Legacy of the Dark Sage

Ruin felt mixed emotions at what greeted him inside Kyran's Void Domain.

Most clans, regardless of their size, often held diverse opinions, leading to internal conflicts and the emergence of various factions. However, the Crespuscule Clan was an exception to this rule. Intelligence gathered by Ruin indicated that their founder, Estrid, maintained strict control over her members. The Emperor could not even exert any influence over them.

Estrid's strong leadership enabled her to expand the clan significantly, and The Emperor even granted them special treatment.

But looking at the mess inside Kyran's Domain, that intel was absolute BS.

Though small in number compared to those following Estrid, those assisting Kyran actually had the upper hand.

Ruin was able to distinguish which members were loyal to Estrid and who were assisting Kyran because the latter was attacking the former using a very unconventional move.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

To Ruin's complete bafflement, they were actually throwing potion bottles on Estrid's side, and those bottles would either burst into flames, ice spikes, or blocks of earth.

'Really? Potions? They are using potions to fight against Estrid's side, and it is actually working...' Ruin was baffled by the strange way those mages used their potions. Looking closely at the potions in their hands, he knew they were no ordinary ones. Potions were either categorized as medicine or poisons. But those were neither; instead, they could be considered offensive magic attacks.

More importantly, the potions were pretty effective even under the effects of Kyran's Domain.

This could actually be seen as a weakness or limitation to the latter's Domain. However, it was strange that instead of the enemy using it to their advantage, it was being used against them.

It was truly ironic.

And Ruin was very amused by it!

Wait.

Ruin shook his head as he realized something even more important than the realization of potion being used in such a way.

'How come I don't feel the effect of the magic pressure here?' Ruin wondered in shock. 'No… rather than not feel it… its effect is greatly reduced.'

Then again, if he considered what a mage's magic pressure was made of and what Kyran's domain could do it somehow made sense.

While the reduced effect of the magic pressure might be good, that was only the case if the owner of it was some mediocre mage.

That magic pressure belonged to The Emperor and he was not even there yet. If his magic pressure could already force Sovereigns to their knees and slow down the movement of High Sovereigns, how overwhelming would it be if he appeared?

With that in mind, Ruin no longer dallied and looked for Kyran.

Fortunately, it was quite easy to spot him. Of course, it was not because his concealment was lifted, but because Ruin had a way of tracking him. Kyran was his prey after all. It would not do for Ruin not to have his own way of monitoring him.

Ruin found Kyran at the spot close to where he last saw him. Kyran had barely moved because of the crowd of combat mages that relentlessly attacked him from several directions.

Ruin would have quipped at Kyran's pitiful state if not for the urgency of the situation.

"Prey~ stop messing around and go! He is coming!"

Kyran did not need Ruin's warning to know that The Emperor was coming. Even with the Void Domain reducing the effect of the latter's magic pressure, Kyran recognized it and could barely keep himself from trembling.

Though he did not know whether his trembling was from fear, or anticipation.

It was quite strange, but Kyran did not feel as scared as he thought, knowing that The Emperor was fast approaching.

Kyran was not even in his best condition, yet he did not feel afraid nor in a hurry to leave.

Alright, that was not entirely true.

Kyran's first reaction after sensing The Emperor was to flee. That was human nature. But after a while, his nerves had already calmed down.

"Gaah! See? What did I tell you?" True Void berated Kyran yet again, but did nothing that would distract the latter. "You should have listened to me and teleported away!"

"…"

Kyran did not know if True Void had forgotten that he could not teleport while inside his Domain. Teleportation required the use of magic energy, after all and his Domain prevented its circulation.

Three combat mages charged at Kyran from three direction, their spears aiming at three vital points— heart, head, and side torso, right where his liver was. He found it strange that these beings would still aim at those points when for all they knew he was also like them, a being whose original form was far from the one they were looking at.

But looking at this in a different perspective, there were some beings, who despite being an entirely different species from human were able to arrange their internal organs similar the same way as them once they took on their form.

This was one of the things that Kyran learned from the dragons after working on Anahita's technique.

Kyran endured the churning inside his body and grabbed the spear that was aimed at his torso. He gritted his teeth and pulled the spear, pulling the combat mage along before leaning backward to dodge the spear that was coming from behind, which was aimed at his neck.

"!"

The combat mage immediately let go of his spear to barely dodge the other combat mage's spear that was coming right at his face.

With the combat mage being forced to let go of his spear, Kyran tightened his grip on the shaft before deftly turning his body sideways and raising the spear toward the last combat mage that was coming for his head.

"Gah!" The combat mage yelped in pain as Kyran hit the top of his head with the spear he managed to take from his fellow combat mage.

"Whew~"

Ruin whistled as he saw the spectacle. He sensed Kyran was in a lot of pain even when the latter tried not to show it on his face. Still, that did not stop Kyran from defending and even counterattacking.

Ruin's face distorted once more in glee as he thought, 'As expected of my prey.'

"…!"

Ruin's musing was interrupted as he was also attacked by the combat mages nearby. They recognized him as the one who attacked the inner city and also considered him an enemy.

"So you two are in cahoots! Die!"

One of the combat mages shouted and thrust his sword at him.

Ruin gave the combat mage a faint smile before vanishing right before the latter's sword could pierce him.

"What?" The combat mage was stunned for a second but managed to recover the next second. He focused his other senses to locate his target and stabbed his sword to the left, where he sensed a slight movement.

"Guah! Y-You—!"

Unfortunately, the one he stabbed was one of his own.

"W-Wha—? Ack!"

"Wrong side," Ruin whispered behind the combat mage while striking the latter with a dagger. He pulled it out, and the combat mage fell to the floor, dead.

Ruin struck the combat mage's heart without much trouble, instantly killing him. He looked at the dagger in his hand, and his eyes glinted viciously at the sight of blood.

"Oi you! Stop making those faces with that face! It is freaking me out!" True Void told Ruin as he and Kyran passed by after knocking out another few combat mages.

Ruin chuckled as he leered toward their direction, "What do I do? I've grown fond of his face."

"Gah! You psychopath! Lunatic! Whacko!"

"…"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"There is nowhere to hide! Surrender Void Master, and you might be able to keep your life!"

Deus finally arrived outside the periphery of the Void Domain and launched a series of concentrated magic energy attacks on it. The Emperor was fast approaching, and his pressure was increasing. However, that did not stop Deus from doing what he came there for.

Fortunately, if he made use of his Dimension, he could gather enough magic energy to attack. His attack power was halved because of the influence of The Emperor's magic pressure, but at least it was enough to cause damage on the surface of the Domain that covered the mansion.

One of the Crepuscule Clan mages that followed Marigold looked at Deus outside apprehensively. He then looked at Marigold and said, "Lady Mari, this dome will likely not hold with Lord Deus making his move. We have to make a move soon."

Marigold halted and glanced upward, her brows knitting together in worry as she noticed cracks developing on the dome's surface.

They called Kyran's Domain a dome because they did not know what it was. Because mages in the Higher Realm were mostly reliant on Dimension, thus, forgetting that the latter was supposed to be an improved version of the Domain.

CRACK! CRACK!

Cracks appeared on the surface of Kyran's Domain as Deus's relentless bombardment continued.

Meanwhile, approaching the Crepuscule Auction House was Lucian. His eyes emitted a crazed light as the auction house finally entered his sight. He should have arrived there much earlier. But because Estrid did not want Lucian to have a direct transmission point outside her territory, he could only use the nearest plane for it.

Though he said it was the nearest, it would still take Lucian half an hour to get to the auction house. Because of that, he could only use his magic pressure and spread it to ensure that his prey would not be able to escape him again.