Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran reappeared a few hundred meters from where he fought off the army's deputy marshals, his expression grim.

He had not intended to warp. But old habits die hard.

After being forced to use only his Void magic in the Tower of Tribulation, he stopped relying on his body's endurance and utilized what he could do with his Void magic. Without the Draconic magic supporting his body strengthening techniques, his body's endurance had limits. For this reason, he got used to teleporting and warping for longer distances. He also learned how to warp others with him without them suffering.

Unfortunately, when facing a surprise attack, he believed his body could not endure; even with numerous protection, his mind automatically ordered him to warp.

And that was what happened.

Because Kyran did not know if his body could last the attack, by reflex, he warped.

As soon as he did, however, he felt an overwhelming disappointment.

But the cause of his sentiment had nothing to do with having his Void magic detected. With the Shaiha converting Kyran's magic energy, his magic signature was undetectable.

The real reason Kyran felt disappointed was that Mannick witnessed him warping after his mask got destroyed.

Going back a few seconds, while engulfed by the continuous flaming green attack, Kyran and Mannick were both taken by surprise.

They did not sense the Manticore's approach nor its attack.

Thinking back, Kyran realized that it was not that he did not sense the Manticore, but because it did not move when it unleashed its flames. It meant it was Kyran and Mannick who entered its firing range.

Not even a second after the flames covered them, Kyran's shape-shifting plates and the mask began to melt.

The same went for Mannick. His magic barrier got destroyed in an instant and his uniform burned. When the flames touched his skin, it also showed signs of melting.

Yes. Melting, not burning.

Mannick's body 'melting' at that point had nothing to do with the flames but his magic or innate ability. However, Kyran had no time to confirm this because his situation was not doing well.

His physical and magic defenses were high, but there was no guarantee he could survive the attack unscathed. Aside from this, his defenses were one thing, but what about the shape-shifting plates and the panther mask? Most important of all, True Void was currently residing in the plates. He could return inside Kyran's Void core, but finding a new vessel for him would be troublesome. There were no materials in the Human plane he could use to create more of the plates.

Factoring all this, Kyran deemed the best course of action was to warp. This way, he could escape the flames without further exposing the plates and the mask. Besides, even if he ran away from the flames, Imman was waiting outside. If an accident happened and his mask crumbled, it would be troublesome.

Sensing the panther mask dissolving at an unbelievable speed, Kyran warped to a safe distance.

Yet, he did not warp fast enough before the mask got destroyed. At that moment, Mannick, who adjusted to the flames, made a move of charging forward to grab him.

Kyran sighed as he remembered Mannick's expression when his mask broke, and a purple light covered his body.

Mannick's eyes widened. In a blink of an eye, his eyes lost their coldness and were replaced with...

[That guy's eyes looked strange at that last moment, Void Halfling.]

Kyran snapped out of his reverie and regarded True Void in his head.

'What?'

[I said that guy.]

True Void repeated.

[Near the end, when he made the last attempt of charging toward you, he actually looked scared. I guess any human will make that kind of expression in the face of death.]

Kyran raised his brows, 'You think he is scared of dying?'

True Void crossed his imaginary arms and harumphed.

[Humph! No human below a Magus can survive that poisonous flame— hm?]

He stopped suddenly and repeated Kyran's words in his head before continuing.

['Is?' Not 'was'?]

'When he charged at me, he didn't look like someone attempting a last attack. I'm not sure, but his body turning like that might be because of the nature of his magic or innate ability,' Kyran answered.

[No way! That green flames may look average, but that was an attack released by a legendary beast. Regardless of his magic or innate ability, he shouldn't be able to survive it given the gap in magic level.]

'You have a point, but...' Kyran smiled bitterly. 'He survived that, and I also have to find him.'

[Well, I don't sense him anymore. That's why I'm positive he died in those flames.]

'No. He's still out there and is hiding. It is faint, but I can still sense his presence.'

[You and your annoying monstrous magic sense. Ha....]

True Void sighed after realizing another problem.

[I've lost too many plates... and you can't even make new ones. I can't even make a full-body armor with the ones remaining. Now I will have to adjust them and cover only the most critical areas of your body— oh my goodness! Void Halfling! Your face! Your face is showing! Where is your mask? Why are you using your real face!]

