When Kyran left Tracomill, his destination was the Tower of Conclave— specifically, where he and True Void warped Mannick and the others.
Since he was still wearing the army's uniform and had a mask on, no one paid close attention to him.
There, Kyran learned that Euan and Mannick were in a meeting with the Conclave. Thus, he decided to warp into the conference room.
When Kyran appeared, he did so discreetly. He did not materialize the void like last time. There was not even a fluctuation in the air when the void opened, and he stepped out. None of the people inside the conference room noticed Kyran. Not even Stella, who would usually react whenever she sensed him nearby, nor Mannick, whose magic was very sensitive to magic energies. Everyone's attention was directed at the center of the table, which projected a holographic rendition of the empire.
Euan, Malik, Hugh, and Noir were leading the discussion, while Stella and the others— except for Mannick— voiced their opinions from time to time.
Kyran did not announce his presence when he heard their topic. Instead, he listened to their discussion in silence. It appeared that they were aware of the anomaly in the Regis Estate. He guessed Mannick might have told them something.
After learning that powerful mages were arriving at the estate, Euan and the others started to devise a strategy on how they could safely evacuate the Regis Clan.
"If we lure Ruin in here, we may have a chance to lead the Regis Clan out of their estate," Euan was saying while pointing at an area west of the empire.
As soon as Euan pointed at the map, the projected map responded and zoomed in on the location. It also provides detailed information about the location, including the name, size, population, businesses, and more.
Kyran looked at the information and saw the town was called Ravenpass. It was a town surrounded by two steep valleys with a river flowing in the middle.
Kyran knew the town. It was where the Milfiore Military School conducted their combat examination in his third year.
"Ravenpass is the Doylie Family's private property," Malek said while looking at Euan. "Won't we implicate them if we lure Ruin there?"
Euan shook his head, "It is fine. We purchased the Ravenpass from them and are supposed to build a new training facility for the Royal Guards there. But because of the matter about Gray, the construction got postponed. At most, there are only a few guards stationed there. We can easily evacuate them when the time comes."
"But will luring that man be enough?" Hugh asked with a slight frown. "From what we know, he's a very powerful Magus. If I remember correctly, he is also one of the three outsiders. Though we don't fully understand what that implies, it is not wrong to think that he is someone similar to the Spirits, correct? He is not a native."
Mannick sighed inwardly. When he and True Void first appeared before the Conclave, True Void avoided saying anything about the Sovereigns. It was not that he could not be bothered to explain but that talking about them might scare them.
Mannick wanted to tell them the truth about Ruin but was scared the Fates would do something. He had no proof that the Fates had influenced their situation because of his meddling. But the fact that he could sense them watching was enough for him to be wary.
Alas, it would have been better if True Void were here to run off his mouth. At least he was not restricted by his identity.
Euan sighed as he remembered how he accepted everything Haylee told him about the three outsiders. She said they were part of her inheritance and would aid her in everything. But now, he knew better. They were not part of the inheritance but her coconspirators. If only he had not been too accepting of what his daughter told him, he might have discovered more information about the outsiders.
"I don't have information about them," Euan said, addressing Hugh's remark. "But you are correct. The outsiders are not native to this land. Apart from this, their mage level was unfathomable, especially that Ruin. I've seen how powerful the Regis Estate's defensive barrier is, but I will not be surprised if Ruin succeeds in destroying it."
"As far as I can tell, the Regis Estate's barrier is at least a Saint-tier Array," Noir started, slightly startled at Euan's words. "If Ruin can destroy that array, I can only imagine how high his mage level is."
"I can help lure him," Stella suddenly said, prompting the Conclave council members to protest.
"Absolutely not, milord."
"You must not leave the tower!"
"Over my dead body."
"Please do not be rash."
One after another, the council members said.
Stella looked at them in exasperation.
"You know well enough that apart from Kyran, I am the only one who has the ability to keep Ruin in check," she started.
Her words caused Rivka and the other aides to look at Stella closely.
Frankly, they did not know who this woman, who was clearly years younger than the other council members, was. They initially believed she was a new deputy or maybe Head Malek's daughter or something. That was why the other council members were respectful toward her. But it seemed her identity was not that simple.
On the other hand, Euan and Mannick decided to keep their opinion to themselves. This matter was something the Conclave had to sort out on their own.
