Legacy of the Dark Sage

The others looked at the high-ranking mage, their curiosity piqued by the intensity of his gaze. They followed his line of sight in search of what had interested him.

"What is it?" the high-ranking mage in the middle asked while inspecting the spot with his Divine Sense.

The high-ranking mage on the left did not respond. Instead, he walked toward the left side of the receiving area and said, "Just now, the air around here fluctuated with—."

"Stop!" the high-ranking mage in the middle, who used Divine Sense, suddenly shouted after sensing magic fluctuation coming not from the spot where the other high-ranking mage was fixated but at the portal a few meters from them.

Krrsshk!

"!"

Boom!

Unfortunately, none of the mages in the receiving area could react upon the emergence of five purplish lightning coming from the portal simultaneously struck them.

Foom!

The shockwave that should have appeared after the explosion was stopped as a barrier activated starting from the left wall. It enveloped the receiving area before the mages inside dropped to the floor.

All of them had fallen unconscious after receiving internal injuries.

'I only intend to stun them, but to think that attack works on them to this degree...' Kyran was amazed that the lightning strike he learned after observing Auto-one was effective against these peak Sovereigns. He was convinced that the only reason his strikes looked powerful against High Sovereigns in the Tower of the Ancients was because of the location and the Tower acknowledging him.

'Or could it be that Lightning magic is the Blade Dancer Clan's weakness...?'

According to the information he received from Oceanus, the Blade Dancer Clan were beings born from weapons forged by an ancient furnace emitting a divine light. If their true form was that of weapons, then depending on what material their body was made of, they could be weak or strong against Lightning.

Then again, Kyran's Lightning was different from Lightning Magic. He used the Void as base magic energy rather than Lightning, so the result of getting struck by it would be different even if their body were made with materials with high conductivity.

In any case, Kyran had planned to knock them out rather than risk them calling for reinforcements if he got found out. Fortunately, the first rune writing he completed on the wall was an Isolation formula. He activated that formula at the same moment he struck the mages so the whole receiving area would be isolated, and any explosion or sound that followed would not leak outside.

The whole receiving area had become an independent space. Thus, anything that happened inside could not be heard or sensed from the outside.

Not that it was actually necessary at this point when all the mages were knocked out after one strike.

'Does this mean that my Lightning strike is effective against the defenses of a peak Sovereign?'

Kyran still could not believe this. In the Lower Realm, he was convinced that he did not have what it takes to fight on equal footing against a Sovereign. If he gave it his all and made full use of the Void's advantage he could kill them, yes. But that would still depend on their magical and physical defenses.

He killed Flos and Obstruction quite easily, but to be honest, he could not remember well how he managed it. The only thing that mattered to him back then was to retrieve Cyneah and stop the Fates from reviving Flos and Obstruction.

'...am I still underestimating the Void's capability?' Kyran wondered with a bitter smile.

Putting aside those thoughts, he checked the conditions of the unconscious mages. After confirming that they did not have any marks or seals on their bodies, he left a mark on their souls using Dark Arts.

This mark did not use the Void magic as its base. Thus, its effect and potency were inferior. This meant that the target of those marks could free themselves as long as they outpowered the mark's influence.

In any case, Kyran only needed to keep them in check for a few days, so he did not care whether they ended up freeing themselves after that. What mattered was that no one should know that he came there.

'Using the marks on them is not part of the plan, though.'

Since the mark was created using Dark Arts, Kyran had to prepare them beforehand. He succeeded in creating 10 marks, and now he was forced to use five on these mages. To be honest, he intended to use these marks on the Blade Dancer house leaders or executives so he could easily bring them to his control.

Resolving to use the remaining five marks carefully, Kyran took out saint-grade potions and used them on the five mages.

After a few seconds, the five mages woke up and knelt before Kyran respectfully.

"We greet our Lord."

