Chapter 684: So what if he's alive?
Under the veil of the dark sky, Bia panted with a look of frustration, her eyes fixed on the numerous glistening shattered pieces of the prism strewn across the ground.
-"Now I feel a tad better!"
She nodded, a sense of contentment washing over her. After she shattered the prism, the dense dark energy enveloping the area began to slowly but surely dissipate. It didn't vanish completely, but with the device spreading the dark energy now broken, the malevolent energy that had been extending outward from this location to consume the divine energy ceased its advance.
Bia looked over at the chaotic battle happening in the distance. Many from the dark side were fleeing to save themselves, but she saw Kyle targeting those who were attempting to escape first.
Her eyes paused on Ned and Vexana; the duo was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat from head to toe. Nevertheless, they didn't stop fighting because they knew the enemies would overpower them if they did.
-"But why do I feel like that their divine and spiritual energy is running low?"
Bia's eyes narrowed, but she shrugged it off. It's not like she cared whether they survived or perished in this battle.
Ned had become her foe when that man delayed everyone from reaching Kyle. So, why would she even bother about him or anyone linked to him?
The phoenix tsked disapprovingly as she soared towards the battle.
Her gaze sharpened at the many people from the dark side, who had ignored her up until now as if she didn't exist.
-"Hehe, I guess if they won't face me, I will jump into the action myself!"
She let out a loud cry, startling everyone engaged in the battle or trying to run away. Golden flames erupted from her wings to engulf everything before her. Kyle chuckled at the phoenix and disappeared from his location to appear above her figure.
"You broke that prism? Good job."
Bia gazed at him with a speechless expression. She knew he had extended his scent perception skill in this area to ensure no one from the dark side could escape alive under his watch. That's why she was sure he would have sensed the moment she shattered the prism. Yet, he was still inquiring if she had broken it?
Her eyes narrowed at him.
-"Hey... Why do I feel like you're overly excited? I know you enjoy fighting, but it's rare to sense so much excitement from you. No, scratch that, it's more like amusement. Why is that?"
Kyle's eyes crinkled at the phoenix's words. He wasn't surprised at all since she could sense a fraction of his emotions.
Suddenly, he tossed the spear in his hand, and it trembled with powerful force before taking down a fleeing transcendent rank. Then he glanced at Bia.
"You noticed? It's because I can feel someone's eyes on us. A pair of eyes is silently watching our every move."
His eyes were full of amusement as he abruptly looked up at the dark sky. The instant he did, the gaze he was feeling on himself vanished as if it never existed.
Bia's eyes widened at his words.
-"What!? Someone's watching us? But I can't sense anyone!"
A bad feeling crept up in her chest.
-"Don't tell me it's Azaze-!"
Her words got cut off by Kyle.
"No, not him. I'm sure of that. His gaze is always empty, and there's no way I could feel his stare with my current strength. The gaze watching us is unfamiliar. It showed up when we started fighting in this place. I could sense a clear threat from it. So I am sure it's belongs to an enemy."
Bia's frustration reached its peak, and she let out an exasperated sigh at him.
-"Why do your enemies keep multiplying? Isn't the dark side enough? I feel like I would die young alongside you one day!"
Suddenly, she recalled something.
-"Wait, you're not young, considering the years you spent in the No Mana Land-!"
Kyle vanished before she could finish her words, prompting a chuckle from her.
- "I never realized you had turned so much older! How old are you anyway?"
Bia's loud voice echoed through the air as she maneuvered between the enemies with golden flames dancing around her body.
-"Forty? Fifty? Hold on, you spent roughly forty years in the No Mana Land... Wow, you're really ancient!"
Kyle's eyebrow twitched. This phoenix! He hadn't aged that much, okay!
The time inside the No Mana Land was different from the outside world. One year outside was equivalent to ten years in that land, so he had actually only spent around four years in that land!
Bia's loud laughter echoed in the air. She could sense clear annoyance coming from Kyle, who asked her to quiet down and focus on the enemies. Finally, she found something to get on his nerves! She should definitely share this with the others when she meets them to double the fun!
....
While they clashed with their foes, in a distant location, a pair of intense azure eyes snapped open with pure fury swirling within them. These very eyes were the ones Kyle had felt watching them. And the eyes belonged to none other than the first shadow general, Damien. The man rose from where he was seated and glanced at the countless skeletons scattered all around him.
"That human is dangerous. I need to eliminate him before he becomes an even bigger threat. But I can't leave this location for the time being since Elizabeth and the other elders might be searching for me to finish me off, especially now that James has wounded me again."
He couldn't leave and because of this very reason he sent two supreme ranks to hunt down the nature's favorite, but who would have thought he would receive news that both of the supreme ranks he sent had perished at the hands of Kyle.
"I wonder how Samara slipped away from his clutches? She has grown powerful, and if she had not informed me about the two supreme rank humans' failure, I would still be clueless
about it."
Damien gazed at the sky, the majestic crest atop his head shimmered as the sky started to transform under his control. His sculpted and muscular form contrasted sharply with the grey shirt and dark breeches he wore.
"It's strange. Why hasn't master summoned us all to meet him yet? Could it be that he is disappointed since none of us found a single Celestial spirit in his absence?"
His azure eyes turned solemn. Azazeal woke up a few years back. But instead of making his army strong, he vanished.
Damien chuckled at his thoughts. Azazeal never cared about the people on his side. All that man ever wanted was to obtain all the Celestial spirits and break all the seals blocking the
path beyond this universe.
"Seals blocking the path beyond this universe... or should I say seals guarding the realm designated for the dead?"
Among all the shadow generals, only he and Ceano knew the true contents of the seals they were shattering. On the other side, amidst those striving to safeguard the seals from being breached, only James and Odiak were aware of this fact, thanks to the universe's will, which had been interfering with Azazeal's plans to keep the realm for the dead in this universe
closed.
"The third shadow general has fallen. Suddenly, now I feel that the future for our side has become more challenging. At first, I believed victory would come easily, but things have become quite complicated. If only master hadn't fallen asleep for so long, we would have already conquered this whole universe."
He closed his eyes and remembered the first time he met his master, Azazeal.
The first thing he recalled were his empty eyes. He was seated on a throne made of dark energy, with a nonchalant expression, gazing down at everything below as if he could obliterate it all in an instant.
"I was drawn to that power... he held in his gaze alone. However, that very gaze felt so empty,
so detached. You promised me and Ceano that you would assist us in attaining the true
Celestial rank if we served you."
"Never forget your words. After all, I betrayed my own kind for that power."
Damien laughed out loud at his words and recalled the water dragon race, his race. It was
renowned as the mightiest race in the universe after the blessed race. It was he who brought an end to that race to claim the title of the first shadow general.
"I wonder if Hubert is still alive? He was stronger than me before I turned to the dark side,
and among our whole race, he was the most resilient-!"
His words were interrupted when a voice sounded behind him.
"So what if he's alive?"
Damien jerked his head back, only to be met with a familiar pair of golden eyes staring at him
with a raised brow.
It was a young man in a large robe with peach-colored hair, styled in a high ponytail that
flowed down his back.
"Ceano? Well, I am not surprised since it was about time you show up."