Legacy of the Dark Sage

"!"

Lucian's eyes widened because the voice that spoke just now did not belong to Estrid. The voice was soft, but it definitely belonged to a male. The problem was that he found it eerily familiar but could not remember where he heard it before.

"You are still far from being the most powerful in both realms…"

Yes. The voice was definitely familiar.

Nonetheless, Lucian could not be bothered to figure out who, when, and where he heard the voice. The only thing that mattered to him was the voice's foolish remark.

Lucian's eyes radiated a dazzling light as multiple Light blades and spheres materialized, surrounding the area where Estrid burst apart.

The cloud of smoke caused by the explosion shook and whirled as if a gale of wind suddenly formed around it. Following this, something like soot appeared in the typical white and gray smoke shade.

Once the cloud of smoke began to shift, Lucian released the Light blades and spheres, fiercely bombarding the swirling smoke.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lucian's expression crumpled after hearing the continuous explosions. This was because he sensed resistance from within the cloud of smoke, and it was pretty sturdy enough to withstand the piercing nature of his magic attack.

"...Relying on brute force... Mages these days have truly fallen too low."

The voice continued to say, annoying Lucian further.

"I had expected more from you, but alas... How disappointing..."

"!"

Additional light blades and spheres emerged around the smoke, which now resembled a massive silhouette of a human mage clad in a black and gray robe. What was peculiar, however, was that while its shape suggested a human figure, white tails reminiscent of Estrid's streamed from beneath the robe, fluttering as if stirred by a nonexistent breeze.

Light blades and spheres rained down on the silhouette, further lowering visibility with the addition of smoke resulting from the continued explosions.

But.

"I'll be taking this body..."

Lucian scowled and turned slightly because the voice sounded like it had just passed from his side.

Whoosh!

In the end, Lucian was forced to a stop because a gust of fierce wind exploded from the heart of the explosion and spreads outward in the blink of an eye.

"Tsk," Lucian clicked his tongue in annoyance because he realized he had been had. Though he was not affected by the ensuing chaos because of the penta-barrier around him, he was similarly unable to do anything.

This was the only downside of this treasure. It provided its user with absolute defense and even allowed it to cast magic outside the barrier's area of effect; however, it also prevented the user from moving around. Only after deactivating the treasure would the user be able to move freely.

Moreover, the individual behind the silhouette had arrived well-prepared. He even captured Estrid with ease, further fueling Lucian's frustrations.

Had Lucian been careless?

He admitted that many incidents in the Higher Realm have happened recently, and none have unfolded according to his plan.

It was genuinely frustrating.

Could that silhouette be someone who supported the Void Master? Did he come as soon as he found out the latter was in danger? Or had he been waiting all this time for an opportunity to show up and distract him before taking the Void Master to safety?

What about Estrid? Why would the silhouette be interested in her?

Though the silhouette's parting words did not specify which body he had taken, Lucian was sure he was referring to Estrid rather than the Void Master.

Lucian had long stopped sensing the Void Master's presence, so he was sure he had already left.

Wait.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Why did Lucian assume that the silhouette was with the Void Master?

The white-colored tails that protruded from the silhouette's robe might not be Estrid's but his. If this was the case, he might be from the Crepuscule Clan and was waiting to save Estrid.

But was there such a powerful mage from the Crepuscule Clan?

Lucian sighed heavily as he scanned his surroundings one more time. He initially left a trace of his energy inside the Void Master when they first met in the Land of Desolation, but apparently, the Void Master managed to remove it.

Since this was the case, Lucian could not rely on finding the Void Master's trace using that method again.

"Tsk."

Lucian clicked his tongue again, burdened by the prospect of starting the search for the Void Master's traces all over again. He also couldn't shake the thought of that silhouette and Azaloth.

Lucian knew the silhouette was not Azaloth because he would have recognized its energy immediately. Moreover, Azaloth only had beef blood with Deus. With the latter's removal from the picture, the former had no reason to assist the Void Master. Besides, Azaloth's appearance might have changed, but he was still a demon.

