Legacy of the Dark Sage



Kaleel cursed as he retreated to the other side of the chasm wall. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him without looking back to check if those black things were still after him. Because he knew they were, and if he hesitated even a quarter of a second, he would end up like Sekir.

A few hours ago, Captain Hohen tasked him and Sekir to scout the location ahead of time and intercept any outsiders they come across.

The decision behind their mission was not random, though Prince Achim and his people were unaware of it. It was not mutiny that made them hide this from the Prince. After analyzing the third party that helped the Eidums in the last two raids, they decided to add precautionary measures.

Besides, they received word from one of their informants that the outsiders eyeing their plane had already made contact with the leaders of the other nations. Although they had yet to confirm if an outsider did make contact with the Eidums because their Abbot was missing, they still had to consider that the outsider made a deal with the Abbot's son instead. They could have even asked the Saint.

In any case, their leader had already confirmed that the mysterious fighter who assisted the Eidums was not from Howling Pass. If that was the case, there was only one other explanation for his identity— he was an outsider.

Looking at the two previous raids they had against the Eidums, the mysterious fighter singlehandedly dealt with their forces the first time. As for the second, he was late. From this, they surmised he was not staying with the Eidums. But they believed he was somewhere close since he managed to arrive before the Eidums were defeated.

At that moment, their main forces had already started attacking the Eidum's main gate. Chances that they sent out an SOS to that mysterious fighter were high, thus, their leader believed he would appear at any time.

Kaleel and Sekir's mission was to intercept him or any outsider that came their way. Their leader chose them because, based on their analysis of the mysterious fighter's strengths and possible weaknesses, their Divine Armament's capabilities had the highest chance of dealing with him.

Kaleel's Phantom Blade was among the most advanced stealth attacks in Armakea, while Sekir's Lightning Strike had a numbing effect and could be utilized in a large area. Their leader believed that if the two of them worked together, Kaleel could pressure the mysterious fighter while Sekir found an opportunity to use Lightning Strike to knock him unconscious.

Yes. Their mission was to knock him out, contrary to Sekir's earlier declaration of disposing of any outsider.

Unexpectedly, they found a different outsider possessing bizarre magic. What was more, their abilities were not working on him.

'The Eidums are treacherous. I must let Leader know that they struck a deal with not one but two outsiders!' Kaleel thought through gritted teeth. As he thought this, his battle instincts kicked in as he sensed an incoming danger from behind.

Kaleel jumped while striking his long sword vertically to the ground three times. Several phantom blades appeared and cut through the black things that leaped at him like strange, uneven hands.

He cursed silently as the phantom blades neared the hands— others might not see the blades, but because he was the one to unleash them, he could see them as clear as day— because he already knew it was useless to cut through those black things. He believed his Phantom Blades would have shown their true strength if aimed at the mysterious fighter with these black, uneven-looking hands.

Unbeknownst to Kaleel, if his Phantom Blades were to be aimed at Kyran, it would not have made any difference. Whether Kyran dodged it or not, those invisible blades could not hurt him.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Surprisingly, the phantom blades cut through the black, uneven-looking hands this time, slicing them into several pieces.

Kaleel was stunned for a second because of this result, which almost cost him his life.

A strange-looking black golem emerged from the now-blackened ground. It looked strange because it did not have any arms or a torso. It only had a smooth bald head with bright glowing red eyes. It then opened its mouth, revealing razor-sharp black teeth.

"Ngh...!"

Kaleel forcefully twisted his body midair and slashed his long sword again, aiming it at the incoming strange-looking golem. Simultaneously, he took an orb from his pocket and threw it at the spot where he would land.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The strange-looking golem was cut into several pieces, and it let out a silent cry of agony before dissolving into the blackened ground.

The orb Kaleel threw exploded with a soft puff, and a floating crystal board appeared. Looking at the flying board, his heart broke a little. This item was one of his priced treasures— a lost technology he received as a reward after successfully completing a high-risk mission. He also paid a huge amount of gold to ask a Space mage to store it inside a one-time-use orb.

He did not want to use it because he believed he could outrun those black things and reach the Armakea border.

Alas, that did not happen.

Kaleel shook his head, put aside his feelings of regret, and willed the flying board toward the direction of the Armakea border.

Gael's eyes narrowed as he looked at the flying board the tall knight boarded. Because of it, the latter's speed increased.

'This won't do,' Gael thought. His intent to kill surged as he retracted his domain. He had to pick up his speed if he wanted to kill the tall knight. 

However, Gael's domain lacks the speed he needs to catch the tall knight. That was because the area he could move around was limited to the range of his domain.

But that was a different story if he used his Shadow magic's other ability. To do that, he had to leave and retract his domain. He would be exposed momentarily, but as long as he used the natural shadows in the surroundings to hide and move around, he should be fine.

Gael did just that and shortened the distance between him and the tall knight.

Meanwhile, Kaleel was stumped. Earlier, he was positive that his Phantom Blades did not work on those black things. How come they were working now? Not that he was complaining.

As he sped toward the Armakea's border, he suddenly sensed the decrease in danger aimed at him and finally took the chance to look behind. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion as he found those black things no longer followed him.

'Did I lose him?' He wondered.

Though Kaleel considered this thought, he did not lower his guard. He even picked up his pace because he would be truly safe only when he reached their border's defensive line. As a citizen of Armakea, he was recognized by the border's defenses. But once the outsider crossed that line, he would be doomed.

Gael hopped from one shadow to another while watching the tall knight's flight closely. He knew Armakea knights could detect his presence even if he hid inside a shadow and could only keep a reasonable distance. Nevertheless, his killing intent had already eased the more he observed the tall knight.

The bow-wielding knight earlier was far too weak regarding combat skills, decision-making, and judgment, so Gael did not hesitate to kill him.

But the tall knight was different.

Frankly, Gael found the tall knight's decision to retreat when he realized they could not deal with his magic a wise one. It was not cowardice like the bow-wielding knight had said. Apart from this, the tall knight did not lower his speed or guard after seeing that Gael's shadows no longer pursued him.

From this, Gael gleaned that the tall knight was one of those exemplary knights who could be a good addition to his master's subordinates.

Killing him would be a waste of talent. Turning him into a Shadow minion was also out of the question. After all, Shadow minions' level and strength would not go over his own. Unlike if the tall knight was absorbed and reborn as one of his master's servants, his potential would be limitless.

Considering this, Gael no longer considered killing the tall knight. Rather, he wanted to ensure that the latter would be among the knights that would become his master's subordinate.

From this incident, however, Gael knew the tall knight was working under a different leadership.

'Anyway, I must know why Achim and the others got delayed. Following this guy will lead me to them. Hopefully, nothing untoward happened to them.'

When Gael encountered Kaleel and Sekir, Kyran finally saw what was inside the cargo.

As the three magical beasts roared and screamed in defiance and reverence, the door to the cargo opened, and a beautiful young woman in a white dress stepped out. There was something unearthly about the young woman.

However, that was unimportant to Kyran as he roused his Draconic magic to enhance his senses. He had to do this to get a better look at the young woman.

After observing for a few seconds, Kyran's eyes widened in disbelief.