Chapter 93: The Master
When was the last time Boreas felt true fear due to another being?
As someone who stood as one of the strongest in Avera, fear was rarely an emotion he felt when faced with another being.
Until right now.
Boreas looked down, watching his hand slightly tremble before he clenched it and looked back up at the figure before them.
The moment he had stepped into the hall, a heavy pressure fell on them all, completely suppressing them all.
Including King Magnus.
His shadows had tried dealing with this intruder, but before they could get close enough, they were promptly crushed by invisible walls.
Sebastian had been stopped from making a move by Grand Duke Boreas since they were currently against an enemy they didn’t understand.
Unlike the King’s shadows, Sebastian was irreplaceable.
"What a terrible welcome," the figure muttered as he continued walking forward, "you really should work on that, little Magnus."
Little Magnus?
He stopped just a short distance away, fully revealing his face to them....or rather, that’s what should’ve happened.
But as if something was deliberately concealing it, they could see none of the features that made up his face.
Everything was just, blank.
"Who are you?" King Magnus asked with a frown on his face.
"It’s too soon for you to find that out," the figure said, "but you may know me as, the Master."
Renelle frowned as she heard the name, one that was infamous in her past life, the cult’s Master.
"Anyway," the master said, "I’m only here for two reasons."
He then snapped his fingers and the space around them all seemed to crack and before Boreas, Sebastian or Magnus could make a move,
They felt themselves getting isolated in an invisible barrier,
"What do you want?" Magnus asked again, his voice a lot colder now.
The Master hummed in thought.
"I already told you," he said, turning slightly, as if inspecting the room, "two things."
He then turned towards a certain part of the hall and walked towards a pillar that stood there, much to Magnus’s confusion.
"First," the master tapped on the pillar, and with a low hum, a couple of golden circles suddenly lit up on it.
"By your reactions, I’m sure you don’t know about this just yet," the master said with a smile as the pillar opened up before he suddenly looked at Renelle with a small frown, not that they’d notice it, "except her, for some reason."
Renelle frowned at his words but chose to say nothing.
"Well, I’ll be taking this," the Master then turned back to the now open pillar.
In it lay what seemed to be a sword, one made of hard golden light.
"What was its name again?" He placed a hand on his chin as if thinking about it before adding, "That’s right,"
"Excalibur."
Renelle’s frown got even darker as she watched the man withdraw the sword from within.
Of course, she recognized it,
It was the same sword that was once pointed at her, no, it was the same sword that had caused her death.
A sword capable of forcefully severing one’s connection to both their spirit and mana, the same sword used by the first king of Avera and later inherited by the prince.
The question was, how did the cult know about it?
Yes, an attack like this had happened in her past life also, but the treasure the cult tried retrieving was a core that rested in the first King’s statue,
Not Excalibur.
Well, there was one way they could’ve known about it, and that is, if the master was a regressor like she was.
The master, looked at the sword in his hand for a while before chuckling, and the next second,
CRACK!
He suddenly shattered the hard light, as if the sword was nothing but fragile glass.
The useless pieces were allowed to fall on the floor as the master was only interested in one thing,
The core that powered it.
After he retrieved it, the master finally turned to them again and said, "As for reason number two,"
He looked at Renelle for a while and then back at Magnus, "I have a couple of anomalies to deal with, and I wouldn’t have you three interfering."
With another snap of his fingers, the space around the isolated trio suddenly started warping.
"H-honey?" Grand Duchess Anna called out as she tried reaching for him only to encounter an invisible wall between them.
The Grand Duke shook his head, seeing his wife’s attempt to reach him.
"I’ll be fine," Boreas calmly said, "for now, you two need to get to safety, I’ll make sure to find you when I’m done de—"
Before his words could be completed, they suddenly disappeared, vanishing completely without a single trace.
"He was saying something, wasn’t he?" The Master muttered before lowering his hand calmly, and casually saying, "They’ll be occupied for a while."
"In the meantime, let’s keep you busy."
With that, the space around him also started warping and the next second, he disappeared.
"Are you okay?" Grand Duchess Anna asked as she looked at her daughter.
Yes, she was still worried about her husband, but she believes in his strength to remain assured that he’ll safely return to them.
For now, she needed to keep her daughter safe.
"I’m fine," Renelle answered, but the next second,
BOOM!
The door blasted open, and in rushed a wave of corrupted humans, each controlling a different element.
This was what the master meant, when he said he’d be keeping them busy.
With a sigh, Renelle moved in front of her mother before saying, "Let me handle them."
***
Meanwhile, in a different section of space, the master appeared, looking at all that was happening.
He was both present at all these places, but at the same time not, the current space he stood was his domain,
One that acted as a bridge to any and all dimensions or spaces he created, and right now, it covered the entire Avera.
Basically making him omnipresent.
"All the pieces are in place," he muttered with a smile as he looked at Excalibur’s core in his hand, "let’s just wait for the anomaly to take bait."