!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Rota who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them. Also Full Credits to Askard who maintains the Information Doc where a majority of spectral regalia information is written please Rep him to ^^!!!

a promise is a promise, here is chapter 88 ^^ not much to say since i just woke up and a little bit tired but i hope you guys enjoy it.

Please Rate/Follow/Favourite/Share/Enjoy chapter 88 :D

----------------

With rock debris shooting up for a few moments, it all settled with Kael slowly making his way out of the pile of rubble, blood trickling down his lips and face and body wounded, his clothing ripped. He was clutching a wound on his side.

“-I'm lucky...he didn't use the sharp side, or I would have been cut in two. My advantage is he doesn't think I'm able to beat him and Master said only use my draconic form in dire moments. Is this a dire moment?-”

Kael pondered as he glanced at Avrin carefully. “-No… This is my first real fight with a person. If I use my trump card, it just means I’ve only been relying on my new strength and not techniques… Just like master did to those draconian, I need to use my head-”

Kael understood that his Spectral form could be trained and used against creatures of the Master level, but he had never considered them proper opponents, more as practice and training. Whereas, this was considered a proper fight. If he had resorted to it just like he had when he was fighting monsters, it would show he hadn't learned much.

Balam glanced at Kael, snickering a little. “Next I'm going to grind you into dust…” He proclaimed before rushing towards Kael, thinking it was over. “Know the difference between a demon master and a human worm!!”

Kael grinned before he raised his hands, emitting Nebula Mist that expanded rapidly. He jumped back and shot the mist that seemed to now glow with a black hue. “Flare Mist...” Balam was cautious as he approached but found the mist had already neared him.

“Your tricks won't work on me!” He slashed across the Nebula Mist, parting it and spreading it around himself. But within moments, the black hue condensed, as if it had fed from the Nebula Mist and turned into purple droplets of fire that dropped down all over.

Of course, the focused majority would have injured him if he had taken it head on. By using the wind generated from his attack that had spread the mist around, it made it so it was difficult to dodge. Several purple flame droplets touched Balam’s robe, devouring it and burning through at the same time.

One of the droplets touched his face and had begun to burn and devour his cheek, which made him panic. He roared out as he emitted his mana, overwhelming the purple flame and dispersing it all.

“Underestimated that boy…” The female spoke. The dust that had kicked up from Balam’s mana exploding out settled, revealing him carefully touching his scarred cheek. “Y...You….little….” Looking over at Kael, his eyes widened. Kael was holding two Void Spheres connected with a chain of Nebula Mist.

Balam eyed him carefully and slashed the axe horizontally, shooting an airwave towards Kael, who simply jumped up, expecting a counter attack. “Just a bit more…” Kael muttered to himself as he landed on the ground, his movements still hampered by the miasma that seemed nearly impossible to remove. Balam glared and began barraging Kael with these airwaves.

Kael was able to predict and dodge them all, which angered Balam further. Unable to contain his fury, he finally charged at Kael, which made Andras shake his head. “Balam, you fool!” Balam emitted dark mana into his axe head and shouted out.

“PERISH!!” He smashed downwards towards Kael, who had finally completed his attack. He raised the Nebula Mist chain to meet the axehead and roared out. “YOU FIRST!!!” The moment the mana engulfed axe head touched the Nebula Mist, the crystalline Void Spheres that held a large amount of dark matter acted.

The Nebula Mist acted as a sort of conduit, and the dark matter fired off like a spring loaded trap at high speeds from both sides. The dark matter smashed against the axe head, engulfing it in a near instant, causing it to shatter. Of course, Kael had another trick up his sleeve.

One Void Sphere contained dark matter with a unique elemental aspect of sub-zero temperatures having given it a blueish hue while the other side had an elemental aspect of fire as hot as a furnace.

The Nebula Mist chain, having spread over the axe head, had allowed it to hold it off for a little and spread across it to prepare the base and make it easier for the elemental dark matter. As the cold and fire converged on both sides along with the dark matter, it had strengthened them, making them unique.

Instant cooling and then instant heating making his axe head brittle and unstable on a molecular level. The blade had taken a second, which was enough for it to smash down and cut across Kael’s left shoulder, but it was also within that second that the blade was brittle and was unable to handle Kael’s stronger than rock durability. After cutting into 2 inches of his flesh, it had shattered.

