Kyran coughed out a mouthful of blood. His whole body felt heavy from the sudden assault. Even his insides were slightly crushed. If he did not learn body strengthening techniques, he might be vomiting more than his blood right now.
With great difficulty, Kyran lifted his head and looked at the man who came out of the tower.
The man had a pleasant face and an amiable temperament. Even his smile had a calming effect on most people.
To Kyran, however, all he could see was the malevolent aura seeping out from the man.
This man was dangerous. He had the same dangerous air Kyran felt around Nolan.
Celine told him that the highest officer guarding the Tower was a Master mage. But this man clearly was a level higher than that.
Could this man be the Head of Conclave?
“You’ve really done it,” the man said and looked far ahead. From where he stood, he could partly see the hole Kyran left on the defensive array.
He sighed and said, “I’ve seen it happen, but it still looks amazing.”
He looked back at Kyran and said. “You realized how much resources the Lord had used just to create the Tower’s array? Tsk-tsk-tsk… Now with just one skill, you wasted all of it.”
The man sound annoyed, but he was still smiling pleasantly.
“Well then, time for some compensation.”
Magic fluctuation erupted from the man and compared to the earlier assault, the pressure was tripled. The moment it bore down on Kyran, he toppled over as if a huge boulder fell on him.
“Guh!” He coughed out more blood.
The man’s expression became thoughtful while he watched Kyran. Normally, the pressure he used right now would be enough to knock out a person with a high magic defense. At times, it was enough to crush a person with average magic defense to death.
He rubbed his chin and observed Kyran for a few seconds. With a nod of his head, he said, “Very interesting. At first, I thought you had a very high magic defense. It turned out your coat actually has some magic resistance. On top of that, your physical defense is pretty good. Is that the Regis’s Body Tempering Technique?”
Kyran did not reply. More like, he could not reply. He was too focused on integrating his magic with his body technique in order to protect his body, especially his internal organs. Just what kind of magic did this man have? How could a mere pressure he exerted, could easily crush a person?
The man suddenly chuckled and shook his head, “Oh. Forgive me for asking a question. I forgot you can’t answer at this moment.”
Kyran gritted his teeth and forced himself up. He could feel his bones grinding as he managed to kneel on one knee.
“Very good. It seems your magic can withstand my pressure to some extent.”
Once again, Kyran coughed out a mouthful of blood.
The man gave a forlorn expression as he stared at the blood in front of Kyran.
“Shame. How many ounces of blood have you vomited. You know, alchemical studies have progressed nowadays. There is even a new way of researching magic attributes, and that’s by using blood samples. With all that blood, I am sure we will have a breakthrough in understanding Void magic. Hm… Well, selling it to the army might also bring a large sum, or maybe auctioning it to the black market may bring more profit.”
“S-Stop–.”
“You know, from a recent study, there is a high chance for a Saint Alchemist to actually concoct a potion from a mage’s blood? The effect of the potion is, of course, to–.”
“–messing with me!” Kyran roared. Five purple rings erupted from his body and expanded at an alarming speed. Its radius reached ten meters and immediately destroyed the man’s pressure.
“Oh. Nice call,” the man leaned on his staff as he clapped. “I’ve only heard of stories and rumors about what Void magic can do. Apparently, it can really destroy anything.”
Kyran glared at the man. His dark gray eyes already turned reddish-purple.
The man’s eyes narrowed as he held Kyran’s glare. Though Kyran had blood all over his body and was breathing heavily, the man sensed a visible dominating presence around him.
He smiled, “Too bad, you’re level is too low and–.”
The man’s words were interrupted when Kyran sprang to his feet and bolted at him.
The air around the man stirred and a semi-visible barrier, with a radius of three meters, was formed.
Purple dragon scales appeared and formed a gauntlet on both Kyran’s hands. As soon as he got near, he made a sudden stop with his left leg in front. Then he shifted his weight as he twisted his hips and aimed at the barrier.
Shockwave formed the moment Kyran’s fist, touched the barrier.
The man whistled as he watched his barrier started to disintegrate from the spot where Kyran had hit.
“Such a frightening punch. No, wait, you wrapped your magic around your fist! Hahaha! Ingenious! I have seen others integrate their magic into their weapons, but this is the first time I see someone use magic this way!”
Kyran frowned, he saw the barrier getting destroyed. But the man was able to reinforce the barrier faster than his magic could destroy it.
This man was definitely on the same level as Nolan. Although Kyran had not seen Nolan fight seriously, the man’s control over his magic was as flawless as Nolan’s.
Without wasting any time, Kyran bombarded the barrier with his fists.
“Your punches are very powerful. Young Cade made the right decision in nurturing your physical strength,” the man said with a nod of his head. “Even without your magic, you will be a force to be reckoned with.”
The man became thoughtful as an idea crossed his mind, “I wonder if I’ll be able to take on your attack if I did not use any physical defense.”
