''t know how to contact the elder.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "You are worried?" A voice sounded somewhere around the room.


    The king stood up and looked around. He saw a woman in a long yellow dress sitting on one of the windows of his study. She was looking outside as her dress fluttered with the wind that wasing in from the opened window. She then tilted her head and looked at King Orpheus who was frozen in ce.


    "Don''t gawk at me," the woman frowned. She stood up from the window and slowly walked to the receiving area of the office.


    She sat down and gracefully waved her hand on the tea set that was on the table. The teapot slowly heated up and made the cooled tea inside steaming hot. Without touching the teapot, she pointed at it and made it float and poured tea on the cup. She then gave another wave and the cup of tea slowly floated towards her hand.


    Orpheus finally came to himself as he took several deep breaths before he too sat down to face the elder. It had been ten years since thest time he saw her and she did not change, not one bit. She still looked youthful and powerful.


    "Indeed, I am worried. The members of the Circle of Eight had gone missing and even Sir Aberleign is nowhere to be found. You are the only member remaining. Whoever is behind this mighte after you." The king expressed his worries because if something happens to the elder, he doesn''t know what will happen to Lunaira.


    "I have been expecting this my whole life." The elder calmly answered as she gently blew the tea she had on her hands. "I could never forget those eyes and the thought that my time woulde never left me even after a thousand years passed."


    This statement surprised the king. He never thought that those kinds of words woulde from the elder. The king sighed and did not react because he knew that there was something more. He wanted to know what it was that made the elder say those words.


    "This must be my fate ever since that day. If we were deliberately targeted then this matter will only be connected with what we did in the past and themon denominator we had was that hunt a thousand years ago." The elder continued with her story which only caught the king''s curiosity.


    "What are you talking about, elder?" He finally asked, full of curiosity. A thousand years ago was something he was not expecting.


    The elder smiled and ced back the cup of tea without taking a sip from it. "This does not concern you, King Orpheus. I am just here to bid you farewell. I believe that Lunaira will continue even without me behind it. The royal family''s power is already enough to back this kingdom."


    Orpheus froze at those words. He frantically looked at the elder and saw no signs of joking from her face. She was telling the truth and she intended to leave.


    "But elder, Lunaira has been safe all these years thanks to you! We can deal with this World Breaker or whoever he is as long as you tell me any clue as to who they might be!" He was desperate to let the elder stay.


    The womanughed and shook his head. "I am afraid that I too, don''t know who is behind all this but I believe that my retribution hase and I don''t want you or this kingdom to be implicated in this matter. Besides, I haven''t done anything for this kingdom for the past years. You did it all and now Lunaira is standing on its own feet."


    King Orpheus didn''t know if he should be thankful because of the praise. He felt thankful and yet disappointed because of how things were going. His once peaceful kingdom had been wracked with so many events to the point that he thought of it as not mere coincidences only. The feeling that everything was nned made more and more sense.


    "I will let you handle matters regarding my disappearance and thank you for epting me for all those years." The elder smiled and slowly disappeared from where she was standing.


    From a ce outside of Lunaira, a woman opened her eyes and looked at the man who was standing not far away from her. Her yellow dress disappeared and it was reced with tight fitting clothes that entuated her body but also gave her the ability to move without any hindrance. She stood up from the boulder where she had been sitting while sending that message to Orpheus.

 Chapter 339 The Last Member

    ?


    Ignius, who had been a bit negligent of the woman, came running to where she was when he remembered about her. The master would be angry if he did not do something about her. He waited for the woman to finish what she was doing and stood there to wait for her.


    "Were you talking with the king?" Ignius asked after the woman was done. She was the only member of that group that was associated with the royal family so the master only told him to watch her.


    The other names on the list were only made up and were just rumors. Ignius found it the hard way. He was chasing after them only to find out that they were fraud. Thanks to the master for finding that ridiculous story and they were able to find the Circle of Eight.


    "Why ask when you already know." The woman gave Ignius a smile as she stood there waiting for his next move.


    "You know now that I am thinking about it, my master hasn''t told me anything on how I should deal with you." Ignius suddenly said after thinking about if for a while.


    "What should we do now, are we going to stare at each other then?" The woman said sarcastically as she readied herself to fight the dragon.


    Ignius raised his hand to stop the woman. "You won''t be able to beat me. I don''t want to waste my time in a battle that I can easily win. It''s exhausting."


    The woman sighed and closed her eyes. Indeed, she was no match for the person in front of her. Even while she was talking with the king, she could already feel the incredible power that wasing from him. It was not something a human could naturally possess and based on his eyes. He must be something else.


    "Why don''t we do this, why don''t youe with me calmly and surrender yourself so that way we can avoid unnecessary fights and you can reunite with yourrades without getting hurt?" Ignius proposed and he had a grin on his face while waiting for the woman''s answer.


    The woman was silent for a moment before she finally sighed and nodded towards the man. He already bid goodbye to the king and she was already prepared for what''s about toe. "Alright, lead the way."


    "Oh, you are pretty amiable!" Igniusughed and turned around. He was nning on flying to the manor but then a gate suddenly opened in front of him.


    The woman looked at what appeared in front of the dragon in trepidation. It looked like something that could swallow them at any moment. She stepped back but stopped when the man turned around with a grin.


    "It looks like the master knew that I was here and opened a gate for us." He pointed at the ck blotch behind him. "Let''s go!" He turned around again and entered the gate without hesitation.


    On the other hand, the woman took her time because she was unsure on what would be waiting for her once he stepped in. She took a deep breath before she finally walked forward. She couldn''t help but close her eyes after letting half of her body enter.


    It took a few seconds of dy before she finally opened her eyes. She was taken aback because she was standing in a courtyard of a manor. By the decoration and the style, she could already tell that it belonged to the Ginehart family. She looked at the man beside her in question.


    "The master is waiting for you." Ignius gestured to the door that was already open. He gave the woman a nod to encourage her to enter.


    She sensed that he would not answer any of her questions so she decided to just enter and meet this master. The woman was met by Mr. C and he guided her to where the master was. They walked through the flight of stairs and into the second floor. The woman was right, it was indeed the Ginehart manor in the capital.


    There were portraits of the family and the past dukes hanging on the walls as they walked past them. They then stopped on one of the countless doors on the second floor of the manor. The butler conscientiously knocked a few times before they were granted permission to enter.


    He opened the door and gestured for the woman to enter first. She walked in and heard the door closing behind her. On the table in front of her, a young man was sitting and was busy reading some documents.


    She was unsure of what she should do so she decided to wait for the young man. She looked around and saw that there was nothing personal inside the study. Everything was the standard furniture and no added decorations were made.


    "Well, I don''t often use this ce so you won''t see anything in here." Cygnus ced the document he was reviewing on the table and looked at the woman.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    At the voice, the woman returned her gaze to the young man. She froze in ce when she finally saw what the young man looked like. The memories of the past started to sh in her mind with those eyes that were staring at her.


    "Interesting," the master murmured. He disappeared from where he was sitting and appeared in front of the woman. "You know me."


    The woman stepped back and protected herself with a wall of water. The horror of that night made her act in reflex. But even with the water wall separating her and Cygnus, she could still see those eyes. This was truly the retribution for what they had done.


    "Retribution? So, you were waiting for it?" Cygnus spoke behind the curtain of water but his voice sounded so near that the woman flinched.


    Cygnus raised his hand and touched the water. The wall of water was dispelled as he walked forward and stood in front of the woman. He had his hands behind his back while looking at the trembling woman.


    "I thought you were already prepared to face whatever you will encounter. You were even kind enough to send the king a message bidding him goodbye." Cygnus chuckled at the surprised expression of the woman because of his words. "Adviser to the king Elvira Kevhan."


    Elvira locked her jaws and clenched her fists. "I am. It was just my reflex. I-I didn''t expect that I will be meeting you again after a thousand years."


    "How did you know?" Cygnus became curious because he did not remember this woman or most likely that the memories he had of the woman had yet to be restored.


    "That year, I won''t forget the way you looked at me. It was something that I could never let go no matter how hard I try. They haunted me and even now, you still had it. The eyes are telling me that I am going to die." Elvira answered without holding back. She already knew that she was going to die.


    "How convenient, then I don''t need to let you remember what happened but it seems that yourrades forgot about it." Cygnus turned around and returned to where he was sitting. "I myself did not expect that I would return to this ce and almost missed it if not for the Magus Maximus."


    He leaned on his seat and narrowed his eyes at the woman who remained standing. She refused to move from where he was standing. He shrugged his shoulders and let her be.


    "I was supposed toy low in this ce, maybe create chaos here and there but then everything happened and I got some of my memories back. Now the rage I am feeling has doubled. I knew that I couldn''t let it go." He was saying all of these casually which only made the woman shudder.


    "What are you going to do to us now?" Elvira asked. "Are you going to kill us?"


    Cygnusughed. "Kill? Of course, I will do that but first I will let you suffer. I also need to thank the royal family for their hard work in keeping this kingdom afloat for so many years. You know, I''m going for the saying ''an eye for an eye.''"


    Elvira became angry after she heard what he had to say. "The royal family has nothing to do with this!" She suddenly had the courage to speak against Cygnus.


    But her words only upset Cygnus. The atmosphere around them changed in an instant and it made the whole ce filled with Cygnus''s killing intent. His eyes were wide and were the color of blood. His bloodlust and anger could be felt in the manor.


    "Nothing to do with this?" His voice lowered and deep. "They are the ones who instigated everything. I can remember how they envied us and, in the end, we werebeled as traitors. Apparently, we were nning on staging a rebellion against the royal family. Howughable."


    "If you insist then I will need to fight you." The fear in every cell of Elvira disappeared as she made herself ready to fight.


    "If I insist there''s nothing you can do about it. If you are going to get in my way, then I won''t spare any effort in letting you experience pain." Cygnus was still sitting down but the pressure that wasing from him was no joke.

 Chapter 340 Elvira

    ?


    Elvira started to sweat but she did not back down. She would not let this man hurt the royal family. They were the pirs who could protect Lunaira and its people.


    "You are truly patriotic," Cygnus said. He never failed to stare at the woman who was giving him a re.


    Elvira gulped as the pressure inside the room increased and had the very intention of crushing her. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The man was truly intimidating but she had a thousand years to strengthen herself. In the blink of an eye, a water dome appeared and engulfed the woman.


    She used that opportunity to gather herself and stand her ground. Within that dome, nothing could influence her. She didn''t know the extent of his power so she needed to prepare herself. On her body, blue water started to gather and cover her.


    The water that covered her entire body solidified into an armor. This was an armor she created and perfected even though no one in the continent could defeat her. It was her absolute defense, an armor that nothing could pierce.


    Cygnus looked at the dome that was destroying his office and frowned. He waved his hand and the study turned into a ce void of anything. They were floating in that dimension without anyone to disturb them and he could do whatever he wanted.


    He raised his hand and pointed at the dome. An invisible force blew the dome away and revealed the woman who was hiding in there. Elvira was surprised at the disappearance of the dome and at the ce where they were now. She looked around but she did not see anything or anyone.


    Her expression remained calm but she was panicking inside. She had no idea of what happened and how they came to that ce. The only thing she knew was that the man in front of her did it. She sighed and with the armor around her, she could still try her luck.


    A long whip made out of water appeared on her hand. She decided to ignore the ce and focused on the man who was looking at her. Wherever she was, she knew that defeating the man would return her to her world.


    She swung her whip and the end of it reached Cygnus but it did not connect. The whip broke even before reaching the man. There was something that was protecting Cygnus from any attacks. Elvira tried to reach him again using her weapon but the whip would always break. Even with the other attacks she did not reach him.


    Cygnus smirked. He was enjoying this encounter and he could see something interesting from the woman. After giving Elvira her chance, it was his turn. He jumped from where he was standing as he grabbed a sword from their infinity storage. He swung down the sword and the woman blocked it using her hands.


    Cygnus felt like he was cutting through something soft. Elvira pushed both of her hands which made the Cygnus fly back. Hended on his feet and turned to bnce himself. He held the sword and stood straight as he faced the woman.


    His left hand was behind him and his right hand held the sword. He was wearing a smirk as he moved forward again. He started to move from side to side and eventually was moving in a zigzag line that tricked the woman''s eyes. Elvira did not move and waited for the blow toe. She trusted her shield.


    Cygnus grinned and appeared on her right side. He swung the sword and it effectively connected. Even though he was not able to cut through, the force of his attack was enough to send the woman reeling to the side. She rolled and with her hand, she stopped herself from sliding too much.


    "That armor of yours is pretty interesting." Cygnus tilted his head to the side before disappearing again and appearing above the woman.


    The sword was lifted high and the master brought it down. Elvira rolled to the side to avoid the blow. The sword and the invisible floor created a loud clunking sound that created a reverberation that ran through the whole ce.


    Elvira brandished her weapon once again and tried to attack but just like before it was useless. She tried again and again but nothing happened. She then changed tactics and used her ice attribute to attack. Her hands touched the cold ground and an array of pointed and hardened ice attacked the master.


    Cygnus jumped a few times to avoid the ice attack. While on air, he swung his sword and the wave it created destroyed all the ice. He did not stop there and swung two more times to attack the woman who was hiding behind her ice magic.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The woman''s armor once again deflected the blow. Elvira was perfectly fine but the pain from those attacks were still enough to make her dizzy. She was d that the armor managed to protect her from getting any deep wounds but she did not expect that she could still feel the impact from those attacks.


    She was afraid that if she did not have the armor, she would have died several times because of how deadly the man''s attacks were. While she was pondering about this, Cygnus was already ready to execute one of his moves. He twirled his sword and then held it with only his right hand.


    He then held the sword above his head with its end facing the sky. The woman looked up and saw that a red magic circle was already above her. Arge sword appeared and when Cygnus shed forward, the sword in the sky fell. Elvira had no other choice but to create her dome and reinforce it with ice.


    She was not sure if the armor could protect her from the power but she had to try. The ground below her slowly cracked even though she couldn''t see it because of the dark smoke that was covering it. She had both of her hands up to maintain the dome but she was getting pushed.


    Her knees were already bent and slowly she was already kneeling on one foot. ''I can''t let him defeat me that easily,'' she thought to herself and at that moment, she was suddenly coated with light.


    It was warm and it filled her with power. With a shout, she pushed her hands up and managed to widen her dome. It then matched the power of the sword that was attempting to crush her. Cygnus felt it, the power that could injure him. He grimaced and his ck eyes turned red.


    At this point on, the warning signal of Ari once again sounded. "The master''s insanity level is now at 75% and it is rapidly increasing."


    "Why is it increasing? And where is the master?" Mr. C immediately asked after hearing the announcement.


    "The master''s current location is unknown. I cannot ess my connection with the master. His insanity level is now at 80%." Ari answered and informed them at the same time. "He must have transferred to another dimension and because of his power''s instability the connection was instantly cut off."


    Ignius shook his head. "Why would we even worry about that, let the master do whatever he wants and let''s just wait for him toe back." There was really no reason for them to be so worried. Besides, he preferred the ruthless master.


    Mr. C looked at the dragon and after a while he finally sighed. "Then keep us updated on the master''s level. We will wait for him to return."


    Ari agreed and she did not fail to tell them what was happening. The people who were always around the master were gathered in the living room and were waiting for him. Nahar was calmly flipping through the pages of a book that the master gave him. Ignius was doing nothing while Nina was busy minding her nails.


    "All of you are calm, how wonderful." Mr. C eximed while looking at them. He sighed and instead of sitting down, he went to the kitchen.


    "Mr. C is so uptight even for an AI." Nina spoke without sparing a nce at the others. She had noticed that the butler''s attitude waspletely different.


    "He is bing more and more like a human, you mean?" Ignius answered as he continued to stare at the ceiling. "Isn''t that good though?"


    "I''m just afraid that he might be a nagger too. I hope that the master won''t hate him when hees back." Nina stopped painting her nails and looked at the people around her.


    While they were talking about the changes in Mr. C, the master slowly turned the darkness dimension into something more terrifying. In just a few minutes, the master already sent attacks that could destroy anything it passes through. Their surroundings were also jagged with rocks. The wind he summoned was raging. The elements were going haywire because the master was not in a good mood because of a certain memory.

 Chapter 341 Possessed

    ?


    The people who had been going after him had that kind of power. They were shrouded in light and used justice as a justification for their wrong doings. They were hypocrites and hated them for what they did.


    Onyx, the holy knight, once had that power within him but throughout the course of time, he could not feel it from him. Those who gave that blessing must have gotten tired of using him. Now, they were showing themselves once again.


    They could manifest anytime. They could possess anyone. And now that Onyx wasn''t in their control, they were finding a different way toe to him. Clever but it only made the master angrier.


    With the glow that was surrounding the woman, she felt strength and her armor became even more imprable. Her whip became sturdier and a dash of light surrounding it made the surrounding air vibrate. Elvira suddenly had the courage to face the man without hesitation.


    She swung the whip and it sessfully prated Cygnus''s defense. The light around it destroyed whatever it was that was protecting Cygnus. She felt exhrated at the thought of having a chance to defeat him.


    Cygnus jumped back after being hit by the whip. He looked at his shoulder and saw that there was blood on his clothes. His white coat was stained as the whip cut through it and wounded him. He had not been wounded for a long time and now he felt it.


    It was unpleasant and he did not like it. Jagged rocks started to appear at ces where the woman was standing or walking. Hemanded the wind to swallow her but she still managed to defend against those attacks. The light dispelled the wind and her armor took the brunt of the jagged rocks.


    Cygnus waved his hand and a line of fire in the shape of arrows appeared before him. He then fired and let the fire arrows fly towards Elvira. After the first wave, he did not hesitate to release more.


    Elvira waved her whip of water and destroyed all the fire arrows that were sent her way. She then took a 360 degree turn and created a dome of water to protect herself from the fire. After that, she dispersed the water and created a big wave.


    The water was raging as the height of the wave reached a thousand meters. She then brought down her hands and the wave went crashing forward. All of the fire attacks that the master released were submerged with water and put out .


    Cygnus did not panic. He knew that all of this would notst. He already had an experience fighting with these possessed beings. All he needed to do was wait and exhaust her


    He was not affected by the crashing wave that the woman released as he still stood there unbothered. His anger subsided but his insanity level remained. He had his eyes closed the entire time of the attack and when they opened them blood started to ooze out from his eyes.


    The master startedughing with both of his palms covering his face. His shoulders continued to shake and before Elvira knew it, the master was already behind her.


    "Let''s y then. I will indulge you, my nemesis." A dark concentrated power hit the woman on her back.


    She was thrown and shended on the ground with a loud thud. She could feel her bones breaking but it all immediately healed because of her immortality. Elvira was up on her feet once again and started to counterattack.


    Her whip was all over the ce and it limited Cygnus''s movements. He had trouble maneuvering or to get near her because of the long whip that was covering all open directions. She was crazily waving the whip.


    Cygnus smiled. His body then turned into ck smoke and disappeared. The ce became even darker with all the ck smoke that was scattering around the ce. Elvira looked around but she did not see the young man she was fighting.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    After a few minutes, she felt something moving to her left side. She sent her ship towards that direction but it hit nothing. She then felt a presence that was looking at her. She couldn''t point out from what direction the gaze wasing from and it was making her ufortable.


    "You really think you could defeat me? If you really want to kill me,e at me personally." The voice mocked as it created a rumble nearby.


    Elvira looked behind her but all she saw were red eyes staring at her. She couldn''t extricate herself from the eyes that was looking at her. She wanted to move her body but her limbs were not listening to her.


    "You are going to die soon, Elvira. The being behind that power of yours will slowly drain you that not even your immortality can save you." The voice continued to whisper in her ears. It was fleeting. It was bone-chilling.


    "You''ve broken the rule! We cannot let you live any longer and destroy all of our creations!" Elvira''s voice changed into a deep sound. It sounded like the speaker was speaking from inside a tunnel.


    "Rules! I am not bound by your rules! Now that I am slowly remembering why I became free, this vengeance, I will see it through." Cygnus answered with emphasis on each word. His voice was much more powerful and it even caused the ground to shake.


    The being that possessed Elvira was angered at his words. It poured more power into her. Elvira was slowly shrouded in light and when it became too bright, it exploded. The darkness and the cloud of ck smoke all disappeared.


    In ce of it was a world with no life. They were inside a destroyed facility with gray metal floors that was full of dents and cracks from their previous fight. The building''s roof was nowhere to be found and in ce of it was a gray sky.


    This was one of the worlds he destroyed. All living beings were annihted because of his rage. They tried to fight back but they were destroyed. In the end, this world became his.


    In the middle of that destroyed building was the kneeling Elvira. Her ck hair turned into silver and her eyes became clear as ss. She was looking at Cygnus in silence. The anger and madness could be clearly seen from her eyes.


    "It''s you. Are you still angry at me for destroying your made-up world of everything beautiful?" Cygnusughed when he recognized who it was that possessed Elvira.


    The entity that was using the woman''s body grimaced. She used her control on the woman''s body and stretched out her hand. The metal debris slowly floated in the air. She then released them towards the man.


    Her attacks did not stop there. Elvira''s body slowly stood up and found her bnce. With both of her hands stretched out to the side, more and more of the rocks and metal debris flew into the air and towards him. She then summoned a tornado and let it wreak havoc.


    Cygnus did not stay idle and also summoned a tornado of his own. The two powerful forces shed with each other and totally destroyed the ce where they were. After a few seconds, both tornadoes vanished and left arge crater in between them.


    "You used to like everything pristine and beautiful, that was the reason why you let me live in that world. You coveted things that aren''t yours and those fools believed in you but I on the other hand defied you." Cygnus transformed into a cloud of smoke and got near her. "You wanted me to be your puppet but I refused. In the first ce, if you and those others who are with you haven''t provoked me then your oh, so precious world would have been safe."

 Chapter 342 Fallen God

    ?


    That provocation made the voice agitated and angrier. Elvira shouted as the being that possessed her became restless.


    "Excuses. You are just pure evil and all you want is destruction. We offered you home and yet you decided to destroy it. It brought you joy and satisfaction to see all those people die by your hands." The voice from Elvira was full of madness.


    The golden aura around her disappeared and was reced by a chaotic red. This change brought a smile on the master''s face. A powerful god was finally tainted and fell into madness. How amusing that a god like her would sumb to such fate.


    "You are the one who is delusional right now. I guess you haven''t noticed it yet but now I am sure that you are tainted. A fallen god, ah, how pitiful it is." Cygnusughed and it echoed around Elvira.


    The cloud of smoke carried it near her. His mockingughter at what she had be. This fallen god couldn''t ept what she heard. She was in denial. She started to go berserk and everything in that ce obeyed hermands.


    Chunks of thend were forcefully dismantled from the ground and it floated around the deranged woman. Cygnus looked down and saw that the world they were in was on the verge of total destruction. The fallen god was using her power indiscriminately and was destroying that dimension.


    Elvira''s body started to fail and disintegrate but the god did not care. While the woman could still move and her regenerative abilities still worked, she would make sure to destroy him. The person who took away what was hers, her world and her creation.


    The dimension was slowly cracking and falling apart because of the power that the woman was releasing. The remaining mana from that world was slowly getting sucked by the fallen god. She was determined to destroy him.


    Cygnus tried to create a gate to leave that ce but because of too much interference and his mana destabilizing, the gate wasn''t formed. He frowned and looked at the woman who was currently smiling at him. She had an expression like she had already won and it only annoyed him even further.


    There was no point in him acting all weak when his enemy was acting all high and mighty. He sighed and decided to show her what he could do even with his unstable power. That holy knight was indeed right in calling him the World Breaker for he had the power to destroy even a god. He materialized his body and faced the woman with a grin.


    The whole dimension was shaking and crumbling at the same time. The fallen god''s power was truly terrifying but all of these did not scare Cygnus. His human body was shrouded with ck mana as red lines appeared on his body. His veins were overflowing with power that gave out red glow.


    Waves and waves of his mana shed with the god''s power and it caused further destruction. The dimension started to get distorted. Thend started to disintegrate and the woman started to take a step back. Even with the god possessing her, it was still not enough to push him.


    "I already told you, if you want to kill me, thene at me and show me the true power of a god like you." Cygnus continued to provoke because he did not want to see Elvira dying by another''s hand.


    He then spread his dark mana and eventually overpowered the god. Elvira was swept away and before her body could fully disintegrate, the god possessing her was pushed out. Now that he was in control of that falling dimension once again, he easily created a gate and pushed Elvira towards it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The fallen god that was pushed out turned out to be a woman who was once called the goddess of beauty and life. With the help of the god of creation, they made a world where she would be the ruler. It was a world full of life and color. The people there were happy and content that it was almost perfect except for one problem.


    It was of perfection and in a world like that imperfections were not epted. Through the course of time, these imperfections appeared and were treated as outcasts. The goddess of beauty and life wasn''t happy about it. She went toin to the god of creation but was frowned upon because of her unending grumbles.


    In the end she couldn''t do anything about it. Her world of perfection was no longer perfect and that was when Cygnus came to the picture. He came to that world and was just passing by but the goddess took a fancy on him. She did what she could to convince him to stay but Cygnus refused. He hated the gods and didn''t want anything to do with them.


    That is until she crossed the line. At that time, Cygnus was still mourning and yet the goddess still dared to use the people around him to threaten him. It was the biggest mistake she ever made and it caused her the world she loved so much. Incited by the people theybeled as outcasts, her world started to burn.


    Her people started to kill each other and wars broke out. Each war that happened, the colors faded and the only thing that remained was the color of blood. Cygnus, who was the man behind this, found pleasure in what he did. He then used this to mock the goddess and, in the end, she watched him destroy her perfect world.


    With a sweep of his dark powers, the goddess''s world turned ck. It was like a gue passed and killed all living things. The goddess of beauty and life tried to restore it but no matter what she did, she couldn''t undo what he had done.


    In desperation, she descended and confronted Cygnus but the man only looked at her indifferently. With a straight face, he told her that her world was useless and imperfect. He even went as far as to insult her. He defied a god.


    With those words, the goddess of beauty and life started a war against Cygnus but because she descended without permission, her power grew weak and even with her full power Cygnus would still win. With the power he gained, challenging the gods was an easy feat.


    The goddess of beauty and life was defeated and added to that she couldn''t return to the Heavenly Domain where the other gods were. And now, she was finally tainted and was on the verge of self-destruction.


    Her once golden locks and clear eyes all turned ck. Her golden glow was reced with the menacing and chaotic ck aura that was rampaging around her. The dimension finally crumbled under the pressure of her rampage. Cygnus watched all of these in amusement because anytime now the fallen goddess would be destroyed by her madness.


    The goddess of beauty and life lifted her head and when she saw the man, she roared. The sound waves from her mouth destroyed the shield that Cygnus manifested. The man casually lifted his hand and destroyed those waves with his dark mana.


    Now that the goddess was not in her right mind, she wouldn''t be able to use her full power. She would only be driven by the madness within her. Cygnus enjoyed watching these kinds of shows because in the end he was alive and the enemy would be dead.


    He concealed his presence and watched as the goddess slowly descended into the abyss. She was roaring and screaming as her power continued to destroy the remaining pieces of the world. Although it was a shame to lose one of the worlds he owned, Cygnus still found it worth it because he would witness the ending of a god.

 Chapter 343 Determined

    ?


    The fallen god didn''t know what she''s going to do now. The power she has was threatening to burst out. Beyond the madness, she still wanted to destroy her enemy. She still wanted to make him pay for what he did.


    Despite these thoughts, she could do nothing as cracks started to appear on her ckened skin. She groaned and tried to cover them but that did nothing. The cracks continued to appear on her body and it could already be seen on her face.


    It did not stop there as it slowly consumed her. She opened her mouth in onest attempt to seek for help from the other gods but all that came out was a groan. Slowly the cracks widened and gave out a golden light. It got brighter and brighter until she exploded.


    The explosion lit the while dimension and destroyed whatever was left of it. The ce instantly became void. Cygnus removed the conceal magic he casted upon himself wit a grin. He looked around in the void because like any other being, gods have mana cores.


    Not far from where he was, he saw the only glinting object in that dark ce. Cygnus smiled as he used his mana to take that object. Once it was ced in his hands, hisughed echoed in that empty space.


    It was in the shape of a small orb. Its inside contained a golde and red mana that were swirling together. The god''s mana was more beautiful in its tainted form.


    "Cores from gods are really different." He raised the core and admired for a while before he finally put it in his mouth.


    He swallowed the small orb and let the dark mana inside his body corrode and assimte it. He savored the power that slowly became his own. After a minute of feeling it, he summoned a gate.


    It was better to leave an continue the assimtion in a morefortable ce. The people who had been waiting for him in the manor all stood in attention when a gate showed up. It appeared in the middle of the living room. Cygnus stepped out from the gate with a different aura around him. He looked more powerful and dangerous.


    "Wee back master," the butler greeted. He had his head bowed and so did the other people in the room.


    Cygnus nodded at them but he did not say anything. No words were exchanged after that short greeting from the butler. Ari also informed them that the master''s insanity level has gone down to 25%.


    They wanted to ask him question but they became hesitant. They also wondered what happened to thest member of the Circle of Eight who was with him. All of these went unanswered as the master decided to return to his room and rest.


    That incident passed without them knowing what really happened. At the same time King Orpheus became determined to find out the identity of the ''World Breaker'' as he was the most likely suspect for the disappearance of the members of the Circle of Eight. Because of this, he summoned all of his ministers, the generals and the dukes for an assembly that will take ce in the capital.


    Within the next day, half of the ministers already arrived. The four dukes were reported to be already on their way and it would take them all at least five days to arrive. This news reached Cygnus''s ears through his trusted spy, Lindon, who had been keeping an eye on the crown prince.


    The master looked grim but all of this was within his calctions. On the third day after the edict was released, Cygnus once again received a letter which said that the holy knight, Onyx, would also attend the meeting. This came as no surprise because he had already guessed it .


    "I need to talk to my father then," he mumbled to himself.


    He stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers. A gate suddenly appeared in the middle of the road where the duke''s carriage was traversing. It caused the driver to pull the reigns in a panic which alerted the duke.


    He looked out the window and saw the gate. He already knew that his son, Rigel, was already waiting for him. He alerted the driver and instructed him to pass through it. The driver was a bit hesitant but he still did the duke''smand.


    They appeared on the manor''s porch and Ulysses alighted from the carriage. He went ahead and patted his driver''s shoulder because he was still in a daze. Mr. C who had been waiting for him guided the duke to the manor''s back garden where the master had been waiting for him.


    At the time that they haven''t seen each other, Ulysses immediately noticed the changes on Rigel. The air around him was different. He looked like an entirely different person if not for the familiar face.


    "Father, I''m d that you came!" Cygnus stopped what he was doing at the sight of the duke.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Ulysses sighed and gave the young man a nod. "Well, you invited me. So, why wouldn''t Ie?" He took the empty seat on the opposite side of the table.


    "That''s because I heard that you wereing to the capital so, I just made your journey easier." Cygnus grinned and waved his hand.


    "Did something happen?" Ulysses asked. He knew that the young man wouldn''t go this far without any reasons.


    Cygnus chuckled. " Remember that time when I went to visit the El Merey kingdom with Sir Aberleign?" He started.


    Ulysses nodded, "Yes."


    "We met with the holy knight and I promised that I will help him with the establishment of the Justice of Light here in Lunaira. I also told him that I will get you to help also." Cygnus smiled so innocently. If Ulysses doesn''t know anything, he would thought that Rigel had doen it out of the kindness of his heart.


    "I understand. I received a news that the holy knight will attend the meeting, so rest assured." Ulysses answered as he already understood the young man''s intention.


    Cygnus was satisfied. "Then I will be looking forward to the result of your meeting."


    Ulyssesughed. "You are really sly, now you want me to be your spy? I''m sure that you already have people working for you that is more suitable for this kind of job."


    The duke gave Cygnus a meaningful smile as he leaned on his seat. Ulysses only received the missive before he entered the gate but Rigel invited him while being fully aware of the situation. This only means that he already established a spy inside the royal court.


    "I really can''t fool you," Cygnus sighed.


    "I may not have the ability to read minds but I have years of experience in dealing with people." Ulysses couldn''t help butugh at the young man''s words.


    Two dayster, all the delegates gathered at the pce. The pce''s council room was already filled with the presence of the crown prince, the ministers, the dukes and the generals. They were now only waiting for the king to arrive.


    The pce''s butler organized them and let them be seated while waiting for the king. After ten minutes, the royal guard at the door finally announced the arrival of the king. The room then fell into silence as the king entered followed by his entourage.


    However murmurs started to circte when they all saw the person that was following behind king. He was wearing a full armor of gold that they couldn''t see his face. The king raised his hand to stop them from muttering.


    "All of you might have already guessed who this person is. This is Sir Onyx, the holy knight of the Justice of Light, whom I have invited to join us today." The king announced and at he same time introduced him.


    Onyx did not say a word and only gave them a nod before he took the seat that was designated for him. The king also sat down at the head of the table and addressed them one-by-one. After everyone ''s presence was acknowledged, he proceeded to the main reason why he called for a meeting.


    "As you all know, the Circle of Eight disappeared and there are rumors that the ''World Breaker'' might be the person behind this. I want you all to be vignt and wary of this person because even Lady Elvira disappeared." The king''s words puzzled and shocked the entire council meeting room.


    They were all privy to the existence of Lady Elvira and her unmatched strength. To think that even her would fall prey to the instigator of the crime came as a surprise. They were already in an uproar because of it.


    The Circle of Eight was a group of people with a abilities beyond a normal person. It was shocking that they all disappeared and now even the pir of Lunaira disappeared. Now it became a national concern.

 Chapter 344 Suspicions

    ?


    The room fell into silence after the king said those words. Their murmurs got louder as seconds passed by and the king could only let them be for a while. He looked at the direction of the four dukes to gauge their reaction but they were only wearing a worried look. The generals on the other hand were expressionless as always.


    "How did the enemy even know where Lady Elvira is when she is supposed to be in seclusion?" One of the ministers finally asked.


    "I am not sure about it either. However, I talked with Lady Elvira before she disappeared. She told me that her retribution hase and that we should not worry about her. I tried to contact her again but we did not find any traces of her." The king answered and sighed. He leaned on his chair and waited for their reaction.


    Another round of whispers ensued inside the room. They were talking to each other and nodding at the same time. The king couldn''t grasp what they were talking about but he only needed to wait. The murmurs started to die down.


    "Then how can you be so sure that the ''World Breaker'' is the person behind thedy''s disappearance or the Circle of Eight at that?" Another minister asked because they couldn''t afford to chase in the wind without any prior knowledge regarding this man.


    "That''s the reason why I asked for the holy knight''s presence today." He gestured at the man who was sitting to his left side.


    Onyx had been waiting for the moment that he would be addressed. He had been listening to them and grasped that it would not be easy to convince them. But with the king''s support, he was sure that these ministers would eventually sumb.


    "I am sure that it is the work of the ''World Breaker''. He destroys worlds and his first targets are always the strongest people in that particr world. Since the Circle of Eight is a group of strong people, the World Breaker will not think twice in targeting them." Onyx exined to give them an idea of how this World Breaker was working.


    "If that''s the case, then why do it now when he had all the opportunity to do it in the past?" One of the ministers asked once again. it was a bit suspicious that the World Breaker was making his move now.


    "I don''t know how the World Breaker works because he doesn''t have a pattern. He might have been triggered because of our arrival and wanted to hasten his work. With us here, the chances of his ns getting thwarted got higher." Onyx smoothly answered which did not give the audience any room to argue.


    "If that''s the case, what do you propose we do to catch this World Breaker person? You haven''t given us any description of him yet so how would we know what he looked like." One of the dukes finally spoke up after listening to the conversations.


    The ministers quietened down after the question was asked. All eyes were now directed at the holy knight as they waited for his answer. They were all curious as to how the holy knight would find the enemy and how they could help with this mission.


    "The establishment of the Justice of Lightes in priority. This organization is not only for people to have to believe in but it is a series ofworks that passes information from one branch to another. With this being established, we will be able to know any first-hand information regarding the World Breaker." Onyx confidently answered them. It may look like he was only advertising his organization but they all knew the importance of information.


    This was a fact that nobody could deny. If it was indeed an informationwork, no one would disagree if it was established because in the long run, they would all benefit from it. Aftering to a conclusion, the noise died down but nobody wanted to talk first.


    "I agree to the establishment of the Justice of Light in Lunaira. We can also benefit from it in the long run. Information is a valuable resource and although we had the Magic Tower and the Hero Association, their main focus is not on the gathering of information." Duke Ulysses Ginehart broke the silence with his statement.


    The ministers and the other attendees of the meeting couldn''t help but look at him. He had been silent for the past month after the scandal that their duchy went through but now, he was back. They do not know what he was nning from agreeing with the holy knight''s suggestion, but it mirrored the decision of the majority.


    Several words of agreement followed that statement after a second of silence. Onyx grinned from behind the helmet he was wearing at the support he received. Based on how Duke Ulysses agreed easily, the young master must have talked with his father regarding his request. This was great news for him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We do not have any objections too regarding this matter," they all agreed. This was the first time that they actually agreed with each other in a meeting that easily.


    The king was satisfied with the oue of the meeting. Now they need to address how the enemy looked, so that each territory under Lunaira could be informed and be vignt of this World Breaker. Once the matter regarding this matter would be settled, he would at least be able to breathe a sigh of relief.


    "Then do you have a portrait or at least a description as to how this man looks? If there are other people with him?" Duke Ghad finally spoke. If the World Breaker was real, then they needed something to base him off. They couldn''t just use anyone as him.


    Onyx shook his head. "I am afraid that it would be difficult to provide a description of him physically because he had the ability to change how he looked. However, he is a unique existence. He often uses magic beyond what normal people or mages could do. There are people who are always with him but I am not sure if the others have already shown themselves." He started and further exined to them the characteristics of Cygnus.


    They listened carefully and associated it with people that they have met recently. There was only one name that kept on popping out from their minds and they couldn''t help but look at the direction of Duke Ulysses. He ignored their stares but it was bing too much for him.


    He sighed and shook his head. He looked at the ministers who were openly staring at him. "Do you have anything you want to say?" He then asked without hiding his displeasure.


    "All description seems to be pointing to your son, Rigel." One of the ministers who was courageous enough stated.


    The whole room fell into silence and even the king became intrigued. Because no matter how one would think about it, Rigel always fits the description. If not perfectly but there were simrities around them. They just wanted to make sure that the duke was not lying about his son.


    "Are you kidding me? There will always be people who can fit that description but you cannot use my son though. He has been through many things and is currently exploring the world. Just because of those descriptions, you are suspecting him?" Ulysses became annoyed.


    They already proved Rigel''s identity and yet they were there questioning him again. He had enough of these kinds of people already. He held himself back and faced the ministers. He looked them all in the eye.


    "No matter how you try to suspect my son, I won''t give you the satisfaction of questioning him. I already have a proof that he is indeed a Ginehart so pleas stop spouting such nonsense." His voice was almost pleading by the end of his statement which deterred the ministers.


    "It is not only Rigel who fits the description and perhaps your mind tricked you to think that it is him because he is the only person we all know that fits that direction. Do not be hasty in making your judgments." The king finally interjected to break the building up tense atmosphere inside the room.


    They all nodded and let the matter drop. The king was right. They do not have any reason to further suspect Duke Ulysses''s son because it was already proven that they were family. Duke Ulysses remained silent after they pinned down his son as he did not want to interact with them.


    Ghad ckwell couldn''t help but look at Duke Ulysses''s direction with sympathy. They wanted to protect their child and now that they allowed him to be himself, the suspicions were still alive. He shook his head as he too, remained silent for the duration of the meeting.


    The meeting ended with the holy knight given a time period to settle everything in the capital. After the meeting, some of the ministers came forward to apologize to the duke but he simply brushed them. Although Rigel was not his flesh and blood, he would still protect the child.

 Chapter 345 Emotional

    ?


    Ulysses returned to the Ginehart manor with a sour mood after the meeting. Those people were only after his downfall and wanted to see him suffer. They even dared to rte the identity of the World Breaker to his son. He already knew that it was a possibility but he still couldn''t ept that there were other people specting about it.


    He alighted from the carriage and strode inside the manor without greeting anyone. Cygnus was nowhere to be found so he went straight to his study and locked himself in. Inside his study was a ss cab dedicated to his collection of wines. His eyes immediatelynded on it after he locked the door.


    The duke strode towards it and opened the cab. He eyed the different bottles then he casually picked up a bottle of Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru. He held the bottle and ced it on the ss table situated in the middle of the couches meant for visitors.


    He then went to the cupboard beside the ss cab and picked out a wine ss and a cork screw on his other hand. Ulysses sat on the couch and stared at the bottle of the wine for a while before he decided to take and open it. The wine revealed the scent of mesmerizing allspice, mocha, and coconut aromas that were enhanced by the eighteen months of oak barrel aging technique.


    The duke closed his eyes and slowly inhaled the aroma that filled the room. He felt a bit rxed because of the soothing smell. He then poured out a generous amount from the wine into the wine ss and slowly swirled it around.


    After a few circles, he took a sip and sighed at the vor. The intense raspberry taste tickled his tongue followed by the cherry vor that made the wine even more vorful. He liked how the wine tasted in his mouth as he savored every bit of it.


    Ulysses hummed after taking a few more sips from his ss. He leaned on the couch and inhaled before slowly exhaling. The anger he was feeling at that moment slowly subsided as he rxed his body. He tried not to think about what happened during the meeting as he focused on his own breathing.


    Cygnus returned home after he went on a walk and was informed that the duke had already returned. The manor''s butler led him to the duke''s study. The butler knocked and informed the duke of the young master''s arrival. They were immediately given permission to enter so the butler used his set of keys to open the door.


    The door clicked and opened so the duke ced down the wine ss on the table. He slightly looked back and saw that Cygnus was closing the door behind him. He waited for the young man to turn around before he gestured for him to sit down.


    Cygnus sat down as he couldn''t help but raise a brow at the opened bottle of wine. He looked at the duke and saw that he was staring at him. He sighed since the duke was not drunk and whatever they were going to talk about that night would be about the meeting.


    "Do you want to drink?" Ulysses asked as he stood up and went to the cupboard to get another wine ss. "That is one of the best wines I have in my collection so I suggest that you take a sip."


    He handed the win ss to Cygnus and the young man epted it. Before he could pour out some for himself, Ulysses was faster than him. He took the bottle and poured it for the young man. Cygnus chuckled as he took a sip of the wine. It was indeed delicious and worthy of being in a collection.


    "May I know why you are drinking such fine wine after a meeting?" Cygnus finally asked after his third sip.


    "Nothing really. I was only overreacting for a moment maybe because of my position as a father." Ulysses answered.


    Cygnus chuckled and shook his head. He did not ask any of his spies about what happened in the meeting because he knew that the duke would tell him. He ced the wine ss on the table and looked at the duke.


    "They must have said something rted to me then since I don''t see you reacting like this when General Linius is on the front line." Cygnus guessed and based on the duke''s frown that he was correct.


    Ulysses sighed. "I already had the idea that you are the World Breaker people were talking about. Your existence in itself is a mystery and your way of doing things doesn''t suit the people of this ce. You also have these abilities that are out of this world."


    This made Cygnus stop and stare at the duke. "If that is the case, then why are you still tolerating me? I mean I can destroy this world anytime I want."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The dukeughed and stared at the ceiling instead. "I also don''t know. Ever since I met you, I and my family experienced so many things that we didn''t expect to happen in this lifetime. I guess I am just an open-minded person and epted this truth."


    "What does your wife think about this then and your eptance of this so-called truth?" Cygnus tilted his head to the side. He picked up the ss of wine and twirled it a couple of times.


    "She''s fine with it. Honestly, my wife has not been in a good condition for the past months now. She looks strong and resilient but she gets tired too. After the scandal that our duchy faced, her health worsened and her longing for our youngest child keeps him awake in the night." The duke narrated with a low voice.


    It was rare for the duke to be talking about these personal matters with the master and it made the master silent. He had nothing to offer him as advice because he himself hasn''t experienced these kinds of things. His rtionship with his family was vague due to his iplete memories and all he could remember was the painful part of his past.


    "It''s rare for someone to suddenly talk about these kinds of things to aplete stranger. Are you really that eager to die?" Cygnus stretched out the hand that was holding the wine ss towards the duke.


    "Of course, I am not. I enjoy living and these are just my thoughts after that meeting because too many things are happening at the same time. This must be my way of epting what is about to happen." Ulysses raised his head and stared straight ahead at the young man that he considered a part of his family.


    If he was truly the World Breaker then this world was about to end. Although he knew that sooner orter, this world woulde to its end because of the considerable changes that already happened. The damages were only minute but it would eventually stack up. He had been reading ancient books since he was a teenager andpared to that time, the present was not awe-inspiring at all.


    "Then should I let you and your family live in exchange for your help?" Cygnus took another sip and observed the wine in his ss.


    Ulysses could only look at the young man and at his serious face. He was not smiling like he always did and he felt that he was sincerely offering him that possibility. It was tempting and if time would permit it, he would definitely ept the offer.


    "I will ept your offer but it will be for my son Linius," Ulysses answered. "He is already in your control so why not let him join your gang?"


    Cygnusughed and drank the remaining wine in his wine ss with one gulp. "If that''s what you want then I will dly take him in. Besides, I also like his attitude and his mind."


    "Ah, I can''t believe that I am entrusting him to you instead of making sure that my people will be okay," Ulyssesughed. He was shaking his head while pouring himself another drink. "I guess at the end of the day, I am still a father."


    Cygnus has noment regarding his statement and just joined him in finishing the bottle of wine. They drank in silence and enjoyed the rare treat before Ulysses finally spoke about the contents of the meeting.


    "The Justice of Light is given a month to establish and prepare theirwork of information. The investigation with the holy knight already started and they will start to look at people who fit the description of the World Breaker. Your name is included even though I already expressed my displeasure regarding it." The duke informed Cygnus without holding back any information.


    "I thought you were not my spy?" Cygnus raised a brow. He could acquire all of this information even without the duke''s help though.


    "I just can''t help but say it." Ulysses grinned and offered the young man a toast which Cygnus dly epted as he clinked his ss to the dukes.

 Chapter 346 Start Of Investigation

    ?


    The investigation was in full swing and all people involved got questioned one-by-one. They were even observed for a period of time to make sure that they were really not the World Breaker. While the investigation was going on, the establishment of the Justice of Light in Lunaira also started.


    Cygnus returned to his daily routine and the duke did not leave until the investigation was over. He waited for Cygnus''s turn and when it came, they both faced the holy knight. It was a clear and sunny day when the manor received a letter stating that the investigation team was on their way, the duke was not pleased.


    Instead of the duke, it was the butler who received their guests and they waited for a few minutes before they were permitted to enter the duke''s study. As they entered, they could hear that the duke was still talking with someone regarding the matters of the duchy. The butler of the manor led them to the receiving area of the study.


    After the duke was done and the butler sent the other man out, he finally faced the visitors who came for his son. He closed all the documents that were on his table and stacked them one-by-one before he stood up and went to sit with them. He silently looked at them after he sat and waited for them to say whatever they wanted to say.


    "We were hoping that your son, Rigel, was also here." One of them started and he even smirked after he said that statement.


    "My son doesn''t need to be here. You can talk to me about your procedures and you will meet himter." Ulysses stared at the man who spoke and he did not remove his gaze even after he was done speaking.


    "Insolence! You made us wait before finally facing us and that is how you talk to us!" The same man became furious because of the look that Ulysses was giving him. "This matter concerns the safety of our kingdom and our citizens and yet you are unwilling to cooperate?"


    "Sir Romos, please tone it down. The duke hasn''t told us anything about not cooperating. Besides, we will be meeting with the childter." One of the members of the team spoke and looked at Sir Romos who was fuming.


    The man settled down as he swallowed his anger and waited for them to proceed. He gave the duke onest look before averting his gaze. The duke also retracted his gaze and focused on the exnation of the procedures that they would be doing.


    "We will interview Rigel and we will also require you to submit some necessary documents and answer some questions. After those are settled, we will be observing Rigel closely in his day-to-day activities. One of us will be apanying your son throughout the day." The person who calmed down Romos exined the procedure. "It would take us three days of personal observation before we can confirm your son''s identity."


    Ulysses sighed. All those procedures were making him ufortable and even more so because of Romos who was obviously there to humiliate him. But because it was an official investigation, he needed to cooperate so that they wouldn''t be able to say anything against him or his family.


    "We would also like to ask your wife and General Linius some questions if it is possible," the person added.


    The duke clenched his jaws and took some deep breaths before he gave them an answer. "I''m afraid that you won''t be able to talk with them. My wife''s health is not in its best condition that''s why I did not tell her about this investigation. I don''t want to upset her and risk her life. On the other hand, I don''t have contact with my son right now. He was sent to the borders and I don''t even know if he reached that ce alive."


    This straightforward answer stopped the person who was acting as a secretary. She looked up and saw that the duke was serious. There was no hint of joke from his voice and all she could feel was anger.


    "Then we will only ask you," the holy knight decided. The others with him nodded their heads and agreed.


    Since he was the only one whom they would be asking they needed to adjust the questions they would be asking. Ulysses waited patiently while leaning back on his chair. He closed his eyes as he waited for them as patiently as he could.


    The person who had been speaking cleared his throat to get the duke''s attention. When he saw that the duke opened his eyes and finally looked at them, he started to ask questions. "We wanted to know if you noticed changes in your son''s behavior these past years or months?"


    Ulysses was silent for a few seconds before he finally answered. "Nothing, he has been the same ever since. The only thing that changed was that he gets to go out more often and explore the world outside of that dreary mansion."


    Before they came to the manor, they already had a background on how the Ginehart family was in the past. The issue of them locking away their youngest son to some mansion was also dug up. The reason behind this action was not mentioned though so their knowledge was only shallow so they did not ask further.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "How about that butler who is always with him?" He asked again after he made sure that the secretary had recorded the statement.


    "He has been with my son ever since he was a child. We employed him to take care of him and now he remained loyal to his young master. And, if you are going to ask me regarding the people around him, they are his friends." Ulysses answered with flinching.


    They took note of the answer and asked a couple more questions before they finally finished. The secretary started to organize her records while the holy knight was thanking the duke for cooperation. The duke only dealt with them professionally, so that not a smile appeared from him.


    Just as they got out of the study, they saw Rigel. The holy knight immediately called for the young man''s attention. Cygnus heard his name and when he looked at direction where the voice came from, he saw the holy knight together with those who were assigned to the investigation team.


    Instead of going down. Cygnus walked up to them with a smile. "Sir Onyx, are you here to meet with my father?" He asked even though he already knew why they were there.


    "We were just done talking with him," he answered. "And we were about to go and talk to you too," he added.


    Ulysses came out from his study only to see that the holy knight was already talking with his son. He frowned but couldn''t do anything about it. He walked up to them instead and interrupted their conversation with a cough.


    "Since Rigel is already here, why don''t we return to my study and do your interview in there." He stood in between them and gave the holy knight a re.


    He couldn''t see what the holy knight''s expression was but he didn''t care if he was disrespecting the man. They were inside his territory and inside that ce he could do whatever he wanted. He patted his son''s shoulder and turned around.


    Cygnus followed behind his father without looking back at the holy knight. Onyx figured out that it would be better for them to cooperate with the duke. He looked at the members of the investigation team before he followed back inside the study.


    They were once again seated and facing each other after their talk with the duke. The atmosphere became awkward as nobody wanted to talk first. If Cygnus was not maintaining his fa?ade right now, he would beughing already.


    "What are we going to talk about?" Cygnus decided to break the silence and remove the awkwardness that was building up inside the room.


    "They are here to monitor you because you are suspected of being the World Breaker." Ulysses took the chance to answer on behalf of them.


    They were surprised at how straightforward the duke''s answer was. They couldn''t help but give the duke a look after his words were uttered. He really didn''t hold back and with that their gazes went to Cygnus who was looking at them with wide eyes and his mouth opened in ''o'' shape.


    "But why would you suspect me of being the World Breaker? Did I do something wrong?" He asked them before he looked at his father with a frown. "I don''t understand."


    "The holy knight had described the World Breaker and for some reason you fit all of these descriptions that is why they are here to verify things." Ulysses reached out and patted the young man''s shoulder before squeezing them gently to reassure him.


    "What kind of descriptions are those?" He showed anger as he red at the people who were there to interrogate him. "I couldn''t believe that you would do this Sir Onyx even after I''ve helped you." He then red at the holy knight.


