Legacy of the Dark Sage

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Kyran's frown deepened as he pondered over the enigma of Oceanus's confident tone. The way he greeted them felt as if Oceanus knew for certainty about their survival in the recent tragedy at the Tower of the Ancients.

This would not have been possible if Oceanus had not accurately deduced Kyran's identity or at least his innate magic.

Kyran remembered his encounter with the scary Blade Dancer woman in the unnamed plane. He was aware that Oceanus and Leif were observing him from afar, yet did not think much of it. This was why he used the Void to escape the scary woman and the plane's monsters alike.

In a sense, Kyran believed that Oceanus would not accurately guess his identity or his innate magic. That was why he was not that worried even if they witness him using the Void. Besides, he used it like a barrier that would make it almost impossible to discern its nature.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Leif's subtle hint about their knowledge of Kyran's secret, which she dropped after their encounter in the portal, didn't bother Kyran much back then. But now, with The Emperor's return to the Higher Realm, a sense of unease was creeping in.

"There is nothing to worry about," Oceanus assured Kyran as if sensing his thoughts. "I kept my assumptions to myself. However, I had to come up with a scenario about Leif and the others' absence. I had to declare she and the others had secretly followed their new friend to go on a mission outside the plane.

It was a little troublesome to deal with the Immigration Office, but fortunately, they were not an unreasonable lot."

He then looked at Kyran and smiled wryly before saying, "But then you just have to declare that you have taken my daughter hostage."

"..."

"Imagine the shock I felt when I received the news. I thought there was a third party that caused the tragedy at the Tower of the Ancients and that they got hold of my precious daughter!"

"...You don't look shocked to me."

Oceanus chuckled, "Well, the Immigration Officers confirmed your appearance, so I managed to put two and two together and calmed down a great deal."

"Right."

"However."

Oceanus's amiable presence suddenly turned cold as his pressure exploded. Its target was none other than Kyran.

"W-What? F-Father, what are you doing—?" Leif exclaimed in confusion as she tried to advance toward her father and calm him down.

However, Kyran remained unfazed even as Oceanus's pressure weighed down on him. His insides contracted from the stifling sensation from the latter's pressure, but compared it to the one he felt from Coelus's corpse's influence, it was nothing.

"What did you do to my daughter?" Oceanus's eyes glistened coldly.

"..."

"F-Father?"

"All portals leading to the Tower of the Ancients were destroyed quite sometime now. Where did you take her? What did you do to her to make her agree to stay with you without even informing me? She even willingly deactivated the mark I placed on her!"

As far as Oceanus was concerned, if Kyran had not done anything to his daughter, she would have called and returned to Ogen as soon as they left the Tower of the Ancients.

Leif's somewhat pale face, because she still had not recovered from the nauseating experience of warping, immediately turned red as she realized what her father was getting at.

Oceanus was convinced that Kyran had seduced Leif, which is why she acted the way she did.

"H-He did nothing to me! I had to deactivate the seal because it is important that I keep my whereabouts hidden! That is the same reason I did not contact you! Besides, Null already has a wife!"

For some reason, everyone in the Dragon Plane had already labeled Cyneah as Kyran's wife, even though the two people concerned never confirmed their marital status. Then again, Kyran ended up unconscious as soon as he arrived in the Dragon plane and could not really clarify their relationship.

Oceanus looked at his daughter in distress, "You allowed a married person to seduce you?"

"Huh? I wasn't seduced!"

"Even if polygamy is widely accepted, I will not approve of it if you are not the first wife!"

"Like I said, I wasn't—! Argh, Null, say something!"

Kyran, who had only been silently watching their banter from the side, only replied with a, "I don't— won't do polygamy."

"That's not the point, is it?" Leif could not believe Kyran actually responded like that. She admitted feeling slightly dejected about it, but recalling how he treated Cyneah, Leif was not really surprised that Kyran would be devoted to Cyneah alone.

Unfortunately, Kyran's words only infuriated Oceanus as he shouted, "You! What part of my precious daughter are you not satisfied with?"

"..."

