Legacy of the Dark Sage

As the clan elders, they had a pride to protect. Even if Kyran threatened them, they would not simply back down. Besides, after he hinted at the possibility that he was not really part of the Dragon Clan, the threat he posed weakened significantly. Though he could use Draconic magic and could overwhelm them, he was alone.

His stamina might be superior to theirs, but he would eventually exhaust himself if a fight ensued. Besides, fighting a battle with a huge disadvantage in numbers was far more exhausting, mentally and physically. Thus, they believed Kyran would croak faster if all the elders, the executives, the house leaders, and most of Geir worked together.

That was Zigor\'s aim before Kyran entered the room. He believed he could easily persuade Geir to side with them and plan to retake control over the clan.

Regrettably, Zigor had not anticipated Geir\'s swift allegiance to Kyran. Nor was Geir the only one. The house leaders had seemingly turned a blind eye to Zigor\'s attempts to meet with them privately. He couldn\'t help but feel a pang of disappointment at their cowardice in the face of Kyran\'s mark.

There were ways to bypass a mark\'s effects and influence. One only had to keep an eye on the conditions placed on the target when the mark was made. In Kyran\'s case, when he marked the house leaders, he only made them listen and follow his orders unconditionally.

There was no condition that restricted them from attacking or betraying him.

Zigor\'s understanding of Kyran\'s mark was quite understandable. Unfortunately, he underestimated its effects and influence and believed it was only similar to marks known and used in the Higher Realm.

Kyran\'s mark was different from those in the Higher Realm. In fact, it was also different from the ones known in the Lower Realm.

One of its differences was the huge change in the mark\'s target\'s attitude toward Kyran.

A good example was the five Blade Dancer members Kyran encountered in the Immigration Office recently. They were obviously loyal to their clan, yet they easily swore allegiance to him. The way they responded to his words also baffled Kyran because they appeared similar to his Servants, whose personas received a huge change.

Then again, the change that happened to those Blade Dancer members might not be as drastic as when Kyran made someone into his Servants since he barely knew them to judge who they were, but it was close.

In any case, Zigor\'s plans were easily thwarted because of this.

After a moment of grueling silence, Zigor finally spoke and said, "Using subjection, huh? Seems like you are truly not part of the Dragon Clan. Since the Dragon Emperor does not approve of such tricks. This also proved how immature you still are."

Kyran did not respond to Zigor\'s words; he simply tilted his head to one side and raised his brows in amusement.

"If you want to form stronger relationships, subjection is not the answer."

Some might wonder why Kyran was entertaining Zigor\'s ramblings. Since he could overwhelm an elder earlier with just the use of Draconic Force, he should have done the same with the latter.

It would have been easier if everything had been resolved with just that.

Surprisingly, Kyran shared Zigor\'s belief that subjection was not a longer-term way of forming stronger relationships with others. Instead, Kyran preferred to subject others to overwhelming gratitude toward him.

Saving them against The Emperor\'s tyranny should have done the job. Unfortunately, the only ones who understood the truth of what transpired when The Emperor collided with Ruin were Geir and a few of the house leaders.

The executives barely managed to protect themselves from the collision of magic energy pressure, which caused them to be unable to focus on anything else.

Apart from that, there was one good reason Kyran could not be too brazen before Zigor.

Unlike Geir, who was at the edge of breaking through to becoming an Overlord, Zigor was a bonafide Overlord and had been for more than a thousand years.

There was another thing Kyran had to be careful of from now on.

Earlier, when the Zigor was still convinced that Kyran was part of the Dragon Clan, he trod carefully when interacting with him to leave a path of retreat for himself and the Blade Dancer Clan in case the Dragon Emperor was indeed backing the latter.

Apart from that, Zigor knew what the Dragon Clan could do. As a matter of fact, even their lowest-level members could easily dispatch peak Sovereigns of other clans. In Kyran\'s case, he had already shown them pressure similar to the Dragon Emperor\'s Aides, which was why Zigor wanted to avoid any confrontation between them.

But after Kyran hinted at not being part of the Dragon Clan, Zigor seemed to have gotten braver and might not be that opposed to confronting Kyran anymore.

"That\'s why I am giving you a chance to speak now," Kyran finally replied after a short pause.

Zigor smiled, "What if we voice our thoughts? What will you do then?"

Kyran leaned forward while linking his hands together. He then rested his elbows on the table and supported his chin with his linked hands.