    "I apologize but this matter is entirely different from what we talked about back at El Merey." Onyx refuted so as to not give the impression that he was favoring someone.

 Chapter 347 Questioning

    ?


    Cygnus returned his gaze to his father. "This must be the reason why you were talking nonsense that time." He bowed his head as he looked forlorn. "I''m giving you another problem. I shouldn''t have left that mansion. You should have built me another one."


    Ulysses tightened his grip on his son''s shoulder before lifting his head and giving their visitors a vicious re. This was exactly the reason why he was worried. His son had just adjusted to living outside after that ident and now this people were here to make his life even more difficult.


    "You don''t have to worry Young Master Rigel, this is only standard procedure. If nothing is wrong then we will leave you alone." The person who had been conducting the interview spoke.


    It was their job to carry out the king''smand and even though he suddenly felt ufortable, they couldn''t stop. At least, Sir Romos wasn''t talking so it was one less problem for them. He gestured for the secretary to be ready because they were about to begin.


    "We will only ask some basic questions, nothing really special," he started. He started off by asking him his name, birth date and some other family rted questions that Cygnus answered with gritted teeth.


    He then continued with asking him some other trivial questions like their family rtions and the history of the kingdom. Things about his father, mother and brother and about the people that were surrounding him. They even asked why he started a business in the capital and even put up a branch of it in the slums.


    Cygnus answered everything without hesitation. His answers were concise and matched the data they had on him. Throughout the time of the interview, they were all observing the reactions and movements of the young man to see if there was something amiss. Sir Romos paid extra attention to it but he still found nothing.


    He thought that with this investigation, he would be able to find a gap with the young man that he could use against Ginehart. He wouldn''t give up though because he still had three days to observe the young man and the Gineharts. He grinned out of nowhere which made Cygnus frown.


    After the interview, they were kindly escorted out with neither the father nor the son escorting them. Cygnus left the study first and locked himself in his room. Ulysses gestured for the butler to escort them out without any words.


    Before they rode, Sir Alexio turned around and looked at the butler. "Please remind the duke that I and Sir Romos will return tomorrow to conduct the observation of the young master."


    The butler gave them a silent look before he nodded his head. "You don''t have to worry because the duke already knew about it. We will wee you again tomorrow, sirs."


    Sir Alexio felt the coldness there. Even the servants were treating them distantly and he felt that they were not really weed. He sighed and nodded to the butler before he turned around and entered the carriage. They''ll need to endure it for three days. He was just not sure if Sir Romos could tolerate it though.


    "That was some good acting master," Ignius said. He looked up at the man who just entered before returning his gaze on the chessboard that he was staring at.


    Cygnus did not answer and instead went to the window. He parted the curtain and peeked out to see their visitors leaving. He grinned and retracted his gaze before he turned around to look at the serious ck dragon. He walked up to him and sat down on the opposite chair.


    "They''ll being tomorrow for the observation so I need to be in my best behavior. I need to act like the son of the duke." Cygnus touched the ck bishop and moved it three steps diagonally.


    "But you are already one. No need to act out of ce or else they would immediately suspect you." Ignius had a frown because his horse was cornered.


    He sighed and gave up. Ignius stood up with his hands on his pocket as he red at the master. He turned around and left the room. Cygnusughed as he stared at the chessboard one more time. He picked the queen and directly moved it to face the white king.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I''m not really good with this." He mumbled to himself before he abandoned the game and disappeared out of thin air.


    The next day, Sir Romos and Sir Alexio arrived early. They were weed and told to wait in the living room since the young master wasn''t awake yet. The maids served them refreshments and some snacks that they could eat while waiting.


    Romos and Alexio looked at each other because they could do nothing about it. They couldn''t impose on the butler to just wake him up so that they could start the day. All they could do was wait and ept their hospitality.


    The duke who was having his coffee on the veranda of his room was informed with the arrival of their visitors. He gave the butler a nod but he did not make a move to go down and greet them. He was not in the mood to see them because it would definitely ruin his mood further.


    Cygnus woke up after an hour and after washing he went down to the first floor to see if the kitchen was already prepared for breakfast. As he was passing by the living room, he stopped on his tracks and peeked inside. His eyes widened when he saw two familiar faces there.


    Just as fast as he was surprised, a frown immediately appeared on his face. The two men also noticed him already, so he needed to go and greet them reluctantly. He was still in his sleeping clothes and hadn''t changed yet but he didn''t care.


    "Good morning, sirs. I didn''t expect to see you this early in the morning." He gave them a tight smile and stared at the breads that were on the table.


    "We weren''t informed of any specific time so we opted toe earlier," Alexio answered. Romos on the other hand was displeased with how the young man was talking with them.


    "Pardon me then for not dressing up before greeting you." Cygnus gestured at his clothing and Alexio nodded his head. "I will excuse myself first and will meet you againter." Cygnus gave them a nod before he left again.


    Instead of going to the kitchen, he instead went back up to change his clothes. He wore some casual clothes with a white in long sleeve polo as his top and ck pants below. He wore ck boots andbed his hair with his hands.


    Cygnus went back down and proceeded to the dining hall where his father and their two guests were already waiting. He sat down and greeted his father with a smile but frowned when he faced the other two men at the dining table. They ate in silence and after that he bid his father goodbye.


    Cygnus went to Vergessen as he was followed by Romos and Alexio. They entered the bakery and as usual Cygnus greeted the employees with a smile despite the shadows that were following him. Instead of staying outside, he opted to stay in the kitchen.


    Romos and Alexio had no choice but to follow him. They then received res as they stepped inside the kitchen. The chefs there were not happy that some strangers were entering their territory.


    "They''re here to observe so let them be." Cygnus noticed the nasty looks. The chefs nodded to him as they went back to their work.


    Cygnus went to the back and put on an apron then tied his hair up. He returned and immediately helped the chefs in preparing the dough and shaping the breads. After helping them for some time, he actually forgot that he had visitors.

 Chapter 348 Shadowing

    ?


    "Are you really going to stay here?" Cygnus sighed and faced them. They were silent the whole time but it was a bit annoying for them to be sitting there and watching all of his movements when all he''d done was bake.


    Alexio immediately noticed how ufortable the young man was and how the chefs kept ncing in their direction. Since they already saw what he was doing, they agreed to leave and instead stay out. They even ordered so that they won''t be a nuisance in the bakery.


    They stayed at the Vergessen branch until lunch. Cygnus ate in the bakery and after that he walked the streets until they reached the other branch of the bakery in the slums. Romos covered his nose once they stepped inside. Since they were wearing some expensive clothes, they immediately stood out.


    They gathered some strange looks after they entered the bakery. Compared to the branch in the center of the city, this ce only had customers in ragged clothes. Most of them were also ring at them because they recognized that they were actually nobles.


    "I don''t understand why the young master of a ducal house is willing to do business in this side of the city." Romos had a frown on his face while looking around. Although the ce was neat and was decorated in warm colors, he still found it ufortable because of the presence of the people from the slums.


    "You should watch your words in this ce, Sir Romos. We don''t know what might happen so we better talk less and talk just about work." Alexio immediately warned his partner because they were being watched.


    Romos scoffed and gave the people inside a re. They found themselves a seat and watched as Cygnus talked with the employees. At this time, Astrophos also came out to greet the master. He was also there to report to him regarding the sales of the bakery.


    They talked for a while and Astrophos couldn''t help but give a nce at the two men who were obviously standing out in the crowd inside the bakery. Cygnus noticed his confusion and when he looked back it was his two shadows. He sighed and shook his head.


    "They''re here to follow me around, so don''t mind them." Cygnus answered the unsaid question on the mage''s mind.


    "Won''t it affect your ns?" Astrophos asked without removing his gaze on them.


    "It won''t and I am only indulging them." Cygnusughed and shook his head. He returned the document he was reading. "Just focus on your job and don''t let them bother you. They might send some people to investigate this ce so be prudent."


    Astrophos nodded and heeded the master''s words. He received the documents and went back to his office. He then received word that they left and after an hour, some men were already watching the bakery from a distance as they disguised themselves.


    The day ended with nothing gained from the observers'' side. They then bid the duke and the young master farewell for the day. After they left, some of their men were already stationed outside of the manor. Since they were not that weed, they decided to leave and return the next day.


    The following two days were uneventful and there was nothing unusual with the young master or the people around him. Even the staff of the Vergessen bakeries all appeared normal with normal lives. Everything about him was clean and this only disappointed Sir Romos who gained nothing.


    After theirst day, he went home in defeat. He cursed and destroyed things in his room because of what happened. All his efforts were wasted. He stopped in the middle of the room and calmed himself as he tried to console himself that he would get the chance to bring the Ginehart duchy down.


    The crisis, if it was appropriate to even call it like that, passed. Now Cygnus could move about without the shadows that were always following him. The people in the manor also sighed a breath of relief after they left. They wouldn''t worry about walking on eggshells around them.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    After a month, the Justice of Light was sessfully established and information was smoothly flowing inside the kingdom. However, there was no progress with the identity of the World Breaker. They didn''t even know if the Circle of Eight members were still alive.


    This time Arcaine and Evari returned from their investigation. Along the way, they caught up with the news in the capital. They also learned that Sir Aberleign also disappeared. They returned silently and met with Acasia at the Hero Association.


    "Did you find anything?" Acasia asked after they locked the door behind them. They sat down inside the study.


    "Nothing definite but there is one thing that we are sure of. It is not only one person who attacked the members of the Circle of Eight. After visiting all the ces of the incidents, we found out that the traces were different. This only means that there were different attackers." Evari exined which made Acasia sigh as his shoulders drooped.


    "Then it would make matters moreplicated," Acasia mumbled. He couldn''t believe that there were more. He thought that it was only the World Breaker but if he had aplices then the entire kingdom would be in an uproar.


    "We are not even sure if this World Breaker really exists. I don''t quite understand why the king believes the words of that man!" Evari was furious because instead of focusing on the investigation, they were focusing on something else.


    "We can''t do anything about that. The king and the ministers all believe him. Even the crown prince seems to believe his words." Acasia informed them with a frown on his face.


    As the president of the Hero Association, he tried to talk with the king but he was refused and even the crown prince refused to talk to him. He tried his best but they were too invested in finding the World Breaker. If he did really exist, then he would have beenughing at them.


    "Shall we report this to the king?" Arcaine asked because he would rather not have this kind of problem on his te.


    "Yes, we need to and maybe we can also report this to the Justice of Light. We will then let them handle the case since we can''t move without informing them." Acasia decisively answered because he too didn''t want this issue to fall on them.


    Although they were worried about the elder, it was better to let the Justice of Light handle it since they have a lot of manpower. He wasn''t willing to involve his Hero Association with the mess. They would rather be bystanders.


    The next day, Acasia together with Arcaine and Evira went to the Justice of Light and had a talk with the holy knight. They were invited to his office and they were served generously. The holy knight still didn''t show his face to them and just waited for them to speak.


    "We have an information that might help you. Although it is not about the World Breaker, I believe that it will still be useful to you." Acasia was the first one to utter a word since he was the leader of the Hero Association.


    "Oh," the holy knight became interested, "and what would that be?" He straightened his posture and he became alert.


    "The members of the Circle of Eight weren''t abducted or attacked by only one person. ording to our investigation, they were attacked by different people. Marks from the scene of the fight indicated so." Arcaine was the one who answered. It was better because Evira might lose her temper.

 Chapter 349 Here It Comes

    ?


    Onyx remained silent after he heard what they have to say. He leaned on his seat and chuckled. He already knew about it but he was firm in finding the World Breaker because he was their priority. Once they found him, everyone around him would appear.


    "That is inevitable. The World Breaker is a person who cannot work alone and he does have aplices with him. No need to worry, once we determine the identity of the World Breaker, everything will fall in ce," Onyx answered. He waved his hands with confidence that he could find the World Breaker and the priests were already preparing for the ritual to locate him.


    "If that''s the case, then we won''t be bothering you any further. The Hero Association will stay alert and will tell you if we find anything." Acasia stood up and gave the holy knight a nod.


    Since the man already knew about it, there was no reason for them to stay there any longer. They left the headquarters of the Justice of Light. Since they were already handling the matter and were aware of what was happening, there was not point in staying there any longer or reporting anything to them.


    "That''s it?" Evira stopped and ced both of his hands on her waist. She couldn''t believe that they were just walking out.


    "That''s it. Let them handle it. We don''t need to get involved with them any longer. That holy knight is not someone we can offend. I''m not even sure if he is human." Acasia looked back and at the floor where they just came from.


    "I agree with the president. This matter isn''t in our hands any longer. I myself don''t want to get involved with this Justice of Light." Arcaine also agreed with the president.


    He felt ufortable while talking with the holy knight. It was a feeling that crawls in your skin and gives you this feeling of unease. He couldn''t pinpoint it but he could tell that the Justice of Light was bad news. The name sounds fancy but the person behind it wasn''t someone nice.


    They entered the carriage and left the headquarters. Acasia parted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside. He could already see people wearing white robes around the ce and how the people were interacting with them.


    "I heard that they even investigated the youngest young master of Ginehart. They were seen following him behind and observing his every move. They did this to all the people that they suspected as the World Breaker." Acasia let go of the curtain and looked at the two people with him.


    "They are being thorough but are not afraid of offending people because the king is backing them." Evira frowned after her words.


    From then on, the Hero Association stepped back and watched as the time progressed. The Justice of Light slowly became influential in the capital. The nobles did their best to establish a connection with the organization and take a hold of the information system they had.


    After another month, the investigation on the World Breaker has gotten nowhere and Cygnus could onlyugh. He had been silent for that period of time and stayed low as his forces were gathering their strength for his n. He looked behind him and his people were busy ying cards inside his room.


    He could tell that they were bored and they had nothing to do. These past few days they opted on staying in the manor and ying games since he had nothing to pass their time. Ezio and Isaiah had been learning magic and were making improvements in their skills at the ckwell territory.


    Cygnus also took this chance to visit General Linius who already reached the north. The general was with William Ginehart and just as they expected, they were ambushed along the way. They managed to survive but they did not send any news that they reached the northern border.


    General Linius stabilized the north and made a base for himself there. He was so busy establishing his base and knights that he decided not to get involved with what was happening in the capital. The visit from the master was a bit unusual and surprising for him at the same time.


    "I wasn''t expecting you toe and visit me," the general grinned. He looked at the young man and noticed that nothing about him changed.


    "I''ve missed you," Cygnus answered. This made the general cringe and frown. He shook his head and gestured for the man to have a seat.


    "Please, it is impossible for you to be missing someone like me." Liniusughed and sat down too so they were facing each other. He served them both a hot tea which he knew that the master liked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "That''s true. I just came here because the duke misses you and of course I also came to see the situation in this ce." Cygnus looked around before he picked up the tea cup and had a sip. "This ce is actually nice and more silent, unlike the capital."


    "Do you want to live here then?" Linius raised an eyebrow before heughed out loud. "That was actually a joke. I know that someone like you won''t be living in this kind of ce."


    "You shouldn''t judge a book by its cover. I''ve been in a worse situation than this." Cygnus took a sip of the tea and was surprised that it tasted good even though it was from the north.


    "Then I have nothing to say," Linius answered. "Then may I know the reason why you suddenly visited me?" He finally asked after a few seconds of silence between them.


    "It''s happening. The capital will soon fall into chaos and everything you hold dear might get destroyed. Your father already knew about this and he doesn''t have much reaction to it." Cygnus informed him as he looked up to observe the man''s reaction but he saw nothing.


    The general''s face was rxed and at ease. "I''ve already expected it too. With how your character is, it will surely happen and there''s nothing I can do about it."


    "That''s an answer that I really like. Is it because you are loyal to me or is it because you genuinely follow me now?" Cygnus''s eyes were wide as he looked at the general who was now shaking his head.


    "You''ve already told us before that you would destroy this world and we were just honestly waiting for it. This world has been polluted for a long time now and before any suffering could happen, it is better to end it now." Linius answered which was already known to the master.


    One would think that he was randomly picking people to be his subordinates but he too has his own standards. Ignius was a dragon with a dark past and was willing to kill to get what he wanted. Nina was a woman full of bitterness and revenge was her driving force.


    Mr. C and Ari were intelligences that were abandoned but he found useful. Astrophos was a troubled mage that was hanging between the boundary of good and evil. Ezio was a youngster who witnessed his only family''s death and whose heart had been slowly tainted.


    Vain whose future was stolen because of some crazy experiments for the sake of power. Reitou and Nahar were spirits forgotten and weakened who were only looking for a ce where they could belong. Linius who was a proud man but was consumed with hatred because of how his brother died. He was someone who would uphold justice but to the person who killed his brother, he could be the worst viin.


    They were all people that the master deemed to be trustworthy. They were suitable people for him to use because they wouldn''tin and would follow everything he wouldmand. In every world, he was lucky to find such people that could keep himpany.


    "Then you should prepare yourself and of course your soldiers because war ising." Cygnus stood up and looked at the general. "I will surely lose my mind in the process so you should do what you can if you want to stay alive."


    Cygnus turned around and entered the gate that led to the Ginehart manor. Since all of his people were ready, it''s high time that he would also make a move. Cygnus immediately had his butler beside him as he gave him a grin.


    Mr. C nodded and left for the living where the others were still ying. He pped his hands to get their attention. The noisy living room silenced and all pairs of eyes were now looking at him. Mr. C gave them all a smile which only meant one thing, the master was making his move.


    "This is great!" Nina eximed because they could already guess what the master wanted to convey.


    This was the usual smile that the butler would give them when the master decided to do what he always did. It would be war very soon and that means that they would be able to stand beside the master proudly. This is one of the things the old servants were looking forward to.


    "It is finally happening." Ignius was nodding his head with a grin. Their long wait was over.

 Chapter 350 Nina I

    ?


    These looks confused the two new members of their group. Nahar looked down at the child who was silently standing beside him. Vain had his eyes wide and sparkling while looking at the direction of the others. He could feel the curiositying from him.


    "What do you mean?" Nahar asked because he too was curious as to what was happening. He wanted to know what got them all excited.


    Ignius and Nina looked back at the elven spirit guardian with a grin. They walked towards him and looked him in the eye. They also gave Vain a nod.


    "The reason why we are so happy today is because the master is finally making his move. This kingdom will soon be thrown into chaos." Nina answered his question with so much enthusiasm.


    "If you think about it, all the actors are already here in Lunaira, so it is reasonable for the master to finally show his cards." Ignius flopped down on the chain once again as he leaned back.


    "That''s true and with our newrades, everything will be so much fun," Nina said. She hummed and took a step back.


    She twirled with her purple hair swaying around. Her crispughter echoed in the room and made the ambiance brighter. This was the first time they were seeing her this happy.


    Nahar was surprised but after that he smiled. He was pleased with how things were proceeding. He looked down at Vain and patted him on the shoulder.


    "We are lucky to be part of this." He nced at the other two and at the butler who was still standing by the doorway.


    "With the master''s deration, please prepare yourselves because anytime from now, we will be starting." Mr. C gave them a smile. "Please inform the others about the master''s decision." He gave them a nod before he turned around and left.


    "Now that you mentioned it. I am curious as to what the worlds you''ve been to look like?" Nahar asked after he too sat down once again.


    He observed them and was d that he did not strike any raw nerves. Ignius and Nina only looked at each other before both of them sighed. The world where they came from was something they didn''t want to remember but it was already in the past.


    "My world is not like this one. It''s a dark ce with only a few hours of sunshine before it would be covered again by dark clouds. The buildings are ck and there is always rain." Nina spoke first as she described the ce where she came from.


    Although it was unpleasant, she still managed to speak and describe how she lived in that ce. To her it was a dreary ce and if she had a way, she would have already forgotten it. If not for the master appearing in that world, she would be dead by now.


    The city she was living in was called Crow City. It was a dark ce where most people involved with crime and most people who had been living there were criminals. Nina grew up there and survived with her wit and courage.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    She didn''t even know who her parents were and the earliest memory she has was rummaging through the dumpster for food. To her, it was better than going hungry because she was unable to work. She would go to the market and steal some fruits and bread. She would be lucky if she didn''t get caught.


    She slept in an abandoned building together with the other street orphans. The building was once apany but after the owner was killed and after his family fought for his money thepany was abandoned. It then became a ce for different activities and once became a drug den but after the people who were doing drugs were arrested, the building remained abandoned.


    The windows were broken. The entrance was no more while the walls were full of graffiti. Their floors were full of trash and because the ce always experiences rain, the corners of the walls and the posts became green in color. Whenever she touched them, it felt wet and slimy.


    That''s where they pass their cold and rainy nights. She would also watch as the children with her disappear one-by-one. Some of them would be killed on the streets for no reason or some of them would be taken in by syndicates to do some dirty work.


    The upper floors of the building were of the same state but because the foundations of the building already had cracks on them, they didn''t dare to go up more than three floors. The only floors that were actually upied were until the third floor and each room became like a dormitory. They on the other hand upied the first floor.


    In that ce, no one would give them a look of sympathy. Normal people in that ce would only mind their own business and would go along their way even if there was a guy on the street begging for help or dying. She understood why they acted like when she grew up. They were only protecting themselves because in Crow City, if you get involved you die and she learned it the hard way.


    In that ce anomalies like her were precious and rare. It was a world where magic wasn''t feasible. Guns and money were the power that ruled that world but there were individuals who were gifted with a power that neither money nor gun could create. Although it was a world that abandoned their ancient history, people in there still valued those who can use magic.


    Syndicates, mafias, powerful families, underworld organizations and even the government would kill just to have a mage in their ranks. Nina was just that, a child who could use magic. She discovered that she could create bombs that could explode at her will when she was being chased by people because she stole money from a stall.


    In her desperate attempt to live, her mana manifested in a bright purple color that scattered in that ce where sheid in her own pool of blood. She was shot that day and as she fell on the ground, she desperately wished to live. Nina did not want to die.


    "That''s my first encounter with death. It was so memorable that even until now I can still feel the pain of that wound that almost took my life at the age of twelve. And as I was lying there, I felt a hot surge inside my body. I didn''t even know what it was and I had no idea what was happening around me because I was slowly losing consciousness." Nina narrated while she rested her head on her knuckles.


    She pulled the te of nuts on the table with her right hand and picked one piece to put in her mouth. She slowly chewed and savored the vor of the snack but the others didn''t mind. It was her story so they didn''t want to rush her. They instead took this chance to choose a snack for themselves.


    "I could only hear screams and I remembered smiling to myself because I thought that they were all dying. That''s myst thought before Ipletely fell unconscious," she continued.


    That day, the mana she released unconsciously killed the people who were after her. Everyone that touched the mana exploded on the spot. The explosion shook the whole city and everyone rushed to see what happened only to find mutted bodies on the ground.


    They also found a patch of fresh blood but there was no body found. The people who were perceptive already started investigating the incident after they found out that there were no explosives used in the ce. There was no debris and no damage to the surrounding buildings or even on the ground. The explosions were only focused on the people that were found dead.

 Chapter 351 Nina II

    ?


    In a small house outside the city, a woman just finished patching up the child she picked up. Her purple hair was matted with dirt and blood. She did what she could to clean her up and bandaged her wound after she removed the bullet that hit her.


    Nina finally opened her eyes after three days of sleeping and what met her was the ceiling that was patched with stic to prevent it from leaking. It turned into a ck because of the constant rain. She could feel the hard wood on her back but also the soft feeling of something like fur.


    Nina tilted her head and saw a woman who had her back turned. She was cooking something and the aroma of the food made her stomach grumble. The woman heard it so she turned around and saw that the child she saved was already awake.


    The woman walked up to her and helped her to sit down. She even helped Nina to lean on the bed''s headboard. The woman helped Nina recover and she even fed her. That was her very first encounter with a person who really cared. It was a foreign feeling but for a child who didn''t experience what they call a family, she enjoyed every moment of it.


    "But even that came to an end." Nina gave a bitter smile when she remembered the only woman who showed her kindness in that world of cruelty. "Because in the end, she died because of people coveting my power. She did her best to protect me but everything was in vain."


    In the end, she was captured and was forced to work for the syndicate who first found her. They trained her to be their soldier with only pure anger as the emotion that remained within her. She bid her time and made herself stronger for the sake of revenge. She promised that she would kill everyone who took the only happiness she had.


    She did what they wanted. Killed those theymanded she kill. She became known as the ughterer and everyone feared her. The syndicate she was working for rose to power and became well known in that world. Whenever they saw a purple hair, people would immediately run away and their enemies would surrender in fear.


    She watched as that syndicate enjoyed the prestige and the power that came with them possessing a mage. She honed her ability until she could take down a whole organization alone. Despite what she did for them, she did not forget what they did.


    It was in the middle of a storm when she finally struck. The syndicate was in the middle of a meeting together with all the high officials of the group. They had been talking about how they could expand their power to more cities and even with the heavy rain, theirughter still filled that eerie room. Nina, who had been silent on the side, stepped forward which caught the attention of the syndicate leaders.


    "I stood there and looked at them. They were supposed to be humans but they all appeared as monsters to me. They were all ck with red eyes and jagged teeth. Theirughter sounded like growls in my ear and it made me irritated." Nina straightened her back and continued, "That''s when I decided to just kill them all."


    Nina''s mana scattered inside the room and the higher-ups of the syndicate started to stand up in a panic. They looked at the woman who was staring at them with cold eyes. They became angry and confused as to what was happening.


    Some of them started to run away but Nina''s mana tightly shut the doors. She could feel their fear as the bodyguards started to move too. They then realized that they were being betrayed. They brought out their guns and started to fire towards her. Several explosions happened as the bullets collided with the mana wall that she created to protect herself.


    "During that time, I could feel a sudden rush of satisfaction and joy in seeing them running around in panic. They were desperately trying to kill me but I have the upper hand. I was ecstatic because they could no longer hurt me. I exploded them one-by-one and watched as the blood painted the walls of that dreadful room." A grin appeared on the woman''s face as she recounted that particr event in her life.


    All of that happened before the master arrived in that world. During that night of rain and thunder, she massacred the syndicate she had been working for ten years. She relished in the scent of their blood and the sound of their screams that rang in the air. As the explosions were happening, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply then a grin appeared on her face.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Herughter rang and mingled with the desperate pleas of the people who made her life a living hell. She waited as no voices could be heard inside that room before she exited. Minions of the organization were already waiting for her as she stepped out. Their guns were pointed at her and they fired without mercy.


    Since she already used a considerable amount of mana inside the conference room, she wasn''t able to fully defend against the attacks. Her body was riddled with gunshot wounds but she still managed to kill them all and set their headquarters in fire. Even with the heavy rain, the fire continued to burn until it all became ashes.


    "Then the master found me and took me under his wing. During that time, he was already with the butler and the dragon. I thought I was really going to die but I managed to survive thanks to them." Nina concluded her story with a wide grin. They considered it a satisfied smile because they knew that she was satisfied with her current life.


    "That is quite an interesting backstory you had there." Nahar spoke after she said her piece. Since he was born a guardian spirit, it was very interesting to hear that story from a human.


    "Interesting? Are you going to use it for a novel or something?" Nina raised her head with her eyebrows raised towards the man.


    Nahar shook his head. "I mean no offense. It is because I was born as a spirit that I have no knowledge of how humans lived their lives. I only have superficial knowledge regarding them as my interaction with them was limited."


    "Oh, that''s right." Nina realized because she actually forgot that the man before them was a guardian spirit and that he was actually an elf.


    "Thank you for sharing that story even though you felt ufortable talking about it. I learned another thing because of that and your world is really different from this one." Nahar couldn''t help but voice out his opinion.


    "That''s true and because of the master I can freely use my power in whatever world we visit." Nina suddenly added which only added to the elf''s curiosity. "It''s one of the perks that I learned throughout the time I was with them and I also discovered that I do not age."


    Nahar fell into silence after hearing the woman''s statement. So, the master had a power that could influence the people who were under his wings which was exactly what he felt. Aside from that, this could also prevent one from aging.


    "If that''s the case, then, if the master dies or disappears, all of us will disappear too since we are bound to him." He blurted out which further put the living room into an awkward silence.


    Nina was dumbfounded at those words but she quickly recovered. The dragon who had been silent for a while now did not say anything and there was no change in his expression. The room was in utter silence when they heard an apuse from the doorway that leads to the living room.

 Chapter 352 How It All Began

    ?


    Eight pairs of eyes shifted their gaze to the person who just entered. They all gave him very different reactions as Nina waved while the dragon and the elf gave him a nod. Vain on the other hand didn''t nod or wave, he just sat there while looking at the master.


    "You''ve guessed right, Nahar. If I die orpletely disappear then all of you will also die and age. Your bodies will weaken and you will feel your powers slipping away from within you. After that, your bodies will turn into dust. That''s the kind of contract you all had with me." Cygnus exined while walking towards them.


    He was justing down from the second floor when he heard them talking about Nina and how she came to be under his care. It was alright but then he heard Nahar''s statement and he couldn''t help but go and take a look at them. When he saw that they remained unbothered, he decided to join them.


    "Well, that won''t be a problem with me. I mean I can die for the safety of the master so there''s really no change with regards to that." Nina shrugged her shoulders and didn''t see the matter as something important.


    "I''ve been living a long life, so it does not bother me too." Ignius finally spoke for the first time. He was a dragon and to be able to live until nine hundred years wasn''t too bad for his species. "At least, I enjoyed most of the moments in my long life."


    Nahar and Vain had nothing to say because they were only new to the group. They felt loyalty towards the master but as beings permitted to think for themselves, they too have their concerns. They were amazed right at that moment because of how the ck dragon and the fiery woman expressed themselves.


    Cygnusughed. "Those words for a normal human being would only burden them but because I am not someone ordinary, I can take all of it and bear responsibility."


    "Now I can see why they follow you earnestly." Nahar nodded his head. "You too, master, are loyal to them."


    The master wanted to refute but for some reason he remained silent. "I may not look like it but I do give importance to the people who had been aiding me for the longest time that I even picked up some additional people along the way." His gaze thennded in the direction of the elf and Vain.


    Naharughed and shook his head. "Yes, you were very dedicated to letting us join your entourage and I don''t regret joining it."


    "Are you sure, you are going to die once I die, and yet you still won''t regret it?" Cygnus inquired while gauging the guardian spirit''s reaction.


    "I''ve already lived a long life. It was boring and uneventful. If I can have some fun by joining you, then I would wee death with open arms." Nahar chuckled while waving his hands.


    "That''s good then," Cygnus nodded. He sat done with them and joined them for some snacks.


    "What kind of n are you cooking right now, master?" Nahar inquired after letting the master settle down.


    "You will soon see it. In fact, it is already happening." Cygnus lifted the teacup in his hand and drank it in one go. He sighed and grinned.


    While they were rxing in the living room, the dungeon was a bit busy. The members of the Circle of Eight was silent for the first week of being held but after waiting for nothing, they became restless. Elvira became extremely agitated as the days passed and Aberleign noticed it.


    After passing out, she woke up inside the dungeon alive. She saw familiar faces but her mind wasn''t in its right state. She could still remember the man telling her that the royal family won''t be safe.


    Elvira did not waste time and meditated so that she could get her strength back. She would stand up from time to time and circled the prison cell she was in. She was looking for a loop that could give her the opportunity to escape and warn the royal family. Now that a month passed by, she was ready to break out.


    "You will be discovered once you try to escape," Aberleign kindly informed her. He had been observing the woman ever since she first opened her eyes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "If I won''t try, then how will we know?" Elvira answered without giving the man a nce.


    "You haven''t changed even a little bit. Why do you even try when we all know that we will die in this ce and in the hands of that person." Aberleign, who was leaning on the cold wall of his cell, spoke up when he heard the woman''s answer.


    "I can''t die in this ce. I thought I already epted my fate and yet that man is also targeting the royal family. I can''t let him touch them." Elvira answered with a frown on her face. She gritted her teeth and held the prison bars in anger.


    "You still treasure the royal family even though they were the reason why we are in this kind of predicament," Aberleignughed, "your blind loyalty is the reason why we are still alive until today."


    There was mocking in his voice as he looked at the direction of the woman. If they did not follow hermand then they would have been long dead. They wouldn''t be suffering with the curse of immortality in them.


    Elvira stopped and tilted her head to the side. She stared at the brick walls of her own cell without answering the man. All that happened in the past was still fresh in her mind like it just happened yesterday. She couldn''t refute what Aberleign said because it was the undeniable truth.


    At that time, she was serving as the royal mage and together with her was the members of the Circle of Eight. They were renowned mages and yet they still couldn''t bepared to the Altair family. A direct descendant from that family could easily defeat them.


    But because the Altair were part of the kingdom''s defense, they were not named as royal mages and they only dedicated their lives in protecting thend. They were so powerful that the royal family could not tie them down and the other kingdoms were wary of them. As time passed, the war ended and there was finally peace.


    No outside threats could even scare the Lunaira Kingdom of the past because of their guardian. Although it seemed peaceful and they were living in harmony, the creeping fear and anxiety in the king''s heart kept him awake during the nights. The people admired and respected them. They even held power that could overturn his kingdom.


    He feared that they would usurp the throne from him. During those nights, the king thought and thought of a way to decrease their power. He won''t be reassured as long as the Altair family still stands. That was when he came up with a n.


    It was simple and effective. Since there were ministers who hated the Altair Family, they colluded with the king and pinned treason unto them. They werebeled as traitors and were sent to fight against their will. Even though they were powerful, they couldn''t go against the will of the royalty.


    As the head of the Altair, he died in vain. He took his own life and it only incited the Altair''s enemies to chew them alive. Thus, the witch hunt happened as they weakened the family by poisoning them. The royal mages were then ordered to kill all of the members of the Altair.


    Because they were overshadowed for so long, the mages took that chance to prove themselves and with the encouragement of Elvira, they took lives. They were even promised with a reward and yet after the massacre what they got was only eternal life. It became both a reward and a punishment to them as they were reminded of what happened in the past.


    Now the fangs of revenge were upon them. Aberleign already epted his fate after he learned that his prospect of a disciple was a survivor of that incident. The Magus Maximus must have learned of this fact too before he died. He just wanted to me the woman even though he himself knew that he too was to be med.


    "But you were not the only person to me because we followed you willingly. We were greedy and all we wanted was the prestige that they had. In the end, we were still cursed." Aberleign suddenly added which made the atmosphere a bit bleak.


    "I know but the royal family of this time has nothing to do with what happened in the past. It is already a thousand years ago and that man already died. He got what he deserved." Elvira clenched her fists and as she took a step back and red at the bars that were trapping her inside the cell.


    "Will that be even enough to convince the man from not touching the current royal family? He lived for a thousand years and now that he has returned, he won''t spare anyone just because they were not the people that were directly involved in the incident. No matter what you do, they are still connected by blood." Aberleign shook his head while exining because the woman seemed to not understand the situation she was in.

 Chapter 353 Escape And Meeting

    ?


    Elvira became furious. She did not want to admit that what the man said was true. Her undying loyalty to the royal family was the only purpose of her life. To protect them was her responsibility.


    If not for the royal family, she would have died on the streets. But because she was given the chance to serve the king, her life turned for the better. Now that she gained eternal life, she vowed that she wouldn''t abandon the royal family.


    "You wouldn''t understand because you do not have anyone in your life that you wanted to protect." Her fists were clenched as she willed the iron bars to disappear.


    A long water whip appeared on her hands and she grinned. She was finally able to surpass the anti-magic spell inside her cell. The magic circle broke into pieces and disappeared into thin air.


    Elvira waved his hand and the whip moved towards the iron bars. The force and mana on the whip cut through the bars cleanly. She took her time and stepped out of the cell.


    "Who wants toe with me?" She purposely raised her voice so that the others could hear her.


    But none of them answered her even if she waited for a a whole minute. She closed her eyes and walked away without looking back. Since they were determined to stay, there was no reason for her to force them.


    She walked pass through the damp hallways but no guards came. Her footsteps echoed in that silent space but none of the enemies came. She did not know what to feel because all she could think about was reaching the royal family.


    Elvira saw stairs that would lead her up at the end of the hallway. She took deep breaths and slowly approached while keeping her vignce for any traps that might be nted there. She deliberately made her footsteps slow and light but nothing happened.


    She took the first step on the flight of stairs and there was nothing. After taking ten more steps, she became more confident. She was already running up and when she saw a door, she rammed towards it.


    The door opened to an abandoned house. It was dusty and full of debris from the destroyed furniture. She looked around but she saw no one. The door was actually unguarded.


    This should have been suspicious of this matter but because her mind was preupied with something else, she disregarded this fact. She walked across the dirty floor towards the exit of the ce.


    The door creaked at the force of her arms as it opened to a forest. The house she was in was actually in the middle of nowhere but this did not pose any difficulty for her. She casted magic and slowly levitated into the air.


    As her height reached beyond the trees, she could already tell where she was. She frowned but paid no mind to it. She turned around and propelled herself with magic at the direction of the Lumier, the capital of Lunaira.


    At the same time, Cygnus already had a smile on his face while drinking tea with the others. "It finally begins." He muttered followed by a loud and crispugh from him.


    "Oh!" Ignius suddenly reacted and looked in the master''s direction. He thenughed and even pped his hands because of what the master did.


    The others in the room couldn''t help but look at the direction of theughing dragon. They all looked confused and wanted an answer from him. It took him a while before he finally gave in.


    "One of our prisoners managed to escape and she''s headed towards Lumier right now." Ignius kindly informed them.


    It took a couple of minutes before the realization dawned on Nina and Nahar. Vain on the other hand was still confused. Even though he was strong, he would remain a child.


    "So, are we going to sit here and wait for them toe knocking on our door?" Nina then inquired with her fingers on her chin.


    "Well, that is better than us making a move. It will also give the illusion that we do not know anything." Ignius answered for the master.


    Cygnus nodded. It was already no surprise that they knew his intentions. Now all they needed to do was wait for the effect. It would be so much fun to see them in chaos because of what would happen. These were the times that he wanted to witness as the world descended into chaos.


    "Do Reitou and Ezio know of the n?" Nina suddenly asked after the information was revealed to them. She was concerned that they wouldn''t know what was happening and would be out of the loop.


    "Ari already informed them," Mr. C answered. He already instructed her to inform all of the people involved even General Linius knew of the n.


    Three days have passed since Elvira escaped. She already reached the city''s walls and slipped in silently. She navigated through the streets incognito until she reached the familiar ce where she lived all her life. Now all she needed to do was show herself to the king and tell him everything.


    Elvira stood at the entrance for a long time before she decided to enter. Using her magic, she was able to evade all the guards that were roaming the halls and guarding each room of the pce. Elvira made her way towards the king''s study and entered without the king noticing her.


    She stood there for a while as she watched the king work. After a few moments, she finally revealed herself and called out the king''s name. Orpheus looked up and was surprised to see Lady Elvira standing there in front of him.


    He stopped all he was working on and walked up to the woman. "Lady Elvira, how? You are here?" He was confused as to how the woman they had been searching for was suddenly standing inside his office.


    "I managed to escape and I am here now to tell you who your enemy is." She answered without hesitation. "I might die after I tell you this but I just couldn''t let the royal family be involved with something that already happened in the past."


    "What are you talking about, elder?" He became more confused because of the woman''s words. He couldn''t help but look at the woman''s appearance too.


    Thest time they met, the woman was still at her best but now she looked ruffled and unkempt. It was far from her elegant looks in the past. Her clothes were torn and her face and arms were marked with grime that was unbefitting of her status.


    "But before that elder, please let the servants serve you first before we continue with this discussion. I can see that you are exhausted. This conversation can wait." The king then called for the guard that was stationed outside of his study.


    Once the guard entered, he gave him orders to escort their guest and let the servants help her change. The guard was also ordered to go to the kitchen and let the chefs prepare a set of meals for the elder. Elvira was indeed exhausted so she epted the king''s hospitality.


    She took a bath and was dressed before she was given the food that the royal kitchen prepared. She ate with gusto even though as an immortal it wasn''t necessary for her to eat or drink because she would still remain alive after being starved. After the meal, she returned to the king''s study where Orpheus was patiently waiting for her.


    "Please have a seat elder and make yourselffortable." King Orpheus guided the woman into the couch.


    After they were seated, the king stared at the woman for a while before he finally sighed. It was good that the elder managed to escape her captors unscathed. Now, he didn''t need to hold back once they found out who the World Breaker was. He was also ecstatic because the elder seemed to bear good news for him.


    "I am happy and relieved to see you elder. We thought that we wouldn''t be able to find you. We had been doing our best and using our best resources to find you," the king started.


    He started to tell her about how they got the Justice of Light to help them find out who the enemy was. They had been scouring the kingdom and the other kingdoms for the World Breaker. The king also told the woman that there were several suspects in the capital but after investigation, they were found to be free of suspicion. While he was speaking, the woman remained silent as her face turned ck.


    The king noticed the woman''s reaction. "What''s the matter, elder?" He finally asked.


    "You''ve let the culprit go." Elvira answered with a sour face. When she heard that familiar name, she already knew that he was capable of evading suspicion.


    "What do you mean elder?" Orpheus didn''t expect that the elder would say something like that and if that was the case then they would have missed the opportunity to capture their enemy.


    "But I won''t me you because that man had the ability to deceive the people around him and he could get away with what he had done," she said in a low voice. She had a frown while clenching her fists.

 Chapter 354 Identity

    ?


    Orpheus did not answer nor speak. He could only wait for the elder to tell him what was going on. He couldn''t figure out how they were deceived because the Justice of Light conducted the investigation personally, so how could they have been deceived? Out of nowhere, the king heard Lady Elvira cursing and getting angry over something he didn''t know.


    "Rigel Maverick Ginehart. He is the person you are looking for." She dropped the bomb which stopped the king. Time seemed to have slowed down because of those words.


    That name continued to echo inside the king''s head before he managed to snap out of it. ''How could that young man be the person they were looking for?'' He asked himself because the Justice of Light already confirmed that he was not the World Breaker.


    "H-How?" He even stuttered as he asked that simple question. The young man that he was fond of turned out to be an enemy, it was impossible. "It''s impossible because the holy knight already confirmed that he was not the enemy, so how could he be the World Breaker?"


    "I wish I was wrong too but that is the truth. I saw him with my own eyes because he was the person who interrogated me. He is not who he seems to be!" Elvira became indignant because the king did not believe her.


    "Please calm down Lady Elvira. It''s not that I don''t believe you. I just couldn''t jump into conclusions. I already offended Duke Ulysses Ginehart for letting the Justice of Light investigate his son. Even though the duke isn''t favored right now, he still controls the West." The king immediately pacified the woman who was about to go hysterical.


    Even though he was the king, he still needed to be careful of whatever he did. The four ducal households hold power that could threaten his rule. The duke of the east and the west were known to be friends and if he pushed it a bit further with Duke Ginehart, he was sure that Duke ckwell would back his friend.


    The duke of the north has remained neutral for a long time now that he would onlye to the capital when summoned. He did not fancy the thought of supporting people and just kept to himself. The duke of the south was narcissistic. She would rather focus on making money thane and y power with them.


    Elvira calmed down and took several deep breaths to calm herself. The king did not talk at that interval and waited for the woman to calm down. This also gave him the time to think about what the woman revealed to him. He''ll need proof that Duke Ginehart''s son was indeed the World Breaker. Solid evidence would make their im solid.


    Several names immediately came to mind while he was thinking of who he should ask to investigate the matter. Crown Prince Renzo and his advisor Lindon Ginehart would be the most suited people to do the investigation. He''ll need to talk with them and he''ll need to seek the holy knight once more.


    "How do you n to handle this matter then?" Elvira asked after she managed to gather thoughts and started to think rationally.


    "I already have people in mind who will be willing to investigate the matter in my stead. Since I cannot make a move, I will use them." A small smile graced the king''s mouth while saying those words. "They would dly ept this request."


    "Then you should be careful. We don''t even know what that man is thinking right now. I''m sure that he already knew that I escaped but he hasn''t done anything yet. I''m afraid that they are nning something more sinister." The woman''s voice trembled and her eyes dropped down as she looked at herp.


    The king could see that she was trembling. The strongest woman she ever knew was not shaking just because of one man and they weren''t even sure if he was really the enemy. He had his doubts but he couldn''t just brush off the words of the elder.


    "Regarding the past you were talking about a while ago? What was it about?" He asked when he remembered the woman''s first statement.


    The woman''s shaking stopped when she heard the king''s question. The unpleasant shbacks started once again. She whimpered as the face of that child appeared on her memory. That bloody night was a scene that she would remember every time she would go to bed once again.


    "He is a person that should have died in the past but he managed to survive and now he has returned to the world where all of his tragedies began." The woman mumbled but the king still heard all of it loud and clear.


    He did not give anyment regarding the things she said and waited for her to continue. That information wasn''t enough to quench his curiosity. He felt that something far deeper happened. It was not just a simple fight nor misunderstanding because of the woman''s reaction.


    Elvira raised her head and looked the king straight in the eye. "We killed all of his family members just to preserve the royal family''s power. We charged them as traitorous and conspirators but all of it was just made up because they were loyal to the crown. It was aplete massacre and blood bath."


    The king was shaken to the core as he stared and listened to Lady Elvira. The hand that was ced on the chair''s armrest clenched. He froze and didn''t know what he should do or how he should act. It was his ancestors who created the mess and now they were suddenly involved.


    "He''s out for revenge and I believe that he won''t stop unless this kingdom is destroyed. This is the reason why I made the decision to escape and return. I already epted my fate and yet when I heard that he was targeting the royal family too, I made this decision." Elvira was still looking at him because she wanted him to feel the fear that she was feeling.


    "That is unfortunate but it already happened in the past," the king said. If this was the truth then the more that he needed to be prudent.


    "It is but that man''s heart has long been tainted ck," Elvira muttered. She retracted her gaze and returned to staring at herp.


    This action made the king ufortable. He still had his fists clenched when he called for the guard once again. The crown prince and his advisor were immediately summoned and they came in record time. Renzo pushed open the door but what he saw halted his steps.


    His gaze started to keep switching from the king and the visitor that was sitting with him. He got out from his stupefied reaction when he felt a nudge behind him. He coughed first before he walked towards his father.


    "Is there a problem, father? And, who is this person?" He asked those questions after observing the woman first.


    "Take a seat first." The king gestured for the other empty seats inside the receiving area of his study. Renzo and Lindon took their seats.


    The room fell into an awkward silence after the two of them sat down. Both of them became alert of whatever the king was about to say. Their bodies were stiff and their backs were straight. The king couldn''t help butugh because of what the two of them were doing.


    "I have no problem with the two of you. In fact, you are here to help Lady Elvira with an important investigation." He pointed at the silent woman. Now this answered both of the crown prince''s questions.


    Both Renzo and Lindon took a second look at the woman. They were informed that she disappeared, thus the reason why the king allowed the Justice of Light to establish themselves in the kingdom. Yet, she was there and sitting calmly in front of them.

 Chapter 355 Discovery

    ?


    "What happened?" Renzo became unsure because of the sudden turn of events. He wanted to know who and what happened to the elder.


    "The elder managed to escape and she gave us valuable information. All I want is a confirmation if it is true. After that we will n our next move." The king started as she stared at the both of them before he spoke again, "You will go and investigate Rigel Maverick Ginehart."


    Themand was surprising because the man was considered as theirrade but after a moment the guilt disappeared. Although the young man was a good kid, there was still this instinct that prompted the crown prince to hate Rigel. Lindon on the other hand wanted to inherit the duchy and absolutely hated the current ducal family.


    "Your majesty, may I know the reason why we are investigating Rigel? If this was rted to the identity of the World Breaker, Rigel was already clear of suspicions." Lindon tried to gauge the king''s attitude to his behavior so he could give him a good answer.


    "Yes, the Justice of Light already investigated him. We couldn''t take any chances. I will also talk with the holy knight so that they can prepare themselves for a brewing conflict in the future." The king gave them the standard reaction. "Will you be able to do it?"


    Crown Prince Renzo was confused as to why the king wanted to re-investigate Rigel. He was bing more and more confused. His gazended on the woman who had been silently sitting on the side. He was sure then that the elder got something to do with this.


    His gaze then went to the man beside him. "You have documents regarding the Ginehart family right, especially of the main branch?" He asked Lindon who had been strangely quiet ever since they entered the king''s study.


    Lindon had no choice but to nod. "Yes, I have everything you''ll need to know regarding the main family." He looked at them because it was no secret from the prince that he wanted to be the head of the Ginehart Duchy and that he had been gathering information that could bring them down.


    With the king''s permission, Lindon left the room and went back to his office. It took him a while but the royalties were quiet patient. None of them talked and it made the atmosphere even more awkward. There were many questions that the crown prince wanted to ask but because of the situation he couldn''t ask them outright.


    Finally, after waiting for thirty minutes, Lindon returned with the documents in his hand. He ced a thick stack of paper on the table and gestured for them to freely open it. The first one to touch the documents was the king.


    He was quite impressed at how detailed the information there was. He was even nodding his head while browsing through the documents. After the first document, he ced it back on the side of the original stack. Orpheus couldn''t help but look at the person whopiled all of it.


    "Why would you, a Ginehart, wouldpile a document like this? Were you nning on taking down the main family with these?" The king could already tell that he was right based on Lindon''s serious face but he still wanted to confirm it and hear it from the person''s mouth.


    With no other choice, Lindon sighed. "Yes. I have been nning that for a long time now. They''ve been holding the Ginehart Duchy for a long time now and I don''t believe that the main family has the sole right to inherit the duchy."


    His voice was low and full of resentment. Lindon had been living behind the shadow of the children of the main family. He knew that he could be better and he had the potential but he was never given the chance to show what he could do.


    That was especially so because Linius was a talented warrior and as he grew up, his talents became overwhelming. People admired him because they believed that he was as talented as his grandfather. He wanted to show what he was capable of but then their second child arrived.


    He thought that he wouldn''t have a chance but when the second child did not appear in public, he was overjoyed. He bided his time and that''s when he discovered a secret that would definitely shake the whole of Ginehart. The second child was actually a person who could use magic.


    At first, he wanted to make the information known to the world but he decided not to because he thought of something far more twisted. He wanted to hurt them and let them know that their position in the Ginehart was not secure and that there was someone waiting for their downfall.


    Then the ident happened. The mansion where the child had been residing burned down and no one survived. It was the report he received and yet there he was standing and alive during that party where he was officially introduced to society.


    His ns halted and he needed to start again with some of his ns. Now, he was using the influence of the crown prince to do so. He was setting up the stage and now that there was an opportunity, he wouldn''t let it go.


    "Once Duke Ulysses falls, I will use my power to take control of the duchy, that was the n. And yet when he introduced Rigel those ns were thwarted and I needed to look for another loophole. That''s why I collected more information about them." Lindon even revealed the reason why he has so much information.


    Elvira picked up one of the documents and started to read it. Even the crown prince joined. Only the rustling papers could be heard for a while inside the king''s study. They were all focused on every detail that might give them the proof or a hint on who the current Rigel truly was.


    Finally, they finished reading all the documents. They all shifted their gaze to the man who had been waiting in silent enthusiasm. The king found some vague points in the records and he wanted to confirm if those were true.


    "No one had ever seen Duke Ulysses''s second child until he was introduced to the public. They did this a few weeks after the incident and at that time he was already adept in magic." The king said in a loud voice.


    "But they still managed to prove that he is of the same blood as the duke and the duchess," the crown prince followed. "Too much coincidence besides the mage who performed the test was someone who was loyal to Duke ckwell."


    "It may have been deliberately nned. Their son might have really died during that fire and the World Breaker took that chance to slip inside and pose as the second child." The king stated once again as he pondered on how that happened.


    "There are possibilities. One, he must have manipted their minds into epting him as their second child which is what most likely happened. The second one is that Duke Ulysses and his whole family knew of his identity all along and let him do what he pleased, which in my opinion is unlikely." Elvira finally spoke after a while.


    She wondered how the man was able to live right under their nose without them noticing these anomalies. Elvira looked at the king and the crown prince then at the Ginehart man with them. She became suspicious of him but she could also feel that the resentment he had was genuine. It was too confusing for her.


    "If the first possibility really happened then we should be careful of him. If he had the ability to control minds then we are in trouble." King Orpheus stood up from his seat and started to pace on the floor.

 Chapter 356 Confirmation

    ?


    He was now starting to think of all the people he had met so far. He started wondering if they were being controlled or not. Especially those who had been close with that young man. He gritted his teeth and suddenly swiped half of the contents of his table.


    "Go and call the holy knight now!" His voice was so loud that the soldier outside of the room was startled but even so he still left to call for the holy knight.


