Hearing Kyran's voice made Zephyr feel a myriad of emotions.
From the moment he had regained consciousness and realized he was the only one left to protect the Shaiha, he was forced to face reality without having the time to dwell on unnecessary self-pity. Then he had to deal with the reptilian beasts who believed they owned the ruins and that whatever was inside the temple was an inheritance awaiting for a chosen one among them to acquire.
A few years later, people from the Templar Code suddenly appeared, adding to the mix and making Zephyr's everyday life full of close-call situations and sometimes blood and gore.
Dealing with the reptilian beasts had been far more manageable than dealing with the Templar Code. After all, Zephyr was not allowed to kill humans. He could only hurt them. This had been one of his hurdles, especially when the reptilian beasts attacked at the same time.
Zephyr ended up in several tight situations, and he had no way to vent out his frustration or seek others' help because he was alone. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
When the Templar Code discovered what his horn could do, it alleviated some of the pressure. When they took an interest in him and not what was inside the temple, the Templar Code started to eliminate the reptilian beasts and would no longer try to kill Zephyr—instead, wanting to capture him and take his horn.
For this reason, Zephyr managed to pull through somehow.
Then he met Kyran, and his worldview somehow had changed. His usual stance to only stand guard and protect the Shaiha had been disrupted instantly. It made him realize he didn't need to stay in the ruins. It would be fine as long as the Shaiha stayed hidden inside the temple.
After that, Zephyr met more humans who were not interested in his horn. He also learned how most of what he knew of the past was different from theirs.
A lot changed in Zephyr. But what changed the most was he no longer felt alone.
However, a few days ago, he felt the first layer of the temple's defensive array crumble. This immediately brought Zephyr back to reality. Unfortunately, Kyran was not around, and he could not ask for his help.
Once again, Zephyr was left to deal with the problem alone.
Of course, he still believed Kyran would keep his promise to help protect the Shaiha, which was why, when he realized how dire his current situation was, especially when the Templar Code destroyed another layer of the temple's defensive array, he decided to hang on as long as possible until Kyran returned from his training.
But then, another layer of the defensive array was destroyed. The temple was now left with only two layers of defenses, and after that, the Shaiha's energy would leak, and the inevitable catastrophe would appear on the Human plane.
Those ignorant humans had no idea what they were trying to unleash once the defensive array was destroyed. Their greed blinded them that they failed to understand that what Zephyr had done thus far was protect them against the terror of the Shaiha.
Left with no other options, Zephyr used his life force to reinforce the temple's defensive array. Due to its complexity, he was left defenseless and took a fatal blow from a female human.
A couple of days later, Zephyr was starting to feel that his life might not be able to hold much longer. He only prayed that if he perished, the temple's defensive array could hold for a few more days until Kyran returned from his training.
As for whether Kyran would keep his promise, Zephyr never doubted it. But that did not mean he would not feel disheartened. The more he grew weak, the more he feared Kyran would not make it in time.
Because of this, Zephyr was overwhelmed when he realized the one making a ruckus outside had been Kyran.
He had dealt with everything alone for so many years, but now, Kyran, his new master, had come. He did not fail him.
'Yes, master,' Zephyr replied and closed his eyes.
From a distance away, Kyran stood looking in the direction of the temple after slicing off ahead of one of the Templar Code members who intercepted him.
Around him, blood and gore filled the ground as more dead, mangled bodies surrounded him.
"You dare to come here and brazenly kill our people! DIE!"
A man wearing gray robes holding a silver staff with a red spirit stone attached on top shouted as a red magic array appeared in front of him. The red spirit stone glowed, and magic fluctuations filled the air as the magic energies in the surroundings converged on the red magic array.
Kyran turned to look at the man. He snorted and took one step.
In an instant, he arrived in front of the man.
"Wha—!"
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At the same time, the red magic array vanished in thin air.
Kyran looked at the man coldly. He did not use any weapon when he severed the man's head. All he did was wave his right hand, and utilizing only the pressure of his Draconic magic; it manifested like a sharp blade that cut off the man's head.
Before, Kyran would have hesitated in killing this man. As long as he thought the man was only following orders, Kyran would only leave him half-dead.
