Regius chuckled as he raised his hand to brush the dust off Kyle's shoulder.
Kyle had finally come out of the cocoon, and the phoenix had changed into her little form. But she still held onto Kyle's neck tightly, as if he would leave if she let go.
Kyle swatted Regius' hand away and rolled his eyes. Neon and Ray both looked at him from all angles, checking his body for any potential injuries. Only after confirming that he was fine did the duo stop and hug him, showing their concern.
Jian, Carcel, and Alec exchanged glances. They nodded at Kyle and quickly went to eliminate all the monsters in front of the border. It only took them a few minutes to ruthlessly kill the monsters.
The soldiers and other individuals in front of the border cheered and looked at the young guardians with respect and awe.
Kyle walked alongside Neon, Ray, Regius, and Sinon as they made their way toward the border. He asked about his father, and Ray responded with a curt look, suggesting that this time the old man would surely give him a good scolding.
Kyle let out a chuckle and shook his head. A lot of curious eyes discreetly glanced at him, wondering who he was to elicit such reactions from the strongest individuals on the continent.
However, after battling the monsters for so long, they were too exhausted to go and follow the grey-haired man.
Susan clicked his tongue and silently trailed behind Kyle, not uttering a word. He didn't understand why everyone reacted so strongly to Kyle's presence, but he didn't want to dampen anyone's good moments.
Kyle looked up where Yue, Lara, and Mia were standing together. Noticing his gaze, the girls smiled and landed beside him. In the end, they all entered the gates built in the border on foot. As they walked inside, they were greeted by a diverse group of individuals from different races, all busy repairing broken weapons or skillfully sharpening them on large stones.
The air smelled strongly of metal. The group waited for a bit, and soon Alec, Carcel, and Jian joined them.
Jian threw his hand on Kyle's shoulder and urged him to share the reason why he fell into a coma. He also asked about the strange crystal that came out of Kyle's chest. The others around Kyle were just as curious, eagerly waiting for his answer.
Kyle hummed and gently stroked the little bird clinging to his neck. But when the silence grew thick, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a long story, let's talk about it once we've taken care of all our enemies."
Jian looked at Kyle's back with a blank expression as the latter followed Ray and Noen towards one of the nearby buildings where his father, Baron Ohan, lived with butler Eon.
Carcel tapped Jian's shoulder to offer some comfort, which would have been perfect if Jian hadn't noticed his crescents eyes.
"It's alright, let's focus on defeating our enemies first."
But as Carcel followed behind Kyle, Jian couldn't help but burst into a smile.
"Wait for me, I'm coming as well!"
Kyle knocked on the door of the building, which looked pretty ordinary, and waited. His father opened the door, probably thinking that Ray and Neon had returned after a long day. Ohan started crying as soon as he saw Kyle. He grabbed him and gave him a thorough look before pulling him into a warm embrace.
Then, he finally noticed the many familiar figures standing behind Kyle and quickly invited them all inside.
"Come kids, it might be a bit cramped, but you can all fit in this house. Come on in."
Kyle looked around and saw that the inside of the building was a bit plain. However, considering it was just a short distance from the border, it was pretty nice.
Susan massaged his temples, unsure of what he should do, and simply followed the group of people without much thought. But he was stopped when butler Eon asked him who he was because Eon had never seen him before. Eon had seen all of Kyle's friends who would visit the border from time to time, but he had no idea who this man was.
Only when Kyle waved at Eon, did the butler finally let Susan in. Soon, they all settled in the living room where a few chairs were placed around a wooden table.
The chairs weren't enough, but Jian had a whole set of furniture in his storage ring.
The red haired man chuckled and took out enough so everyone could sit down.
However, when they finally sat down, the air turned silent. After all, who would have thought that after experiencing so much, they would be sitting together in a small room, casually talking all, who would have thought that after experiencing so much, they would be sitting together in a small room, casually talking with their friends?
But they all knew it was very different from before because now they all had a lot of secrets to hide. Secrets that can't be revealed no matter what.
Carcel gazed at Ohan as the latter asked Kyle countless questions.
His eyes trembled a little as he recalled the moment when he heard the news that his father had passed away while protecting one of the borders. He clenched his fist, the anger and helplessness he felt at that moment hasn't faded yet.
'It's okay... me and Casper will protect mom in his absence.'
A wry smile appeared on his lips. He blinked when a hand softly touched his shoulder. Carcel looked at the person who had just arrived beside him. It was Mia, silently gazing at him with a smile. Her presence alone was enough to make him stop thinking about the past.
"I am fine."
He gently tapped the hand on his shoulder with a smile. Mia 01:35
nodded and pulled her chair to sit beside him, whispering softly.
"I know you are, but it's okay if you feel like it's getting hard. I... am here, and not just me, all of us are here."