    Night was already upon them when the Justice of Light received a message from the king. The holy knight was being summoned at the pce and it was urgent. Onyx saw the message and was pissed because the king didn''t know his timing.


    They were just done with the ritual to find any clue of who the World Breaker was and what he saw put him in a bad mood. The man was really clever because he managed to evade them. They were even there the whole time and yet they suspected nothing.


    Onyx couldn''t wait toy a hand on him and show him what he was capable of. He was still simmering in anger when the letter came and, in a sh, he disappeared from where he was standing. Since the king was calling for him, he would get to him and tell him what he found out. That way he could get permission to detain that man.


    It did not take long for the holy knight to reach the king''s study. Instead of using the front door, hended on the balcony just outside the king''s office. He pushed open the double ss doors and entered. He did not expect to see that there were actually other people inside the room.


    He looked around and saw some documents lying on the table and the king''s own table was in disarray. There were also scattered papers on the floor and some broken pieces lying around the floor. The atmosphere was also not right.


    "I am d that you came," the king muttered. He looked at the holy knight form head to foot before he gestured for him to take a seat.


    Onyx nodded before he walked to the only empty seat in the room. He sat across the king as he crossed his leg, leaned his back and let his head rest on his clenched fist. He waited for the king to sit down before he spoke. His own anger had calmed down and he could talk with the king in the right state of mind.


    "What prompted you to call for me, your majesty?" Onyx asked politely as he could even though he was truly displeased with the sudden summons. "And why are these people here?"


    The king sighed. He raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. "We''ve got a problem in our hands right now and I am sure that you would be interested to know about it." He started which made the holy knight frown.


    "Please go straight to the point, your majesty. Since I received some unsavory news, my mood hasn''t been at its best and my patience right now is running low." The holy knight said without reserve which made the atmosphere even more awkward and tense.


    The king was not pleased with the holy knight''s tone. Even though he gave him the privilege to move about inside his kingdom, he didn''t have the right to talk to him like that. He held his temper and tried to calm himself because it was not the right time to antagonize the holy knight.


    Orpheus needed to acknowledge that they needed the holy knight''s help to destroy their enemy. It took a while before the king finally was able to rx. He looked at the silent holy knight for a few seconds before he started to talk.


    "They are here because they are people I can trust. The woman to your right is Lady Elvira. She managed to escape her captor''s grasp ande here to tell us some valuable information. On your right side is my son and his advisor." The king introduced them first to avoid confusion or misunderstanding while they were having a talk.


    "So, what is this information you are talking about?" Onyx was actually pleasantly surprised when he learned of the woman''s identity. He didn''t expect that she could manage to get away from their enemy.


    "Rigel Maverick Ginehart," the king answered. He only told the name and yet it caused the whole atmosphere to change.


    Onyx tensed up when he heard that familiar name. It was the very same name he heard before he left the Justice of Light headquarters and now, he was hearing it again. He could sense that they already knew who the man was.


    "Then the ritual must have been correct." Onyx tightly shut his eyes and inhaled deeply. "He had been right under our nose but we didn''t even suspect anything. What a crafty bastard!"


    "So, you already knew? Lady Elvira told us about him and with the documents form Lindon, there is no need for an investigation." The king said in a serious tone. The documents and his sudden appearance into high society were already enough proof.


    "What do you want to do now, your majesty?" The holy knight asked since he couldn''t move without the king''s permission.


    "I will release an edict. The Ginehart family should be held ountable for this matter." The king stood up with firm resolve. "You will apprehend him and make sure that that bastard will not get away."


    After that conversation, the pce and the Justice of Light became busy with their preparation to detain Rigel. They spared no effort in getting all the mages and all the present heroes involved. General Ishmael on the other hand was dispatched to the Ginehart duchy.


    It took them one whole day and night to prepare everything. The next morning, they marched out to the Ginehart manor in the capital. The citizens who saw this procession became scared and curious at the same time as to where these people were going. They were like going to war with all the soldiers and mages and heroes in the line.


    "Look at them all lined up, pristine and organized." Cygnusmented as he stared from the window on the second floor at the soldiers that were lined outside the manor.


    He could also see that the holy knight was with them and that he was leading the troops. Heughed andughed at how ridiculous they looked like and at how many people they were willing to sacrifice just to catch him. He wiped the tears on his eyes that was a result of his constantughing.


    "Are we going to engage them in battle master?" Nina asked with excitement in her voice. She was also squirming while standing.


    "Well, are you going to let them capture your master?" Cygnus smirked and Nina knew that they were going to fight.


    "Of course, we won''t!" Nina alsoughed and then she giggled because of the chaos that was about to go down in the capital city.


    Outside of the manor, Onyx called out. "Rigel Maverick Ginehart,e and receive the imperial edict!" His voice was undoubtedly loud as it echoed in the entire estate.


    The door to the manor opened and the man himself came out. He looked confused as to what was happening and as to why there were too many people there just to deliver an imperial edict. He silently walked up to the person in-charge and stood a few meters away.


    One of the soldiers walked up to him and together with the holy knight. Onyx held the paper and opened it. He started to read the contents of the letter out loud and it made the whole estate fall into silence.

 Chapter 357 Edict

    ?


    "Rigel Maverick Ginehart, you are to surrender and be willingly investigated for the crime of deceiving the king and for your attempt to overthrow the throne. The Ginehart Duchy will also be under scrutiny while you are being investigated. Any resistance will be seen as an act of rebellion against the king."


    Onyx closed the piece of paper and looked down at the kneeling person before him. "What do you have to say?"


    Cygnus stayed silent for a while before he answered the man. "If that''s the case, then, you don''t have the right to look down on me."


    "What did you say?" Onyx became furious because of the man''s words.


    Cygnus stood up from kneeling without epting the edict. He even had the time to pat the dust that was on his pants before he fixed his sleeves. He then looked at the line of soldiers who were there to capture him. It was truly amusing that it made him smile.


    "That edict, I won''t receive it. I''m not used to getting ordered around because in this ce I get to say the final word." With that statement, three people appeared in front of him. "If you really wanted to capture me, you should have not wasted your time in this kind of entourage. You should havee to me directly."


    The sound of weapons getting drawn filled the air at the appearance of other people in that ce. Nina, Vain and the butler were now standing in front of the master. The three of them were already on the gear to attack.


    "Is this how it''s going to go again?" Onyx asked with his gaze still trained on the man behind his three servants.


    Cygnusughed. "No need to fret because we already anticipated it. We even gave you the chance to pinpoint who the master mind was but nothing happened. You still chose to wait so I made a move." The grin on his face widened as his eyes slowly turned red. "No matter how hard you struggle, you won''t win against me, not in the past, not now and not even in the future."


    Onyx gritted his teeth before hemanded his men to attack. The first wave of soldiers did not hesitate to attack because they were told that the enemy they would confront was the World Breaker, who was already considered as a dangerous existence in the world.


    They drew their swords andnces to attack. Behind them was a squad of archers that were ready to fire any moment. Cygnus smirked and looked at the holy knight. To think that he would send these people to attack him, wasughable because the holy knight himself knew what he could do.


    The soldiers ran towards them with raised swords andnces that were ready to pierce. As they reached a certain distance, they heard a loud snap. Cygnus, who was behind his servants, had his hand raised. Not long after the sound disappeared, the line of people in the front that were attacking them all fell to the ground, lifeless.


    A boomingughter echoed in that open space after they all fell down and the others who were following behind those soldiers stopped on their tracks. Their eyes wide as they looked upon the lifeless bodies of theirrades who died without a fight. Their bodies started to shake in fear because of what had transpired in front of their eyes.


    Their enemy just snapped his finger and all of them were already dead. It was something that they haven''t experienced before. It even brought fear to the mages and heroes who were there. Onyx on the other hand wasn''t fazed by it.


    "You really have the nerve to send those weaklings even though you already knew what I can do," the master spoke with a dark aura surrounding him. His eyes narrowed at the soldiers who were shaking in fear while looking at him.


    "Master!" Nina was furious and stomped towards Cygnus. This broke the oppressing atmosphere around the man. "Why did you do that? You said that it is our turn!" Sheined with both of her hands on her waist and a pout on her face.


    Cygnus was taken aback but he could only sigh. He raised her hands in surrender andughed. "Alright, alright, I''ll leave them to you then." Cygnus gave them onest look before he turned around and entered the manor.


    Nina stood straight after the master entered the manor. She had a triumphant smile on her face. She then turned around with her purple hair flipping through the air.


    "Now that the master is gone, we will face you all!" With that deration, Nina raised her hand in the air followed by the formation of a purple magic circle above the soldiers. "Why don''t we start now!"


    A rain of purple mana in the shape of balls fell down on the soldiers and upon contact all of it exploded. Some were immediately injured while some of them were protected by the timely shield that the mages materialized. And, that was the beginning of chaos.


    Mr. C and Vain split up to deal with the mages and the heroes while Nina was busy ying with the soldiers. Onyx on the other hand disappeared from where he was and followed the master inside the manor. He casually walked inside and towards the direction where he could feel the master''s aura was.


    Onyx came to the end of the hallway on the second floor and found that the person he had been chasing for so many years now was sitting there. There was a cup of tea on his hand as he peacefully sipped and savored the tea that he was drinking despite all the noise outside. He slightly turned his head back when he felt that he had a visitor.


    "Are you just going to stand there? Why note and join me?" Cygnus pointed at the seat next to the table, just adjacent to him.


    The holy knight heeded the master''s words and took that vacant seat. After a while, he took off his helmet and ced it on the ground. His soft blonde hair fell down but he remained silent. They remained in that impasse for a span of time but still nothing happened.


    "I''m surprised that you were able to follow me even after I left you in that ce," Cygnus started. "Are you angry with me?"


    The holy knight clenched his jaws and fists but he did not answer. He couldn''t answer yet because the man was someone he respected and hated at the same time. Everything he did was for the master and yet he was abandoned. Now he had enough.


    "Are you really going to ignore me?" Cygnus asked followed by a sigh. He ced back the cup of tea on the table and looked at the sulking man.


    "I am not sulking!" Onyx became indignant after he heard what the master thought of him. He faced the man and gave him a re.


    "Is that so, I thought you were." The masterughed and went ahead to pat the holy knight''s shoulders. The man still acted like a child even though it didn''t suit him.


    "Please refrain from treating me like a child." Onyx became even more indignant because of the nonsense that the master was spouting. He couldn''t believe that such a man became his master.


    He was irresponsible and did whatever he wanted on impulse even if that means abandoning those who were loyal to him. Thus, he did not regret helping the Justice of Light from chasing after him. He also enjoyed using the body of the original holy knight. So, when he took over, he continued with what the holy knight had been doing before his death.

 Chapter 358 Here It Comes

    ?


    "Now that I am here, I won''t be leaving your side from now on." He firmly looked at the man in the eyes. "And nothing you would say would change my mind especially because they are starting to move and shifting their attention to this world."


    Cygnus sighed, "They really won''t let me go, how tenacious. The organization I have hated for my entire life unexpectedly fell into my hands but another enemy popped out. How awful my life has be."


    Onyx did not react because he fully knew that the master already knew who were after him. If it was not those two then probably all of them had their own thoughts. No one could me the master though, because if that tragedy did not happen then none of these would transpire in the present. It was their own doing.


    "Are you going to take over this kingdom or just leave it in ruins?" Onyx asked after a moment of short silence between them.


    "Why would I even want to take control of this hateful kingdom? I''d rather see it in ruins than to make myself suffer from ruling it or whatever." Cygnus shuddered at the thought of ruling the kingdom that destroyed him.


    "Then I will dly assist you in your endeavors as the holy knight." Onyx bowed his head and ced his fist on his chest.


    "Aren''t you angry with me anymore?" Cygnus chuckled because of how fast the man changed his attitude.


    Onyx closed his eyes and sighed. In all honesty, the man was just d that he finally caught up with his master. It was pure torture to him to be with those priests who hated his master. He was also fed up with pretending to be someone good when clearly, he was not. Besides, the Justice of Light was now crawling with demons thanks to his efforts.


    Cygnus poured tea in one of the cups and pushed it towards the man. Onyx dly received the cup and joined his master in drinking tea. They remained in that position for a while until the noise outside of the manor stopped. The first one to enter was Mr. C because Nina and Vain were still enjoying themselves.


    "Are they done?" Onyx asked after the butler appeared and started to change the tea on the pot.


    "Not yet, they are still ying to their heart''s content." Mr. C answered while boiling the tea then he poured out a little bit on the master''s cup. "How is it master?"


    Cygnus nodded, "Delightful." He continued to drink all of it and then he shifted his gaze to Onyx who was silently eating the treats on the table. "Aren''t you going to return? Your men are already defeated."


    Onyx froze and stopped eating. He gave his master a wide-eyed look before he frowned and red at him. "No, I won''t. I will be returning with you. I''m already fed up with all the pretending I am doing. You already dered war against this kingdom so there''s no point in me returning."


    Cygnus raised a brow then looked at the butler who was silently listening to the side. Mr. C nodded towards the master and he could do nothing but sigh. "Alright, I''m pretty sure that those people will send their prized heroes to hunt me down so, let''s get down to it."


    A message reached the pce and it contained the words that the king feared. The soldiers, mages and heroes they sent to subdue the man were all dead. They all died and their bodies were burned while the whereabouts of the holy knight were unknown.


    The study was silent and became solemn as he crumpled the paper that contained the message. It was a total defeat. One of the witnesses even detailed in the letter how the duke''s son killed the soldiers without touching them.


    "Father, what are we going to do now?" The proud prince had a rare solemn look on his face at that moment. He also learned of what happened and now he was regretting that he showed that kind of attitude to the man.


    "I''ll need to talk with Rigel," the king answered. It was the only choice he had right now. He would swallow his pride and negotiate with the man.


    "Isn''t that a bitte already?" A voice suddenly asked which made the father and son tense up. They looked towards the direction of the balcony just outside the study.


    They dare not face that direction. They could only hear the footsteps that were getting nearer and nearer to where they were sitting. Cygnus chuckled because of how tense they were. He sat down on the empty seat adjacent to the king and in front of the prince.


    "Why are you here?" Orpheus asked after he got the courage to speak. He forced himself to look at the man whom he thought fondly of at first.


    The red eyes startled him and sent chills to his entire being. They were like staring at his very soul right at that moment. His body felt cold like he had been doused with iced water. The man was not human and it made him even more fearful of what he could do.


    "I''m here to hear what you have to say. Maybe you can convince me somehow." Cygnus answered while giving them a seemingly warm look.


    Orpheus gulped before he finally spoke. "What do you want? What can we do for you to spare my kingdom and my people?"


    Cygnus hummed and even raised his head slightly while thinking. The room became silent and only the sound of the wind from the outside could be heard. The lights were flickering as the atmosphere remained tense. The room was brightly lit and yet the prince felt like it became dark.


    "What do I want?" Cygnus mumbled to himself. "But what I want is the destruction of this entire kingdom and this world as one. I don''t want to see this world prospering after sacrificing the lives of my family."


    "What are you talking about?" The king became confused because of those words. He didn''t expect the answer that came from the man''s mouth.


    "Ah, how ignorant you are." Cygnus tilted his head and rested it on the palm of his hands. "This is why people only know how to make excuses. Do you want me to enlighten you, my dear king?"


    Cygnus gave them a smile as he waited for their response. It would be better to let them understand why they were in that kind of predicament right now. It was a bit unfair to kill them all without them knowing the reason why.


    Orpheus had his hands tightly clenched but he did not answer the man. Even the crown prince remained silent like he had be mute. Cygnus sighed and frowned because of their unenthusiastic reaction to his suggestion.


    "Why do all people respond to me like that? I haven''t done anything yet and is still speaking and yet they all looked like they wanted to flee?" He suddenly stretched his hands up and leaned on his seat with a frown.


    "That''s because you have been ying with them. They might want you to be straightforward and just tell them about it." Another voice echoed in the room followed by a ck smoke that appeared behind Cygnus. It then slowly solidified into the visage of a man in an armor that was familiar to the two other people in the room.


    The king and the prince gasped at the revtion they were witnessing. The holy knight who was supposed to be on the side of justice was standing behind the man who was going to destroy the world. A few secondster and realization dawned on them.


    "You were one of them," the crown prince spoke. His whole body started to shake in anger at the betrayal. "You betrayed us!"


    "That''s quite the usation but I didn''t betray you because I was never the holy knight from the beginning. I am the ck knight that loyally serves the master. I only use this body because it is quite suitable for me." Onyx did not have much reaction while talking about who he was. They also witnessed how the man''s blonde hair turned to ck.


    Orpheus couldn''t help but be indignant. Everything they had been going through was a charade that these people created. They were all fools for believing their words.


    "If I may say, yes, all of you were fools. What you see on the surface is what you only believe. But here''s one piece of information you need to know, I wasn''t actually going to destroy this world you see because all of my bad memories were locked away." Cygnus started to narrate, "But the lock broke and I remembered certain things."


    His grin was too unpleasant for the king to bear. He avoided the man''s gaze by looking at his son instead. The man was speaking nonsense because no one would ever believe that he did not intend to destroy their world.


    "It is the truth whether you believe me or not. And now that my memories are on the verge of overwhelming me, I will tell you a very long story and you need to be patient with me because you will learn something valuable from this." Cygnus raised his hand and snapped his fingers.


    The room turned gray as a barrier was ced inside it. It prevented anyone from disturbing them and interrupting his story. He didn''t like getting interrupted for no reason. After making sure that everything was set the master started his story.

 Chapter 359 In The Past

    ?


    Lunaira was a vastnd of fertile soil from a thousand years ago. People at that time were still living a simple life. Kingdoms had yet to flourish and what they had were small viges. It was a peaceful time where one could walk the night without fear.


    People would hunt in the bountiful forests without any problems. Disputes would be easily solved without causing bloodshed. People were content with what they have and what was there for them. But as always, peace didn''tst long as magic started to manifest amongst the people.


    Certain groups of people started to covet people who could use magic. They were raiding viges and capturing magic users for their own gain. To avoid the killings, people started to band together and soon Kingdoms started to form. Thend of Lunaira was no different.


    With someone who stood as a leader, the different viges in thend became united. They protected each other from the raiders and defended theirnd with their lives. Among the heroes they treat was Xandros Syentia, the only son of the leader of the united vigers.


    He was a warrior and was supported by his dear friend Maius Altair, who was but a hunter, before he awakened his power. Both of them led the people of Lunaira into battle after battle and led their warriors into victory. They were an unstoppable duo.


    As they fought, the people decided to name Xandros the high leader as he tookmand of Lunaira and its people. On the other hand, Maius Altair was established as one of the Four Pirs of Light as they were called. The group wasposed of the three other mages that rendered great service for thend.


    Slowly the Kingdom of Lunaira came to be. The king and the Four Pirs of Light were revered as heroes and respected. Each mage was given and and the House of Altair was the most famous family of mages that Lunaira ever had.


    "My dear friend you finally came!" Xenos eximed when he saw who his visitor was. He had been so busy with so many documents that he barely had time for himself.


    "Well, I figured that you''ll need some distraction from all of those documents." Maius peeked at the desk that was full of papers. He couldn''t help but pity the man who epted the responsibility of ruling a kingdom.


    "Please don''t give me that kind of look," he exhaled. He instead walked towards the man and ced both of his hands on the man''s shoulder with a determined look on his face. "Let''s go."


    Maius had his shoulders shaking after he saw his friend''s expression. He was determined and yet he could only see him begging. Xenos frowned at the amused look that his friend had. Maius held back hisughter as he even coughed.


    "Alright, why don''t we go hunting for a while then?" He suggested, in order to make-up for the man. He raised his hand and did a circr motion with his wrist.


    They were then covered in a red mana and disappeared from the room. Xenos and Maius appeared in the middle of a forest. Xenos couldn''t help but grin because of what his friend had done. Although he had more things to do, this was a wee distraction even for just a while.


    "Your magic is really convenient!" Xenos patted the man''s shoulder before he looked around the area. "And we are in a good ce to hunt but I don''t have my weapons with me or even a bow arrow."


    "You don''t need to worry about that," Maius spoke from the side. He raised his hand and a red mist swirled around his opened palm.


    From the mist, a bow and several arrows appeared. Maius then held the weapon and waved it towards Xenos. The leader of Lunaira dly epted the weapon with a grin and tested pulling it a couple of times.


    "Really convenient," he muttered once again. "Alright let''s go!" He turned around and walked forward to the direction where he was facing.


    Maius was d to see that his friend was still enthusiastic as ever. He also hoped that these kinds of days would continue. Although the threats from the other kingdoms were not yet resolved, he still wished that their days of peace would continue for long.


    He looked up at the sky that was beyond the leafy boughs of the trees and closed his eyes. He could feel the colorful life in that ce. The vigor in each grass, nt and trees were filling the air and making the atmosphere alive. Ever since he awakened his magic, he became sensitive to things like this.


    "Aren''t youing?" Xenos turned around when he saw that his friend wasn''t following. He just stood there with his head tilted up.


    Maius sighed before he opened his eyes and brought down his head. He looked at his excited friend with a small smile on his face. "Yes, yes, of course I aming."


    He walked towards his friend and they walked together. The forest ground was a bit damp because of the rainst night. Although everything looks wet, the leaves were sparkling because of the water droplets that remained on the surface that was getting struck by the rays of sun.


    The earthy smell assaulted their nose and yet it did not make them ufortable. It has been long since theyst went hunting. All their days were spent fighting and defending theirnd. They were also so busy ruling the kingdom that they didn''t have the time to rx, especially Xenos.


    If those outsiders hadn''t set their eyes to Lunaira, then he would be stuck as a mere hunter with nothing going on for him. Although he preferred that life, it was still not bad to be able to protect his family and the people with his power. Maius couldn''t help but look at his hands for a moment before he shook his head and ran after his friend.


    After walking for a while, they finally saw a deer that was drinking by the river. Xenos stopped a few meters away and narrowed his eyes towards the deer. He kneeled on one knee on the ground and loaded his bow with an arrow. Mauis on the other hand watched his friend''s every action before shifting his gaze to the deer.


    They both remained silent as Xenos positioned the bow and arrow. He had his other eye closed as he focused his vision and attention on the deer. Xenos steadily aimed for a few seconds, lowering and moving the bow from side to side, before he finally let it fly.


    The arrow sessfully hit the target and killed the deer with one shot. A loud apuse echoed in the forest with Maius grinning behind the leader. "You are still as sharp as ever even though you haven''t used a bow in a long time."


    "Lucky me!" Xenos eximed. He turned around and flexed his bow before he ran towards the deer he managed to kill.


    He crouched down and pulled out the arrow. His gaze then lingered towards the river that remained as it was before. He went ahead and removed his sandals to dip his feet in the water. Xenos shivered but after a moment heughed out of nowhere.


    The river water was cold but at the same time it was refreshing. This was a proof that he had been stuck in that pce as they call it for a long time now that he almost forgot how it felt to be outside. Hisughter filled the whole ce as he enjoyed being in the water.


    "Ah, this is really great!" He cried out in pure joy. "I can''t believe that just dipping my feet in this cold water would give me so much joy."


    "We have been busy for so long that we aren''t the same as when we were just teens. Before you became the ruler of thisnd and before I became a mage, we were both ordinary people living our days in contentment." Maius sat down at the edge of the river dipping his feet as well.


    "That''s true." Xenos followed suit and sat down beside his friend. "I would have be the next vige chief and you would still be hunting for a living. But now, we are no longer ordinary humans."


    "I''m sure that the people are already contemting on how they would dere you the king. Lunaira will then be yours to rule." Maius couldn''t help but be sentimental for a moment because of their past memories.


    "And I hope that you will continue to support me, Maius." Xenos looked at his friend with a wide grin. "I need someone who can teleport me to anywhere I want whenever things get hectic like today."


    Maius was silent for a couple of moments as he stared at the clear water and how it flowed downstream. He could also see the fishes that were swimming calmly, undisturbed by the chaos of the outside world. The wind also slowly picked up and blew around them together with the fallen leaves that came with it.


    "I will do my best to support you, your majesty." Maius raised his hand and looked at his friend with a teasing grin on his face.

 Chapter 360 The War

    ?


    Xenos let out a heartyugh. "Then I will be expecting your help." Xenos lifted his head and they both looked at the blue sky that may change anytime.


    After their short escapade, they returned to the soon to be pce and made a detour to the kitchen first where they left the deer that they caught. The head cook was delighted to see fresh meat and was excited to make a dish with it. They both returned to the leader''s office only to be assaulted with the res from the people who were helping Xenos rule.


    "You have been gone for four hours, sir." One of them gave Xenos a re and even more so the hate was directed towards Maius.


    "Well, I am back so what''s the use of making a fuss out of it. I can finish my work without a problem and don''t me Maius for this. Am I not even allowed to take a break? Do you see me as a human doll that doesn''t get burned-out?" Xenos wasn''t pleased with how these people were looking at him and at Maius.


    "That''s not what we meant, sir. Of course, you can take a break." One of them immediately salvaged the situation and even elbowed the first man who spoke.


    "Then next time don''t meddle with my personal affairs or what I do with my time. Your only role is to help me in governing our territories and not minding my own business. Be d that I am still doing my job despite all of your nagging." Xenos looked at them all after he finally sat down behind his table.


    Maius brushed off the looks that were given to him and went ahead to stand behind the leader. He just made a promise that he will support the man and he intended to carry it out without hesitation. He silently took in the view of these people who were either ring at him or looking at him with a cold expression.


    He was well aware of his position inside that room. Ever since the kingdom of Lunaira was established and these people were picked to be at the top, they already looked at themselves as someone important. Maius couldn''t me them though because they were either the former chief of the viges or the sons of the chief of the viges.


    To them he was just a lowly hunter even though he was a mage, a person coveted by many because of their power and yet he was still being looked down on because of his origin. Maius mentally sighed and shook his head because he couldn''t understand how their thought process was. As far as they knew, they all had the same origin and the only difference he could see was that they were leaders and he was not.


    "And please stop giving Maius that kind of look because without him and his family''s help, we won''t be able to protect ournds. Hah, you should all be d that they haven''t abandoned us because of how you treat them." Xenos gave them all a cold look and there was suddenly an oppressing aura inside the room.


    No words were spoken inside the room after the leader''s statement. They couldn''t refute his words but they still had a difficult time epting that fact. Their families also contributed to those battles and yet they were less recognized than the man who stood behind Xenos. Some of them were just inly jealous because they were blessed with magic.


    "Now, what are you going to talk to me about?" Xenos let out a breath and rubbed his forehead. He then looked at the people who came to his office to discuss some things with him.


    "We received a report that the west will be attacked and they are requesting for back-up." Finally, the meeting resumed and the talk about the king or the mage''s character finally stopped.


    "When did this reporte?" Xenos asked as he read the report that one of them handed to him. After reading through it, he gave it to Maius for him to read too.


    "Just a few minutes before you arrived." The person who gave him the letter answered. He returned to his seat and waited for their leader''s instructions.


    "Was this already confirmed?" He asked instead because the report did not specify the details of the enemies that will attack, not even the time or number of people.


    "Our people are still confirming it. We will be receiving more details in a few hours or tomorrow." The same person answered because his people were in-charge of watching the movements of the enemies from the shadows.


    "Good, notify our warriors for the iing fight. Once the report isplete, we will n and move to the west," he slightly looked behind him, "and Maius, I would like you to prepare the mages for this battle too."


    "I understand. I will immediately notify them." Maius gave his friend a nod. After giving that instruction, the meeting continued.


    They talked about the rehabilitation of each vige and upgrading them into a town. This was agreed upon by all the vige chiefs and representatives. The n would push through once they sessfully defend their borders and secure them. This was the first step in the establishment of the kingdom.


    The matters they talked about during the meeting were things of the future. "Although I approved of these ns, our main focus for now is to secure and protect our borders from our enemies. We can''t let them raze through our territories."


    It took them a few minutes before they could agree because some of them were reluctant. They would prefer if they could already start the rehabilitation. They started to murmur and whisper with each other about the matter which only displeased Xenos. They felt that the atmosphere in the room became tense so they had no choice but to agree.


    Xenos was satisfied and dismissed them after the meeting. He was eager for them to leave so he could have a short time for himself before he would start with his paperwork. Maius on the other hand also bid his friend goodbye because he was about to meet with the mages.


    "Notify me if the reports wille. We can march to the west anytime." Maius left those words without waiting for the leader to answer before he disappeared from the room.


    The next morning a more detailed report came. Xenos donned his armor and prepared for their march. The warriors were immediately answered and the mages took the lead towards the west. With his power alone, Maius teleported five batches of a thousand warriors directly to the battlefield.


    Without traveling, they reached the west energized and prepared thanks to the magic that the mages possessed. After teleporting everyone, Maius and the mages teleported themselves and appeared behind the lines of warriors.


    Beyond the border of Lunaira to the west, there was a vast prairie that spans a thousand miles. It was the most open border of Lunaira, thus easy to attack and easy to pierce. From a far they could see men wearing heavy armor of metal who were marching towards them. They bear the ck g of the western barbarians as Xenos called them.


    Although that''s how he called them, they could barely be called like that with their advanced protective gears and well-polished swords. They were also highly adept inbat which made them a difficult enemy for the warriors of Lunaira who were mostly farmers and hunters. If not for the support from the mages, they would have been destroyed.


    Xenos took it upon himself to train their warriors but he could only go so far without the limited time they had. In an era where war could break out anytime, it was difficult to turn his men into warriors in a short span of time. He narrowed his eyes at the men who were fiercely marching towards them.

 Chapter 361 Somethin Unusual

    They even stirred up the dust on the ground and ttened the grass under their feet. The soldiers under Xenos''smand trembled as they saw the intimidating figure of their enemies. Xenos couldn''t me them though because he too would be intimidated by them but he needed to be strong.


    "Don''t falter! We already fought and drove them away and we can do it again for the second time!" Xenos shouted at the top of his lungs to raise his men''s morale.


    They already fought them once and he believed that they could still beat them again for the second time. This time he will make sure that they will drive those barbarians away from their territory. It was something that he should do as a leader and with the mages behind them, his confidence didn''t waver.


    As the enemies got nearer, the tense air around them became more suffocating that he could literally feel it in his skin. The vibe the enemy was giving off was different from the first time they faced them but Xenos wouldn''t back down. "Hold your ground!" He shouted once again.


    A fluttering in the air caught his attention so he looked back and saw that it was Maius. There was a frown on his face as he watched the marching enemy towards them. He then narrowed his eyes before he slowly floated down beside Xenos.


    "What''s the matter?" Xenos did not like the look on his friend''s face. He hadn''t seen that kind of serious expression for a while now.


    "I have a bad feeling about this, Xenos. The report they gave us, are you sure that there''s nothing more to it?" Maius looked his friend in the eye without hiding his conflicting emotion at that time.


    The moment he saw those heavily armored enemies marching towards them, he could already feel the incredible bloodlust that wasing from them. This, he did not feel during their first encounter. He tried to use detection magic to see if there was something amiss but for some reason it did not work on them.


    After his magic came back empty, the ominous feeling he had just became more intense. There was definitely something wrong with those armored warriors. They were giving off a different aura, a very dark aura that tainted the ground. He couldn''t feel vitality from them even though they were marching with heavy and eager footsteps.


    "Yes, I verified and asked several times if that was the only report that came. They all said that it was." Xenos also frowned because his friend would not worry like this if he knew that they were going to win.


    "That army isn''t like the first group of warriors we faced. They''re dangerous. Look at the ground where they are walking." He pointed towards their feet. "I suspect that magic might be involved with this."


    Xenos was taken aback by what he saw. The ground was already ck like it has been burned and what''s left was the ck ground. That was indeed not normal.


    "What shall we do then?" Xenos asked calmly. There was no use if he would be panicked because his warriors would definitely falter. He couldn''t afford for them to lose their confidence.


    "We will set up a barrier between them and our warriors. Take that chance to brief them and tell them that they shouldn''t be reckless. Retreat if necessary because we don''t know what kind of enemy we are facing. You can also encourage them because that''s what leaders do." Maius made the choice of letting the mages defend first so they could grasp the status of their enemies.


    "Then I will leave it to you then," Xenos agreed. He rode his horse and directed it to face his lined warriors. He swept his gaze towards them with a serious look on his face.


    "Today we are faced with an unknown enemy. The ground had turned to ck and they might not be the same as the ones we already fought in the past. Something has changed within their ranks and we believe that it was caused by magic." Xenos outright told them what Maius observed.


    This news made the warriors gasp and tremble even more. Xenos could feel and see their reactions, it was understandable because in the face of an unknown enemy one couldn''t help but feel intimidated. What''s more it turned out this battle won''t be that easy.


    Maius and the mages moved to the front while the leader was speaking. They lined up and started to cast magic as they created a barrier that would prevent their enemies froming any closer. Maius reinforced this barrier and made it sturdier and thicker with his own mana for precautionary measures.


    As the army marched towards them without stopping, the shaking of the ground became more distinct. It was heavier and deeper that it appeared to be an earthquake. Xenos looked back and they were almost at the barrier.


    "Stand your ground!" Xenos shouted. "Stand your ground because if you won''t, thisnd and our families at home would be in danger. We need to fight! Think of your wives, your children who are safe now because of your efforts. If we ran now then we might as well be called cowards all our lives!"


    With those words the warriors gripped their weapons tightly as they watched the enemies collide with the barrier. None of them stopped to analyze what was happening and instead they started to ram themselves on the red barrier that was separating them from their targets. Each collision created a ripple on the barrier.


    Maius knew that they couldn''t just defend forever because that barrier might fall soon. While he was floating in the air, he spread out his arms and a red mist appeared on both of his palms. This red mist slowly filled the barrier. After he was satisfied with the mana he infused to the barrier, he let both of his hands stretch forward.


    The swirling red mist inside the barrier hardened under themand of Maius and in an instant, it formed into long spikes that pierced through the armor and through the body of the enemies. The warriors cheered when they saw this but it instantly died down when they saw that the supposed to be dead barbarians were still squirming even after being fatally wounded.


    Maius frowned as he added more spikes but it only created the same effect. It was as if the enemies were unfazed of the attack that just happened. instead of backing away they instead pushed forward and rammed themselves to the spiked barrier. This time they did it more fiercely that their blood started to get on the surface of the barrier.


    Without any warning the blood that got on the surface of the barrier started to wiggle and spread. It slowly ate the barrier, specifically the mana that was contained in the barrier. The spikes looked like they dissolved. Gradually the barrier became thinner and thinner, that no matter who the mages supply it with mana, nothing happened.


    "Burn them!" Maiusmanded with a roar when the barrier finally copsed. The mages heeded theirmander''s words and used fire magic which seemed to be effective.


    Maius also materialized balls of fire above the enemies and let them fall down. It burned the enemies and all they could hear were their screeching and the nging of their metal armors. For the second time, he sent another wave and this time he made it, so that the range of his magic became wider.


    "Do not stop!" Hemanded but he knew that anytime now, the mages would reach their limits too.


    He looked down and gave Xenos a nod. It was a signal that allowed them to go and a promise that he would do what he could to ensure the safety of their warriors. He needed to grit his teeth and try to protect them even at the expense of using all of his mana.

 Chapter 362 Wounded

    Xenos led the attack as the enemies finally breached the barrier. Maius used his magic to cast a protective spell to the warriors to minimize the damage that they would receive. The first sh was pure chaos.


    The loud nging sound of colliding metal and the screams and groans filled the air. Even the sound of weapons piercing through a body was audible enough to be heard. The smell of metallic blood started to fill the atmosphere and the smell of something foul did not escape their senses.


    The warriors stabbed and shed away at the enemies, who did not care for any defense, only to be surprised by what oozed out from the wounds they created. It was ck and it damaged the weapons that were stabbing them. One of them was able to behead an enemy and as the helmet fell off from the head, a rotting head was revealed.


    This discovery made the warrior stagger back with a surprised look on his face. Eventually as the battle continued, they began to understand that the barbarians they were facing were already corpses. For them to be able to stand up must be due to magic.


    Maius was carefully looking around the battlefield for any signs of the mage that was controlling the corpses but he couldn''t detect them. His mana was limited because he had been using it to preserve the lives of their warriors. He also slowly floated down until hended on the ground.


    He took deep breaths to regte his breathing and to have a better control of his mana. It was all over the ce and it was exhausting for him to do this all by himself but he had no choice. Since he couldn''t find the mage who was controlling the enemies, he focused all of his senses into the battlefield.


    After the warriors realized that their enemies were attacking recklessly, they became more confident with their attacks. Xenos was also in a killing spree because they were actually fighting the dead. Although it came as a shock at first, they still managed to recollect themselves and fight once again.


    They razed the ground with their weapons and beheaded all the enemies that came their way without mercy. They were ecstatic because the enemies were so easy to defeat. Not long after they managed to defeat half of the army but during this time, Maius felt fatigued.


    In that moment he retracted his mana for a second to reorganize himself. When the mage who was controlling the corpses saw that the red mana disappeared from the battlefield, he then used his ace. A thousand of strings that were attached to the bodies that were already on the ground were pulled taut.


    Maius felt the change in the air and immediately raised the barrier once again. He did not think twice to let his mana surge out in the shortest amount of time possible. The bodies of the enemies started to move and attacked aggressively. In an instant, the warriors were surrounded with mangled and dismembered bodies that were still moving.


    "Xenos!" Maius shouted and with that, the leader sprang into action. He did not hesitate to ughter everything that was threatening to kill him.


    They did their best and yet the bodies just kept on standing up even if it was sliced into two. They became unsure of what they should do because no matter how they shed, the enemies just kept on attacking them even while crawling on the blood covered ground. It became a never-ending battle for all of them.


    Maius did his best to aid them and protect them as much as he could but even he himself was reaching his limit. He could only grit his teeth and continued without the time to take a breath. While sending mana shields that covered the body of the warriors, he was also busy with attacking those that were slipping their grasp.


    The mage who was hiding away from them observed their situation. He was silently watching from afar and was making adjustments ording to what he was seeing. His eyes twinkled when he saw that the mage behind the red mana was weakening.


    Although his face didn''t change that much, his eyes said it all. With the mage weakening, he could proceed to the next step of his n. It was not enough. He wanted to see Maius devoid of any mana that way he could make sure that he would die.


    The bodies of the barbarians started to fuse in the ugliest manner there could be. The strings that were holding them moved them all into one ce. The ck blood that was dripping from those corpses were wiggling and acted as the connector of the bodies.


    Slowly the bodies merged to be one and created a monster that the warriors hadn''t seen before. It was a giant corpse that was staring down at them. There was even ck blood oozing out from his body that made the ground even cker. The smell of rotting corpses became more prominent in the air.


    The warriors shuddered in fear as they looked up at the monster that could crush them with one stomp of his feet. Xenos cursed under breath after the monster appeared. He gripped his sword tightly and alighted from his horse. He looked back at his warriors and at the monster they were facing.


    "Archers! Get ready!" He did not hesitate tomand, whether they were ready or not, he still needed to lead the way. "What are you doing? I said archers, ready!"


    His secondmand prompted the warriors to load and pull their bows. Xenos looked at the monster and in a heartbeat, hemanded them to release their arrows. Hundreds of arrows flew in the air and midway to their target, the arrows were covered with red mana.


    Maius who had been watching all of that from the side still made an effort to support them. He coated the arrows with his mana and when they made contact with the giant''s body, all of it exploded. The monster grunted and swatted the fire that was on his oozing skin.


    Xenos noticed the monster''s difort. "Maius, we need fire!" He shouted towards the man who was looking in their direction.


    Maius nodded as he extended his arms towards the direction of the monster. A ring of fire appeared around it and in the blink of an eye, it rose to the sky. The fire sessfully trapped the monster and with clenched jaws, Maius made an effort to tighten the wall of fire.


    Blood started to flow from his nose but he stood still and used his left hand to support his stretched right arm. Big beads of sweat started to trickle down from his forehead down to his face as it dropped to the ground. His body was shaking as he squeezed out all of the control that he had to narrow the fire even more.


    The monster started to grunt and fight the fire that was enclosing him. It tried to break through it but Maius made sure that the fire was as tough as an earth wall. The monster did not stop though even if the fire was eating at him already.


    After a full minute of struggle, Maius narrowed the fire wall even more until it squeezed the monster and burned itpletely. When the fire was extinguished, the monster was also nowhere to be found. The warriors cheered when they saw that they already won the battle.


    While cheering and with their guards all down, they did not notice the shadow that kept getting closer to Maius. Lunaira''s mage stood there with a faint smile on his face as he watched them celebrating. He swayed and almost fell down but he was caught by one of his subordinates.


    "You''ve overworked yourself again sir," shemented. She shook her head at how far the man was willing to go in order to assist the leader.


    "That''s true. So, I will be demanding Xenos for a break once we return to town." Maius responded followed by a hearty chuckle even though he was weak.


    His mana was depleted from the fight and in order for him to replenish it, he would need a vacation. He couldn''t even remain standing because his body was affected by theck of mana. Thankfully, this subordinate of his managed to catch him.


    He was about to rx when his body was suddenly flung to the side. He fell to the ground with a thud and he pushed himself up to see what was going on. The subordinate who was holding him was defending against a person who was trying to get past her barrier.


    He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up with all the intention of helping the woman. The moment that Maius found his bnce he felt something piercing through his stomach. He looked down and saw that a bloody sword was sticking out from his stomach.

 Chapter 363 Resolution

    Maius looked behind him and with a sudden surge of adrenaline, the man who stabbed him was forcefully blown away. The situation was immediately noticed by Xenos. He was grinning widely and was ready to thank his friend when he witnessed what just happened.


    Xenos sprung into action and sprinted towards the man as his eyes watched the assant being blown away. With the bloody sword in hand, he went after the man who stabbed Maius. Even without magic, he still managed to reach the man.


    With a murderous look on his face, he did not think twice and shed his sword. The man''s head fell to the ground as it was cleanly cut off from his neck. Blood spurted out from the man''s neck and stained his face and clothes. He felt nothing as he killed the man without mercy.


    This action made those who noticed the situation cringe; some were even staring at their leader in horror. All of this went unnoticed by the leader because his entire body was still taught with the rush of adrenaline. His ears were still ringing and his breathing slowly turned ragged as the blood that was rushing inside his system slowed down.


    He was then brought out from his stupor when he remembered Maius. He looked back and saw that he was on his knees while pressing his hand on the wound caused by the sword. Blood was gushing out from his wound and staining the ground.


    Xenos ran towards his friend and caught him when he was about to fall. The man''splexion wasn''t good and his body was slowly turning cold. He was deathly pale because of the continuous loss of blood.


    "Healer!" He roared and this drove the bystanders into moving. They subdued the other man who was fighting the woman who just saved Maius.


    The other mages also came and kneeled before Maius and the leader. One of them casted healing magic on Maius and slowly the wound closed. Even after that, the mage''s condition did not change.


    "Leader, we need a doctor to take a look at him. Although I managed to stop the bleeding, considerable damage has been done. We need to move him to the city." The mage suggested because the mage wasn''t looking good.


    Xenos looked at his friend''s face and with gritted teeth he nodded. "Alright, I''ll entrust him to you. I need to stay here and sort out the aftermath."


    "We will do our best, leader. We won''t let anything happen to ourmander." The man nodded and with one look at their subordinates, they immediately took over and held Maius.


    They were then teleported back to the city with the mage in their hands. They did not waste time and went to the nearest clinic. A doctor immediately came to meet them and when he saw who it was that was on the bed, he frowned.


    He looked at the three other people who were with him and saw that they were battle weary. He did not speak and just went to check on the patient. Maius was pale and his skin felt so cold that even his breathing wasbored.


    He looked up once again, "Tell me what happened." The bloodstains on the man''s clothes were proof enough that he sustained a fatal injury. Aside from that, it was still damp which meant that he sustained the injury not long ago.


    "Themander depleted his mana and that was when the remaining enemy came and attacked him. He was stabbed in the stomach and already lost so much blood when we arrived to heal him. I''ve closed the wound but his condition did not improve." The man who healed him answered with all honesty.


    The doctor frowned because it was exactly a situation that he did not want to hear. He was not adept into diagnosing mana depletion but he knew the symptoms of it. Maius was already in a weak state and yet he still sustained a fatal injury. He was lucky that he was still alive.


    "Leave him here and I''ll do what I can." The doctor looked at them with a serious look on his face. "I know that you are busy and you have a ce where you need to be. Themander just needs to rest since the issue with his injury is already solved."


    Themander''s subordinates looked at Maius for onest time before they nodded their heads and left. The doctor''s frown deepened even more after they left before it softened when itnded on the sleeping figure of the mage. He got himself a chair and sat down beside the bed with a sigh.


    "You are destroying your body but overworking yourself sir. If you continue with this kind of work, you will eventually reach your limit and the end of your life." The doctor mumbled to himself.


    Maius was famous, especially to those whocked power. He was the very image of hero they pictured in their minds. He has the looks, the power and the position to back it up. Together with Xenos, they were known as the two heroes who united Lunaira.


    The doctor sighed once again because he knew that even though they were considered heroes, they were still humans. It was no surprise that one of them would eventually fall. The other warriors and mages must have been shocked to see theirmander, a pir of Lunaira, passed out. After keeping vigil for a few more minutes, he finally stood up and left.


    Xenos made sure that none of the barbarian''s remnants remained on their border. He ordered the warriors and mages to collect all the bodies and even the armors were taken to one ce. After everything was ced in one ce, the mages started to burn all of it too.


    ck smoke rose to the air as the disgusting bodies were burned. While this was happening, Xenos went to the ce where they held the man who tried to kill Maius. He looked at the culprit and sighed because of how young he was. Xenos could already tell that the man hasn''t reached his thirties yet.


    "Are there any more like you? People who can control the dead?" Xenos asked the man who refused to look him in the eye. They remained in that impasse for a full minute before the leader lost his patience.


    The leader crouched down and squeezed the man''s chin just so he could raise the man''s head. Finally, their eyes met and the man shuddered. He was staring at the leader''s ck eyes and it felt like he was getting sucked into an endless darkness. The man couldn''t understand what was happening and he was already opening his mouth and speaking.


    "No more, I''m not sure. We were the only ones who were found to fight against you. It was a test of some sort and yet we failed. We can''t go back to our vige now and would rather be dead." The man answered Xenos''s question.


    Xenos let go and stood up. "And what are they nning to achieve by attacking Lunaira and attempting to kill Maius?" His voice was full of hate and cold.


    "They were hoping to weaken your ranks once the mage dies. He was a threat that they couldn''t defeat in the past, that''s why it was imperative that we get rid of him." This time the man did not hesitate to answer.


    Yes, it was true that Maius was a talented and powerful mage. Lunaira was lucky to have an awakened mage like him. To think that they would go to all this trouble just to kill Maius was something that the leader found outrageous.


    His gaze thennded on his warriors who were resting and realized that he needed to train them with more intensity. They couldn''t just rely on the mages forever because they too have their own limits. He clenched his fists and promised that once they got back, he would definitely train them harder.


    Xenos turned around and walked away while giving a signal to the warriors who were guarding the man to kill him. The warriors did not hesitate to behead the man and let the mages take care of his body. Xenos walked away from everything and stopped as he stared out into the horizon where the sun was already setting.


    The wind picked up and blew over the prairie carrying with it the horrid smell of burnt flesh and the faint scent of grass and damp ground. It was nauseating and at the same time pleasant. Xenos raised his hands and had a long look at them before letting them hang on his side. He took a deep breath and raised his head to the sky with his eyes closed.


    "This war won''t be over, not until I show them what we are capable of. They need to fear us and the power we hold, not just magic but also the power of forces." He mumbled to himself and repeated it a couple of times before he was satisfied.

 Chapter 364 Coming To A Decision

    Everything changed after that incident. Maius remained unconscious for three days while Xenos had been busy with the strengthening of their borders. He also started a new regimen for the warriors with their training. He did not want thatst incident to be repeated again once they faced another enemy.


    He had been staying inside his study too most of the time because he had been drafting a n to make Lunaira even more powerful. This was the only way that the others would think twice on attacking them. Lunaira and its people needed to get stronger and to be on top for that to happen.


    After he woke up, Maius remained in the clinic for two more days before he was allowed to go home. He received the report of that day in thefort of his home. Maius browsed through it while drinking hot coffee that he prepared himself. After looking through it, he ced the paper on the table beside where he sat.


    "How is the leader? And is there a movement from the barbarians?" He asked because he didn''t see anything written on the paper regarding hisst question.


    The man who healed him and was his right-hand man bowed and picked up the paper before he answered. "The leader has been cooped up inside his study after finishing the matters rted to the attack. The barbarians haven''t made a move ever since that day."


    "What was Xenos''s reaction after he interrogated that mage that you captured?" Another question that made the mage who was standing behind him frown.


    "Nothing in particr. He just walked away and that''s it." The right-hand mage answered with a frown on his face because he was confused as to why themander was asking him that kind of question.


    "It seems that I need to visit the leader again." Maius sighed and leaned on his seat. He sighed again before grumbling something iprehensible. His lips then formed a frown before he raised his right hand to massage his forehead.


    "Is there a problem,mander?" The right-hand mage asked when he saw themander''s reaction.


    "Nothing major. I just think that I needed to talk with Xenos." Maius shook his head and did not give the man a concrete answer. "You may go. I will inform you of any mission once I have a talk with the leader."


    "Why are you so sure that we will be having a mission?" He was confused at themander''s words. He was only meeting the leader and there were no immediate threats to their kingdom yet.


    "We''ll know soon. Go and instruct the mages to be on stand-by. As long as there are people eyeing Lunaira, threats to our kingdom will not disappear." Maius raised his hand and waved it back and forth.


    The right-hand mage had more questions in his mind but because themander refused to talk about it anymore, there was nothing he could do. He left themander''s house and returned to the camp where the mages were assigned. He immediately ryed themand and refused to answer the question that the mages asked and just told them that themander would do all the exining.


    The next day Maius left his house and walked to the ''pce'' as they called it. It wasn''t done yet but it was already considered as such. He navigated the simple gravel path that separates each house in Lumiere. He took his time and anyone who saw him would not fail to give him a greeting.


    He returned their gesture with a smile and also answered their questions patiently. It was his goodwill because they had been supportive of them. Maius also genuinely cared for them because he knew how it was to be powerless and how to appreciate those who have the ability to fight for them.


    Once he reached the gate of the pce, he was given entry without questions. He looked up at the massive infrastructure in front of him but he felt no awe from looking at it. The high walls of the pce were done but the towers in it were still under construction. The main house behind that wall has its half already done and that''s where Xenos''s study was.


    Maius walked the familiar path and within ten minutes he was already in front of the leader''s door. He gave the guards a nod before he knocked. He waited for a few seconds but there was no answer from the inside. With a frown, he knocked again before pushing open the door even without the leader''s approval.


    Themander could only shake his head when he saw the state of the study. The leader was obviously so focused in his work that he did not even notice the mage''s entrance. The windows of the room were closed and there were papers strewn on the floor.


    Xenos himself looked a mess. His hair was in disarray and Maius could clearly see the ck circles around his friend''s eyes. His lips were moving as he kept on mumbling to himself while writing on a piece of paper. His eyes were darting from one document to another nonstop.


    Maius silently crossed the room towards the windows and opened it. The cold wind blew inside and filled the room. Xenos raised his head and looked back only to see that his friend was there. He then looked at the door and back at Maius before he sighed.


    Xenos abandoned his pen and stretched his body to loosen his muscles that had gone numb from sitting for too long. He inhaled and exhaled before he moved his chair in a position that was facing his friend who finally paid him a visit. He looked at the man from head to toe, before he nodded.


    "I''m d to see that you are doing well." Xenos was the first one to speak after giving his friend a brief inspection.


    "Yes, the doctor has been kind enough to remind me to take care of myself because if something happens to me, the leader would be left alone and would be lonely." Maius grinned to lighten the mood but Xenos remained serious.


    Instead of the atmosphere lightening, Maius felt that it became even more depressing. Themander sighed before he went and pulled an empty chair towards the window he just opened. He had no idea what was running inside his friend''s mind.


    "I''m fine. The doctor just said that I needed to rest a bit more to replenish my lost mana. I''m more concerned about you." Maius did not hesitate to speak what was on his mind. "Because right now, you are acting weird. What happened? What''s on your mind?"


    Xenos was brought out from his daze after those questions. He stared at his long-time friend for a moment before he decided to avoid themander''s gaze. His eyes thennded on the documents he had been working on for the past few days.


