Zephyr stopped in his tracks when he sensed the masked man following him. He turned to look at the man with a slight frown and crossly asked, “What else do you want?”
Kyran chuckled at the apparent irritation in Zephyr’s voice and shamelessly replied, “I have decided to take you as my pet, what do you think?”
Hearing Kyran’s bold declaration, Zephyr growled, his reptilian dark red eyes flashing menacingly.
“Don’t test my patience, human. Scram!”
“Are you sure you want to talk to me in that way?” Kyran asked while stopping three meters in front of Zephyr.
He stood with his feet firm on the ground with hands on his hips. His stance alone exudes dominance that made Zephyr scowl in annoyance.
“Humph!” Zephyr scoffed while imitating Kyran’s stance. “I’ll talk to you in any way I like. Though I admit I fear your strength, in the end, you are still a human.”
“Hm,” Kyran replied with a nod.
Right from the start, Kyran had no intention of voluntarily helping Zephyr deal with his situation. After all, his understanding of the Quilin’s situation was only superficial. For this reason, Kyran decided to engage the Quilin with idle chat to dig for information and come up with a solid plan to convince him to ask for his help.
Kyran wanted the Quilin to owe him and agree to follow him. Kyran did not want the Quilin to have a reason to say that he never asked for his help and that it was his sole decision to meddle in his affairs.
Kyran also took his time observing Zephyr properly. He actually realized that Zephyr did not fear him as a person. It was not obvious earlier because he showed fear when using Void Magic, but now, he finally understood why Zephyr said he feared his ‘strength’. Zephyr really did fear what he could do and not what his magic represented.
There was also the matter of how Zephyr insisted that Kyran was the Dragon Lord but never really pursued the case. His attitude puzzled Kyran. It was very different from those he met and thought he was the Void Master.
‘Is it because the Dragon Lord’s existence was not that alarming compared to the Void Master?’ Kyran wondered.
It should not be the case. After all, the existence of the Dragon Lord was comparable to the Void Master, in which both possessed ancient magic.
Since Kyran could not come up with an answer to his doubts, he decided to take note of it for now.
After a short pause, Kyran finally spoke, “But as a human, even if I don’t have the strength, you’re not really allowed to do anything to me.”
He brushed off Zephyr’s pompous attitude and added, “I know you are bound by an agreement not to kill humans.”
Zephyr’s brow twitched. He was not expecting this human to jab him with his greatest weakness. He also noticed how Kyran used the word ‘allowed’. Now that he thought of it, if this guy had the aura of the Dragon Lord, it meant he was part of the Dragon Lord’s clan. He definitely knew about the agreement his masters had with the humans.
“The most you can do is hurt me. But let’s be honest here, with my strength, you won’t even have a chance to put a scratch on me.” Kyran continued to speak unabashedly.
Zephyr’s eyes narrowed. He hated how this human had a point and knew his weakness.
“Have you heard of the saying, ‘Pride is the parent of destruction?’,” he subtly refuted Kyran’s arrogance.
Kyran shrugged at Zephyr’s words and replied, “There is also a saying, ‘Pride is the mask of one’s own faults’. So I don’t think pride has nothing to do with what I said, because I do have the strength to back my words, even though I am a human.”
Kyran put emphasis on the fact that he was a human and hoped Zephyr could take a hint soon. Because he could sense the people from the Templar Code getting closer.
To be honest, Kyran wanted to say:
I am a human and not bound with an agreement ‘not to kill humans’. I also possess the strength to deal with people who is after you, so if you become my pet, I’ll surely aid you.
Unfortunately, he could not say it outright because he was sure it would have the opposite effect.
‘Hm?’ Zephyr suddenly looked up, and his scowl deepened.
He sensed the presence of people getting closer.
Seeing Zephyr’s expression, Kyran knew he probably realized they would have company soon. Kyran was getting impatient, but his expression remained calm.
He casually turned and looked at the distance from behind while saying, “Well, it seems those people after you are coming. Since you don’t want to be my pet, I won’t insist. You can go.”
