Legacy of the Dark Sage

After Kyran said this piece, he warped directly to Stella's chamber.

With Avrum and Emery assisting him, Vaness took charge of the aftermath.

Although Kyran assured them they were safe for now, the last two words were the keywords.

Vaness, Avrum and Emery did not need to hear him elaborate on what he meant because their initial readings on the map Kyran provided showed several enemies were still on standby a few hundred meters from the Tower of Conclave's borders.

With those numbers, defending against the next wave would be impossible, even with Kyran's protection.

They were not underestimating Kyran. After witnessing him killing hundreds of Grand Masters in a blink of an eye, how could they underestimate him? They were only afraid that the enemies would run him dry.

After delegating tasks to members with minor injuries, Vaness had Avrum go back and assist Malia in healing Hugh.

Avrum did not protest because Hugh was considered their second offensive person. As long as they could find a way to alleviate his injuries, he could help Kyran fight against the enemies.

Meanwhile, Kyran's mood worsened when he appeared in Stella's chamber. This was because of the dense death aura that appeared around Cyneah once again.

When they had met at the cave in the Valley of Morte', Cyneah had been covered by the same death aura. However, after coming to the cottage and receiving Anette's healing, that aura slowly disappeared.

But that was the thing. When the death aura appeared on Cyneah before, it was because her body and health were in a terrible condition. She suffered from internal and external wounds and even malnutrition.

But that was not the case right now. Apart from her pale complexion— because she had yet to recover from the episode wherein her soul had left her body— she could be considered a very healthy young woman.

So why was the death aura back again?

It was not really a question because Kyran knew the answer and was unhappy about it.

The cause obviously had something to do with 'Layla.'

From the foot of the bed where the two ladies were huddled together, Cyneah lifted her head slightly after sensing Kyran's arrival.

"Nar?" She called.

Kyran scowled after hearing her but did not say anything. Instead, he looked at Stella, who was sitting beside her.

Stella looked at him, too and wore a bitter smile. She said, "I'm sorry I could only do so much."

"You've done enough," Kyran assured her.

Who knew what would have happened if Stella did not bring Cyneah to her chambers?

"I'm surprised you're still here," Kyran added, staring at Stella indifferently.

"Stella still needs time to recuperate."

"Right," Kyran replied curtly and finally turned his attention back to Cyneah.

Cyneah sensed Kyran's eyes on her and looked back at him.

"I know you have questions," he started. "But I can't answer them right now."

Before Kyran could continue, he noticed Stella pursed her lip uneasily. He could not help but sigh inwardly after realizing they might have already talked about a lot of 'things.'

'How much did you tell her?' Kyran asked Stella telepathically.

'Only the things she needs to know.'

'There are things she needs to know but can't yet.'

'And what would that be?'

Kyran did not reply. Instead, he walked toward Cyneah and reached for her hand.

"I'll take you somewhere safer," he told her.

Before he could take her hand, however, she hid them behind her back.

"Don't treat me like a damsel in distress," Cyneah complained with a frown.

Kyran's brow twitched slightly.

"I'm not. But if you stay here—."

"She can get to me?"

Kyran glared at Stella upon hearing Cyneah's come back.

Stella looked at him innocently while lifting her open hands as if to say: "I did not say anything."

Cyneah, seemingly sensing the not-so-subtle exchange between the two, pursed her lips in annoyance.

"I may be blind, but I'm not stupid," she told Kyran, clearly irritated at how she was being treated. "I know I'm the reason why this happened."

Kyran sighed. Instead of arguing with her, he said, "You're just part of the reason. Don't think too highly of yourself."

Cyneah tried her best to glare at him. However, her line of sight was too off that her actions appeared awkward and even endearing.

"All of us have to leave, anyway. I'm just taking you first."

"Can't sister Stella come?"

Kyran looked at Stella, 'Sister Stella?'

Stella kept looking at him innocently and replied, 'Technically, I am older than her.'

'Way older.'

'That is unnecessary!'

Kyran ignored her.

"She can't," Kyran told Cyneah. "We're going back to the cottage. You know how only a few could go there, right?"

Then, Cyneah's face lit up after remembering something, and she asked, "Is master there?"

"She will be."

"'Will be?'" She repeated.

"She had to do some errands."

"Zephy?"

Kyran sighed, "He will be there too. Later."

"For short. Everyone is out here, risking their lives while I had to stay hidden in a safe place?"

"Yes."

Cyneah glared at him.

"You are still recovering from..." Kyran paused, recalling he was the one who caused her soul to leave her body. "Just stay there for now, and we'll get to you after everything is settled."

Instead of answering, Cyneah stood up and walked toward the doors.

"Oi," Kyran called and followed her.

Stella also stood up and followed them curiously.

"I want to help heal the wounded," Cyneah suddenly declared as if she did not hear what Kyran had just said.

Kyran looked at her in confusion. Somehow, he felt Cyneah was acting rebelliously. This made him wonder what sort of things Stella said for her to act this way.

"I'll take you there," Stella said, grabbing her by the hand before activating the tower's teleportation array.

"Oi," Kyran called again, but Cyneah ignored him while Stella looked at him with a wry smile.

'I know how important it is to keep her safe. But if you treat her like this, she will continue to reject you.'

'I don't even know what you mean about 'like this.' Just what did you tell her? Why is she acting like this?'

'You are acting somewhat strange yourself,' Stelka pointed with an amused smile. 'You appear domineering but you don't really force her to listen to you.'

Kyran did not respond. To be precise, he did not know what to say so he decided to remain silent.

True to what Stella had said, although Kyran wanted to bring Cyneah back to the cottage- which to him was the safest place in the Human plane right now- he did not want to force her. If she wanted to stay, then so be it. But if she stayed, he would be forced to keep her close to him.

To be honest, the second safest place for Cyneah to be was to stay close to him.

It was not conceit that made Kyran think this way. He only thought that as long she stayed close, then he could protect her better.

Of course, the cottage was still the safest place for her because of its new surroundings. Since he relocated the cottage in the Misty Forest, and the mist around had grown thicker since the last time he had been there, it would be impossible for their enemies to locate her.

it would even be impossible for them to infiltrate that place and successfully take her away.

Apart from this, the array formation Kyran prepared around the cottage was far better than the one in the Tower of Conclave.

The reason was simple. When Kyran improved the Tower of Conclave's array formation, Noir and Simga already had a blueprint for it. The one in the cottage was Kyran's own blueprint, thus, he had better grasp on it.

Although initially the cottage had its own array formation, after tweaking it the first time, Kyran had already owned the formation the second time he worked on it.

Besides, the materials he used on the formation were not something that could easily be destroyed.

Truth be told, Kyran also wanted to go to the cottage because he wanted to check on his father and also the Chaos Palace.

He wondered if he could find True Void's body if he went inside.

Of course there was no guarantee that he woukd be able to go inside the palace, but it was still worth a try. If he coukd at least find

True Void's body, maybe he could really have what it means to destroy the Macabre Glacier. When that happened, they would only have to deal with the rest of Layla's cronies, right? In particular, all the Archmagus and Osric.

In any case, there was also a possibility that he could get 'Caelan' to appear in his sea of consciousness after going back there.

When that happened, he could find out more about the mystery behind Layla. Because Kyran had a feeling 'Caelan's' reason for not killing Layla was not because he was in love with her. Kyran believed there was a bigger reason. And he wanted to know what it was.