Two silhouettes.
One from the Empire of Courage.
And the other from the Empire of Fear.
At once, the atmosphere turned into sowhat of an enigma.
It felt like two strings were pulling at each other.
The air turned both scaldingly hot and chillingly cold.
Both terrifying and courageous.
On the left, colors drained from everyone's vision.
Most couldn't look up. They began vomiting as the malevolent aura grew stronger and stronger.
…Nearer.
On the right, a warm, sunny feeling washed over those who felt its presence.
Most suddenly felt their ambition rise to new heights.
They wanted to get stronger.
They wanted to pursue their dreams.
They wanted to live the rest of their lives with the person they loved.
The feelings were polar opposites, yet worked so well in tandem.
They basically balanced each other out.
Subconsciously, Liam slightly tensed.
The stakes were at their peaks. And quite frankly, he'd always been a little nervous around powerhouses.
He couldn't help it. It wasn't a fear thing…
…Not entirely..
But it was more about being faced with sothing insurmountable. An immovable object.
Rank 6's were those who stood at the peak of mountains, and were a handspan away from touching the sky.
And… well, sitting there in his shadow, was the thing they waged a literal war over.
Not exactly reassuring.
Eventually, the rims of the Veil were filled with both vampires in humans.
The numbers continued pouring in in an orderly fashion. The vampires would line up behind the Ministers.
The Sect Patriarch's would line up behind the Temple.
Six of the Seven Clans had also arrived, each of them giving Liam an assessing gaze before saluting him.
Water Dragons sward through the gates and circled the hordes of people above ground.
Beside them were the swarms of dragon-sized bats and Skeletal Dragons.
They filled the sky with their numbers.
Miasma Queen, Myriad Brush, Cerulean Dragon, Sun's Spear, Unmoving Mountain, Felling Wind.
All of them were present except the Luminous Light Clan.
As expected, Kuan really wanted nothing to do with this battle.
Before the two silhouettes got any closer, the gates suddenly flickered.
Erging from them were two distinct individuals.
Usan and Alucard had arrived.
The forr obscured his face with the shadow demon mask, his body more muscular than usual.
Black wrappings were bandaged around his body. They were of a higher quality compared to the usual. A peak Rank 5 item.
This was the Unforgiven Shadow.
To the rest, it just seed as though it was his war attire.
To Liam and those who knew better, Usan was hiding his pallid sickness with the usage of pills and clothing.
More than seven months had passed since they'd set foot on the Dual Empire's lands.
And the only reason Usan had remained alive till now was because he'd entered a dormant, comatose state to extend his life.
'His aura looks solid,' Liam thought. 'But it's struggling to stay that way.'
Beside him was Alucard, Pashah of Korsa.
He looked… spine-chillingly scary.
As soon as he appeared, there was a palpable silence as everyone processed who it was they were looking at.
Alucard had more or less the sa appearance as last ti, with minor differences.
He was still youthful, with pearly smooth skin and a dark goatee on his chin.
He wore his usual red and black robe, the folded collar of which arched around his neck.
Lanky, corvid-black hair — parted from the middle — fell to his shoulders.
His piercing, blood-red eyes were like an endless abyss.
Staring into them for too long could make soone lose themselves in their depth.
The Rank 5 Sect Patriarch's watching felt their heart rates quicken.
This was the first ti they'd seen a Rank 6 powerhouse besides Kuan Moyong and Usan.
They were witnessing an aged monster.
The Ministers rushed to their king's side and gave him a strange salute, putting a fist over their hearts.
Was that worry Liam saw on their faces?
Or was it relief?
He couldn't tell.
Glancing to the side, Alucard gave Liam a terse nod and short smile.
Then, his gaze fell to the sky where two figures were readily approaching, flying directly over the Veil.
Usan walked over to where Liam and the Elders were.
Liam couldn't see his face, but he had a feeling the Unforgiven was smiling behind his mask.
Despite the looming threat, he sohow made the ti to make small talk with the Elders.
"This is what we have been working towards," Usan said, his voice muffled and distorted. "I'm proud of you all."
The Elders held back tears. Jane and Aki silently let it all out, though.
anwhile…
[Sure took your ti, scoundrel,] Usan transmitted to Liam alone.
Despite his outward seriousness, he was definitely smiling.
[Worked out in the end,] Liam said, smiling similarly. [Got one of the Worldly Artifacts. Dagger.]
Usan's eyes widened slightly, but a mont later, his face grew hard. [You… can't hold onto that.]
Liam arched his brow.
[What?]
[Keeping it makes you a target,] Usan responded firmly. [If you're thinking of holding onto it, don't. No reason to. Doesn't work without the rest, anyway.]
[If that invasive maniac finds out, he'll lay waste to all of Ilali just to get his hands on it.]
[Just use it as a bargaining chip.]
There was a pause.
Liam eventually nodded.
Parting with the artifact before even knowing what it did was a bit heartbreaking.
But sacrifice was a requirent for the greater good.
[Good… good. Glad you understand,] Usan nodded to himself, his gaze creaking to the side.
The Emperors were dangerously close now.
Well, they were still an incredible distance away, flying directly above the center of the Veil.
But even from there, the danger the lower ranks felt was unreal.
Usan gave Liam and the Elders a serious nod.
"Go," Usan said firmly, then smiled. "You're in good hands."
The Elders felt like sothing had caught their throats. They held back tears.
Giving Usan a salute, the Alliance mbers complied, perching on the Water Dragons provided by the Cerulean Dragon Sect and flying to safety.
But the Elders couldn't help but stay in place, reluctant to leave. So had already begun crying.
Usan was a ntor.
A leader.
A friend.
They wished there was more ti between them. To share an ale. Reminisce.
But there was not.
[Take care of them.]
With that final transmission to Liam, Usan and Alucard left the ground and flew towards the Emperors.
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