“Ah!..” Balam called out before dashing back while clenching the hilt of his broken weapon. Kael fell to his knees as he felt shards of metal stuck within the wound, his facial expression showing one of happiness and excitement. He went on one knee and emitted Nebula Mist over his wound to try and heal it as soon as possible.

“This… You broke an enchanted rare weapon?!...” Balam was shocked, but then his face twisted. “T-This was gifted to me... by her Highness!!!” His mana emitted out again as he clenched the hilt of the weapon tighter.

“Impressive, this young boy. His magic is quite strange.” Andras spoke. Avrin felt the same. He could feel the dark matter Kael used was different. “Quite a surprise. I will have to ask him about it later.”

“You little bastard…” Balam rushed over towards Kael, who he felt was healing himself due to his stance. But words soon stopped him in his tracks. “Kael, your technique isn't good enough to beat him as you are. You still need practice. Kill him already” Avrin called out to Kael, who glanced in surprise. “Uhh... I guess I wasn't good enough… But next time, for sure, I will become stronger.” Andras felt something was up, but before he could warn Balam, the female called out.

“Balam, be careful!” As if having predicted it, dark matter engulfed Kael’s body for several moments as it began to bulge up with muscle and grow 5% more than he already was. It had taken only a second before he was in his draconic Spectral form with his pupils changing and glancing at Balam with dissatisfaction.

The miasma around Kael, although still there, didn't seem to be hindering him. Balam glanced at Kael carefully, but still couldn't sense his mana. “You…” Andras was the most shocked as he observed Kael. “This… Incredible… He resembles a draconian?...” Balam raised both his hands and chanted.

“Oh spirits of darkness, in the name of the demon god, devour my enemy!” Within moments, the dark mana that had gathered in his hand pulsed out. The light of the area seemed to dim down as if devoured by something. Within moments, dark arrows formed around Kael before firing off at him from all sides.

“Hmph!” Kael muttered, before gathering his Nebula Mist. The moment he saw Balam, chanting he raised his hand in an arc and formed a Shadow Dome, a technique Avrin had taught him.

The dark mana arrows caused the dome to wobble for a moment, barely chipping at it, and when they had stopped and light returned, the dome was seemingly sucked into Kael’s left hand, having recycled it into a spear weapon made from dark matter. He aimed it at Balam and grinned before using all his might to throw it at him.

A suitable counter. Having defended himself the moment the enemy chanted, and when the enemy’s attack was over, he had recycled his defense and turned it into offense within moments, saving him the trouble of gathering Nebula Mist.

Balam glanced in horror as he tried to dodge, but the speed at which Kael’s draconic from threw it at was great. He attempted to dodge to the side, but he didn't expect that the spear itself was not meant for piercing, as Kael knew he could dodge at this distance as barely as he could.

The spear exploded out into Nebula Mist that splashed across Balam and began to burn him. What he didn't realize was that the Nebula Mist Kael had used to form the Shadow Dome was infused with some flame aspect. Although not enough at first, when he converted the dome, he had finished the infusion and the spear itself was to help him draw near.

“ARGH!!” Balam roared out as he was being burned. Kael understood he had to sacrifice the dark matter’s natural devouring ability to replace it with flame, but he had done this for a reason. Now that Balam was covered in flame aspect Nebula Mist and not paying attention as he was in pain, Kael rushed towards him and unsheathed the swords on his back that had remained only as decoration until now.

He had wanted to try using techniques that Avrin had taught him and didn't use the weapons because he hadn't had a chance to when Avrin had told him to stop playing around, and also because he didn't have any techniques on how to use them. Thus, by being able to use them both to slash downwards towards an enemy, it allowed him to maximize their strength with no strings attached.

Balam’s mana surged out again and began to combat the flame aspect dark matter. It had taken a few seconds until it had cleared up, leaving his face with black scars, but a few seconds was all Kael needed.

“Ah!” Balam knew he was unable to dodge. Kael was indeed faster than him in his draconic form by a bit, although not a lot. If it weren't for the miasma, he wouldn't have needed to have used the flame aspect dark matter spear to begin with.

“Die!” Kael roared out. And as the two Void Swords neared Balam’s head, the wind picked up and a surge of black light shot between him and Kael. This light immediately made Kael jump back and glance over to the source.

