Legacy of the Dark Sage

On another side of the battlefield, True Void assisted Cade while he faced off with Obstruction. No matter how many space distortions the latter created, they ended up being petrified by True Void's light.

Meanwhile, Cade engaged Obstruction in a melee.

Unfortunately, Obstruction was not a combat mage. Thus, he could not land a hit from Cade's speed even if he had the advantage in level.

Cade, on the other hand, would land a successful hit on Obstruction every now and then. Although his spear could not deal a fatal blow, a few hits would shatter the latter's barrier, making it easier to land a critical hit before the latter reinforced its barrier again.

'No!' Obstruction gritted his teeth in annoyance as he avoided another attack from Cade's spear.

'How can a mere human, who has not even reached the level of a Legendary be able to land a hit on me?'

Before coming to the Human plane, Obstruction regarded its inhabitant as primitive after hearing from Deception that the highest mage level of their powerful mages was only an Archmagus.

But after coming, Obstruction realized that the new Dark Sage and Soul Emperor's level could not be determined. Then he met a Legendary mage. Not to mention being surprised by the appearance of a Time mage. Now, he was facing off with a man who looked like a humanoid dragon!

One after another, everything Obstruction experienced in the short time he had been in the Human plane was nothing but surprises.

Usually, he would regard surprises as something still within his expectation. But today, this belief was shattered.

Just as Obstruction thought this, he heard a loud explosion from where he had left Flos. But he did not turn to look. He was confident in Flos's strength. There was nothing to be worried about.

In any case, Obstruction saw the explosion as an opportunity. He was not worried, but that might not hold true with the humanoid dragon.

Obstruction did not know the relationship between the latter and Kyran, but they were definitely on the same side.

True Void assisting the humanoid dragon was proof of this.

With this in mind, Obstruction looked at the expression of the humanoid dragon before him. However, he was surprised that the latter's expression remained calm after hearing the explosion.

'Why? That explosion could very well spell the doom of his ally. Why is he still calm?'

Obstruction's doubts were answered soon after they surfaced when they heard another explosion.

This time, Obstruction could no longer ignore what was happening on the other side. If an explosion of the same magnitude was heard in such a short interval, it could only mean that the other party survived and retaliated.

Obstruction knew Kyran's magic was slightly different from the previous Dark Sage. Though they both possessed Void magic, the former probably developed it in a different direction from the latter.

One good reason he thought he was how Obstruction remembered the previous Dark Sage fought while keeping his distance. He was also known for performing ridiculously large area-of-effect magic attacks. On the other hand, Kyran was the complete opposite.

So far, Obstruction had only seen him engaged him in a melee. Similar to the humanoid dragon he was fighting.

Obstruction flew back and kept a safe distance from Cade before turning to check the situation on Flos's side. But before he could even confirm what was happening, another explosion occurred, and he saw Flos crashing to the ground!

"What—?"

"Do you even have the time to look away?"

Obstruction was struck senseless as the humanoid dragon appeared in front. After that, he sent out a punch that instantly shattered Obstruction's barrier.

"GAH!"

Just like Flos, he plummeted to the ground like a loose cannon.

BOOM!

Obstruction spat out a mouthful of blood as he landed with his back on the ground.

But Cade was not done.

After punching Obstruction, Cade raised his spear and threw it straight at him. Then he took a step to follow the hurtling spear.

Still feeling disoriented after hitting the ground, Obstruction barely regained some of his wits when he saw the incoming spear. He immediately activated his domain, allowing the space around him to increase without others noticing the difference in distance.

In other words, the spear would appear closer but would not reach him soon.

But.

True Void's light shone down on Obstruction, and instantly, he sensed a distortion in his domain.

WHOOSH!

"GAH!"

Obstruction spat out a mouthful of blood as the spear pierced his abdomen, pinning him to the ground.

"Oi! Oi! Oi! You dared use Space magic in front of me! So what if you can increase the distance of space around you? Before me, that distance is but a micrometer away!" True Void could not help but snort at Obstruction's boldness.

"Seriously, the Sovereigns of this age are full of themselves. Just because my master had long gone and Void Halfling is still a fledgling, doesn't mean we are weak! Especially me! Do not underestimate me!"

Cade, hearing True Void's rambling, was left speechless. He did not expect the infamous Ultimate Weapon of the previous Void Master would be this... talkative.

Thinking of his son's somewhat introverted personality, Cade could not help but chuckle at how his son and this talkative weapon even interact.

Pushing the random thought aside. Cade looked at Obstruction, who remained motionless on the ground.

'This...!'

Cade looked at True Void and shouted, "Above!"

At the exact moment he shouted a warning at True Void, the 'Obstruction' lying motionless on the ground distorted before disappearing.

Then the space above True Void crackled as a huge distortion appeared overhead. After that, two huge clawed hands emerged from it and grabbed True Void on each side.

Cade waved his hand and retrieved the spear from the ground. After which, he immediately took a step to aid True Void.

"I've caught you now!" Obstruction's voice appeared from within the distortion.

"GAHAHAHA!"