Zephyr could not help but pop a vein after hearing Kyran’s dismissal. Why did it sound like he was the one who got rejected?
Kyran saw the annoyance in Zephyr’s face and chuckled inwardly. This Quilin was really amusing.
He paused for a moment as if thinking about something before adding, “A friendly reminder though. Once those guys see the corpses of those three mages, they probably won’t attack immediately. Instead, they will report back to their headquarters. When that happens, it will only be a matter of time before they dispatch more powerful mages.”
He looked at Zephyr.
“You did not think that those three back there were the strongest they have, right?”
An idea popped in his mind, and he jokingly added, “Or were you hoping that once they see their corpses they would lose heart and leave you alone?”
Zephyr glared at him and did not say anything.
What Kyran said was indeed what he was hoping for. It was also why he gave Kyran a piece of his horn without making such a fuss. He wanted Kyran to leave immediately so those people would not see him and linked him to the deaths of those three mages.
Seeing Zephyr’s odd silence, Kyran could not help but raise his brows in amazement.
“No way. Did I hit the spot?” He said with a chuckle. “You’re cunning than I thought. Unfortunately, your way of thinking was still so-so compared to humans. How about it? Do you want to reconsider being my pet?”
Zephyr could only glare at Kyran’s attitude. Since Kyran saw through his plans, Zephyr knew this human would not leave until he got what he wanted.
If he was being honest, although becoming a pet to a human was pretty offensive to Zephyr, with Kyran’s identity as someone from the Dragon Lord’s clan, he actually did not mind becoming one. After all, even his masters, who were pure dragons, recognized the Dragon Lord’s people, so who was Zephyr to act arrogantly?
Apart from this, Kyran had the power of nothingness. Zephyr could not even imagine how much potential he possessed.
However, it was because of the potential Kyran possessed that Zephyr could not agree. Because this human definitely had an important destiny that would affect this whole plane, which could either destroy it or bring it to greater heights.
More importantly, Zephyr had another reason. He was not allowed to leave this place.
Zephyr’s eyes reflected his hesitation, and Kyran saw it.
He also felt it.
Finally, Zephyr took a deep breath and shook his head.
“I appreciate your words of caution. I’ll deal with it on my own. Now leave.”
Kyran frowned. He did not expect this Quilin to be stubborn. Was his strength not enticing enough? He was actually confident that Zephyr’s hesitation was because he was aware of the benefits he could give him.
‘So is he hesitant because he thinks that the risk of becoming my pet outweighs the benefits?’ Kyran wondered.
As soon as he thought of this, he rejected it. Zephyr never said he did not want to be his pet right from the start, even though he sounded offended by the idea.
In this case, Zephyr had another reason.
Kyran looked at the shrine.
After a few seconds, his eyes grew wide as realization hit him.
Why did he not think of it before? Was not the Quilin’s situation similar to the Regis Clan?
To be honest, Kyran had always wondered why his parents did not decide to leave the Regis Estate and hid him far after finding out he possessed the Void Magic. But he did not think about it much. Now, looking at the shrine and the Quilin’s hesitation.
If it was not a matter of Kyran’s strength not enticing enough, then it meant the Quilin had another reason why he could not agree. And it had something to do with this place, and most likely, the reason was inside the shrine.
Just like how his parents could not leave the Regis Estate because his father, as the next patriarch, was bound to protect the Regis’s Ancestral Land. His father could not easily transfer this responsibility to another Regis. Even his mother was bound by this responsibility the moment she married his father.
After a short pause, Kyran finally decided to change his approach.
He looked at Zephyr and started, “It seems you’re unwilling to leave this place.”
“It is none of your business,” Zephyr replied and turned around to leave.
Kyran laughed, but his laugh was not friendly and instead, it sounded cold.
“I don’t think so. I said I want you as a pet, so if this place is what’s keeping you from agreeing, then it is my business.”
Zephyr stopped and looked at Kyran again.
“I’ve said it before, human. Don’t test my patience and—.”
“No, you’re the one who should not test my patience.”
Kyran said as his aura started to rise.