    "I can''t let Lunaira stay as it is now. I can''t let the people nor the warriors rely on you, mages, for all the battles we will be facing in the future. I have drafted a n to strengthen our warriors. I want to train them and enable them to wield their swords without fearing the enemy whether they are a warrior or a mage." Xenos answered because Maius was the only person he would confide in.


    "I understand. It is inevitable. Our people needed to know that we mages aren''t invincible. We can get wounded and we can die because we too are made up of flesh and blood. I can''t keep on protecting them all every time we fight because if something like that previous incident happens again, you might lose all of your mages." Maius did not hold back either. His friend''s concern was his concern too.

 Chapter 365 Heirs

    Xenos closed his eyes. He understood what his friend was saying. He was just denying and ignoring it for a long time. What happened during that battle was an eye-opener for him. Invincible, he actually thought that his friend was someone like that and yet he still fell and almost died.


    "I apologize for thinking that we could rely on you and the other mages just because you have power greater than those we are facing." Xenos bowed his head as he apologized.


    Maius saw his friend''s fists clenched tightly because of what happened. He couldn''t me him. Although he almost died that day, he was d that his friend now understood the situation. On another note, he was worried that the other leaders would not receive his proposal with an open mind.


    "I support you with whatever you n to do from here on. I am just worried that the others might oppose you. They''ve never been to battle ever since Lunaira was established as one kingdom. They knew nothing of how dangerous our world is right now," Maius exined.


    Those people had be reliant on mages to do what they couldn''t and left them in the front lines. He was afraid that if something happens during a battle, they might get med for it. It was the main reason why he was sacrificing himself to protect all those warriors during a fight but he couldn''t possibly do it alone and continuously.


    "They''ll need to understand what is going on. I won''t let them run their mouths. They designated me as their leader so I will fully use this opportunity to let them know my presence." Xenos raised his head and stared right at his friend''s eyes. "I won''t let your efforts be wasted just because of them."


    And just like that, Xenos Syentia started a revolution that brought the kingdom of Lunaira to the pinnacle of power and influence. During that year, Xenos and Maius swept through their enemies and defeated them all. Their borders stabilized and the people saw the importance of bnce in a kingdom. Xenos lead the warriors into victorious battles without fear and without relying that much on mages. Maius led the mages to provide support and cover to theirrade in arms.


    In the third year of the establishment and stabilization of Lunaira, Xenos was crowned its first king. The people rejoiced in joy because finally they could call him their king. Maius Altair was named as the highest magus in the kingdom, only second to the king. The celebrationsted for a week before everything finally settled down and peace reigned.


    Xenos found his beloved a littleter than Maius. She was beautiful and was from one of the prestigious families in the kingdom. She had a ming red hair and fiery spirit that was impossible to tame but the king did not let her go. A year after their marriage, the queen had a child.


    Another asion worthy of celebration. The kingdom was overjoyed at the birth of their prince just as much as they were excited when the first born of the high magus was born. They all thought that both children would be like their parents, close friends and support each other.


    The crown prince was named Zandro Syentia while Maius''s son was called Kieve Altair. The kingdom had great expectations from the both of them and they were d that the heroes who became the pirs of their kingdom had heirs. It was indeed worthy of celebration.


    "Your majesty," Maius and his wife bowed before the king, "we came to see the newborn prince."


    Xenos had a wide grin on his face as he went to hug his friend. "Why are you bowing! I''m d that both of you are here! Come let''s go and see my son."


    The king ushered them to where the child was. He couldn''t contain his joy and Maius could perfectly understand because it was exactly how he felt when Kieve was born. He looked at his wife and saw that she too was smiling.


    "He looks exactly how you look when our child is born." She chuckled because of how simr they were. They were indeed friends.


    Maius let out a softugh as they walked hand and hand while following the king. They first went to check on the baby who was peacefully sleeping on the crib that was especially made for him. Maius''s wife couldn''t help but gush at how cute the child was. He got his mother''s hair but got all his facial features from his father.


    After swooning over the baby for a few minutes, they went to the other room connected to the baby''s room. The king''s wife smiled when she saw who came to visit her. Bothdies immediately hugged each other after Maius and his wife got near the bed.


    "Congrattions on having a healthy baby, your majesty." Maius gave the woman a smile and so did his wife.


    "Thank you and I hope that your son and my son would be best of friends!" She answered with so much enthusiasm that it affected Maius''s wife.


    "Of course, they will!" She dered as she sat down on the side of the bed. They were instantly engaged in an animated conversation which left both men with a helpless grin on their faces.


    They nodded at each other and went outside of the balcony. They both took a seat and watched as the clouds moved in the sky. It was a wonderful day and was a good omen. The crown prince will definitely be a good ruler.


    "I sincerely hope that our sons will grow to love and cherish their people," Maius spoke with nostalgia while Xenos silently agreed.


    Years passed and both children grew up to be handsome men. Both were excelling at everything they did. Zandro was being groomed to be the next king while Kieve was being trained to be the next high magus of the kingdom. But as they grew, a ring difference between them appeared.


    Because he was the king''s son, Zandro grew up to be stubborn and high profile. He would listen to his father and mother but would often unt his status in front of people. He had grown arrogant just because he was the crown prince of Lunaira. There was one thing that he couldn''t ept though and it was Kieve.


    He hated Kieve. Oftentimes he would getpared to him. He hated how his father would dote on the mage''s son when he was not his own. He hated the fact that Kieve was getting praised here and there just because he was a good kid. He hated how he was getting all the attention even when they were standing in the same ce.


    Zandro would pretend that he and Kieve were friends in front of their parents but Kieve was not stupid. He knew that the crown prince hated him and no matter how he tried to get close to the other, he would always get rejected. He did not say this to his parents or the king and queen because he did not want any conflict.


    Kieve was taught to bepassionate, kind and patient. That''s exactly how he grew so he did not understand why the others hated him so. They were not even living in the same house and yet every time they saw each other, Zandro would re at him.


    Kieve could only avoid the prince as much as he could just to get himself away from trouble. He instead focused his attention and energy in bing a good mage. He wanted to be like his father who protects the people of Lunaira. That''s how they were for those years but everything became moreplicated when they both entered the Academy for gifted children.

 Chapter 366 The End Of Patience

    ?


    Because he was a year older, Kieve entered the academy earlier than Zandro. His days in that ce were peaceful and he enjoyed every moment of it but when Zandro entered the following year, it became a chaotic experience. At the age of fifteen, the crown prince became even more arrogant that his own parents noticed it too.


    They then decided to send him to the academy in hopes of changing his attitude and yet it became a regret at the end. Zandro started to gather people who wouldter on be his servants. They would go around the academy and unt their power and wealth.


    The Academy was a ce where anyone had the privilege to enter as long as they had the aptitude for it. Neither the royal family nor the high magus''s family had control over that ce. It was an independent institution that aimed to mold and teach the future generation of the kingdom.


    It was divided into two categories, magic and physical abilities while the students were divided into three grades. It was also a ce where discrimination was prohibited but because there were nobilities, friction couldn''t be avoided. And now that Zandro was there, this kind of bullying became so rampant that no one dared to stand up against him.


    This news did not escape Kieve. He did not have the strength to deal with the other though because he was focused on graduating. He remained neutral throughout his second year but when he became a third year, it happened.


    One of the students that Zandro and his group has been bullying for some time now got injured because of a prank they pulled off. The professors were adamant on letting the king know about it but no one wanted to be a witness to the incident. The students were too scared to confront the son of the king.


    When Kieve got wind of what happened, he became indignant and his patience broke. He nned on graduation quietly and yet that person was only there to harass the other students. They were doing nothing and were focusing on their studies and yet this division in the social ss was disrupting their concentration. Now, one student almost lost his life and yet the mastermind wasn''t willing to take responsibility.


    "Zandro Syentia," Kieve spoke in a moderate voice to get the other''s attention. He found him and his gang at the training ground behind the main building for the non-magic users.


    Zandro was pissed when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see who it was who had the guts to call out his whole name and was surprised to see that it was Kieve. He hadn''t seen the man for a long time and would only catch a glimpse of him but aside from that there was not much interaction between them.


    He whistled and chuckled as he stared at the person that he hated the most. "Look at who we have here. I thought you were going to hide forever!" Heughed, "And what do you need from me?" His voice was full of sarcasm with his mouth forming a smirk.


    "Have you had enough?" Kieve did not answer his question and instead red at the crown prince of their kingdom.


    Zandro''s smirk disappeared because of the frosty look that the other was giving him. His amusement was reced with anger. He gritted his teeth and managed to speak despite that. "Just because you are the son of the high magus doesn''t mean that you already have the right to disrespect me."


    Kieveughed. "Disrespect? I didn''t do that because in the first ce, I did not respect you because you don''t have the right to be respected. Your father and mother are the only people I respect aside from my own parents."


    Zandro became even more pissed because of what the other said. He thought that Kieve would remain hiding in the academy but he was wrong. He must have felt like a hero right now because he knew the reason why Kieve was there.


    "Hah," Zandro sighed, "you must be here because of that student, right?" Zandro asked as he watched the man''s expression. "Are you here to bring justice for him? Do you really want to be a hero that bad?"


    "The king must have been very disappointed to have a son like you. He even hoped that you grow up loving and protecting your people but look at how you turn out. You are no prince or an heir to the kingdom of Lunaira, you are just a bully who knows how to take advantage of the weak." Every word that Kieve said was full of spite and disgust at the person who called himself a crown prince.


    "What did you say?" Zandro growled. The veins on his forehead were bulging as he clenched his fists tightly. He had been holding himself back against the man but he was really getting on his nerves at that moment.


    His eyes were looking at Kieve like he was about to go and kill him. This man had gone out of line with his words and did it in public. Now, all eyes were focused on the two of them. The students clearly heard each word that they said to each other.


    Kieve was the only person who had the courage to confront the prince and even if they wanted to support him, they couldn''t do it openly. The students could only watch on the side as the two of them face off each other. Even the other students who were with Zandro chose to step back.


    "Do I need to repeat it twice? You are not a prince. You are just a bully. You don''t deserve to be the heir to the crown. You are just a disappointment to King Xenos." Kieve spat without a filter and it only incited Zandro.


    Those words prompted the prince to attack. He picked up the sword that was lying on the ground and used his unnatural speed to attack Kieve. The man calmly faced the prince and easily blocked the tip of his sword that was aiming for his neck.


    Several attacks from Zandro came for Kieve and each attack was done with the full intention of killing him. The prince''s anger and hatred for the man was boiling so he activated the gift he received. His speed and physical strength doubled so Kieve was forced to use a stronger barrier to block the sword.


    With no other choice, Kieve also attacked with magic. Like his father, his mana was of the color of red. It was vibrant unlike his father''s mana that was close to maroon in terms of color. The mana covered Kieve''s hands and he used it to use a palm strike towards Zandro.


    Zandro came at him again with his sword raised above his head. He brought it down and Kieve caught it by his mana covered hand. After he made sure that his grip was tight, he pulled the sword towards him and used his right palm to hit the prince''s stomach.


    The hit was strong enough to push back the prince and sent him flying a couple of feet away before hended on the ground with a thud. He coughed a few times before he managed to push himself up. His eyes were unfocused as he sat there in a daze because he did not expect that there woulde a time that he would be defeated and publicly humiliated.


    This was the scene that the professors saw when they got to the area where they were fighting. The crowd was silent after the princended on the ground but no one dared to walk up to him to see if he was okay. Instead, one of the professors did that.

 Chapter 367 Consequences

    ?


    This incident did not escape the king''s knowledge. Even Maius heard of what happened and both men went to the Academy. The head of the Academy was waiting for them personally. He too didn''t expect that something like this would happen in the institution he was handling.


    "What happened?" Xenos asked in worry because this was the first time that Zandro and Kieve fought each other.


    "ording to the witnesses, the prince and Kieve were arguing with each other regarding the student who nearly died a few days ago. Not long after that, Zandro attacked Kieve. The prince apparently lost and that''s how we are here now, your majesty." The head exined in the simplest manner he could.


    "Why would they argue about someone who is not even rted to them by blood?" Maius was also confused because he knew that his son wouldn''t attack without reason. He taught him self-control and reiterated to him that he should not use his power to hurt those who were not an enemy.


    The head suddenly became ufortable as he looked at the prince who was sitting there in a daze. He was unsure if he should tell them what happened. While he was battling with indecisiveness, Kieve took that chance to tell his father and the king what happened.


    "That''s because it was the prince and his gang. They were the reason why that student almost died. They had been bullying the kid and told him to go to the forest as a prank to look for something they lost even though they knew that the forest was dangerous," Kieve started.


    Xenos and Maius already had a rough idea of what happened after hearing what Kieve had to say. Based on the head''s reaction, it seemed to be true. Maius looked at his friend and saw that his face had already turned ck.


    "Is there any proof that the prince and his group really did it?" Maius asked just to make sure because it might have been a made-up story.


    "Unfortunately, there are and there are several of them." The head of the academy answered as he bowed his head in shame. "All of them were saying the same thing."


    "Zandro!" The king roared just as Maius was about to say something. The room fell into silence and his father''s voice woke up Zandro.


    "Father¡­" His voice trailed off when he saw how angry his father was. He was not even worried about him right now.


    "I don''t know what we did wrong in raising you that you would go this far. How could you hurt the people you are supposed to look after. I''m disappointed in you." Xenos had his eyes narrowed as he expressed what he was feeling.


    "Father I¡­" Zandro wanted to exin but he was stopped when his father raised his palm and shook his head. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stop from talking.


    "You will return to the pce and continue your studies there. I won''t allow you to go out for now until you reflect on what you did wrong." Xenos gave his child a re and Zandro''s words were swallowed back.


    Maius felt pity for the boy but there was nothing he could do. The boy needed to learn to be humble. He was just hoping that his friend won''t severely punish his son. He then looked at his son and found him unhappy about what was happening.


    Xenos then looked at Kieve and sighed. If his son was just like Kieve then he wouldn''t have this kind of problem from the start. He then looked at his friend and gave him a nod before he pulled his son out of the room. Maius thanked the head of the academy before they too left the ce.


    After they went home, Maius''s wife immediately embraced his son and inspected him from head to toe. She sighed in relief because his son was fine. She then ushered him and his husband to the living room of their home where a variety of refreshments and sweet treats were waiting for them.


    "I did not imagine that you would one day fight with Zandro," Maiusmented after they were seated. He looked at his son''s frowning face and it made him sigh once again.


    "What happened son? Why would you suddenly confront Zandro?" His mother asked in a gentle voice. She reached out and gently patted her son''s shoulders.


    Kieve looked at his parents. He stared at them for a few seconds before he gave them an answer. "Because he had crossed the line. He never like me ever since we were children and that was fine with me because I can always avoid him. I endured not getting in his way of bullying because I did not want our rtionship with the royal family to be strained but he crossed the line."


    The child''s voice was full of bitterness that there was no trace of the happy and smiling Kieve in there. ''He must have been very upset,'' Maius thought to himself. His son was usually docile and yet he became a bit violent today.


    "How did you even know that the prince hated you? I thought the two of you were friends?" His mother asked in confusion. She thought that the two of them got along well.


    Kieve frowned, "He was never my friend. All those times that he was friendly with me was all an act just to please the both of you and his parents and the people who were looking at us. He hated me and it was also the reason why I hated going to the pce."


    He finally confessed after years of keeping it within himself. He had been carrying that burden alone even though he was not supposed to be the one doing it. He liked the king and the queen because they were kind people and they cared for their subjects and yet their son wasn''t like them.


    "Why are you telling this to us now?" Maius reached out and held his son''s hands. He did not have an idea that his son was going through something and just assumed that everything was alright.


    "Because I thought that he would change and that he would realize that what he was doing was wrong and yet I was wrong." His voice softened by the end of his statement and his father''s hand tightened around his hands.


    "I will talk with the king about this matter tomorrow and we will see what we can do. I am sure that he is also in a dilemma right now." Maius promised as he squeezed his son''s hand to reassure him.


    "If something like this happens again in the future, don''t hesitate to tell us. We will do what we can to help you. Do you understand?" Maius''s wife gave his son a hug and gently patted his back.


    Kieve closed his eyes as he felt the warmth that wasing from his mother and father. He was really lucky to have parents like them. He drifted into sleep with these thoughts in his mind and with the warmth of the people who loved him.


    The next day, Maius went early to the pce to check on Zandro and also to check on the king and the queen. They must have been pretty shocked at what happened yesterday. He was also afraid that Xenos might be too harsh on his son.


    The atmosphere in the pce was somewhat depressing. He could feel the tension in the air and saw how the servants were walking so quietly around the king''s study, the throne room, the council room and the royal''s pce. He sighed as he trudged towards the king''s study where he would always be every morning.


    When he got there, the guard immediately told him that the king wasn''t there yet. Maius was surprised because he didn''t think that he would be absent from his study at that time of the day. He gave the guard a look but the guard could only shake his head because he too was confused.


    "Then I will wait inside," Maius sighed and took several deep breaths before he pushed open the door and entered.

 Chapter 368 Decision

    The study was strangely quiet which felt unusual. During those times, the king would already be there and taking a look at the documents that had piled up on his table. The incident yesterday must have had a connection to this.


    Maius waited silently until he heard the guard talking outside. The door opened and closed but the person who came remained silent as he walked towards the empty seat in front of Maius. Xenos sat down and leaned back with a sigh.


    The dark circles under the king''s eyes became more prominent just after one night. Their night must have been rough. Maius gave the man a moment of silence as he waited for him to speak first. Xenos must have been frustrated right now and it was no good to agitate him more.


    "I''m sorry," the king muttered. He looked up for a bit before he averted his gaze and looked at the bookshelves behind Maius. He did not have the strength to look at his friend in the eye because he felt shame at that very moment.


    "Why are you apologizing again? You are the ruler of this kingdom so please minimize your apologies and don''t keep me sighing." Maius was getting tired of this set up and his patience has long run out that he just got used to it.


    Xenos remained as he was and he was d for that but in times like this, the king was just as vulnerable as anyone. He looked strong and gant in front of other people but in front of him he looked like a meek person. He doesn''t look like a king right now.


    Xenos chuckled. "I didn''t even know that my son had hated Kieve for a long time now. We had a long and arduous conversationst night that drained out all of my energy." The king finally said what made him so worn out. "I even have tofort my wife after I send Zandro to his room."


    "We also just learned about itst night from Kieve. We are really getting old that our sense had dulled to the point that we are oblivious of how our children felt." Maius sympathized with the man because he too felt the same way.


    "Now I am wondering what we did wrong, especially for me? Zandro grew up to be so arrogant even though we kept reminding him that he should be a role model to others and that he should show our people that he cared for them. And yet, here we are dealing with a mess that he caused." Xenos was already at the end of his wit and his son was even stubborn to relent.


    "I''m also at a loss but I hope that you won''t be too harsh on the boy. You and the queen could still work together to show him that you love him and that what he did was wrong. It may be difficult but you need to do it because he is the future of Lunaira." Maius spoke in a low serious voice.


    Xenos nced at him before he returned his gaze to the ceiling even though there was nothing fascinating in that ce. "That''s what we intend to do. I really hope that Zandro will change his ways."


    "How is he after all that fuss?" Maius inquired to at least shift the topic a bit and ease the tense atmosphere around them. He did not want to dwell on what happened already and instead he wanted to focus on the things that he could do now.


    "He''s fine but he was in shock I guess because Kieve defeated him. Being defeated, that never happened to him because everything has been provided for him and he had been receiving praise all over the ce," Xenos simply answered.


    "Because he is the crown prince and the future king of Lunaira. People would instinctively tell him all that in order to curry favor and make a good impression on him."


    It was a truth they couldn''t change. All those praises must have gotten to him and the pressure of it all made him the arrogant person he was now. It must have been his way of venting out his frustration from these unnecessary burdens they had been giving him.


    "I will need to discipline him then. I can''t let an arrogant person inherit the throne. We just stabilized Lunaira so I don''t want any issues arising in the future when I''m dead," the king admitted.


    All this time, he thought that Zandro was worthy of the throne because he was capable and he had the ability to do so. It never came to his mind that his heir was someone incapable of loving his people and humbling himself. No, he refused to let someone like that be the king of Lunaira.


    Maius understood the king''s worries. Lunaira has just be a recognized kingdom and in a few years he and the king would do what they can to make sure that Lunaira could stand up even without them gone. But with a ruler who couldn''t lead, then that stability would notst.


    "For the mean time, I won''t bring Kieve to the pce. I don''t want the prince''s mood to be ruined further because of my son''s presence. It would also do them good to avoid each other and focus on their studies." This was the only solution that Maius came up with to make sure that both children''s growth won''t be affected by the animosity between them.


    "They will still need to get along when they grow up because both of them are important to this kingdom. During this time, I will let the prince know the importance of socializing," Xenos answered.


    After that conversation, Kieve returned to the academy and finished his studies while Zander continued with his studies at the pce. Both became focused on improving themselves. In the blink of an eye, five years passed and both of them were doing great within their designation.


    Kieve became a mage and was already a captain at a young age. He had been to several battles too and gained experience. His achievements resounded in Lumier as he continued to make a name for himself.


    Zandro focused on ruling the kingdom and actively participating in council meetings and diplomatic rtions. He had won several alliances that made the kingdom prosper and stronger. His achievements were no less than Kieve. Both names were talked about in the kingdom and the people were d to have them as the people who would be leading them in the future.


    A few years passed and the king was already on his deathbed. He had grown ill and unable to manage the kingdom any longer. Zandro needed to step up and take his father''s mantle. Before he died, Xenos entrusted his son to his dear friend.


    Before he could pass down the crown, the king died. The whole kingdom mourned because of the death of their beloved ruler. Throughout his reign, Lunaira experienced peace and prosperity they had never experienced before. For a week, the kingdom was in a state of solemnity but life must move on.


    By the power that the king vested upon him, Maius was there to pass down the crown to Zandro. He was then dered and introduced as the new king of Lunaira. And just like that, Lunaira entered a new era. A year after the coronation, Maius also left the world and Kieve became the head of the House of Altair.


    Kieve stood before the Fire Tree that was nted in the middle of their home. The House of Altair was designed in a way so that a wall was surrounding the manor. The main manor was in the middle of the property with the other houses around it.

 Chapter 369 Reconciliation

    ?


    The Fire Tree stood tall amongst the greenery. Its reddish and yellowish leaves became prominent amongst the trees in the kingdom of Lunaira. Kieve could still remember his father''s words as he told him how the tree came to be.


    It was an unexpected event. During the first years of the family living in that estate, the ce was saturated with mana and Maius used it to replenish his mana. The more that he did it, the more that it mingled in the atmosphere. One day a sprout grew on the ground and as it grew, the unusual color of its leaves caught the people in awe.


    The tree continued to grow but the color of its leaves did not change. It remained as the color of the fire. Red, orange and yellow and when the wind blew the tree looked like it was on fire. Maius called it the Fire Tree and it became the symbol of the House of Altair.


    There was also one reason why Maius gave importance to the tree and that was because it grew as the family prospered. It felt like it was connected to the Altair thus he treated it with care. The Fire Tree gradually became well known in the capital because there was no other tree like it.


    Whenever Kieve stood under it, he felt rxed and his tiredness was gone. His father was right, the tree was like a guardian to their family. Now that his parents were dead, it was now his turn to take care of the family and take care of the tree. He just hoped that he would get to work with the king in a wless manner.


    Tomorrow was the day he would visit the pce and have a meeting with the king together with his council members. Now that Maius was dead there were several things that needed to be addressed. He also had a hunch that something big will happen tomorrow and it might affect the House of Altair.


    "Sir, will everything be alright?" The servant who was waiting for him asked after he turned around and walked towards him.


    "I am hoping that it will be the case," Kieve answered. Although he was unsured, he still had faith that throughout those years that he did not see Zandro, the man would have turned for the better.


    "I will be busy tomorrow so make sure that the whole manor is on high alert. Now that father is dead, there will be people eyeing us from now on." He instructed the servant and the guards who were hiding in the shadows.


    "A frown doesn''t look good on your face, my lord." A woman''s voice drifted through the wind and a woman with a delicate feature, smiling eyes and red lips came towards them.


    "I''m sorry, mdy. I just couldn''t help it." Maius sighed as he pulled the woman into his arms. "But now that you are here, I feel better."


    The womanughed at her husband''s antics and let him do what he wanted. She returned the hug and gently patted his back. The difference in height and build made thedy of the house fit perfectly into his arms.


    "How about the kids? Where are they?" Maius asked while still hugging his wife. He suddenly missed them. He was just gone for a while but the urge to hug them tightly overcame him.


    "They''re inside. Cygnus is busy ying with ra," she answered. She slowly pushed herself away from the man''s hug and looked up to gaze at him. "Why don''t we go and y with them?"


    Kieve nodded and both of them entered the manor. Even before they could reach the living room, the crisp and vibrantughter from the children already filled the halls. This sound brought a smile to Kieve''s face.


    They reached the entrance to the living room and saw that their children were having fun. Cygnus was already five while ra was still three. Cygnus loved his sister dearly and would do everything to protect her. He was even more protective than them.


    Cygnus noticed the gaze directed towards them and when he turned around his eyes twinkled. "Father! Mother!" He called out which also made ra look behind her.


    "Father! Mother!" She also called out. She immediately stood up and ran towards them with his brother following behind.


    Kieve smiled and picked up ra. He tossed her in the air which made him giggle and caught her again in his arms. He then rubbed his cheek on her cheek and gave her a kiss on her forehead. ra enjoyed the shower of kisses and did it too to her father.


    Kieve''s wife and Cygnus stood with grins on their faces because of the action. Kieve did not forget his son too. He scooped him using his other arm and gave him a kiss on both of his cheeks and on his forehead.


    "That tickles!" ra giggled and ced both of her hands on her father''s cheeks and pressed them together. She giggled again and again which made the other members of the familyugh.


    That was how they spent the day and the night. Kieve took that chance to spend time with his family and make sure that his children were happy. He would be working double time from now on when the head of the family was gone. His father''s responsibilities in the pce had now fallen into his shoulders.


    The next day, he left the manor early and went straight to the pce. He was given ess and was even ushered to the council room. The only person in there when he entered was the king and there were no other people.


    This was the first time that they will be seeing each other after so many years. Kieve did not set foot in the pce ever since that incident at the academy and his father did not force him to. He decided to stay in the border and defend the kingdom rather than to stay in the capital. He was just back because Maius fell ill.


    So many years and they were both not children anymore. They were adults with responsibilities that those silly grudges should be buried in the past. Kieve walked up to the king and gave him the customary greeting.


    "It is an honor to finally meet you again, your majesty." He bowed his head with his right fist ced on his chest.


    "Raise your head," the king answered. He then gestured for the man to sit down on the empty seat to his right side.


    Once Kieve was seated, there was only silence between them. Neither of them talked first because both of them didn''t know how to start. It was true that they were already adults and yet they still felt ufortable after seeing each other.


    Minutes passed by but neither of them talked. Finally, Kieve couldn''t take any longer and took upon himself to speak first. The king might be ufortable to speak first and it was only right that he as the subordinate speak first.


    "How have you been, your majesty?" He asked first to lighten the mood a little bit. It was also right that he inquired of the king''s health.


    "I have been doing good and it may bete but I want to express my condolences to you and to your family," Zandro answered.


    The hate and jealousy that he had been feeling ever since they were a child already disappeared. His father reiterated to him a couple of times that his arrogance would one day bring him down. After a lot of thinking and reflecting on it, he came to a realization that his father was right. He was brought down by Kieve that day and he treated it as a motivation to make himself stronger.

 Chapter 370 Cooperation

    ?


    Kieve felt that the king''s attitude became amiable and that he could not feel the hatred in there. He was speaking to him normally. He was relieved because he could now talk with the king normally, as a subordinate to his king.


    "Thank you, your majesty." He bowed his head again and his tense posture slowly loosened so did the kings.


    "The reason why I specifically told the messenger to tell you toe early is to talk to you in advance before the council members arrive. Some of them aren''t happy that you are taking over your father''s position when you haven''t participated in court." Zandro finally spoke of the reason why there were no other people in the room aside from them.


    "That is understandable. I only have an idea of what my father does in the pce because of his stories." Kieve nodded and he couldn''t me the council for not being happy with him suddenly bing the high magus of Lunaira.


    "They will try to rece you with the mages that are under their control. Honestly, I prefer you taking over your father''s position because I know your potential and attitude. I also don''t want any of them to have people who are near me." The king added and the mage understood his meaning.


    After years, mages emerged from the different families too. Because of the number of mages, nobility started to recruit mages in the pretext that they were going to nurture them for the kingdom. In reality, they were just fostering these mages to use to their advantage.


    But even though there were mages everywhere, stair still remained as the only family with descendants that can use magic. Other families might have a mage in their line but only one or two and some children were even born as non-magic users. They might take this opportunity to nt spies beside the king.


    "I will take my father''s position. It has been decided ever since the beginning and aren''t my achievements enough for them? I can easily learn court etiquette since my father and mother had been teaching me since I was a child." Kieve became adamant on taking the position.


    He won''t let those people take the position that his father treasured. As a neutral family whose loyalty was sworn to the king, he needed to stay by the king''s side. His jaw clenched because he already had an idea how the system in the pce worked, his father had told him so, so many times.


    He was entering a ce full of predators that were ready to pounce and eat them alive if they didn''t stay on their toes. Besides, he promised his father that he would support the king in his reign. No matter what happens, he nned to fulfill that promise.


    "That''s what I intend to do too. I''m d that we are on the same page. Ever since my father died, those members of the council had been on my case nonstop. They wanted to have a say in everything I do as if they are always right." Zandroined with a sigh because he had been enduring for a long time now.


    Kieve could tell that the king was nearing his limit with dealing with the council. He was aware that the other houses had been gaining power and exerting their influence everywhere. He knew this because they tried several times to convince his father to join them but Maius refused them all.


    "Our enemies had been wary of us for a long time now and yet the court is still eyeing your throne. Their greed already knows no bounds. I hope that you will always be vignt, your majesty, because they might use drastic measures when they are driven into a corner." Kieve advised even though he hadn''t officially taken his father''s position.


    "Then it is good that you are on my side," Zandro grinned.


    This marked the change in their rtionship. They continued to talk about what they should do to deal with those people. It was not easy but with the king as his backer and his family''s influence, those geezers would definitely lose the battle.


    As the time for the council meeting drew near, the council members started to arrive one at a time. They greeted the king who was already there before taking their designated seat. Once everyone was assembled, their gazes couldn''t help but linger on the chair that was empty. It was the one on the right side of the king.


    Several thoughts were running in their minds as they eyed that precious seat. If they could seat or just control the person who would be sitting there then their lives would be a lot better. They could easily get in contact with the king and get his favor. Most of them thought that it was a great opportunity that couldn''t be passed up.


    Zandro led the meeting and started it by acknowledging the council members. The members weren''t happy though because one more person wasn''t in the room yet. They even specifically told the servants to add one more extra chair to let that man have his own seat.


    "Your majesty, isn''t Kieve stairing? I''m sure that he was informed of the details of the meeting." One of them immediatelyined right after the king acknowledged their appearance.


    "What are you talking about? I have been here the whole time. I just went out for a while because of an urgent matter with the king''s permission. Please do not use me of beingte because I was here earlier than any of you." Kieve answered the question just as he entered through the door that the king usually used when he entered the council meeting room.


    He gave them all a bow with a small smile on his face. He traced back his steps and sat down at the empty seat that the people in that room were coveting. This action earned him res and deep frowns from the attendees.


    One of them coughed and looked at the direction of the king. "Your majesty, if you''ll excuse me, I would like to offer another seat for our visitor. That seat cannot be upied by outsiders."


    Kieveughed and sighed. He ced his elbow on the table and rested his head on his closed fist as he looked at the person who spoke. "Oh, when did I even be an outsider when I have every right to sit in this seat." He narrowed his eyes with his face still smiling.


    "Don''t be too arrogant!" The man who spoke was offended because of his tone and the way that he was looking at him. "Just because you are an Altair, you can already disrespect me like that."


    "Have I said anything disrespectful?" Kieve was taken aback by the man''s usation. He leaned away from the table and looked at the king.


    "Enough of this nonsense!" Zandro finally spoke. His voice resounded in the room and made the people in there silent. "Kieve Altair has every right to sit on that chair and I will take this opportunity to announce that he will officially take the title high magus of Lunaira."


    This deration created an uproar inside the room. The council members started toin and express their dissatisfaction with the sudden decision. The king did not address any of their problems and just watched them lose their heads. Kieve also did the same as he leaned on his seat and casted a nce towards the men who were arguing and trying to raise their voice to be heard.


    Zandro let themin to their hearts content and he has no intention of stopping them. He was content with being a bystander for now. Kieve nced at the king and followed his lead. He still had his patience and besides it was kind of fun watching them getting anxious because the position they were aiming for wasn''t avable now.

 Chapter 371 Arena

    ?


    It took them a while to notice that the king wasn''t answering any of them. This prompted them to slowly shut up and calm themselves. The king finally spoke after there was a total silence in the room.


    "Are you all done?" He shook his head with augh. "I didn''t know that my council is actually like this. You are allowed to ask me any questions and yet you chose to show this ugly side of you. How unbing of people in your status."


    The room remained even more silent that one could hear the sound of a pin that was dropped. They were all holding themself back fromshing out once again. They could only swallow their insult and curse at Kieve within their minds.


    "I don''t understand, your majesty. How could you let that man take the position easily?" Another member asked. They all thought that the king hated Kieve because they have never seen the two of them interact or talk to each other before. There was also the issue of what happened between them in the past.


    "You don''t understand or you can''t ept it? The reason is simple enough. He is an Altair. He is the son of Sir Maius Altair. He is a great magician with his experience and achievements backing him. And above all of that, he is loyal to the royal family and I can trust him." The king did not hold back and told them all what made Kieve the best to take the position.


    The emphasis on thest sentence he said was a clear indication that he knew what the others were trying to do. They all knew that he wasn''t a timid king and it was difficult to control him so they wanted to resort to cing people who would monitor him. All of this was already known to him.


    "If you are adamant on wanting to rece me, then why don''t you bring your strongest mage and let them fight me?" Kieve interjected with a smirk. "If they manage to defeat me, then I will relent this position that you all wanted to have for yourselves."


    Zandro was surprised with the sudden proposal from the mage. He looked at him like he hadpletely lost his mind. But instead of fear, he saw that Kieve waspletely rxed.


    "Then we will request for a duel!" The indignant council member dered. He won''t let Kieve get away with what he''s done. They will challenge him and show him that their mages were stronger than him.


    "I ept your challenge," Kieve smirked. He was that confident with his skills and besides his father was his mentor. In all of Lunaira, there was no one that could surpass his father and he learned everything that he could from the man himself.


    He bet that these people hadn''t gone to any battles and even their mages had no experience or whatsoever. It was better to show them where they belong and assert his authority over them. There was no use in ying safe inside the pce so he must take the risk and show them his power.


    No one could look down on the Altair. He won''t let anyone take it for granted the things that his father had done. That position only belonged to them and unless there''s someone out there who was more worthy, then they would need to get past him before they could get their hands on the title of being the strongest mages in the kingdom.


    Seeing that Kieve was confident, Zandroughed because he was worrying without any basis. The room was taken aback by the suddenughter from the king. Zandro now found this situation really amusing.


    "Then I will bear witness to this duel," he dered. He leaned on his seat and crossed his legs with a grin on his face. It turned out that this council meeting would be one of the most exciting meetings he had in a while.


    "Since the king agreed, why don''t we start now? I know the main reason why you are eager for this council meeting today. I''m not ignorant and most of all I am not dumb to not know your intentions. Since it is already the main topic of this gathering, let''s get through it and finish it today." Kieve stood up from his chair and casted a nce at the crowd.


    Zandro also stood up and walked out of the room followed by Kieve. They left first as the council members started to argue and mumble with each other. After they didn''te to an agreement, they also left the council room and went straight to the arena inside the pcepound.


    The king was already seated while Kieve was already standing in the middle of the arena. He tilted his head to the side while narrowing his eyes towards the entering council members. He looked forlorn in the middle of that wide ramp with his ck hair fluttering with the wind.


    The long sash that was tied around his waist floated and highlighted the red leaves that were embroidered in it. He was standing tall and emitted an aura of authority. It was iparable to any of the people in that arena, except for the king.


    They didn''t want to admit it but him only standing there was already giving them a sense of foreboding. They gritted their teeth and swallowed their indignation. The first one toe up on the tform was the mage under the council member who first opposed Kieve.


    He was tall and had a lean build. He had short hair and tanned skin. His eyes were as ck as the night sky and had a serious face. Kieve could already guess that the man was not fond of any fun conversations.


    "I''ve heard a lot about you and your family. I could even see that famous fire tree everytime I passed by your estate." The man suddenly said, which made Kieve''s eyebrow raise.


    "And I hope that what you heard aren''t all bad or false rumors," Kieve grinned. He knew everything there was with regards to his family, the rumors and all the talk that was going on outside.


    "I only care about your strength," the man simply answered. "I believe that family background isn''t all there is to a mage and a warrior."


    "Well then, let''s see what you''ve got." Kieve stood straight and extended his right arm forward. "I call this blood."


    A small red orb appeared at the tip of his fingers and he shot it towards his opponent. The man raised a shield to protect himself from the attack. Amongst all the magic he could use, he was most proud of creating barriers. He was confident that no attack would be able to prate his fiveyer solid mana barrier.


    The red orb reached the man''s barrier and touched it slightly. It stopped mid-air but it was still spinning. When they all thought that the orb wouldn''t do any damage, the resounding sound of a crack echoed in the arena.


    The shield that he was so proud of shattered into a million pieces just a few seconds after the red orb made contact with it. The enemy''s eyes widened because the red orb was still moving towards him. He stepped to the right and slightly bent his back backward to avoid the attack.


    A loud explosion took over the arena when the red orbnded. Their eyes were all in the direction where the orb exploded and there arge crater appeared. Some of them couldn''t help but gasp at what they saw.


    The enemy on the other had his eyes wide as he looked back at the crater behind him. He was sure that if that orb hit him, he would have died on the spot. He looked back at Kieve and swallowed hard because he knew that the power of that man was not to be trifled with.

 Chapter 372 Battle

    ?


    He clenched his fists and stood his ground instead. He was not about to back down just because the man showed him something fearsome. He waved his hand from the right to the left and several blue sharp ices appeared before him.


    Kieve narrowed his eyes and grinned because the man did not leave and run. ''At least he has the guts,'' he mumbled to himself. The blue ice flew towards at a breakneck speed but Kieve wasn''t fazed. He stretched out his hand and blocked the iing attack that was directed at him.


    A red barrier appeared just as Kieve raised his hand. The blue ice melted as they made contact with the shield. The enemy did not stop there though as he appeared behind Kieve and used the same attack.


    Kieve noticed the attack and managed to jump back to avoid the deadly ice that was aiming for his body. The icended on the ground instead and instantly froze a part of the arena. The man did not stop there as he knelt and touched the ground with both of his palms.


    Blue mana rushed through the iced floor that he created and a series of sharp ice stgmites manifested. These stgmites were so tall and deadly that they reached the air where Kieve was floating. The mage bent down on air and touched the tip of the stgmite.


    His red mana immediately covered the ice and turned it to water. He thennded down on the ground and looked at the man. Kieve then waved his hand and several red waves appeared. These waves targeted the enemy and he did his best to dodge them all but they kept on returning anding for him.


    These waves were sharp and cut through the walls of the arena. Once the enemy made sure that those waves hit the walls, he could now focus on attacking the man once again. Before he could do anything though, Kieve was already behind him with a curved red mana de pressing against his neck.


    "That''s enough because no matter how you struggle you will die by my hands. Do you want to die?" Kieve whispered with the de pressing into the man''s neck that it drew blood.


    The man raised both of his hands. Kieve smiled and retracted the de that he used to threaten the man. He then stepped back and gestured for the man to go. The enemy closed his eyes and left the arena.


    "Are there any more of you who want to test their luck?" Kieve looked at the bleachers above the arena where the council members were sitting. "If there are, let theme at me at the same time because I don''t want to spend any more time in this ce."


    The council members were on the verge of an outburst at how arrogant Kieve was. Because of that, they let their mages go up to the arena and fight the mage. There were a total of five mages who entered to challenge Kieve.


    Kieve could already tell that these mages were still young. Although they have strong mana signatures, it was not enough to face him. His control over his mana was precise and he could do it even without moving from where he was.


    Five mages attacked at the same time but Kieve did not even move and let his mana spread into different directions. The mana became blunt des that stopped the mages from their attack. The mages were then flung away by the force of the attack that hit them.


    The mana des then became sharp pointed spears that moved to pierce the mages. Kieve was looking at the council members while he was attacking the mages that they sent to fight him. Before the spear could pierce through the skulls of those mages, a loud voice stopped him.


    "Stop!" A voice from one of the council members who were seated at the back shouted. "We already got your point so please spare them."


    The spear-like mana stopped just a few centimeters away from the skulls of those mages. "Then do you all still insist that I relinquish my father''s position to these mages?"


    Silence. That was the only answer they gave to the man. He was indeed strong as did anyone who bore the name of Altair. Although it was a good opportunity, it was truly too good to be true. Almost all of them decided to take a step back and wait for another chance.


    After the duel, they all returned to the council room and proceeded with the other concerns that they must talk about. Kieve remained silent throughout the duration of the meeting which made the council members sigh in relief. Zandro was also happy with the result of that duel.


    Both of them waited for all the members to leave before Kieve finally bid the king goodbye. He bowed and was thest to leave the pce. He exited the room but he wasn''t even half way when he heard a voice calling him.


    He looked back and saw that it was a woman and he remembered her as one of the council members. She had blonde locks and almost golden eyes. She walked towards him with her hips swaying a little bit.


    "May I help you?" Kieve politely asked since he didn''t know the woman and he was hoping that she would introduce herself.


    The woman chuckled. "I''m just here to express my condolences to you and to your family. High magus Maius has been a great help to my family. In the future, you will have my support." The woman bowed before she left without introducing herself or waiting for Kieve''s reply.


    Kieve was confused but he wasn''t about to turn down an offer so he silently epted the woman''s words. He returned home with his wife and children waiting for him. They took turns in greeting him and he made sure to shower them with kisses.


    "What does the inside of the pce look like?" Cygnus asked while being carried in his father''s arms. He had been seeing the pce from their home but he hadn''t entered that ce yet.


    He tried asking his grandfather to take him there too but the man refused. Cygnus wanted to know why his grandfather never let him go there with him. He was really curious as to how a pce would look inside.


    "It is beautiful. There''s a huge library there and a ce where all kinds of flowers grow. There''s also a ce where mages and the warriors practice their skills. There''s also a forest where the king usually hunts." Kieve answered his son''s question and he was rewarded with his son''s sparkling eyes as he became fascinated with what he heard.


    "Will you let us go to the pce?" He asked in excitement. Because his father answered his question, he immediately assumed that they were going to the pce.


    Kieve gave his son a smile and ruffled his hair. "Not now, I can''t allow you to enter the pce for now."


    The joy in his son''s face fell after he heard his father''s words. "Why? Even grandfather didn''t want to let us go with him and now you too."


    Kieve sighed and let his son down. He then knelt on one knee and looked at his son. "Although the pce is wonderful, that ce is also dangerous. I just don''t want you to get hurt because I don''t like to see you get hurt. That is also the reason why your grandfather preferred to let you stay here in our house."


    This was the only exnation he coulde up with. It was the truth even though he left out the part about the people who could hurt him. He did not want to let his family be entangled even more with theplications of the pce.


    Although they were already involved because he was now the high magus, he still wanted to let them live a normal and happy life. Cygnus and ra were his children and he wished that they wouldn''t get swept away by the storm that was brewing in the horizon. To minimize their exposure to danger, the needed to be on his toes and make sure that no one could get near his family, especially those people.


    Maius did a great job of not involving any member of his family into the matters of the pce and he intended to do it. He looked at his wife and the woman gave him a gentle nod with a smile on her face. They already talked about it so many times and the woman understood the man''s concern.


    She fully supports whatever her husband intended to do because she knew how the pce was. It was full of wolves waiting for their prey. Once they saw a weakness, they would tear you piece by piece and would not leave even a bone behind. It was a ce he would not allow his children to go not until they were a bit older to understand how the world they were living in worked.

 Chapter 373 Taking The Mantle

    ?


    For the rest of that month, Kieve became busy with transitioning into the position that his father left. He had been in the pce almost every day and only went home once in a while to rest. Even though the children missed him, they still understood that they couldn''t disturb him.


    Kieve wanted to stay longer at home but there were so many things that he needed to fix. The piled up documents waiting for him seemed endless. The pressure from his responsibilities and from the people around him made it impossible for him to have a rxed day.


    It was crucial for him to perform well because a small mistake might get those greedy council members a reason to remove him from his post. He couldn''t let that happen. Once the crucial month was over, he promised that he would definitely spend time with his family.


    "You''ve been working hard," the kingmented.


    Kieve looked up and saw that Zandro was standing by the door and looking at him. The mage sighed and red at him. He had been working diligently to finish all his work because he wanted to make sure that the council wouldn''t find fault on him.


    "Yes. Your council members are watching me like a hawk. They''ll devour me before I even know it if I ever make a mistake." Kieve answered with his hands crossed on his chest.


    "That''s true. At least I am the king so even if they find fault in me, they won''t be able to do anything." Zandroughed as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.


    "What brought you here, your majesty?" Kieve asked after the king found a seat for himself.


    "I received tenints about you. Most of them are about your ipetence and that you are being disrespectful of them," Zandro answered.


    He looked around the office and saw that nothing changed. It remained as it was when Maius was still the high mage of Lunaira. Well, Kieve had been busy for the past few weeks so he had no time to fix everything.


    "They really are persistent. Why don''t you just rece them all?" Kieve suddenly suggested which made the king silent for a while before he burst outughing.


    It was an unexpected statement from the man himself. Zandro was amused at how the man''s brain was working. He spoke that line with such seriousness that the king thought he was not joking.


    "If I could just do that then, I would have done it from the very beginning." Zandro tilted his head towards the ceiling and sighed. "But in this ce, I don''t have anyone to support me. I am merely clinging to this position to the best of my ability."


    The atmosphere suddenly became somber at the turn of the topic. Kieve looked at the king and sympathized with him. King Xenos was a man who was harsh and yet stillpassionate. He put his people above himself because he was the king. Due to this, many of the nobility stopped supporting and had been looking for ways to rece him as the king.


    If not for his father''s protection and backing, King Xenos wouldn''t be able to hold on to his position. Eighty percent of the magicians in Lunaira all supported his father and thus in return, King Xenos had the support of these mages. Add to that his perfect control of the military power of the kingdom.


    Most of them weremoners who rose to rank because the former king believed in equality and gave them the chance to show what they could do. That nailed the king''s position and now that he died, that power swayed. He knew that Zandro had changed and did his best to meet the expectation of the military.


    In Kieve''s opinion, he was doing great and most of the warriors already acknowledged him as the king and were silently supporting him. The generals were also his side as he had conversed with them a couple of days ago. Zandro must have not known about it but they had been protecting him from those greedy people.


    As for him, he did have his father''s position but the mages were still reluctant to support him. His father already made a remark about it one time. He explicitly told him that the time and season had been changing. The people of the past were no longer who they were once.


    "You have a loyal supporter. You''ve carried your father''s teaching well as those he had helped in the past still see you as their king. Nothing has changed. They will remain loyal to you and the royal family." Kieve gave the king a sincere smile.


    His voice was reassuring and it made the king softly chuckle. Zandro knew who the mage was pertaining to. He indeed had them behind him so not even those who called themselves nobles would be able to overpower him.


    "Your majesty, you''ll need to solidify your position amongst themon people because they will be your greatest support. I believe that there are still nobles who supports themoners and they will eventually help you when they see your sincerity." Kieve was no adviser but this was the best advice he could give the king.


    Zandro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I know and I am doing my best, but why are you excluding yourself?" The king opened his eyes and looked at the mage with a frown.


    Kieve shook his head. "You can''t depend on me all the time, your majesty. The mages have changed and I don''t have their full support. I even suspect that none of them supports me. I will do whatever I can to assist you but that is as far as I go."


    Kieve was silent for a moment after what he heard. He indeed heard about the news and he even received a letter requesting for him to approve of a magic tower being established. They wanted to be independent and use this chance to help more people.


    "They have been requesting for me to approve the establishment of a magic tower, an organization solely for mages." Zandro spoke out of nowhere.


    Now that they were on the topic, he might as well inform the man of the n that the mages came up with. Those request letters came just a month after the high mage died. Normally, it would have been a normal request but the timing had been bothering the king.


    "They finally made their move, huh." Kieve shrugged his shoulders. "They''ve been requesting the same thing to my father but he suddenly fell ill so I advised them to stop bothering him. They wanted to get away from the control of our family."


    "What will you do now?" Zandro had a clue as to what the man was thinking. By the tone of his voice, he suspected that he would give them the go signal but eventually as the king, he still had thest say about it.


    The room was once again silent after the king''s question. Kieve had been in conflict over the topic for a while now but it seems that the time hase for him to let it go. The thought of severing their ties with those mages was already set in his mind because he thought that Altair would be much better without them. He just didn''t have the time to do it because he took up his father''s position.


    "Let them be but that''s eventually up to you, your majesty." Kieve finally answered after a few moments of silence.


    He looked at the documents he was reading and picked them up. He then ced them on the stack of papers on his right side. The rustling of the paper filled the room as they fell into silence.


    Zandro stood up and stood in that room for a while before he opened his mouth once again. "I''ll do as I please then." He did not wait for the man''s reply.


    He ced his hands behind his back and turned around to leave. There was a smile on his face after that conversation with the mage. He returned to his own study and started to deal with the papers that needed his attention.

 Chapter 374 A New Magic Tower

    ?


    For the next few days, the talk about the magic tower circted around the capital. Many were skeptical about the establishment of that organization but nobody questioned it. As long as the tower would be of help to them, the people really didn''t mind.


    The nobility on the other hand had different opinions regarding the matter and it was the reason why another meeting was requested with the king. As tedious as it was, Zandro needed to attend it and listen to them once again. Kieve was also there mainly to listen as he did not intend to share any sentiments or opinion regarding the matter.


    "We do not oppose the establishment of an organization for mages but their rules are ridiculous!" One shouted in anger. He was shaking in anger because of the letter he received.


    He was one of the council members who were rearing mages in their ranks just to strengthen their power. One of the rules that the organization wanted to implement after its establishment was the registration of all mages within the kingdom. Upon registering, they will be recognized as mages that belonged to the kingdom of Lunaira.


    "What''s more ridiculous is that those who won''t let the mages register in the tower would be sanctioned! Registration will also mean that our mages will be part of the magic tower and will need to follow their ridiculous rules!" Another one followed with hisints.


    These series of statements caused another wave of discussion and cursing amongst the men. They couldn''t believe that such rules would be established together with the tower. Once the organization would fully function, they would eventually lose the mages they had taken care of.


    "It''s just a registration. Your mages will still work for all of you. Although they will need to follow the rules of the magic tower, they are still employed by you. It''s a formality and it is also a way for us to track how many mages are there in our kingdom as of right now." One of the more reasonable ones exined.


    He tried to let the others see the bigger picture of this rule and this organization. It wasn''t a bad thing to have their mages register because it was the best way to keep track of how many mages each family had. He was thinking of using this opportunity to scout the strength of each family with their mages.


    "You say that now but, I doubt that you will register all the mages within your family." Another man rose from his seat and pointed at the man who just talked.


    Kieve sighed as he watched how undignified these people were bing just because of one rule. There was no big deal if all mages were listed. It would also be a record of all mages and their achievements that could be passed down to the next generation.


    The discussion, usations and unending arguments continued on with the next hour and no matter how the others interfered the rest would only go back to arguing. The king on the other hand was losing his patience because of how childish these old men and women had be. Imagine twenty people arguing like children for an hour now.


    After another thirty minutes of more arguing, the king finally had enough of it. They were there to address theirints and yet no one, from the beginning, had ever spoken to him about the issue. He was starting to think that they were just there to argue and make life more difficult for him.


    The king clenched his jaws and after a few seconds, a booming voice sounded in the room. The statement made them silent. "I added that rule." This one sentence from the king made all the council members look at him. Even Kieve was surprised at the king''s words.


    Zandro swept his gaze to the people whose attention was already on him. He shook his head and left the hanging for a few minutes more because he did not want to speak. It was enough to make them silent for a moment.


    "What do you mean, your majesty?" One of the members finally had the courage to ask after that long silence and when they realized that the king wouldn''t continue speaking.