He looked to see that Andras’s right hand held a gauntlet that covered up to his forearm and was encrusted with dark gems and emitting an ominous mana. “Balam... your stubbornness and temper is idiotic… Not only that, you underestimated the boy and victory was out of your grasp…”

Andras was not in a good mood as he walked over towards Kael. Balam glanced at Andras. He was sweating bullets and quickly dashed away towards the female’s side. Avrin glanced silently as he eyed Andras’s weapon. He used a telepathic link to Kael. “--He isn't someone you can beat. Return--”

Kael eyed Andras carefully. Having heard Avrin, he spoke up. “Interfering in a one on one battle against a boy? You demons have no shame” Kael mocked. Andras grinned and soon turned into a flash of black light, appearing in front of Kael.

“You talk big…” Kael felt as if his entire body was unable to move. As if it had been frozen solid by the pressure Andras emitted. Andras placed his hand over Kael’s right shoulder and pressed down.

The ground underneath them smashed as a crater formed. Kael’s eyes rolled back as he fell to his knees, losing consciousness. All Andras needed was to overwhelm Kael with his mana pressure which was at the mid-Grandmaster level.

He then turned towards Avrin and jumped out of the crater as he began to walk towards him, leaving Kael’s unconscious body behind. Andras moved his hands, which each had that gauntlet weapon, behind his back with a dignified look.

“I have shared my request with you and you denied it…and then your companion nearly killed a subordinate of her majesty….and my disciple… This is all after you had Her Majesty ordering us to go back and forth traveling over 2 continents to search for you…and you think I am not angered!?!”

A surge of dark mana many times larger than Balam’s emitted out, causing the area to darken and the wind to blow fiercely. Balam grinned as the female was tending to his wounds using dark magic. “That bastard is dead… I was going to handle him... but I indeed underestimated his companion… Maybe he was stronger than me by a bit...but with Sir Andras fighting in my stead... victory is ours..”

The female remained quiet as she began to heal the black scars caused by the flame aspect dark matter, finding it a little difficult but not impossible. “Agreed… You are quite foolish” She spoke, having only admitted to Balam’s own ignorance, which caused him to glare at the female with a little disdain.

Feeling Andras’s mana surge out, the two paid attention to him as he approached Avrin. Andras uttered out. “Well!... I will give you two choices… Come with us without a fight...or I will send you to Her Majesty broken, but not dead… The choice is yo-”

Within an instant, Avrin had appeared in front of Andras, his pupils behind the mask widening. One could tell he was feeling immense anger. Andras quickly reached up to grab onto Avrin with both gauntlets, but within moments, Avrin’s hands had grabbed onto Andras.

“Y-You..” Andras was only somewhat shocked. He quickly emitted out dark mana to his gauntlets. The trick to this was he would use the immense mana build-up in the gauntlets and convert it to earth mana, which would crush down towards the opponent.

But as the mana-charged towards Avrin’s hands it suddenly froze. “How dare you…” Avrin uttered out before he clamped down onto the gauntlets with immense strength. Using his Nebula Mist, the weapon shattered within a few seconds, leaving Andras stupefied.

Avrin wasn't done. He used his hands to pull onto Andras and spread them apart as if he were going to rip them off. “You seem proud and sure of yourself… Actually, I, myself am quite sure I can rip your arms off… But we will never know until we try, won't we!!” Avrin was furious, but held back his anger, knowing it wouldn't be wise to lose it. Kael wasn't dead and had made him quite proud, but this Andras kept talking big and had annoyed him.

“Y-You... Argh!!” Andras roared out in pain as he felt his muscles tear. “L-Lord Andras!!” Balam roared out and immediately left the robed female, who was also quite shocked, to the side. He dashed over towards Avrin.

Avrin only spared him a glance before Nebula Mist had seemingly formed out of thin air and pressed down on him, pinning him to the floor. “I..If you kill..m..me, Her Highness..w..will hunt you down!!”

Andras understood his mistake was underestimating Avrin. This was a hypocritical case of the master roaring at the student’s mistake when the master himself had committed the very same act.

“Then let her try…” Avrin simply spoke and was about to truly rip Andras’s arms off, but the female rushed over, grabbing the pendant from her neck and tearing it off. Avrin glanced at her before Nebula Mist began to gather again.

But before she could be pinned she threw the pendant towards Andras and Avrin. It immediately turned a metallic black before emitting a dark pulse of magic. Of course, the feeling was somewhat familiar.

The moment the pulse shot out, it engulfed Andras, who seemingly vanished into thin air, as well as Balam and the female, who also vanished. The pulse extended for a hundred meters before shrinking back even quicker and vanishing into thin air.

