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n

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nThe Unkaras did not side with the Drakuns. They were neutral and hated anyone invading their territory. They were also a very violent race that would choose to self-destruct rather than lose. Aksarai needed them alive and thought of an idea. He only needed the smog, not their race, so he poured his power into having magic absorbed into the smog that was created. He then returned to wait for the barrier to spread.

nThe Lukras did not notice its existence at first since it was created in a faraway place, and was slowly increasing in radius. But the Akun-Kal eventually spread across the continent. Within the Akun-Kal, the Drakuns’ energy increased in power and they were able to know where the Lukras were. It also made other races other than the Drakuns stay under its barrier.

nThe barrier confined the Lukras, making them unable to move out of their land. When they noticed its existence, Akun-Kal had already covered the entire continent other than the Holy Land. The Lukras had no other choice but to retreat into the Holy Land and ended up in the current state.

nEven when Aksarai died along with Broxian and Gran-Ra, Akun-Kal did not disappear. However, it was almost time. Akun-Kal was now pushing away the power of the Holy Land.

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nThe priest pointed to the sky. As Sian turned to the sky, the cloud within the mountain and outside seemed different. The top of the mountain also had clouds, but they were clearer and transparent. It was probably because the cloud before the barrier covered it.

nThe clouds outside of the mountain were normal clouds that Sian had seen for days in Ra-Sian. He never thought of it as strange, but he was able to tell the difference now.

n‘So we weren’t allowed to fly from the beginning.’

nSian realized how powerful Aksarai or Gran-Ra were. Destroying the continent while fighting, or covering the entire continent with their own magic was not something Sian could have imagined.

n‘Sickening.’

nHe realized why the Lukras were so afraid of Aksarai coming back. He also could guess what they were going to ask him to do.

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nThe priest nodded.

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nSian then asked, unconvinced,

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nThe priest shook his head.

n

n<…>

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nSian then remembered what Lagaope said to him.

n‘That’s why he couldn’t return with the Lukras’ blood.’

nIt seemed that Sian did not have any Lukra blood as he was not caught by the Drakuns when he walked around. He probably only had the traits. Sian then concluded,

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nThe Lukras told him that they wanted to check up on him. It meant that he needed to be strong enough to do the job. The priest, however, looked away.

n<…You don’t know either?>

n

n<…>

n

nSian grabbed his head as he felt a headache coming on.

n

nThe priest laughed.

n

n‘…Dammit.’

nSian realized there was no way to avoid it.

nSian pondered for a while.

nHe knew the location. It was probably the mysterious mountain that he and Duke Lorvall fought on. The place was filled with mysterious fog and he now realized that was probably the smog made from those Unkaras.

nThe area that he destroyed was quite large, but it was nothing compared to the size of the island.

n‘Maybe I should’ve just destroyed the whole place while I was there.’

nSian thought about it but shook his head. If he did, he would have probably been caught by the Drakuns and killed. Thus, he was able to pinpoint two important things.

nThe first was to see how strong the Unkaras were. The second was to find a way to run to safety after dealing with them.

nIf he were to be caught by angry Drakuns after destroying the barrier, that would be the end of his life. The Lukras said that they would draw away the Drakuns’ attention, but he wanted to play it safe.

n

nHe did not dare fight when he knew he would not win. He needed to check how strong the Unkaras were first. He also had to decide how to escape. He needed teleportation magic and he knew where to go.

n‘I should look for Conrad or Lagaope first. Where would they be?’

nIt quickly became obvious to Sian. He probably got someone to send the message and it was done by the teleportation magic. Lagaope said the magic to teleport across the continent required power of the core, so Sian decided to check on the repaired cores of Ciculus first.

n‘I should keep training along the way.’

nSian then went to inform the Lukras that he would leave soon.

nLagaope coughed and Conrad turned towards him. Lagaope shook his hands.

n“It’s nothing. I just feel something very bad.”

n“Hmm? Why is that?”

nConrad became confused but returned to his job on fixing the cores. Lagaope then found something on him was flashing. It was the communication artifact. He took it out and answered. It was Liviath, telling him that he returned.

n“You’re back.”

n

nLagaope then nodded. He then found something strange.

n“But… where’s Mister Sian?”

nLiviath turned away.

n“….”

n

n“And then?”

nIf the artifact and the message were delivered, then there was no problem.

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nLagaope became grim. There was only one person who Liviath would consider that way.

n“It must be Mister Sian.”

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n“…north?”

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n“Hm…”

nLagaope quickly guessed what had happened. It seemed Sian had run from something as things had gone wrong. There were only three things that would make Sian run in that continent, and it seemed that he had run into the Lukra’s land as he might consider it to be the safest.

n“I can’t believe he’s that unlucky. I even had an easier way… let’s hope that he didn’t die.”

nLagaope shook his head.

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