    Zandro raised an eyebrow at the person who asked. "Isn''t it clear enough? It''s exactly what I have said, no more, no less." The king''s voice carried a hint of coldness that prated through the chaotic atmosphere that the council members created.


    The re and the tone of the king made the people inside the room gulp and shiver. They haven''t seen him this displeased the entire time that they were dealing with him. It was a first for them even more so for Kieve.


    "But why would you do that, your majesty?" Another one of them asked. He was one of those who were a bit neutral regarding the matter.


    "Now that I got all of your attention, we can now finally proceed to the core of this gathering. After bickering for an hour and thirty minutes coupled with wasting my time that is supposed to be used for the people''s good, I am d that we will be tackling the main issue." The king''s words were full of sarcasm which made the atmosphere even more depressing.


    Kieve, who had been listening on the side, could only hold back hisughter at that moment. He turned around and covered his mouth but the shaking of his shoulders couldn''t hide his mirth. The situation was really amusing and it made himugh even though it was just silently done.


    Several res were sent his way as they noticed his reaction. Zandro on the other hand didn''t mind and instead gave the council a warning look. It was trulyughable and he couldn''t me Kieve for his reaction because if he was a bystander himself, he would haveughed too.


    "Enough of this nonsense. All of you have been acting like children ever since we started this meeting and it is disappointing to see that my council, who governs the kingdom with me, are acting like this." Zandro pped the table which jolted them into attention.


    "We apologize, your majesty. This matter had made most of us ufortable. We supported the growth of our mages and then we will receive such kind of news. We are not opposed to the establishment of a magic tower but the registration is a bit too much." One of them looked at the king as he spoke. He started waving his hand while speaking and this earned nods from the other members.


    "What''s wrong with the registration? It is just a list of names of the mages under our kingdom. It is a record and it is good that we have a record of the mages in our kingdom. If someday in the future, some of them willmit a crime, we will have a list of names where we can base the investigation." The king did not hold back on his words and it even served as a warning to these aristocrats that they wouldn''t be able to freely use the mages for their own gain.


    "Your majesty, why would you even assume that mages will do crime?" One of them asked with a frown on his face.


    The entire room fell into silence at the person''s question. The veins on the king''s forehead started to bulge at how idiotic the question was. He stared directly at the man who spoke with his jaws clenched.


    "Are you really part of my council or even yet part of this kingdom? Magic users are being involved in many crimes in the kingdom. We even apprehended some of them and now you are asking me if I am assuming when it is already happening? From what rock have you been hiding all this time?" It was apparent that the king was barely containing his anger.

 Chapter 375 Settled

    ?


    The man who just spoke was startled and started to shiver. He started to stammer too as he answered the king. "I-I apologize, y-your m-majesty. I-it is n-not my in-intention to offend you." He bowed his head in embarrassment because the others were also ring at him.


    Zandro closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before he opened them once again and looked at them. "The magic tower will be established together with those rules and none of you can object to this decision otherwise I will suspend you from your work in the pce. You are well aware that I can do that, right?"


    Since the king was determined with his decision, the council members had no choice but to agree with him. Although they hold power in the kingdom and influence in the pce, they still knew that the king held the highest power. It was not yet time for them to go against the king.


    With that matter settled another issue needed to be addressed and it was also a crucial piece for the establishment of the magic tower. ''Who will be the master of the tower?'' This was a question that needed to be answered before the gathering would end.


    All eyes then fell on the man who was there to listen and watch them. Kieve shrugged his shoulders because he knew what they were thinking. They must have thought that he would be the tower master but he had zero intention of bing one. He was already the high mage of the kingdom and bing a tower master was not suited for him.


    "Kieve stair will not be the master of the tower. He is already working for the royal family but rest assured because he and his family will register to the magic tower. The tower master will be Elvira Khevan." This announcement from the king delivered a sigh of relief to the council members.


    They were d that the high mage won''t be involved with how the magic tower works. Now, they will have room to move once again. Kieve smiled at the relief on the faces of the council members because he was not the tower master.


    After that, no more objections were heard from them and the meeting ended calmly as they slowly epted that a magic tower would be established. The news that confirmed the establishment of the magic tower made the people''s excitement and hopes soar high. They had a high expectation of the magic tower especially with the goal they presented to the people.


    After three months of preparation, the magic tower was finally established and its base was in the capital. The towering structure that casted shadow to the nearby building was grand and intimidating at the same time. It was a ce that would invoke awe and fear to the hearts of the people depending on how they would view the tower in the next few years.


    During this time, the king also created the Pirs of Light. It was a group of mages from the magic tower that directly worked for the royal family. They were tasked to assist the high mage on his work and ensure that peace would continue to reign in the kingdom.


    This was the start of the tragic event that would then lead to the fall of the House of stair and would push Cygnus into the unending darkness of the abyss. Three years after the changes that happened, greed started to eat at the heart of the kingdom. With all the power in his hands, the king started to want more.


    His values started to diverge from what he had been doing from the past and Kieve started to notice these changes. The king would often remark words that Kieve wouldn''t agree with. It would spark an argument between them and the gap that started to appear between the king and his trusted high mage started to be visible to the wolves who were surrounding them.


    Eventually, Zandro stopped consulting with the high mage and put his Pirs in a higher pedestal than the high mage. The discord between the two became ringly noticeable that the aristocrats started to plot against the high mage since he still held significant power and influence. They still regard him as a thorn in their throats even after three years of his unwavering service to the kingdom and loyalty to the king.


    Two years have passed and the position of the high mage became aughing stock to the people who knew of his status inside the pce. Although he was still performing as cleanly as he had for the past years, people inside the pce started to regard him as someone who didn''t belong there. His position started to lose its meaning.


    usations started to circte around the pce and amongst the nobility. They kept on submitting reports and requests to the king to investigate the matter of the House of Altair performing dark magic. Throughout the years, dark magic became forbidden as it only caused harm to the people.


    This usation was heavy and it was even backed with evidence that the king could not ignore it. Add to that the report that the House of Altair was also nning for a rebellion to dethrone the king. The dark magic was then reported as a tool for the rebellion.


    Kieve denied all allegations and stated all the reasons why he would not set up a rebellion against the royal family. He argued and reminded them of his loyalty and the work he had done for the kingdom. Some of the nobles who knew him and his family pleaded for an investigation which was approved by the king.


    "How about a vacation to any nearby kingdoms, my love?" Kieve suggested out of the blue which caused a frown to appear on his wife''s face.


    "What''s the matter, Kieve?" She raised her hand and caressed her husband''s face.


    He leaned on her touch and closed his eyes to savor her warmth. Kieve had been on edge for the past few days, no, it was for the past weeks and it didn''t go unnoticed by his wife. She was privy to what was happening in the pce and she knew that her husband was under pressure.


    "They will being for us soon and I don''t want you and the children to get caught up with the waves of war that is brewing in the deepest pits of this kingdom." Kieve opened his eyes as he looked at his wife''s ocean blue eyes.


    "Even if we escape, will we be able to live in peace?" Sheid her head on his chest and the mage held her tightly within his embrace.


    "It would be difficult but you must. I will erase your trace and the children''s identities will be altered. I will do my utmost to protect the three of you." Kieve''s embrace tightened a little bit and so did his wife''s.


    There was nothing they could do because the hands of death were already upon them. "I will prepare them and inform the children about this. It''s just a pity because Cygnus''s birthday is just around the corner."


    "He will understand. Cygnus is a smart boy." Kieve had a relieved smile on his face as he leaned down and gave his wife a peck on the lips. "You will be leaving as soon as possible."


    Kieve''s wife nodded her head and hugged the man once again before she stood up and went to see the children. During this time, a visitor came to visit him. He dly received the man inside his study but the foreboding feeling gnawed at his heart when he saw the man''s expression.


    "Forgive me!" The man immediately bowed and even kneeled on the ground as he asked for forgiveness.

 Chapter 376 Annihilated

    ?


    At this action, Kieve already understood that they wouldn''t be able to support the House of Altair and he could do nothing about it. "I understand, you don''t need to apologize. I''ve already expected this to happen. You should go back then. No need to stay here or else you would be implicated."


    No words were exchanged as the man stood up and looked at the high mage with sadness but he couldn''t risk his family and so did the others. They were small in number and even if they united, there was nothing they could do. As he left the room, he bumped with Cygnus who had been standing outside for a while now. He scurried away as he avoided the child''s eyes.


    "What are you doing here Cyg?" Kieve asked when he noticed his son''s presence after the man left.


    "Mother told us that we are leaving, why are we leaving?" He asked and it brought shivers into Kieve''s being as he looked at his son''s expression.


    He kneeled on one knee and ruffled his son''s hair. He was a smiling child but after a few years, he started to act like a grown up and would always wear this serious face in front of people he didn''t know. He then pinched his son''s cheeks which earned him a re from the child.


    "Because you are going on a vacation to rx and to get away from the hot weather of the capital." Kieve answered with a grin to make his son at least believe him.


    "You are lying," Cygnus said with a frown. "We''ve been on vacation but not this hasty and abrupt."


    Kieve was speechless at his son''s words before he finallyughed. His son was indeed perceptive and observant that he couldn''t hide anything from him. It was a shame that he had not grown up like the other kids but this was fine too because the child could support him and his wife.


    "You need to leave because the people who are after us will being soon and I don''t want you to get caught up with the fight. Your safety is my main priority." Kieve rubbed his son''s cheeks and pulled him towards him. He gave him a tight hug because this might be thest time that he would see them.


    "Let''s go and see my sister then." Cygnus got hold of his father''s hand and pulled him in the direction of their room where his sister and mother were packing their clothes.


    "Father!" ra was ted when she saw her father together with her brother.


    She jumped from the bed and ran towards the man. Kieve caught her and threw her a bit in the air before catching her once again and giving her a tight hug. He then kissed her forehead and rubbed his cheek with hers.


    ra giggled as she returned the hug. "You know, mother said that we will be going on a vacation!" She then excitedly told him about the good news. "Will you being with us?"


    The question made Kieve smile. "I will not be joining you but I promise that after I''m done with my business here, I will follow you."


    ra''s smile fell at the thought that her father wasn''t going with them. It happened every now and then but she still couldn''t help but feel disappointed every time her father couldn''t join them. Instead of saying anything, she gave her father a hug.


    At that moment, one of the guards came running to the room bearing bad news. "Master! They are here, they are demanding that we surrender or else they would burn this ce down!"


    Kieve tightened his hand on his daughter. He cursed under his breath after he heard the news. They were so fast that they did not even give him the time to prepare. He looked at his wife and his son who were looking at him worriedly.


    Kieve passed ra to his wife and took onest look at his children before he looked at his wife. "Take them and run. Even if we surrender, they will still find an excuse to kill us. I''m sorry, my love." He stepped forward and gathered the three of them in his arms. He then gently separated himself from them. "Now go."


    "Father?" ra whispered as he turned his around but he stopped himself from looking back at them. He left the room and instructed the guards outside to escort and protect his family.


    His wife tightened her hold on her daughter as she stopped herself from crying. Cygnus on the other hand had tears in his eyes as he watched his father''s back disappearing through the corridor. The guards immediately escorted them out of the house as they navigated theplicated terrain of the estate.


    They could already hear the sound of fighting and the explosions that followed. Cygnus looked back and saw that their house was already burning. The orange glow in the darkening sky was evidence that wouldn''t be able toe back to that house again.


    The thought of his father crossed his mind and his bitter smile as he left. His heart ached that he wouldn''t be able to see his father again. He returned his gaze forward as they continued to run away.


    They were already at the border of the estate when enemies suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. The guards fended them off but there were too many of them. There was even a woman wearing a cape of white with the sun embroidered on it. She was using magic to fight the guards.


    His mother urged them to run but the enemies kept oning at them. Cygnus did not have a choice but to fight back. He had been learning magic from his father since he was five years old and now, he could use it to protect his family.


    He casted a shield around his mother and sister as he helped the remaining guards in the fight. He did his best to support them. They managed to defeat the enemies that were after them. Cygnus immediately went to his family to check if they were alright.


    After making sure that they were safe, they started to run once again but before they could even cross the border of the estate, a sudden explosion threw them off. The explosion happened so near them that it pushed them back and caused injuries to the guards and to them. Cygnus pushed himself up and created a shield that covered them as another explosion happened again.


    "Young master, we will hold them off. I urge you to run and leave." One of the guards who managed to stand up held Cygnus''s shoulders tightly. "Please."


    Cygnus looked at the man and nodded before he turned around as he ran towards his mother and sister. He kneeled down and shook his mother but there was no response from her. He then felt something sticky on his hand and when he looked down, he saw that his mother was bleeding.


    "Mother!" He called out in a loud voice as he circted his magic and tried to heal his mother''s wound.


    A hand grabbed his arms and pulled him down. His mother guided his forehead towards her as she muttered words to her son. The tears on his eyes welled and fell down at his mother''s words. He wanted to heal her and take her with them.


    "I''m sorry, my brave child. You''ll need to take your sister and leave. You can''t stay here. Live and protect your sister. You need to live at least the two of you need to live." His mother pleaded as he held him in her arms. "Don''t cry, my brave child. No matter what happens I will be with you and your sister."

 Chapter 377 It Is Over

    ?


    Cygnus badly wanted to refute his mother''s words but he could already hear the enemying their way. The guards must have died too. He raised his head and nodded at his mother who gave her a smile. Cygnus picked up his unconscious sister and carried her in his arms.


    He gritted his teeth as he left. The urge to look back was eating at him but he steeled his heart and continued to walk forward. There was no time for him to be crying or wiping his tears. He needed to find a safe ce for him and his sister. They needed to survive. They needed to live.


    "Stop right there!" A man''s voice shouted from behind them but Cygnus did not stop.


    He continued to walk forward despite the pain in his side and on his legs that was injured from the explosion. He was limping with only one thought in his mind, to save his little sister and leave that ce. The voice became harsher as something hit him on the back but he managed to maintain his bnce.


    Cygnus continued to walk with his sister in his arms. He held her tight and protected him from the attack that was being directed their way. His back started to feel hot and the pain was bing unbearable. He hastened his steps until he came to arge tree in the middle of that forest.


    He copsed as he dragged his body towards the tree. His hold on his sister did not waver as he held him close. He leaned on the tree and looked up at the already dark sky. His gaze then went down to his sister''s unconscious figure. He could still hear her breathing and it made him at ease.


    He wanted to get up and leave but he did not have the strength to do it. From the distance, he could hear the rustling of the leaves and the murmurs from the people who were after them. Several men appeared behind the bushes. They were looking at the trail of blood that was left from Cygnus''s several wounds.


    "There they are!" One man shouted as he pointed at the direction where Cygnus was sitting.


    Cygnus could hear theming nearer. He at least wanted to let his sister live but he couldn''t even do it. Now they were going to die but it was fine because they will meet their parents. Even though he thought of this, the desire to destroy them all was bing more and more overwhelming.


    The anger and the anguish of losing everything dear to him was eating his sanity. The pain in his body was disappearing as the zing fire of revenge started to burn within him. He wanted them all dead, those people who did this to them. The people who betrayed them deserved to die.


    At that moment, before the enemies could even get to them, a ring of fire suddenly appeared around Cygnus. He couldn''t understand what was happening as his vision started to darken but before that he managed to look at the direction of their enemies. There he saw the same woman who was looking at them like they were not human beings.


    With all the strength he could muster, he looked at the woman in the eye and muttered something that only the woman could understand. "All of this will be repaid with blood."


    Elvira Khevan felt the chill from the child''s gaze and words. She averted his gaze and ordered the soldiers to stop the fire. They did but no matter how they used magic, the fire did not die down. it was protecting the children from them. A rain of arrows flew to the sky as it targeted the children but those arrows burned down before they even reached their target.


    On the other hand, Kieve was already at his limits when he felt the fire tree. He looked back and saw that the tree slowly lost its glow. He chuckled as he realized that this must be really the end for them.


    "There''s nowhere for you to go now. Hah, the strongest mage and yet you still couldn''t destroy us all. Your magic is worthless and even that fire tree they imed to have been protecting this household didn''t do anything." A mocking voice came from one of the members of the Pirs, Aberleign.


    "The tree had already served its purpose and I have no regrets over it. The House of Altair might have fallen but sooner orter your households and even your magic tower will suffer the same fate." Kieveughed but he choked because of the blood that came out from his mouth.


    "You still speak so arrogantly. Just so you know, your wife and children are already dead. I received a report that they were already killed." Aberleignughed and even shook his head.


    Kieve clenched his fists as the faces of his family shed before his eyes. "If that''s the case then there''s no point in me staying alive." He looked up and grinned at the man before more blood came out from his mouth and he fell to the ground.


    Aberleign wanted to see him suffer more but to think that he would take his own life, he was really a stubborn man. After that, he ordered the mages and the soldiers to burn everything and to not leave anything unburned behind. He looked at the dead body of the high mage and shook his head once again.


    Cygnus, who had been holding out, couldn''t stay awake any longer. He did not know how long the fire would stay to protect them so he desperately called out to anyone to save them or to save his little sister. He earnestly pleaded before he totally lost his consciousness.


    Elvira and the mages under hermand tried their best to bypass the fire but it wouldn''t budge and no matter what magic they used, the fire still remained standing. She was still thinking of a way when the fire suddenly zed upward and narrowed inside. They watched as the fire burned the ground and burned the tree where the children were.


    The fire''s strength burned the tree to ashes and so did the children. Even if they wanted to make sure, the ashes were proof enough that they died. Elvira looked at the remains and wondered what that fire was.


    That night of massacre was then called the witch hunt where they imed that the House of Altair used dark magic and thus was raided. They refused to surrender and even threatened the officials ording to the report. The people were conflicted at the shocking news. They saw the fire and yet no one went to see what was going on.


    Some were in mourning but they dare not show it in front of the warriors under the royal family. They did not believe that the House of Altair would n a rebellion or even use dark magic. Even so, no one wanted to talk.


    The demise of a hero was silently mourned as he was not given the respect that he deserved. Themoners were indignant and yet they couldn''t do anything. The whole of the House of Altair was wiped out and was even made as an example to those who were thinking of staging a rebellion against the ruler of Lunaira.


    Zandro stood by his window after he received the confirmation that Kieve and his entire family died. He did not know what to feel as Kieve was once his friend and adviser. The doubt in his mind started to nag at him and yet it disappeared at the thought that he could rule Lunair without the head of the House of Altair objecting at every decision he would make.

 Chapter 378 In A New Place

    ?


    He took deep breaths and smiled because another one of his problems had been solved. With the pirs and the magic tower by his side, no one can contest his position or his authority. Heughed as he turned around and returned to his desk to continue with his work.


    The position of high mage was then removed and the office was vacated. Whatever the work of the high mage was, it was now the work of the Pirs of light. Life continued as if the massacre of the House of Altair did not happen.


    Cygnus woke up in an unfamiliar environment. He silently sat up from where he was lying and looked around with lifeless eyes. He was inside a hut and was lying on a hard bamboo bed that was only covered with a ragged brown cloth that was rough to the touch.


    The inside of the hut was simple with only a table and a long seat on the side. There was nothing much to see inside the ce and he did not have the drive to stand up and leave. His mind was still on that day of fire and chaos.


    He heard the pitter-patter of footsteps that probably belonged to a child followed by a gasp. He was in no mood to even look at the person who arrived as he wallowed in sorrow at the destruction of his family and death of the people he cared for. He was such a useless person for not being able to protect them and for even being alive.


    Cygnus thought that he should have died too. His life has no meaning now. There was nothing for him to do now. Everything in his vision started to be gray.


    "Brother!" Small hands coiled around his frail body and the warmth that he thought he forgot returned. The small and sweet voice that was familiar to him echoed in his mind.


    Cygnus stared at the child in his arms and the tears in his eyes couldn''t stop from falling. His shaking arms hesitated for a moment because he thought that it must have been a dream. But, the warmth in his body wouldn''t lie.


    His arms tightly embraced the warm body of his sister. He thought he lost it all and yet here she was, his precious sister in his arms warm and alive. The colors that faded away started to take over as his tears fell down.


    He could also feel the tears that were wetting his clothes and hear the hups from the child in his arms. They embraced each other and stayed in that position for a while until Cygnus gently separated himself to look at his sister. He looked at her from head to toe and finally smiled because his sister was alive and well.


    "ra, my dear sister." He lowered his head and let his forehead touch hers. "I thought I lost you too."


    "I''m here brother and I will never leave your side. I thought you were not going to wake up forever. I was anxious because you won''t open your eyes. I was so scared." ra embraced him again and Cygnus gently patted her back.


    "I''m awake now and I won''t leave you ever again. I will protect you no matter what happens, ra." Heforted his sister and gently stroked her back to let her know that he was there.


    They relished in the feeling of each other''s heartbeats. It was indeed a miracle that both of them survived. He thought that he and ra would die. At the thought of that, his fists clenched because of his father and mother.


    Not long after their reconciliation, Cygnus finally had the energy to look around and to see where they were. He had never seen such a house in Lunaira so his first thought was they were in a different kingdom. He looked at his sister and she was only grinning widely towards him.


    "Come brother! You should see outside! This ce is really different from where we used to live!" ra tugged at his brother''s hand.


    Cygnus nodded so he got out of the bed and let his sister pull him towards the door. He stepped out and was a bit blinded by how bright the sun was. Once his eyes adjusted, he finally saw what his sister was referring to as beautiful.


    Outside of that simple hut was a vast flower garden that was full of colorful flowers. From reds, to blues, to purples, to yellows, to whites and many more, every color of a flower one could imagine was in that field. He could also feel that the air was fresh and cool to the skin. Very different to the capital city.


    He looked around and saw that there were people in that flower field. He could see them harvesting the flowers and putting them in a bundle. There were also a lot of children ying and running around. It was a very different scene from what he used to witness in Lumiere.


    The siblings were finally noticed by ady who had just gotten back from harvesting some vegetables they could sell and cookter that day. She approached them and gently called out ra''s name. At the voice, Cygnus stiffened as his grip on his sister''s hand tightened.


    He looked at the direction where the voice came from and saw a woman who was walking towards them. By instinct, he pulled his sister and pushed her behind him. The woman noticed the apprehension in the child''s eyes and stopped from approaching him.


    She could see how he looked at her like she was an enemy. Instead of frowning, the woman figured out that she should approach them carefully as she had learned that ra could use magic. She was sure that the older brother would be able to do so and she did not want him blowing off because of her.


    "I am Hannah and I am the person who has been taking care of your sister. That house where you have been sleeping is my property. You don''t have to be apprehensive because of me." The woman who called herself Hannah exined.


    Cygnus did not believe her as he took a step back together with his sister. ra noticed that her brother was being unfriendly. Cygnus felt a tug behind him and when he turned around, he saw that his sister was frowning at him.


    "Why are you being bad to Hannah?" ra had her forehead crinkled as she tried her best to give her brother a re. "She''s been good to me and has been taking care of me. She even took care of you!"


    "ra, I-" He was cut off when the child suddenly ran towards the woman and gave her a hug.


    ra looked back and pointed at her brother. "Now, brother, you should be friendly to Hannah." She then crossed her hands in front of her and pouted at him.


    Cygnus sighed and took a second look at the woman for a long time before he sighed again and took the initiative to move towards them. He stood in front of the woman and gave her a ny-degree bow. "I apologize for my rudeness and I am deeply grateful to you for taking care of me and my sister. This will be forever etched in my heart and will carry your generosity for the rest of my life."


    Hannah was taken aback by the sudden gesture so she hurriedly held the boy''s shoulder and let him stand up straight. "You don''t need to do that. You sister is simply an angel and you were badly injured that I couldn''t just ignore you and leave you behind. I even thought that you weren''t going to survive."

 Chapter 379 Losing Everything

    ?


    Hannah gently patted his shoulder and gestured that they talk inside. Cygnus nodded as he followed behind the woman. They returned to the hut and sat down on the bamboo seats that were in there. ra jumped down from the woman''s embrace and went to pour them water before she bid them goodbye and left to y with her friends.


    "My husband and I found you and your sister in the forest while we were hunting and foraging for herbs and edible greeneries. You were soaked in blood that we thought you were actually dead. Luckily you still had a pulse and your sister was just unconscious." Hannah exined how they found them.


    Cygnus nodded but his hands were tightly clenching his pants. "Thank you for saving us." He mumbled but the woman still heard and it made her smile.


    Hannah reached out and gently patted the boy''s hand. Cygnus looked up and saw the smiling face of the woman. His tears fell down at the memory of his smiling mother even in that situation. Hannah immediately gathered the boy in her hands andforted him.


    She did not know what happened to them but based on what she observed on ra and the boy''s reaction, it must have been something that was traumatic. ra would have this sad look on her face whenever the woman would try to ask what happened to them. She would also m up and wouldn''t speak for a day once the topic was shifted to what ra experienced.


    "It''s alright you can take your time. You and your sister are safe here. You can stay in this ce as long as you want." Hannah whispered to the boy who couldn''t stop the tears from falling down.


    From that day forward, ra and Cygnus lived in that ce called Amarilyo. They lived amongst the people of that ce and learned of their culture. It was very different from the city where they first lived. There were no cities in that ce, only viges and towns. There were no kingdoms and people were living peacefully on their own.


    There were conflicts but most of it would be easily resolved. Cygnus also learned that a ce called Lunaira did not exist in that ce. He was confused at first but he started to ept that they were already far away from that ce. He became content in seeing his sister living a happy and simple life.


    As the days passed, he got used to how they lived in that ce. He also got acquainted with their belief of gods. They offer to the gods and in return the gods would provide them with prosperity and protection. It has been like that ever since Hannah could remember.


    Their devotion awed and made Cygnus apprehensive at the same time but as the years went on, he too tried to believe in them. In the blink of an eye, Cygnus was now eighteen years old and his sister ra just turned sixteen. A grand celebration was hosted by Hannah and her husband when Cygnus turned eighteen and a grander celebration was dedicated to ra''s sixteenth birthday.


    They were drunk in joy that what happened next caught them by surprise. Viges and towns believed in different gods and it was often the cause of small scuffles between these viges and towns. It never came to mind that raids such as what happened to them were being carried out by devotees of the god opposite to them.


    That day, Cygnus was out with the hunters as they were hunting for food for the uing winter. They went further than usual so they could hunt more and store food that couldst them the entire cold season. They hunted a lot but all of it became useless as they found Amarilyo in ashes.


    The huts and the flower fields were burned to the ground. Dead bodies were scattered on the ground and most of them were of the vigers. Cygnus returned to their dwelling and found that it was also burned and that ra was nowhere to be found.


    Hannah was found as she was already on herst breath. "They took the children and ra. You-you must save them. The gods are watching, you must save them." These were herst words as she drew herst breath.


    They buried all the dead and ran after the perpetrators who destroyed their vige and killed their family members. Each man was filled with the burning desire for revenge. It took them five days to finally catch up to them. They managed to track them down and find their hide-out.


    It was a temple in the middle of nowhere. The journey to that ce was not easy as they did not take the usual path to conceal their presence and traces. It was in a ce that at first nce could be said to be uninhabited. Along the way, they also heard that that ce was a ce of no return.


    The hunters weren''t fazed by what they heard as they continued with their journey. They lost too much that they couldn''t wait to tear those people piece by piece. Cygnus looked at the direction of their hide-out with his fists tightly clenched.


    ''ra wait for me! I will definitely save you!'' He closed his eyes and uttered a prayer to the heavens where the gods were believed to be dwelling. He did not truly believe them but if they were truly listening to the people then he hoped that his fervent prayer would be answered.


    They reached the temple and with Cygnus''s magic, they managed to infiltrate the ce without being detected. They navigated through the path that the perpetrators took until they reached a hidden space below the temple. There were almost no guards in that ce as most of them were above.


    One reason might be because they were confident that their hide-out won''t be breached by anyone. It was this confidence that would eventually bring them down. The space had a path that goes straight and each side of the path were cells that held their prisoners. The path and the prison cells were carved from the earth that was already there.


    The ce was a bit damp and the smell of earth was overpowered by the smell of decaying flesh. They couldn''t pinpoint where the smell wasing but their main priority was to look for the captured kids. They took that chance to check each cell and saw that the people in each cell were already wasting away.


    This was a sign that they weren''t fed nor taken care of but who would even think of feeding and taking care of their prisoners. They also noticed that the prisoners were mostly children and teens between the ages of fourteen to eighteen based on their body builds. The warriors were already halfway through the path when they finally saw familiar faces.


    Cygnus easily destroyed the lock that was keeping the cell locked and the warriors immediately entered to check on them. All of them were fine aside from the minor injuries and bruises on their bodies. Cygnus looked at the group but he did not find ra.


    His heart started to beat loud inside his chest. He did not want to think about it but the absence of his sister amongst the group made it impossible for him to rx. "Where is ra? Where is my sister?" His voice echoed in that dark and scary ce as the children looked his way.


    "They took her. We tried to stop them but they were powerful. You need to save her." One of them answered and this sprang Cygnus into action.


    The warriors stood and stopped him but Cygnus was already gone. He followed the path without looking back until he reached a wider space at the end of the path. In the middle of that space was a high tform and a figure was lying on it. He could clearly see the blood that was flowing down from the tform.

 Chapter 380 In Return

    ?


    The beating of his heart was so loud in his ear and his breathing was getting difficult. His vision was getting distorted because the figure that was lying on that tform was very familiar to him. The long ck hair that has fallen down on the side of the tform and the floral dress he gave her as a birthday gift.


    Consumed with anger, Cygnus''s magic had lost control and a strong gust of wind threw the people who were surrounding his sister. They were thrown and hit the walls of the ce, hard. The invisibility magic wore down as he slowly walked towards the tform where his sister''s body was ced.


    His mana was swirling around him as he stepped forward. His footsteps faltered the nearer he got to his sister. Cygnus couldn''t feel it, the breath and mana from his sister. He couldn''t hear her heartbeat and the warmth that he would usually feel was reced with coldness.


    He got to the tform and the anguish he was feeling couldn''t be hidden any more. His hands covered his face as he screamed at the sight of his sister''s dead body. The entire cavern shook at the dispersal and scattering of his mana. Waves and waves of mana started to destroy the whole ce, cutting the pirs around the tform into two.


    Tearing the enemies until they became only a pool of blood. His tears flowed out like a river and the pain brought him to his knees. The regret of noting earlier started to eat at him. His sister''s blood that stained thend. His sister''s smile that disappeared into the abyss. His sister that he loved so much returned to him as a corpse.


    The shaking of the earth alerted the kidnappers of the presence of an intruder in their temples. They immediately went down to check on what was happening and saw that one of the cells was opened but that was less of their concern. They could feel a strong wave of mana that wasing from their sacrificial altar.


    They did not hesitate to attack the person who caused the disturbance inside their territory. They were able to use magic but all of their attacks were rendered useless in the face of the berserk mana from Cygnus. This only served as a catalyst to the disaster that was about to befall them.


    Cygnus stood up from his kneeling position and as a voice echoed in that eerie ce. The kidnappers who were there shivered and fell down at that voice. Some of them managed to look up and saw a dark figure that was hovering above the man who caused the disturbance.


    "Pitiful child, the gods don''t care. She prayed profusely but she was still sacrificed. Oh, how pitiful it is." The dark voice that echoed in the ce spoke as its red eyes stared at the young man who was standing there.


    "Will you give me the power to destroy the gods?" Cygnus asked as he lifted his head and looked straight at the eye that was staring at him.


    "What are you willing to give me in return?" The demon who appeared asked in curiosity. The young man was interesting.


    "My life and the destruction of everything rted to the gods." Cygnus did not flinch and was even more willing to strike a deal with the demon.


    The demonughed and it caused the ground to shake. "Amusing, how amusing you are, child. I will give you the power to destroy everything in your path. Your life is yours and whatever you do with that power depends on you. I will be watching you and what you will do. Once you decide to die, I will take back what I have given. Travel into dimensions, into worlds and bring me the amusement I haven''t had in a very, very long time."


    The dark shadow slowly disappeared and its voice slowly faded. Just as the shadow disappeared, Cygnus felt the surge of overwhelming power within him. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling of power coursing through his body. This was it, the card he needed to destroy them all.


    Cygnus turned around and saw that there were still ants that were still alive. He tilted his head and only narrowed his eyes towards their direction. In that moment, the bodies of those enemies simultaneously exploded. After he was satisfied, he turned around and carried his sister''s body.


    He carried her and walked through the path turning the ground ck. As he walked away, dark mes started to eat the bodies and the altar. The whole ce was consumed by fire and it even rose above ground tainting the blue sky ck. The hunters who were with Cygnus looked with apprehension at the burning temple.


    The fire was not normal, from its color to the heat it was releasing. Even the devotees of the god of earth, the men with the white cloak who kidnapped the children, were also in trepidation as they watched their beloved temple getting burned down. As they watched the temple burn, all of them saw a silhouetteing out from the burning temple.


    Cygnus emerged from the ck mes with ra in his arms. His eyes looked in the direction of the people who did this to his sister and in the blink of an eye all of them were on their knees. They were clutching their necks and raising their hands like they were asking for help. Their faces started to contort in a disgusting manner as they tried their best to breathe.


    The hunters were horrified when they saw what was happening. One-by-one the devotees fell to the ground, dead. The hunters and the children who were with them looked at the direction of Cygnus who started to walk towards them. The young man stopped in front of them without any reaction on his face and no words from his mouth.


    "Let''s go home," Hannah''s husband said in a solemn voice. He urged them and they started their journey home.


    Once they returned to Amarilyo, Cygnus buried her sister amongst the flowers she loved. He stayed seated beside her grave for three days straight. Hannah''s husband came and sat down beside him. They remained silent in that position as they watched the flowers sway amongst the wind.


    "What will you do now?" He asked after a while. He got the feeling that the young man wouldn''t stay in Amarilyo.


    Cygnus stayed silent. When the man thought that he was not going to answer, he started to talk. "I will leave and find those people. I will kill them all!"


    The man tilted his head to the side and looked at the young man''s slouched figure. Those words carried so much weight and emotion that he did not have the heart to stop from what he was about to do. He wanted to advise him otherwise but the young man was already consumed with anger.


    "You are going down a perilous path and you might lose yourself in the rush of the moment. You might even forget what your sister looked like, her voice and her smile. I don''t want you to get consumed by anger. Keep her close to your heart so if you stray even further into the unknown, you will not lose your sanity." The man instead advised. He reached out and patted the young man''s back before he stood up and left.


    The next day, Cygnus was nowhere to be found in Amarilyo. Some of the survivors tried to look for him but Hannah''s husband shook his head. They then understood that Cygnus left and he was not sure if he would return. They held hope though, because his sister was buried in that ce. Hannah''s husband only hoped that he had listened to his words.

 Chapter 381 And It Begins

    ?


    Cygnus spent the rest of his time in that world destroying all the followers of the god of earth. He spilled their blood like they spilled her sister''s. His ughter brought fear to the hearts of those who believed in the gods. It was to the point where they abandoned their faith as the gods did not save them from the Demon of ughter, as they have called Cygnus.


    His name became famous and it circted throughout the whole continent and throughout that world that it even reached Amarilyo. It was a sad story but they could not do anything. They knew that Cygnus and ra lost their parents in a massacre and they were each other''s support. At the death of ra, Cygnus lost his reason to see the good and could only perceive and recognize his anger and revenge.


    Six years passed and a man was once again standing beside a grave that was filled with flowers. He looked down without speaking and just stared at the flowers that grew in his sister''s grave. His world was already in ck and white that he couldn''t recognize the colors of those flowers that were swaying with the wind.


    An old man saw him and a small smile appeared on his face as he walked towards Cygnus. "You''ve been gone for a while and the grave was a bit lonely so I let the flowers grow and fill up all the empty space." He spoke as he looked at the gravestone that was the only sign that ra''s body was there.


    "At least she''s not suffering here anymore," he simply answered. He crouched down and brushed off the dust that was on the gravestone.


    "Where are you going now?" The old man asked another question because he knew that he was not going to stay not with the reputation he had.


    "I will leave this world and find some other ce to stay." He stood as he finally looked at the old man who had taken care of him and his sister for a long time. "I want to thank you for everything you''ve done for us." He bowed his head.


    "You and ra are already my children. Hannah was so happy that we found the both of you as she took special care of you and ra. She considered you her children and so did I. I will continue to look after this ce." The man shook his head then he reached out and tapped the young man''s hand.


    "I really appreciate it." He bowed again because it was the only form of gratitude he could give. His hands were already dirtied with blood and his entire being was already tainted.


    The man urged Cygnus to look up and he did. "Stand up, I want to take a look at you." Cygnus did as he was instructed and the old man took his time to gaze at the young man. "You haven''t changed from thest time I saw you and I am d that you haven''t lost yourself."


    Cygnus closed his eyes because he couldn''t look the old man in the eye. He had changed. Everything about him was filthy. The color of his soul was darker than the night sky and he did not deserve such words. He knew to himself that this was only a fa?ade of the sane version of him.


    "You take care of yourself then, Cy-" The old man was interrupted when Cygnus''s hand covered his mouth.


    The young man shook his head. "Please do not utter my name. I don''t want you to die. Forget about me and my wretched name. Only remember that I was once a boy with no name who stayed with you in this ce. My name is now a curse."


    The old man suddenly pulled him into a hug and gently patted his back. "Oh, my dear boy, I will remember you and your name. Until myst breath you will remain that young boy in my memory with a unique name just like he was."


    Cygnus left Amarilyo after thatst goodbye. He stood in the middle of nowhere as he lifted his hand into the air to conjure a gate as the demon had called it. He did not know what was waiting for him in the next world but it was better than doing nothing. Besides, he also needed to uphold his end of the bargain. He stepped into that darkness and disappeared from the world only leaving his nickname behind.


    "But you know, I wasn''t sane. I left that world but the past still haunted me. I could see my mother''s bloody face and even my father''s dead body even though I did not witness his death. My sister''s face and begging voice will echo inside my mind. She was begging me to save her." Cygnus stared at the king with a grin.


    Orpheus shuddered because he could already tell that the man was not in his right mind. After hearing that story, he knew that it was not only that tragedy that turned him like that. The king could even picture the demon behind the man right at that moment.


    "I bathed in blood and enjoyed every moment of it because it was the only way that I can stop the images from appearing in my head. It was something I needed to do to keep my mind on the right track." Cygnus lifted his right hand and pointed at his head. "This right here is full of nasty images that not even the likes of you would be able to watch with a calm fa?ade."


    Hisugh echoed once again in that gray ce where all interaction within it was unknown to the people who were outside. He couldn''t stop himself fromughing while the king and the prince were only looking at him in trepidation. They had no idea what he was going to do next.


    "Then what do you want us to do now? Do you want us to apologize because of your sad story?" The king finally asked after he gritted his teeth and steeled his heart.


    He could sympathize with what happened but no matter what they do now, none of what happened in the past could be changed. The House of Altair was already wiped out and the man in front of them was the only survivor. The people who killed his parents were now in his hands and the monarch during that time was already dead.


    Cygnus stoppedughing and his face turned serious as he stared at Orpheus. The stare unnerved the king but he did not avert his gaze. He had no intention of apologizing or whatever the man wanted. It was a matter of the past and they were not involved with it.


    "Yes, you are not involved in that incident but your blood was involved." Cygnus grinned and pped his thighs. "But I don''t really care about that. You see, the urge to just kill you all is currently surging within me. Those old familiar faces triggered it so you should be med for all of this."


    Orpheus knew who he was talking about. They were the pirs. The people who lead that massacre. "Then kill them. I don''t care what you want to do to them but you can''t kill the innocent just because of a sin that theymitted."


    Cygnus crossed his arms in front of him and hummed. "I will definitely do that so you don''t have to worry, but," he leaned forward and grinned at the king, "my head is pretty messed up right now."


    He chuckled and pointed at the holy knight who was with him. Then he pointed beside the holy knight and a woman appeared there. She was pale and was floating in the air. You could also see through her body as she appeared like an apparition.

 Chapter 382 Thier Own Will

    ?


    "That is Ari. I told her to seal my memories in her infinity dimension but these past few months, the seal had been weakening and the memories areing back. Now I am having those nightmares again, as vivid as they appeared. I can even smell the scent of blood and death. I couldn''t enjoy my sleep." He exined while waving his hand and a burst of mana shot out towards the king.


    Orpheus blinked a couple of times because of how fast the attack was. If that was directly aimed at him and didn''t miss, he would have lost his head already. He gulped because he could feel the heat that the mana emitted as it hit the wall behind him.


    There was at least three meters distance from him and the wall but he could feel the mana''s power. He did not dare to look back because he knew that it would only intimidate him more if he tried to take a peek of it. The prince on the other hand shuddered because he clearly saw what the man shot.


    It was pure mana and not even manifested into any form. He couldn''t help but give the wall a side nce because the entire wall where the mana hit was already destroyed. It did not crumble or leave any pieces behind, it disintegrated.


    "The only way for me to stop these nightmares is to kill. Thisnd is already filthy so there''s nothing wrong with me doing what I need to have peace. Besides, this will be the payment for the blood of my house that made thisnd prosper. This is payback for their disregarded effort in bing the foundation of this kingdom''s creation." He stood up and grinned at the king and his heir. "Come at me with all you''ve got and keep me entertained."


    The gray barrier that covered the entire room disappeared together with Cygnus and his subordinates. The words he left echoed and reverberated in their minds. Orpheus finally looked back before heughed like a crazy person.


    "So, this it, the end of everything. Send mymand to all of our soldiers and to the four great houses, the hero association and the magic tower. We willunch an all-out attack against Rigel Maverick Ginehart no against the World Breaker. Send letter to the other kingdoms and warn them of this disaster." Orpheus stood up and wore a serious face.


    There was no time for him to wallow in self-defeat. If they wanted to survive, they would need to fight. Even if the enemy had overwhelming power, it was better for them to die fighting than doing nothing. Renzo, who was arrogant, suddenly changed as he heeded his father''s orders.


    It was war and they needed to be prepared to face a foe that could destroy their kingdom. He left his father and immediately drafted letters non-stop. With the king''s approval, the letters were sent at the fastest speed avable using magic.


    The citizens of the kingdom of Lunaira were evacuated as per the king''s order. They were confused as to what was happening but everything became clear at the first sign of attack. The citizens were yet to be evacuated but Cygnus alreadyunched an attack.


    These series of explosions prompted the people to move faster and leave their houses without hesitation. The soldiers did not look back and just focused on helping the people get out of the capital city. By this time, the four great houses already received the message.


    "What is it, Ulysses?" Lte walked up to her husband who was focused on the letter he received just a while ago.


    She could already recognize the paper and the seal on the envelope that was on the man''s table. Lte touched her husband''s shoulder and slowly massaged it. She could already understand what implications that letter has.


    Ulysses sighed and gave the letter to his wife. Lte silently read the letter and after reading it, she returned it to the table. "So, it has finallye."


    "I never knew what was running through his mind and never understood his actions. I only felt that there is something deeper hidden behind his grinning and calm fa?ade. I don''t know what happened but we need to defend our kingdom from any threat." Ulysses looked up at his wife''s face and gave her a smile.


    Lte nodded and embraced her husband''s head as she gently patted his head andbed his hair. "Rigel already knew that this would happen. You already talked with him about it. We don''t have any reservations. I am just a bit worried for Linius."


    "Linius will be fine. He has a contract with Rigel so he will be fine." Ulysses murmured as he buried his head on Lte''s stomach. "I just hope that Rigel will give him a chance."


    Just as Ulysses already made his decision, Ghad also made up his mind. Instead of letting the kids fight, he requested that Ezio transport them to where Rigel was. He would rather entrust Isaiah to the enemy than to let him stay on the losing side.


    Isaiah objected but the duke was adamant and did not give him the time to argue. Ezio could understand why the duke was sending Isaiah away. It was for his own good so even if he did not like it, he grabbed and forcefully opened a gate for them to leave.


    Ezio and Isaiah appeared at the Ginehart Manor where Mr. C was already waiting for them. He weed them and guided them to their rooms. At dinner, they were all in the dining room and the atmosphere was a bit suffocating. No one was talking and only the ''clinking'' sound of the cutlery could be heard inside the room.


    "Will the general be here soon?" Ezio suddenly asked when he noticed that Linius was not with them. He was also surprised to see that William Ginehart was actually with them.


    "He''ll be here soon." Mr. C answered for the master as he already sent a message to the general.


    "Will he be joining us or joining the other side?" William asked as he became curious of the status of the general. His uncle and aunt shook their heads when he asked them before he was sent to the manor.


    "He is bound by blood so there''s nothing he could do against it." Cygnus fixed his spoon and fork on the empty te he had and answered the question.


    He couldn''t help but sigh and look at the three new additions to the people in his estate. He didn''t remember agreeing to those dukes that he would take in their wards and yet here they were. They werefortably eating with him like there was nothing wrong.


    "Were the two of you raised twisted?" Cygnus asked with a sigh. He did not understand why they were fine eating with their enemy. "I''m about to destroy this ce and kill those people, even your beloved dukes and yet here you are eating peacefully together with me."


    William and Isaiah stopped eating after hearing those words. They both stared at the te in front of them for a moment. The other people inside the room did not dare to utter any word because they knew that it was not their ce to speak.


    "I''m not here on my own will." Isaiah looked up and stared at the man who caused all of this to happen. "I wanted to stay but the duke wanted me to leave and even Ezio pulled me here."


    Cygnus looked at the young man with raised brows but Ezio only grinned at him. It was true and the master has no say about it any longer. The more they were inside the manor the better. It was better than him being all alone.

 Chapter 383 The General Returns

    ?


    "Me too. If not for the duke and the duchess talking me into it, I wouldn''t be here. I will be waiting for the general toe." William also looked at the master with his serious face.


    Cygnus sighed once again and waved his hand. He had no energy to deal with them because he already expended much of his energy talking with the king andmanding that attack. It was time for him to go to sleep and let his minions do the job. He stood up and left them in the dining room.


    "Come on kids! Eat! Let''s not waste the food and don''t mind the master. That''s just his way of talking." Nina spoke in a loud and cheery voice to lift up the mood in the room. Although it was a bit ineffective, at least the atmosphere lightened a bit.


    They continued with their dinner and after that they went to their own rooms. At midnight, a loud noise woke them up. William woke up with a start as he got down from his bed and went to the window. He still had his eyes half closed but when he saw who the people below were, he instantly became alert.


    William could recognize his cousin''s silhouette even from afar. He became excited because he knew that the general was already here. He squinted his eyes for a bit and the smile on his face disappeared. There was something wrong between the two groups.


    Their stances were not in a friendly manner as they stared at each other. He could feel the tension even from where he was standing. It looked like they were ready to fight any moment from now. He instantly became alert.


    William changed his clothes in record time and ran towards the front yard of the manor. He was panting and as he stepped out, he could already feel the tension in the air. He gulped and slowly made his way towards the general and the Cygnus.


    He wanted to go and stand beside the general but the butler grabbed his hand arm and pulled him back. William was startled as he looked up at the butler who only gave him a smile. Cygnus slightly looked back at the child with a raised brow before he returned his gaze to Linius who was not happy to see them.


    Linius received the news that Lunaira dered war against Rigel and at the same time he received a letter from the man himself detailing what came down. He knew that something like this would eventually happen but he was still a bit surprised that it suddenly happened. He saw William but the young man was stopped from going to him.


    "You really came general but isn''t it overkill to bring your whole force in this ce? You should have left them there or should I kill them all for you?" Cygnus swept a look at the people behind Linius.


    Linius frowned. He could feel the soldiers beside him tense up at the master''s words. They were not used to the master''s way of talking. The general sighed. He raised his hand and this at least eased up the soldier beside and behind him.


    "How can I leave them there? You already decided to wipe this ce so what''s wrong with adding more people to our forces?" Linius shrugged his shoulders as he ignored the master''s frown that was directed at him.


    "I don''t need an army and I specifically told you toe alone. It is a simplemand and yet you can''t follow, should I punish you?" Cygnus''s voice went down a few octaves as his dark mana filled the entire manor''s front yard.


    The soldiers couldn''t help but tense up again because of the ominous feeling that the man brought. They wanted to avoid the ck mist but there was nowhere they could hide or climb to. Cygnus let his mana rise up to the height of the stomach which made the soldiers more restless.


    "Master! I know that you are strong on your own and the people who are with you right now wouldn''t flinch as they ughter people but this kingdom will not be your only enemy. The other kingdoms will surely make their move too." Linius wanted to make a point and he was even looking at the butler who was silently standing behind the master.


    Cygnus knew what the man was thinking and he couldn''t refute him. He narrowed his eyes and hummed while thinking over things. Since the general was looking behind, the master also shifted his body and looked at the butler who was still holding William by the arm.


    "What can you say?" This question made the butler a bit surprised but seeing that the general was having a difficult time convincing the master.


    "The general is right. We can deal with everyone within this kingdom but we won''t be able to deal with them all if the other kingdoms sent their troops to attack us too. We will definitely need more people to help us defend against them." Mr. C exined without changing his expression and it made the master sigh.


    "Fine, do what you want. I just can''t believe that your soldiers will join the enemy and betray their kingdom. How fickle." The master sneered and it made the other soldiers bow their heads. "If you are unwilling to join our side, leave. If it hurts your pride to fight against the people of your kingdom, I suggest that you leave this ce. I don''t wee snakes in my turf."


    Cygnus spat as he stared specifically at some people. He could read their minds and knew what they were thinking. The only people who were loyal to the general was his mage brigade and his two lieutenants. The rest were only there to spy and report to the king.


    "Run before I let your heads roll on the ground." The final warning came with an actual example as one of the soldiers who were standing in the middle of the group lost his head.


    Blood started to spray out from his neck before his body fell to the ground with a thump. His head fell on the ground earlier and rolled forward. This startled the soldiers as they looked in fear at the young man who gave the warning. They froze on the spot and when no one was moving, another soldier lost his arm.


    The ground immediately turned into a bloody mess and the soldiers scurried away from the group. They ran towards the direction of the gate that would lead them out of the manor but before they could even step out, they all fell on the cold hard ground. Blood flowed and stained the front yard.


    This scene made the remaining soldiers stare in horror at the person who did this all without moving a muscle. Cygnus had a smile on his face the whole time that the screaming rang in the air. Linius did not turn back once even with all themotion that was happening behind him and so did the mage brigade.


    The soldiers who saw the general''s action followed suit. They would flinch and tremble in fear at every thump and screams that would stop but they did not dare to look back. They remained frozen in their ce and even if they got stained with the stters of blood they did not move.


    After a while, the whole ce became silent and the smile on the master''s face disappeared. He turned around and strode inside. "How boring," he muttered to himself.


    Mr. C nodded towards the general as he gestured towards the manor. Linius sighed before he walked inside together with William who joined him. Without any words, the mage brigade and the remaining soldiers followed him inside. Mr. C was left to deal with the aftermath of his master''s outburst.

 Chapter 384 The March

    ?


    Onyx came out and shook his head at the bloody scene. He helped the butler by burning all the corpses and the blood to get rid of the metallic and fishy smell that umted. Once the master really put his mind into doing something there was no stopping him.


    "This is a pretty view!" Ignius appeared above them as he admired the fire and the corpses that already turned into ash.


    "The master just went on a small rampage and vented his displeasure," Onyx chuckled. He was also fixated on the fire as it rose to the sky.


    "This is a small price to pay and besides those people were only here to scout us. If there were spies left on that batch then they better think twice before defying the master. If that were me, I would have killed them all and just left the mage brigade alive." Ignius floated down andnded on the ground silently. His ck hair fluttered and slowly settled behind him too.


    "They''re lucky that the master did not go all out and even left some of them alive," Onyx agreed. He then looked at the dragon who had his arms folded on his chest.


    "Indeed, very lucky but those on the other side won''t be that lucky." Ignius met the man''s eyes and grinned.


    Onyx understood his meaning. It was a simple conclusion that they coulde up with anytime of the day. Ignius went ahead and spied on the king and the other kingdoms to see their movements and based on his grin, they would definitely have a good time. He then remembered that he would need to visit the organization too to see what they were up to now.


    With his blonde hair, he walked towards the Justice of Light after he teleported there. The believers were startled at his sudden appearance that they couldn''t move from where they were standing. He looked around and could only raise an eyebrow. They must have been wondering who he was since the only people who saw his appearance were the king and the crown prince.


    The people who immediately recognized him were the priests who were scurrying around. They stopped once they saw him and they were delighted to see that the Holy Knight finally returned. These priests flocked towards him and started to ask where he had been.


