Chapter 858 Underground
A man with long black hair with white strands on each side of his temples approached the crazed-turned-serious blonde man, and said a few things that Nahir and the others failed to understand.
Going back a few minutes, Nahir and the others remained vigilant as they observed how the blonde man dealt with the woman. Most were rendered speechless at how fast the blonde man subdued the woman whom they barely resisted a while ago. But with the appearance of another man, who possessed dark hair like Kyran, their vigilance doubled.
This held true with Nahir as well. Unlike the others, he knew all three were outsiders. Kyran might have mentioned the existence of the Sovereigns and why they were in Somuli, but only a few of the knights and officers present then were gathered near the outsiders. Some of those people were part of Kesiah's group, while the rest were stationed in the towers around the fort.
Knowing that the three above were outsiders and seemed to know each other, Nahir finally understood just how serious the things Kyran told them truly were.
'They are everywhere... and not only that,' Nahir paused, his eyes narrowing at the blonde man who restrained the woman. He shifted his gaze to the woman as well, and his expression turned grim. 'Some also possessed features of a Somulian.'
"Head Master, please do not torture her further. She may be our enemy, but until we confirm what that man had said, we have to be cautious in dealing with her."
The man with long dark hair and white streaks was none other than Noir, and the Head Master he referred to, was obviously Malek.
"I know, my head's cleared up now. I won't kill her," Malek replied in displeasure. He truly hated how he ended up in a crazed state for a few days after seeing a vision. Moreover, it had been a while since the last he had a vision, and it was a little irritating, especially when the first thing he saw in the vision was that annoying brat's face.
"How's the array? Will it hold?" Malek asked Noir without averting his focus away from Layla.
At that moment, Layla was still on her knees. After spitting a lot of blood, she remained motionless. Her silence wound normally appeared suspicious to others. After all, her silence would mean she was up to something. But that was not the case with Malek. He knew her silence was to preserve her strength. Apart from that, it was to prevent his pressurized attack from damaging her internal organs further.
"Yes," Noir replied while looking at the golden array above. "Since that man appeared and explained the situation, I did not hold back with the materials in creating the Active Energy-Replenishing Array. It should hold for at least two hours."
"I will hold her down," Malek said while waving his staff at Layla. Chains made of anti-cast stones appeared and wound around her body. After which, he cast an Energy Drain and Restraining Spells to ensure she could not cast or summon any magic attack or spell. "You carry on with the plan."
"Leave it to me," Noir agreed as he looked at the Somulians below.
"Try to keep it to at least five minutes," Malek added while also looking at the crowd. "I don't doubt Sigma and the rest's abilities, but our interference would probably delay their arrival at twenty to half an hour only."
"Yes," Noir nodded his head. "I feel the same."
Without waiting for Malek to say anything further, Noir descended.
Recalling the man's information, he immediately zones in on the 'leader' from the crowd.
The knights and the officers did not move when the man with dark hair descended. They kept their line, unwilling to show any weakness in their formation.
It was not the first time for some of them to meet someone looking like an Imon-spawn, and rumors of the Eidums working with one had also spread amongst them. Nevertheless, that did not mean they would willingly lower their guard in front of one, even if he or she did not show any hostility.
Seeing their cautious attitude, Noir could not help but sigh inwardly. Memories of the time he ended up in Somuli surfaced in his mind, making him feel a little exasperated.
It had been more than seven years since Noir came to Somuli. It would be strange if he were still unaware of the story of Imon and her spawns. With his dark hair, he could more or less guess what the complete beings before him thought of him.
As a matter of fact, Noir's appearance caused quite a few problems in his early years in Somuli.
Thinking back on it, that time had truly been a pain. When Layla first appeared in Ravenpass and Noir, Malek, and the rest of the Conclave, the Emperor's army, and Regis clan members gathered to confront her, rifts started to appear everywhere. Noir got sucked into one, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a lush forest. The dark surroundings told him it was the middle of the night, and thus, fearing he would encounter powerful beasts, he decided to look for a place to hide. While walking, he noticed how unseemingly thin the magic energy was around him. When he found a clearing and looked up in the sky, only then did he realize he was not in the Human plane. The idea scared and thrilled him at the same time. While searching for a safe spot, Noir ends up meeting a group of humans with beast features resting around a bonfire.
Seeing their appearance, Noir had truly confirmed that he was in a different plane. And then, when the beast-likes saw him, their expressions turned grim, and the next moment they attacked him as if their life depended on it.
Noir could only flee because he could not muster his magic. It felt as if he was shackled by an unseen power that prevented him from accessing his magic.
