Dark clouds

"See, I told you he's harmless..." Blake exclaimed. 

But Lucius however remained lost in his thoughts— neither hearing nor responding.

Going through its stats, a question emerged in Lucius's mind— how did Blake subjugate such a powerful creature?

Though Blake appeared powerful, he still wasn't a match to this monster. For some reason, Lucius was dubious.

Thus, it didn't make any sense to him that such a powerful being was obeying the command of a mortal like Blake who was much weaker than it.

At this moment while he was contemplating, something suddenly perked up inside him as he remembered a familiar concept. 

The concept of owning a familiar was rather simple. Even those who didn't have an aptitude for summoning could own a familiar if they were lucky or had enough soul power. 

Either Blake's soul was extremely capable or he'd have to be lucky to get it. 

Well, there was another way which was limited to very few people to possess a familiar stronger than oneself. 

Familiars are also called Guardian spirits in the empire. 

An influential family in the empire often owned more than one. And just like properties and assets, guardian spirits were heritable. 

However, it wasn't true for every familiar. 

To transfer the familiar to someone else, both the guardian spirit and the one contracted to it needed to consent to the transfer which was only achievable after forming a deep connection with the familiar. 

And, to do that one would need to spend a long time with the familiar. After all, familiar's were similar to that of animals. 

Just that some of them remained unfriendly no matter what. 

Noticing Lucius's unresponsiveness, Blake then flicked his hand as he lifted Lucius with his magic. 

"Wha..?" 

Getting lifted all of a sudden, Lucius was startled for a split second before he composed his composure and calmed him down. 

"Now then, let's head back to the capital," murmuring such, Blake then started levitating in the air. 

"So long, Slaughterer of thousand demons" bidding his farewell to Captain Marcius, alongside the griffin, Blake shot towards the direction of the capital. 

Captain Marcius however remained silent as he stood still at his place and watched them disappear into the distant horizon. 

Within a short time, they left the camp far behind and covered a lot of distance. 

Though the speed of the mound he was riding was terrifying, Lucius however remained completely calm as if he wasn't riding a griffin but a horse instead. 

Witnessing Lucius's cool-headedness, Blake was quite surprised as he wondered if he was the same boy from before who was terrified to even get close to it. 

Looking from above, he could see many things. But right now, as far as he could see, he couldn't locate a single human settlement. 

That showed how isolated the camp was from any nearest human settlement. 

'Probably it's not flying at its top speed' Lucius thought as he noticed the speed at which the griffin was flying. 

Sure its current speed was impressive. But Lucius who had seen its real potential could tell that it was nowhere near at its top speed. 

'Well, I guess it's deliberately slowing its speed to keep up with Blake' 

After a while of their travel, Blake halted his movement all of a sudden.

His brows furrowed in a deep frown that carved lines of concern on his face as his gaze ventured to a distant location.

From the very air itself, he then conjured a dagger, its gleaming edge catching the moonlight in a dazzling display of magic and metal.

"You know how to wield this, right?" His voice cut through the rushing wind, carrying a weight of urgency that made Lucius's heart quicken with anticipation.

For a moment, Lucius was taken aback by Blake's abrupt pause, but as the dagger was pressed into his hand, understanding dawned upon him like the rising sun. The reason behind Blake's mysterious actions became clear.

Accepting the weapon with a nod, Lucius felt its weight in his palm, its polished surface cool against his skin. Wrapping his fingers around its hilt, a familiar sensation ran through his body.

It was a sensation of nostalgia. 

"Then stay right here and use it only when necessary," Blake instructed, his gaze flickering towards the majestic griffin beside them as if he was silently conveying a message.

With a determined nod, Blake then vanished into the distance with a sudden burst of speed, leaving only the echoing memory of his departure.

Bam!!

No sooner had he left, the air crackled with energy as a thunderous explosion reverberated through the sky, accompanied by a blinding flash of crimson light that pierced the heavens like a spear.

Sure enough, a battle had erupted in the direction Blake had vanished. 

But Lucius being quite far away, couldn't tell if it was caused solely by Blake or not. Though, he could sense two powerful presence in that direction. 

After a while, as smoke billowed from the battlefield, carrying with it the acrid scent of burnt earth and swirling ash, Lucius strained his senses, trying to discern the identity of Blake's adversary.

"Who is he fighting?" Lucius murmured to himself, his eyes scanning the battlefield for any movement.

For a brief moment, the sky fell silent, the only sound that could be heard was the faint rustle of leaves in the wind.

"Is it over?" Unable to hear any sound or detect any activity, Lucius murmured curiously. 

Just when he was thinking that it was all over, all of a sudden dark ominous clouds began to gather, coalescing out of thin air with an ominous intensity.

With each passing moment, the clouds grew darker and more menacing, swallowing the sky in a shroud of darkness.

At the same time, earth-shattering sounds of thunder could be heard coming from it and occasional flashes of lightning of different colors could also be seen coming from it.

It was as if the very fabric of reality was unraveling before his eyes, unleashing forces beyond comprehension.

With Lucius's limited knowledge, he couldn't figure out the reason behind this strange phenomenon. But his gut feeling was screaming at him that something horrifying was approaching.