Chapter 154: Layns explanations (1/2)

”What the fuck was that?!” Al shouted, instantly jumping towards Layn. ”How did you do it?!” While agitated, Al wasn't mad, horrified, or hostile. Instead, the apparent awe in his eyes triggered a particular part of Layn's soul to no end.

”Old magic,” Layn replied, finally allowing himself to spare this man any thought.

'Ever since we entered that forest, everything was rushed to no end,' Layn thought, taking a moment to look at the man ahead. 'I didn't really have the time to think about his presence yet,' he added in his thoughts, closing his eyes to focus.

'If this really is that legendary guy,' Layn thought, strangely scared to even think about this possibility.

For someone like him, standing at the top was the norm. Layn wasn't like that because of some sort of ill-sourced arrogance. He was simply a person who would assume the amount of responsibility for those around him respectable to his perceived might.

Layn's struggle to be as independent as he could, resulted in his humble self shrinking down.

And while in terms of raw strenght, he was on a different level than Al, this man had the power to make Layn feel small.

'In front of him, I'm just a powerful mage. He is the damned father of civilization,' Layn noted gravely in his thoughts.

With this kind of moral advantage to his back, Al turned into a domineering figure in Layn's eyes.

Even if he was just slightly stronger than some of the monsters that Layn was killing en-masse today.

”Are you alright?” Irea asked, forcing Layn out of his broken state of thoughts.

”Yeah, I'm just tired,” Layn replied, resting the back of his head against Irea's chest. The soft pillow of her flesh instantly calmed him down. ”If I were to break down to simple terms,” Layn brought his eyes up before turning them down on Al's face, ”this was the pinnacle of how far the power of spirits can take you.”

If Layn was stupefied earlier, then Al instantly froze in a shock.

'I didn't talk with him about spirits yet,' Al thought grimly, barely managing to hold his smile up. ”What could you mean?” he asked, taking a step forward.

”This is a rather long story, so let me ask you one insanely important question first,” Layn smiled as he countered. On the other end, Al clicked his tongue. ”Have you ever heard about the Slavian tribe?”

This question created the second instance when Al went silent. For a moment, he remained completely motionless before suddenly raising his eyes at Layn.

”Huh? Yeah, without them, we would never have any chance about those damned celestials,” Al said as he shrugged his shoulders. For him, this clearly appeared to be a stupid question.

”Oh boy,” Layn whispered, shaken by the sudden reveal. While he expected it quite a bit by now, it still came as a surprise.

”Layn? What does that mean?” Irea asked while tightening her arms around Layn's torso. Her lips created a pouting expression, signaling how unhappy she was being excluded from the discussion.

Crack.

”Boss, the monsters are now in retreat,” Antion suddenly appeared from the nearby woods. He was fully covered in blood, yet he didn't limp like someone injured.

”Great, good job keeping us safe,” Layn said as he nodded his head in acknowledgment of his disciple's actions. ”But I guess I won't escape the question,” Layn added after a moment, turning his head back to the girl.

”The group you saw me with before, they are from Slavian tribe, or rather, a Slavian nation,” Layn continued his explanation, raising his eyes to the sky. ”While they exist in a few legends and myths, they are not that popular,” he said, fully in a thoughtful state, ”but in those few myths they do appear in, their power and ability are hard to overestimate.”

This time, it was Irea's turn to freeze in shock. ”Huh? Those people? They didn't appear strong at all!” she protested, raising her confused eyes at Layn's face.

”Don't underestimate them,” Layn sighed and then shook his head a little. ”I confirmed they use a kind of magic I never heard about. That alone makes them formidable, as I can't predict their moves and intentions,” Layn spoke out without holding anything back.

”Either way, why are they here?” Irea suddenly changed the topic as a worrisome idea flashed in her deep pupils.