Chapter 14
…
'Damn it, that annoying girl again. Can Uncle at least have another child?'
Kyren complained to himself.
But then, remembering something, he stopped hiding behind his mother and revealed himself fully to the excited gaze of the little girl.
'Why should I hide? I'm not the same Kyren anymore. Just you wait, you damned girl; my revenge will be sweet…'
Kyren gritted his teeth, ready for the continuation of their cat and mouse game.
Veyra Lor Raven could be considered really pretty by the standards of this world, with her big eyes and naturally curly eyelashes.
She also sported cute twin ponytails, with two daggers strapped to her waist.
Kyren's first meeting with her was three years ago.
Initially, he thought she was a sweet little girl, given how obedient and shy she had been when they first met.
But oh boy, how wrong he was.
That day, Kyren learned a painful lesson: you mustn't judge a book by its cover alone.
She was a real, genuine devil in the flesh.
All that soft, cat-like voice and shy smile only appeared when her father and his mother were around.
Once they were left alone to play, she immediately released a black rope that had been wrapped around her waist.
At that time, Kyren was still trying to hide his strength, gradually increasing it bit by bit to appear normal.
He was at the beginning of his cultivation and had only managed to create his fifth Black Feather.
Meanwhile, Veyra was a prodigy, just like his mother, boasting a 9-Star Aptitude and Ravens Shadow as her Talent.
She was also already at the last step, just before achieving the First Stage of Convergence.
If it weren't for the current Raven Clan's extremely poor conditions, she would probably have achieved the same result as his mother, reaching the First Stage of Convergence at the tender age of eight.
And so, just like that, she swiftly subdued him and proceeded to tie him up like a dumpling.
She even gagged him so he couldn't say anything.
Afterwards, he was forced to participate in a girlish tea party with her.
She set up rocks and chairs in front of a small table as living dolls, while he, was the damned teddy bear.
At that moment, Kyren repeatedly cursed the little girl for not being right in the head.
She even cuddled him while pretending to sip from an invisible cup.
When he resisted and refused to drink from the nonexistent cup, she used the Black Feathers Manifestation.
It was a simple but core technique of the Black Feathers Circulation Method, which he hadn't even mastered yet.
Subsequently, she used the black feathers to tickle him into submission.
Since he wasn't particularly good with tickling and all that stuff, Kyren ended up yielding to her wishes.
And that was how their meeting concluded: with Kyren deciding to stop limiting himself and working even harder to make his mother happy so he could harvest more points.
He was determined to pay back the humiliation.
At least in his mind, he would pinch her cheeks a couple of times if she dared to tie him up like before.
…
"Hello, Auntie. And hello to you too, Kyren. Hehehe…"
Veyra cheerfully greeted Chriselda and Kyren, displaying the obedient, sweet daughter she was.
'Hehehe, your foot,' Kyren cursed inwardly but managed to smile on the outside.
"Oh, hello to you too, Veyra. Long time no see…" Chriselda replied.
"Alright, no need to stay here any longer. Get inside first, big sister," Malrik invited them.
His tone was extremely polite when he addressed Chriselda, almost like a fan in Kyren's opinion.
"Thanks, little brother…" Chriselda nodded, feeling relieved that her cousin had agreed to accompany them to the church.
Not long after, they left the House of Valentine, under the cold and indifferent gazes of the Valentine family members.
…
"Have they left?"
The man with his fingers crossed, hiding half of his face with his elbows resting on the table, asked.
He was Lucius Valentine, Kyren's father.
Even though there was a wide window directly overlooking the gate where Chriselda and Kyren were boarding the carriage, he didn't even turn to look at them, instead addressing the man in front of him.
"Yes, master!" replied the butler, whose skin was so pale, he looked odd and creepy.
"Get everyone ready. Today is the day the Raven Clan will lose all of their hope. And nothing will ever revive that name anymore."
"As you wish, my lord."
The butler then moved outside, ready to instruct the people who were already prepared to complete this mission.
After the door closed, Lucius grasped the handle of his chair, lifted it slightly, and turned it toward the gate, where the horse-drawn carriage gradually disappeared from his view.
Lucius's voice then slowly reverberated in the quiet room.
But instead of his normal, deep tone, it was replaced by a hoarse, grating voice that was extremely uncomfortable for anyone who heard it.
"You see that, Lucius? Your lovely wife and son will be gone by tomorrow morning. Maybe even much earlier, like tonight. Look at it all carefully, Lucius. Everything you hold dear… All will be gone because of your foolishness; daring enough to deny the truth and refuse to join us."
"This… Is this the price you will pay…"
Lucius said with a rigid, chilling expression.
His eyes were glowing red as tears of blood fell, only from one of them.
…
At these supposed long journeys, Uncle Malrik and the five members of the Raven Clan, who tagged along and acted as mercenaries of sorts, guarded them by surveiling the area around the carriage.
Five of these Raven Clan members each had their own horses.
While the horses themselves were way bigger and muscular compared to what Kyren had once seen in his first life.
His mother explained to him that this horse was a half-beast creature.
They were stronger and more intelligent compared to normal animals, because Nirvana mutated and evolved their whole body, but failed to create their Beast Core to become fully fledged beasts, hence why they were called half-beast.
Meanwhile, Kyren and Veyra spent their time in the carriage by circulating their Nirvana inside the body.
It not only calmed their mind, but also made them less likely to be hungry on the way.
Though Kyren, being a glutton he was, couldn't hold it anymore and joined the kind, old carriage driver to eat pieces of bread.
And surprisingly, Veyra also followed suit, while grinning at Kyren, which made him feel awkward, suspicious that she harbored another bad intention to bully him again.
By evening, when everything started to go dark, they eventually arrived at a clearing that was already marked on the map for their planned resting place.
They set up tents and unloaded the supplies that were needed to make food, with Kyren and Veyra helping to gather firewood in the forest, to create a campfire.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, an arrow shot from the dark of the forest and instantly killed their carriage driver.
"Enemies. Prepare yourself."
Uncle Malrik shouted to warn the others, then turned toward Chriselda.
"Go hide in the back with kids, big sis," he said to her.
"Alright, be careful…"
"Yes…"
They then separated.
While Chriselda moved to secure Kyren and Veyra, Malrik and the other four Transcendence advanced toward their unseen enemies lurking in the forest, perhaps waiting to ambush them.
On the other hand, one of the Transcendence, who was a woman, stayed with Chriselda to make sure no enemies were waiting to ambush their backline.
But five minutes had eventually passed, with no movement from the forest.
Chriselda, Kyren, and Veyra grew increasingly anxious.
Kyren looked at his points, ready to summon anything affordable enough if it was needed.
Tapping using his mind on the Hatred Store, he chose…