Kyran smiled bitterly, 'You speak as if my real face can be 'removed' by how you say 'using.' And seriously, you are only noticing my mask got destroyed?'

A thought crossed True Void's mind, and he yelped in frustration.

[Wait. Then—! This is bad. Really bad! You're not going to tell me that the look on that guy's face just now is because he saw your face...!]

'Yeah. When my mask broke, he probably recognized me too.'

[Why aren't you wearing your face-altering mask then?]

'Silas is wearing it while pretending to be Tyr.'

[UGH! Let's go then! Take a deep breath and concentrate. Find that guy now! We have to remove any witnesses! No. Now that it has come to this. That guy might have already warned the other two. Stop holding back and get rid of them now!]

'...'

Kyran did not respond and only stood there in silence.

[Oi, Void Halfling! This is not the time to dally! Let's go.]

'I know. But...'

Using his right hand, he grabbed his left arm, which had started to throb a few seconds ago.

True Void noticed this and gasped after seeing Kyran's arm.

[I-Isn't that—?]

A cold sweat trickled down the side of Kyran's face. He had been holding the pain while keeping his energy circulation at a minimum. However, it seemed he was also nearing his limits.

'Yeah... that guy's mark. It's acting up.'

That was right. The gift the Sovereign of Ruins had left him.

The Mark of Ruin.

'Nolan's seal probably got done in by the Manticore's attack.'

[B-But you have the Shaiha. If the mark can empower your aura with the Shaiha, it should have neutralized the effect...]

'That is not what I am worried about. With the mark acting up, I can't make full use of my Void magic. Also... I can't help but have a bad feeling right now.'

True Void fell silent. He knew very well what Kyran's 'bad feeling' meant. It was not an innate ability, but True Void guessed Kyran developed it after being exposed to so many dangers.

Nevertheless, there were times when Kyran's 'bad' feeling was not bad per se. Sometimes, what would happen was simply a prelude to another encounter. Whether the subsequent encounter would end up good or bad depended on Kyran's choice.

[Let's escape then. Forget about the beasts. As for the Echidna, take it to your domain. Now that the Chains of Erce' are restraining it, it would not be able to fight back—.]

WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH!

Three golden pillars appear twenty meters from Kyran on three different points, forming a triangle.

[Ack! It's another ambush!]

True Void panic-stricken voice shouted in Kyran's head.

[Run!]

However, the moment he said this, multi-colored runes emerged from the golden pillars, filling the spaces between the three points.

Any sane person seeing this would stop the runes from filling the space or escape before getting trapped inside the pillars. And Kyran did make an attempt. However, his body suddenly stopped for some reason, and a mild tremor spread in his core.

It did not take long for him to realize the soft tremor came from his Void core. If this was true, then these pillars were something his predecessor had encountered before.

Whether the encounter ended up good or bad, Kyran was unsure. Still, he did not sense any ill-intent coming from them.

Five meters away in front, the space distorted as the magic energy inside the enclosed space converged. Slowly a human's silhouette formed from the converging magic energy.

"This presence...!" True Void muttered as his imaginary eyes widened while looking at the silhouette in front. "This is the familiar presence I felt earlier...! Y-You are...!"

His voice trailed off as the silhouette finally took form, revealing a somewhat familiar face. The only difference was his hair and eye colors were different.

Instead of having long reddish-brown hair, it had ash blonde. And the green eyes were now golden brown.

That was right.

Standing before Kyran was none other than Mannick. And his golden brown eyes reflected the same expression he had when he witnessed Kyran warping.

His eyes did not look scared.

No.

The correct word to describe them would be anticipation.

A bitter smile appeared on Mannick's face after hearing True Void's words.

"You have sensed my presence, and yet you did not try to call for me."

"How would I know?" True Void retorted while disengaging the shape-shifting plates on Kyran. Then he turned into a miniature Void Armor.

"Oi!" Kyran exclaimed.

What was this guy thinking exposing him in front of Mannick?

"Relax, Void Halfing," True Void said while landing on Kyran's shoulder.

"I told you before that I am Master's Ultimate Weapon. But Master can wield me with no worries because someone trustworthy stood in front to protect him, and that person is...

"Master's right-hand man, the Most Fateful Shield, Azaloth."