And demons were known for their sly and treacherous characters.

Lucian took a deep breath and calmed his raging emotions. Although he gained nothing from this venture, he managed to weed out a potential threat to his reign instead. "A being strong enough to hide his presence and withstand my magic..." he muttered, recalling how the silhouette came out unscathed after his onslaught.

"Also..." Lucian scowled after remembering the Void Master's appearance. "He looked different. He did not use transformation magic, but... where did he find a treasure that allowed him to change his appearance and even fool powerful mages?"

With that question hanging in the air, Lucian finally deactivated the Absolute Defense treasure and left. He had to return to the Solis Clan as soon as possible.

'I decided to delay the conference because the capture of the Void Master took precedence. But...'

Remembering Estrid's brazen behavior, Lucian was forced to realize his authority had waned.

Estrid's situation might be special, mainly because Lucian tolerated her whims. However, that might have resulted in other clans believing that he had lost his touch.

Lucian needed to reinforce his authority and would do that during the conference.

After about an hour after Lucian left, a distortion appeared right where he had been.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Cracks formed on the distortion's surface, and soon, pieces of these started to fall off. The fallen pieces looked like broken glasses that reflected the night sky.

After a few minutes, a face appeared from the crack.

It was Kyran.

His Void State had finally ended, and luckily, Lucian and the others did not realize he was still there.

Before the Void State completely wore off, Kyran activated a flying formula on his shoes. Technically, he was in space, and there was no land or surface he could use to walk. While he could use magic sense to keep him afloat, he had to be careful in leaving behind his magic energy.

An hour might have passed since Lucian left, but there was no telling with that guy. He might suddenly appear out of nowhere to check the place again.

Kyran also did not want to take any chances against Lucian's freakishly wide Divine Sense range. With that in mind, he scanned his surroundings one more time before finally leaving.

"..."

Kyran felt somewhat foolish as he drifted through space. He wanted to use his storage pouch and take out some potions, but unfortunately, he was currently low on magic energy and could not open it. At the moment, his remaining magic energy was only enough to sustain the flying formation on his shoes.

The only thing keeping Kyran in a good mood was that he successfully

retrieved

the Macabre Glacier, Cyneah, Alta, and even True Void.

To be honest, Kyran thought he would have trouble locating True Void because his presence had disappeared completely. Surprisingly, Kyran found him hidden in the same space where Cyneah was.

Was it a coincidence?

Kyran did not know. He also did not care. What mattered was that they were all safe.

So how did he retrieve them when Lucian and Estrid went crazy earlier?

It was actually quite simple. Kyran went over to where he hid them, touched that

space

, and took them out.

That was right. Discover stories with empire

Kyran touched the space.

Obviously, there was no way for any being to touch space. However, Kyran managed to do that because he was in the Void State.

Taking them out of the space had been easy. The real challenge was where Kyran could

place

them. If it had been before, he would not have hesitated to open the Void World. That place might have been filled with Void magic energy, but there was a safe place inside his tower. However, his Void World was damaged after Estrid forced her way out from there, and at the moment, Kyran could barely stop its destruction.

In that short time, Kyran could only think of another place to put them— his storage pouch. The idea was so preposterous that he almost cursed himself for being unable to think of another way. But without any other option to choose from, he ended up trying it out.

It worked.

Kyran did not know why or how, but he resolved to interrogate his uncle when he returned.

What kind of cheat storage pouch did his Uncle Jared create, allowing him to store several living beings without causing problems?

Anyway, it was because of this that Kyran almost ran out of magic energy.

Kyran sighed and cleared his thoughts for the time being.

'Let's return first...' he thought, stealthily moving toward a specific destination. While he did, his thoughts drifted back to the scene where the silhouette appeared from within the cloud of smoke.

'The One Who Caused The Fall...'