But Kyran's mindset had changed after his training in the Tower of Tribulation.
In a battle of life and death, if one thought the other had no choice but to fight and hesitated to go all out, he would end up dead.
A person never had only one choice. They had at least two, regardless of the outcome.
When a person chooses to fight and live, then the other choice he did not take is not to fight and, in turn, die.
For example, the man Kyran killed might only be a regular member of the Templar Code and had no enmity against Zephyr or Kyran, for that matter. He only made a move. As someone from the Templar Code, he had to fight if his comrades in arms were killed because he had no other choice.
That thinking was wrong.
Because right from the start, when the man chose to become a member of the Templar Code, he must have known this kind of situation would happen and was already prepared.
The man already made a choice right from the start.
That was why Kyran did not hesitate.
If you choose to side with my enemy, I will cut you down.
This was Kyran's mindset now.
Of course, if one voluntarily surrendered, Kyran would not kill him immediately. Depending on what that person had done, Kyran would enact rightful punishment. After all, he was not a mindless killer.
Today, however, he would strike no matter what.
The reason for his decision was fueled after confirming Zephyr's condition.
Every member of the Templar Code right here was guilty of hurting one of his people. He would not let them off easy.
"You have some guts coming here to—."
The man wearing silver armor, who had just arrived, had barely started his speech when Kyran turned and took another step.
Kyran appeared behind the man, simultaneously slamming his fist on his back.
Not even knowing what had happened, the man's upper body exploded into bits of armor, blood, flesh, and internal organs.
With glowing silver eyes, Kyran took a deep breath and sighed inwardly.
'Does these people have to make a speech first before attacking? Seriously?'
Sensing more people coming his way, Kyran turned and, once again, took another step. As he did, he disappeared in thin air.
Kyran would not wait for them to come to him. He would go to them himself. If he waited for these guys to come, Zephyr's condition might worsen. That was something he would not allow to happen.
At that exact moment, Freya and Reuben, together with more than fifty combat mages with at least a High Master level, made their way toward the last known location where one of the attackers had appeared.
Three mobile turrets, manned by two Templar Code mages each, followed suit.
"Is it confirmed there are no other sightings?" Freya asked one of the combat mages in silver armor to her left.
In response, the man nodded, "Yes, there are no other sightings."
"And the one who reported the last one?"
The man immediately contacted the person; however, he could no longer get any response.
"I… I could not get any response, Lady Freya."
With furrowed brows, Freya took out a one by three inches, rectangular golden slip.
The slip had the names of all the members of the Templar Code currently inside the ruins. Their names were written in special ink, which showed their status. If something happened to one of them, their names would fade a little, and if that name darkened, that person had died.
Using her magic sense, Freya inspected the slip. Soon her hand tightened around the slip as her eyes glowed fiercely.
The person was already dead. Not only that. When she scanned the slip, she saw at least two hundred names had turned dark. This was an unprecedented event. After all, even when they had dealt with the Quilin, though they had several casualties, none of their members had died.
But now…
Freya took out her communication device and practically growled as she ordered, "Do not engage when you find them! Provide the location and fall back!"
"There's no need."
A deep male voice suddenly spoke from above.
Freya's eyes narrowed as she turned and looked at the man hovering above one of the mobile turrets. Before any of them could move, a massive pressure bore down on them as the man wearing black clothes and a black panther mask jumped down.
Then he changed into a dropkick motion in midair, striking down one of the mobile turrets.
As soon as the man's feet landed on the turret, a massive shockwave rang out as it exploded into pieces, including the two mages inside.
Turret pieces, blood, and gore exploded out.
When Freya and Reuben saw this, images of Owen, Dess, and Quinne's dead bodies flashed through their mind.
"This—!"
However, the turret's destruction was only the beginning.
The man's momentum did not stop after destroying the turret. His feet soon landed on the ground, after which web-like cracks appeared on the surface and soon exploded, instantly creating a small crater.
All of the Templar Code members, including Freya and Reuben, employed their armor's defensive ability as they were forced to jump back.
Cloud of dust filled the air, engulfing all of them.
With a voice as cold as daggers, the man spoke from behind the cloud of dust.
"I've come to repay your kindness."
This man was, of course, Kyran.
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