"That will depend on what you say."

"Is that right?"

"..."

"Then, what will you do if I say we are not satisfied with the clan\'s current situation?"

"Which part in particular are you dissatisfied with?"

"Everything."

"That\'s a pretty vague answer, don\'t you think?"

Geir and the rest of the elders looked at the two in disbelief. They were actually waiting with bated breaths for the two to clash. Surprisingly, once Zigor started talking, Kyran responded in a way that would allow their conversation to continue— as if he meant what he implied about giving them a chance to speak so they could tackle it, depending on what it was.

Although those were not Kyran\'s exact words, that was how they interpreted them.

Zigor was similarly surprised. Though he and Kyran\'s conversation had just started, he genuinely sensed the latter\'s eagerness to resolve their discontentment. This was the reason he was able to voice their dissatisfaction with the current situation of the Blade Dancer Clan.

Geir was similarly surprised. He did not expect Kyran, who exuded such frightening and overwhelming pressure, to be willing to listen to their clan elders\' discontentment.

\'Ah!\'

Now that he thought of it when Kyran interrupted and slammed the elder earlier, he had the choice of completely destroying the latter. But he managed to hold back and only made the elder suffer. The elder would require a few weeks before he could return to his peak condition, but he would live.

"I think I understand now what you are worried about," Kyran said after having a more in-depth exchange with Zigor. "Basically, you are worried about The Emperor\'s retaliation if he finds your clan survived. If he realized that you have not only reported back to him but even allowed an outsider with a shady background to rule over you."

Zigor frowned. He did mention that they dislike having one of Kyran\'s people as the Overseer, with another as his personal aide. But he did not mention anything about being afraid of The Emperor\'s retaliation. So, how did he manage to come up with that conclusion?

"But I find your concern strange," Kyran continued, giving Zigor and the rest of the elders inside the room a confused look. "Uilleam is one of your people. Even if I was the one who appointed him as the Overseer, I only did that because he is only one of the two people I could trust among you."

"What are you even saying? Did you not mark Uilleam?"

"I did," Kyran agreed, but then he paused and corrected his words, "No. Instead of marking him, we made a pact. He agreed to hide my identity and assist me in providing intel. The same goes with Shiloh."

Zigor and the rest of the elders frowned, "A pact?"

"I heard a rumor going around that a Dragon Clan representative was the one responsible for the tragedy in the recent Tower of the Ancients hunt."

The sudden shift to their topic threw them off guard.

"What does that have to do with...?"

"That rumor\'s false. I\'d appreciate it if you stop speaking about it again. I am the one responsible for that."

The moment Kyran dropped such a huge bomb, Geir, Zigor, and the rest of the elders\' expressions immediately darkened.

Kyran leaned back on his chair and rested his elbows on the chair\'s armrest before giving them a meaningful smile.

"I\'m sure you understand the implication of my admitting this fact to everyone here."

"If word comes out, the only ones who could have done that are us..." Zigor replied with a hard look. He did not elaborate on it, but the other elders more or less guessed the rest of the things that he did not say.

If word of Kyran\'s identity was revealed, the only ones to be blamed were the Blade Dancer Clan. That was an obvious conclusion. But if that happened, and The Emperor knew, he would definitely try to find them and wipe them out for good.

Why?

Because The Emperor would think the Blade Dancer Clan had withheld that information from him.

"I don\'t know why you want to return to The Emperor\'s side after what happened," Kyran continued with a shrug. "You probably think your clan only suffered inadvertently because of The Emperor and the intruder\'s confrontation. But that\'s not true.

"The Emperor wanted to destroy your clan. The intruder\'s appearance and the aftermath of their confrontation just so happened to align with his plans to destroy your clan. That\'s why he did not even bother protecting your clan when he unleashed his powers."

Kyran gave all of them a meaningful look before finally resting his gaze on Zigor. He expected some of them to voice their doubts— saying words like: "Why would The Emperor want to destroy them?" or something along those lines. But in the end, all of them were silent.

It seemed like they were aware of The Emperor\'s reason for destroying them if he ever had that idea.

"You\'re probably wondering how The Emperor knew about your plan of rebellion."

Once Kyran specifically spoke that word, all the elders, with the exception of Zigor, shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

"I\'ll let you explain what happened when The Emperor asked to meet Alta, Geir."

Geir, who had his eyes closed at that moment, opened his eyes and took a deep breath, "Alright."