Kyran’s brow creased as he looked at all these ‘beings’ kneeling in front of him.
The truth, he had no idea what they were. And from what he recalled from their previous statements when he entered this part of the forest, how they treated him was very inconsistent.
From what Kyran understood, their Monarch left, and they did not know his whereabouts. When he was ‘scanned’ or maybe when he summoned the Void Scales, they probably felt a trace of their Monarch through his magic which was how they had mistaken him as that person. This was also how Kyran guessed that their Monarch was the Dark Sage.
After coming to this place and seeing the Chaos Palace, Kyran had to release his Void Scales because his magic suddenly went out of control. It even had a trace of controlling him.
In order to take full control of his body, Kyran utilized the Regis Body Tempering Technique, which triggered the dragon blood in his veins. His actions made these beings change their attitude toward him and even called him the ‘Dragon Lord’.
Because Kyran did not feel any killing intent from their attacks, he decided to endure, which led these beings to show themselves and finally ask about his identity.
After admitting that he was a descendant of both their Monarch and the Dragon Lord, and showing them what he looked like, they were suddenly convinced that he was their Monarch and that they were his subordinate.
This left Kyran confused.
He did say he was their Monarch’s descendant. And even if he looked like their Monarch; Kyran’s black hair, dark gray eyes, and the use of the Regis technique could not be mistaken as any other clan but the Regis.
These guys were too inconsistent that all of Kyran’s doubts made him dizzy.
He sighed and slowly sat crossed-legged in front of them and said, “As I said, I am not your Monarch. I did say that I am his descendant, right?”
The figure in front straightened and exclaimed, [Ah!]
Black lines appeared on Kyran’s forehead as a theory formed in his mind.
These guys… Could it be that there was something wrong with their heads?
“Besides, aren’t you guys yelling about killing me because I’m the ‘Dragon Lord’?” He reminded, intending to test his theory.
[We did?]
[I think we did.]
[No, it is because there was an intruder.]
[Yes! An intruder! That ungrateful son of a-.]
[Always trying to break into the Monarch’s territory! So ungrateful!]
[Where is that son of a-.]
[We have to find him and kill him!]
[Yes, yes. After what the Monarch had done for them, they still..!]
[Shh! The Monarch is here. Even though that guy was a complete ass, he is still the Monarch’s best friend…]
Kyran’s head was full of black lines after hearing them talk.
Apparently, they had forgotten what he said about being the Dragon Lord’s descendant. And honestly, hearing them bad mouth, his ancestor pissed him off.
But because of their conversation, as Kyran suspected, there really was something wrong with them.
It was as if when they were presented with a piece of new information, it would blend with an old memory, thus making them unable to distinguish the past from the present.
However, their memory of the past appeared vivid to them, and Kyran was tempted to ask more about the Dark Sage.
[It is because the Monarch was in disguise. Thus, we failed to recognize you… No… If you are the Monarch’s descendant, then you are not really… But that cannot be. If you share the same magic, then… No, the Monarch’s magic cannot be shared…]
Their acting leader had said. However, there was a hint of his words being directed to himself and not to Kyran.
‘They themselves were not aware of their situation,’ Kyran realized with narrowed eyes.
He was not surprised. If they were the Dark Sage’s subordinates, it meant they had lived for more than a thousand years.
But how come they were still here?
Kyran studied their semi-transparent figures.
‘No. Don’t tell me they are..!’
Kyran’s eyes widened in realization. He remembered reading about how some powerful mages could leave behind a fragment of their soul after their death.
Looking at the state of these ‘beings’ in front of him, as well as their seemingly muddled memories, it was the only possible answer. They were all only fragments of souls, who were all dead for a long time.
These fragments of souls were called Remnant Souls, and they could only manifest for a short time. They normally stayed dormant until they had enough strength to be awakened. Although, once they woke up they could only wander around the area where their physical body was buried.
Kyran felt a little sad as he watched them in silence. He could not imagine how it felt to be a Remnant Soul wandering at the place they were buried, waiting for their Monarch’s return.
A thought popped up in Kyran’s mind.
‘Could this be the reason of the miasma getting thicker at this time of the year? In order to hide them when they awaken?’ He wondered.
But then he frowned as another thought crossed his mind.
‘But if it is the case… then that means the array that produces this miasma was arranged after these guys died.’
From their conversation, they were waiting for the Dark Sage’s return. If he fell before they died, who created the array after they died? No, the first question should be, how did they die? Did they die before or after the Dark Sage fell? If they died before the Dark Sage returned, was he the one who created this array?
Kyran immediately rejected the idea.
These guys were remnant souls. Remnant souls were left behind as willed by the person before he died. So if the Dark Sage returned after they died, these guys as remnant souls should know of his return.
Kyran planned to visit the Chaos Palace to understand his predecessor’s past. However, he was only at the periphery of the palace, yet he already got more questions than answers.
‘What exactly happened to you?’ He thought, remembering the Dark Sage.
He looked at all the remnant souls and felt how much they cared about the Dark Sage.
Could a man that was cared for and loved by his men to this extent be evil?
How much did the Royal Family fabricate the story about the Dark Sage?
Kyran felt a sudden pain in his heart. His magic seemed to act up again.
‘This..?’ He frowned as all kinds of emotions rushed inside him.
Sadness. Gratitude. Regret. Anger. Hatred.
‘Stop-!’
BOOM!
“ARGH!” Kyran screamed as his magic broke free from his control.
It surged violently around him, forming a small semi-transparent purple sphere.
[Monarch!]
All the remnant souls stood at once and retreated in alarm.
The sphere around Kyran grew and destroyed everything within a five-meter radius around him.
“Ergh…!” Kyran groaned in pain as he clutched his chest.
An inexplicable force penetrated his insides, wanting to crush him to death.
This feeling was a little similar to the pressure Malek had put him through during their first meeting. However, this force was far more powerful and painful. He vaguely felt that the pressure was trying to crush not only his insides but his soul.
How was this possible? Is his magic trying to kill him?
Kyran vomited a mouthful of blood as he crouched suspended at the center of the sphere. He urged the Regis Body Tempering Technique to endure the excruciating pain.
[Monarch!]
[This kind of attack is it that wretched woman?]
[Reinforce the array!]
[Immediately call on Lord Azaloth!]
The leader gave out an order as the rest started to move.
A huge array appeared on the whole premise of the forest, with the Chaos Palace at the center.
The whole forest groaned and trembled from the pressure of the array. All the forest beasts hiding from the miasma within the periphery of the forest appeared and escaped.
Soon, the thick miasma all over the forest converged and formed a dense huge half-sphere covering the whole forest.
All towns nearby also felt the tremors, and all the scouts stationed on each town’s walls immediately turned toward the direction of the Misty Forest.
They all gasped after seeing the huge purple sphere that wrapped the whole place.
“I-Is that the miasma from the Misty Forest?” One scout exclaimed in fright.
“Such a huge sphere!” Another scout exclaimed.
“Ring the bells! It is an emergency!”
One after another, bells were heard in each town near the Misty Forest. After all, this was the first time something like this happened. The miasma never left that area. However, seeing how dense that sphere looked, how far would it reach if it exploded?
There was also a lingering fear in their hearts that whatever this phenomenon was might be related to the Chaos Palace.
If this was the case, then this emergency could affect not only the east southern part of the empire but the whole empire!
BOOM!
Another tremor spread throughout the Misty Forest as several light golden arrays in different sizes appeared and covered the purple sphere.