    Onyx remained despite the barrage of questions directed at him. In his silence, the priests finally noticed that there was something wrong with him. They all stepped back and this action made Onyx grin. The priests were then sure that there was indeed something different with their Holy Knight.


    "What''s the matter? You should be happy that I even remembered to visit this ce." He smiled at them like he always did in the past but the priests only took a step back.


    Onyx could already tell what was on their mind but he chose to ignore it. He wanted to pretend a little bit more and make them even more anxious. Now that he didn''t need to be the Holy Knight, he could do whatever he wanted.


    "Who are you? You are not our Holy Knight!" One of the priests pointed and shouted at him with his trembling hand.


    Onyx wrinkled his eyebrows before he looked down at himself. ''It must have been the clothes,'' he thought to himself. He already got rid of the armor that he had been wearing for a long time and changed into more casual clothes. He was wearing a light blue long sleeved polo with two of its buttons unhinged and ck cks with his ck loafers.


    "I only got rid of that armor and you are already using me of being an impostor?" Onyxughed, "Well you are right."


    His hair then suddenly became ck under the watchful gazes of the priests. Once he transformed, the priests did not think twice in attacking him with holy power. Onyx narrowed his eyes at the blinding light but it did not faze him whatsoever.


    After the light ceased, he was still standing in the same spot with a wide grin on his face. After a while, mages appeared at the headquarters and they did not hesitate to attack Onyx. The manughed and instead of staying there to y with them he teleported himself back to the manor.


    The king stood at the balcony of the pce as he looked at the city of Lumier. He couldn''t see his citizens who were supposed to be living in the capital city. There was no buzzing noise from the merchants and children ying around. His citizens had been evacuated and it was the only merit he could give to Rigel.


    "We are ready, your majesty." General Ishmael entered the room and bowed to the king. "Our soldiers are ready to fight to their death."


    "Is Ginehart and ckwell here as well?" he asked without looking back. His gaze was still on the city.


    "Yes, both the dukes are here with their forces," Ishmael answered. They thought that both dukes would refuse to help them but it never happened.


    They arrived at the capital with their forces as they stood by the kingdom. Ishmael was a bit suspicious at first but he finally came to believe them as they did not see anymunication between them and Rigel. Duke Ulysses Ginehart even provided them with the information of their enemy.


    He detailed the number of people who were helping Rigel and what he understood with their abilities. He even told them that Linius was already an enemy of the kingdom. This information shocked the people in the room but they couldn''t me the general as the duke exined that he was forced into a contract with Rigel.


    Linius would have been a great asset to them if he were to be on their side but it was a shame that he was not. The king finally turned around and left the balcony. There was no use in reminiscing right now because the battle would not be easy. He would have all the time in the world if they manage to eliminate that person.


    The distance from the pce and the Ginehart manor in the capital was not that far. It would only take an hour with horse carriage and with the streets cleared, it took them faster to reach that ce. Ulysses looked at the manor that lost its vibrancy and was only covered with ck mist.


    The manor and the street surrounding it was full of the ck mist. Even the sky above it was gloomy even though the rest of Lumier was sunny. The ce waspletely overtaken by darkness and they feared that something like that would happen to the rest of Lunaira if they did not defeat the enemy.


    From the inside of the manor, Cygnus was peacefully sipping on the tea that the butler prepared for him. Mr. C then bent down and whispered to his ear. The master nodded and gestured to the two guardian deities, Nina and Vain.


    The four of them left and went out to face the army that was sent to fight them. Ignius looked out and saw that every corner of the street was filled with soldiers. The gs raised also represented the four ducal households which united to get rid of them.


    "Are you sure that they will be enough to face the kingdom''s army? I think they brought all of their men to kill you, I mean us." Igniusughed after he peeked at the master who remained nonchnt.


    "If they can''t do it then there''s no use with their powers. I should punish them if they fail." Cygnus shrugged his shoulders and continued to drink.


    "But that number of warriors and even mages would be a bit difficult for them to deal with." Igniusmented after he made sure of how many warriors were there.

 Chapter 385 Battle

    ?


    Based on his count, there were at least six thousand warriors and a thousand mages. The number of mages was a bit high considering that the magic tower was just recently established once again. He could already tell that the mages dispatched by the magic tower were rookies.


    It would be easy to deal with them but given their number it would be a bit annoying. Ignius looked at hisrades and they all looked confident though so he could only shrug his shoulders. "I''ll just join the fray if they won''t be able to handle it."


    Outside of the manor, Nahar the elf guardian deity and Reitou the serpent guardian deity assumed their human forms and were floating in the air while looking down at their enemies. Nina had a grin on her face and Vain had a poker face as they stood a few meters away from the king who was leading his troops.


    "Oh, it''s the king!" Nina pointed at the man who was on the horse at the forefront. She looked down at Vain to get his attention while continuously pointing at the king.


    Vain raised his gaze and looked at the direction where the woman was pointing. On the horse was a man with full armor who was staring at them with hate and anger. He stared at him in the eye and did not flinch, which made the king ufortable.


    "What do you think?" Nina bent down to whisper in the child''s ear after she saw that he was looking at the man.


    "Weak," Vain mumbled. "That person is weak. He doesn''t have magic and doesn''t have any prowess in fighting, so how did he be the king?" He continued to mumble which made Ninaugh. Nina stood straight with a smirk which annoyed the king further.


    "Where''s your master?" Orpheus asked the woman who was smirking at him. They were there to fight and yet the main target was nowhere to be found. "Did he be a coward and ran away?"


    The smile on Nina''s face disappeared in an instant. "Coward? Who the hell are you to call my master a coward? He is not a coward!" It only took those words to trigger the woman''s crazy personality.


    Purple lights filled the sky and within seconds simultaneous explosions rang in the air. Luckily the mages were alert and there were barriers materialized to protect the warriors and the king. It was a surprise attack that none of them were expecting. When they looked forward, they saw that Nina and Vain weren''t there.


    Screams started to echo during the day as Vain let his dark threads spread and sliced some of the warriors. Panic struck the warriors because they couldn''t see where the attacks wereing. The king froze on his horse and if not for General Ishmael''s protection, he would have died already.


    Chaos started to descend as Nina did not stop from her barrage of blue mana that would explode once it touched anything solid. The mages were doing their best to keep up with the attack and defend against the explosions and the threads but it took them a while to get their bearings. Nina then appeared above the king with a serious look on her face.


    "My master doesn''t need to be here because we are enough. He doesn''t need to dirty his hands with your filthy blood!" A sword of mana formed in her hands and he swung it towards the king.


    General Ishmael leapt to action and parried the mana sword but once his sword connected with the woman''s mana sword, it suddenly exploded. The explosion startled the horse and caused it to suddenly raise its front legs and neigh loudly. Orpheus lost his bnce and he fell down to the ground.


    General Ishmael on the other hand was blown away because of the explosion. There was already blood oozing from his forehead and he was a bit disoriented because of how loud the explosion was. He shook his head a couple of times before he finally got his vision and hearing back.


    Nina was unfazed as she stood and looked down at the king who was sprawled on the ground after he fell off his horse. She smirked as she gathered mana on her palms which she intended to use and strike the king. She raised the hand with the mana and brought it down towards the king.


    Ulysses saw what was happening and he rushed to pull the king away. The concentrated mana hit the ground and created a deep hole on it. Nina was confused and that was when he saw that Duke Ulysses had taken the king.


    "Duke Ulysses, you really wanted to die?" Nina shook his head. "Such a waste. If you chose to join us you wouldn''t be in this battlefield and defending this good for nothing king of yours."


    "You don''t have to worry about that youngdy. I am of Lunaira and I am a duke and a general of this kingdom. It is my duty to protect thisnd until myst breath." Ulysses answered without any regret or remorse.


    Orpheus stood up and patted his armor before he looked at the woman straight in the eye. "Good for nothing? Let''s see about that." The king finally unsheathed his sword and the power from it was not to be underestimated.


    "Oh, it is actually a god-tier equipment." Ignius couldn''t help butment when he saw the king''s sword. The power from it resembles the aura of a god but the master had noment regarding it.


    "That''s a cool weapon," Ninamented. She could feel the power that wasing from it but she did not back down.


    She summoned a series of purple balls and hurled it towards the king. Orpheus raised his weapon and smoothly sliced the purple balls into two which sessfully disintegrated the materialized magic. Nina was surprised at what happened because it was the first time that someone was able to stop her bombs from exploding.


    Nina became curious at the weapon that the king was holding. As she stared at it, she heard a voice in her head informing her of the attributes of the sword and its level. Nina became even more amazed because she had never seen a god tier equipment.


    "Where did you find that weapon?" Nina couldn''t help but ask. She was sure that the master would like that weapon for his collection.


    "That doesn''t concern you," the king answered. He held the sword with both of his hands and shed before Nina.


    With Nina''s senses, she managed to take a step back and bent her body backward to avoid the sword. As the sword passed through the space above her, she could already feel how heavy and powerful the sword was. She stood straight after the sword passed and she did not think twice in creating a distance between her and the king.


    While on air, she did not forget tounch her own attack. The ground where the king was standing glowed purple and it exploded. This attack was not limited to where the king was as it included the whole of the whole area. This attack sent most of the soldiers flying and injured.


    They were trying tounch an attack on Vain who was onnd but the ck threads were difficult to cut. The mages infused mana into the swords and it proved helpful with cutting the threads but they still couldn''t get near him. He would switch from the thin ones and the thick ones to defend him from the warriors.


    Nahar and Reitou were having fun messing with the mages that were sent. It could be seen that their power was greater than thebined power of the mages. It was no surprise that they would be disorganized. The both of them were actually having fun messing with them.

 Chapter 386 Going Crazy

    ?


    This chaotic battle continued. Although the king held a god tier weapon, he couldn''t maximize it because his enemy was good at dodging and distracting them. Ishmael and Ulysses were trying to corner her but it proved to be difficult because of how agile she was moving.


    "Allow me to assist you." Archmage Sigma stepped into the battle and created a barrier that easily trapped Nina who was moving everywhere.


    The barrier has the ability to stop any mages from moving. Their speed would be slow and it would give advantage to the user of the barrier because he could control who could move or not inside. Nina was restricted and the king used this chance to attack her.


    Orpheus shed forward once again with the sword raised above his head and he brought it down on Nina whose movements were still restricted. She wasn''t fazed that much though as a purple glow surrounded her. The glow prevented the sword from making direct contact with her but it still diminished her shield.


    With sheer will, she managed to break through the restriction as she stepped back. She raised her hands while closing and opening her fingers. She could feel a tingling sensation running through her arms. The sword was dangerous because it has the ability to break down mana.


    Nina couldn''t let herself touch that sword or she would be experiencing pain. "That sword is dangerous." She mumbled as she tried to create more distance between her and the king.


    It was a bit difficult for her though as long as she was inside that stupid barrier. She looked at the archmage who created the barrier with contempt but Sigma wasn''t deterred by her. Nina''s body felt like it was being pulled down towards the ground. She felt like there was a ton of weight on her shoulder.


    "It''s useless, you won''t have the advantage in this ce." Sigma answered her re with a serious face. He would make sure that she won''t be able to escape.


    Instead of confronting them head on, Nina decided to release her mana inside the barrier. The archmage noticed this as he casted a shield around the king and the two generals. The mana started to etch itself on the barrier and on the ground around them.


    "If I can''t leave then, I''m just going to explode you all in this ce." Nina smirked as she activated the etched symbols on the ground and on the walls of the barrier.


    The explosion shook the ground and caught the attention of the crowd. Almost all pairs of eyes were directed at the direction where the explosion happened. They were all waiting for the smoke to subside to see what had happened inside the barrier that appeared in the middle of the battlefield.


    As the smoke and dust settled, there were five figures that could be seen inside. They were all standing but their status couldn''t be confirmed yet. Nina had a grin on her face as she looked at the people who received the full st of her mana explosives.


    They looked fine but that will notst long because Nina wasn''t done yet. She grinned and this made the archmage grimace. Another explosion rocked the barrier and the ground but Sigma did not let the woman have her way. He immediately countered the mana mist that Nina released and released his own.


    Sigma''s green mana mixed together with the purple mana which weakened the explosion. Orpheus on the other hand did not just stand there and went ahead to attack the woman. He stabbed the sword at the ce where Nina was supposed to but she was not there. The sword only stabbed the air.


    Ishmael and Ulysses also made their move as they attacked the direction where they felt that Nina was. With their sharpened senses, they could at least tell where she was and because her movements were limited, one of the swords actually grazed her.


    The smoke finally disappeared and they saw her kneeling on her right knee while holding the wound she got on the side of her stomach. The people who were outside saw her situation and they couldn''t stop themselves from feeling great at seeing her in that situation. Vain frowned as he brandished his threads and attacked the warriors again.


    Nina couldn''t believe that she would be wounded in that fight. It never happened before because all of her opponents were weak. Ever since the master took her under his wings, she never lost and never experienced a wound. She was always victorious.


    She gnashed her teeth because she couldn''t ept that they were able to injure her. She won''t let them get away from what they did. Her fists clenched and the sky was suddenly filled with her purple mana.


    In her anger, a rain of purple me fell down to the ground. Everything it touches melted into a puddle. Nina''s hair glowed purple as she stood up and looked at them with her glowing eyes. With another wave of her hands, the purple mana above them released another purple rain.


    Screams rang in the air as the purple rain touched their bodies. Any part that touches the rain would immediately melt into a mixture of blood and something ck that was formerly the skin. Their armors couldn''t protect them and the mages needed to step up and set up a barrier to protect them.


    The barrier that Archmage Sigma broke into pieces as the rain touched it. Nina was freed and was on the verge of explosion because of what they did. Vain, Nahar and Reitou all took a step back because they already noticed that Nina was not in her right state of mind.


    She slowly flew into the air with her hair floating around her. The glow in her eyes intensified and Sigma knew what was about to happen. Ghad also noticed what the woman was about to do so he retrieved all of the talismans he had and positioned it near the archmage.


    With the archmage using magic, a barrier surrounded the remaining soldiers and mages. The talismans amplified the archmage''s spell and strengthened it. Nina did not notice this detail because she was about to go berserk and explode.


    The purple glow intensified even more and, in a sh, she exploded. The entire area was covered in purple light. It even reached the mansion and colored it purple for a few minutes before it slowly returned to its usual dark and gloomy atmosphere.


    The warriors were lucky because they managed to survive after hiding behind the archmage and Duke Ghad but the damage caused by the explosion was beyond their expectation. After the light subsided, the whole street behind and around them were ttened. Even the manor''s front porch was no more and only the manor and the forest behind it remained.


    They looked at it in fear and trepidation because they could already tell how strong their enemies were. It caused their morale to plummet at the thought that they might not be able to win. Compared to them though who were safe, Nina on the other hand exhausted herself and Ignius appeared to catch her.


    Seeing this, Orpheus decided to let his men retreat. They were already on the losing side of the battle and unless they coulde up with a n to counter the powerful people beside the master, their chances of victory would remain vague. Themand was epted and the warriors retreated from the battlefield.


    Ignius on the other hand let them be since it was the master''s orders. It was already okay that he was able to show them what he could do without joining the battle. That was just a taste of what they were going to face in theing days.

 Chapter 387 Cant Be Hidden

    ?


    Ignius carried Nina back into the manor andid her on her bed. The glowing stopped and he could not feel any manaing from her. She really depleted all of it during thatst attack. It was rare to see her getting upset and it was refreshing to be able to witness her berserk form.


    The other three on the other hand had no other opinion even after getting stopped. It was already okay for them that they were able to fight and that there were more chances for them to show what they could do. Cygnus then entered the room where they were in as she looked at the sleeping Nina.


    "What a fool," he sighed. He then shook his head, "But at least they were able to taste a power that was beyond theirs."


    "Why did we not pursue them master?" Nahar asked because he was curious as to the reason for the master''s decision when they could easily destroy them all.


    "Because the heroes aren''t here yet. I don''t believe that they will note and one more thing, the crown prince was not there either." Cygnus simply answered while looking at them.


    "They must be nning something because ording to my wyverns, the crown prince left the capital and is now going south." Ignius ryed the report that the wyverns collected while they were patrolling the kingdom''s sky.


    "There''s only two possibilities, he will be looking for reinforcements from the other kingdoms or he will be looking for the heroes," Cygnus grinned. "Currently there are two other heroes in the capital right now and they haven''t stepped out yet."


    "They must be saving their strength," Nahar concluded. It was the only logical exnation he coulde up with.


    "Maybe, or the hero association''s president ordered them not to get involved because if these two s-ss heroes die, his association would surely crumble," Cygnus waved his hand as he walked to an empty seat in the room.


    "Isn''t that going to be detrimental to him? This whole ce is about to go down and yet he will not help? What a selfish bastard." Reitou suddenly spoke which slightly surprised the people who were in the room.


    "That''s how he has been. He must be thinking that even if Lunaira falls, he would have a chance in the other kingdoms but I won''t let that happen." Cygnus raised both of his hands and stretched them wide to both sides, "Because I am going to destroy this whole world. No matter how many kingdomse to fight me, I will bring them all down."


    These words empowered the people who were there. Ignius and Onyx thought that their master had finally returned. Nahar and Reitou were silent but they were pleased with their master''s thoughts. Vain on the other hand had no opinion.


    While they were silently celebrating, Nahar suddenly remembered something. "Master, how about our prisoners? What are we going to do with them?"


    The smile on the master''s face disappeared as he put his arms down. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot about them. Well, you can do what you want with them. You can even hang their heads for those foolish people to see."


    With that, four pairs of eyes immediately connected and they understood each other. Cygnus shrugged his shoulders as he left them to their own devices. He already knew what was on their minds so there was no need for him to tell them what they should do.


    The night came with the prisoners unaware of what just happened outside. They weren''t even aware of how many days had already passed since they were held in that ce. Their sense of time was already messed up.


    There was not much conversation from them and the prison remained silent for most of the time so the steps echoed especially loudly.


    Aberleign opened his eyes when he heard those familiar footsteps. He could already tell who they were and he could feel their presence. Their mana signature was unique but he couldn''t quite identify all of them as he was only familiar with the dragon.


    The other mages also had their eyes wide open while they were waiting for their visitors. Four people emerged from the darkness. Ignius with his wavy hair, tanned skin and golden eyes that were staring at them with amusement. The other one was tall, had long ck hair and pale skin with his reddish eyes that were looking at them in contempt.


    Nahar had an easy smile on his face as he looked at them with his green eyes. What stood out the most from him was his silvery hair and pointed ears. The other one had short ck locks and pupils much like that of the dragon. Reitou had no reaction as he looked at them.


    "To what do we owe this visit from these esteemed guests?" Aberleign asked without even standing up and with a smirk on his face.


    "I would have liked to go with your joke but this time we can''t because this will be thest time that you''ll be seeing our faces." Igniusughed and shook his head.


    He stepped forward and leaned forward to look at them. He grinned before he stepped back again and nodded at the other man who had long ck hair. The man then looked at them more closely and even with the distance between them, they could feel his overwhelming presence.


    "This one right here is new," Ignius joked, "nah, not really and I believe that Aberleign is more familiar with him." Ignius did not hesitate to point at Onyx''s face.


    Aberleign had his brows furrowed as he took a good look at the man. After a few moments, realization dawned on him and he couldn''t help butugh. The so-called holy knight was actually part of that person''s entourage. He was truly an incredible person to be able to gather these powerful people who served him with loyalty.


    "Then kill us now and don''t make us wait." Aberleign took a deep breath before he looked at them with a serious look on his face.


    "That''s the n. That is the main reason why we are here." Onyx took the initiative to answer which further nailed Aberleign''s suspicions.


    There was not muchmotion as the four of them worked. They resisted but they were immediately suppressed. Their power really had no effect on those people. It was only a fa?ade they tried to maintain even though their power wasn''t really theirs.


    After the destruction of the House of Altair, they were called to the pce and faced the king after they fulfilled the mission. They were kneeling on one knee before the throne as they listened to the king''s words. He was praising them for their effort and contribution until he reached the part of reward.


    They were all delighted after hearing that. The magic tower during that time was being suppressed by the Altair. They were a member of it but their power and influence were still greater than that off the magic tower. So, with the opportunity that the king had given them, they did not hesitate to ept.


    They were bestowed with immortality. At first, this gift was dly epted as they could have the time in the world to improve themselves and surpass the House of Altair. They did all they could but every corner of magic they discovered, traces from the Altairs were always there. They couldn''t escape their shadow.


    It also became difficult for them to move as they were faced with the scrutiny of the people of Lunaira. After the crime and punishment of the House of Altair was revealed, the people became distant from the crown and from the magic tower. Almost all of them didn''t believe the usation as they questioned the king and his counsel.

 Chapter 388 Heads

    ?


    King Zandro faced the bacsh of his decision. With the people''s relentless pressure on him and his rule. The supporters of the House of Altair did not stop to uncover the truth and when all the scheme was revealed, the voice of the people pierced through the pce walls. It was an injustice that should not have happened if the king was like his predecessor.


    The people thought he had changed and would continue the legacy of his father. A pir of their kingdom disappeared and the people knew the implication of this. The House of Altair had been protecting them from enemies. The other kingdoms did not dare toy their eyes on their territories because of the Altairs.


    At first, the king was confident because he had the magic tower and he was promised that the tower would protect them from the enemies. He did not listen to the people and disregarded their concern. He continued with his rule even though the citizens of Lunaira were already dissatisfied with him.


    Everything changed when the day of the first attack happened. Mages were not only seen in Lunaira. Mages were already all over the kingdoms and these kingdoms had been grooming their mages and spending their resources to make them stronger for these kinds of opportunities that would arise.


    It was an attack that caught the kingdom by surprise. They were disoriented and disorganized that the attackers were able to prate through the walls of the kingdom. The mages were slow to react. When they managed to gather and organize themselves, the damage was done.


    It was true that they were able to push back the enemies but the casualties couldn''t be hidden. The people became even more disappointed and their dissatisfaction caused the aristocrats to move and suppress them. The kingdom of Lunaira became chaotic and slowly descended into destruction.


    Wolves tried to get a piece of thend but they were all deterred and yet the kingdom that was once at the top of the world slowly descended to the bottom. With all the blow that the kingdom received, other kingdoms slowly lost interest with them as theirnds became tainted. Then, King Zandro died leaving the kingdom behind to his young son.


    Realizing their folly, Elvira did her best to raise the child and make him a king that the people will listen to. She promised herself that she would make sure that the child would rule the kingdom just as his grandfather did. There was no room for regrets because what was important for them and for Lunaira was to move forward.


    With the help of the eight pirs, the kingdom slowly recovered. Although it did not return to its former glory, it was enough for them that their kingdom was already not an easy prey for the others. Despite the long history of the kingdom, it was now facing a crisis that was threatening topletely destroy it.


    Early that morning, a wail woke up the king and as he looked out the window, he gasped. Several heads were floating above the city. The king immediately recognized Aberleign''s head and he already guessed that the other heads belonged to the other members of the pirs of light.


    The message was clearly conveyed to them. It was now a battle that would determine if they would live or not. In that moment, the king did not hesitate to call forth the hero association once again. He was sure that they saw what was disyed and that they would surely act.


    Before he could even call the president of the organization, he was already at his doorsteps. Acasia was wearing a serious expression. Orpheus already knew that the man would cooperate with them. He invited the man to his study and they had a long talk.


    Later that day, Arcaine and Evira appeared at the pce. Both of them were ready to fight and avenge their elder. They pestered the president about joining the battle but the man refused them. Now that they were given the chance, they would do their best to fulfill their duty as heroes.


    The king was pleased when he saw that the two s-ss heroes were there. Two of them would already create a big impact on the battle. It would surely raise the morale of the warriors. It was already now or never in their case and they did not have the luxury of rest.


    Just as those thoughts ran through the king''s mind, an explosion rocked the whole pce. The warriors started to gather outside to defend. They had their weapons raised towards the direction of the gate where the explosion happened.


    The king looked down from the conference hall of the pce and saw that a thick smoke was covering the entrance. Without orders, Arcaine and Evira left the room through the window. Both of themnded before the warriors with a serious look on their faces.


    Arcaine already has his sword drawn from its sheath while Evira had her spear ready just in case the enemy wouldunch a surprise attack. The thick smoke slowly thinned and they could already make out silhouettes that were walking towards their direction. Ignius and Onyx were the ones that the master sent as his representative this time.


    The dragon looked around with a smirk and when his eyesnded on the hero Arcaine, he couldn''t hide his mirth. He then pointed at the man with a grin andughed. "You, I recognize you. You thought that you defeated me but you did not even put a scratch on my body."


    Arcaine frowned because he couldn''t understand what the man was talking about. He had never fought nor met the man even though he became a friend to their master. It was understandable though because the only person who was always with Rigel during the times that he visited the association was that butler.


    "I do not know you," he simply answered. He had no time to y guessing games with the enemy especially in their situation.


    "Oh," the dragonughed, "you will definitely remember me soon." Ignius continued tough and gave the man a smirk.


    "Enough chit-chat!" Evira was displeased at what was happening and at how casual the enemies were. She felt like they were underestimating them.


    "I agree," Onyx was the one who answered. He then lifted his head up and looked at the floating decapitated heads of the members of the Pirs of Light created by King Zandro. "We are here to ask if you are pleased with the gift from our master?"


    This statement earned him res from the people who were there, especially from Arcaine and Evira. The head of their elder was already disyed there. What they did to the elder incited the anger that was already nted in their hearts. They didn''t expect that the veryst time that they would be seeing their elder would be in that situation.


    Evira did not talk anymore and instead jumped forward with the pointed tip of her spear aimed at Onyx. The dark knight side stepped and tilted his body to the side to avoid the spear. He then raised his hands and caught the spear''s handle.


    Onyx''s hand transformed into metal ws as he gripped the handle tightly. He then pulled it to the side which caused the woman to be pulled too. Evira was still calm as she let her body be pulled and before Onyx could get a hold of her, she let go and back flipped to get away from the ck knight''s clutch.


    The spear on Onyx''s hands became smoke and disappeared. It then reappeared on the woman''s hand as shended steadily on her feet. She then once again held the spear with a smirk on her face. Onyx on the other hand was still looking at his hand after the spear disappeared.

 Chapter 389 Dragon And Knight

    It was an ability that was not known to him. Throughout his journey with the master as they faced different enemies from different worlds, he had never seen an ability like hers. He lifted his head and looked at the woman with intrigue.


    "Oh, now that''s something you won''t see anywhere!" Ignius was also amazed at the hero''s ability. It was something rare and he had already seen it a couple of times from the other dragons from his world.


    "Don''t look at them because you might identally get sliced into half." Arcaine appeared behind Ignius who had been spectating the short exchange from Onyx and the woman.


    Ignius''s pupils moved to the side and stared at the oing man without moving his head. "You won''t be able to hurt me." He answered with his deep voice that sent chills to the hero''s spine.


    Arcaine gritted his teeth and still let his sword fall down towards the man but his weapon just bounced back and made him fly back. He managed tond on his leg and steady his body before he looked at the man. His eyes widened as he could distinctly see ck scales appearing on the man''s face.


    A terrible premonition dawned on him as he saw those ck scales. There was only one time that he had seen something like that. It was during that day when he took a mission to a town and it was also the first time that he met Rigel. Those dark scales only belonged to that ck dragon.


    Ignius could smell the fear and uneaseing from the man. With that, he already knew that the man had an idea of who he was. His grin did not leave his face as he faced the man with his eyes glowing and his whole body covered in his ck scales.


    "Do you remember now?" Ignius growled as he appeared a few centimeters in front of the hero. His golden eyes were looking directly at his enemy''s wide opened ones.


    Arcaine was stunned for a while before he finally recovered and red back at the man. He was not a different person from the one who defeated that dragon. He was now stronger and could actually fight. "Get away from me, monster." He swung his sword that was now infused with man.


    Ignius disappeared and returned to where he was standing before. He raised his hand and touched his cheek where the sword grazed him. It was not that deep but there was a scratch in there. The hero wasn''t intimidated anymore and it just made his dragon blood boil.


    The dragon transformed his hand into dragon ws and attacked the man. Arcaine was using his sword to block the attacks but he couldn''t move to counterattack because the dragon was relentless. Ignius did not stop because he wanted to know if the man really improved fromst time.


    Arcaine was getting pissed because he had no chance to even attack. To get his momentum back, instead of blocking the attacks he decided to dodge them and use that opportunity to attack. Since the attacks were concentrated above, he decided to duck.


    The move was proven to be effective as the dragon slightly lost his bnce when he hit air. Arcaine swung his sword from his ducked position and sliced horizontally which made the dragon step back. He managed to evade the attack but his clothes weren''t spared.


    His clothes were halved in two and it showed his abdomen that was also covered in scales. He looked at them with dismay but Arcaine did not give him time to ponder over it as he attacked again. He swung and stabbed his sword that was infused with mana towards the man.


    Each attack was made to be fatal but because of a dragon''s innate defense capabilities it was proven that it was difficult for him to give the man a wound. His sword was not a match for the dragon''s defenses. Even the dragon''s ws were difficult to break.


    In his annoyance, Ignius swiped his ws from top to bottom without getting near his enemy. The action created a gush of wind that raced towards the man. Arcaine used his sword to block the attack. As he had thought, the wind was not ordinary because the force within it was so heavy that it pushed him back and created deep lines on the ground and on the walls behind him.


    Arcaine took a deep breath because this will not be an easy fight for him. From the pce, the king watched as the fight continued. He couldn''t deny that the people beside their enemy were all strong but he still hoped that they would be able to at least diminish that fighting power before the reinforcements came.


    "Your reinforcements would be utterlyte then," a voice that he was familiar with echoed inside the conference hall.


    He looked back and he saw the man he was dreading to see. He was casually seated on the head of the council table and was looking at him with a grin. He had his legs crossed with his elbows resting on the chair''s arms. His fingers were intertwined and his aura was creating pressure inside that wide room.


    "I already know what you are nning so it is no use to hope for any help from the other kingdoms. By the time your son reaches and convinces the other kingdoms to help, Lunaira will already be destroyed." He dered with confidence that the king had a difficult time refuting his words.


    "Then we will fight even if that will be the case." The king stood tall and looked him straight in the eye.


    Several entered the hall from the entrances and exits, all of them had their weapons pointed towards him. The four generals and the four dukes were there. Archmage Sima and Lady Elvira were also there.


    They were all there with one goal and that was to kill the cause of this all. Cygnus shook his head and sighed. He could all defeat them without even moving from where he was seated. They collectively attacked and brandished their weapons against the man. The archmage and thedy provided support by strengthening their physical abilities and defenses. They also imbued their weapons with magic and enhanced the effects of these weapons one hundred times.


    The collective attack shook the pce and consequently destroyed the walls and the furniture inside the hall and yet their attacks did not connect. A red dome was surrounding the man and no matter how they pushed, the dome was unbreakable. Cygnus narrowed his eyes as he suddenly expanded the dome.


    All of them who were attacking were pushed back with so much force that they flew and hit the walls and fell hard on the floor. The two supports were then attacked by ogres that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The hall became even more chaotic after that.


    While all of that was happening, the king sneakily attacked in hopes of getting their enemy off-guard but he was wrong. Cygnus could feel his movements and the presence of that god-tier weapon he was holding. Something appeared behind the king and hit him on his side which sent him flying to the side.


    Orpheus hit the wall harder causing the wall the crack and crumbled as he fell to the floor coughing out blood. He looked up and when he saw that the wall was about to fall on him, he still managed to dodge and roll to the side to avoid the falling pieces. He coughed out more blood as he looked at the ce where the attack against him came from.


    What he saw made his heart stop. It was a creature he had never seen before but the silhouette only and its appearance was enough to make anyone pass out due to fear. It was no wonder that the force behind that one p was enough to give him some internal injuries and broke some of his bones. If not for the sword''s blessing, he would have instantly died the moment he hit the wall. He was lucky.

 Chapter 390 A Giant

    ?


    Behind the man was a creature that could incite fear in any one who would see it. Itsrge body was enough to destroy the entirety of the conference hall. They could already tell what it was based on the size of the hand that attacked the king.


    They could see that the hand wasing out from a portal that the man must have summoned without moving from his seat. If the giant''s body would emerge from it then the pce might really copse. In an attempt to close the portal or even disrupt it, Orpheus pushed his body to cut the portal.


    The white lighting from his sword intensified as he raised it after he disappeared from where he was and appeared before the portal. He brought down his sword in an attempt to destroy the giant hand and the portal together. The attack caused the whole building to shake.


    The ceiling started to crack and rubbles started to fall down. The dust filled the entire ce followed by an explosion that almost blinded the ones whose eyes were on the king and the portal. Cygnus on the other hand was sitting with a rxed smile on his face while all of that happened.


    After the light disappeared, the whole ce was in a mess. The explosion finally caused that whole part of the pce to crumble. In ce of it was a giant that was about nine meters tall. Its body was wide and it was wearing armor with arge sword in his other hand. Its skin was blue and its eyes were clearly looking down at them.


    Themotion made the warriors below look up. The shocked expression in their eyes couldn''t be hidden. Arcaine and Evira had no time to dwell on how a giant appeared in Lunaira because their enemies did not give them the chance to do so. They couldn''t even take their attention off from their enemies because if they did, they would definitely die.


    The people in the pce couldn''t do that though. All of their gazes were at the giant that stood before them. Orpheus thought that he seeded but he actually failed and now an unprecedented enemy was in front of them.


    "I''ll let him y with you and I hope you all survive." Cygnusughed as he disappeared from where he was sitting. He reappeared above the pce of Lunaira to spectate. His butler also appeared and served him his usual drink.


    The giant roared that it echoed throughout the pce. This noise caused a disturbance that made the animals and the birds escape away from the pce. These creatures instinctively knew that a monster appeared.


    "Do not falter now," Ulysses uttered with all the seriousness he could muster. They needed to focus on what was in front of them because if they didn''t, they would be defeated without even putting up a fight.


    King Orpheus gripped his sword and gazed at the giant. They had no experience or whatsoever in fighting such a monster but the generals and the dukes were experienced enough to fight one now. He looked at them and saw that they were also focused on the giant.


    The giant finally raised his sword and before he could fully raise it above him, a green arrow made out of mana flew and hit its arm. This was from the archmage who defeated the ogres that were in their way. Several magic arrows appeared in front of him and he did not hesitate to shoot them towards the giant.


    Lady Elvira did not fall behind as she summoned several ice crystals above the giant and let them fall down. Whatever the ice touched, all of it would freeze. While the giant was distracted by all the attacks from the mages, the warriors ran towards it.


    Swords and spears stabbed at the giants open leg as they aimed to out-bnce it. Their attacks were relentless. The king on the other hand also used his sword that was glowing to deliver a blow that he hoped would bring the enemy down.


    The giant covered its face to protect it from the attacks from the mages. It could also feel the stabs on its leg and with a roar he lifted his leg and stomped hard on the ground. This caused the already unsteady floor to crack. This move also sessfully got the warriors falling on the ground.


    The giant then swung its right hand which caused wind to blow the arrows and ice crystals away from it. His sword then sliced diagonally before he stabbed the floor and it finally copsed. The warriors started to fall down but luckily the mages caught them with magic.


    They floated in the air as they watched half of the pce falling into ruins. All they could do was watch. While they were in the air, a strong and sharp gust of wind could be felting their way. Although the giant fell down, it still managed to swing its sword towards them.


    Sigma maneuvered them at thest minute and they managed to avoid the attack. They looked down only to see that the giant was staring at them. "Drop us above it." Ulysses did not look back as he said those words and for the first time there was no objection.


    Sigma did what was asked of him and as he positioned them above the giant. As they were falling down, Archmage Sigma did not forget to reinforce them with defensive and strengthening magic. ckwell on the other hand provided each one of them with a defensive talisman.


    Their target this time was the giant''s unprotected face. Ulysses was hoping to stab its eyes and so did the king. Even Ishmael was aiming for the enemy''s soft parts. They were eager that they had no other focus but their targets.


    Cygnus was amused at how they were thinking. Giants were intelligent beings; such tactics won''t work on it that easily. Nevertheless, he still looked forward to the result of their efforts. He watched as they were falling down and stabbed the giant.


    The giant raised its arm to block the attack because it already felt their presence beforehand. Their weapons did not pierce their targets but that did not deter them from making any more attack. With the mage''s support, they pulled their weapons and before the giant could fling them away, they were already floating in the air once again.


    The enemy swung its sword towards them once again but the mage''s were faster and maneuvered them away from the de''s path. Sigma took this chance to move them closer to the giant. Orpheus took that chance to swing his sword and it created a long arc thatnded directly on the giant''s face.


    A long gash appeared across the giant''s face and green blood started to flow out from it. The giant roared as its other hand that had no weapon started to il around. It was moving from side to side and the people fighting it couldn''t find the right timing to attack.


    Elvira was not idle. While the giant was iling around and started to swing its sword all over the ce, she sneakily gathered her mana to summon arge stone wall that hit the giant on its side. This made the giant lean to the side and it gave an opening that the warriors utilized.


    Sigma flung them towards an opening that appeared as the giant raised its hand and fully revealed its face. Ulysses and Ishmael went straight for the monster''s eyes and stabbed deep. The giant iled even more and its roars continued to echo in the whole area.


    It tried to get ahold of the people who stabbed its eyes but before it could do it, King Orpheus took a deep breath and swung his sword vertically. The arc it created this time was longer and thicker. It also contained power that was very familiar with Cygnus. The arc hit the giant''s hand arm and sliced it off.


    The other generals and dukes also did not falter and attacked the giant. The iling and the movements from the giant continued to shake the earth and destroy thest pirs that were still standing on the area. They needed to kill it immediately because if they don''t it might cause more destruction.


    "Let''s cut its head!" Ulysses looked at Ishmael and gave Sigma a nod. Ishmael and Ulysses were positioned at each side of the giant after it got its bnce back.


    Elvira gave them mana and imbued their swords with the mana she could muster and so did Sigma. They needed to finish this in one fell swoop. Ishmael was covered with gray aura while Ulysses was surrounded with a green aura. They held their swords and swung it towards the giant''s neck.


    The attack prated the giant''s neck and sessfully severed its head. The giant''s head fell on the ground with a thud followed by itsrge body. The warriors who had been watching the fight cheered after the giant was defeated but their cheers did notst.


    Cygnus sighed and with a snap of his hand, a magic circle appeared below the crowd and several goblins holding scythes immerged amidst them. These bloodthirsty blue goblins started to swing their scythes and killed several warriors already. Their armors were no match with the sharpness of their weapons.

 Chapter 391 This Bloodbath

    ?


    Themotion caught the attention of the king and hisrades. They looked at their warriors and grimaced at the bloodbath that was currently happening down there. Arcaine and Evira wanted to help but they couldn''t extricate themselves from the clutches of their enemy.


    Sigman and Elvira couldn''tunch a wide ranged attack because the warriors would be caught up with it. The only thing they could do was to join the battle and kill them one-by-one. The other generals joined the fray earlier because Ishmael and Ulysses needed to rest even Orpheus needed to regain a little bit of his strength.


    Cygnus grinned because of what he was seeing. It was a good view, especially from where he was watching. The ground was starting to be dyed with red and no matter how fast the reinforcements woulde, they would still bete.


    They defended against the goblins and managed to reorganize themselves after the prior chaos. They managed to get rid of all the goblins that appeared out of nowhere just as a wave of ogres appeared behind them. These monsters used theirrge bodies to crush the warriors and used their heavy weapons to squash them like ants.


    This time, Sigma and Elvira managed to get back on the fight and help them. They used theirst bit of mana to defeat most of the ogres as theyunched the magic arrows and ice crystals that they used a while ago. The wounded ogres were finished by the united efforts of the warriors.


    Cygnus could already tell that they were getting exhausted so he summoned more monsters to y with them. Evira wanted to help them, so she decided to finish her fight with the ck knight that she was facing. Her body was suddenly covered in mist.


    Onyx watched in fascination and he did not attack to give the woman the time that she needed. He was also curious to see what would happen after the mist disappeared. It only took a few seconds before the woman reappeared behind the mist with a full armor of gold as she radiated in holy power.


    The former holy knightughed out loud because he did not expect that the woman was actually a holy knight. He did not feel any divine powers from her so it must have been hidden by the mist that transformed her. This was truly interesting.


    Cygnus was also surprised to see that the woman turned out to be a holy knight. The gods were really sneaky as they managed to hide the woman from him. Now that a holy knight appeared, he trusted that Onyx would do the right thing.


    Evira was indeed a holy knight. She was blessed by the god of war with prowess in fighting, strength to defeat her enemies and defense to uphold justice. This was also the reason why she easily climbed the ranks of heroes. She was a genuine holy knight and Onyx was excited to see what she could do.


    These holy knights could wield the power of gods without limit and they had encountered many of their kind from the different worlds where they were. Onyx became excited at the prospect of destroying another holy knight and adding her name to his list. Both of his hands transformed into metal ws as his body was then covered in a ck mist that became a ck armor.


    A ck knight versus a holy knight. Cygnus was satisfied at what he saw. If the holy knight was blessed, the ck knight was cursed with dark power that they could use to fight. This was an interesting fight once again.


    Evira twirled the spear on her hand and caught it before moving forward towards her enemy. Onyx crossed both of his hands in front of him to block the spear. A loud ng echoed in the air and the ground beneath their feet sunk.


    Evira took a step back and once again attacked while Onyx blocked the attack. The woman then retracted her spear and swung it towards his side. Onyx did a side flip and effectively dodged the attack that was aimed towards him. After hended on the ground, he twisted his body to the right with his right hand extended to hit the woman who had her body angled to the left after her attack.


    The holy knight''s armor was hit and she almost lost her bnce. She stepped to the side a couple of times before she steadied herself. She then nced at the spot where the metal ws hit her and grimaced at what she saw.


    The armor was ckened and it was sizzling because it was burning from the dark mana that hit it. Evira covered the spot with her armored hand and it disappeared in just seconds. She then looked at the man who was grinning at him and flexing his metal ws.


    The woman did not hesitate to attack again. Her movements started to get faster and each of her attacks had the weight of a mountain. Whenever her spear missed and hit the ground, the bricks that were used on it would crack at the force of her attack. Onyx was sure that his armor would break if he ever got hit.


    He did not stay idle either. He would sneak his own attack that would taint the holy knight and make her waver for a moment. In all honesty, he was not worried about getting hit by the woman. He had enough experience to defend himself and minimize the damage from the holy power that these holy knights have.


    While he was rxed, Evira on the other hand was getting annoyed because she couldn''tnd any decent hits on the man. If she ever had, he would only grin at her and make her feel like her attack did not have an effect. She badly wanted to pierce through that armor and destroy her enemy.


    This time Onyx attacked first. His ws reached out to the woman. He was flying in the air and swinging his ws from every direction. Whenever the woman wanted to attack, the man would maneuver his body and avoid the spear. He did not give the woman the chance to get ahead of him.


    Evira blocked the iing attack with the center of her spear and used her force to push away the enemy. She then stabbed forward a couple of times and even rotated her spear with speed before stabbing him. This move was not anticipated by the man.


    This small opening was used by the woman as he swept her spear and hit the man''s legs. Onyx lost his bnce and he actually fell to the ground. Evira retracted her spear and swapped it smoothly in a position where the pointed end was facing down and she stabbed with the holy power filling the weapon.


    Onyx saw the spearing down toward him as he forced himself to roll to his side and narrowly escaped the spear. The weapon was nted on the ground instead but the woman was not deterred. She then pushed the spear forward to where the man just rolled and it sessfully hit him.


    The ck knight was pushed further away from the woman and he could feel that the spear actually prated his armor. He was about to get up when he felt a presence above him. The woman was in the air with the spear pulled above her head and she brought it down with so much force.


    Onyx managed to block the attack at thest moment but the force was not diminished and he felt the full brunt of it. The ground below his back caved in as the force spread through his body towards the ground. He chuckled and it was followed by a cough.


    The woman that was blessed by the god of war was really something. Each of her strikes was heavy and full of holy power. His armor that was made of dark mana slowly chipped away together with his metal ws that was oozing with dark mist. It started to disintegrate but before it could happen, he pushed the woman away.


    The woman was caught off guard as she stumbled back and when she looked at the man again, he was not there. She looked around but she did not find her enemy and yet the feeling that someone was looking at her pricked her skin. She knew that the man was still there. Her hold on her weapon tightened as she turned around only to find that nothing was there.


    The distant sound of the fighting from the warriors and the monsters rang in her ear. They managed to get away from the pce''s grounds and she didn''t even notice it. Arcaine was also nowhere to be found. She took several deep breaths and calmed her nerves.


    Onyx grinned as he watched the woman, from where he was. He got near her and whispered in her ear. "You won''t be able to destroy me."


    The whisper made the woman turn around once more but her enemy wasn''t there. Onyx appeared out of nowhere and scratched at the woman back with his ws. This time his ws were sharper and it dug deeper on the woman''s armor.

 Chapter 392 Destroyed Holy Knight

    ?


    Evira yelped in pain when she felt that cold metal digging into her skin. She used the other end of her spear and tabbed back which actually hit Onyx. She then fell on the ground, panting. The pain that wasing from her back couldn''t bepared with the wounds she experienced before.


    She mobilized the holy power in her to heal the wound but she could still feel her back numbing. She did not understand what was happening. Her holy mana should have healed the wound and purified any impurities within it.


    Evira tried to stand but she once again fell to the ground in a kneeling position.


    She then started to cough out blood and that was not always a good sign. She tried to neutralize the poison on her body but it was doing nothing. She could still feel her muscles numbing.


    "This is the thing about holy knights. They are really powerful but they still sumb to simple tricks like poison. They rely too much on their healing abilities and the purification ability of their mana. That''s why I developed a poison that could spread faster than your healing abilities." Onyx appeared behind the woman with a smirk on his face.


    The armor on his body returned to its original state. He crouched down beside the woman and looked at her face that was slowly getting paler and paler. She could not stop from coughing out blood.


    "You-you m-monster¡­" she said in between her coughing fits. She couldn''t believe that one small wound could bring her to her knees.


    "I am not a monster. The monster is my master and you are lucky for not facing him in this battle because if you did, you would have died brutally. Be thankful that you died by my hand." Onyx patted the woman''s back like he was making her feel better.


    Evira slumped on the ground as her eyes slowly zed over and her breath started to get short. Before she could take herst breath, Cygnus appeared and pulled her cor. He ced his face near hers as he mumbled some words that were not meant for the woman. He then threw the woman''s body away and dusted his palms that held her cor.


    "Will they being?" Onyx asked with curiosity as he looked at the man. He knew who the master had talked to using the holy knight.


    "Maybe? I''m not sure because they are cowards. They won''t being down from where they are." Cygnus shook his head. He already tried to provoke them so many times but only one god came to him. "They must have been intimidated by what I did to that woman."


    He was referring to the goddess of beauty and life that he killed. The fallen goddess was still one of them so he was sure that the others would be furious because of what he did. And yet after waiting, none of them brought down their wrath.


    Having a holy knight in this ce also came as a surprise. Even he who was sensitive to the power of the gods did not feel the woman''s holy mana. He frowned and looked at the dying woman once again and walked up to her.


    He let his ck mana appear and surrounded the woman. She still had holy mana left so what he did made the Onyx grin. Cygnus absorbed the woman''s mana and he turned it into his own. Amongst all of them, the master was the only one who could absorb mana and turn it into his own.


    Onyx was waiting for the master to finish when he suddenlyughed. The ck knight looked at his master who was bent down and wasughing hard. He straightened his body and had his head lifted up.


    "They''ve really done it. I cannot believe that the god of war would resort to this kind of tactic just to hide this woman from me." Cygnus opened his eyes andughed once again.


    "What are you talking about master?" Onyx''s curiosity was roused for the second time because of what he heard.


    "I could taste darkness within this power. Darkness that I have been familiar with because it also exists within me. To think that they would collude with the beings that they hated the most. Hypocrites." Cygnus wasughing like a maniac for a couple of minutes before he abruptly stopped and changed into his serious look.


    Those gods must have had enough of the master''s craziness that they decided to swallow their pride and work with demons. "Were they working with higher demons?" Onyx asked.


    Cygnus shook his head. "They couldn''t afford to go that path. The lesser demons were easy to manipte and add to that the fact that they had abilities which are very useful, they are more likely the targets. If they ever try to work with the higher demons, he would know and I would also know."


    "They did a good job," Onyxmented. "Fascinating that they broke their own rule and used those ''filthy things'' ording to them."


    "They would deny that im if you confront them but I don''t care. They could use all resources they could find but they won''t be able to make a dent on me if they don''te down on their own." Cygnus turned around and walked towards the gate that appeared a while ago while he was still facing the woman''s body.


    Onyx followed behind since his job was done. He had no intention of joining the fray and just wanted to witness it with the master. It was also better for him to stay out of the fight and let the monsters enjoy their freedom.


    They appeared on the invisible tform above where the master was spectating a while ago. From that point, Onyx could clearly see what was going down below. The giant was defeated and now the monsters were rampaging. The generals and dukes were doing their best to fend them all together with their pitiful army of warriors.


    On the other hand, Arcaine and Ignius were nowhere to be found within the vicinity of the forest. Onyx raised an eyebrow at that and when he was about to ask the master, Cygnus pointed at a projection. Apparently, they were already at the forest behind the pce and having the greatest time of their lives.


    Onyx could already tell at once nce that the dragon was not using his full power. He was obviously ying with the man because if he used his full strength the man would have already died. If he would bepletely honest, amongst them all that had followed the master, the dragon was the oldest, the most powerful and the longest one who had been apanying the master.


    Just as Onyx''s conclusion, the dragon was indeed having a great time while fighting the hero. He found it amusing that the hero was still insistent on fighting him even though he was aware of the disparity in power between the two of them. The hero was just exhausting himself.


    Arcaine jumped in the air and raised his sword as he chopped down towards the man who had a silly grin on his face. Ignius used his palms to block the sword and he even took that chance to grip the sword. He then grinned and lifted the sword before kicking the man on his stomach and throwing him to the back.


    The hero crashed on the trees behind them andnded heavily on the ground. His body was full of bruises and scratches even after he had been fighting the dragon for sometime now. He did not have any fatal injuries too which already gave him the idea that the dragon was only ying with him.


    He knew that he was no match for the dragon but foolishly, he was still fighting against him. He pushed himself up and saw his reflection on the sword. His face was full of grime and dirt and his hair was no longer pristine. He was totally a mess.


    "Why don''t you try running away?" Ignius whispered beside his ear as he appeared beside him. "Because that''s what you are good with right, running away and being a coward."


    The voice was taunting and in annoyance, Arcaine swung his sword to the side where the dragon was. He did not hit him but his attack halved the tree on the side. He then heard the dragonughing and it even echoed in the forest which made it more eerie.


    "I won''t run." Arcaine answered with a firm tone. He won''t be running away again because he knew that there was no use in running. He would rather die fighting than die like a coward. He had been earning his keep ever since that incident so there was no reason for him to run away again.


    With that realization, Arcaine suddenly felt power coursing through his veins. It was different and refreshing at the same time. He had never felt like that before. He could even tell where the dragon was and with that, he swung his sword which created a blue arc that flew towards the north.

 Chapter 393 Midnight black

    Chapter 393 Midnight ck


    Ignius had his eyes narrowed at the attack that wasing his way. He lifted his hand and swiped the attack away from him. Instead of hitting the dragon, the attack was redirected and destroyed several trees along its path.


    "Interesting but toote. If you had awakened into a true hero much earlier than this, then this would have been fun and you can even have the chance to at least wound me." Ignius took a step forward and he immediately appeared before the hero.


    Arcaine was caught off-guard as he was lifted in the air with the dragon tightly gripping his neck. He could feel the dragon''s ws digging into his skin. He raised his hands and gripped the dragon''s ws in an attempt to remove it from his neck but he failed.


    He was starting to lose air and couldn''t breathe but the dragon had no intention of letting him go. With thest bit of strength that he could muster, Arcaine raised his sword and stabbed the man on his chest but it did nothing. The dragon''s hand only tightened until there was a crack.


    Blood trickled down from the hero''s mouth and the dragon threw his body unceremoniously on the ground. "A true hero,ughable." He muttered before wings appeared on his back. He then flew to the tform where the master was.


    "You killed him just like that?" Onyx raised an eyebrow at the man who justnded on the tform.


    Ignius shrugged his shoulders. "Do you really think that he deserved to live? I didn''t even think that he would awaken at thest moment. I don''t want those gods getting involved once again."


