Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran took advantage of the force of the woman's kick to gain some distance. Then, he regulated his momentum to regain his balance and make his escape.

[How's your body?]

Shaiha asked in concern. She was frustrated at the thought of her and Kyran being connected but could not share the same pain. She could listen to his thoughts and sense most of his emotions, but physically, she could not feel his pain. If she could, she would not mind sharing the burden so he would not have to endure everything alone.

'...'

Kyran did not respond.

Actually, he could not respond because he had all his attention on getting as far away from the woman as possible.

Frankly, this unexpected confrontation would not have happened had he noticed the woman's presence earlier. But the woman seemed to be using a strange cloaking spell that blended her presence with the surroundings. Her mastery over her innate magic, which he now confirmed as Sound magic, was also very high.

Kyran knew a few mages in the Lower Realm with innate Sound magic, with Celine as the first. But thus far, he had not seen any of them use Sound magic the same way the woman did, especially with her movement.

Moreover, the woman was a combat mage who fully used the Higher Realm's Magic Law. The golden blades she used were not magic weapons but mediums, which was why Kyran could not quickly destroy them, even if he imbued his black swords with Void magic.

The use of mediums in the Higher Realm is popular among combat mages in the Higher Realm. This is because mediums are manifestations of their core.

When Kyran first read this, he realized at once that this law was similar to Somuli's Divine Armament.

Because the Higher Realm's Magic Law is a completed version of the combined magic laws in the Lower Realm, mediums are far more powerful than Divine Armaments. The transfer of their wielder's innate magic is also flawless. Even the magic energy they need to function does not require their wielder's source.

Since they are manifestations of their wielder's core, they work similarly to magic cores and can attract magic energy in their surroundings by themselves. Moreover, there can be as many mediums as the wielder desires. Of course, manifesting several mediums at once can be overly taxing to their wielder. Thus, most of the combat mages only manifest up to five mediums at once.

The woman wielded two mediums, but Kyran had an inkling she could wield more. She was just holding back because she wanted him alive.

[...ran, watch out!]

Kyran snapped out of his reverie as Shaiha's warning finally got through him.

His eyes widened as he saw a golden blade appear in his line of view several meters ahead. It vibrated malevolently, gathering the surrounding magic energies into its blade.

[It's going to unleash that sound attack again!]

'Tsk,' Kyran clicked his tongue in annoyance. He did not expect the woman's range of influence to be so broad that she could easily manifest her golden blade anywhere she wanted.

In the Lower Realm, a mage's range of influence depended on the level of their magic sense. Even among the Sovereigns, only a few managed to achieve the highest level of magic sense.

Kyran's magic sense could be considered one of the strongest among those who mastered it. He would not arrogantly declare he was the strongest because he witnessed what Nolan and even his father, Cade, could do with their magic senses. There were Azaloth and a few other members of the Guardians who mastered their magic sense, including Axil, as well.

Nevertheless, their magic sense could not be compared to that of the mages of the Higher Realm. That was how enormous the gulf in mastery and influence was between both realms.

This is because, in the Higher Realm, there is something called Divine Eye.

Divine Eye is an advanced version of Magic Sense. However, only High Sovereigns have achieved this.

The woman after Kyran seemed to possess this, given her vast magic range. This also confirmed her mage level— that she was a High Sovereign.

What were the chances of Kyran actually bumping into the unconfirmed existence of a High Sovereign overseeing The Council?

Close to zero.

Kyran lucked out because he still bumped into her, even in that small probability.

Wait. Rather than lucking out, it was more like he was very lucky since he bumped into her.

In any case, Kyran knew the woman was from The Council and not another High Sovereign. This was because, if she was not, Oceanus or Leif would have already done something to help him. Since they stayed their hand, it meant they knew the woman and did not want to cross her by coming to his rescue.

Kyran was not disappointed that Oceanus and Leif decided not to interfere since he never wanted to rely on their help and protection. He only wanted to form a partnership with them to gather important intel. Nevertheless, their stance made him realize how alone he was in the Higher Realm. This further increased his desire to find the Dragon Clan's portal in the Tower of the Ancients.

Crackle! Fwooom!

The golden blade erupted with a deafening sound, which seemed to be visible to the naked eye. It spread in every direction and was particularly after where Kyran was.

But.

Crackle! Sizzle!

Dragon Steps!

[Kyran!]

Shaiha nearly had a heart attack as she sensed Kyran simultaneously activated the Void Scales and Dragon Steps. As much as she wanted to ensure his safety, she preferred it if he did not showcase both his innate magic at once to someone who belonged to The Council. Not to mention, Oceanus and Leif might still be monitoring Kyran's movement.

Their clan might be neutral, but who knew what kind of thoughts would run in their head if they realized just how much they would gain from having Kyran.

It was pretty contradicting, but those wer her honest opinion.

Oceanus was also from the generation where the Higher Being coveted the Ancients' research. It would be one thing if he realized Kyran possessed the Void core, but if he also knew the latter also had the Draconic core, Shaiha did not want to think of it.

Apparently, Kyran did not care. In his opinion, what good would hiding his magic do if he were captured or even killed? He would rather use everything at his disposal to survive. In fact, he thought of using warp to get away from the woman.

Unfortunately, there were only a few places Kyran could warp to. And those places were all in Ogen. If he had warped there, the residual magic energy he would leave behind might have been traced back there, and Ogen would have been implicated.

Kyran did not care much about Oceanus and Leif, but he did not want innocent people to suffer because of him.

In any case, Kyran could not warp at that point because warping would require him to concentrate. Since his familiarity with those places in Ogen was limited, it would take him a few more seconds to establish the image in his mind— a few seconds he did not have.

Using the Void Scales, Kyran neutralized the sound waves that came from the front. He also utilized the Dragon Steps to evade the golden blade and continue forward.

RAAAWRGH!

As it happened, a marshland beast covered in moss and mud with several tentacles suddenly appeared a few meters in front of Kyran. What appeared to be its maw was wide open.

It seemed the marshland beasts could no longer stay hidden while the woman rampaged in their turf. Unfortunately, the one they targeted first was Kyran.

Kyran's eyes narrowed as he neared the marshland beast's opened maw. He did not stop or change his direction. He simply sped past its open mouth, came out on the other side, and continued forward.

The marshland beast could not even utter its last cry before it died from the massive hole in its body.

Contrary to Kyran's belief, marshland beasts were already upon Alta. Although most of them were at the same level as an average Sovereign, because they all possessed Earth magic, they had a specific immunity to Sound magic. Because of this, she had been scouting the marshland region using a cloaking spell to avoid getting tangled with them since killing them would be a pain in the ass.

But then, a foreign presence suddenly appeared inside her magic influence, prompting her to act at once. She would have observed the situation first if the presence walked into her range. However, the presence was already inside before she knew it. Thus, she acted the way she did.

This was the first time Alta was given the important task of protecting the new portal to the Tower of the Ancients, and she did not want to mess it up by letting another faction learn of its existence.