Stella knew her request was unreasonable. However, she really could not leave the tower alone. Although Kyran had already fixed the Tower of Conclave's defensive array, and the central tower had a separate array formation, there was no guarantee that it would not be destroyed.
Osric was a Legendary. And to be honest, he had yet to get serious. He had not even used his all when they were looking for a way to destroy the tower's defensive array earlier. Stella believed that if he actually got serious, he could easily destroy and kill everyone inside. He did not do that only because he wanted to capture her alive. And right now, there was also Cyneah.
In any case, Osric might need Cyneah and Stella alive, but that would not prevent him from destroying the whole place.
Stella could not afford that, or, at least, she could not allow the central tower to fall. It was not about the place where it stood but the tower itself.
There was a reason the Tower of Conclave was built, and it was mostly to hide the central tower.
Stella could not tell Kyran why it was important. Not when he already had a lot of things going on. Besides, the tower had nothing to do with their situation, so telling him would only add to his worries— something she was well aware he did not need at the moment.
Because of this, Stella could only ask Kyran for such an unreasonable request.
When Kyran did not answer, she felt somewhat helpless. In the end, she could only insist on staying.
With that in mind, Stella looked at Kyran and was prepared to argue but then stopped after seeing the look on his face.
Kyran appeared to be looking in the direction of the tower's main entrance, and judging by his expression; he had felt something.
"What is it?" Stella asked aloud.
"About your request, I'll do something about it," Kyran responded to what she had asked previously instead of answering the new one.
Obviously, he did not want to tell her so as not to worry her.
Kyran looked at her before glancing at Cyneah— who shifted uneasily in her seat. It seemed she was planning to listen in on their conversation while ignoring Kyran but ended up not hearing anything, making her feel somewhat awkward. However, hearing Kyran's response to Stella's question, Cyneah found it strange and knew at once they had been talking telepathically just now.
"Neah, whatever happens, stay here with Stella."
Cyneah furrowed her brows as she finally turned to look in his direction.
"Why? What happened?"
Instead of answering, he asked, "Do you have the token I gave you last time?"
When Cyneah heard him talk about a token, she immediately recalled the one he gave her last time in Hanaan.
That token used to be Kyran's, and he gave it to Cyneah after changing its array formulas.
Cyneah unconsciously touched her chest, feeling the token underneath. After Kyran gave her the token, she had been wearing it all the time, like a lucky charm.
Seeing Cyneah's action, Kyran inwardly sighed in relief. He said, "You remember what the token can do?"
Cyneah's expression turned solemn. She did remember, and it made her worry.
"If you feel you and Stella will be in grave danger, use it."
Hearing Kyran's words, Cyneah forgot about her annoyance and looked at him worriedly.
"Nar, I...."
"It's just a reminder," Kyran assured her after seeing her expression. Trying to lighten the mood, he added, "Don't worry, and just continue what you're doing. I'm going out for a bit."
"I think we're almost done here," Cyneah hastily said. "I-I don't mean to be d-difficult. N-No. I-I'm sorry for being difficult. I-I only want to be of help. B-But anyway, w-we can go now. I have done what I can. So... let's... let's go home."
Kyran raised his brows after hearing Cyneah's stuttering. It had been a while since he heard her speak this way. It only meant she was feeling uneasy— even worried. Knowing she felt this way after hearing what he said made Kyran regret it.
To appease her, he said, "Alright. We'll go home after I check something."
"No!" Cyneah blurted while abruptly standing up. Realizing her strange outburst, she reddened slightly and said, "I-I mean. Y-You can check it later. Let's go now."
Stella watched the exchange between them and could not help but smile wryly. She initially thought 'Stella' losing consciousness at this moment was bad. But seeing these two, she was glad it happened. At least she saved her from witnessing the interaction between the two.
Kyran looked at Cyneah and realized something was amiss.
'That's right,' he suddenly realized what was wrong and could not help but sigh inwardly. 'The level of her magic sense is close to mine. She probably senses that Osric and his men are already at the tower's periphery and is worried something might happen if I check on them.'
Kyran understood why Cyneah was worried. She was not entirely aware of what he could do. However, she had witnessed what Osric had done. Even so, Kyran had to check on them because, the truth, he was not worried about Osric arriving at the periphery of the tower but because he and his men actually stopped their advance.
Why?
"I'll be back real quick. Be a good girl and stay here," Kyran told Cyneah.
"But—."
"About the token, forget I said anything. You don't have to use it— rather, you will not have the chance to use it because I'll be back. Okay?"
Kyran said this just to let Cyneah know his intention was not to engage Osric and his men but only to check what they were up to.
To be honest, if not for Osric using his own magic sense to hide whatever it was that his men were doing, Kyran could have already seen through them with his magic sense.
Seeing that Kyran had no plans on staying, Cyneah could only relent and said, "T-Then. C-Come back in three minutes. Sister Stella and I will wait for you, r-right here."
"Three minutes?" Kyran asked with raised brows. "That's a little—."
"Time starts now."
"Oi—!"
"180"
"179"
Black lines appeared on Kyran's head as Cyneah started counting. He suddenly remembered their conversation the first time they met. When he asked her how long he had been out, she answered him in seconds.
She was very good at counting each passing time.
Stella could not help but chuckle as Kyran was forced to leave while Cyneah continued to count.
When Kyran was gone, Cyneah stopped counting and turned toward Stella, and she asked, "Sisted Stella, you told me you can't use your magic right now."
Stella looked at her with a bitter smile. She replied, "Yes, I can't."
Although Cyneah could not see Stella's expression, she sensed her sadness from her reply.
"So you can't sense anything."
"That's right."
After learning how to use her magic and also learning how to use magic sense, Cyneah knew how convenient it was to be able to use it to observe the surroundings.
For this reason, she could understand why Stella felt sad about being unable to use her magic.
"I see," Cyneah said. A sad smile appeared on her face as she looked at Stella.
Seeing Cyneah's expression somehow made Stella worried. She looked at her slowly and said, "What are you thinking right now?"
Cyneah shook her head and only said, "Nothing."
After saying that, she sat back and once more continued spreading her healing magic inside the tent where all the wounded were gathered.
Meanwhile, Kyran warped a few hundred meters from where Osric and his men had stopped.
Osric stood in front of thousands of mages in red, gray, and black uniforms. Evidently, these mages came from different noble families, and some were from the Royal Family and the Royal Army.
"Hm?" Osric suddenly raised his head as he sensed Kyran's arrival.
Although the latter was a few hundred meters away from them, he had sensed him at once.
"You have come out so easily. I am surprised," he said.
Osric had only spoken normally. However, Kyran had heard him loud and clear.
"You stopped advancing," Kyran replied. "I guessed you and your people are hesitant to come, so I thought of coming here myself."
Osric burst out in laughter after hearing Kyran's response.
Kyran also did not speak that loudly. However, all the mages with Osric had heard him, and their expressions immediately turned nasty.
Obviously, they did not like how he was looking down on them. Nevertheless, they hid their discontent and only looked at Osric's back, waiting for his next instructions.
"We stopped after seeing the tower's barrier was already fixed. It was pointless to continue forward, in my opinion."
"Is that right?"
"Yes. What about you? You did not come here to chat, so why have you come?"