    The contempt and anger in his voice couldn''t be hidden. When Onyx joined the group, the first thing he discovered regarding the dragon was that he absolutely hated heroes, especially those who awakened into bing a true hero. This kind of hero could y a dragon and thus they would be called dragon yers.


    "Alright," Onyx did not push through with the topic and chose to stay silent.


    Cygnus looked at both of them and sighed. He even rolled his eyes. The atmosphere became awkward because of that short exchange. A holy knight and now a true hero, what a surprising event. He did not imagine that these fascinating things would happen in just one world in the span of one day.


    Nevertheless, both of them were already dead. So, there''s no reason for him to worry about those threats that could disturb his peace. What matters now was for those annoying ants to die now so that they could focus on the reinforcements that the crown prince would bring back.


    He was curious to know what kind of people he would bring back and what kind of reaction he would have when hees home and see his kingdom in ruins. Cygnus couldn''t contain the anticipation from oozing out. They needed to make it fast.


    He tilted his head to the side and rested it on his palm. The world below was in chaos but he had no reaction or feeling about it. His revenge was already right before his eyes but he did not feel joy. There was still something missing and his sister''s image shed before his eyes.


    This slight poke in his mind turned his eyes red and caused the invisible tform he created to crack. The monsters on the ground also went amok and crazier than before. The spawning of monsters also became fast and it quickly overwhelmed the warriors who were fighting for their lives.


    Ulysses and Ishmael already joined the fight and killed as many monsters as they could. Sigma and Elvira did not fail to support them even though they themselves were about to topple. Orpheus did not hesitate to destroy a wave of monsters that wasing their way.


    They did not know what happened and why the monsters became even more aggressive at that moment but their instinct to survive pushed them to fight beyond their limits. The spectators above them knew what happened but they remained silent and did notment on it. It seems that the master experienced something unpleasant while watching the fight.


    Aside from goblins that started to crawl out from the opened gate that the master left open, ogres also started to emerge. There were also some orcs that managed to slip through but the master did not care. Well, he was someone who would summon a giant so there was no problem.


    The chaotic and bloody fight continued. The warriors were falling one-by-one and yet the numbers of monsters who were going against them were endless. Ulysses looked at the hopeless situation and sighed. ''It was truly the end for them,'' he thought to himself, ''it was just too bad that he couldn''t get to see his wife for thest time before he died.''


    Orpheus''s god-tier sword was also nearing its limit. There were already cracks on it because of how many times he had used it. It seems even a powerful sword like it would end just like them. He grimaced and tightly held the sword in his hands.


    He would use the sword until it breaks. With ast roar, he chopped down using the sword at the gate that was spawning monsters. The gate was covered in white light and he sessfully closed it. This at least lifted the burdens of the remaining warriors who were still standing and fighting for their kingdom.


    Orpheus was just d that they managed to hold on for long and gave their citizens the time to get away from that horrible ce. He sighed and looked around at the destruction that the fight brought. With that short time that his attention was elsewhere, the gate reappeared and a slimy ck tentacle appeared and wrapped itself on the king.


    The king was pulled back to the gate where the tentacle disappeared to. He did not have the time to ask for help. Only the sword remained. The warriors were shocked at how fast everything happened and they weren''t able to react as more tentacles appeared out of the gate and attacked them.


    They tried to defend against it but the tentacles were difficult to cut and they did not have the strength to do so. They''ve been exhausted with the continuous battle and even if they wanted to fight back, it became impossible for them. Sigma saw that their situation was getting worse, so with ast resort, he depleted his own mana and created thergest magic arrow he could.


    With thest bit of his strength, he threw the arrow into the gate. The green arrow sessfully prated the body of the monster that was hiding behind it and the tentacles disappeared. The gate also slowly crumbled until it got destroyed.


    They waited for another gate to appear again but nothing appeared. This knowledge was enough to calm their hearts. The thought of the battle ending made them relieved only to be crushed again.


    Ulysses and Ghad went to the archmage''s side. The old man was already at the end of his life. He was merely hanging by a thread right now as he sacrificed even his life force just to make that final attack.


    "Die proudly," was his only words before he took hisst breath. Thest archmage of Lunaira fell.


    They mourned for their king and for the archmage. They did their part and now it was up to them to continue to fight. They were not looking forward to it but they needed to proceed. Their attention was caught by the man who appeared on the spot where the king once was.


    He picked up the sword without an expression on his face. Cygnus yed the sword on his hand before imbuing it with his dark mana. The sword then slowly turned into dust and the man had an evil smile on his face. He then looked at the direction of the warriors who were looking at him with fear.


    Cygnus grinned and in an instant Elvira''s head was cut off and it floated up towards the other heads above them. Her body fell on the ground with a loud thud that echoed in the midst of their silence. There was no scream because the woman was caught off-guard and now she was dead.


    "Now that your greatest weapons are destroyed, what should we do next? Of course all of you will die." He mumbled to himself as he looked in their direction.


    No words were exchanged as they all died in an instant. Cygnus did not want to drag it out because he knew that some other enemies would being for him. The bodies of the warriors who died scattered on the ground and only the generals and the dukes remained standing.


    Ishmael looked at the monster before them. He was right in being wary of the man ever since their first meeting. Now, he was about to bring destruction to theirnd. ck mana then swept through the surrounding area and turned everything into midnight color.

 Chapter 394 His throne

    Chapter 394 His throne


    They did not feel fear and yet their bodies were shaking. It was an effect that Cygnus enjoyed to see from his prey. The only people in that remaining group who remained calm were his father and his friend. It was understandable because they were the people who really didn''t care about his origins.


    Cygnus took several steps towards them and they would several steps back. The master was annoyed because of their actions so he stopped and instead he snapped his fingers. Dark spikes emerged from the ground and pierced them all.


    They were pierced through the heart and through the head which caused most of them to die. When Cygnus saw this, a ck swirling mist appeared beneath them and he let that darkness swallow them. He then looked around and was satisfied at the result of his efforts.


    The dragon thennded on the ground beside the master. "What shall we do next?" He asked after the fight.


    "Destroy some more. We will make sure that thisnd will no longer be livable for humans and as for those who managed to escape, I''ll leave them to you." Cygnus answered as he looked at the dragon ang gave him a nod.


    Igniusughed. He already knew what the master wanted and he was happy to oblige. Right there and then, the man shed his human skin and transformed into his enormous dragon form. He shook his body and his ck scales appeared and glistened underneath the setting sun.


    Ignius roared and fluttered his wings a couple of times before he finally flew into the sky. It had been a long time before he let out a breath of fire that he was eager to do it. With a loud roar and his head pulled back, a golden glow appeared from his belly and it traveled towards his mouth.


    And with a single breath, a golden me appeared from his mouth. The me burned the entire forest behind the pce. Ignius was satisfied with the result of his dragon breath that it made him roar. It was so loud that it shook the ground and scared every animal in the kingdom.


    Without further adieu, he flew higher into the sky and above the clouds before he dived down with his wings closed. When he was near the ground he opened his wings and it created a strong gust of wind that toppled the remaining structures of the Lumier. After that, hended on the pce''s highest peak with a smug look on his face.


    Onyx shook his head because of how show-off the other was. The dragon was the embodiment of narcissism and what''s worse is that, he only listened to the master. Opinions of the others didn''t matter to him.


    "We will be relocating to the pce. This kingdom will be my territory," Cygnus dered. The butler and the ck knight heeded his word.


    They immediately upied the pce and by night, all of them were already in the pce. The ce was a mess and the radiance it held in the past was no more. The walls and ceilings had cracks on them. There were parts of it that werepletely unusable after the battle but the master didn''t care.


    Even the throne room was in rubles. One part of its walls had totally copsed which made the light of the moon shine through the room. It was silent and at the same time eerie because every step they took would echo. Cygnus looked at the throne and tilted his head to the side as if he was thinking.


    "I think that chair isn''t suitable for me," Cygnus mumbled but despite that he still walked towards it and sat down. "What do you think?" He asked once he was settled.


    "Indeed, the design is too in for my liking." Mr. Cmented after he finally saw the master seated. It was red and gold but ck and red would look more intimidating.


    "That''s right, should I change it then?" He asked like the master was very important. The people remained silent for a moment before Ignius appeared among them and spoke.


    "You should." Ignius was grinning. He went forward and circled the throne a couple of times while shaking his head. "This throne is so in." Heughed and moved away from master.


    The throne was then shrouded with a ck mist and when it disappeared the read throne was reced with a ck throne lined with bones carved from gold. The back of the throne had skulls on it as a decoration. Underneath his foot, something red was trickling until it stopped and froze into red crystals.


    At the same time, a wave of his ck mana swept through the whole pce and returned it to its whole appearance. The ce appeared to be clean and undamaged that the people who saw this transformation were amazed at the extent of the master''s ability. They then looked at the man who was sitting on the throne and couldn''t refute that he looked like a king, with his aura and bearing.


    "Go on, use any room in this ce. What are you all standing here for?" Cygnus looked amused because they were looking lost inside that ce. "You''ll be working hard in the next few days so you should go and rest. Enjoy your free day because this might be yourst."


    After that, the butler took initiative and ushered them all out of the throne room. He directed them to the wing where the rooms were and let them choose whichever room they wanted to use. The night in the kingdom passed peacefully but the rest of the kingdom were in despair.


    That night, Ignius flew through the sky and released his dragon breath in every town he could spot. He wreaked havoc to his heart''s content and he even had his wyverns join him. The entire kingdom of Lunaira was on fire and fell in just one night.


    The people of the kingdom tried to run and hide from the dragon that was terrorizing them but no matter where they went there was fire. The people who ran away from the capital and took refuge in the different duchies of the kingdom did not avoid the destruction and death. When Lte Ginehart saw the dragons above Ginehart, she knew that her husband was no more.


    She already epted this ending and even the people of Ginehart had seen thising. When the news of the battle in the capital reached them, they already knew that their kingdom was in peril and yet they could do nothing. Some of them were angry and indignant especially because the enemy was the son of their leader but it was already done.


    Some fled while some remained as they waited for the destruction toe. Those who fled crossed the border and went to the nearby kingdoms just to save themselves and avoid the wrath of the enemy. The reason for the attack was vague and none of them really knew what went on in the capital so even in confusion, they still left.


    "Madam, are you really going to stay here?" One of the servants entered the duke''s study where the duchess was. She saw the woman was staring out of the window where the fire was starting to spread.


    "Yes. Ulysses won''t being back and Linius is with the enemy. There''s nothing more that is holding me back in this world." She turned around and smiled at the maid who had been with them for the longest time. "You should go. Maybe you''ll still have the chance to survive."


    The maid looked at her mistress before she sighed and shook her head. "I cannot leave. My family is no longer with me. I''d rather stay with you here." She had a smile on her face which touched the duchess''s heart.


    Just a few minutes after that conversation, the Ginehart manor was engulfed with fire and all the people who remained in there were burned. No screams were heard even though people were actually there and burning. Even the rainy weather of ckwell was no match for the fire that swallowed the entire territory. The other two duchies were also not spared. Not a part of Lunaira was spared.


    Ezio, who had been in his room, didn''t know what he should feel after all the destruction that he witnessed. Even from afar, he could still see the orange glow that dominated the skies of Lunaira. He, William and Isaiah were in the same room and watching from the same window.


    Their predecessors did what they could to save them and yet there were people out there dying. The guilt was rising inside their hearts. It was something that they couldn''t control and help to feel. The people of Lunaira had been a part of their lives and yet now they were disappearing one-by-one.


    They weren''t able to sleep that night until the morning came. The three of them had no appetite as they refused to eat breakfast. Instead, they went out and walked around the pce and around the city. The destruction was extensive. The towering magic tower was now a pile of rubble while the hero association''s headquarters was totally destroyed.

 Chapter 395 Cursed name

    Chapter 395 Cursed name


    The Justice of Light''s headquarters waspletely ttened and even the academy was no longer standing. They were not sure if the principal, the teachers and students were able to leave but they hoped that they were safe even though there''s no longer a safe ce in Lunaira. The manors of the nobles were all destroyed which did not affect them as much.


    "Had you have enough?" A voice asked after they stood in the center of the city when they were done exploring. They looked back and saw that it was Astrophos.


    "Yes," was Ezio''s simple answer.


    "You shouldn''t be surprised, Ezio. You already knew what kind of person the master was." Astrophos walked to them and patted them one-by-one. "Let''s just be thankful that we are on his side and that he epted us to be his side."


    Astrophos looked at the mess before he sighed. He was not there when the battle began because he was busy following the crown prince to wherever he was going. When he returned, this was what met him, a destroyed Lunaira.


    "Don''t dwell on it too much and focus on what you will be able to contribute to the master for him to not abandon you. Now that this ce is no more than a destroyed kingdom, it is important that you think of your own survival."


    The three young men frowned at Astrophos''s words but they couldn''t deny the truth of it. If the master really destroys this world, they would be traveling to another world. If they wanted to continue living then they would need to prove themselves.


    The destruction of Lunaira was unknown to Crown Prince Renzo as he traveled to the Holy Kingdom to ask for their help. He did not look back even though all he wanted to do was return and support his father but he promised that he would bring back reinforcements. He rode day and night just to reach the kingdom.


    He could already see it from a far and relief washed over him because the diminishing hope he had red up once again. The crown prince rode faster in hopes of reaching the kingdom because he did not know what was the status of Lunaira now. The earlier he could get their answer, the earlier he could return.


    The Holy Kingdom had been neutral for hundreds of years now and they did not join any war. But this time it was different, so Renzo was hoping that they would aid them in their predicament because this was not only Lunaira''s matter but the whole of the world. He reached the gates of the kingdom just as the sun was setting and upon introducing himself, he was weed.


    The pope and the other priests that ruled the kingdom had been waiting for him because they were informed in advance via letter. The letter gave a brief exnation of what was happening but they wanted to hear it exactly from the crown prince. This was an unprecedented situation and even the gods spoke to them regarding the matter.


    They dare not take the situation lightly. So, as soon as the crown prince arrived in the kingdom, he was immediately ushered to them. They looked at the disheveled prince who rode there nonstop. The pope who was sitting at the head of the table gestured for one of the servants to give the prince a drink and food.


    Renzo was urged by the pope and the priests to eat and drink first. He felt ufortable being watched as he ate but the hunger was already making him dizzy. He ate everything on the table and when he was full, he was now ready to talk to the rulers of the Holy Kingdom.


    Now that he was looking at them closely, he felt a bit intimidated because their attention was fixed on him. He was afraid that he might say something that could offend them and add to that the awkward and heavy situation inside the conference room. He cleared his throat and decided to speak now.


    "As my father had said in the letter, Lunaira, no not only Lunaira but our world is facing a disaster that threatens to destroy it." He started and this made the priests focus on him even more but he swallowed his fear and continued. "He assumed the name Rigel Maverick Ginehart but in reality his name is Cyg-" he stopped at the middle of his sentence as he started to cough our blood.


    This reaction incited murmurs inside the room and one of them suddenly spoke, "Cursed name." The priest who was beside Renzo eased his pain by using his holy power.


    Renzo was able to breathe normally once again. He looked up and choked for a while before he managed to get out his question. "Cursed name?"


    The priest who helped him nodded and answered his question. "Yes. It is a curse that could turn a person''s name into a curse. Once it is spoken by anyone, that person would definitely suffer and die. But it seems that this curse name is a bit special. Only a syble from it and you are reacting like this already."


    He then passed him a paper and pen and urged him to write the name. Renzo became unsure if he could even write the name. Something might happen to him if he tried to write it.


    The priest noticed his anxiousness and gently patted him on the back. "Don''t worry that paper and pen are blessed by the gods so it could hold the curse name. You don''t need to worry."


    With that, Renzo did not hesitate to write the name. He was holding his breath as he was writing but nothing happened to him even after that so he sighed in relief. He then passed the paper to the priest. The priest then raised the paper for all to see and read the enemy''s identity.


    Just a few seconds after he raised it, the paper burned and turned into ashes. Luckily, they were all able to read the name. The priest looked at the ashes on his hand with a frown on his face. "It is a dangerous name." He dered.


    Renzo saw the others nodding to the priest''s statement. He then saw the pope gesturing for him to continue and he did. He ryed what he heard from the man himself and the reason why he was doing all of this. The priests and the pope were all ears until he reached the end of his narration.


    "This is no longer revenge," the pope spoke. "He is already tainted by darkness and I fear that he had be darkness himself. What happened to him was indeed unfortunate but there is nothing we can do for him now aside from defeating him and giving him the rest that he deserved."


    This statement earned another acknowledgement from the priests. Then the priest beside him once again spoke, "The gods had already given us revtion regarding the matter and we''ve called forth the greatest heroes of our kingdom."


    Renzo was happy to hear that the Holy Kingdom would make their move. Although he did not share their sentiment, it was already enough that they were willing to help them destroy the enemy. To think that they would even summon the heroes of the world to kill the enemy was beyond his expectation but it was better.


    "This ''World Breaker'', we will make sure that he will be eliminated as the gods decreed and for the survival of our world." Another priest spoke with firmness in his tone and it made the atmosphere a bit lighter.


    The priests were confident that they could destroy the enemy this time because the gods would lend them a hand. The pope stood up from his seat and swept his gaze at them. "This man''s history is unique and we might encounter demons so make sure that the heroes will be ready for this scenario."


    "It is a shame that we don''t even know who amongst the demons entered in a contract with him." One of them was disappointed because if they knew who the demon was then it would be easier for them to devise a n against their enemy.


    Renzo wanted to help but the man did not mention any demons after he told them his life story and the reason why he was not on good terms with the gods. After a few more minutes of discussion, the pope dismissed them. Renzo on the other hand was shown to his room.


    After the meeting, the pope was inside his study and the priest who had been answering Renzo''s questions entered. He looked at the old man who remained silent despite his presence inside the room. The man must have been thinking deep after hearing that story.


    "What do you think about this ''World Breaker'', your eminence?" The priest asked. At first, he found the story ridiculous even after they were given a warning from the gods.

 Chapter 396 The gods

    Chapter 396 The gods


    The pope hummed before he answered. "It is a story that happened in the past. A tragedy that almost brought down Lunaira into its knees. Luckily, they managed to get back up andsted for a thousand years."


    The priest was surprised at the pope''s answer. This only means that the pope believed the story from the very beginning. Another question arose about that information. "Do you perhaps know what happened one thousand years ago, your eminence?"


    The pope shook his head, "You can say that I know it but I was not there when it all happened. All I have are records from that time." He bent down and opened the lowest drawer of his study table. He then pulled out a thick stack of papers that had been yellowing because of how old it was.


    He then gestured for the priest to take and look at it. The priest stretched out his hand and picked up the document on the top of the stack. He opened and skimmed through it and he couldn''t help but shut his eyes tightly after understanding what was in the document.


    He had the same reaction as he browsed through almost all of the documents. The pope gave him the time to process everything and even let him have a seat to calm himself. The priest remained in the room as he internalized what he had read.


    "How did youe upon these documents, your eminence?" He became curious as to how the pope came in possession of those books.


    "These records had been passed down to me and it had been an heirloom of our family. Although it only outlines what happened to the World Breaker in this world, it is still helpful to get an insight on what really happened to him."


    The priest could sense a bit of sympathy from the pope and he too couldn''t help but feel the same. It was an unfortunate incident. After a few minutes of silence between them, the priest suddenly had a question.


    "Then why would the World Breaker hate the gods?" He asked with his gaze trained on the pope who did not give him an answer.


    The pope remained silent because he already had a hunch. He let the priest think more about it because it was pretty obvious from the records he read. "Besides, they were recorded dead after the massacre," the priest added.


    The pope nodded. "They were indeed and yet he returned and was even able to form a contract with a demon."


    "Then his hatred for the gods must have started during that time." The priest started as he tried to figure out what was happening. "He and his sister¡­" the man suddenly trailed off.


    The words on the documents shed in his mind and the words from the crown prince''s narration echoed in his ear. His sister, there was no word regarding that woman. Not after the part where the crown prince told them about how the two were transported into another world. After that, the details were vague.


    This only meant that the enemy did not tell them clearly what happened after they left the world. The only beings who might know of it were the gods. If there was not mention of a sister then there was only one conclusion, she was no longer with the living.


    "We will need to wait for another revtion to confirm things." The pope sighed as it was the only thing they could do.


    To push someone to enter a contract with the demon, the mystery surrounding the sister''s death must be controversial. In the worst-case scenario, the gods must have been involved. If they were not then a problem like this would not have appeared.


    The priest nodded and with no further discussions, he left the pope. He learned many things today and it is better for him to rest up first. On the other hand, the pope couldn''t help but stare at the records and shook his head.


    Meanwhile in the realm of the gods, a heated discussion was going on. The gods convened a meeting that only happened once in a while when extremely important things needed to be discussed. Now their main problem couldn''t be hidden anymore. They couldn''t let that man walk away any longer.


    Several beings d in white and gold were sitting around a table in what they called a meeting hall. It was an open ce with several concrete posts creating an enclosure to where they were seated. Around the enclosure was a vast meadow with lush green grass and flowers with colorful butterflies fluttering around. The air was gently blowing around them which made their surroundings refreshing.


    Each post had a vine entwined on it which gave the whole ce a fairytale like vibe. The beings in the center of the meadow were glowing with white light. Despite the frowns on their faces and how serious they were, one couldn''t deny the fact that they had divine powers.


    This meeting had been going on for an hour now and yet it was not showing any signs of ending soon. They had been arguing nonstop and the group seemed to have been divided into two groups. One was the gods who were angered by Cygnus while the other was the group who did not want to involve themselves with the mess of the humans.


    They could sympathize with how the other gods were feeling but they thought that they were already going too far. They let these gods chase the man all through the dimensions and worlds but they did not manage to defeat him. All they could see were gods who were wasting their power just because of one person.


    "We''ve been going about this in circles and honestly I am getting fed up with this," one of the gods finally spoke. He looked at the others with a frown.


    "We won''t be in this predicament if you all had already agreed to lend us your power so we can kill that man and that demon." One of those who had been offended deeply by Cygnus angrily shouted at them.


    "Why would we even want to help you guys when you were the ones who provoked him first. If the god of war stopped those heretics from what they were doing then none of this would be happening!" Another one eximed. The god had long golden hair and she was the representative of those who were against the n.


    "Those idiots only used my name. How would I know that something like this would happen and you know that it doesn''t really matter to me what my followers do as long as they continue to worship me." The god of war finally spoke with indignation. His name was just getting dragged in this.


    "Enough, this is already a problem for everyone. The man had already been contracted with a demon and it is our duty to stop him and the demon from spreading more tragedies in the different worlds." The god of creation who was the oldest of them finally spoke.


    With those words, the other gods were silenced. They all respected the god of creation because of his wisdom and because he had been a god far longer than them. He was also right that with the involvement of a demon, it was their problem already.


    "Now that I got your attention, let''s proceed." The god of creation finally decided to lead the meeting as they were not reaching any conclusion because of the arguments happening amongst themselves. "We''ve already promised the holy empire that we will help so we must follow through."


    The gods couldn''t help but nod. Even though most of them agree, some still grumbled. They absolutely hated dealing with demons and humans but because the god of creation was speaking, they couldn''t say no.


    "Cygnus Altair," the god announced the name of their enemy. With those only, the skies of the realm of the gods turned ck and rumbled like it was about to rain and thunder, "Needed to be dealt with or we will be the ones to perish."


    These words earned a nod from the other gods. It was what they wanted to happen because if he was gone the world would stabilize again. So many of the worlds they created were already in shambles and destruction. It finally reached the limit that the gods wanted to go down and deal with the man personally.


    "Are we really going to face him now?" one other god asked. He was shaking and a bit scared ever since the meeting started.


    "Yes. The heroes whom we have blessed will be gathered at the Holy Kingdom. We will use them to defeat that man and that demon. It is the only way. He already managed to kill a god and if we let him be, he would only cause us problems." The god of creation exined. He was already exhausted from managing multiple worlds and yet he found out that some of them were already destroyed.

 Chapter 397 How they began

    Chapter 397 How they began


    To see the worlds that he had createde into ruins was not fun. He would have epted it if only one was destroyed but during the course of those years, multiple worlds were already destroyed. The god of creation already sent heroes to destroy him but they couldn''t put a dent on his magic.


    Cygnus was already so strong that they had a difficult time dealing with him. One more annoying thing that he had was his ability to travel in different worlds even though he did not have the gift. The immortality that the demon has given him made it possible for him.


    After a few hundred years, finally a human was able to wield the power of space and yet she became a subordinate of Cygnus. The gods tried to meddle and made her hate him but the woman was resilient and did not give in. She was then separated from the group and they sent people to go after her but they lost sight of her.


    His subordinates became a headache for them as they grew stronger because of their pact with Cygnus. Now that he had people who were loyal to him, it became even more difficult to kill him. It was one problem after the other that they didn''t know how to handle him as he wreaked havoc in every world that he set his foot on.


    Now, he returned to his original world and was getting his revenge. The god of creation wanted to watch what would happen next because he thought that he would stop after getting his revenge but he was wrong. The man started to tantly challenge them and it was now clear to him that his revenge would not stop there.


    "Let''s finish this. He wants to face us then we will give him what he wants." The god of creation dered as he looked at them. "Let''s do this once and for all."


    The atmosphere changed at that deration. The tension in the air made the surroundings vibrate. The gods now shed any ideas of getting out from what was about to transpire. Once the god of creation made a decision none of them could object.


    "Are we going to add more heroes to fight Cygnus and his people?" One of the gods asked after that short silence.


    "We already have enough. If we need to possess them then we will. It is for the end of this long overdue battle." The god of creation answered. They cannot turn a blind eye to it any longer.


    "Then we will prepare for this battle." The god of war stood up and left.


    That was the end of that meeting. They left to prepare for the battle ahead of them. Although some of the gods did not really agree with the decision, they had no other choice. If Cygnus was not stopped, he might go to other worlds and continue to destroy them then they''ll lose their believers.


    As they were beings that ascended because people believed in them, having followers were extremely important for them. They had been enjoying the benefits of having offerings for them and people praising them. That is where they were getting their power.


    They have been existing for more than a thousand years now and in order to maintain their power they needed more people to acknowledge their presence therefore the god of creation, Kreyat, decided to create worlds and humans. He then let the other gods rule these worlds and establish their influence on them.


    He was pleased at the results. Not long after, other gods were born so Kreyat needed to create more worlds. They became prosperous and the gods and goddesses were happily enjoying each of their worlds. Not long after, Kreyat became known as the first god.


    Together with him, the god of war, god of wisdom, the god of thends, the god of the seas and the god of healing became the major gods. They were leading the other gods. As their domain increased their power also increased which was ording to them not a bad thing.


    It also came to be that multiple gods would be followed in one world. At first this caused amotion among the gods but it soon settled because Kreyat created more worlds. The division of people was easily solved.


    Kreyat then assigned these worlds to the other gods and retreated from the scene. He went on seclusion after creating enough worlds that the gods could manage. He was confident that no problem should arise while he was gone.


    The gods were delighted that the Kreyat went into seclusion. They both respected and feared him because of his power. Now that he was not there to watch their every move, they were free to do what they wanted to do.


    They thoroughly enjoyed the privilege they had and started to assert their rule in each world. There were also times that the gods would be involved in a fight just because of territory and influence. Some of the gods were greedy enough that they invaded the worlds that the other gods were ruling.


    It was the most chaotic era of the gods and the worlds they were ruling. The major gods on the other hand had no interest in the conflict. No matter what they did people would still follow them thus the problem did not really have an impact on them.


    There were constant wars and bloodshed that destroyed kingdoms and civilizations. It became a cycle that no matter how many lives were taken no one bothered to count. That was how the different worlds went for hundreds of years that the god of creation was absent.


    This was when heroes started to emerge. The gods were then divided into two groups, those who wanted to live peacefully and those who were greedy with power. They then entertained the idea of raising heroes who could fight for them and fight their battles. This became a trend.


    Some of them took their titles with dignity while some abused it. The genuine heroes were rewarded and respected while the others were dubbed as fakes. A change in tactic happened as the heroes learned that they couldn''t live without the support of the people and like gods they weaken if the people turn their back on them.


    As the gods were reigning, the demons didn''t sit still. When they learned that the god of creation was nowhere to be found, they took that chance to spread their influence in the different realms. Like the gods they were powerful but not enough to create worlds because what they wanted was chaos.


    The demon realm was already full and there was a constantck of entertainment. So, when the gods decided to create worlds, the demons couldn''t keep their eyes from what they created. They longed to be in that ce and bring chaos.


    The demon king also saw this as an opportunity to test the gods. He was sure that it would be fun. After the Kreyat went into seclusion, the demon king opened a gate and let his minions flock the dimensions. He let them do whatever they wanted and that was when the heroes finally had their way.


    Thus, the battle of heroes and demons started to fill the worlds. The gods were concerned at the beginning but after a long time, they got used to it. It gave them entertainment just as it did with the demons. It was a never-ending battle.


    "Those demons, why are they even doing this?" One of the gods asked in irritation when one of the worlds he was managing was ravaged by the demons. He barely managed to fix it after the war.


    "Because they like challenging the power of the gods. They think that they are stronger than us," one of them answered.


    "Then why not challenge the god of war if that''s what they wanted?" The irritable godined once again.


    "I''ve got plenty of demons in my hand and you want them toe to me?" A deep and hoarse voice spoke from behind the two gods who were talking.


    He had red hair and zing eyes that made the other gods fear him. He was Freyon, the god of war. He red at the two gods before he took the empty seat on the gazebo where they were. His ck robe reached the floor and the golden head piece he was wearing was glittering in the light.


    "You''re a god and yet just a small problem of measly demons makes you irritable? Are you that weak?" He mocked the god who wasining to hispanion. "Deal with them because you have the power to do so."


    The minor god was embarrassed because Freyon heard him. He was just venting out because he was not like the major gods that could easily defeat the enemy. He hung his head while Freyon was directing his re to them.


    "I apologize," the small god mumbled. He then pulled the other god as they hurriedly left the gazebo.


    A goddess then appeared behind Freyon. She wrapped her slim arms around his neck andughed near his ear. "As irritable as always." It was Aseyas, the goddess of the seas. Her appearance was covered in a water-based cloth that constantly moves around her. Even her hair was like the gentle waves of the ocean.

 Chapter 398 gods and demons

    Chapter 398 gods and demons


    "Those demons are already giving me a headache and now even those small gods are talking about me. How troublesome." He spat without minding the woman who was clinging to him.


    "Didn''t you love fighting?" Aseyas asked as she moved beside the man and took a seat. She then rested her head on his shoulder as she waited for his response.


    "Of course, I like fighting but these days those demons keep bringing more and more strong minions that my heroes couldn''t deal with them that easily. They are really testing my patience." Freyon was clearly annoyed. If there was one thing that the gods couldn''t do, that was to descend to the worlds that were created for them.


    They could only share their power with the heroes they chose and could possess them but this would only kill the heroes. Human bodies were not designed to carry that much power from a god. Freyon could only choose several heroes to deal with the demons.


    "Do you want me to lend you a hand?" the goddess of water asked after contemting for a while. Aseyas had nothing to do and her world was peaceful most of the time.


    For the next few years, the worlds became a battlefield for the heroes and gods. The unending battle continued to change the worlds forever. Everything became a boring routine for both sides. Heroes were born here and there to face demons and save humanity. Demons continued to breed and cause destruction.


    And that incident happened because after a long time, the gods lost interest. They started to share their power to just anyone and left the people on their own. It started as an unreasonable misunderstanding between the followers of the god of war and the followers of the god of wisdom.


    The misunderstanding grew bigger until it became the reason why the followers were killing each other and justifying it as some act that the gods told them to do. The demons took this chance and started to influence these followers. Raiding started to happen and they were only caught up with it.


    Cygnus and ra were just caught up within it. He thought that they were finally able to live a peaceful life and away from the people who destroyed their life and killed their family. Now he was left alone.


    Cygnus knew that the demons had a hand in it but he was angrier with the gods who did not care. This was the reason why he did not reject the demon''s offer. His beloved sister was dead and now there was nothing he could lose.


    "Are you sure with your decision, young man?" The man asked Cygnus who was kneeling before his sister''s grave.


    "Yes," was his resolute answer. He had nothing to lose and he felt that this was the only way to abate what he was currently feeling inside. If he needed to destroy the world, then he would do so.


    He stood up and gave the grave one final look before he turned around. Cygnus gave the man who had taken care of him and his sister for a while before giving him a nod. The man did his best to change Cygnus''s decision but that was the extent of his power.


    The chaos of the world began after Cygnus stepped out and actively sought them all out. He started by roaming the current world where he was for the remnants of the people who were following the god of war. He killed them one by one and disyed their bodies for everyone to see.


    He did not stop there as he also started to hunt those who follow the different gods. He would also sometimes kill those wandering demons that wanted to fight or stop him. He was on a killing spree and he did not care if there were innocent people getting caught up with his revenge.


    As the days, months and years passed, he did not stop. He had no chance to stop as he earned the nickname Demon of ughter. He scoured that world until he returned to Amarilyo and bid the man goodbye. That was the start of his travel to other worlds.


    His feat during his time in that world did not escape the notice of the gods. The gods looked with gritted teeth as Cygnus went on a rampage. Even the heroes they sent to deal with him were all defeated. They pursued him through the worlds and did not let him rest.


    While all of that was happening, the gods were also looking for the identity of the demon who made a contract with him. Based on the power and range of abilities he acquired, they could surmise that the demon behind him was of a higher rank.


    "We can''t just let that guy go as he is! We need to kill him!" Raged the goddess of beauty roared. Her world was destroyed because of Cygnus and now the number of her followers dwindled.


    "That''s what you get for fancying that damn abomination." The god of warmented with his hands crossed on his chest. He gave the goddess a smirk.


    The goddess of beauty frowned and red at the man. "I don''t care. I want that man gone before he destroys all the other worlds. Are you really going to let him be?" She looked around and saw them averting their gazes and whispering to each other.


    Some of them hadn''t experienced what she had to go through. Their worlds were safe and she couldn''t help but be frustrated because of their reaction. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as their whispers and gazes became more and more annoying in her eyes.


    "Let''s see if all of you would still be smiling if that man destroys your world. I hope he does so that your arrogance will disappear." She stood straight and gave them all a smirk.


    The other gods couldn''t help but gasp at her statement. They couldn''t believe that she would be able to say those words. After the initial surprise, the gods started to frown at her. They knew the consequence of losing a world but the other shouldn''t have said those words because she looked like she was cursing them.


    "Enough," a deep voice interfered and calmed the heating atmosphere. All eyes looked towards the door and saw someone they hadn''t seen for a very long time.


    "You are back, Kreyat!" The god of war stood up and went to hug the other. Amongst the gods, he was the one who was closest to the god of creation.


    "Yes," Kreyat patted the others back before sweeping a look at the gods who were gathered in that room.


    Freyon backed away and gestured for the god to take a seat. He then returned to his seat to wait for a good show. Now that the god of creation was back, everything will be alright once again and they would be able to n their next move.


    "You are finally here!" The goddess of beauty eximed and they could all see the sparkle in her eyes as she looked at the god of creation.


    They all knew that Kreyat was a handsome man, with his cold demeanor and clear eyes, anyone who would see him would definitely fall in love. This time the goddess of beauty was no exception. She was a new god and only encountered the god of creation when he gave her a world she would manage and yet she was already head over heels for him.


    "Yes, I needed to end my seclusion as the news reached me. Indeed, we need to deal with him but we also need to know who amongst the high ranked demons made a contract with him. After that we can formte a n to kill him." Kreyat looked around him and saw that all of them were in agreement with him.

 Chapter 399 The demon king

    Chapter 399 The demon king


    There was a bit of silence before finally a sentence caught their attention. It was from someone who was usually silent but now she was speaking. Because of this, the gods suddenly became attentive since she was one of the major gods.


    "I have a clue as to who amongst them made a contract with him," the goddess of healing''s soft voice was carried through the wind.


    Several pairs of eyes went to her. She raised her hand and tucked a stray strand of golden hair that shines even without the sun behind her ear. Her golden eyes made contact with the god of creation''s ck ones.


    She gave the man a soft smile before she spoke again. "He is not an ordinary ranked demon. With the help of my heroes who responded to the wounded and destruction, the traces of magic he used were notmon even in the demon world. They''ve interrogated the demons they captured and found some clues which made me realize who it was."


    The atmosphere inside the room became tense as they waited for the goddess''s words. They couldn''t wait to know who would dare to go against them. Even if he was not an ordinary ranked demon, they would still be able to deal with him.


    "It''s the demon king." She dropped the news and it made the room silent. The surprise in the faces of the gods couldn''t be exined with words.


    Nobody expected this piece of news. Their eyes then went to the god of creation. He too was surprised because all this time he thought that the demon was only high ranked.


    "So that is the case. Then that exins his ability to cross worlds. How ironic, I did not think that the demon king himself would extend his hands and join the fray." The god of creation leaned back on his chair and started to tap the table.


    "Are we really sure that it is the demon king?" The god of wisdom asked because he was skeptical of the information. Although the news came from the goddess of healing, they still need to verify it.


    Kreyat looked at the god of wisdom, "That is why I want you to investigate this matter more deeply. If it turns out that this man indeed formed a contract with the demon king then we will have a difficult time dealing with him."


    The god of wisdom nodded at themand. He would make sure that no information will be left out from his investigation. He can''t let that demon y then like a fool. "I understand. I will bring back the news as soon as I can."


    "Now that we have a clue, we will need to make our heroes alert. Don''t let them ck off." The directmand from the god of creation earned nods from the other gods. "And as for you," he looked at the goddess of beauty, "stopining because we are doing what we can to defeat ourmon enemy."


    The goddess of beauty frowned but she had no choice. She nodded and left with the other gods. Although she was indignant for getting ignored and getting told off, she held it in. Kreyat looked at the back of the goddess before he looked at the god of war.


    "Monitor that woman," were his only words. Freyon understood the god of creation''s intention and he too would do the same.


    "The goddess of beauty has be a bit unstable and I am afraid that something might happen to her." The goddess of seas gave a sympathetic look at the direction where the woman disappeared to.


    "She''s too arrogant for her own good." The god of wisdom answered and the rest agreed. Arrogance would only bring them downfall and with that temper of hers it wouldn''t be a surprise if she would be tainted.


    Meanwhile in the demon realm, a man sat on a throne made up of bones. He was currently listening to the report of one of his subordinates. He had his eyes closed as he listened and it left the subordinate in a state of unease. He was not sure if the demon king was actually listening to him.


    "Stop trembling and continue with your report." The demon king''s voice echoed in the spacious and dark throne room.


    The subordinate forced himself to stop and continued with his report. After everything was said, he finally rxed and waited for the king''sments or words. Seconds and minutes passed by but the king remained silent.


    "Your majesty?" The subordinated called out in a trembling voice. He did not know if the king was actually awake or sleeping because he was not moving.


    "Leave," was the answer he got. With thatmand the subordinate left. After the demon left, the door to the side of the throne room near the dark throne opened and a man entered with bat wings on his back.


    The man also had horns that were protruding from his forehead. His long ck hair reached his waste and this pale skin was a stark contrast to the dark clothes he was wearing. He walked towards the king and coughed a few times to get his attention.


    "What is it?" The demon king asked. He opened his eyes and looked at his right-hand man who was looking at him with a serious look on his face.


    "I received news that the gods are investigating the demon who made a contract with Cygnus Altair," he answered. He looked down at the documents he was holding and passed them to the king.


    The demon king browsed through the report and burned it right there and then. He stood up and stretched out his arms above his head. He then walked down from the tform and the demon followed behind.


    "They''rete. I thought they would investigate the moment a person like Cygnus would appear but I gave them too much merit." He chuckled while shaking his head. He started to hum as they traversed the distance between his throne and the door of the hall.


    He suddenly stopped from walking and looked at the distance that they still needed to walk. His right-hand man also stopped and asked. "What is the matter, your majesty?"


    "Don''t you think that this distance is quite exhausting?" He pointed at the throne and at the door. "I think I should get this ce renovated."


    After that, they continued walking. When they got out of the throne room, they went to the demon king''s study. The space was quite small but it was packed with so many things that there wasn''t enough room to walk around. He took a seat on the vacant couch before he looked at the demon beside him.


    "Shall we stop them from their investigation?" The right-hand demon asked after the king settled on his seat.


    The demon king shook his head, "No. Let them do whatever they want and I don''t have any intentions of hiding my identity from them. It would be better that they know who they are dealing with that way I get to see how they would react."


    The demon king was grinning and it sent shivers to his right-hand man''s spine. Even though he was a demon himself there were times that the demon king would exude this aura that would incite fear to the people around him. He nodded at the king''s words because everything he would say were equivalent tomands.


    "I understand, your majesty. Is that all?" The demon asked. The king did not answer as he looked like he was thinking about it. The demon had no choice but to wait.


    After a while, the demon king finally dismissed his right-hand demon. He was left alone and he took that chance to check up on Cygnus. A grin graced his face when he saw what the other was doing. He was indeed the right match for him. Killing came natural to him.


    "After that, why don''t you have a talk with me? I''ve got some news for you." He uttered through his mind and that made the young man stop for a moment. He then saw a nod from Cygnus.

 Chapter 400 Convinced

    Chapter 400 Convinced


    The demon king waited and once the once sided killing was done Cygnus finally had the time to sit and talk. He thenid down and closed his eyes. Talking with the demon king was a rare urrence so he needed to pay attention.


    "What news is it?" Cygnus asked through his mind. Although he looked like he was sleeping, he was actually talking to the demon king.


    "The gods had taken an interest in you and of course at your demon contractor." The demon king answered with a smile on his face and Cygnus could already picture it.


    He had never seen the demon king and would only talk to him once in a blue moon. All those times though, it was him who would contact him because there was no way for Cygnus to contact the demon king. He hummed at the information.


    "That''s not entirely a bad thing. But are you okay with being found out?" Cygnus asked out of the blue which made the demon kingugh.


    He did not expect that question toe out from the young man''s mouth. "Are you worrying about me now? I''m fine with it, I want to see their next move once they find out that I am indeed the one behind you."


    Cygnus was silent for a moment after listening to the demon king. He thought that the gods were ignoring him but he was wrong. Maybe the reason why there were more and more heroesing after him was because the gods already knew about him. He suddenly grinned at the knowledge that the gods finally noticed him.


    The demon kingughed at the grin on his contractee''s face. This was the reason why he decided to lend his power to the man. He was a perfect host. "You are really enjoying this."


    Cygnus chuckled. "Who wouldn''t. I''ve been waiting for this time, for those bastards to finally notice me and now it is happening."


    "Will you continue on this path then?" The demon king could already guess the answer but he still wanted to hear it from the man''s mouth.


    "I will." His determination earned him recognition from the demon king.


    After that conversation, Cygnus continued in his path of destroying everything the gods built. It became his ultimate goal. He did not stop. Worlds were conquered and at the end destroyed by his hands.


    His next destination was a ce where mythical creatures were living. It was a world where the mountains stretched towards the horizon. The rivers were wide and with crystal clear water flowing from it. It was teeming with underwater life. The main river branched out into different directions. It was a magnificent view as there were also prairies where different creatures were living.


    Although it was a world dominated with dragons, fairies, sirens and mermaids, werewolves, vampires and others, there were still small human settlements. Each race followed a different god. Cygnus looked down at this world with a grin because he would be harvesting much.


    He floated down and used magic to hide himself as he walked around. It took him days to finally grasp how the system was working in that world. The dominating race were dragons as they followed the god of war. They were the most powerful creatures in that world.


    Humans and the others were afraid of them. Upon knowing this, the dragons started to assert their dominance against the other creatures. Cygnus chuckled after knowing this. Dragons were very tempting and it would be a good idea if he would have a subordinate of their caliber.


    He did not do anything while he stayed there. He enjoyed watching them struggle against a power that was out of their reach. The suffering of those creatures did not bother him until a rumor reached his ear.


    In the far north of that world, a single ck dragon lived. ording to the stories, he was an outcast that the other dragons did not want to associate with. First was because of his unusual color and what it signifies. ck was an ominous color in that ce and a dragon born with it was even more dangerous.


    Because it was their kin, they couldn''t kill it and instead threw him in the deste north where no nt nor animals thrived. It was barren and dark. During the nights, the cracks on the ground would glow red and orange as the magma from underneath the surface rises.


    This was the main reason why nothing was able to survive in that ce. The ground during the day was hot and it was even hotter during the night. For a dragon that just hatched from an egg, it would definitely not survive. And yet after years, the dragon remained alive.


    It managed toe out from that ce stronger than before. During his whole stay in that ce, he continuously absorbed the violent mana from the magma flowing beneath the ground. It was a talent that he was born with and it manifested during its time of need.


    Even so, it became even more difficult for him because all it wanted was to be with the other dragons or the other creatures. The first time it ventured beyond that destend, it was shunned and feared then it came to a point where he was hunted. It ran for his life and the dragons he thought that would defend him joined the hunt.


    It returned to that destend and remained there. Even if that was the case, the other inhabitants of that world became wary of him. Cygnus couldn''t help but be captivated by the story. With his mind set, the man went north towards that fearednd.


    Thend of the north was vast but all one could see was an empty vastness. He did not even know where the dragon was. Cygnus shrugged his shoulders at that time as he started to walk around. It took him a day to finally feel the presence of the dragon that had been following him.


    Noticing that the man stopped, the dragon pped its wings andnded behind the man. It growled to warn Cygnus but he was not affected. The dragon stopped after a few growls as he transformed into its human form.


    "What are you doing here human?" The dragon''s voice was deep and whole. "No, you are not human." He shook his head as he was assessing the man.


    Cygnus turned around and faced the dragon. The dragon has deep ck eyes and midnight hair that reached his neck. Even his skin wasn''t pale like the other creatures he saw, he was a bit tanned. He was practically not wearing anything except for a dark pair of pants.


    "I came to take a look at the infamous ck dragon they were all talking about." Cygnus ced his hands behind his back and stood straight while looking at the human form of the dragon.


    The dragon narrowed his eyes at the person in front of him before he smirked. "You aren''t from here. I knew everyone outside of this deste ce. Who are you and why do I smell a curseing from you?"


    The dragon was not in the mood to answer the man. He was more interested in giving out the questions. The dragon started to observe the person in front of him. He even had the courage to get near him and float around him.


    "Now, I am sure. You smell like those filthy demons that started to appear in these ins." The dragon floated back with that statement.


    Cygnus grinned. "I didn''t know that dragons are like dogs." He tilted his head to the side as his grin widened.


    "Don''tpare me to those lesser beings!" The dragon roared. Heunched a wave of fire that could melt even metal towards Cygnus but the man was unmoved.


    Cygnus raised his hand and sliced down at the wave of fire. It dissipated and only the smoke was proof that he was attacked. The dragon was astonished but he did not show it on his face. The man was not ordinary.


    "I''m sure that he is angry right now because you areparing him to those lowly demons who only knew how to mess around." Cygnus retracted his hand and looked at his palm and then at the back of his hand to make sure that no dirt was on it.


    The ck dragon had noment regarding the man''s statement. Instead, he floated back a bit more. He wanted to maintain the distance between them. After that attack that he did, he could already grasp the difference in their power.


    "Where are you going?" Cygnus appeared behind the dragon. He did not even feel the man''s presence.


    "What do you want?" The dragon did not try to run because he already knew that he couldn''t get away from the man.


    "I heard that you are an outcast and I just so happened to be looking for apanion that will join me in my adventure," Cygnus answered before he leaned a bit towards the dragon''s ears, "I could even help you kill all those who shunned and hunted you."


    There was silence as the dragon started to consider the other''s offer. It was very tempting as he couldn''t contain the anger in his heart anymore. Thinking of those days that he was shunned and nearly died because of how he looked, his fists clenched tightly.

 Chapter 401 The dragon

    Chapter 401 The dragon


    "And why would I believe you? You''re just a foreigner in this ce and you say that you can help me? Why would you even help me kill them?" The dragon turned around to look at the man whose grin hadn''t disappeared from his face.


    "Just because I could do it, besides this world is already rotten to the core. Why would they discriminate against a powerful being like you? And why would you let them do this kind of thing to you when you are a dragon, the most powerful being in this world." Cygnus stretched out his hand to his side as he floated in the air.


    A sinister force could be felting from the man. It was something that the dragon hadn''t felt before. The deste in was already dark and yet because of the man''s presence it felt even darker and more sinister.


    "It''s not that simple. There''s more, am I correct?" The dragon was skeptical. Why would someone suddenly give him that offer?


    He believed that the man had other motives in trying to enlist him in his so-called adventure. Cygnus''s grin was saying a lot more even without him speaking. The was also a glint in his eyes that made the dragon think about his other motive.


    "Since you will be my subordinate I will tell you," Cygnus answered. He returned his hands behind his back.


    The dragon did not refute his words and instead waited for him to say his piece. Listening to him might convince the dragon. He was already tempted so it would be easier to get the dragon by his side if he would tell him the truth.


    "I destroy worlds that the gods cherished so much. It is my revenge for the death of everyone dear to me." He said it so calmly that the dragon felt fear from the innocent face of the man who was coolly floating before him.


    "Are you going to destroy this world too?" The dragon asked again. He already anticipated the answer but the urge to ask was still there.


    "You won''t believe me if I told you that I won''t. Besides, this world is a world dedicated to the god of war, so I must destroy it." He did not hide his intention.


    The dragon nodded his head. He looked around at the destend where he grew up. It was a lonely ce but it was his home for hundreds of years now. He looked back at the man who was waiting for his answer.


    "Then I would ept your offer," the dragon decided. Maybe this was a sign that he needed to move and do something about his ridiculously boring life.


    His gaze once againnded on the man as he thought that the adventures with this man would surely be fun. He also wanted to see how the man would challenge those gods. He reached out his hand and Cygnus epted it.


    "Since you epted my offer, why don''t we make a pact?" Cygnus suddenly suggested which took the dragon aback.


    A pact would mean that he would be bound to the man and he to him. It wasn''t unusual though as he could smell the scent of a demon in him. This must also be to ensure that he would not betray the man.


    "I''ll take you on that once I see what you can do." Although he agreed to join him, the dragon wasn''t so keen on forming a pact that could bind him.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes but he understood. A dragon''s pride will not let them bow their heads to anyone they deem lower than them. This was not the right time yet and he could just patiently wait until the dragon came to him willingly.


    "Alright then," Cygnus nodded his head. He then turned around and started to float away from the dragon.


    "Where are you going?" The dragon was suddenly confused at his action. He thought that the man would convince him.


    "I''m going to show what I can do." Cygnus looked and grinned at the dragon.


    The ck dragon followed behind as he was curious as to what the man meant. While they were floating towards the exit of thatnd, the dragon finally thought of asking the man his name. He forgot to ask and even introduce himself.


    "My name is Cygnus Altair," Cygnus introduced himself.


    The dragon looked at him because he answered his question even with him not voicing it out yet. "I''m Ignius." He shrugged it off and introduced himself too.


    Cygnus suddenly stopped and looked at the man with a grin on his face. Ignius was taken aback and couldn''t help but gulp because of how the man was looking at him. He took a deep breath and when he finally heard what Cygnus wanted to say, he was dumbfounded.


    "Do you want to try saying my name?" Cygnus asked. He wanted to know if the curse in his name could affect a dragon. He knew that anyone who would say his name would die but all of those who said it were humans. Not even those who had written his name were able to live.


    "Why would I do that?" Ignius was confused as to why the man was asking him to say his name. He wanted to say no but the eager look in Cygnus''s eyes stopped him from doing so. "Alright," he sighed, "Cy-" he stopped and looked at the man.


    Before he could evenpletely say the name, he could already feel a burning sensation in his throat. The metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth. He then started coughing out blood that fell to the hot ground.


    "W-what happened?" He asked in a stuttering voice while he was regting his breathing and the amount of blood that wasing out from his mouth.


    He thought it was done but then his body started to feel hot and it became unbearable. It was like the insides of his body were being burned. Ignius lost his bnce as he fell to the ground. He was wheezing and coughing as he knelt there.


    Cygnus also lowered himself and stood in front of the dragon. "I was just testing how a dragon will react as they take the curse in my name." He was looking down at the dragon with fascination in his eyes.


    Ignius looked up and saw that the man''s eyes were no longer ck but as red as blood. The glint in them was real and full of joy because of his suffering. He lowered his head while he was holding his neck to ease the pain.


    After a while, the effects of the curse slowly disappeared and he could now easily breath. He inhaled and exhaled a few times before he could finally stand up and face the man who remained silent. Ignius looked him in the eye and this time he did not avert his gaze.