Contrary to what Kyran thought, using the marks on these five was not such a waste after all. All of them were Sovereigns, with the three being peak Sovereigns while the two, though lower, possessed magic energy above the average. Moreover, since the two guarded the portal, it would be easier for him to check who went in and out of the plane.

As for the three peak Sovereigns, they were part of the Blade Dancer Clan's military. They could be of help to Kyran in understanding the clan's military structure.

"Which department are you three from?" Kyran asked them at once.

"I am from the Array Research Division, Sergeant Ove."

"I am part of the Blade Army Defense Division, First Lieutenant Hyior."

"Also part of the Blade Army Intelligence Division, Captain Ramir."

Kyran raised his brows while looking at Ramir, the mage in the middle. He already knew he was a captain from what little he heard of their conversation earlier. But he did not expect him to be part of the Intelligence Division.

It seemed like what he thought of as a misfortune turned out to be a good fortune.

Kyran looked at the two mages guarding the portal, "How about you two?"

"Lord," the two lowered their heads and replied in unison.

"Warrant Officer Auda, Blade Army Immigration Security Division."

"Chief Warrant Officer Elara, Blade Army Immigration Security Division."

"Alright," Kyran nodded. He expected the two mages to be part of Immigration Security. Thus, he was not surprised to hear their answer. In fact, even their ranks did not surprise him since their magic energy was above average.

"I want you five to continue what you're doing and do not disclose my arrival to anyone."

"Yes, Lord."

"Take these."

He took out an improved communication device in the form of a cufflink and gave them one each.

"I will call for you when needed, using those."

"Understood."

"Elara, can you transfer the recent entry and exit logs to me?"

"It is within my security level, so it is possible."

"Send them to me, but make sure to use this formula before you open up the files."

Kyran took out a special paper and wrote an Array Formula before handing it to Elara.

"This..." his eyes widened in surprise as he inspected the formula.

Ove also looked at the formula and was surprised after learning its effect.

"That formula will erase your trace on all information you viewed in the system."

"How...?" Ove looked at Kyran. "Is it possible that Lord is aware of the Blade Army's system?"

Kyran shook his head, "No. But that formula is constructed to work on any type of system."

He did not say it, but that formula would work on their system because the system used in the Higher Realm was based on the one created by the Ancients. It would have been strange if that formula did not work.

"S-Such groundbreaking formula... as expected of the Lord."

Kyran's brow twitched. He could understand those he marked using the Void to show an unreasonable level of admiration and loyalty toward him. But the marks he used on them were normal by his standards. They would not be able to defy his orders, but their admiration should not have been affected.

Moreover, the way Ove said 'as expected' as if he knew Kyran's Array capabilities was a little unnerving.

They should not be aware of that, nor of his identity, right?

Could The Emperor already know his identity and tell the Blade Dancer Clan?

Impossible. There was no way for The Emperor to know about him. If he did, he would not be fixated on forcing Shiloh and Uilleam to wake up and take their soul threads.

There was no point mulling over it at this point. Thinking this, Kyran pushed aside his doubts and addressed Elara again.

"Though that formula will erase your traces in the system, the act itself cannot be erased," Kyran warned him. "Don't get caught."

"I will be careful, Lord."

"Assist him when needed," Kyran told Auda.

"Yes, Lord."

"I'm leaving. Send the files when ready."

"Yes."

Kyran gave more instructions to Ramir and the others before exiting the receiving area. The rune writing he created on the wall was only temporary and would disappear in a few minutes, so Elara and the others did not have to do anything.

Before leaving the receiving area, Kyran changed his facial features and changed his coat to mirror the Blade Dancer Clan's uniform. This was one of the enhancements he added to his coat.

The hall outside the portal's receiving area was empty, which was fortunate because Kyran wanted to avoid meeting others. However, at the end of the hall, he sensed quite a few people.

The Blade Dancer Clan did not have any visitors that day, so those people outside were likely colleagues of Auda and Elara.

Not wanting to deal with the consequences if his cover was discovered, Kyran slipped past them, using a transmission array to move outside the Immigration Office.