“Father…”

Rebran numbly whispered, feeling an overwhelming amount of rage bubbling up inside of him.

Anger…. ignite!

Fury…. burn!

Wrath…. consume!

Tendrils of crimson source energy began coalescing around the white lion, gradually seeping into his eyes and turning the pupils into a shade of deep red. This was the first time that Rebran had ever felt the power of the Blood Legacy, and it was beginning to corrupt the weak-willed mind of the young lion.

“GAAAAHHH!”

Letting out a savage roar, Rebran charged towards the ma.s.sive silver dragon who was more than ten times his size. Streams of red liquid penetrated into his originally translucent wings, and thick veins of blood popped up all over his body.

He had lost all traces of rationality.

Sensing a violently fluctuating energy drawing close to him, Weir took a glance behind him and noticed a tiny figure rushing straight at him.

“Pesky animal.”

Ignoring the injured Griffin King, Weir lifted up his maw and shot a ball of frozen gas towards the nearing Rebran.

A long trail of grey mist followed behind the smoky ball, as it froze the very air around it.

*sha-sha*

An explosive sound resounded in the air when the frozen gas collided with the figure of Rebran.

“GRAAAH!”

The young lion seemed to be incapable of forming words, letting out his scream of agony. However, upon closer inspection, one could see that wherever the frozen gas touched Rebran’s skin, it simply evaporated away with a sizzle.

This was not surprising, as the young beast’s body was burning up its own blood to fuel his rage and use the power of the Blood Legacy. Webs of blood capillaries within Rebran’s body burst open and even the muscle fibres in his limbs began to be eaten away by the legacy.

Unlike Calron, Rebran did not have the same mental fort.i.tude as him, and the Blood Legacy was destroying the young Inheritor’s mind and body.

If this continued on for any longer, it was uncertain whether or not Rebran would live to see the next day.

Enough! Come to your senses, Rebran!

A familiar voice bellowed inside the young lion’s mind, rousing him from deep within his consciousness.

Cal…ron?

Rebran hoa.r.s.ely muttered, memories of what transpired slowly returning to him.

He felt thirsty for some reason.

I have forcefully withdrawn all the source energy from your body. Do not try to activate the legacy again until I tell you to do so. This is partly my fault, as I did not explain clearly what this legacy entailed but after this mess is cleaned up, we will talk.

Caron explained in a hurried tone, and Rebran got the sense that something seemed to be occupying the mind of his protege.

B-but, my father!

Rebran protested, unwilling to leave his father to his fate.

Do not worry, someone is coming to stop this madness.

Caron did not explain any further and retreated from Rebran’s mind.

Just at that moment, a powerful voice thundered in the middle of the battlefield.

“Two Kings fighting like dogs in front of their own people… disgusting.”

“First Elder!”

The n.o.bles on the ground all cried out, the moment they saw the authoritative figure enter the battlefield from above.

“d.a.m.n this kid, he nearly kills himself the very moment I leave his side.”

Calron grunted to himself after stopping the flow of source energy to Rebran.

To be fair, you never warned him exactly how dangerous this legacy was.

Ezkael interjected, as he materialised next to his student.

After months of not coming out in the open, Calron could finally detect some striking changes within his Teacher’s appearance.

No longer was his body obscure and smoky, and traces of his Teacher’s actual form could be seen through the dark mist. If the previous Ezkael was more like a ghost, then his current form was more akin to a semi-solid body of a man.

“Teacher… your…”

Calron gaped at the appearance of his Teacher.

“I’ll explain later. By the way, you think she will be alright?”

Ezkael brushed off Calron’s amazement with his current form, and instead gazed at the hut behind them.

“I don’t know… but I reall – Come out, whoever you are!”

Calron abruptly stopped mid-sentence and shouted towards his right, while sparks of lightning cracked around his fingertips.

“Hahaha, impressive! Only at the Vajra stage, and yet you were able to locate my presence. I was wondering who this talented person was that had managed to completely put my plans into disarray.”

A smooth and silky voice echoed in the distance, as a graceful red-haired woman sensually walked towards Calron.

Adorned in an equally bright red dress, the woman’s features would easily put her as one of the  most beautiful women that Calron had ever seen. However, the closer she got to him, the greater a sense of danger began to evoke inside of him.

RUN.

He felt the same fear that he did back when he was eight years old, and the three a.s.sa.s.sins were trying to kill him. He was helpless back then, and this same feeling arose at this moment while the red-haired woman continued to draw closer.

“Such a handsome young man… and a human no less! I wonder how you got so deep into the Desolate Mountains without anyone discovering you. I’ll forgive you for interrupting my plans, if you tell me your secret.”

The woman laughed seductively, her emerald eyes boring into Calron and freezing his heart still.

Her plans were merely postponed for the time due to the sudden intervention of one of the Elders, but Calron had not truly affected them. The red-haired woman was simply curious as to how a human could manage to enter a beast city within the Desolate Mountains.

Plans? When did I ruin her plans?

Calron frantically thought, as he desperately tried to move away from his location. Even his mental connection with Ezkael seemed to be broken.

He tried yelling to alert the old rac.o.o.n inside, but discovered to his horror that no sounds came out from his throat.

“No one will disturb us… Just stand still and let your mind be taken over by me…”

The red-haired woman whispered into Calron’s ear from behind, while softly brushing his chest with her hands.

Gradually, one of her hands slowly traveled towards his neck and started to creep near his ears.

NO!

Caron had an uncanny feeling that if he let this dangerous creature into his mind, his very existence would cease to remain.

*CRACKLE*

“UGRHHH!”

A shrieking scream emerged from the red-haired woman’s mouth, and she immediately let go of Calron and stared in terror at her scorched hand.

“Impossible…This can’t be! You cannot be one of them!”

The woman’s voice turned into a mad shrill when she turned her gaze towards the center of Calron’s chest.

Bolts of Azure Lightning violently surged around Calron’s body, as the symbol of his father’s locket glowed in front of his chest. The bird in the locket seemed to be almost moving, drawing the azure currents deeper into it.

*SCREEEEEEEE*

An ear-piercing screech sounded in the vicinity, a cry much more powerful and overbearing than Calron could ever manage.

Calron remained in a daze, but he could still see the expression of terror on the woman’s face.

“House Raizel…”

The woman rasped, staring in shock at the bolts of Azure Lightning darting around Calron. Her lips slightly trembled, and her feet started to subconsciously retreat away from him.

Wait! How do you know that name? DON’T LEAVE!

Calron roared within his mind, frustrated that his voice was still under the control of the woman. This red-haired woman clearly knew about the Azure Lightning, and moreover, from her words it seemed as if there were more members of the House of Raizel!

How could Calron remain calm after this knowledge?

With her eyes in a panic, the red-haired woman whispered a few words and instantly vanished in front of Calron’s eyes.

“NOOOOOOO!!!”

Words finally came out of his mouth, but it was too late by then.

His mind was in shambles.

I actually might have family left in this world… a family!

The bird-shaped locket gradually disappeared from his chest, along with the last vestiges of the Azure Lightning.

His eyes started to close, just as he saw a glimmer of grey fur and a hazy image of a rac.o.o.n picking him up from the ground.

Darkness.

=======END of BOOK 2======

Click “Next Chapter” for the Epilogue