Soon after that, Noir saw more people. But in fear of a repeat of his earlier encounter, he decided to observe only. Only then did he notice that all the humans had blonde hair and colored eyes. It did not take Noir long to understand the situation.
Noir encountered beasts in the forests, and since he could not use magic, he made use of his array of magic items. After a few days, he bumped into Sigma along with a few Conclave members. They were fighting a very large beast and were also using Arrays. Noir joined in and helped out. Once they defeated the beast, Noir found out that apart from him, Malek, and the Emperor, most of the people who got sucked into the rift ended up near each other. As for their experience when encountering the inhabitants of that place, they also suffered the same treatment as Noir had.
In any case, they wandered the forest and ended up in Hollow Pass. There they found Malek and a few other humans. It was a strange and joyful feeling to see other humans.
They learned a lot of things from the humans and the unlawfulness of the place they lived in.
In any case, Malek, Noir, and Sigma searched for the Emperor but to no avail. Instead, they found a location in Hollow Pass that they claimed and made into a safe haven for humans.
For several years, Malek, Noir, and Sigma tried to find a way to return to the Human plane while also searching for the Emperor. Eventually, they met more humans, and they led them back to their safe haven.
And finally, a few weeks ago, that man came.
Yes, that man was none other than Gael.
Back then, Noir and Sigma did not know what to do. After all, when they left the Human plane, Gael was their enemy. Moreover, he came at the most inconvenient time for them: Malek fell unconscious after seeing a vision.
But then, Noir and Sigma were dumbfounded when Gael approached them respectfully. Even speaking of Kyran as if the latter was the sole purpose, he was alive.
Unable to fully comprehend Gael's change, Noir and Sigma decided to observe and listen to his story. After all, hearing the former spoke of Kyran made them see a glimmer of hope in returning to the Human plane.
That was Kyran! The new Void Master possesses Array knowledge that far exceeds even Noir's.
Alas, what Gael told them was something they never expected, especially when he told them that Kyran planned to conquer Somuli.
Then Malek woke up in a crazed state, spouting seemingly nonsensical yet prophetical-sounding things about the Prince of Armakea's downfall that would result in Somuli's destruction. All because his Master's wrath could not be appeased by the death of every leading figure in Somuli.
Noir and the others did not understand it at first, but then Malek said:
"His death is only the first of the many. Thus, when hisMaster awakens to the scene of his people's death, his pain could not be contained and his wrath could no longer be appeased."
Gael's expression turned grim, and he pleaded for their help.
After learning the whole situation and even discovering that the King of Amrmakea already discovered Prince Achim and Princess Kesiah's rebellion, they devised a plan and set out as soon as they could.
Unfortunately, Malek was still in a crazed state when they left. Fortunately, his quirk of wanting to research people and gain profit from them was also in an all-time high. Thus, when he sensed Layla's presence, he made a move at once.
Noir had to deviate from their plan a bit because of Malek's hastiness, but at least they managed to restrain Layla.
Shaking his head inwardly, Noir snapped out of his sudden reverie and looked at the leader of the crowd before him.
"Are you Nahir?" He asked in the Somulian language.
"I am," Nahir replied, looking less apprehensive compared to the others. "Are you one of Nar's people?"
Hearing Kyran's other alias from Nahir's mouth, Noir could not help but be nostalgic.
"You could say that-."
"We are not that brat's people," Malek cut Noir's response disdainfully.
"Head Master…"
Black lines appeared on Noir's head from Malek's correction. Still, since he spoke in Human language, Nahir only looked at them in confusion.
"Right," Noir cleared his throat and veered the topic back on track. "We heard the situation from one of Nar's aides and we came here to help. We also want to tell you that your predicted time of contact with the King's army is more than a day off.
"Currently, two hundred Kngihts are marching toward this fort."
Nahir scowled, "Impossible. Our scouts confirmed their location."
"What they saw is only an illusion. The real army is already nearby."
"But we haven't seen anyone," an officer could not help but point. "You're not going to tell us that they have turned invisible, are you?"
The others looked at each other and felt it was an inconceivable thing. After all, even if one was invisible and could move stealthily, the King's army numbered 200. Could they move stealthily when all of them were invisible?
"Noir."
Malek called him out with a warning tone. He did not want to nag, but they were running on a tight schedule.
Hearing Malek's call, Noir closed his eyes, and with a solemn voice, he said, "Who says they are traveling in the open?"
He opened his eyes and looked at Nahir meaningfully.
Achim, listening in on them, was the first to realize what Noir meant, and his mind reeled at the thought.
Nahir also realized Noir's meaningful look and words, and his eyes widened at the realization.
Before he could blurt his thoughts, however, one of the knights, who also caught on to Noir's words, said, "They are traveling underground!"
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