213 Parasite

"What do you mean by sick?"

Knight frowned because he was thinking that in a few days, the dark aura inside him would disappear.

"I'm a dragon Knight, I can sense things, now I'm sensing something inside you, something dark and evil"

Hearing Reghys Knight sighed and decided to tell her everything that happened with Aathreya as well as how they survived.

After listening to Knight, Reghys slowly nodded.

"That explains why the aura is strong in both of you"

"What about Arrora and grey?"

"They are fine, I can barely sense the aura, but Don, the aura inside you is growing, we need to check your body this instance, and I won't take no for answer, your wellbeing is the most important thing for this kingdom"

The black aura inside him was stopping his battle energy from circulating inside his body hence, he became weak. And he realized that if he stayed in this state, it would put all that he achieved till now in danger.

"What can we do?"

He asked in a weak voice.

"Catalie, bring Ken and Benedict to Don's room, tell Benedict to bring the energy detectors"

"We can be cured right?"

Knight was slightly panicking inside but he didn't show it on his face to Reghys.

"Let's check your bodies first, then we'll know what are we dealing with"

After a few moments, Catalie appeared in his room and frowned when she saw Don's sweat-drenched body.

"Brother, are you fine?"

Her voice began to break up

"Start crying and I'll strangle you"

The little girl quickly covered her mouth when she heard Knight and moved silently to stand beside Don.

"Your majesty"

Reghys closed the door after Benedict and Ken entered the room.

"What's going on here?"

Benedict noticed something amiss when he noticed the tired face of Don and the serious face of Reghys.

"Did you bring the detector?"

Benedict retrieved a small umbrella-like device from his space ring and handed it over to Reghys.

With the device in her hand, Reghys stepped towards Knight and Don.

"Don't move and try to cultivate"

Both of them nodded and closed their eyes to cultivate as Reghys placed the device on Don's chest.

The device was not a complex one but a simple one that could check the pureness of the energies, including the battle energy. Benedict, Arya, and Reghys built the device to check the pureness of the energy that the apex output as well as check the level of the bound energy in the soldiers' body.

The more Don and Knight tried to cultivate, the more exhausted they felt.

"Why is their battle energy at this low pure level?"

"Stop cultivating"

Both of them stopped cultivating and then the light slightly became brighter.

Unlike Knight, Don was barely able to stand straight after he tried to cultivate.

"Hmm, interesting"

Reghys turned off the device

"So?"

Knight couldn't wait for Reghys's answer

"Benedict, Ken, what do you think?"

Everything related to Energy was Benedict's area of expertise and he was one of the best energy tracers in the empire. Because of that, Reghys wanted his opinion too and Ken might also have some idea considering that he came from the future.

"It seems, his majesty, and General Knight's battle energy is polluted by another type of energy"

Ken said with a frown on his face and looked at Benedict

"Ken is right, the pureness of their energy should not be this low, and I noticed that when they stopped cultivating, the light became a little brighter"

Benedict rubbed his chin and wondered about the event 

"Knight, tell them everything you just told me"

Knight sighed and started to tell them everything he told Reghys while Benedict and Ken listened to him dumbstruck.

"So after all this time, she was the source of the dungeon power"

"And what is the voice that you heard?"

Ken and Benedict asked Don after they listened to Knight.

"I think the light you saw in the cave and the voice he heard is the same thing, I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure they both are the same"

"Don't you think we have a more alarming issue in our hands than the origin of that voice"

If Don was unable to cultivate, there would be no use of thinking about the unknown voice in his head.

"We may need more tests but I'm positive that this aura belongs to Aathreya, they exposed to her aura and somehow her energy leached into them. You two were exposed to the energy more than Arrora and the tiger, hence you two affected by it more severely"

Reghys paused for a moment and went on

"If I'm right, the dark aura inside you is like a parasite, by cultivating, you will take in more battle energy inside your body and the parasite leeching the energy off from you. That should be the reason that you felt more exhausted when you tried to cultivate before we came here"

Ken and Benedict agreed with Reghys with a nod 

"Are you saying that we can't cultivate anymore?"

"If the parasite is leeching off of you for your battle energy, first step to getting rid of the parasite, you have to stop giving it what it wants, the battle energy"

Don let out a relieved sigh hearing Reghys.

"But first, we should do more tests, meanwhile stop cultivating, Catalie bring Arrora, the cubs, and the tiger to the apex hall, they also need to be tested"

Catalie slowly nodded her little head 

"Cat, no words to them about this"

Don said as Catalie nodded again and disappeared from the room.

"You should tell them, Don"

Reghys said but he shook his head

"It would just make them panic and worry, now leave my room, I need to be alone"

Don ordered them as they left the room leaving him alone.

"Aathreya, you just made the worst mistake of your life"

The killing intent flowed out of his eyes. Because of her, his plan to breakthrough to the Sun Realm had to be put on hold and since he couldn't breakthrough, everything he holds dear in a vulnerable state now.

*********************************

The following day, Don was lying in a bed while Reghys extracted his blood through a tube attached to his forearm.

"So Arya is in seclusion now?"

Knight asked Benedict who was taking Don's blood in a vial and studying it using a small device.

"Yes, they asked her to breakthrough to the grandmaster level before talking her as a disciple"

"Why didn't we hear about this Sect of the seven until now?"

"Its because they hardly come to the continent from their Voiceless peak mountain"

According to Benedict's story, the woman who attacked Joel was one of the seven elders of a sect called, the sect of the seven. Apparently, they chose Arya as a disciple to their sect, and Arya or her family was in no position to refuse them. Benedict also said that if one is selected by the elders, the chosen one has no right to refuse as they must become their disciple.

As for why they had chosen Arya, that remains a mystery. At this moment, Don had no strength to fight seven elders who were at the peak of the heavenly level or even at a higher level.

However, the time Arya would take to break through to the grandmaster level would also give him the time to reach the Sun realm, given he free himself from this dark aura.

"How's Arya taking it? Is she okay with being their disciple?"

Benedict sighed hearing Knight

"As far as I know her, she's not okay with it but she didn't say anything to me, I think she's afraid of putting everyone in the harm's way by refusing to go with them"

"Where is she now?" Don asked.

"In Bedier isle, her family owns that island, since no one lives on that island, they chose the place for her to cultivate in seclusion "

"We simply need to prolong her breakthrough, and after we cure you two, we can go and bring that girl here"

Knight was surprised to hear Reghys because she would always keep a barrier between her and the people living in Everlight. However now she was giving them an idea to break out Arya of the island.

"I didn't know you like her that much, dragon"

Knight grinned at Reghys as she rolled her eyes.

"She's one of the few humans that have the thirst for knowledge rather than power and I kinda miss that four eyes"

Reghys giggled as Benedict and Ken let out a happy chuckle thinking about Arya.

After a while waiting for Reghys, Benedict, and Ken to come up with the results of the tests, they finally saw the three of them coming towards them.

Ken had a relieved face while Reghys and Benedict looked serious as Don and Knight took a deep breath and prepared themselves to hear what they have to say.

"I have good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"