Bia moved her eyes to look all around the hall. It was completely turned upside down.
-‘So… they are all dead? If not.. I don’t think I can continue.’
She took a deep breath to calm her raging heartbeat and slowly decreased her size. Right now, she did not have even an ounce of mana within her body. Her eyelids dropped due to heaviness and her wings flapped slowly barely lifting her weight.
Kyle hummed in response and slowly walked to stand beneath her. As if hearing his command, the ice sculptures all around him turned into bright particles and swirled around him before vanishing into thin air.
He looked up at the stubborn phoenix who did not come toward him even after they were done. With a sigh, he tapped his shoulder.
“It’s fine now. Come here and rest for a while.”
Bia opened her eyes and looked at him with resentment but she was too tired to argue. In the end, she threw the matter of revenge at the back of her head and briskly landed on his shoulder.
-‘I am going to beat you up once when I am a little stronger.’
Kyle chuckled a little and grabbed her body to caress her feathers.
‘Hmm, from the aura around your body, I think this outburst was good for you. Maybe, within a week you will break through to the next rank.’
Bia did not hear what he was saying and closed her eyes to sleep. Well, even if she did she was too tired to care. Kyle slowly patted her head a few more times. After confirming that she was asleep through her even breathing, he placed her inside his hoodie and his eyes darted around before finally locking in a certain direction.
His previous calm eyes turned cold. In an instant, his sword appeared in his hand. With a swift movement, he unsheathed the sword and pointed it in front of himself.
“So, how long are you planning to stay hidden?”
He waited for a few seconds and almost thought maybe he was mistaken. However, the intense stare he had been feeling at the back of his head from the moment he stepped into this hall was not something he could overlook. So, he tilted his head to try once again.
“Huh, do you want me to drag you out?”
Kyle chuckled a little and grabbed her body to caress her feathers.
‘Hmm, from the aura around your body, I think this outburst was good for you. Maybe, within a week you will break through to the next rank.’
Kyle’s voice sounded sarcastic. He was betting on this last try because even though he and Bia destroyed the hall and killed all the lizards the exit was nowhere to be seen. Doesn’t that mean they have to wait until the exit appears? So, instead of letting an unknown danger lurk around them, it was better to believe in his instinct.
He waited for a few more seconds but still did not get a reply. Kyle scoffed and took a step forward but as if finally admitting defeat an eerie laughter echoed in the hall.
Kyle narrowed his eyes when the sound grew louder and louder with each passing second. He lifted his hands to block Bia’s ears.
“Have some decency. Someone is sleeping stop laughing so loudly.”
The laughter stopped abruptly maybe due to his absurd remarks. And under Kyle’s gaze, a tall dark-skinned man stepped out from behind an invisible curtain.
A pair of familiar beady eyes peered at him with astonishment. The man unfurled his dark bat-like wings and Kyle noticed with a deep frown. The wings were bigger, bigger than the two winged men he killed a while ago. Moreover, the veins bulging around the man’s neck were deeper and more prominent.
The man grazed his sharp pointy nails on his palm and looked at Kyle from head to toe. His eyes reflected pure interest for the boy standing in front of him.
“Hey, human..”
His voice sounded rather loud as he stared directly into Kyle’s eyes.
“If you said you are one of those outsiders I won’t believe it because you are clearly stronger. Stronger than the weak ants I encountered. So… who are you?”
Kyle did not move but he felt uncomfortable under those dark eyes. It was like the man was trying to see all his secrets. He opened his mouth to reply but closed it again when he sensed Bia moving in his hoodie. In an instant, a familiar voice sounded in his head.
-‘Kyle, he is strong. No matter what don’t fight him. We won’t survive.’
He sensed the tension coiling around Bia and sighed.
‘After we are done here, I want an answer as to how you always know if someone is strong or not.’
Bia did not reply but if she was being truthful this was not a skill. It’s just, ever since she hatched, whenever she looked at someone she just had this feeling in her head about how strong they were. But her guesses weren’t always right, so she would brush it off every time Kyle brought it up.
“Well, I am just a wandering person who accidentally stumbled upon this realm. What about you…”
Kyle dragged his sentence and raked his eye on the man’s body. His actions betrayed all the nervousness he was feeling inside because he knew it, even before Bia’s tense voice resounded in his head. The man in front of him was not someone he could handle yet.
“Who are you? Is not fair if I am the only one replying.”
The winged man let out another laugh. Amused at the human who dared to speak with him with such a tone.
“My my my how unfair.. Isn’t it? Let me introduce myself properly. Hmm?”
He placed his hand on his chest with a wide smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“Myself Emion. The current leader of the dark race.”
His smile widened when Kyle’s body tensed.
“You know about dark race right? Or do I need to explain further human?”
Kyle cursed inwardly. The word ‘leader’ reverberated in his head again and again, making him painfully aware of the fact that the enemy was indeed a lot stronger than him.
‘Bia I think we need to run. Hmm, should I use the life-saving artifact master gave me?’
Bia freaked out and immediately grabbed him tightly with her toenails.
-‘The heck don’t you dare to leave me behind! or else I am going to haunt you even if I become a ghost!’
The tension around Kyle’s shoulders lessened due to her unexpected cry.
‘Don’t worry I won’t leave you behind after feeding you so many precious resources.’
He raised his hand to pat her head and looked at the man.
“Oh, dark race.. I indeed heard about it from someone but it’s so long that I don’t remember clearly. How about increasing my knowledge a little?”
-‘Kyle!! Why are you speaking as if he is your old friend? Oh no! Oh no! We are going to die!’