"Besides, it is not like I'm going to fight him head-on," Stella argued. "With my magic, I can restrain him. Then it will be easier to evacuate the Regis Clan—."
"No," Malek responded with a firm voice. "You did not know this milord, but I only agreed to full cooperation because Kyran assured me he would not ask for your help."
"Malek—!"
"No, Stella."
The rest of the council members could not help but look at Malek in surprise.
Stella was also taken aback when Malek called her by her name. Malek had never defied her before. Although he occasionally disagreed, Stella would have her way in the end. But this time, it was different. He was obstinate and would not back down no matter what.
Kyran, who had been listening in silence, was supposed to step in when Stella suggested luring Ruin by herself. But he lost his chance after the council members expressed their objection.
With the ensuing silence growing uncomfortable, Kyran finally decided to step in.
"There is no need to worry about Ruin."
Everyone inside looked at Kyran in surprise. They had not sensed his arrival.
Even Mannick was stunned.
It should be noted that although he was only an Exalted essence, with his magic's nature, he would have detected Kyran's arrival. Mannick was far more sensitive to any change in the surroundings' magic energies. Even if Kyran warped into the room using minimal magic energy, Mannick would still sense it.
Stella was relieved to see Kyran and was about to call him when she recalled the incident with Cyneah. She tried to make up for her mistake by asking Malia to transfer Cyneah to Kyran's room, but looking at him now, she somehow felt it was not enough.
'Focus,' Stella scolded herself and pushed the unnecessary thoughts to the back of her head. She had to focus on the urgency of their situation and must not let her personal feelings distract her.
Malek frowned at once. From Kyran's comment, he must have arrived a few minutes ago. Why did he keep mum and stay at the back if that was the case?
Before, Malek could berate Kyran for not speaking as soon as he arrived. However, someone else beat him at it.
"You rascal! If you are here, speak up at once. Why are you hiding over there?" Sigma scowled at Kyran.
Kyran only nodded toward Sigma to acknowledge him but did not respond to his complaint. Instead, he walked over to where Mannick stood and said, "It's been hard on you."
Mannick chuckled, then smiled apologetically, "I don't want to cause further damage."
"Too late for that, don't you think?"
"True."
The others looked at them in confusion. Only Euan did not seem perturbed. After all, he witnessed the two talk about things that only made sense to them earlier.
"Why did you say that about Ruin?" Malek asked Kyran, veering the discussion back on track.
Kyran looked at him before addressing the rest and said, "Nolan is keeping him busy. We need to focus on rendezvous with the rest of my family, then prepare for the arrival of the Sovereigns."
Upon hearing his words, Malia was the first to react, "Are you saying that the Regis Clan has already left the estate?"
Avrum's face fell when he heard Malia's question. Obviously, Chairman Malia did not realize the odd thing Kyran had said.
"Not yet. But according to Alary, they are currently creating a passage underground," Kyran replied and pointed at a spot on the projected map.
Avrum looked around and was shocked to find that apart from him, everyone else did not seem bothered about the odd thing Kyran mentioned.
The map reacted to Kyran's action and enlarged the spot he pointed at. It was a barren land west of the Regis Estate. And if one looked at the area close to it, one would notice it was at least five hundred kilometers away from Ravenpass.
"So we'll still go to Ravenpass," Noir nodded. "Very well, we will set up a defensive array there and have—."
"Argh! You guys!" Avrum burst in exasperation.
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
"Is it just me who noticed Kyran saying something 'odd'?" Avrum demanded while clutching his head and looking at Kyran. Without waiting for the others to ask what he was on about, he added, "Who did you say is going to arrive?"
Kyran looked at him and, without a change in his expression, replied, "The Sovereigns."
It was then that they recalled this bit. However, it was not that they did not notice it because most of them have. But the matter about the Regis Clan was their priority.
Or at least, that was what most of them believed.
"Sovereigns?" Malek repeated while also looking at Kyran in confusion.
"To be honest, I don't think it is good for you guys to know about them. But I also don't want to see you act recklessly because of ignorance."
Sigma scowled after understanding Kyran's inference.
"Oi—."
"Let him continue, Sigma," Noir stopped Sigma before he could say more. He knew Kyran would not say things like that for no reason.
The discussion that followed became a real eye-opener for all of them.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