JUST A REMNANT OF THE PAST.

The darkness had finally dissipated, and the morning sun gradually rose, dimly illuminating Xeron. As Liam and Sulivan were still asleep, Pelas together with his men continued their search, determined to find the two men who had escaped their grasp.

To Pelas, they were likely nobles who had fled the Kingdom, sneaking back in under the cover of the discount market. Liam and Sulivan unaware of Pelas' assumptions, also presumed they were being chased because of their connection to Roland and Sylvia—the strangers they had taken in.

"Have you seen two men come this way? One has dark hair and green pupils, the other dark brown hair and brownish pupils." Pelas inquired from a homeless man who was seated infront of a worn-out brothel.

The man rubbed his fingers for merics before he'd utter a word. After Pelas gave him four Merics, he stood up and gestured for Pelas and his men to follow him. From where he was seated, there was a narrow path which lead to a rental complex. He led Pelas and his men there, after which he told them Liam and Sulivan were in there.

Upon returning, the man hurriedly went to where Liam and Sulivan actually were.

"We've been duped." Pelas groaned, his hand slamming into the wall, with enough force that it reverberated the entire complex—after finding out they were at the wrong place.

Back at Liam and Sulivan's place, a loud banging echoed through the door.

"Hwaaaaaam." Liam yawned, "Who is it?" He stood up from his bed and proceeded to unlock the door.

"You guys need to leave now. The guards are searching for you." The man stressed.

"Huh...huh. Who are you?" Liam said, still sleepy.

"That doesn't matter you guys need to leave now or you'll be captured."

"Hey, Sulivan, you hearing this?" Liam called out, rubbing his eyes

At the moment Sulivan was staring outside the window when he saw seven armed men walking towards their apartment.

"He's right we need to leave. If we stay here we'll end up causing harm to those who aren't involved."

After Sulivan made such a suggestion, the old man suggested they head to an abandoned plane where no one used anymore. It was about a fifteen minutes walk from their current location. After the man showed them the direction to take, Liam and Sulivan hurriedly left.

The moment the steps of Pelas and his men drew closer, the man transmuted his appearance into an old man with a hunch back. He then showed them the exact location where Liam and Sulivan headed to.

As Pelas and his men disappeared into the distance, the old man's skin smoothed up, his back straightened and his eyes glowed a faint red before disappearing. A sinister smile crept onto his face as he watched them leave.

Liam and Sulivan arrived at their destination—a vast area of overgrown grass and ruins with no sign of life. They decided to perch on the high point of one of the ruins to relax until the tension in Xeron had cooled down a bit.

A minute after they settled down, out of the corner of Liam's eye, he saw armed men heading towards them—Pelas and his men. He quickly nudged Sulivan, who calmly observed the approaching group before smirking.

"This is the perfect chance to show you a glimpse of my ability. I couldn't do anything in the kingdom because it would've drawn too much attention, which Hilal warned me against."

The moment he end his statement, he grabbed Liam and jumped down from the ruin—which was barely three stories high.

Upon impact, the force sent a shockwave through the ground—the building almost collapsed — causing the weeds around to sway wildly— some got uprooted. A small crater formed at that spot where they landed, bits of debris scattering into the air.

Pelas and his men, 100 meters away, two men in front fell to their knees.

"Commander! Those men aren't nobles!" One of the soldiers shouted. "What should we do?!"

Pelas stood still, trying to make out where he had seen those faces before. Then it dawned on him — it was in the land of the Lost Guardians, while he was tracking two nobles who had fled the Empire.

"Men! Advance!" Pelas commanded. Moments later, they were face-to-"face with Liam and Sulivan.

"And what brings you both here?" Pelas asked, his tone fierce and resolute.

Liam gulped and turned to Sulivan, but Sulivan didn't reply — neither did Liam.

"Both of you have acted suspiciously. As such, we need to bring you in for questioning. You can make this easy for both of us. Come quietly to the Council Hall, or go there with a few broken limbs if you resist."

"By all means please resist!" A guard in front shouted.

Pelas turned to face Sulivan"Yes, what he said."

Sulivan assumed a battle stance, signaling Liam to step aside and watch.

"Looks like we're both on the same page." He smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Been a while since I had to engage in combat. This should be a nice warm-up."

One of the guards, disgusted by Sulivan's arrogance, stepped forward, lunged his spear toward Sulivan's chest.

"That's more like it." Sulivan grinned.

CRACK!

He met the attack head-on. His bare knuckle came into contact with the tip of the spear, snapping it like a twig. The guard who lunged toward Sulivan staggered, his eyes widened as he realised splinters of the wood were embedded in his palm. Blood slowly dripping.

He looked at his palm, then at Sulivan,"There's no way this is normal... Is he even human?" he muttered. Still in shock, he fell to his knees his eyes fixated on the beauty of the skies—his arms resting on his thighs.

"Who's next!" Sulivan shouted, his voice laced with excitement. "We're just getting started."

Pelas' gaze darkened—more cautious now— but he still didn't falter.

"Men! Attack!"

At his behest, three more guards stepped forward — this time each wielding a sword.

The first guard stepped forward, his hand tightly gripping the hilt of his sword. His slashes came in rapid successions, a blur to the untrained eye. A non-combatant—like the current Liam—wouldn't be able to follow them. But Sulivan evaded them all with swift and precise movements. With an agile movement, he grabbed the guard's wrist, snapped his sword in two, and hurled him toward the two advancing guards.

BAAAM!

He slammed into them, sending all three tumbling to the ground. Liam stood frozen in awe, unable to avert his gaze from Sulivan's overwhelming strength. Pelas, unfazed, raised his hand to halt his men. 'Stand back,' 'I'll handle this myself.'

It was as if nature itself had acknowledged the moment, the wind intensified, stirring the air around them.

Their gazes were locked.

Beneath the bright skies, an epic clash was about to unfold.