Avrin’s eyes narrowed as he looked around. “That had the same type of feeling as a Sigil weapon?...” Avrin felt confused, but he ignored it and rushed over to Kael, who had awoken and was tending to his wounds despite being in a sorry state.

Although in draconic form his shoulder wound hadn't healed completely and his current wounds only added to his previous injuries. Avrin emitted his Nebula Mist to help heal him, which was quite a bit easier due to him being a Spectral.

“I'm sorry, Master.” Kael spoke out before remaining quiet. “For what?” Avrin asked curiously. “I shouldn't have taunted him.” Kael replied. Avrin remained quiet and sighed a little. “We will leave tomorrow, but we need to find a different place to stay tonight” He moved his hand back.

Kael had been all but healed, showing just how much Avrin’s Nebula Mist and healing ability had increased. After having Kael battle Master level opponents, he had much time to practice.

“Understood. I'll train quietly then.” Kael stood up and began to reform back to his human shape. Meanwhile, back on the demon continent, within a small temple-like building, a quiet, light blue rune which glowed faintly suddenly emitted a bright light as a pulse of dark magic ruptured out and soon settled within a few moments.

3 figures, one on the ground with another on his knees and the last individual standing still, appeared. These were the three demons that had attempted to battle Avrin. Andras spoke with fear. “G-Gina, what was that?...” The female lowered her hood, showing her young and beautiful features.

“Queen Driada tasked me with holding onto this amulet... but she also told me it was crystallised from the magic of void. Because Sir Andras and Balam are both combatants and would be fighting on the front line, in an emergency, I, who will be standing behind and focusing on the battle, would determine if it was necessary to use this crystallised magic to escape”

Andras grumbled to himself as his arms were aching greatly. He could feel the muscle fibers somewhat torn, and even then he felt that Avrin was still holding back.

“When Her Majesty was able to see him in his early stages he was quite weak… then over time, she had informed us that the time in which she could see his whereabouts was growing longer. This individual is growing quite strong, all we can do is inform Her Majesty and seek her guidance.”

Andras spoke as he walked over and gazed at Balam. He truly wanted to yell at him for his battle against Kael but felt he was in no position, so he held his pride in and led the three out of the small temple building and into the open.

“Let us return quickly. After this magic is used, the amulet the queen had given me no longer holds mana. To contact her is impossible” Gina quietly uttered, and soon the 3 had turned into soft blurs as they left.

Meanwhile, Avrin was quietly sitting cross-legged, tampering around with his Nebula Mist as he watched Kael, who seemed to be trying to feel for his inner workings. Avrin could see he had no luck. “Tell me, how did you fuse elements into dark matter?” Avrin could no longer hold himself and asked.

This question made Kael quickly open his eyes as he looked at Avrin and nervously laugh. “Well, Master, it wasn't hard for me. My father and mother are warrior-mages, I think some of their power manifested with my conversion.”

Avrin was intrigued by this. He didn't know what to think but quietly thought to himself. “-If what he said is true, by simply having a bit of a latent bloodline, being converted can bring a metamorphosis. Does this mean there are some Spectrals with the others that may have unique abilities like Kael?-” Quietly pondering this, Avrin glanced at Kael.

“Than this is fine. Work hard to control and branch off your abilities, you have something unique. In fact, you did quite well in your battle. That spear attack was a great strategy” Kael’s eyes widened with pride as Avrin complimented him. All he could do was psych himself up and hope to impress his master more.

As Avrin gazed up at the sky, he felt happy in his own right. Andras was a mid-level Grandmaster, but Avrin felt it was quite easy to overwhelm him with physical power alone. “-I have only my focus on training and Dark Core absorption to thank for my rapid growth. Next time I find a dragon, I shouldn't be too hard pressed-”

While the two made use of their final day of training and practice at a location a kilometer away from where their battle with the demons had been, night came and gone with the new day reigning in fiercely. Being in the middle of summer, it was quite hot, but for Avrin and Kael it wasn't bothersome in the least. They were currently cloaked as they began to make their way out from near the center of the Twisting Lands.

“Master, I heard that there are some villages on this island that survive by hunting the creatures and selling off their parts. Should we check some out?“ Avrin glanced “Oh? We haven't seen one yet. Such places must raise great warriors and may even have some items of interest. We still have plenty of time before we return, so I don't see why not.”