He chuckled and said loud enough for Kyran to hear, “Ah… I am tempted to lower my barrier.”
Then he looked at Kyran and smiled, “You won’t disappoint me right?”
Kyran gritted his teeth. This man… had a few loose screws in his head.
Honestly, Kyran was not planning to fight this man, especially if he was the Head of Conclave. But after finding out the man’s strength, Kyran knew that the only way to get him to listen to his demands was to show his own value. If the man was really the Head of Conclave, who agreed on making a deal with the Regis Clan while keeping his secret, then there would be room for negotiation.
However, the more Kyran looked at the man and hear him speak, he realized this man would never listen to his demands.
Just like Nolan and Celine, this man also had a weird quirk; He had a very twisted mind.
‘Tsk.’
Kyran abruptly stopped and spread his arms. The purple dragon scales gathered on both his palms as he controlled it to form into a disc.
“Oh?” The man looked at Kyran in interest. “It’s only been two days since you left the Regis Estate, and yet you can already control your magic to this extent.”
Kyran froze.
‘Huh?’
“It is already a proven case, but still it is amazing how one can grow when your life is in danger. Oh, right, there are still cases when you simply die because you are just too weak. Hahaha!”
“You…” Kyran’s reddish-purple eyes glinted malevolently as the air around him started to crackle.
“You knew what happened to my clan?” he asked through gritted teeth. The discs on his palms disintegrated as his whole body emitted a dark purplish aura.
Small fissures appeared as the dark purplish aura around Kyran expanded.
The man’s eyes narrowed as the barrier sizzled the moment Kyran’s leaking aura touched it. Still, he looked unfazed and just smiled at Kyran, “I do. I’ve seen it.”
The fissures in the air crackled fiercely as Kyran lowered his head.
“Seen it? You were there?” He asked, his voice deepened.
The man did not answer, but his smile suddenly turned wicked.
“Die.”
Kyran’s aura exploded and a huge semi-transparent dark sphere engulfed him and the man.
==========================
Nolan, who was forced to move back after he entered his domain felt the sudden rise of the temperature. He left his domain to check the entrance of the main tower, but was shocked to find a semi-transparent dark sphere around it.
This sphere was different from the one Kyran used to destroy the defensive array. Because the moat and the unconscious soldiers and mages that the sphere ‘touched’, were still intact.
However, Nolan felt a terrible sense of hopelessness just by standing near the sphere. What kind of magic was it?
‘Don’t tell me… This is a domain?’
He knew it was him who thought that, but it scared the hell out of him.
How old was Kyran? He was just eighteen! On top of that, he only started to familiarize himself with magic a couple of days ago.
‘The kid could not even control his f*cking magic for more than 30 seconds! But now he could actually summon a domain? That was just f*cking crazy.’
No, it was simply impossible. Summoning a domain was not a simple feat. You need to have the magic reserve of a Magus because creating one needed a large amount of energy. Apart from that, maintaining a domain was very draining.
But no matter how much Nolan tried to contradict his initial thought, he could not deny that this semi-transparent black sphere was Kyran’s doing. And right now, he could not sense anything inside. He could not even see anything apart from the structure and the people that were lying on the ground near the tower.
“Stay right there and don’t move!”
A voice suddenly warned Nolan from behind.
‘Oh, shit!’ He cursed.
The scene in front of him shocked him senseless that he failed to sense that there were people coming.
“You dare to attack the Conclave!”
Nolan immediately raised his arms and said, “Wait! This is a misunderstanding!”
“What misunderstanding?”
Nolan turned around to face the people who were standing a few meters away from him. All of them had their weapons aimed at him.
He immediately recognized the Chairman of the Mercenary Hall and some members of the Security Unit.
“Chairman,” Millard, who also recognized Nolan lowered his weapon and looked at Hugh. “He is Black Steel Nolan, one of the top mercenaries from the Mercenary Hall.”
“A mercenary dared to attack the Conclave?” Hugh glared at Nolan fiercely.
“Whoa, easy there old man. Watch your blood pressure, I could see your veins popping. I said it’s a misunderstanding,” Nolan replied.
Black lines appeared on the heads of the Security Unit. They secretly checked Hugh’s expression and were relieved to find that he was not offended by Nolan’s words.
With his arms still raised, Nolan pointed at the semi-transparent sphere behind him. “Your man is inside that sphere. I came here because I was in the area when I saw that big-ass hole in the Tower’s barrier. I thought something might’ve happened and rushed here.”
Hugh frowned and also looked at the sphere. When they saw the sphere, they were all frightened, thinking that they might be too late.
They actually got delayed on their way to the main tower because he ordered Millard and the others to check on the soldiers and mages they found lying unconscious on the ground. He was thankful that none of them were dead. Although, most of them had broken bones, and if they were not properly tended, they might suffer serious physical trauma.
