Chapter 386 The Ruler Arrived
It was no different from the way important characters made their entrances in television dramas, complete with flower petals raining down around them.
All that was missing was a dramatic soundtrack to emphasize how awestruck everyone was supposed to feel.
The strained look on Valerius's face alone revealed just how formidable the newcomer was.
The entirety of Highspire City sank into darkness, drawing countless startled gazes toward the sky.
Still, this was a world where mystic beasts were everywhere. Most people were merely surprised, wondering what kind of colossal creature had arrived.
The stronger someone was, however, the more crushing the pressure felt.
Ordinary people only thought the spectacle looked terrifying.
The mystic beasts reacted far more dramatically. Nearly every one of them seemed desperate to dig a hole and hide. Some clung to their owners and let out frightened cries without stopping.
"...Oh..."
A faint sigh drifted down from somewhere in the sky.
With a thud, Sylphra dropped to her knees. Fear and reverence filled her face. "Master!"
Zara stared at her. "Your master's eyesight is that good? He can actually see you from up there?"
Sylphra fell silent.
Lunelle and the others had gone deathly pale. Perhaps they did not even know who had arrived.
After all, the legendary rulers of the forbidden zones had not appeared publicly for over a thousand years.
Zara narrowed her eyes as she sensed something unusual.
How unusual?
For once, the newcomer gave her the faint impression that he might actually be a threat.
Only faintly.
After that quiet sigh, the storm within the clouds grew even more violent.
At the same time, Lucian suddenly felt an itch around his wrist.
He looked down and saw the red cord Zara had given him trembling slightly. It had never reacted like this before.
He raised his wrist to show Zara.
The moment Zara noticed the movement, she covered the cord with her hand.
It immediately stopped trembling.
Her hand remained over Lucian's wrist, and he could feel the warmth of her palm against his skin. They had been physically close plenty of times before, but this somehow felt different.
Lucian found the contact awkward, yet there was also something strangely difficult to put into words about it.
He could not pull away either.
She was clearly doing something important.
Zara kept her gaze fixed on the storm clouds, but her thoughts betrayed her almost immediately.
[What a show-off. He's just another pretty boy... and he isn't even half as handsome as Lucian.]
Lucian fell silent.
Why had she suddenly started talking about pretty boys again?
He turned toward the clouds as well and noticed something the others apparently had not.
A white figure had appeared faintly within the mist and was slowly approaching them.
As he drew closer, his features gradually became clearer.
He was the kind of man who was difficult to describe.
He had a serene, otherworldly elegance, like an immortal who had stepped out of an ancient legend. His aloofness seemed effortless, as though nothing in the world was worthy of his attention.
Speaking objectively, Lucian had to admit that the man was fairly impressive.
Zara's claim that he was not even half as handsome as Lucian was a little excessive.
Perhaps two-thirds as handsome.
In the blink of an eye, the man appeared before them.
His features were refined and flawless, yet there was an unmistakable coldness in his eyes and in the set of his lips. He regarded them with only the faintest trace of emotion.
His narrow eyes swept across the group before settling on Sylphra.
"Sylphra."
Cold sweat immediately broke out across her forehead. She looked both excited and terrified as she faced him.
"Master."
The moment the man appeared, an immense pressure settled over everyone present.
Zara and Lucian seemed unaffected, but Valerius and the others were visibly shaken. The way they stared at the newcomer made it clear they did not even dare speculate about his identity.
There was an innate air of nobility about him. His gaze slowly shifted to Zara.
Zara kept her palm over Lucian's wrist and tightened her grip, mainly to conceal the red cord beneath her hand.
"You captured Sylphra."
His voice was cool and even, revealing no particular emotion, yet it carried a weight that made others instinctively want to lower their heads.
He was not deliberately exerting pressure. It came naturally from who he was.
Zara raised one finger and wagged it. "I don't think 'captured' is the right word. Your maid came to Earth looking for trouble. I merely subdued her."
Sylphra's expression changed at the word maid.
She looked deeply offended.
She might call the man Master, but that did not make her a maid.
Zara simply could not think of a better term for her on the spot. If she was not a maid, then what was she?
The man's gaze lingered briefly on Zara's face. Unlike Valerius, he knew when not to waste time arguing. "What do you want?"
Valerius trembled.
Even the ruler of a forbidden zone was not giving her a hard time?
Were all these supposedly terrifying rulers really this reasonable?
Zara clicked her tongue. "I don't think 'want' is the right word either. We're only here to collect compensation. It's perfectly reasonable and entirely justified."
The man said nothing. He merely looked toward the ancient city floating on the sea outside. "Did you break the seal?"
"No," Zara lied without blinking.
Sylphra fell silent.
She did not dare expose Zara.
Just then, the man's gaze shifted to Lucian.
Most people would have found it difficult to withstand the scrutiny of someone like him. But Lucian was accustomed to holding power and authority himself. Others might have feared the man's strength and status, but Lucian felt nothing of the sort.
He calmly met the man's eyes.
Then the man suddenly extended a hand toward him.
A crushing force surged at Lucian, powerful enough to blot out the sky.
But in the very next instant, an equally vast and ferocious power erupted from within Lucian's body.
Half a wing appeared once more.
Unlike what had happened on Earth, it only manifested as a luminous outline this time. The wing dissolved into a stream of dazzling radiance and shot toward the man.
He withdrew his hand immediately.
The brilliant light vanished without a trace.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "As I thought."
Lucian fell silent.
He turned toward Zara.
Sure enough, she was staring at him in complete shock.
"Lucian, you... you're not human?!"
His voice turned cold. "You're the one who's not human."
Zara looked utterly bewildered. "How could a human have something like that? What the hell was that wing? Damn, Lucian. You've been hiding a lot."
As she spoke, she reached out and started feeling around his body.
Lucian immediately dodged her hand. "What are you doing?!"
"We're already this close, and you still kept something like this from me? What was that giant chicken wing?"
"...In what possible way did it look like a chicken wing?"
The two of them suddenly began arguing, completely ignoring the man standing beside them.
He did not appear offended.
Then his gaze fell on the red cord around Lucian's wrist.
His expression changed instantly.