At that moment, Avrin stood still and extended his Divine Sense that spread out like a sonar burst. With his advancement, he could now spread it out to a monstrous 105 kilometers, encompassing a large circular portion of the island that spanned a great 800 kilometers.

“-Let's see... Hmm, no that's an outpost, and that's an encampment. Village... Is there a village nearby… Ah! Perfect. No wonder I didn't see it before, it's barely on the edges of my sense-” Glancing at Kael, Avrin spoke. “Let’s go.”

Avrin vanished and Kael soon followed as he followed Avrin’s lead. Although Avrin could have said no and left right away, he understood that focusing solely on progress wouldn't be good for one's mind. It was ok to relax and take in the sights once in awhile. He may also learn a thing or two that may prove useful. Avrin treated many things as potentially important to his prospects.

Meanwhile, within the great city of Altea, located within the noble district not too far from the royal palace, a great estate that was guarded heavily could be seen. One glance was all someone needed to tell that someone of great importance lived here.

Within this estate sat a man with short black hair and a well-groomed look with an anchor mustache. He had an irritated look but seemed to be trying to hold it in. He appeared to look a bit similar to Kael, although his eyes seemed to be vicious and hawk-like.

Beside the man was a fairly beautiful woman, who seemed to be equally dressed in a white, floral printed Victorian style dress. She had light brown hair and seemed to be gazing nervously at the man beside her. She had a more soothing glance, as her eyes were similar to Kael’s.

In front of them was a man and woman who were dressed just as lavishly as the two, as well as a young girl, who had an arrogant yet strong presence about her. The man who looked irritated spoke. “I'm... not sure I heard correctly… Please repeat that?” It was then that the man opposite of him cleared his throat and spoke again.

“My daughter’s prospects are great... and it is obvious she will enter Gaia Academy and have a bright future. Her spirit stone has shown radiance and potential. We can't allow her progress to falter. The marriage between Furi and Kael is to be canceled…” The man had a stern look as he glanced at the two who were indeed Kael’s parents.

“Lord Tain, surely this can't be the sole reason… Although Kael has no progress, being able to marry into our family and him into yours would strengthen our bonds.” The woman who was Kael’s mother spoke.

The daughter shut her eyes, feeling irritated at this conversation while her mother was the one to speak. “Lady Mila, it isn't so simple anymore. Ever since our daughter has shown promise and greater prospects, we have received invitations and marriage proposals from many powerful clans and individuals. Even his majesty has shown intere-”

Before she had finished, the man who was Kael’s father spoke. “This is fine. You are entitled to your own decision, but I would like to know what little Furi has to say about this.” He spoke as if wanting to confirm something.

Furi opened her eyes and glanced at Kael’s father. “Lord Sient, I have never been shy about how I feel about this marriage. I do not want to be forced into it. Whether it is with your son or any other. But to allow me, who has reached the Expert level from Intermediate within 2 years of achieving it, to marry someone who has shown no progress at all... This is a waste of my talent…”

Sient gazed at Furi. He understood her meaning and indeed couldn't at all be angry at her. Instead, his anger was directed to Kael, who seemed to bring nothing but misfortune towards the family. “Indeed… Very well, this marriage arrangement is canceled. If you will excuse me, I have things to attend to so I cannot see you off.”

As minutes passed by, Sient watched the 3 leave and enter a carriage, with only Kael’s mother, Mila, seeing them off. Sient was clearly furious “Kael… The one chance you had to make yourself useful is gone… Nothing but shame…” His brows furrowed.

As the carriage left the estate and was escorted by mounted knights, within it, Furi felt annoyed. Her father quickly spoke. “Furi, you should choose your words more carefully. Lord Sient is still a powerful individual, and his eldest son and daughter are still golden eggs. “

Furi huffed. “Father… I'm still angry at you and mother for even daring to make me marry a cripple. That Kael seemed clueless and useless, him marrying me would be a free pass. Why should I have done all the work while he shares my glory…”

Furi’s mother nodded with a crude smile. “Indeed. My little Furi, you are a genius among geniuses. To achieve such a level at your age, you will help your family become more renown. It was your father to begin with who agreed to this marriage.”

The man sighed as he rubbed his forehead. “You were the one who brought it up first… Besides, this matter is settled. All that's needed is to let our little Furi grow and become great. Will you not consider marrying the more acceptable candidates?”

He spoke, trying to salvage the situation a little. Furi simply grunted quietly and shook her head. “Please father. Let me live my life the way I need to.”