“Then show your face,” Hugh ordered Nolan. Although he believed Millard, he still wanted to check.
“Oh. Sure, sure.” Nolan nodded and lowered his hood.
Hugh’s eyes narrowed as he recognized him. After all, Nolan was a top mercenary of their Hall and a High Master Abjurer.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
Nolan shook his head and looked at the sphere again. “Not that long. But this sphere wasn’t here yet. It just appeared a few seconds ago and it doesn’t look good.”
Hugh also looked at the sphere. “Hm. But we can’t stay here. We need to go in and see what’s happening.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Nolan nodded and moved aside.
“Be my guest,” he said and gestured for Hugh and his men to pass.
Hugh raised his brows, “Aren’t you coming?”
Nolan grinned, “Of course I am. But since you’re the leader, please go on ahead. I’ll be right here at the back. I’m an Abjurer so I’m pretty useless when it comes to ‘breaking’ barriers. I’m good at making one though, so don’t worry. I got your backs while you try to break in there.”
‘This…’ Millard and the others could not help but sweat from Nolan’s shameless attitude.
To their surprise, Hugh only nodded his head. “Yes, you’re right. Abjurers are mostly useless in dealing with barriers.”
A vein appeared on Nolan’s head.
‘It is fine when I said it, but that f*cking hit a nerve old man.’ He thought.
Hugh looked at six members of the Security Unit and said, “You six checked the people around here and get them to safety. Captain Millard and the rest will help me break this sphere and we will–.”
“AAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!”
A chilling scream turned laughter resounded from inside the sphere.
‘That voice–.’
“That voice!”
Nolan and Hugh thought and said at the same time.
‘–Is not the kid,’ Nolan heaved a sigh of relief.
“Head Master!” Hugh and the others exclaimed.
They immediately rushed inside the sphere.
“O-Oi! What happened in breaking the sphere and… Oh, f*ck it!” Nolan cursed and also run inside.
As soon as Nolan, Hugh, and the rest of the Security Unit entered the sphere, they felt their magic defenses disappear.
“What in f*cking hell!” Nolan cursed when he tried to summon his magic defense and failed. He tried to summon his magic and also failed.
This really was a domain! And its effect was a bane to any mage!
“Ahahahahahaha! You… This feeling is… guh!”
They all looked ahead and the scene that greeted them almost made their hearts stopped.
A young man with dark hair and a similarly dark coat was standing a few meters away from them. Both of his hands were bloody and on his left, he was holding something.
A couple of meters away from the young man, they saw the Head of Conclave, on his knees coughing out a mouthful of blood. His broken staff was lying a few feet in front of him, and he was clutching the front of his bloodied white robe.
The man looked at Kyran, his eyes were bloodshot and blood trickled down his mouth. But he was still smiling, “That felt so real! It hurts a lot!”
Kyran looked at him indifferently as he threw what he was holding in his hand.
Nolan and the others did not see it clearly, but they could already guess what it was.
One young member of the Security Unit fell on his knees and vomited.
“You’re a sly one. I missed and took out the wrong one,” Kyran said, his deep voice remained emotionless. “I won’t miss a second time.”
“Kyran, don’t!”
“Stop!”
Nolan and Hugh shouted at the same time.
But Kyran already moved.
Suddenly.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Several golden arrays appeared and hovered above the sphere.
On a closer look, these arrays were not really arrays but clocks. And their sizes varied from small to big.
All movements inside the sphere suddenly stopped.
Kyran frowned as he sensed something foreign entered his sphere.
“Who said you can run amok in my house?”
A cold but soft, feminine voice asked.
Kyran looked up and saw a semi-transparent golden sphere descended.
It effortlessly entered and even maintained its spherical form after entering Kyran’s sphere.
Inside the golden sphere, was a young woman. Her golden blonde hair was neatly braided and hung loose on her left shoulder and her eyes glowed gold. She wore a loose white dress that fluttered in the air, and also showed off her beautiful long legs as she descended.
Most of them were awestruck because of the woman’s beauty.
“L-Lord of the Tower,” Hugh wanted to kneel down in respect, but everyone was still under the influence of her magic and could not move.
“M-My beautiful Lord…” The man also greeted with a smile.
The young woman glanced at him in disdain.
“Malek, what did I tell you about your annoying smile?”
“Apologies, Milord. Seeing you my heart is just so full and I can’t stop myself from smiling.”
“Your heart, huh.”
“Are you going to protect that man?” Kyran suddenly spoke. His reddish-purple eyes still glinted with murderous intent.
The young woman turned to look at him. Her expression slightly changed and she muttered, “Caelan?”
Kyran tilted his head. Purple rings appeared on both of his hands.
“If you want to protect that man, I’ll kill you too.”
The young woman’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled and said, “Kill me? So you can move even though you are under the influence of my magic. You really believe that’s enough to kill me?”
“Watch me.”