"What are you even saying, Father? Didn't you hate the idea of me getting seduced by a married man?"

"It's fine as long as he makes you his first legal wife."

"Oh, my fates," Leif groaned in frustration. She inwardly prayed that the ground would swallow her whole.

"Can we stop with the nonsense and get down to business?"

Oceanus glared at Kyran and shouted, "Nonsense? You're calling my precious daughter's possible marriage nonsense?"

"..."

"Stop it!"

"I won't. You even chose him over your own father—."

"I am willing to exchange a treasure of your choice for information and a ride."

Oceanus abruptly stopped as he sensed Kyran's business-like tone. Apparently, the younger man was unmoved by his nonsensical ravings.

'Tsk. It seems the angry father act won't work with him.'

It appeared that Oceanus intended to marry off Leif to Kyran after he discovered his identity.

Others might find his motive shallow, but if they understood what it meant to ally with someone with Void magic, then they would have done the same thing as Oceanus. In fact, Oceanus was one of the few remaining older generations from before The Fall who was aware of how powerful Void magic was.

This was why Oceanus wanted to marry his daughter to Kyran: that would definitely ensure the Ogen Clan's future.

Oceanus calmed down as soon as Kyran's words finally sank in.

"Exchange?"

Kyran nodded.

Previously, Oceanus offered to give Kyran a reward for his help in securing the portal in the unnamed plane. But because Kyran decided to destroy all portals, the deal between them could be considered invalidated.

This was one reason Kyran did not know how to deal with Leif and her fellow representatives after they exited the Tower of the Ancients. Since he did not want to cross Oceanus after the truth of the tragedy came to light, he wanted to come up with a way to compensate for the opportunity lost by the portals' destruction.

"Yes," Kyran confirmed with a nod. "Since I can't fulfill the other end of our agreement with the destruction of the portals, I want to make an exchange instead in return for the things I needed."

Oceanus's pressure eased down as he also got into business mode.

"Alright," he agreed while gesturing toward the two coaches facing each other to his left. "Let's sit and talk."

Leif could finally sigh in relief after her father had returned to his senses. She was so embarrassed at what he was saying that she could not even look at Kyran.

Fortunately, Kyran did not take Oceanus seriously and ignored his ravings for the most part.

Once they were seated, Kyran got down to business immediately.

"As I said, I'll exchange a treasure of your choice for information and a ride."

"I can understand exchanging information, but ride?" Oceanus looked at him in confusion. "Are you planning to go somewhere?"

"Yes. The information is also related to where I'm going."

"If you only needed a ride, then it means you don't intend for us to accompany you, am I right?"

"That's right," Kyran nodded, not denying what Oceanus said.

"I'm listening."

"Are you not going to tell me what kind of treasure you wanted in exchange?"

"Rather than a treasure, I'd like to suggest a different bargain."

"I am not going to marry your daughter."

"Tsk," Oceanus clicked his tongue. "So you actually noticed."

"!"

"..."

Leif almost choked in both shock and embarrassment after hearing the exchange between the two.

Kyran ignored Oceanus's uncharacteristic response— not that he knew the older man to know his real character— and said, "If you want an alliance, I can grant that. However, I don't trust easily. If you don't mind forming a pact with me, then I'll agree to an alliance."

Oceanus narrowed his eyes, "An alliance is usually formed after two or more sides have gained each other's trust, yet you want to form a pact rather than gaining the other side's trust?"

Kyran did not respond. In fact, most people outside the Regis Clan he allied with or took on his side had received either a mark from him or agreed to perform a pact. This was because he had yet to feel at ease in trusting others.

He did not mind working or getting along with others, but that did not mean he trusted them.

"...Alright," Oceanus agreed after realizing that Kyran had no intentions of answering his question. Frankly, he could understand why the latter would want to form a pact rather than give the other side his complete trust. Oceanus would have done the same, especially since he did not even know the other side well enough.

"What information do you need?"

"I need every information you have about the Blade Dancer Clan. That is also my destination."

Kyran paused and pointed at Leif, who had not recovered from their initial topic, before adding with a slight smile, "And she is also coming with me."