Legacy of the Dark Sage

The pupils of Kyran's reddish-purple eyes turned silver before gradually spreading outward. When his iris had completely turned silver, his pupils contracted and turned into slits. After which, his Draconic core pulsed as Draconic magic energy seeped into the Shaiha.

The Void magic energy circulating within the Shaiha retreated, giving way to the Draconic magic energy. Although the former did not completely leave the Shaiha, its circulation decreased while the latter increased its activity.

With the Draconic magic energy circulating in Kyran's body, the blood pumping out of his heart gave out a pulsating wave, which roused every part of his body. Small draconic runes appeared on the surface of each and every one of his blood cells.

Kyran learned before that the reason he did not require a magic array when using Draconic magic was because its runes were already present within his body. Nevertheless, he had never actually sensed the Draconic runes moving about inside his body before— until now.

In any case, with the urgency of the situation, Kyran did not have the time to check and observe those runes. Besides, he more or less guessed that the reason he had become more sensitive to the Draconic runes in his body was because of the enhancement he had undergone recently. Unfortunately, there had been no opportunity for him to check those changes.

All these happened in a split second after Kyran's Void Shield exploded. Rousing his Draconic magic, he clenched his left fist and punched the approaching hand.

BAM! 

Kyran's fist slammed onto the barrier of the colossal hand, and a deafening explosion followed.

FOOOM!

A massive shockwave resulted from the collision, which turned all the falling debris and what was left of the stairway's wall foundation into dust.

CRACK! CRACK! SHATTER

Soon after, the barrier that protected the colossal hand shattered from the explosive force of Kyran's simple punch.

Using the initial momentum from the first collision, Kyran's fist pushed forward with greater ferocity and slammed into the colossal hand's palm.

BOOOM!

The eruption of power from Kyran's fist broke through the colossal hand's palm, piercing right through.

RAWRGH!

A resounding metallic-like roar coming from the colossal hand's owner shook the underground section of the castle, resulting in additional floors above crumbling.

"Ngh...!" Kyran gritted his teeth as his fist that pierced the colossal hand's palm got stuck rather than passing through completely.

Then again, the colossal hand's material was not something that could be easily destroyed. That much Kyran was already aware of after recognizing the identity of that colossal hand.

A gigantic automaton.

RAWRGH!

The gigantic automaton let out an angry roar as it instantaneously closed its fist after sensing its target's fist was stuck in its palm.

But Kyran did not stay idle after seeing his punch fail to completely destroy the gigantic automaton's palm. Knowing the latter would capitalize on his getting stuck, he immediately pulled out his fist. With his two feet planted firmly on the gigantic automaton's palm, he bent his knees and pushed himself out while also exerting the Dragon Step to ensure he had enough momentum.

Kyran's split-second decision to employ the Dragon Step was the correct one because if he did not, the gigantic automaton's hand would have crushed into him.

"I... I... I feel like throwing up...."

The female spirit that held onto Kyran's hair all this time muttered, feeling dizzy from the latter's crazy momentum.

"Oi..."

Blacklines appeared on Kyran's head as he heard the spirit. He did not say that because he was worried about getting puked on. After all, with the speed at which he was moving, the female spirit's puke would likely go out horizontally. The reason Kyran felt somewhat helpless was because of the female spirit's reaction itself.

There was a gigantic automaton before them, yet the first thing she thought of was wanting to puke. Seriously?

WEEENG!

Something gold flashed before them as a concentrated magic energy beam whistled toward them.

Kyran grabbed the female spirit on his head, which he belatedly realized was quite small that she fit perfectly in his hands. After that, his silver eyes flashed as he once again used Dragon Steps to evade the incoming attack.

Using the falling debris and some of the concrete beams sticking out on what was left of the underground section walls, Kyran moved out of the concentrated magic energy beam's path.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The energy beam struck more of the underground section's foundation, further threatening the above levels.

If the gigantic automaton continued with its rampage underground, the Armakea castle above ground would cave in!

Just as Kyran was thinking this, a worried voice sounded in his head, confirming his thoughts.

[Master! Cracks are appearing on the castle grounds. Are you all fine? Please respond if you can hear me!]

Kyran frowned after hearing Filren's words. He only estimated the size of the gigantic automaton based on its colossal hand, but it seemed his estimation was still conservative.

Thus far, the gigantic automaton had only unleashed a magic-infused attack with that energy beam, and most of the destruction that happened to the underground section was from its movement. If signs of the destruction were already showing above ground, given how far underground they were, that meant the gigantic automaton was truly gigantic in every word.

'Get everyone out!'

Was all Kyran could tell Filren as the gigantic automaton moved again.

This time, it did not use its colossal hand to catch him. Instead, something moved from what was left of the ground, and a massive knee emerged.

Kyran gritted his teeth and used every concrete beam or debris available around him as a foothold to get out of the massive knee's path.

"T-There's no end to this!" The female spirit, who seemed to have recovered from her motion sickness, peaked between Kyran's fingers and saw the situation.

"Lord Master, let's enter the route first. Then you can sneak attack that giant beast after we relocate behind him!"

The female spirit's suggestion was actually sound. Unfortunately, Kyran could not do that.

"That route can only be used by Spirits. I can't enter even if I created it."

"WHAT? WHY EVEN CREATE SOMETHING YOU CAN NOT MAKE USE OF?"

The truth was that Kyran could not enter the temporary world simply because his existence would threaten it. That temporary world was not stable enough for someone like him, possessing a special magic energy. He might be able to stay there for a few seconds if he only possessed one special magic energy, but he possessed two. That temporary world would be destroyed the moment he stepped into it!

"Is that even important?" Kyran asked in exasperation.

"Yes!" The female spirit replied in a similarly exasperated tone.

Kyran ignored her rumbling and stuffed her in his coat's breast pocket. He did not have the time to argue with this little one.

"Hold tight!"

Without waiting for the female spirit to react, he directly dove toward the gigantic automaton's knee.

However, before Kyran could even come near it, he heard a rumbling sound coming from his right as the gigantic automaton's other hand smashed right out from the wall.

Kyran gritted his teeth. In a split moment, he had already assessed his surroundings and confirmed there was no concrete beam or nearby falling debris he could use as a foothold to evade the incoming hand. With no way to build his momentum and gather enough weight to counter the incoming hand, all he could do was brace himself for the impact.

BAM!

The gigantic automaton's other hand slammed right through Kyran, and he was sent hurling in the opposite direction, slamming into more of the underground section's foundation— or at least, what was left of them.

Surprisingly, the gigantic automaton's punch did not hurt. Although it did pack quite a lot of force and was even coated with magic energy, to Kyran, it felt as if he only bumped into a somewhat solid wall. Even as he slammed into several walls, it did not hurt at all.

For the record, though Kyran was circulating the Draconic magic, he was only exerting about 5% of it because that was the amount he was mostly accustomed to. But even with that little amount, for him not to feel any pain after receiving a direct hit was unprecedented.

The enhancement his body had undergone was truly a huge thing.

Thinking this, Kyran was tempted to exert more of his Draconic magic's power. But then, looking at his environment, he felt quite aggrieved.

This was the first time he encountered a giant enemy while in such a compact and restricted environment. If not for the main array formation hidden beneath the castle that prevented him from utilizing his Void magic's warping abilities, he would have long warped himself and his enemy at a much bigger location.

'Wait... Main array formation...?' Kyran seemed to have thought of something at the same time he finally came to a stop.

The gigantic automaton had come from below and had been rampaging for some time; could it have broken the main array formation?