Legacy of the Dark Sage

With Marigold's help, Cyneah, Alta, Leif, and Mira made their way to the Crepuscule Clan's Treasure Vault while avoiding detection. Apparently, Marigold knew all the secret passageways inside Estrid's mansion, which raised many questions in Alta, Leif, and Mira's minds.

Marigold sensed their doubts and took the opportunity to explain the Crepuscule Clan's current situation on their way to the vault. According to her, the Crepuscule Clan had been messed up from the inside ever since Estrid returned from an expedition to their Ancestral Land 500 years ago.

Estrid was originally an upright leader. However, after surviving the expedition to their clan's lost ancestral land, she returned and made many changes to the clan's objectives. Initially, the Crespuscule Clan only wanted to strive in the Higher Realm with the information network they managed to build over the centuries while steering clear of The Emperor's business.

However, they also started to venture into the Alchemy business after the expedition and everything went down from there. It might sound condescending to put it that way when they went from an insignificant clan to an influential one that even The Emperor dared not touch because of their Alchemy.

But in Marigold's opinion, the clan's sudden rise in power caused their very identity to crumble to dust. To make matters worse, Estrid refused to step down from her position and even ordered the execution of her successor— Marigold.

On the day of Marigold's execution, the executioner faked her death and hid her from the rest. The executioner then taught her everything there was to know about being the next clan leader and also helped gather supporters to overthrow Estrid's rule.

Marigold then confirmed that the ones observing them in the outer city had been their group. However, the ones who initially noticed them—or, more precisely, Kyran—were Estrid's people. They noticed Kyran when he managed to find the relics hidden in every shop in the outer city.

Those seemingly misplaced relics were Estrid's. She ordered every shop owner to display them because she wanted to search for talents with discerning eyes like Kyran's.

Why was she looking for such talents?

Marigold did not know the details. What she did know was that Estrid wanted to return to their clan's lost ancestral land. From this, Marigold could only assume that Estrid was looking for something in that place, and the only one who could find it was someone with discerning eyes.

Marigold knew that they had to prevent Estrid from taking control of Kyran. And that was how she ended up attending the open auction and being in charge of attending Kyran's group.

"You mean to say that you've been pretending to be a ditzy attendant all this time?" Leif asked incredulously.

They were walking along a dark corridor, a secret path to the vault. This path led directly inside the vault, so they did not have to worry about security protocols from the outside. They also did not have to worry about the security measures inside the vault because Marigold's magic signature was similar to Estrid's.

If she released the seal to her magic, the array formation inside the vault would not recognize her as a threat. Cyneah and the others would also be considered 'safe' as long as they stayed with her.

"That is the only way I can stay out of that woman's radar," Marigold replied with a sigh. How she spoke and acted no longer reflected the ditzy, stuttering child human-fox that served them earlier. "I could fool that woman's senses and hide my magic signature and ability because of a relic my foster father gifted me.

If I showed even a little potential and got her attention, the relic would not be enough to conceal them."

"...That woman is an Overlord, after all," Leif replied, thinking what Marigold said made sense. "I'm actually surprised you managed to hide from her till now. You can even hide our movements from her."

"That is all because of the relic," Marigold explained.

"But how did you end up working together with Sisi?" Leif continued to interrogate her.

Instead of answering right away, Marigold looked at Cyneah first. Her eyes softened as she finally answered, "Because she can hear my voice."

"What?"

"Voice?"

"What do you mean?"

Alta, Leif, and Mira reacted in confusion, respectively.

"I can talk to others using the voice of my soul," Marigold explained, startling the three.

A mage's innate ability could be considered as another lifeline. Thus, no mage would openly reveal it or explain it to others. Marigold's telling such a secret was a testament to her trust. Maybe her trust was directed only to Cyneah, but since they were with her, Marigold also decided to trust them.

"My ability is also related to my innate magic," Marigold continued, returning her attention ahead. "Anyway, I was also surprised when that woman appeared in the room earlier. I wanted to warn you about what she could do, so I used my ability. I knew it was futile, but I was surprised when Mistress Sisi responded."

"Basically, the two of you can communicate telepathically without being detected by others?" Alta summarized her understanding.

When mages used telepathy to communicate with each other, they emitted a small amount of magic waves, resulting in magic fluctuations in their surroundings. The fluctuations were minimal. It was almost hard to detect but readily detectable to mages with powerful Divine Sense.

Sometimes, Overlords could decipher the conversation between two mages just by sensing the fluctuation around them from their telepathic connection.

"It is similar," Cyneah said, confirming Alta's summary.

"The voice of one's soul..." Leif muttered, looking at Cyneah dubiously.

"You..." She started to say but then stopped. Somehow, she felt that if she said her thoughts out loud, she would open a can of worms. She knew they could not handle those worms, given the current situation.

"We're here," Marigold announced, forcing Leif out of her mullings.

They stood before a wall with an inactive array formation drawn on it.

Alta, Leif, and Mira recognized some of the formulas on the array but did not understand how they came together. It was too complex for them even though they knew more about Array than Alchemy.

Marigold activated the array and escorted them inside.

Present time...

Hovering above the inner city, Ruin, and True Void were looking at the translucent purple veil that covered the mansion at the center in the blink of an eye.

With wide eyes, True Void exclaimed, "Argh! My goodness! And I mean, my goodness! What the hell is he doing releasing his Domain here? This is the Higher Realm, for goodness sake! What can his Domain do in the presence of a mage who can use Dimension!"

"Is that really the case?" Ruin wondered, obviously amused at the sudden turn of events. "It doesn't seem like it's useless though."

"What are you—?" True Void stopped as he noticed something and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! That halfling is seriously—!"

Ruin grinned, his eyes narrowed into slits while observing what was happening inside the veil.

"He sure has grown... to think he can affect an Overlord to this extent just by using a Domain."

One of the rooms on the highest floor of the mansion was Estrid's. There, she stood transfixed, three of her tails still pinning Reynard and the two mages with him. She looked at a loss as she stared at the tails that should have secured Kyran in place, twitching on the floor after being cut off from her body.

There was no blood from where the tails were severed, and Estrid did not even feel any pain. It was because of these that she was at a loss. Were the tails on the floor hers, or were they an illusion?

Reynard and the two mages also looked at the scene in shock. They never expected someone would be brave enough to attack Lady Estrid. No. Forget about being brazen. They never once believed that anyone could attack and inflict damage on her.

"I really have to find a better way to protect myself from attacks that take advantage of one's senses..."

Someone spoke from behind Estrid.

Reynard and the two mages could not see behind Estrid because the rest of her remaining tails blocked their view. Nonetheless, they recognized the voice just then. In fact, there was no other person in the room apart from the owner of that voice.

"You—!"

They started to say, but Estrid's scream drowned out their voices.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Estrid faced the owner of the voice, her murderous intent rising to a whole new level.

Kyran tilted his head as he returned Estrid's fierce glare with a smile.

"What an ugly face... This is what you really look like, huh?"

His remark only infuriated her further.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

In a sense, what Kyran said was correct because when Estrid's murderous intent surged, her face, which looked like a beautiful human face, distorted and revealed her true face— a fox with markings that run down from her forehead to the snot of her nose, and sharp canines that bared at Kyran in indignation.

"I'M GOING TO KILL—!"

Kyran raised his hand toward Estrid before she could even complete what she was saying, and he said, "You shout too much. My ears hurt."

Kyran's eyes glowed, but because of the mask, the color was discernable.

FOOOM!

A small purple orb appeared just under Estrid's face before she could react. Its size increased in the blink of an eye and swallowed her whole— Reynard and the two mages included.