Legacy of the Dark Sage

Of course, that was on the premise that a battle would ensue between them. So far, they kept their distance upon arrival. Even Deception and the Toad stopped attacking and pulled back.

Nevertheless, Nolan could not seem to relax his nerves. They did not seem keen on attacking, but for how long— well, that\'s the question.

On the other hand, Ruin appeared relaxed. He was grinning at the newcomers— whether he knew who they were or if he was taunting them, only he knew the answer.

But while Nolan felt uneasy and Ruin felt relaxed, another person was feeling a different emotion— apprehension.

Deception ground her teeth as she furtively looked at Gemini, Calx, Club, Frock and Squall. She was not expecting more Sovereigns to come. When she asked for help, she only informed Light and Toad. Apparently, one of them reported her situation to the faction leaders and dispatched more people to assist them.

Unfortunately, Deception had lied about her situation. She knew how much the faction wanted to get on the new Dark Sage\'s good side. But she could not be bothered about it. In the first place, she only joined the Radical Order because they promised to help her retrieve the Solum Tribe. But she had been in the faction for some time, and they had done nothing.

Of course, one of the reasons they did nothing was because Deception had eluded on providing a complete account of her situation.

Because her faction did not take any action, she had an agreement with Ruin and went to the Human plane. If she could retrieve the Solum Tribe from the new Dark Sage, what happened to the latter did not matter.

Alas, Deception also developed an interest in Kyran and wanted him for herself, breaking her agreement with Ruin in the process. She thought having Light and Toad\'s help would resolve her disadvantage against Ruin. But it seemed she had miscalculated, and now more people from the faction were getting in her way.

To think Ruin would join hands with the despicable human that killed her essence! That was a huge miss on Deception\'s part. More importantly, why was that despicable human so powerful? He actually managed to fight head-on with a Sovereign.

Although Deception\'s magic was not offensively powerful, when Light was still with them— she and Toad\'s combined magic could take on Ruin.

If Ruin knew Deception was belittling him, he would have broke out in a fit of laughter.

Even without Nolan\'s help, Deception, Light, and Toad\'s combined power would not put any pressure on Ruin.

After a few minutes of silence, Gemini finally spoke.

"Ruin," Gemini started, a male and female voice overlapped as it spoke. "What are you doing playing house with a lowly human."

Ruin raised his brows and tilted his head, "Playing house, huh? Does it seem like that to you? Unfortunately, I can\'t understand how your heads work."

Nolan glanced slightly at Ruin.

\'So he does know them. Is that the reason they did not attack at once?\' He wondered. But then he thought of a possibility that they would try to reason out with Ruin, and Nolan once again felt uneasy.

Ruin was obsessed with Kyran. If these people negotiated with him and agreed to surrender Kyran as long as he helped them out, Nolan would be in a f*cked situation.

"I heard your people once tried to win over the rights in the Human plane. You even received assistance from someone inside. But in the end, your race failed, forcing you to flee for your life."

Ruin chuckled and crossed his legs, appearing to sit on an invisible chair.

"Is that an attempt at taunting? You have two brains, and yet that\'s the level of taunt you can manage? Pathetic," he said.

Since Gemini was wearing two masks, they could not see its expressions. However, the sudden drop in temperature around it was enough to guess it did not like what Ruin had said.

Calx and Frock could not help but look at Gemini cautiously. They were the closest to the latter and felt its rising aura.

"Don\'t you have any pride as a Sovereign?" Gemini asked through gritted teeth.

"F*ck pride," Ruin snorted.

Nolan\'s brow twitched slightly because he sensed Ruin\'s eyes fleeted toward him. Then he added, "Ah~ I see why you like to say that word now. It does make you feel refreshed after saying it with gusto."

Nolan decided to ignore him.

"Ruin!"

Ruin scowled at Gemini, "Don\'t act too familiar, you half-half. I\'ll destroy you."

Gemini let out a soft growl but did not try to refute.

This made Nolan look at Ruin differently. It was not a look of respect or anything similar. It was actually an apprehensive look.

Nolan only heard about Ruin from Kyran. Although Nolan found Ruin\'s magic very powerful, he did not believe he would be disadvantaged if they truly fought to the death— even if the Sovereign\'s Cradle did not suppress Ruin\'s level.

Truthfully, when they fought earlier, they had not given their all. Proof of that was their ability to fight against Deception, Light and Toad without being disadvantaged.

But now, Nolan felt that Ruin\'s identity and even strength were not that simple. Of course, he already knew Ruin\'s magic was strange and nothing simple, but it was now on a different level. After all, Gemini was not the only one being cautious around Ruin, but all seven were. If Light had been there, she would probably have acted the same.

"Sovereign of Ruin," Calx suddenly spoke.

Based on its voice, Nolan deemed Calx as a male.

"We have not come here to argue with you. Our business is in the Human plane," Calx continued. "We promise to give you a proper account for Deception, Light and Toad\'s behavior but for now, won\'t you let us pass?"

"What business do you have in the Human plane?" Nolan asked. Though he felt somewhat fearful, that did not stop him from voicing his doubts.

"I am not talking to you, human," Calx growled at Nolan.

Nolan could not help but grunt in amusement, "Not talking? You just did."

Calx frowned at him, but instead of responding, he directed his attention to Ruin.

"We understand that you are here because of the new Dark Sage," he continued as if he had not been interrupted. "To be honest, the faction leader wanted to have a word or two with him. However, we promise not to do anything to him apart from talk."

A smile tugged at the corner of Ruin\'s lips, and he said, "You say that, but one of your people is glaring daggers at me."

Deception ground her teeth again as she scowled at Ruin.

Toad also understood Ruin\'s words and turned to look at her.

"\'One of our people?\'" Calx repeated and looked at the rest of the Sovereigns.

Sensing his gaze sweep at them, Deception tried to fix her expression. Unfortunately, it was too late, and the rest immediately noticed it.

Nolan narrowed his eyes. He put two and two together and realized Deception had not been honest with her people.

\'I could exploit this,\' he thought with a sneer.

Before he could say anything, though, Ruin beat him at it.

"Yeah. Deception tried to take my prey," he told them.

"Lies!" Deception denied at once.

Ruin smiled, which did not meet his eyes, "Lies? You dared claim my prey when I was occupied with something. You even tried to enter the Human plane using your real body. If not for this human with me, destroying your essence and even injuring your real body, you would not have retreated and sought Light\'s and Toad\'s help."

"Ruin! You bastard! You\'re sowing discord among us!"

The six Sovereigns were appalled after hearing Ruin. Although they did not want to believe him, he did not seem to lie. At least they did not sense any false emotion from his words. Apart from this, Ruin\'s claim that a human destroyed and injured Deception conformed with her report. However, they did not expect the human fighting alongside Ruin to be the same person.

If that were true, it would explain how he survived while fighting Deception, Light and Toad. It was not because Ruin was covering for him but because he had the capability.

"Am I? Who\'s the one with the name Deception?" Ruin asked with a sneer.

"You—!"

"I\'ve heard enough."

These three words were spoken gently— almost like a whisper. However, it carried such weight that the surroundings seemed to freeze in an instant.

It was then followed by an overwhelming pressure that weighed down on all of them.