Haylee met with the rest of the Boyd's elders, and they told them what happened while she was sleeping.
The truth was she already expected the Sovereigns outside the Human plane to force their way in because it was impossible for them to enter normally with the Sovereign's Cradle in place.
If it was a month or two ago, Haylee could have them enter the plane the way Ruin, along with Deception and Savagery, had. However, that entry was inside the Winfrey's Ancestral Lands. And the ancestral lands could only be opened during the Winfrey Inheritance's trial. Now that Haylee had acquired the Inheritance, the ancestral lands had closed and could not be opened again.
Because of this, Haylee could only wait and had Osric keep an eye on their arrival so he could greet them.
In any case, Haylee knew that checking the fiery ball in the sky was only an excuse Osric gave to calm the rest while not disclosing the arrival of the Sovereigns. Aside from this, she more or less guessed Osric went there as soon as he could because of her other decree, which was to capture Kyran.
Haylee guessed Osric believed Kyran would go there because the fiery ball's location was close to the Regis Estate. The latter would definitely not sit idly, knowing it could threaten his clan.
The Regis Family's character was one of the reasons many feared and respected them. However, it also became a good factor that helped others guess their next move and exploit it as a weakness.
Still, Haylee felt that Osric had underestimated what Kyran could do by going there without any backup.
She thought this way because, having both past and present knowledge about the Regis Family, Haylee was aware of the latter's power.
Most people believed the Regis Family had a powerful physique and combat techniques thanks to the Regis Blessing. But Haylee knew better.
The Regis Family could utilize the Regis Blessing— or, to be accurate— the drop of the dragon's blood because their bodies could withstand its power. During the Chaos Era, one of the reasons the Regis Ancestor, Zane, received the Dragon King's favor was because of his strong physique.
That was right. Zane's strong physique was an inborn quality of every Regis male.
Haylee knew all these because of the previous Soul Emperor— Layla's memories that she received along with the Winfrey Inheritance. Layla knew the truth about the Regis Blessing because Zane never kept secrets from her. They were betrothed then, and the latter was unaware that the former was the Soul Emperor.
But Haylee had an inkling that Layla was not the only one who knew the truth. Caelan, the previous Void Master and Stella, the first Time Keeper, likely knew the truth too.
The four of them were very close friends, after all.
Considering the relationship the four had, Haylee found it ironic how Zane and Caelan were involved with the same woman, yet both considered each other best friends. Although Zane had no romantic feelings for Layla, he had already treated her as family. Caelan, on the other hand, had an unrequited love for Layla while also betrothed to Stella. These two women were also best of friends.
The four had a very complicated relationship, in Haylee's opinion.
Putting aside all these, Haylee could not help but shake her head at Layla's inability to take advantage of the situation in the past. Although she did take advantage of Caelan's feelings for her, she ultimately failed to see through his heart. If she did, she would have realized he had known she was the Soul Emperor from the start and had been planning to 'save' her.
In any case, Haylee now had a chance to do what Layla failed to accomplish. She also had the advantage of plotting against only one person rather than two since Kyran was a Regis and possessed Void magic. She did not have to go out of her way to find the right 'creatures' to use as vessels with Tyr in the equation.
Of course, she had to convince him first.
With this in mind, Haylee went to check on Tyr.
Neo was still on his knees, enduring the pressure that Osric created. The fact that the pressure remained without the latter's presence was a testament to Osric's strength.
Haylee hid in the darkness as she looked at Neo. She immediately noticed the destroyed anti-cast stones around him and the torn talismans.
"You have been busy since I left," she said with a slight smile. She already guessed that Neo tried to break free, but Osric caught him and used magic pressure to restrain him.
"I had Osric keep an eye on you because I trust you will not stay still."
Neo kept his eyes shut. He had already noticed Haylee's arrival even before she had spoken but ignored her. His system deemed it pointless to talk to this woman, and it was better to focus his attention on keeping the magic pressure from destroying his outer frame.
Instead of feeling offended because Neo ignored her, Haylee found it amusing.
"You can ignore me all you want, but time is up. Tell me your answer."
Neo's brow creased slightly after hearing Haylee. Was it already nighttime?
Earlier, Haylee gave Neo a time limit to decide. If he did not give her a positive reply, then she would turn him into a puppet.
But Haylee also said that it was only morning then. Based on Neo's system, it was still in the afternoon. Did Haylee think Neo would lose his sense of time while being imprisoned in the darkroom?
"You gave me until nighttime," Neo said, breaking his silence.
"It is nighttime."
"Not on my time."
Haylee giggled, "To me, it is. Now give me your answer."
"I see, so you are going back on your words?"
"It is futile to target my conscience. Since I've decided to move, I will do everything to get what I want."
"Such a scary lady. You'll scare off all the men if you act this way."
"I don't care. As long as I don't scare you off, it is more than enough."
Neo chuckled, "Are you seriously trying to hit on me at a time like this, Princess? I did tell you not to fall for me, right."
"Don't worry. I haven't. I only want to keep you by my side."
"What's the difference?"
"To me, it is different. That is all that matters."
"I see, so everything you say will become the law... the ultimate truth."
Haylee did not reply, but she smiled at Neo's words.
"Your answer," she repeated for the third time. As much as she enjoyed bantering with Neo, she had a tight schedule. Finding another opportunity would be difficult if she did not capture the whole Regis Clan while Osric kept Kyran busy. Besides, she was also feeling restless since Ruin had not contacted her yet.
Neo fell silent. It seemed he could no longer delay.
Frankly, he had tried to send an SOS-coded message to his master, but the pressure that filled his surroundings prevented him from sending it.
It was subtle, but Neo felt a thin barrier outside the magic pressure that prevented any transmission of messages from going out. He wanted to analyze it but could only focus on protecting his body's outer frame from shattering due to the magic pressure.
Haylee sighed inwardly. She really did not want to turn Tyr into a puppet. To her, the latter was someone she needed in order to find more talented mages outside of the Ylfaen Empire. With his identity, it would be easy to recruit those mages.
Up to now, Haylee was still convinced that Tyr was from the nearby nation and possessed a high status. It was somewhat reasonable because 'Tyr' had always given off the aura of an unreasonable person— a trait that most of the nobles from the nearby nation possessed. Aside from this, his features did resemble a missing young master there.
Haylee pushed all her thoughts to the back of her head and started to make her way toward Neo.
Neo raised his head toward the direction where Haylee was approaching and could not help but sigh in resignation. The truth was he still had one last card up his sleeves.
But such a move could be considered fatal. At least to Neo, it was because if he survived, his master would likely wipe his system clean.
'Master, I don't have any solutions left at the moment. If I don't do this, she will discover her magic doesn't work on me because I don't have a soul she can control. Not to mention, the barrier around me is made of Void magic energy,' Neo thought, making a last-ditch effort to encode all his thoughts into his system for when Kyran found it.
"Take one more step, and I will blow myself up," Neo warned Haylee as light golden light burst out of his body.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