The semi-transparent purple half-sphere trapping Haji and Jita shrunk in an instant. Knowing the sphere possessed a strange disintegration effect, they both paled in fear. Nevertheless, they did not want to be used to leverage the Prince's decision or be exploited as his weakness. Thus, they clenched their fists, steeled their hearts, and Haji even said, "We are not afraid of death! Please do not mind us, Your Highness! I'm sure the knights will realize something is amiss and will be able to aid you soon! Long live Armakea! Let our deaths become the foundation for the nation's bright future!"
Achim ground his teeth and did not respond to Haji. He could see the half-sphere shrink at an alarming speed. He could even see the look of terror on his two assistants. But he chose to ignore it because he was the Prince of Armakea. He would never succumb to threats.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Haji and Jita, determined to keep their eyes open until the end, watched the half-sphere start to disintegrate the hems of their robes.
By then, Achim had already looked away and chose to look at the man before him. It was quite unfortunate that he did not have any ability to harm others with a mere look. He would have loved to see the man writhe in pain if he did.
Just as Achim was thinking this, his specific exchange with the man fleeted before his mind.
"You just said if I resist, all of us will die."
"True. And I will still get what I want when that happens."
A sudden thought crossed Achim's mind, and his heart was filled with dread.
"Wait!" he shouted at the man and demanded. "What did you mean about getting what you want even if all of us will die?"
Achim felt dread because he recalled an old anecdote about a powerful sage that could bring back the dead. It mentioned the sage using a Divine Armament that could bring back a dead person's soul and attach it to a new body, forcing them back to life. Although the anecdote ended with that person's defeat after his Divine Armament was sealed by another powerful sage, it mentioned that the person was still alive and was bidding his time before returning. After that, he would again spread terror to the world and enact revenge on that sage that sealed his Divine Armament.
Could this man mean to tell him that even if he killed them, he could easily bring them back to life? Just like that powerful sage of old?
Kyran tilted his head, and the corner of his lips slid up slightly. Ignoring Achim's question, his reddish-purple eyes, hidden behind the face-altering mask, glowed, turning his currently green eyes into a strange greenish-brown shade.
Before the purple half-sphere completely shrunk, its semi-transparent state changed, and its color turned a deep shade of purple. The color continued to deepen until it finally appeared as dark as the deepest abyss.
Haji and Jita could be seen inside the half-sphere a few seconds ago, but after it turned completely black, their status was unknown. They did not even scream as the half-sphere had already shrunk to a size where the two would be consumed.
"I said to wait!" Achim yelled at the man.
Even as he yelled, the half-sphere continued to shrink. By the time he finished what he was saying, it had already shrunk into the size of a pebble. In the blink of an eye, that pebble had also disappeared.
"YOOOOUUUUUU!!"
Achim's eyes turned red with anger. He screamed at the man with all the hatred he could muster. Unfortunately, that was all he could do.
Though what Haji said about the knights realizing something was amiss was true. There was no guarantee they would realize it before Achim's turn to die.
"I already told you I'd like to avoid tacky exchanges," Kyran smiled at him.
Crackle! Sizzle!
A fissure suddenly appeared behind Achim. Without letting Achim even realize what was happening, Kyran pushed him in.
Kyran did not even use force to push Achim into the fissure. The fissure's vacuum-like effect easily pulled Achim in.
"I should have done this from the start and saved myself the trouble of feeling disappointed," Kyran muttered.
Nevertheless, it was loud enough for Achim to hear.
Achim's eyes widened as he heard the man. Looking at him, smiling, made him recall Eikin's smile. However, he was not the real Eikin. Thus, his smile was unfamiliar.
In any case, Achim's last feelings as the fissure closed were regret, self-loathing, and excruciating pain. Regret for not answering correctly when the man had given him a choice; self-loathing for his inadequacy to protect his subjects, not to mention his powerless self; and lastly, the excruciating pain of his body being destroyed into nothingness. To think he would die just like that without even knowing who was behind that face.
The moment the fissure closed, Kyran's smile disappeared as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He fell to his knees and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Crack!
"Ngh...!" Kyran gritted his teeth as he sensed a crack in one of his magic cores.
The one that housed every creature or person he absorbed using the Void's absorption ability.
That was right.
He had absorbed Achim, Haji, and Jita. He made it appear as if he wanted to destroy them completely when, in fact, he planned to absorb them.
Frankly, when Kyran gave Achim a choice, he had already decided to absorb him along with his two attendants. He did not do it from the start because he knew nothing about them.
What if Achim, as a Prince of Armakea, had an escape talisman or something that would activate once he was in danger? How about the two attendants with him? What if they were high-level knights with unique Divine Armaments?
Kyran was not yet familiar with how a Divine Armament worked. Thus, he wanted to avoid fighting any complete being who could summon a Divine Armament as much as possible.
That had been the case when he fought Nahir.
Honestly, if they fought without the rule of only using the Abbey's teachings or Kyran's way, Nahir would not have fallen easily. But because of those restrictions, it was easy for Kyran to defeat Nahir.
With this in mind, Kyran decided to test them and gauge what they could do. Thus, the sudden turn of events.
In any case, when Kyran gave Achim a choice, and the latter really chose one, he would have been disappointed. He would rather see Achim and his assistants resist and give their all to escape.
After all, resisting and surviving was equivalent to winning in a situation where one was overwhelmed by the enemy.
Alas, although the three resisted, they had the mindset of dying for their cause.
Kyran was a little disappointed. Nevertheless, he was still satisfied because he learned that Achim could not call the knights to his aid. That had been the only reason he did not absorb him immediately. He did not want to be surrounded by them alone. He would not have done all this if he were not worried about that.
'Urgh...' Kyran keeled over as he spat another mouthful of blood.
He sensed Haji trying to resist inside his magic core. Jita was the same. But her resistance did not affect Kyran that much compared to the former.
Apart from these two, there was also Achim.
Kyran sensed Achim's remorse at failing. Thus, he was adamant about destroying what was confining him.
'I knew it would not be easy to absorb these three at such short intervals,' Kyran thought as he took out a healing and magic energy-replenishing pill. He popped both in his mouth and sat cross-legged, trying to absorb the pills as fast as possible.
Crack! Crack!
More cracks appear on his magic core, making Kyran groan in pain. As much as he wanted to leave now and return, he could not do that yet. He had to complete what he had come here for. But first, he had to stabilize his magic core and completely absorb the three.
Kyran closed his eyes and observed the three inside his magic core. He could not determine their levels earlier because he activated his Void domain as soon as he entered the room. Now, he was able to confirm Haji's level was far above the rest.
Surprisingly, Haji was actually a Legendary. If Kyran had not used his Void domain at the start of their confrontation, he would have had difficulty dealing with Haji.
It was no wonder Kyran was in so much pain. This was the first time he absorbed a high-level mage, slightly different from a human. He initially thought he could use the Void's absorption ability up to twenty times per day. But that was based on a human with at least Arch Magus level. Apparently, absorbing a high-level Somuli was far more painful than he had thought.
Kyran's complexion turned pale, and sweat trickled down his face, as well as his body.
After what felt like years, he sensed his magic core stabilized as the absorption of the three was completed.
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