    "I''ll remember not to carelessly say your name in the future." Ignius wiped the remaining blood on his lips and flew first. He was not in the mood to talk to the man after what happened. If he was not a dragon, he might have exploded right there and then.


    They reached a certain forest after they left the destend which was Ignius''s territory. The dragon looked at it and at a whiff, he could already tell that werewolves were living in that ce. Amongst the dwellers of that world, werewolves were one of the most vicious groups that existed.


    They would raid the territories of the different ns and take them for themselves. They pride themselves with their agility and strength. It would be a bloodbath once they move as a pack. Ignius heard once that they raided a territory of the fairies and destroyed it.


    "What are you going to do in this ce?" Ignius asked as he looked around. He could already feel the presence of the wolves getting nearer to where they were.


    "I just find them annoying. They''re so rowdy and they think that they owned the whole ce. My rest has been disturbed by them so many times already. So, I should teach them a lesson and this will also be my chance to show you what I can do." Cygnus grinned while the dragon only looked at him.


    After a few minutes, werewolves were already surrounding them. They bothnded on the ground and looked around. From what the dragon could tell, there would be at least a hundred werewolves there right now. They were all growling and baring their fangs at them.


    From behind one of the trees, a man emerged and walked towards them. His steps were full of swagger and the look in his eyes was full of judgment. There was also a smirk on his face as he casually ced both of his hands on his pockets. His gait really screamed arrogance.


    "Well, well, well. Look at what we have here, the infamous ck dragon." The man who stepped outughed followed by the other werewolves who were still hidden behind the thick bushes and trees. "Why would an esteemed dragon suddenly visit our territory?" The mocking in his voice couldn''t be hidden.

 Chapter 402 Versus an Alpha

    Chapter 402 Versus an Alpha


    Ignius shrugged. He was already used to it and besides he was not the one who wanted to be there. He just followed the man beside him. "I''m just here to watch. This person beside me wants to have a word with you all. Heined that you were all rowdy and uncultured."


    The man looked at the person beside the dragon and gave him a look form head to toe. He snorted and looked back at the werewolves who were with him. He then startedughing and so did the other werewolves.


    "Are you sure you want toin?" His gaze was now on Cygnus who still had a smile on his face.


    "Yes," was his simple answer. The dragon already started it so there''s no other way to go around it.


    Another round ofughter echoed in the forest because of the answer from Cygnus. "Really? You looked really weak though." The manmented. If there was a worthy opponent in there, it would be the ck dragon.


    Ignius looked at Cygnus to see if he was really weak and to his surprise, he could not smell the demons in him right now. He smelled like an ordinary human. Add to that the fact that he looked weak and his body build wasn''t that muscr.


    He then looked at the werewolf who wasughing and shook his head. If he could smell the man''s original scent, he would surely hesitate to challenge Cygnus. The dragon grinned and couldn''t wait to see the werewolves begging for their lives.


    "What are youughing at?" The werewolf saw that the dragon was looking at them with a grin and he even shook his head.


    "I just couldn''t wait to see your reaction." Ignius finally couldn''t help himself as heughed. His wings then appeared from his back as he flew up. "Good luck!" He gave them a salute before he stopped midair and retracted his wings.


    The werewolf gave the dragon a look before he focused his gaze on the man who was standing not far away from him. "Alright then, let''s see what you got. I just hope that you won''t die easily."


    Without further ado, the werewolf attacked without even transforming. He had his fist clenched as he rushed forward to punch Cygnus. The man looked at the oing fist in slow motion before he stepped to the side to dodge the attack.


    The werewolf was surprised but he did not let it appear on his face. He continued to attack now with both of his hands but Cygnus was able to dodge them all. The punches were explosive and it even made a ''swooshing'' sound but all of this did not matter to Cygnus.


    "Is that all you got? If you want to hit me, you should be faster than that." A whisper sounded beside the werewolf''s ears before Cygnus disappeared and returned in front of him.


    A loud growl came from the werewolf before he finally transformed to his massive form. He stood on all fours at about five feet and his chocte brown fur softly swayed dominantly. He howled before he focused his gaze at Cygnus who was also looking at him.


    Cygnus was not wrong, the man was of Alpha level but this Alpha was a bit weak. He was indeed huge and intimidating but it did nothing to the man. He waited for the werewolf to attack. Therge wolf rushed forward and opened its jaws with every intention of biting through Cygnus''s skin.


    Cygnus waited for the wolf to get near before he held both of his upper and lower jaw. The wolf stopped and started to struggle but no matter how he tried, he could not get away from the man''s grip. The wolf tried to scratch the man using his ws but Cygnus easily dodge them.


    With a grin on his face, Cygnus gripped the jaws tighter and started to pull it apart. In one swift motion, he tore apart the Alpha wolf in two. Blood sttered on the ground and on the trees that were surrounding them. Ignius whistled at what he witnessed.


    The other werewolves growled and suddenly attacked after theirrade was defeated. Sharp ws and fangs were all aiming at him. Cygnus clenched his fists and started to punch them hard. He would also kick the wolves and send them hitting the nearby trees. His movements were extremely fast and almost invisible to the eye.


    The werewolves had no time to take care of theirrades because their enemy was faster than them. Their supposed to be organized movements became more and more sloppy. They lost coordination and Cygnus took this chance to utterly destroy them. After almost thirty minutes, Cygnus threw thest body on the ground.


    Ignius gentlynded beside the man covering his nose. The stench of blood was overwhelming as he looked around. He then looked at Cygnus and nodded his head at him.


    "So, what do you think?" Cygnus asked. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and slowly wiped his hand. The white cloth was dyed red after he thoroughly wiped his fingers.


    "Impressive," the dragon grinned. He enjoyed watching the werewolves getting destroyed and he came to the conclusion that the man was telling the truth. "Are you going to stop here?" he asked.


    Cygnus raised his head as his eyes focused in front of the dark forest that lies ahead of them. He could already feel that they were not alone. The other werewolves were already on their way and he did not intend to back out. He would finish what he had started.


    "I won''t." He grinned. He stretched out his right hand towards the front and snapped his fingers.


    An invisible force traversed the distance from where they stood towards the not yet visible enemy who wereing their way. A straight line was carved on the ground with the bushes and trees getting destroyed along the path where the force passed through. Howls and growls echoed from the dark forest and after that there was silence.


    The dragon could only stare at the destruction that man''s power caused. He did not see anything but he felt the darkness behind it. His mana was tainted and yet it was not. It was a contrast and he could definitely use it to his advantage.


    As they waited, the rustling of the leaves and the sound of tree branches breaking got louder and louder. Several shadows appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. An invisible force blocked the attacks and pushed them back. When the shadowsnded, they were actually wolves.


    Both of them stood there unbothered despite the appearance of the other werewolves. Not from the wolves who attacked them stood a man. Cygnus could feel that he was an Alpha but different from the first he fought. He could tell that he was powerful.


    Before they could act, the wolves were attacking again. Aside from the first group that attacked them, several groups also appeared from behind the trees and attacked them too. Ignius showed his wings and pped it with vigor. The wind created from his wings deterred the wolves and stopped them mid-air.


    Cygnus wasn''t idle as he covered him and Ignius in a swirling ck mana. He then crossed his hands in front of him and suddenly stretched it out forcing the ck mana to widen and transform into needles that attacked the werewolves. There were whimpers and howls after the counterattack that Cygnus did.


    Once the ck fog that appeared from the attack dissipated, wolves were all lying on the ground. There were ck spots on their bodies that were slowly spreading out. The wolves who managed to avoid the needles looked in apprehension at theirrades who were down. They then looked at the man, more vicious than before.


    Without any words, the wolves were on the move once again. They started to circle the both of them and were attacked by the group. They did not attack all at once. Cygnus looked at the alpha who was watching from the back.


    He dodged a w that was swiping towards his direction and as he somersaulted, he did not forget to release his own attack. A wall of his ck mana cut through the group of wolves who were aiming at him. This wall reached all the way towards where the alpha was standing.


    "Are you sure that you will continue standing there?" He infused his voice with mana and sent the message to the alpha.


    Cygnusnded and as his feet touched the ground his ck mana was released once again and this time, it was in the form of a pointed shaft that reached high. Several wolves were pierced through at the sudden attack. Even the ground was scorched and turned ck after Cygnus released his mana.


    All of the wolves who were aiming to kill them died. Cygnus did not stop there as he shed in front of the alpha. He easily got him by the neck. His hand tightened around the man''s neck as he had the full intention of killing him.


    The alpha did not make any sounds and in an instant, he transformed into his lycan form. A form that only true alphas could take. The man was now at least seven feet tall with a big body and deadly ws. The lycan lunged forward with his w raised above as he swiped down.

 Chapter 403 This is war

    Chapter 403 This is war


    Cygnus grinned. With bare hands, he parried the attack and gripped the lycan''s ws. He then made a circr motion and twisted the lycan before lifting him up and mming him on the ground. A crack appeared on the ground but Cygnus did not stop there.


    With his free hand, he used it to deliver a palm attack full of ck mana towards the lycan''s body. A crack could be heard as the lycan''s bones were shattered because of the attack. Cygnus had a smile before he let the lycan go.


    He kneeled on the ground and lowered his head towards the lycan. "This is your end." In seconds, Cygnus had a beating heart on his hand before he crushed it without a second thought.


    After that incident, he and Ignius went around and destroyed everything they could in that ursed ce. They challenged every supernatural n and finally faced the dragons. They were indeed the rulers of that world as they caused quite the destruction during their fight.


    The battle onlysted for a day and yet that world was already half destroyed. Cygnus was sitting on top of the dragon pce with his feet hoisted up and his right arm resting on his knees. He looked like he was thinking as he gazed at the bodies of dragons scattered below.


    Igniusnded beside him and looked down too. "What''s your next n now?" Ignius asked after they were finished.


    "Destroy more worlds. The gods are already sending people after me and I''m sure that that man is currently having the time of his life." He casually answered before he stood up and started to stretch his limbs.


    "Why don''t we wrap it here and give the god of war more problems." He looked back and grinned at the dragon.


    "What are you going to do?" The dragon wrinkled his brows while looking at the man.


    While he was confused, a ck space appeared before him. It was swirling and one couldn''t see anything from it. Ignius looked with confusion in his face.


    "I''m just going to make sure that this world won''t be livable anymore. I''ll make sure that the god of war won''t be able to use this world anymore." After that statement, Cygnus did not hesitate to release an insane amount of ck mana that poured towards the dragon territory.


    This ck mana seeped through the ground and slowly infected the whole of that world. The greeneries turned ck and even the magma that was flowing underneath the ground cooled and died down. Ignius was shocked at what happened and at how potent the ck mana was.


    Cygnus did not stop there though. The bodies of the dragons that were killed were slowly coated with his ck mana until they turned into a ck pill that returned to Cygnus''s hands. He grinned and looked at the dragon.


    He stretched out his hand and offered one pill to Ignius. "Do you want some? This pill will make you even stronger. It contains the mana and power of the dragons you killed."


    Starting from there, both dragon and human traveled through different worlds. They''ve managed to create a group of people who were loyal and ready to destroy the world for their master.


    ----


    Finally, the band of heroes were formed after waiting for them to gather. Renzo looked at the group and was pleased. He then looked at the priests and at the pope who were there to send them off. He bowed as a show of gratitude before he pulled the reins on his horse.


    They traveled day and night to reach Lunaira in the shortest period but the moment they reached the border to the kingdom, they were shocked at what they saw. The once prosperous ce that was full of vibrant color was dyed ck. Not one nt could be seen from that vast stretch ofnd.


    "No! No!" Renzo alighted from his horse. He slowly walked towards thend that was once his kingdom. Before he could cross the border though, a hand pulled him back. He looked back and saw that one of the heroes shook his head.


    "That ce is full of ck mana. Look," he pointed at a certain spot and there was indeed a concentration of ck mana in there, "this kind of mana is deadly, we need to be careful."


    The man looked back and gave one of the heroes a nod. The woman who was wearing a white cape and held a staff on her hand raised her staff and mumbled in incantation. The rest of her staff shined and covered them all. A protectiveyer of divine light covered all of them and their horses.


    After that they continued on their journey. The destruction along their way caused some of them to get angry and felt apprehension. If they couldn''t destroy this evil, their kingdom might end up like Lunaira. Their resolve solidified and unified. They couldn''t lose.


    Cygnus, who was in the pce, felt the presence of several people who entered the kingdom. He opened his eyes and saw that his men were ready for battle. Heughed when he saw the eager look on the face of the people who had followed him for so long.


    "Alright, I''ll let you go all out." Cygnus waved his hand and the men left the pce to bring a grand wee for their visitors.


    As there was nothing that was obscuring the vision of the heroes, they could finally see the capital of Lunaira in shambles. No structure was left standing and there was the smell of death in the air. They traveled for another three days after they entered the kingdom to finally reach the capital only to be weed with its state of destion.


    With how silent the whole ce was, they could already surmise that no humans have survived. Even the ce where they passed through had no signs of people, only destroyed towns and viges. There was nothing left.


    Before they could even mourn for the lost lives, a deafening roar echoed above them followed by arge shadow that covered a great expanse of the sky. They all looked up and saw that an enormous dragon was flying above them followed by its mighty fire breath that was directed towards them.


    The woman who casted a protective spell around them did not flinch. She raised a barrier around them that protected them from the destructive fire. Ignius saw that they managed to survive his fire so he flew higher and disappeared from their sight.


    Once the fire was out, they could now remove the barrier and take a good look at their surroundings. Not far from them several people were standing and were looking at them. Renzo immediately recognized some of them.


    "They''re here." With these words only, the heroes who were with him were already ready to attack.


    "Wee to our domain. We were sent by our master to wee you all and make each one of you suffer in the name of the gods you serve. Killing you all will be our utmost pleasure!" Nina bowed to them like how a prince does before he takes the hand of a princess for a dance.


    No words came from the side of the heroes. They were not a fan of such fancy and over the top presentations. They would rather fight them now than to listen to their nonsense.


    "This means that the master is not here." One of the heroes stated, which made Ninaugh.


    "Why would our master be here? We would rather have him sit on his throne and watch us destroy you people." She answered while flipping a strand of her hair.


    "Then, we will force him out!" One of the heroes dered.

 Chapter 404 Archangel

    Chapter 404 Archangel


    That served as a signal for the start of the battle. The heroes started to attack Nina and her group. Chaos ensued and the already destroyed kingdom started to suffer for the second time. Each one from Cygnus''s group was facing a different hero.


    Ignius was flying above them and watching the progress of the fight. He was curious as to how those heroes could win. Cygnus did the same while he was in the throne room. As usual, he had his handy holographic screen that showed him how the fight was going.


    He was snuggly seated on his throne and silently observing what was happening outside. After a while, his eyes narrowed because of how boring the fight was. His people were winning at the beginning but they were suddenly being pushed back.


    He tapped at the holographic screen and a magic circle appeared below the battlefield. It shined red and it caught the heroes off guard. Demons started to pour out from the gate that appeared below them after the red light disappeared. The heroes looked with wide eyes at how many demons started to attack them.


    Nina smirked. He looked at those who were with her and nodded to them. Astrophos, who decided to join them, casted a wide-ranged ice magic that created a blizzard and confused the heroes. This gave the demons a chance tond their attacks on the heroes.


    From the back, the woman who was a healer, raised her hands and poured out divine magic above that he condensed into small soft balls like snow and let it fell on the ground. Once these balls touched the skin of the demons, they started burning and turning into ash.


    "Ah, what a very useful skill." Cygnus mumbled to himself as he watched what happened to the demons he summoned. "Nina, why don''t you deal with that woman first?" He suddenly spoke into thin air but Nina''s reaction was instant.


    At the battlefield, Nina was busy exploding the heroes and their summoned beasts, as there was someone among them who could summon creatures, when she heard themand. She looked forward and saw the woman.


    Nina sted herself towards the healer and threw some of her bombs towards her. The purple explosives did as was expected but there was no damage on the woman. The healer was able to protect herself from the surprise attack andunch an attack of hers.


    The healer sent out several golden arrows which Nina easily dodged. She twirled from side to side and made a summersault in the air to evade the attack. The golden arrows hit the ground and exploded into divine light that further reduced the numbers of the demons that were summoned.


    "Nice!" Nina eximed as she looked back at the damage that the attack caused. "I never knew that a healer could attack like that."


    "I could do even more than that." The healer raised her staff and above Nina a made out of divine mana fell down sessfully trapping her.


    Ninaughed as she covered her body with a purple man to be protected from the divine around her. Because she made a pact with the master, she was also vulnerable to any attacks with divinity in it. With the purple mana coating her, she managed to lessen the impact of the restricting power on her.


    "I also have tricks hidden under my sleeves," she grinned while looking at the woman, "you''ll need to pardon me for attempting to desecrate your body."


    A series of purple light that formed perpendicr, horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines appeared from every direction and surrounded the healer. She was startled by it and idently stepped back only to hit one of the lines. The line turned into an explosive and exploded on the spot.


    This explosion triggered the other lines and created an even bigger explosion. It turned out that Nina didn''t only set those lines around the healer. She also scattered them around the battlefield and made sure to activate them once one of the lines were triggered.


    Explosions filled the whole area and it created a lot of dust cover that gave the demons and herrades tounch an attack. This attack also sessfully created confusion among the heroes because they were caught off guard. The around Nina also disappeared and she let out augh.


    "You know, I like using these kinds of tricks because it gives me the satisfaction of getting to see the reaction of my enemies when they get caught off guard." Nina was floating forward to where the healer was while saying those words.


    A sh of gold light was suddenly shot out from behind the cloud of smoke, luckily Nina was able to evade it. She looked back at the gold light that disappeared before she smirked andunched herself forward in an incredible speed. She urately held the woman''s neck.


    "You tried but you failed." Nina dered as her grip tightened around the woman''s neck.


    The healer suffered an injury from the attack and now she was struggling to take in air because of how tight the hand was gripping her neck. Her staff fell to the ground as she focused on getting the hand loosen but she was unsessful. She could already feel her strength dwindling every second.


    Before Nina could even totally crush her neck, a sh of light appeared and hit her without warning. Blood started to ooze out from the wound she got from that sh of light. It passed through her right arm and it made her even step back. The dust finally disappeared and what appeared before Nina was something she hadn''t encountered before.


    Cygnus burst out inughter when he saw what it was that joined the fight. It was arge entity in the form of an angel with four wings. It had a bow and arrow in its hands and it was coldly looking at Nina. Now Nina knew who it was that injured her and she did not even feel its presence.


    "To be able to summon such an entity to join the battle, the gods are getting more and more generous in this fight." Cygnus mumbled to himself just as Linius entered the throne room. He did not join the fight because he was tasked to guard the entrance of the castle.


    "What is that? I haven''t seen something like that before." Linius asked after he stood up beside the master and his eyes were drawn to the battle that was happening.


    "That is what they call an archangel that the gods raised. It''s a weapon they use to punish those who go against them. I encountered one once but after that they haven''t sent one to fight me." He answered while his gaze was fixed on the entity that was standing arrogantly in the battlefield. "I guess they''re bringing all their archangels in this fight. Raising an archangel is not easy."


    "If that''s the case then, this battle might turn out as a disadvantage to us." Liniusmented.


    He saw how the archangel easily made the skies rain with divine arrows that instantly destroyed all the demons and simultaneously injured the men under Cygnus''smand. Even the dragon in the sky was injured because of the divine arrows. These arrows did not hurt the heroes and only damaged the side of their enemy.


    "Not necessarily," Cygnus waved his hand and a dark hole appeared behind Nina, "let''s send one of the archdukes to deal with it."


    From behind the woman, something dark appeared and it was holding a long sword on its hand. It was asrge as the archangel that stood like the size of a giant. Unlike the archangel, the archduke has a pair of bat wings behind its back and it was wearing a helmet that covered its face.

 Chapter 405 The beginning

    Chapter 405 The beginning


    The archduke turned into a wisp of smoke and appeared above the archangel with its sword raised. The archduke sliced down and the archangel used its bow to block the attack. It then pushed and swung the bow which caused the archduke to be pushed back. The archangel did not miss a beat as it loaded the bow with an arrow and released it at a terrifying speed.


    The archduke materialized a shield that protected it from the arrows. The appearance of these entities threw the battlefield into disarray. They didn''t know where to hide as the attacks that wereing from both entities were causing extensive damage.


    "Don''t mind those things and concentrate on killing all those heroes. They won''t send any more of those in a while. If they will, the next target would be me." Cygnusmanded his men.


    After themand, they did not falter and continued their assault towards the heroes. The fighting continued even with the entities almost obstructing their way. The exchange between the heroes and their enemies became even more extensive and destructive.


    "We will only be stuck here. We need to reach the pce and kill the boss." One of them looked at their leader.


    The leader looked at the direction of the pce then he whistled and got the attention of Renzo. "Let''s proceed to the castle." He pointed at the towering structure that loomed above them.


    "How can we do that?" Renzo asked. He was unsure if they could easily bypass their enemies and reach the castle.


    "We will take care of them." The man who was with them assured them. "Take the three mages, two knights and the healer together with you, sir."


    Six people appeared beside them and nodded. "I will leave them to you then. Be sure to kill them all and if you can''t make sure that they won''t be able to follow us." The leader instructed to which the man nodded.


    The group was then divided. The group which was led by the leader left the battlefield thanks to the help of the cloaking and invisibility magic of the mages. They managed to get away and made a headway towards the castle.


    Cygnus saw all of this happen and he wanted to make the path for them difficult. Along the way they encountered different kinds of monsters that tried to obstruct their way. The first wave was of an army of undead that Cygnus raised.


    Renzo was suddenly disgusted when he noticed that the undead that were attacking them were the dead warriors of his kingdom. He could also see the bodies of the ordinary people attacking too. The bodies of the mages were also among the undead they were fighting.


    He tightly closed his eyes as the battlefield they were in now was full of the people he should have been protected but failed to do so. His hand that was holding his sword tightly gripped it and started to swing it. He can''t be swayed right now because he was well aware that they were already dead.


    The leader saw how Renzo was fighting and couldn''t help but sympathize with him. These people were already dead and yet they needed to die once again. It was cruel and yet necessary for them to reach the heart of the enemy.


    "We need to purify them. They''ll all just resurrect even if we cut them down." One of the knights shouted to get their attention.


    The mages and the healer agreed so they took a step back and started to mumble an incantation that lit the whole ground and summoned a purifying light that swept through all the undead. The healer then hit the ground with her staff and the light was carved on it. No more undead emerged from the ground.


    They continued moving forward but were met with a different wave of monsters now. It was once again an army of skeletons that were holding swords. These sword wielding skeletons were swinging their weapons carelessly. Compared to the undead, these skeletons were easier to deal with.


    With just a fire from the mages, they were easily defeated and turned ash. After that they were met with different monsters until they were already near the castle. They showed signs of exhaustion but with the healer, they could recover instantly.


    Smoke rose from every corner of thend as the fighting continued. Spells and weapons never stopped from creating destruction. These heroes banded together to defeat the evil who was threatening their world. This evil already destroyed a kingdom and they won''t let him destroy even more.


    The person who sat on that dark throne chuckled at how these people persisted in fighting against him when they were clearly aware of what he was capable of. It was amusing how these people who called themselves heroes continued to confront his minions without fear.


    His head rested on the palm of his hand as he fell into deep thoughts while he watched as those so-called heroes continued to fight their way towards his domain. The door to the side of his throne opened and a man dressed in a suit entered with a tter of food on his hand but the person who sat on the throne did not react at his entrance.


    The butler noticed that his master was smiling so his curiosity got the best of him, "What got you smiling master?" He stopped a few centimeters away from the person he called master.


    "I''m thinking of ways on how to make those heroes suffer for intruding into my domain," he casually answered then he snapped his fingers and a projection of his domain''s map appeared before him. There were red dots on the map surrounded by dark dots and slowly the dark dots disappeared then the red dots started to move forward. "What should I put there next?" he mumbled to himself, "what would you suggest?" This time he looked at the butler with a grin.


    "Why don''t you send your ck goblin generals to see if they can defeat them?" the butler dly suggested without blinking.


    "Yes, you are right. I''ll let them enjoy it to their heart''s content." The personughed loudly while the butler was confused on who his master was referring to, was it the heroes or the ck goblin generals who would enjoy it? But even so, he did not dwell on it and shook his head. The butler instead moved to prepare the meal for his master.


    The person''s finger tapped on a specific location in front of the red dots and a summoning circle was drawn on the map. At the same time, the heroes who assembled to defeat the enemy encountered several monsters on the way to the ''demon king''s'', as they have called the enemy, castle to defeat him. They just defeated several feral wolves and had just moved a few meters forward when a magic circle appeared in front of them then a horde of goblins appeared.


    These goblins were not ordinary and instead of having green skins they had ck skins and their eyes were shining red, full of blood lust. Each one of them were holding a scythe on their seemingly flimsy arms but as people who had encountered countless monsters, the heroes knew that those arms were nothing but flimsy.


    "Be ready," the leader of the heroes, who had blonde hair and holding a shield in his hand, took a defensive posture followed by the others behind them. Each of them raised their weapons, ready to attack anytime.


    Loud shrills came from the goblins before theyunched an attack with no intention of defending whatsoever. The first wave of attack was stopped by the man''s shield which was reinforced by a wide range protective spell that covered him and hisrades.

 Chapter 406 Heroes vs villains

    Chapter 406 Heroes vs viins


    The man tightened his grip on the shield and pushed it with all his might. This action caused the goblins to be pushed back while some of them hit the shield so hard that they bounced off it. This chance was not wasted as the people behind the man took the chance to attack.


    A barrage of long distance and wide ranged spells rained down on the goblins followed by arrows enchanted by magic that will explode once itnds on an enemy or the ground. There were also flying bullets covered in a white light that urately hit those that attempted to give them a sneak attack.


    "Oh, they are quite good," the master was impressed at the teamwork they were showing and even at the power they wield. "It seems that the gods really invested everything on these bunch of heroes just to defeat me. Ha, how human like."


    "Why don''t you have some food first master while it is still hot?" The butler looked at the man and gestured at the table that was already set up.


    The person looked at the food then at the map before he decided to stand up and eat first. While he was enjoying his food, the group of heroes were able to defeat the goblins that he sent. Now they were facing off against an army of undead he prepared beforehand.


    The group slowly progressed and defeated all of the monsters that the enemy prepared for them until they finally reached a grand door with carvings of two swords crossing one another and a crown engraved on top of those two swords. The man who acts as their leader pushed open the door and was too stunned to speak.


    The enemy they were about to y was enjoying his meal and looked like a normal human being. He did not have monstrous features like how those books and stories were depicted. "You really are the demon king?" the leader asked with a frown because they were the only ones in the room and it was a bit difficult for him to ept that a young man who looked innocent was the enemy.


    The man immediately lost his appetite and stopped eating. He gestured for the butler to take away everything, "I was enjoying that meal and yet the likes of you dared to trespass in my territory. You even ask if I am the enemy, is it because those old folks did not tell you that the final boss you were looking for is also a human like you?" He turned around and slowly walked up to his seat then swiped away the map and it disappeared.


    "Don''t be conceited, you are not human, just a monster pretending to be one." One of them spat in anger. He did not care if the man was human or not, what matters was that they were there to defeat him and end the grudge.


    The man stopped on his tracks when he heard those words. "I am human. I''m just a bit different from you all but if you want to believe that I am a monster, then I will be one just to satisfy your ego and to see how far you can go with the power of those cowardly gods." The room was suddenly filled with different monsters that attacked them.


    The man watched as this group of people defeated the monsters one by one until the whole room was filled with the stench of monster blood. Now, their focus was on the man who sat on the throne.


    "Why don''t youe and fight, don''t just send your minions to deal with us because they can''t defeat us. Stop acting like a coward." The same man who insulted him spoke out loud with his head held high.


    The sense of superiority around him disgusted the man on the throne and before the man could speak once again, several magic circles appeared behind the man''s throne then people who were bound appeared.


    The heroes gasped in surprise when they saw this scene because some of the people who appeared were familiar to them. They were people who fought with them and the people who sent them to this mission to defeat the enemy.


    "It is indeed interesting that you can call me demon king when in the first ce I was not the one who started this boring war. I was merely spending my days in peace and yet one day you came knocking at my door while using me of things I did not remember doing. If I were right, one of them was massacring a whole town and sacrificing them so that I can gain power." At his words, screams started to echo inside the room. Their eyes widened as one person suddenly dropped dead.


    The heroes were about to go and rescue them only to bump into an invisible wall. "What?" the arrogant man eximed and tried to break through the wall several times but he did not seed and by now one fourth of the people already died.


    "Why are you all surprised? Didn''t you say I cause all the misfortunes you suffered? Yes, I caused them," he grinned and stood up. "I destroyed all those worlds and now I am going to do the same to this hateful world."


    He slowly stepped down from his throne and the room suddenly swayed like a very thin stic until it returned to its original state. The majestic castle was nowhere to be found but the change did not faze the leader and instead theyunched an attack to destroy the invisible wall. The man watched all of this without moving and even after they destroyed the wall, he did not move.


    "Die, you monster!" the arrogant man shouted then heunched a barrage of destructive spells but the man was not even scratched by it.


    He raised his hand and with a snap of his finger the person who attacked him died on the spot with his head twisted in an odd way and before any of them could attack once again, he waved his hand and an invisible force sent them flying and hitting ground.


    "Now that you heroes are, let''s start the y!" His words were followed by aughter that echoed in the destroyed castle and it even reached the battlefield where the others were.


    From the side and from the back, Linius and his men entered to surround them. Renzo saw who it was and he was filled with indescribable anger. "You traitor!" He shouted as heunched an attack towards the general.


    Linius did not respond to the provocation and silently attacked too. The ce was then filled with the sound of fighting. Linius faced the raging Renzo while the other soldiers attacked the other members of the team.


    Cygnus retreated behind the darkness and watched the fight. Ignius also alighted and transformed into his human form to supervise. He took the ce where Cygnus was standing and looked at the chaos. Mr. C also stood beside the master while waiting for the battle to die down.


    Because the heroes were given a part of the power from the gods, they easily subdued the soldiers and easily killed them. Linius and Renzo were the only ones left who were fighting. The others let them be as they faced the ck dragon who was smirking at them.


    "This is going to be fun. I''ll be fighting six people at once. Ah, it''s been so long¡­" he muttered before he lunged forward with his hands transformed into dragon ws.


    The man with the shield moved forward as he nted himself on the ground and held his shield tightly. The dragon grinned as he intentionally hit the shield. The collision caused the ground to vibrate and the hero to slid back. The dust underneath his feet was disturbed and rose.


    The dragon did not stop there and even twirled in the air and hit the shield with his other hand once again. The man with the shield was pushed back once again and this time the others did not stand by idly. Theyunched their own attack to deter the dragon.

 Chapter 407 The dragon

    Chapter 407 The dragon


    The knight leapt in the air with his sword raised high and sliced down. Ignius used his transformed hand to block the sword and his strength to push the knight away. The mages sent balls of magic towards him before he could even get his bnce.


    The attack caused an explosion but when the smoke disappeared the dragon was perfectly safe. His body turned ck as the scales covered his skin. Everyone knew that dragon scales were tough and cannot be easily prated by any weapons nor magic.


    "Is that it?" Ignius taunted. He bent his neck to the right and to the left then his lips were filled with a grin.


    He disappeared from where he was and appeared before the knight. He then swiped at him with his ws which he managed to block. The knight was thrown back andnded on the ground heavily. Before the others could even move to aid the knight, the dragon was already swiping at them.


    The mages were beaten down while the healer had her neck on the dragon''s hand. The leader of the heroes charged at him with his sword but Ignius just used his arms to block the attack. He also used his arm to push back the leader as he threw the healer towards the direction of his master.


    Cygnus looked down at the woman from where he was standing. His eyes shone red beyond the darkness and this made the woman frightened. She couldn''t resist looking at those eyes despite her initial fear.


    She slowly stood up without breaking eye contact and in an instant her skin suddenly lit up. Cracks started to form on her skin and the longer she stared at him, the cracks brightened. Her divine power bestowed by the gods slowly leaked out from the cracks. She tried to move her gaze away but her body was locked in ce.


    After a few moments of her struggling, her body exploded into light particles. Her human body couldn''t withstand the sudden increase in her divine powers. Cygnus grinned before he closed his eyes and retreated in the dark once again.


    The others did not notice what happened as they were busy pinning the dragon. They were so focused that they failed to notice that one of them was already gone. The swirls of magic and lines of swords created sparks and explosions that further destroyed the once proud pce of Lunaira.


    Linius and Renzo were still fighting and brandishing their swords at each other. At one point, Renzo has the upper hand as he was also blessed by the gods. He used his divine power to strengthen his body and made his sword sharper. He became more agile and more powerful.


    Linius faced him calmly despite the difference in their power. He still had his years of experience under his belt. He was also more powerful than an ordinary human being because of his contract with the master.


    "Why did you betray your people!?" Renzo asked as he brought down his sword with so much power that Linius was forced to kneel down while blocking it. The stone floor beneath him cracked at the force and his body was slightly injured. He could feel his internal organs taking a blow because of the power from that one attack.


    "This is not betrayal. This is what I should do to survive. Your highness, you should know that in this world, survival is of utmost importance." Linius calmly answered despite the blood that wasing out from his mouth. "Don''t even act like you knew nothing about how your royal family was nning on suppressing my family. I would rather be the viin than to let you step on us."


    With the strength he has, Linius pushed back Renzo as he jumped and attacked the man. The crossing of their swords created streaks of light as the only proof that they were fighting each other. Linius narrowed his eyes as his sword was suddenly coated with ck mana that he acquired from the contract.


    Renzo noticed this so he did the same and let the divine power envelope him and his sword. Both of them gripped their weapons tightly before they attacked each other. As their des crossed, the light dimmed from Renzo and the dark mana dissipated from Linius.


    Blood sttered on the ground and Linius fell on his knees. He was coughing out blood and a long gash could be seen on his chest where blood was pouring out. Half of his right hand that was holding his sword was missing. It got cut off from thatst encounter and the cut off arm wasying not far away from him.


    "You lost," Renzo muttered before he too almost lost his bnce. He looked at the hand that touched his stomach and saw that there was blood on it. It turned out that he too was wounded.


    The fight was concluded and after a short rest, Renzo did not hesitate to join the fight against the dragon. Linius''s body also turned into a dark mist after he was defeated. Now their focus was to defeat the dragon and after that they would face the mastermind.


    "Don''t be cocky. None of you will be able toy a hand on even a strand of my master''s hair. All of you will perish here!" Ignius dered followed by a thunderous roar.


    A roaring fire then came from him. The dragon did not care if the ce burned to the ground. All he cared about was to destroy their enemies before they could even take a step to harm his master. The fire persisted for a few minutes before it relented.


    The leader was able to hold out throughout the assault and protected the others but because of that he was left vulnerable. Ignius leapt forward and did not hesitate to use his full power in his attack. The leader was thrown back and was beaten to the ground by the dragon. It happened so fast that the others were toote to react.


    The noise outside also slowly silenced as the battle wasing to an end. Nina and the others were put into disadvantage at the appearance of one more archangel. The archduke was easily destroyed at the appearance of the other archangel. After that they tried their best to fend against the two entities but they were defeated.


    Pitiful as it was, Nina and the others were utterly defeated. They were left in a bloody mess on the battlefield. Cygnus took note of this and waved his hand. Their bodies turned to ck mist as they disappeared.


    "What shall we do, master?" Mr. C looked to the side of his master. He noticed that the master was looking at his hands before he clenched them.


    "They are reallying at me with full force." He grinned before he let out a sigh. He loosened his hand and looked forward at the dragon that was defending against the heroes. "They''reing."


    The archangels who were victorious came to the pce and attacked the dragon at the same time. The other shot an arrow and the other summoned lightning that hit the dragon at the same time. Ignius was pushed back and his scales were damaged at the attack.


    Although he was considered as the strongest creature, he was not a match against entities that were bestowed with divine power. The heroes took this chance to attack Ignius and it was not easy to defend against them because he took a critical hit. One of the knights managed to stab the part where the scales were burned.


    Ignius clenched his jaws as he used his hand to break the sword and pull the remaining piece of it out of his flesh. He looked at them and in a moment of anger, he transformed into his massive form. He flew in the air and let out one more fire breath. This time it was hotter and heced it with his master''s ck mana.

 Chapter 408 The god of war descends

    Chapter 408 The god of war descends


    The heroes did what they could to defend but the fire was not only able to burn their shield but it was also able to nullify any magic. The archangels came to their rescue but it was toote and it was of no use. The fire still damaged the archangels and the heat was enough to suffocate the heroes.


    Ignius did not relent and poured out all of his all into that fire breath just to make sure that they would die. He did not care if he perished by exhausting all of his power as long as he could take them down. While he was giving it all, arge sword came from the sky and stabbed through his back.


    Therge sword prated his scales and went through his body. It sessfully stabbed its heart. Ignius fell down from the sky with a loud ''thud'' and it shook the entire structure where they were in. Despite the dragon''s defeat, he was still d that those damn heroes were finally dead and those archangels suffered damage.


    Same as the others, the dragon''s body disappeared and became a ck smoke. After that Cygnus appeared from the darkness and coolly walked towards the archangels that were still standing despite the damage that the dragon inflicted on them. They started to glow a gold light and heal but Cygnus did not give them the chance to recover.


    He waved his hand and injected the two of them with ck mana that wreaked havoc inside their bodies. Both archangels exploded on the spot but in ce of them another archangel appeared. It was the owner of the sword that stabbed the ck dragon.


    The archangel was sent by the god of war. It was obvious by its gold-ted armor and the golden sword in its hands. Cygnus grinned when he saw that the god of war finally made a move. This was the moment he was waiting for. He floated towards the archangel and stared at its dead eyes.


    From his right hand, a swirl of ck mana appeared followed by the appearance of a ck sword. The sword was covered in ck mana and as he held the hilt, the ck mana disappeared. He then swung the sword and a line of ck mana appeared.


    This line went directly towards the archangel. It created a ck line on the archangel''s body but this did not deter the entity from attacking him. It raised its sword and attacked Cygnus but the man easily blocked the attack.


    The sound of their swords colliding with each other echoed in the whole of the capital and caused destruction around them. Their surroundings were cut because of the scattered force from the collision. The pce that was half standing was nowpletely destroyed.


    They continued to fight using their swords and each sh they created caused deep gashes on thend of Lunaira. After a few more exchanges, it was already clear who the winner was. The archangel was slowly being chipped away every time their swords met and, in the end, its body was full of ck mana.


    The god of war who was watching what was happening had his fists clenched and his jaws locked. Seeing that his archangel was defeated, he could not ept it. He stood up from where he was seated and exited the room. He ran into Kreyat and gave him a bow.


    "What are you going to do?" Kreyat asked the hot-tempered god. He had an idea of what he was nning but he won''t stop him this time.


    "I''m going to destroy that demon." Freyon dered. He couldn''t stand it any longer. If he couldn''t destroy that demon now, he won''t be able to rest.


    "Then, I will not stop you. The demon behind that man will surely show himself once we defeat that cursed man." Kreyat reached out and patted the man''s shoulders. "We will be backing you."


    "No need. I will make sure to kill him with my own hands." Freyon shook his head. He then gave the god of creation onest nod before he turned around and left. Kreyat looked at the god of war''s back in silence before he disappeared.


    Just as the archangel exploded with too much ck mana within its body, the god of war descended. The brilliant light of his descent filled the entirety of the capital and if there were any living thing in that ce, they would surely be blinded by the light that apanied the god.


    Cygnus waited for the light to disappear before he could finally see who it was that interrupted his fun. The man that appeared had red fiery hair and golden eyes that indicated who he was. His golden armor was shining together with the golden sword in his hand.


    "Ah, you finally came down," Cygnus looked at the man. With the re and the bloodlusting from the man, he already knew who it was.


    "I came to defeat and kill you." Freyon answered and without any more words from him, he disappeared and appeared before Cygnus.


    Cygnus grinned and blocked the golden sword that was about to slice him in half. He fended against the god of war with ease. He took one look at the man and it made himugh. The way the man was ring at him was indeed funny.


    The god of war really wanted to kill Cygnus and he would not stop until he achieved his goal. The sword on the god''s hand suddenly became even more brilliant and hot at the same time. Cygnus''s ck sword couldn''t withstand the power so he retreated and took a couple of steps back.


    Cygnus looked at his sword and saw that there was already a crack on it. He narrowed his eyes but this did not cause him any displeasure, instead he looked at his opponent with a grin. "So, this is what true divine power from a god looks like."


    Freyon did not respond. He once again vanished and brandished his sword against Cygnus. The ck mana that was surrounding Cygnus was getting thinner and thinner. The ck sword in his hand was having cracks here and there.


    Despite all of this, he still looked calm. He was still fighting the god of war. Freyon charged his sword even more and made a diagonal sh that created a golden line towards Cygnus. The man raised his ck sword to block the attack.


    He was pushed back and the force of the attack managed to break his ck sword but he couldn''t stop the momentum of the golden line. The attack finallynded on his body before it dissipated. A long and deep gush appeared on the Cygnus''s body and it caused him to fall on his knees. He even coughed out blood as he looked at the god of war who had a smile on his face.


    "You gods are indeed powerful. I managed to destroy many of your worlds to weaken you but you are still powerful. How terrifying." Cygnus managed to say despite his grave condition. He was turning pale as more blood gushed out from his wound.


    "A mere human like you who made a contract with a demon is just an ant in my eyes. No matter how powerful you feel, there will still be beings more powerful than you. Don''t get cocky just because you managed to get our attention." Freyon looked at the kneeling man with contempt.


    "Yes," Cygnusughed, "You gods are really proud. Even if those worlds disappear and those people die, you do not care because you can simply create another world and another set of people or creatures to worship you."


    The god of war shrugged his words. "No matter what you think right now, you can keep it to yourself because you are going to die now."


    Cygnusughed once again. "Don''t be so sure." His body suddenly disappeared and turned into ck smoke that obscured the vision of the god

 Chapter 409 Twist

    Chapter 409 Twist


    Freyon looked around but he did not find Cygnus. There was only darkness around him. There was no air and his surroundings turned into silence. He knew that the enemy was just there and yet he couldn''t find him. Freyon once again filled his sword and his body with divine mana to dispel the darkness.


    The gold light grew stronger and stronger until the darkness retreated. When Freyon could finally look around, a ck sword suddenly appeared on his chest and Cygnus was behind him. In that short span of time, Cygnus was able to seize the opportunity to sneak behind Freyon and stab him in the back.


    Cygnus did not forget to inject ck mana into the body of the god of war before he was blown away by Freyon''s power. The god of war touched his wound and attempted to close it but because of the ck mana, he was not able to heal his own wound. He looked at his enemy with a re.


    Cygnusughed. He used his sword to support himself and stand up. "Your re gives me joy. I like it when my opponents look at me in contempt because I made them feel pain. So how is it? Having ck mana tainting your divineness, it must be painful and humiliating."


    Freyon did not give him an answer. He gritted his teeth and summoned his sword back. Golden light wasing out from his wound and he knew that he had no time to y around. His divine mana was leaking out because of the ck mana that was going rampant inside his body.


    Cygnus grinned but he too suffered from the god''s attack. His left arm grew cracks with golden light on them. He looked down at it and shook his head. "It seems that we are in a simr situation."


    "But you will meet your end first," Freyon disappeared and attacked Cygnus once again. There was not hesitation in his movements and every stroke that his sword made was with the intention of killing his enemy.


    Cygnus did not let the god push him around. He blocked attack from attack and even went as far as changing the shape of his weapon to turn the tables. His sword turned into a spear and he used it to keep the god''s distance from him. He did not stop from thrusting his spear forward and the god used his sword to block the spear''s tip.


    He then used his sword to push back Cygnus. The master flew back and he took that opportunity to remold his weapon into a bow. He pulled back the string while he was on air and three arrows made of ck mana appeared. The arrows flew after he released them.


    The god of war summoned a shield and blocked the arrows but Cygnus''s attack did not stop there. He multiplied himself into several mirages and fired several shots of arrows from all directions. Freyon''s shield expanded and surrounded him which easily blocked the arrows.


    The master snapped his fingers and a magic circle appeared above the god of war. A st of red and ck light came out from the magic circle. It hit the god of war and slowly destroyed the shield that was around him. Cygnus did not stop there and with another snap of his fingers, ck lightning appeared and hit Freyon.


    This time the shield waspletely destroyed. Cygnus gritted his teeth and once again summoned a ck lightning that managed to hit the unprotected god of war. The once pristine appearance and clothing of the god was marred with ck soot and was torn in every ce.


    Cygnus narrowed his eyes and after thest lightning hit the man, he attacked again. He shed towards the enemy and stabbed him once again and this time he did it from the front. He then charged his sword with ck mana that filled the god''s body. Before the god could explode though, a golden light suddenly fell from the sky and hit the both of them.


    Cygnus''s skin slowly burned. He clenched his jaws and used both of his hands to maintain his grip on the sword that he was holding. He then forcefully pulled ck mana from himself and injected it to the god of war. As the golden light disappeared, he was pped back by an invisible force


    A man dressed in white and gold appeared in time and caught the falling body of the god of war. He looked at the direction where Cygnusnded before he took a look at the pitiful state of Freyon. His skin was now marred with ck veins and his divine power was seeping out.


    "You did well," the god of creation gave Freyon a nod. The god of war wasn''t able to answer back as his body slowly disintegrated as all his divine power leaked out.


    Kreyat stood straight and slowly walked to where Cygnus was lying. His skin that was burned off was slowly returning to its original state. He was looking up until the god of creation''s face appeared above.


    "The god of war is dead. The royal family of Lunaira is gone. Are you satisfied now?" Kreyat asked the man who was silently looking at him.


    Cygnusughed, "Satisfied? What I feel right now is beyond satisfaction. I enjoyed every moment of it. How about you, are you satisfied now? Are you really sure that this sacrifice of yours will stop me from destroying the rest of the worlds you created?"


    "I believe that this is enough. Sacrificing the god of war and the people of this world is worth it if it means that I can subdue you." A golden magic circle appeared below Cygnus. Golden chains emerged from it and restrained him.


    "You are really cruel," Cygnusughed, "but you cannot restrain me as I already belong to the depths of hell."


    Chains of pitch-ck color shattered the golden circle and dispersed the golden chains. These chains coiled around Cygnus''s body and held him firmly. From the darkness of the abyss, a man appeared and walked towards them. The horns on his head, the ck silky hair and red eyes all indicated that it was the demon who entered a contract with Cygnus.


    "I enjoyed the show and I even got to see the god of creation once again. How lucky." The demon looked at Kreyat with a grin on his face.


    "It never crossed my mind that the high and mighty demon king would enter a contract with a mere human." Kreyatmented after the demon king''s words.


    "Human? I wonder if he is indeed an ordinary human. When I saw him, he already had divine powers and had the potential to be a god, even more so the god that you have been waiting for." The demon king revealed without removing his eyes from the god of creation. He wanted to see the man''s reaction.


    Kreyat did not react. He did not believe any word that came out from the demon king''s mouth. "He won''t reincarnate. We''ve waited for a thousand years. What you said is impossible."


    The demon king suddenlyughed. "I suppose you won''t really believe me because you haven''t had any contact with Cygnus before he epted the contract I offered."


    The demon king waved his hand over Cygnus who was silently listening to their conversation. The thick ck mana that was in his body slowly dissipated and he was left with a golden mana. This time the god of creation had his eyes wide.


    "Impossible!" He roared. He jumped from where he was standing towards Cygnus but the demon king once again waved his hand and sted Kreyat back.


    "His soul already belongs to me and I doubt that he will like to go back with you. Now that the contract has been fulfilled, I will take him back. You and the other gods lived without the god of origin. This time, he will be living with me." The demon king looked at Cygnus''s direction and gave him a smile.


    "How dare you!" The god of creation was angry because the truth was hidden from him.


    "How dare me," the demon kingughed, "you and those gods were the reason why he perished all those years ago. I will not let that happen again. From now on, our youngest brother will be protected by me."

 Chapter 410 Epilogue

    Chapter 410 Epilogue


    At those words, the demon king and Cygnus disappeared. The god of creation was silent for a moment before he too disappeared. From the shadows, Mr. C appeared while looking at the spot where their master was.


    He turned around and returned to the ce where the three young men under his master''s care were staying. Ezio, William and Isaiah looked at the butler after he returned. They were waiting for him to speak as they had no idea what happened during the fight because they were locked up.


    "The war is finished. All of them already died. The god of war was defeated and now the master has returned with the demon king." Mr. C summarized.


    The three of them looked at the butler, dumbfounded. They didn''t know how to react to the news. It was overwhelming for them to know that everything was now over. They looked at each other as they were left confused. They did not know what they should do now.


    "Can I follow my master to the demon realm?" Ezio stepped forward and asked the butler. Now that he had nowhere to go, he still wished to be with his master.


    Mr. C looked at the young man before nodding his head. "The demon king left the door to the demon realm opened. If you wish to stay there you can go." He stepped aside and gestured at the ck swirl that appeared behind him.


    "Where are you going now?" Ezio asked the butler. The others were already gone and he couldn''t help but be sad. There was a frown on his face while looking at the man.


    "My time is up. I was programmed to be with the master until he fulfills his contract with the demon king. Now that the contract has been fulfilled, it is time to go." The butler smiled at the young man who grew close to him and the others.


    "Is that so," Ezio mumbled. He looked up once again and threw himself to the butler. He gave the unfeeling man a hug. "I will miss you and the others."


    "Me too," he patted the child''s back. His gaze then transferred to the other two who were silently watching them. "The two of you, what will you do now?"


    "We will follow Ezio," William answered, followed by Isaiah''s nod. Mr. C nodded and gestured for them to enter the gate already.


    After they stepped in, the gate disappeared and the world they left behind slowly fell into ruins. After a few days, Mr. C''s consciousness also dissipated. Everything became silent and the original world of Cygnus became abandoned.


    In the demon realm, Cygnus was resting on a tree branch. He was having the time of his life as his revenge was finally over. The demon king watched as his younger brother was resting.


    "Do you n to look for your father?" The demon king looked to the now grown-up man standing beside him.


    "Yes, now that I can freely open a gate, I can now go and explore the worlds and find my father." Ezion answered and gave the demon king a bow.


    "Will those two go with you?" He asked once again.


    Ezio shook his head. "They are busy with other things but I''ll make sure to visit once in a while." There was a grin on his face as he said those words.


    "Don''t forget to get me some souvenirs!" Cygnus who was on the tree was now standing before the two of them.


    "I will Master Cgynus," Ezion nodded his head and even raised his palm to show his promise.


    "Good," Cygnus grinned before he once again disappeared in a cloud of smoke.


    After that battle, Cygnus learned of his past and had no intention of getting the title of the god of origin. He was now content to live as Cygnus Altair. The curse on his name also became void in the demon realm, so the people who were living there could freely call him by his name.


    The realm of the gods also settled and there were no new movements from them. Everything seemed to have turned back to how it was before. After learning of the truth, Kreyat once again entered into seclusion. The other gods on the other hand minded their own business. The fights between heroes and demons in the other worlds continued to persist though.


    In one part of the demon realm, a ck dragon was now wreaking havoc withughter on his mouth. Riding him was a general who had his eyes closed even with all the screams that wereing from below them. The enormous ck dragon finally had enough andnded on the ck ground.


    "Do you really need to breath out fire everytime youe here?" Astrophos asked after Igniusnded. He was frowning because of the chaos that the dragon brought. "And you general, why did you not stop him?"


    Linius opened his eyes and looked at the mage, "I was asleep."


    Ignius transformed into his human form andughed. He then gave the mage a heavy pat that almost knocked him out. "They''re fine. They are not burned to the crisp and besides they can recover. If Nina is here, she will be more severe than me."


    After the battle, all Cygnus''srades who they thought died were all transported to the demon realm. They recovered and stayed there with the exception of Mr. C. The first time that Ezio, William and Isaiah stepped into the demon realm, they were surprised to see them waiting for them.


    The loneliness disappeared because of the familiar faces. From that day, the demon realm became rowdy and full of life. Although there were demons who felt dissatisfied because of the addition of these new people, none of them could go against the demon king. Add to that the fact that the demon king''s younger brother was powerful and the new people were under him.


    "Are you satisfied?" The demon king, Salvion, asked one time.


    Cygnus hummed, "Yes, I am."


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