Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran had a reason for not killing Lira at once.

If Haylee had complete control over Lira, Kyran would not hesitate to kill her. But when his domain passed through her body, he discovered she was not marked. Meaning Lira was purely acting on her own judgment and accord and was not influenced by Haylee's mark.

It then led to Kyran questioning Lira why she went after the emperor.

Due to Cyneah's vision, Kyran and True Void knew Haylee did not order Lira to attack the emperor. Haylee did give Lira permission to act however she saw fit if the emperor did something, but that did not mean the former did not have any influence over the latter's decisions.

Decisions made by a marked person would be greatly influenced by the person who marked him or her.

But since Lira was not marked by Haylee, Kyran was curious why Lira would still prioritize the Crown Princess's will rather than the Emperor.

As a personal Royal Knight, Lira had a huge responsibility. It was not only to protect the Crown Princess but also guide her so she would not go astray. Every personal Royal Knight had this responsibility. They also made a binding oath, similar to the Soul-binding Oath, to ensure they uphold their duty.

In the past, because of this responsibility, many Royal Knight tried to 'right' the wrongdoings of the emperor. It was for this reason that the late emperor removed this practice. But Emperor Euan restored it because he believed a rightful ruler, needed a just confidant.

If Lira still insisted on following the Crown Princess's will, it meant she was convinced that the latter's actions were right. But why?

Kyran had an inkling Lira knew more about Haylee's real plans, which was why she judged that the latter had done nothing wrong. If that was true, he could not kill her. Not until she told him everything she knew.

On the other hand, True Void had no idea what Kyran was thinking. It was reasonable because his way of thinking was still different from humans. He failed to see the connection Kyran had picked from Cyneah's vision to Lira's actions.

To True Void, Cyneah establishing a connection with Haylee was purely accidental. Kyran's Void energy affecting Cyneah's physical body was nothing but a series of unfortunate event. It started when Kyran made a reckless move, before getting trapped in an illusion. True Void did not know how Cyneah entered Kyran's illusion world, but when she 'left,' she should have returned to her body without a problem. However, because of Kyran's Void energy infecting her body, her soul failed to return, and instead, tried to find the closest compatible 'vessel' he could find; Haylee's body.

In any case, the only impression True Void got from Cyneah's vision was the discovery of the Macabre Glacier.

Because of this, True Void could not help but frown inwardly and voiced his doubt to Kyran.

[Void Halfling, why are you even talking to this woman?]

Kyran did not reply. He did not mean to ignore True Void, but he could not explain his thoughts at the present time.

"A better ruler, huh," Kyran muttered with a bitter smile.

Before Lira could affirm her claim, Kyran raised his left hand and pointed at her forehead. Her eyes widened in fear. However, it was only for a second. In a split second, she bit her lip and blood oozed down her lips.

[Void Halfling, she's trying to activate a pre-made spell!]

True Void warned Kyran at once the moment he saw her.

Kyran's domain only prevent others from rousing the magic energy in their bodies and in the surroundings. In turn, it prevented them from using their magic. He could also restrain their movements. It could be said that his domain was an upgraded version of the magic energy isolation rune, because it could target several people.

Nevertheless, his domain could not prevent others from casting pre-made spells because their activation might not necessarily be through one's magic energy. Just like the one Lira had. The spell on her could be activated through her blood.

The blood on Lira's lips seemed to have a life of its own as it oozed up to her forehead. An ancient rune appeared on her forehead that Kyran recognized as the rune for 'Unseal.'

Kyran's eyes narrowed. A small dark purple orb appeared right before Lira's forehead, which then turned into a Void rune, 'Seal.'

The moment the Seal rune collided with the Unseal rune, it crackled as a dark red energy seeped out from the latter. However, the energy dissipated at once due to Kyran's domain.

"Ngh!" Lira greeted her teeth and tried once again.

This time, Kyran was faster, he flicked his finger that was pointing at her and in an instant, a Void rune passed through her forehead.

"You won't get away with this—!"

Since Lira could not read Void runes, and did not know what effect that rune had. Nevertheless, she was helpless, and in her indignation, she could only curse at Kyran as the rune entered her forehead.

In a blink of an eye, Lira fell unconscious to the ground.

With no other people around, True Void disengaged from the his shoulder guard and bracer form and turned into a miniature armor. He flew in front of Kyran and berated, "What are you doing, Void Halfling? Sleep? Why did you only put her to sleep? Don't tell me you have a soft spot for her because she can be someone the mistress knew being the Crown Princess's Royal Knight!"

That was right. The Void rune Kyran used was Sleep. He did not dare destroy the rune on Lira's forehead in case he ended up destroying a part of her brain. She could experience memory loss if that happened.

Kyran ignored True Void's rant as he walked over to her.

"AAAAHHH! Even after being with you for years, I still find it hard to understand your thinking sometimes!"

After confirming that Lira was deep asleep, Kyran summoned the chains of Ercé and bound her before warping her toward Mannick's end. When he was done, he finally turned to True Void who was glaring daggers at him.

"Don't talk nonsense," Kyran told True Void. "If Neah knew her, she should have said something when she saw her in the vision."

"Aha! So you admit that you would have spared her if the mistress knew her!"

"No," Kyran gave True Void an exasperated look. "I just think she knows what Haylee is really up to. Since there are those who loves to keep things from me, I decided to find the answers myself."

What Kyran's last sentence shut True Void up. It was clear Kyran was directing those words at him.

"It's not that we are keeping things from you Void Halfling. But the time is just not right. Besides, there are things that confuses me, too. There is no point in telling you those things," True Void told him earnestly.

Kyran only looked at him in silence for a few seconds, before turning toward the tent's exit.

"I know. I won't force you... actually, I can't be bothered to talk about it at this time. We still have things to do," he said as he paused at the exit to look at True Void.

True Void sighed, "Right. So what are you going to do with the soldiers outside?"

Kyran smiled, "What do you think I lack right now?"

True Void's brow twitched. He knew that smile all too well. It was a smile Kyran would wear when he was about to exploit something, or someone.

"Didn't you tell Mannick you could barely keep the seal on all the Montgomeray Family?"

Kyran shrugged, "That's because one of my magic cores could only hold that much."

Black lines appeared on True Void's head. He took note that Kyran did not mention about using the Void core or the Draconic core when he created the seals on the Montgomeray Family.

"So you still have plenty to spare given the number of magic cores you have."

"You just replenished your magic energy, right."

More black lines appeared on True Void's head, "What? You want to use me as medium in sealing these guys?"

"You're magic core is definitely bigger than mine."

"YOU HAVE THE SHAIHA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

Kyran ignored True Void's rant and left the tent.

"AAAAAAHHH! You and your unreasonable requests— Gah! Wait for me, Void Halfling!" True Void turned into a dark purple light as he flew out the tent and wrapped around Kyran, turning into a shoulder guard and a bracer.

*

Back in Noser, Gael had the Grand Masters and High Masters fighting the Quilin to lure it at a specific spot. After which, he gave the order to activate all the magic array formation to restrain its movement.

The moment Zephyr felt the activation of the magic arrays, he willed his orbs to destroy them. However, with the constant bombardment of the other mages, he ultimately failed to destroy them.

Ezra and the Montgomeray Family had just entered the periphery of the barricade the army had build when they saw a blinding green light erupting from inside the city. It was then followed by a heartwrenching roar of a beast, as if it was in so much pain.

Ezra and the others could not help but gasp in fright because when the beast had roared, the seal on their bodies burned. As if it was resonating with the beast's agony.

Without further ado, he led his people and charged toward the barricade.