But the way Vacuse, Lady Slave, and Yukata were speaking was in a roundabout way. They didn't talk about what they actually wanted to do; instead, they spoke on the general layout of the two gang territories.
It was almost as if there was someone there with them that they didn't want to let in on their secret. And maybe there was. After all, Vacuse knew there were people following them since they left the Gloomspire gang territory.
But the problem was, no matter how he tried, he couldn't pinpoint their location. He could feel eyes on him even when others couldn't, but he didn't know where.
The Magus must be even more skilled than he expected, and everything he tried had thus far not revealed the people following him.
Now that they were about to reach another territory, they absolutely had to shake away those following them.
Vacuse shifted in place. "Do you know your task in the territory you're about to go?"
Yutaka nodded vigorously. "I do." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novｅlfire.net
Vacuse didn't trust him, and he had already put some of his void energy inside the guide. But the man was necessary not only because he was a guide but because of the wealth of information he carried and the help he could provide for Vacuse.
There were two things that concerned him. One was to get the binding broken, and the other was to find his companions and get them blasted out of the Great Dungeon.
The first, and the one with the most priority, was to cut the binding, and his journey to Umbracrypt should solve that. The second, finding his companions, was even more complicated, as he didn't know where a single one of them was.
And so, he decided to call them to him, even though that would draw the attention of those after him and even more dangerous enemies. But it had to be done.
So he told Yukata to spread the rumors that a dragon was in the mountains. He was to use as many gold coins as he needed to spread it as far as he could and that the dragon would be going through every gang to find worthy opponents.
It was stupid and dangerous, but it was something that had to be done. Vacuse had to find his companions.
Before long, everyone settled down. Yukata had already bundled himself into his mat, and Lady Slave was staring at the ceiling, seemingly thinking before sleeping.
Vacuse himself sat cross-legged, his face blank. The darkness around him was thicker than what the light from Yukata's spell could cut through.
He was thinking about his void creature, Sivan. The creature was even more powerful than Vacuse expected. Even now, Vacuse didn't know if he could defeat his own creature in a fight.
What's more, Vacuse had never expected the ability it gained from the Phoenix feather.
"…Rith, what's with my void creature? I didn't know it was going to be that powerful! I thought it was going to be stage one or at least the same stage as me! But that thing's power is comparable to that of stage three!"
"…Is that jealousy I sense from you?" Rith asked in amusement.
Vacuse scowled. "…I am not jealous of my own creature! I absolutely am not! But really, what's with it?"
"…Ah, it's partly from my help. This is the benefit of having an SSS Dragon. A Void Dragon. I told you before that the void has a lot of wandering souls and countless bodies. The Void Dragon I have fought long through my weary life. My domain is filled with the history of that."
"…Wait. Domain? What's that?"
"…Domain is a place where I hold absolute domination. This is the Void."
Vacuse blinked, then asked carefully, "…But you said some people are trying to take the Void? At least from what I can guess, the Void was taken when you were imprisoned."
More amusement came from Rith. "…In truth, the Void belongs to no one. The true owner of it was long dead. But I gained the authority, and thus I held the dominion of it."
"…I don't understand. Each word is more confusing than the other. How do you have dominion over it when you can even be imprisoned?" Vacuse asked skeptically.
Rith laughed. "…Because they share part of that dominion with me and are much stronger than I am, at least at the time when I was imprisoned. I was young then, after all, not yet come into my power."
Vacuse blinked and shook his head with a sigh. He was getting used to receiving chopped information from his dragon.
"…Think of it this way. A young prince is still a prince, but he's also young. He can be imprisoned."
"…Aren't you like some thousands of years old?"
"…Brat! I'm still young!"
Vacuse snorted. "…Alright, alright. So this domain, how can I have my own too?"
"…But you already do."
"…What?" Vacuse was shocked to hear that because he wasn't aware of anything like that. Just when did he have a void domain?
"…When you use the Abomina Maw technique. What do you think you are manifesting? Where do you think your void creature is hiding? Ah, I see now. We've been neglecting your training for a long time, young man."
Vacuse sat there and slowly digested it. "…Alright, I can see its benefits. But can I hide in my domain? It's not something I've really thought about. And if I manifest it without using the Abomina Maw, what's the benefit to me?"
It seemed that was a lot of questions for Rith, and he sent a sense of irritation over. "…You can hide in your dominion, but only for a short amount of time, or else you'll draw the attention of something you shouldn't. And right now, you are the only one that can go inside safely.
"…And no, you can't use it to travel. Your void domain is anchored to your position. It can't shift. What's the benefit? First, it's a way to call any creature of the void, and any enemy within will get weakened, and the void will start to eat them."