Cade stopped midway as he heard True Void's unrestrained laughter.

"Who caught who?" True Void asked as a faceless head emerged from the mirror's surface. Then a crack appeared on the face area where the mouth would have been. After that, it opened its cracked mouth and took a long breath.

Instantly, a suction force appeared from the open mouth and began to suck the energy from within the distortion.

"W-What are you— ngh!"

Obstruction's surprise could be heard from inside the distortion.

As Cade observed the scene above him, he saw a silhouette inside the distortion struggling to fight the suction force. Cade vaguely saw the silhouette and saw its semblance to Obstruction.

It went without saying that the silhouette was definitely Obstruction, who had hidden in one of his space distortions. It then lurked silently and looked for an opportunity to grab hold of True Void.

Cade guessed Obstruction did this because his objective was to take True Void. Facing Cade and killing him was only an afterthought.

Being regarded as an afterthought kind of annoyed Cade. Nevertheless, thinking how True Void's words that Sovereigns nowadays were too full of themselves hold true.

Obstruction indeed thought too highly of them, from how he was not worried about Flos even after hearing that massive explosion to how he flaunted his Space magic in front of someone who could use the Void.

The outsiders have indeed underestimated them.

Nevertheless, Stella and Cyneah's arrival were the biggest factors as to why their side appeared to have the upper hand in this battle.

Cade was surprised to see Cyneah, who resembled the Crown Princess.

His surprise was reasonable because he and Kyran had yet to catch up. In any case, it did not take long for him to put two and two together and realize Kyran had been hiding Cyneah all this time.

However, Cade knew Kyran never planned to expose her. This was likely Stella's idea.

No.

It could even be Cyneah's decision.

Regardless of the truth, they were the ones who turned the tables in their favor.

But nothing is set in stone.

Their situation might seem better, but that did not mean they had already won.

Because their biggest concern was still at large.

The Macabre Glacier.

Back at Kyran's side, as soon as he approached Flos, several thick tentacle-like vines emerged from the cloud of smoke and attacked him.

Kyran did not try to evade these vines. Instead, he used his bare hands to punch a hole in each vine.

Although these vines were too sturdy, they were effortlessly destroyed in front of Kyran's punches and kicks. However, no matter how many times he destroyed the vines, they kept regrowing.

Because of Kyran's relentless assault, the whole ground was already riddled with debris, and the cloud of smoke thickened.

Almost five minutes after such a continuous bout, a huge clematis suddenly bloomed at the smoke-filled back of the vines.

RAWRGH!

Beneath where the anther and filament were, a huge mouth opened, revealing several rows of sharp teeth. It then coughed out a red smoke that filled the area of fifty meters.

Kyran knew at once those smoke were pollens and were filled with poison. Normal people would have died in an instant once they inhaled those. Mages would likely have a much better chance of withstanding it. However, they would likely last only for half an hour at most.

But this did not apply to Kyran. All he had to do was circulate the Void magic in his body, and he would be fine even if he inhaled several doses of these pollens.

Nevertheless, Kyran did not stay put. Although the pollens only filled fifty meters and were away from where Cyneah and Stella were, their safety was not assured.

Once a mighty wind appeared, and they inhaled the pollens, they would be poisoned. Their bodies were unlike Kyran's, who was practically immune to any harmful substance because of the Void's nature.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream filled the air, almost driving Kyran mad.

Because that voice belonged to Cyneah.

At this point, Cyneah's struggle with the Macabre Glacier had reached a critical juncture.

The face on the mirror's surface that kept wriggling about, seemingly trying to escape from it, had already gotten its body halfway out and was reaching over to Cyneah.

When that happened, Cyneah felt an excruciating pain like no other. She had been subjected to mistreatment since she was young. Thus, her pain tolerance had always been high. Even when her wounds had started to infest, she did not feel them.

Simply put, she had gotten accustomed to the pain and was already numbed to it.

For Cyneah to react to the pain spoke volumes. It was also because of this that Kyran almost lost his cool.

"AAAAHHH!"

Cyneah was not the only one affected by the Macabre Glacier's energy. Layla also felt it, and her entire body was racked with pain. If not for the influence of Stella's domain, wherein her physical body's time was frozen in place, she would have long plummeted to the ground.

"This is the critical moment!"

Someone shouted amidst the thick cloud of smoke.

Kyran recognized the voice as Flos and tracked it at once.

Initially, he thought the huge clematis had been Flos— thinking he had only appeared in human form, but his real body was the gigantic mutated clematis.

However, that changed when he located Flos standing atop the clematis petal.

Unlike what Kyran expected, Flos was not injured after receiving a solid hit from him. Then again, the dragon relic he possessed likely cushioned most of the damage and protected him.

In any case, Kyran sensed that the relic did not rely on Flos's will alone. It possessed its own will. But it was not something it gave birth to— like a sentient. It was more of a will it possessed when it was still alive.

"AAARRRGH!" Cyneah screamed and almost keeled over from the pain as, finally, the figure wriggling its way out of the mirror closed in on her.

