Coelus's cruel temperament and psychotic behavior were something Aillos and Ames would not want Kyran to inherit because combining those two characteristics with Draconic magic would only result in destruction.
Kyran's physical form may remain human, but the possibility of him devouring the residual magic energy in Coelus's remains and merging it with his Draconic core was a looming uncertainty. If this were to occur, the likelihood of him embodying Coelus's form was a dangerous possibility.
Ames had only seen it through a recording, but Kyran already knew how to manifest dragon parts using raw Draconic magic. Changing into Coelus's form would not be impossible, given his latent talent.
"Is there really no changes in Kyran's condition?" Ames asked after a long and heavy silence.
"You can check by yourself," Aillos suggested, gesturing toward the door leading to the room where Kyran was currently resting.
"I will do just that," Ames agreed with a nod.
"I'll do what I can in diverting The Emperor's attention away from the Dragon plane. I'll let you handle the rest with Kyran's matter."
"Yes, Father."
"If necessary, talk to Ducal."
Ames frowned at the mention of Ducal.
Ducal was Aillos's most trusted aide. He was not the strongest among them, but he was the wisest and most prominent in Array. In fact, he was the head of the Dragon Clan's Research and Array Division.
Ducal was present when Neven reported his findings in the Solis Clan, but unlike the other aides who voiced their opinion as soon as he left, Ducal remained silent.
It was not that he was uninterested in what was happening. Rather, he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself and only voice them when he and Aillos were alone.
At this point, Ducal had yet to share his thoughts with Aillos. Aillos also did not openly ask him about it because he knew it would be inevitable to discuss the matter about Kyran if they talked.
Aillos respected Ames's wishes to keep Kyran's situation a secret. He also did not want Coelus's threat to be known to many, so he refrained from talking to Ducal about it.
Moreover, there was another reason Aillos could not speak with Ducal when the Regis Family was concerned.
Ducal was among the dragons that disapproved of Ames's marriage with Zane. In his opinion, Ames should marry her own kind.
Considering all these, Aillos decided to let Ames decide whether to speak to Ducal or not.
"... I'll think about it."
"Think wisely."
"... Yes, Father."
Ames averted her eyes because she knew she could not hide her apprehension from her father's piercing gaze.
Ames silently left Aillos's chamber on that note. She went directly to Kyran's room, where Cyneah was keeping watch.
"Is she around?" Ames asked Cyneah as soon as she closed the doors behind her.
"Is there really no way of fixing the seal? If they needed assistance from an Ancient, then..." Shaiha wanted to suggest that Cyneah tell Ames about the Ancients they met in the Tower of the Ancients.
In fact, Aillos and Ames were aware of the Ancients because Ladon and Thorn did not hide anything from them when they gave their report. However, they never considered asking for their assistance because the only one who could enter the portal at this point was Kyran.
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Cyneah shook her head, turning her head toward Shaiha's direction, "You know Kyran is the only one who can access the portal. Besides, I don't think he would want to endanger them by asking them to leave the tower and come here."
Cyneah did not know that the Ancients could not leave the tower, but she knew they would be in danger if others discovered them.
Ames looked at Cyneah with a complicated expression. She gleaned that the latter was probably responding to something Shaiha said. But if others witnessed her reaction without knowing of Shaiha's presence, they would think she had lost it.
Putting aside her random thought, Ames guessed what Shaiha had said based on Cyneah's response. She said, "We thought so, too. That's why we never considered that option."
Shaiha sighed. It annoyed her that she could not do anything to help Kyran. To be honest, she should have the capability to stop Coelus's corpse from affecting Kyran's Draconic core.
However, Coelus's corpse's magic energy sneakily seeped into Kyran's body, and Shaiha failed to sense it until it was too late. Moreover, the former's magic energy was so similar to the latter, which was how the Draconic core resonated with it naturally. If the Draconic core resonated positively with the magic energy, how could Shaiha notice anything?
Alas, Coelus's corpse's magic energy was too much for Kyran to handle.
"Another thing," Ames paused momentarily before looking at Cyneah with a grim expression. "The Emperor has returned."
Cyneah turned her attention back to Ames, and her complexion paled at once. Several thoughts, none good, swirled in her mind about why The Emperor had decided to return.
"T-Then... the others..."
"He probably grew tired of trying to locate the Human plane that's why he decided to return. Don't worry about it," Ames told Cyneah as if reading what was going through her mind. "If that butt-face did something in the Lower Realm, I would have known about it."
The Regis Terram remained unaccessible, but that was not the only way for Ames to find what was going on in the Human plane. Besides, she knew The Coven would never allow The Emperor to run rampant in the Lower Realm.
"Y-Yes..."
Ames smiled wryly and said, "You should worry more about yourself, you know. The Emperor's strength was restrained in the Lower Realm. That's why he would be hard-pressed to search for Kyran's trace or the Human plane. But..." Her voice dropped dramatically as she added, "That is not the case here in the Higher Realm."
Cyneah's expression turned solemn after hearing Ames's reminder.
"Don't worry. You're all safe in the Dragon plane. The Emperor will not dare come here."
Or, at least, Ames believed her words to be true.
Unfortunately, the Fates seemed to have played a trick on her. They might even have decided to assist The Emperor because right after she said those words, a massive pressure befell the Dragon plane, shaking its lands.
"This...!"
Aillos's expression hardened as he stood outside the balcony while looking up at the sky.
The Emperor had arrived.