In a world on another plane, Rollaith and Sanreth sputtered awake. Each coughed violently, grasping at their chests. The feeling of dying in Osiris was no different from a death in the real world. For them to experience such a thing was definitely a first.
Though as geniuses of the Cultus Clan, they had gone through many life and death experiences, it was obvious that this was the first time they had truly tasted death.
Unlike Ryu who had experienced more deaths than he cared to count on the Fourth Floor of the crystalline jade and thus was hardly fazed by his death in Osiris, these two were very different. They were so shaken that they had completely forgotten that they had already informed everyone that they had found Ryu.
At this moment, the two were the complete center of attention, sitting in a lotus position amidst the eager gazes of several of their family members. However, the moment these twin geniuses began to sputter and cough, everyone's expression changed.
Who here wasn't a warrior who had experienced countless things? It didn't take much for them to understand that the only was that this could happen would be if those two died. How had this happened?
At that moment, Rollaith and Sanreth finally seemed to recover. However, now when they faced the looks of everyone, a deep shame welled up in their hearts.
From on high, the Cultus King looked down toward his grandsons. His jaw remained slightly clenched, not too tight and not too loose. Yet, this singular look make the two young geniuses lower their heads in shame.
They quickly stood before falling to their knees. Their heads slammed against the ground.
"We're sorry, grandfather. We failed!"
The Cultus King's expression darkened.
"What happened? Did he already step into the Path Extinction Realm? That's impossible. Did he have support we didn't account for?"
A cold voice filled the atmosphere. As enraged as the Cultus King was, these two were still his own grandsons, his own flesh and blood. And, they also happened to be the most talented of their generation. Within the Immortal Ring Realm, they were undefeatable within the Cultus Clan. And, compared to the geniuses they had within the Path Extinction Realm currently, they were stronger than they were at this particular stage.
This was all to say that these youths shouldn't lose to the point of death against anyone at their cultivation level, let alone someone beneath. So, there were only two possibilities. Either Ryu was stronger than they thought, or he had support.
"Didn't I give you two enough resources to bribe anyone in Osiris? It can't be that you couldn't bring his allies over to your side?"
The two grit their teeth, their foreheads still pinned to the ground.
"He was alone." They finally squeezed out.
The Cultus King frowned. Was his information about Ryu's cultivation realm wrong?
"He was in the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm."
"What did you just say?!"
This time, it wasn't the Cultus King who spoke. Rather, it was one of Ailsa's many brothers.
A pressure bore down on the boys from all sides. It wasn't out of a threatening aura, but the Faeries all around them were so agitated that they could no longer control their strength. Even the weakest among them was within the Dao Pedestal Realm. How could the two Immortal Ring boys withstand such pressure?
The Cultus King's jaw became steely. He looked toward his first wife, his gaze flickering with complex lights.
A Connecting Heaven Realm human defeating an Immortal Ring genius an entire realm and three small realms stronger than him? What kind of monster was this person?
None of them had ever doubted Ryu's talent. The Heavens didn't play such games, since he was chosen as Ailsa's life partner, he couldn't possibly be untalented. But, wasn't this too exaggerated?
That was what any person would think, but when the husband and wife couple met each other's gaze, they seemed to have expected this much.
That could only mean one thing… From what they knew about their daughter, this much was still not surprising.
It had to be remembered that the Cultus King's information on Ryu noted him down as a Qi Refinement Realm expert. Yet, he still sent two Immortal Ring absolute geniuses. By any metric, that was more than overkill, yet he had still done it.
Now, he found out that the brat that had only registered at most a year or two ago had actually improved through two major realms that should have taken decades to cross.
"You all… Leave." The Cultus King said softly, his voice sounding somewhat deflated.
"Father! Shouldn't we send more?!"
"For what purpose? Now that he knows we are coming, why would he need to continue to log into Osiris? If we're going to find them, we need another approach. Leave me."
The Faeries fell into silence. One after another, they left.
Rollaith and Sanreth clenched their fists. They had actually lost so miserably to someone far beneath them, despite the fact they even lowered their pride to work together.
Since their youth, they had always taken exception to the fact Cultus Faeries had weak combat prowess. The idea that the Elemental Clans beneath them could produce geniuses who were far more powerful acted as their drive. Eventually, they reached a point where they could hold their heads high for more than just the noble blood that ran through their veins.
But now, they had lost. Resoundingly.
It made their blood boil.
They looked toward one another, a fire reflecting within each one of their gazes.
This wasn't the end. They could feel the kind of hope the Cultus Clan was putting in them, especially after the disappearance of their aunt. Whatever was coming, they had to be ready for. Weakness wasn't something they could afford to accept with open arms.
They had failed this time, but they wouldn't fail next time.
The husband and wife couple watched the auras of their grandsons shifts, not saying a word even as they left with one step after another.