With more than half of the figure's body already out of the surface, they could now see it was covered with cocoon-like bandages. Its limbs were tied to its sides, and it failed no matter how much it tried to break free from the cocoon-like bandages.

The excruciating pain Cyneah felt almost made her wish for death. However, she endured and struggled as she spread her arms and welcomed the mirror's energy into her body.

It might be fortunate that Cyneah was blind. Because she would not have opened her arms like that if she had known that what she was trying to welcome was not 'pure' energy but appeared to be an entity.

When Layla saw this, her stomach almost could not stand what was happening.

Layla had sensed how much the Macabre Glacier's sentient pestered Haylee. The latter had endured, but it took a tremendous toll on her mental and physical health. The actual cause was that the mirror's sentient wanted to control Haylee's body.

However, Layla did not allow it. If she did, what would happen to her?

A body could only hold so much soul, and Hayle was only an essence. Maybe it was partly why her body could house Layla's soul because it was only a small portion of the original. If it had been whole, she might not have been able to awaken her soul.

In any case, Cyneah was actually trying to welcome that atrocity.

Stella kept silent the whole time. It was not her first time seeing the mirror's sentient appear. However, this was the first time she saw it appear vulnerable.

In all the scenarios she had witnessed, Layla succeeded in absorbing Cyneah and controlling the mirror. It then led to the capture of the Regis Clan. As for Kyran, Flos and Obstruction also captured him, and Nolan blamed himself for what happened and abandoned the Human plane.

Ultimately, the Human plane was only left with Stella as the only one who possessed Ancient magic. Soon, the Ylfaen empire fell because the Emperor went missing, and the only successor could not be found. Apart from this, with its Sovereign abandoning the plane, outsiders appeared one after another and slowly whittled the plane until it fell.

Stella was then forced to leave the plane and enter the Tower of Tribulations.

As for what happened to Kyran and the Regis Clan during the War of the Sovereigns, Stella did not want to think of it. It only caused her pain whenever she remembered it.

In any case, this was the first— no, this was the only time Cyneah came and initiated contact with the mirror.

That had been the breakthrough point, in Stella's opinion. 

Whether it would play out differently this time, she did not know because she did not try to look further.

"Neah!" Kyran shouted when he saw the figure's head trying to lean toward Cyneah's opened arms. It was as if it was seeking warmth.

However, Kyran had sensed the ominous presence of that figure and would not let 

WHOOOSH!

Flos raised the dragon relic toward the mirror. Its light emitted a blinding light that immediately illuminated the mirror's surface.

NGGGGAAAAARRRRRHHH!

An unearthly guttural sound came from the figure as a mouth bound by the cocoon-like bandages opened, revealing a bottomless pit.

"Gah!" Cyneah spat a mouthful of blood at the unexpected intervention. However, it was at this moment which allowed her to hasten the consumption of the mirror's energy.

Her crystal-like eyes shone brilliantly as her magic energy enveloped the screaming figure.

Then as if a vacuum had started, the figure shattered and turned into a grayish-black mist that entered Cyneah's body.

The mirror then followed. It emitted a blinding light before turning into mist and going inside Cyneah.

Layla, too.

No one saw what had happened, but she also disappeared. Most likely, her body had also returned to Cyneah.

"OBSTRUCTION!" Flos suddenly shouted.

Kyran knew Flos was up to something when he heard him call Obstruction. Thus, he no longer hesitated.

However, as he was about to warp toward Cyneah, a pillar of red light fell down from the sky and dropped into the area, separating Kyran and Flos from Cyneah and Stella.

At the same time, Obstruction, absorbed by True Void, released all the black plates on his belt and willed it toward where Flos was.

Seeing this, Cade moved to intercept the plates.

However, Obstruction used his Space magic to shorten the distance the plates would travel to get to Flos.

Still, Cade did not stop and used the Dragon Steps to go after them.

When Kyran saw the pillar of light, he knew who it belonged to.

Speaking of the devil, the person in question— wearing a slight smile— slowly materialized in the middle of the red light.

"Ruin," Kyran muttered with a slight scowl.

Ruin looked at Kyran, and his smile broadened at once.

"Dark Sage. I've missed you."

Flos's expression turned ugly upon seeing Ruin. As much as possible, he wanted to avoid fighting this guy. That was why he did not move when he was outside the Human plane and saw Ruin with the Human plane's Sovereign.

"Why have you come?" Flos demanded.

Ruin ignored Flos and kept his eyes on Kyran.

"Dark Sage, I see you're not running away this time."

Kyran clenched his fist. He had the urge to run, to be honest. However, Cyneah, who appeared spent after consuming the mirror, and Stella, who had stayed silent all this time, were right behind Ruin. If Kyran ran, he had to take Cyneah and Stella with him.

When Kyran did not respond to Ruin's taunting, he pursed his lips and complained, "Ah~ unfriendly as always. But... I guess that's because there is someone behind me that you can't wait to save, right?"

Kyran opened his mouth and was about to speak when Obstruction's plates appeared with Cade still a distance away.

"Ah~," Ruin snorted as he looked at the plates. "Another annoying prick has come. You sure have quite a lot of people coming after you."