After inspecting the remaining clans, except for the Blood clan since Francis had yet to give a formal answer for the eviction, Azzy returned to the palace to spend time with his family until the evening.
As the sun set down on the supercontinent back in the material world, Azzy left the clan village alone.
At Crescent Clan's Lord residence, Gredor Crescent was seen deeply frustrated while going through the clan account books.
A tall old man with an 8-star soul realm suddenly appeared before him, alerting him for a second before he recognized him, "Grand Elder Byron? What brings you here? Any message from Lord Francis?"
The man gave a subtle nod and said, "The Monarch has left, Lord Crescent. Lord Francis wants to meet you right now."
Gredor got up from his seat with a bit of surprise on his face, "Just in the morning, he started sudden inspections of the clans and giving orders. Without taking any look at the records, he left the village on his adventure already?" He couldn't hide his smile at the assumption he made.
Byron Blood frowned in response, "Don't build castles in the air, Lord Crescent. A hidden clan meeting is coming up this week. He won't be leaving until then."
"Oh, I see... So, I guess he is out for something else?"
"We don't know his intentions. And we had no idea when he would return either. Before he returns, our current Matriarch wishes to talk to you in person," replied Byron before adding as an afterthought, "personally, I recommend you not to waste time on thinking."
"No, I don't intend to think," Gredor Crescent agreed to go with him right away.
As he gestured for the old man to escort him to the Blood Clan, the latter patted his shoulder instead and covered him with his aura, warning him in a hushed tone, "Don't resist."
As Gredor calmed down, both of them instantly disappeared from Gredor's office and teleported directly to the small pond behind the Blood Clan Leader's mansion, where Francis was seen fishing with his niece Remia Blood.
It was the first time Gredor saw the heiress of Blood Clan, who had been missing even before he was born, and he just stared at her in a daze for a couple of seconds as if he had trouble believing that it was her in person.
Francis patted the empty space beside him and said, "Clan Leader Gredor, won't you join us for the fishing?"
"Ah, Yes..." Gredor nodded like a chicken and walked forward to sit beside the former clan leader. He couldn't help but shoot off his glances at Remia and then look away atleast ten times in a row as he sat down.
Francis commented, "You must have been surprised to see Remia. She is different from the rumors you have heard, right?"
Azzy stepped forward, and one of them immediately launched a beam of energy through its eyes.
The beam of natural energy struck Azzy's palm as he raised it in time. It was blocked completely.
Azzy then mumbled, "Vajra, come out."
The black lightning orb quickly materialized before him, and he ordered, "Trap them."
*buzzzz* buzzzz*
The lightning sparks over it grew intense all at once, and in response, the gargoyle statues rushed forward with their weapons.
Before they even covered half the distance, threads of lightning energy formed something similar to fishing nets and dropped onto them, halting their movements and imprisoning them thereafter.
Azzy walked past them and entered the Gravity Dome. He instantly felt a huge amount of pressure on his body, almost bending his knees for a few seconds before he pushed out some of his soul energy and formed a layer over his skin, negating the effects of gravity.
All of a sudden, a familiar-looking sword, covered by divine energy, suddenly came at Azzy with the intent to kill him. Azzy was taken aback at first but still evaded its first attack.
The sword missed its target and made a U-turn to attack the back of his head.
Azzy evaded it once again by tilting his head to the side, but this time, just as it missed him, he raised his hand to grab its hilt, stopping its movements by force.
The sword vibrated a lot, but Azzy firmly held it, "Excalibur... it is me." He called out, but the sword didn't respond.
Instead, Leah, who was seen in deep meditation and floating in mid-air, opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him.
"Leah?" Azzy saw that her pupils were gone, and her eyes had turned yellow and glowing. "Preposterous." An unfamiliar tone escaped her as she stretched her hand. Excalibur released a huge amount of energy, pushing Azzy away with force and escaping his grip.
As Azzy stabilized his footing and stared at his friend, Excalibur returned to Leah, who brandished it like a whip and said, "You dare disturb my training, human? You will pay for it."
A frown appeared on Azzy's face. "Hmm?"