The woman didn’t answer the older man. Instead, her solemn eyes turned to Yizhe, who stood at a distance, still in a daze.
"If what you just said is true—if Kyle really defeated those dark beings that none of us together could even touch—then you know what must be done if we all want to live."
Her words finally snapped everyone on her side out of their stupor, the weight of their meaning hitting them hard. Yes—they had been searching for Kyle to kill him. If they didn’t kill him now, it would be them who would die when Kyle regained his power!
She tilted her head as she noticed how everyone on her side fixated on the soul.
"Also... have you all forgotten?"
"Kyle stole a powerful treasure from the ancient temple. Shouldn’t we take it back?"
Again, her solemn words struck a chord with many. Right—if they destroyed Kyle’s soul now... wouldn’t all of them be able to claim a portion of his strange power?
On the other hand, if they let him go now, Kyle would one day come for them, using his formidable power to hunt them down and destroy their authority over the realm.
The middle-aged man, Draevor, stared at the woman in shock. The Rulers who had chosen to stay with him and stop Azazeal still stood by his side. Now, their numbers—barely a tenth compared to the Rulers on Yizhe’s side—were even more glaring. But unlike them, they hadn’t lost their honor.
Everyone on Yizhe’s side—those who had fled at the sight of Azazeal’s power—was now gathered to attack the soul that had finally landed and knelt in the distance. Its back was straight, as if it were unwilling to yield even now. A weak-looking ice sword slowly formed within its grasp, holding it firmly. Draevor moved to stand before the soul, his body shook as he pointed at the woman who had enticed so many others.
"You! You! He saved all of us!!"
His voice rose with a harsh edge as he heaved with a mix of fury and revulsion.
"If not for him, do you think you’d still be breathing?! If you have no gratitude, just leave—but you want to kill the person who saved not just you, but this entire realm!"
Yet, it was as if the Rulers opposite him couldn’t hear him at all. They exchanged glances, and seeing Yizhe finally nod, they charged without hesitation at Draevor and the eight Rulers standing at his side. Chaos erupted instantly. This was what the group of elderly Celestials—the winged warriors, the armored Giants—who watched over the Golden Hall of Light, the place where newly arriving young Celestials registered their identities, witnessed when they arrived.
They had hurried over here seeking the cause of the tremors, the darkness, the battle, and the ice that had sealed a vast part of the realm—only to witness this.
The elder who had tried to kill Kyle in the Golden Hall of Light after deeming him a threat to the Rulers’ authority on the day Kyle arrived in the realm shouted sharply. His voice boomed in the fractured space.
"What’s going on here?"
Yet, no one paid him any heed.
His angry eyes suddenly caught sight of Yizhe amid the battling Rulers, and he let out a breath. Knowing that Yizhe, whose strength sustained the Bridge of Divinity, was still alive, relief surged through him.
The elders frowned at the chaotic scene, their brows knitting as Draevor’s body was flung into the air, unable to grasp anything. The warriors and powerful giants guarding them moved under their orders to stop the countless other Celestials in the vicinity, preventing the situation from worsening.
If only the elders had been strong enough to intervene, they could have stopped the Rulers from fighting and uncovered the reason behind the clash. But they weren’t—nor were the Giants and winged warriors.
All they could do was watch and wait.
Suddenly, one of the elders noticed Yizhe and the women who followed him rushing toward something glowing in the distance after sending Draevor flying toward others.
He muttered the question to the others.
"What is that? A treasure...? Are the esteemed Rulers fighting over it?"
Osko, the elder who had tried to kill Kyle in the Golden Hall of Light, followed his gaze like the other elders. When his eyes landed on the light, they narrowed, then widened.
"A soul?"
It took him a second to get why the cold silver glow in the darkness felt familiar.
And the instant he realized, he shouted.
"Kyle’s soul!"
The others around him jolted at his words. After seeing the dark power, Osko had long predicted that it was linked to the powerful dark Celestial who had caused chaos in the Golden Hall of Light when he first arrived in the realm. When the ice domain appeared, he had pointed at Kyle without hesitation.
Now, hearing him declare that the light in the distance was a soul—and none other than Kyle’s—they felt a grim premonition.
If Osko was right, and that soul truly was Kyle’s—the young Celestial they had been hearing about for the past few years—now in such a dire condition, did that mean Kyle had defeated the Celestial who, according to Osko, had unleashed the darkness? Also, seeing how everyone who was reported to be sealed in ice was still alive after the ice scattered, it seemed that Kyle had not only defeated the dark Celestial but had also quietly protected everyone in the vicinity.
In just a few seconds, the elders grasped almost everything. They glanced at each other, only to see the shock in their eyes.
Some of the elders wanted to stop Yizhe and the women once they all realized their bad intentions. After all, if their suspicions were right, Kyle had not only saved many Celestials and Rulers but the entire realm.
Without him, who could say what might have happened? But they were stopped by Osko, who questioned them indifferently.
"With his power, he would surely establish his rule over this realm once he recovered. Are you truly willing to relinquish the power and authority you have wielded for so long? If so, be my guest. I won’t stop any of you."