836 The Second Realm IV
Old Ma was surprised to receive the greeting. He quickly arrived beside Alec.
"No need for formalities. We're going to be here together for a long time."
Alec shook his head.
"No, senior! We're going to leave this place together! That's why we need to gather all the treasures here, because when we leave, this place will crumble."
Old Ma sighed, realizing it was time to share the bad news. But before he could, Alec turned to enter his garden.
"Wait! We can't leave this place because of an array... So, don't touch my garden!"
Alec paused and scratched his head.
"I'm sorry, senior. But we have to collect all the treasures here. I already know about the array, and we can leave this place."
He said solemnly.
"A Celestial is helping us!"
Old Ma froze. A Celestial? His eyes widened. Had someone besides Azazeal finally reached that rank? He was in utter disbelief and failed to notice Alec entering his garden. By the time he snapped out of it, the human had already plucked everything.
"My... garden..."
He stared at the barren land and turned to Alec, but the young man had already left.
"Did I just get scammed?"
Like him, Old Garrick was equally astonished when Regius told him that a Celestial was assisting them.
He was so taken aback that he failed to stop Regius from taking the herbs he had been nurturing. The old men had spent too much time in isolation, which is why they trusted these two young men so easily.
Ultimately, only Old Fedric remained. Alec and Regius exchanged glances when they both arrived at the same location.
Regius chuckled.
"This is the last place."
Alec placed his fist on his chest and stepped forward with a solemn gaze, as if he hadn't just taken all the treasures these old men had been nurturing for years.
"Senior, we understand that you think we are stealing your treasures. However, that's not the case. This place will crumble once we leave, so we are gathering the treasures here. The Celestial assisting us has begun to dismantle the array set in this realm. He will arrive for minute to break it completely. Therefore, we don't have time."
Old Fedric was equally shocked as the other two, but unlike them, he was calmer. So, he easily regained his composure and stopped Alec from proceeding.
"What proof do you have that a Celestial is assisting you two? And even if that person is a Celestial, does he have any knowledge of the profession of arrays? What if he tries to destroy the array and fails?"
Regius couldn't suppress his laughter.
"Arrays? He doesn't just know about arrays; I am sure that in this universe, no one can rival him in the profession of arrays!"
Old Fedric blinked and glanced at Old Ma and Garrick. However, the two were just as surprised as he was. They were skeptical yet also quite excited to meet a Celestial. Moreover, it wasn't as if lying would bring the two young men any benefits. So, even though he was reluctant, he stepped aside and allowed Alec to gather his herbs.
Standing next to Old Ma, Fedric's fingers trembled slightly with anticipation.
"So, are we finally leaving this place?"
Old Ma inhaled deeply.
"I'm not sure, but I hope it's true."
Regius turned back and greeted the three elders with respectful nods.
"We will. Don't worry... Seniors."
Unsure of what to call them, he opted for the title Alec used earlier. Before long, Alec came back, and Regius looked up.
"He is here. Everyone, get ready! We must leave the instant the array is destroyed and a crack opens in the sky!"
The old men exchanged glances and followed Alec and Regius as the two began to levitate. They froze when a powerful aura washed over them; the sky above the realm erupted with a deafening crack, and a tall, imposing figure stepped into view.
With flowing dark hair that seemed to dance in the wind, mesmerizing green eyes that sparkled like precious gems, and skin that radiated a soft, ethereal glow, he was nothing short of breathtaking.
Old Garrick stared at him in disbelief.
"A Celestial! It's truly a Celestial!"
His eyes turned red. Had the outside world grown enough to produce Celestials? Then why had they not killed Azazeal and come to save them? A few months ago, Azazeal had come to this realm and wreaked havoc in search of Celestial spirits. They almost died under that men again!
Unlike the elders, Alec and Regius had different thoughts in their heads. Regius narrowed his eyes.
"What happened to his hair again? Why does the color change constantly? I guess this is a symbol of strength. Should I change my hair color too?"
Alec rolled his eyes.
"Why are you focusing on hair color!? Can't you sense he has grown stronger? So much so that I feel like even if we all fought him, we wouldn't even have the chance to move, and he would have already defeated us."
Regius patted his shoulder.
"That's to be expected. We spent a year in this dark place. Do you think he would have just sat around, wasting time? No, he would have obviously grown stronger!"
Alec asked the system to check Kyle's strength, and the results made him sigh.
_____
'Name: Kyle Ohan'
'???'
No additional information provided.
______
'Just say it, you can't sense anything. No need to flash an empty screen.'
He chuckled and shook his head.
Kyle turned his gaze to the five individuals.
"Leave through the crack behind me."
His calm yet commanding words were enough to spur everyone into action.
Alec halted in his tracks and glanced back. For a fleeting moment, he was taken aback by the profound depth of Kyle's eyes, which appeared to be endless chasms of time. It was as if they held the weight of countless ages. Shaking his head with a frown, he turned his attention back to Old Ma.
"He is the same age as me and Regius. We started getting stronger together."
His words were enough to astonish the three old men once again. They couldn't check Kyle's true bone age no matter how hard they tried, but they could easily discern the ages of Alec and Regius since the two were clearly weaker than them.
Seeing two young supreme rank men who hadn't even approached the age of 50 was already shocking enough. And now, these two were claiming that the Celestial also hadn't crossed that age yet?
How could this be possible?
Old Fedric sucked in a deep breath.
"So much has changed. The younger generation has indeed grown a lot."
Kyle turned to look at them and nodded.
"You should leave."
His words echoed, but not before they all beheld a massive array erupting from the depths of the Second Realm. It shattered, and the whole realm began to disintegrate alongside it before them.
The devastation was so immense that it seemed to threaten to swallow everything. Panic surged through them as they rushed frantically into the crack. Kyle floated there, watching them leave, before turning his gaze back to the crumbling realm.
Kyle's eyes narrowed when he sensed the unmistakable presence of a Celestial spirit deep within the realm.
He couldn't believe he still wasn't able to detect its presence even after reaching the second stage of Celestial rank. If it weren't for the spirit unleashing its aura, he was sure he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
"Don't you dare show yourself."
His voice resonated with immense power that reverberated through the air, causing the Celestial spirit, which was just about to reveal itself due to the crumbling realm, to freeze in place. A tidal wave of fear surged within it, and in an instant, it turned and fled the realm, vanishing into the shadows as if it had never existed.
Kyle sighed inwardly. If it had appeared, Azazeal would have followed suit. Then they would have fought, and he already knew the outcome of that confrontation. He would have lost. Currently, he wasn't strong enough to take on that man, so he had to plan his next steps very carefully.
"Why do they always show up in my presence? Only four Celestial spirits are left. I could absorb the one I sensed, but I am not in the mood to battle that man."
He turned and entered the crack as well. The entire second realm crumbled into fragments behind him, never to exist again. He knew Azazeal had sensed what he did since that man's aura was lingering in the Second Realm, but he didn't care.