"Before I start, let me take that mask off."
The Stein Clan Patriarch reached out his hand, placing it around Gabriel's face, grabbing onto the facial mask that the young man was using.
Since he was already going to use the Soul Search, he didn't want to have the mask interfere with contact between his hand and Gabriel's face.
Grabbing the corner of Gabriel's mask, the man slowly took it off, before tossing it aside.
He placed his hand under Gabriel's chin, raising his face slightly so he could watch it carefully.
However, as soon as he raised Gabriel's head and saw his face, his eyes opened wide. Subconsciously, he took a few steps back.
That face wasn't something that the Patriarch could forget! This was the face that almost everyone in the Upper Realm was looking for!
Portraits with this face were available everywhere, since this was the face of the person who was most wanted in the Upper Realm.
If anything, the Stein Clan Patriarch always wanted to work with Karyk to take down the King of the Upper Realm. That's why he was looking for Karyk, not to capture him.
However, the situation was completely opposite to his expectations. Not only was Karyk right next to him all the time, but he had also offended Karyk in this way!
The person that even kept the four Generals wary... He tried to Search his soul?
His eyes went blank.
In the back, even Ulesis's lips were parted in surprise. She still remembered when she talked about Karyk being her idol, only to now find out that Gabriel was him?! She couldn't understand how Karyk was able to hide his death aura though.
The Elders also appeared as if they had swallowed poison. Their faces were pale as a thin sheet of paper. There was a trace of fear in their eyes. That all remembered the stories they had heard, about Karyk's past!
Not a single clan who stood in his path ever had a good ending.
The Stein Clan Patriarch only frowned in the end. "To think that you would be the Death Star..."
"I wanted to work with you so bad. But now that I've already offended you, I have no other choice but to kill you here! But before that, let me search your soul! I'm sure it'll have many secrets that can help my clan rise to the peak."
The Stein Clan Patriarch reached out his hand, to place them on Gabriel's forehead. However, just as his hand was about to touch Gabriel, he froze.
A bright light flashed before his eyes. The next moment, he roared in pain as if he was a dying pig.
A thin line of blood spread across his arms, as the lower half of his right arm dropped on the ground.
"Arghhh!" The Patriarch of the Stein Clan roared in pain, holding his bleeding arm. He jumped back, gazing at a Death General who was standing right next to Gabriel.
The formation in the hall could stop the summoning of Shadows of a Shadow Mage. However, what Gabriel summoned wasn't the shadows but real beings... The Death Generals, created by Karyk himself.
The Elders were also taken aback. However, before they could respond, they saw a deep blue fire burning around Gabriel.
All the shackles that were holding Gabriel into place broke apart in an instant. However, the fire didn't harm Gabriel in the least.
Gabriel rubbed his wrists, which had a mark left on it, because of the shackles. It was as if he was a different person entirely.
He glanced at Raphael, who he was meeting after a long time. Raphael appeared much stronger, as if his training had worked. Moreover, now his flames also appeared to have some traces of space. It was as if his flames could also break apart space now.
"W-wait! We can still talk about it!" The Stein Clan Patriarch exclaimed, frowning.
He had a bad feeling. Now that he had offended Karyk, he didn't want to suffer more. He was confident in taking out the ruling shadow mage, but when it came to Karyk who was free, he didn't have confidence!
Last time Karyk came to the Upper Realm, he was all alone and yet he caused so much damage. On the other hand, this time he came with his Death Generals which made the Upper Realm even more wary.
The Stein Clan Patriarch knew that the situation was dire. He had to come up with a plan to solve this conflict peacefully. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
"We should talk about it! If there's a conflict, we both will suffer! Even though you have your strength, we also have the Ancient Golems which can kill you! So instead of fighting amongst ourselves, we should join our strength to fight the King of the Upper Realm."
"That's what I also wanted...," Gabriel commented.
His response made the Stein Clan Patriarch sigh in relief. However, his calmness soon disappeared as he heard the other half of Gabriel's sentence.
"... In the past. However, now there is no need for this cooperation..." Gabriel tightened his fist, glancing in a particular direction.
At the same time, his Divine Consciousness spread around.
Within a few seconds, the entire ground started trembling, as if there was an earthquake.
The Stein Clan Patriarch had his face turn pale, as he realized what was happening! The earthquake wasn't natural! Instead, it was because their guardian Golems were moving on their own, coming toward the Clan Mansion.
"H-how did you?" The Stein Clan Patriarch asked, stunned. However, his eyes soon revealed a look of understanding.
He fiercely exclaimed, "The Inheritance! You received it!"
"You're wrong." Gabriel said, without any expressions on his face. "I didn't receive the inheritance of your Founder... I received something else... Something that you won't be alive to see..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a deep blue flame filled the entire hall. Only Ulesis remained unharmed in the flames.
