Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 160: Better to forget about it.

Cyril thought that only more humiliation awaited them now, so he urged Ozul to kill them.

Surprisingly, Mark did not have any obvious reaction to his statement. Although his eyes did not contain the same shame that Cyril’s had, it did have the same resolution.

Ozul realized how long friends they had been for just by this confident gesture.

“You ask for death so as not to face disgrace?” Ozul asked curiously.

Like a dead man standing, Cyril sluggishly nodded his head as if he had given up already. For him, there was no chance of escaping alive after incurring the wrath of a Rank-9 Mage.

From the last clash, he had concluded that Ozul was indeed a Rank-9 for some ridiculous reasons. And he had seen the brutalities of the monarchs at Rank-9 with his own eyes, so it was safe to say that dying a quick death was much better.

Not to mention that dying by the hands of a Rank-9 Mage who was also an assassin did not seem to be so disgraceful. The more Cyril thought about it, the more resolute he became.

.....

Though Ozul did not know what he was thinking, he was aware of the continually growing emotions. It was a wonder to him for how such a person who gave up this easily could ever reach Rank-8.

Contrary to what Ozul thought, he did not understand the difference between a Rank-8 and Rank-9 Mage was not so trivial that could be overcome with schemes. So the moment that Cyril and Mark had realized his real rank, they had given up on all of that.

“Why do you think you have the right to ask me to kill you?” Ozul asked with his brows a little raised.

When Cyril heard his question, he widened his eyes for a moment before they returned to being listless.

“What do you want to do with us then?” Mark asked with concern. He understood that the consequences of provoking someone of such caliber wouldn’t be so light.

“Stand up, lead me to your base... I don’t care about anything else,” Ozul said with a lazy tone. He truly meant what he said.

When the duo heard his words, they stared at him for a while to confirm that he was not some psychopath who liked to mess with the minds of his targets before ruthlessly crushing them. Fortunately for them, Ozul did not seem to be joking.

Their worries were not baseless since they themselves had seen too much of this world. Being Rank-8 assassins, there was almost no gore that they hadn’t been familiar with. But experiencing it for themselves was not the same as just being familiar with it.

They also couldn’t help but worry since Rank-9 Mages were generally known to be much more eccentric than others. Their existence being only under Rank-10 did not help their willful attitude.

Just a single mood swing and the whole structure of everything under them would be changed just to satisfy their whim. And there was no one to question them about their actions since Rank-10 Mages were just as, or even more willful. However, the people who had the guts to even come near such individuals were only Rank-9 Mages.

So there was practically nothing stopping Rank-9 Mages from doing as they pleased.

The duo also assumed that such was the reason for Ozul not instantly killing them. He was a Rank-9 Mage, and maybe he really did not care about their pathetic lives even when the difference between them was of just one rank.

But they did not get discouraged or take this as an insult. Rather, they were happy that they did not have to die today. Cyril’s bitterness had vanished the moment he had realized that Ozul was a Rank-9.

Without even letting them a chance to say anything, Ozul turned around and started walking away. It was a wonder to him how their hostility had vanished in an instant.

‘Is something wrong with my sensing?’ Ozul thought to himself.

Though he did not put much thought into it and just shrugged it off. If they had any animosity left even after what had just happened, then he could always kill them.

“Stand up. I don’t have time,” Ozul urged as he sensed some people rushing towards this area.

They had gotten quite far from the city, but the magnitude of the battle had caused Mana waves to spread kilometers away. There was bound to be someone who noticed this.

He did not want to deal with even more humans, so he hastened his pace.

The duo hurriedly stood up. They did not want to anger him any further since that could cause him to change his mind. Their lives depended on whether this person had a sudden change or mind, so they wanted to please him as much as they could.

They took some pills to heal the four small holes on their hands and feet before quickly following behind Ozul.

Clara followed up as well. She had spectated everything from afar. Although she hadn’t heard their conversation, she had seen the whole fight, which looked like a one-sided tantrum at best after the conclusion.

She might not know everything about the higher ranks, but she was aware of what bullying Rank-8 Mages like this indicated.

As much as she did not want to believe that someone who looked around her age could be a Rank-9 Mage, the truth was before her eyes.

‘Maybe this was also the reason that no one has yet to feel any Mana from him?’ Clara thought to herself.

Ozul was aware that Clara had seen everything and would inform her family about this without any doubt.

‘They would have found out sooner or later,’

He had never purposely hidden his strength. He did not use the Ball of Purity as much because he found it a bother to deal with others’ curiosity. But if he also had to go out of his way to hide his strength, it was better known by everyone.

A few seconds later, the group left the pitiful site behind before anyone got here.

On the way, no one said anything. Not to mention Clara, even Cyril and Mark were too nervous to say anything. It felt like walking on landmines. One wrong step and they would blow up.

Ozul did not mind the silence. However, it would be more accurate to say that he actually preferred it that way. There was no one disturbing him. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

This time, Cyril did not complain about their pace or anything else for that matter.

Along the way, Ozul thought about Raven and Blaze. Unlike him, they were probably running all around with the rest of the group.

“How long will it take?” Ozul asked without looking back.

The duo immediately understood that the question was directed towards them. A little nervous, Mark replied, “With our current pace, it might take some months...”

“In the same direction?”

“Yes. Though if we go straight in this direction, there would be no cities to stop by. All of them are located with a little detour,” Mark answered.

Ozul hummed in response. But contrary to what others had expected, he did not change their route.

If he chose the regular route which passed through the cities along the way, he was bound to encounter the other group. Ozul did not want to do that since he was content by traveling with as few people as possible.

“Uhm...? Shouldn’t we choose the usual path? This way, the others could catch up when they come to find us,” Clara mustered up her courage to ask. She wasn’t as nervous as anyone else would have since she came from a family also run by a Rank-9 Mage.

“I don’t want to.”

“...”

Clara was speechless with his reply, but she was in no position to question his actions either. Like the duo, she understood that there weren’t many who could make a Rank-9 Mage change his mind.

She did not say anything after that as the group continued.

Silence descended on the group again as Ozul slowly increased their pace. As Mark had said, casually walking all the way would take months, and he did not want to waste so much time in the jungle.

They traveled without any pause for the whole day. Ozul only stopped once the sun had completely set.

Along the way, they had encountered many wild Beasts. But Ozul did not even need to lift his finger as Mark and Cyril handled them all on their own.

The Beasts were strong, but nowhere near the level that could threaten Rank-8 Mages.

Ozul was satisfied with their efficiency as he saw them taking care of a Rank-6 tiger-like beast meters away from him.

The duo did not plan to rest tonight. Trying to sleep probably took them more effort than to keep going.

“Are you really fine with this?” Mark whispered to Cyril. They were at a considerable distance from Ozul, who had already closed his eyes.

Cyril understood what he meant by this as he sighed.

“What can we even do? He is a Rank-9 Mage. Would I ever be able to take my revenge on him? It’s better to forget about it,” Cyril said. Letting go of such a thing was best in his interest as Mark nodded with a happy smile.

“He probably wants to talk with the Boss. Our task will be done once they have met, so we should comply with whatever he asks,” Mark added before they walked toward another Beast sleeping under a tree near them.