After a heated argument, King Foraan stormed out of the room. Following his orders, a group of older men quickly gathered the young ones. With the circumstances, they couldn't keep things hidden from the kids.
As the floating ship approached the East Continent, King Foraan stood before the group of youngsters. Many other older individuals and Elder Han stood silently by his side.
He cleared his throat, wearing a solemn expression, to quiet down the faint whispers and voices.
Once again, he felt a swell of pride seeing the number of people who had returned alive. His eyes flickered with various emotions. The kids had just survived such a big hurdle, and now he and the others were about to put them in danger again.
"I'm really proud of all of you. It's amazing to see so many talented people right here. I know you all want to go back and see your families and friends. But, I have some news... and it's not good, I'm afraid."
He paused for a moment and rubbed his temples. The tension in the air heightened because, unlike Kyle and his friends, nobody knew what news he was referring to.
"Your people, your families, they need you. The dark forest, which had been quiet for so long, has produced two new monster lords."
As soon as his words fell, a heavy silence enveloped the ship. It took a moment for everyone to process the gravity of the situation. Then, a chorus of shocked gasps filled the air.
King Foraan was about to speak further, but Alec, who had been quietly observing from a corner with his arms crossed, raised his hand.
"Have the two monster lords already emerged? What's the current situation? I don't know about the others, but I'm ready to fight."
All eyes turned to him in an instant. Carcel tapped his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't forget to count me in."
Mia and Lara followed suit, expressing their determination. Only if Nine was here, he would have been the first to join them, but he was forced to go with Seraphine.
After them, Regius, Yue, Kelvin, and Jian stepped forward. Sia let out a chuckle and raised her spear.
"Who do you think we are? We're not afraid of some monster lords!"
Their voices were joined by many others. At first, they were hesitant, but they found courage when Alec voiced his resolve. After all, the blue-haired man had helped them a lot in the secret realm.
King Foraan blinked. It was clear from Alec's reaction that the news was not new to him. Instantly, his eyes traveled to the brown-haired old man standing by his side.
Elder Han let out a chuckle and waved his hand to shoo away the little bird sitting on his shoulder. He wanted to salvage the situation by pretending he knew nothing, but suddenly, King Foraan let out a chuckle.
He looked at Alec and nodded quickly. Indeed, the kids had grown up.
"You all should rest for now. I understand that you're eager to know more, but we will be heading to Kingdom Escalante, where King Cedric will provide all the answers."
His eyes traveled to the silver-haired man standing quietly in the distance. For a while, Kyle hadn't said anything. As if sensing his gaze, a pair of brilliant green eyes stared back at him.
Kyle hummed softly and waved his hand, prompting Bia to come toward him.
Alec turned his head toward Kyle with knitted brows. He hadn't heard anything from Kyle.
"Kyle...?"
Instantly, all eyes turned to Kyle, waiting for his answer. They were all sure he would join. After all, like Alec, he had helped many of them and was the strongest. Yet, after a few seconds of silence, the crowd grew restless. But before anyone could say anything, Kyle let out a sigh.
"I will join as well. However, I would like to go and check on my family first. Afterward, I'll come join you guys."
Alec smiled and immediately gave him an okay sign.
After an hour, when the ship entered the boundary of Kingdom Escalante, Kyle talked to Elder Han, saying that he would just go for a while and come back.
The old man thought for a second but agreed. He watched as Kyle started floating, but he didn't leave. Elder Han blinked in confusion, but before he could voice it out, Kyle raised his finger and started scribing in the air.
Elder Han's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He stared at the glowing symbols in shock. Only when Kyle was done did he snap out of his shock, but he was a tad bit late because
another voice called out to Kyle before him.
Kyle turned his head back to look at the beautiful figure floating behind him. Yue tossed a communication crystal toward him he snap out of his shock, but he was a tad bit late because another voice called out to Kyle before him.
with a faint smile.
"Ah... It's because nobody has any way to stay in touch with you. So, take it with you."
Kyle grabbed the crystal. The symbols he drew merged together to form a portal in the air. Immediately, he tossed the little bird on his shoulder inside the portal.
-'Ahhhh.'
He ignored the voice in his head and glanced at Yue for a second before he also entered the portal, but she heard his faint words clearly.
"Hmm, it's not like I asked for an explanation."
Yue's ears twitched, and she let out a chuckle. Over the past two years in the realm, she had bumped into Kyle many times. Of course, she was a little mad because he and Bia would only show up when they wanted to eat something delicious. However, the fact that now Kyle can easily speak his mind in front of her made her happy.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a distressed voice beside her. Elder Han had one of his hands in the air, and his face wore a blank expression.
The old man let out a bitter smile as he gazed into the distance.
"Just what has the world come to? He can already draw symbols in the air... Or maybe I imagined it?"
