Magus Supremacy

Chapter 924: Tactical Retreat?

Chapter 924

"Ki-Ki-Kidnapped? How? By who?" Grey’s eyes began to blaze with a brighter intensity as he stared deep into Jesse’s shimmering gaze.

The girl paused for a moment, appearing to reach back into her mind, and after a few seconds, the memories surfaced.

"I-I-I don’t know. I was assisting Mother Clara in the kitchen when she asked me to retrieve something from the sitting room. I left to get it. And the moment I did, a flash of brilliant white light appeared in the room, which made my eyes sting."

The girl stopped briefly, trying to soothe her pounding head and steady her breathing.

"... I hurriedly closed my eyes because of how painful the glare was. When it cleared, I found myself in this place filled with people like Aunty Elara.

Then the powerful uncle told me he was Elara’s father and said I was safe here. I-I-I don’t know how he knows you, but he said he would protect me because of who I was to you. Since then, I have been living here with the elves be-be-bef..."

Jesse’s eyes grew moist as she shuddered, recalling the traumatic events that had transpired recently.

"Jesse? What happened? Before what?" Grey gently pressed as he pulled her closer toward him.

".... Be-Before those wicked people arrived and began fighting with the elves. Blood. Blood. Dead bodies.

Jesse was scared. I was shaking and calling out for you to come save me. The brave, powerful uncle quickly took me inside to hide. After everything happened was when you arrived."

Grey let go of the girl’s shoulders.

His gaze drifted away as he calmly attempted to process her harrowing words.

’Bright light? Sudden arrival at the elven community?’

The mage’s eyes narrowed before he looked up at Jesse, who had already broken down into soft sobs while being comforted by Elara.

’... Something doesn’t add up. Why would an individual or an entity go through the immense effort to bring Jesse here?’

His eyes widened as he quickly focused on the girl again.

"Tell me, the day you were brought here; do you recall the date or month? Anything?" Grey pressed with forced calm.

Elara looked at him with a deep frown.

"Grey. Can’t you see that she is shaken up? Enough of the questioning; let your sister breathe."

Grey shot her a sharp glare.

"There is a reason for my inquiries. And Jesse is a Dawn! She is Grey’s Dawn sister. I am brave and cannot be easily rattled, so she shouldn’t be either. She is as courageous as her brother."

"But st—"

Elara was about to counter his point when Jesse wiped her face clean of tears and looked directly at the Supreme Magus.

"Yes. I can recall. It was the fifteenth day of the fifth month when I was brought here by that strange white light."

The moment the words left her mouth, Grey fell onto his backside almost immediately.

His lips quivered and his hands shook as he flashed back to that day—that dreaded, cursed day.

The day he lost everything.

"I-I-Th-That day?"

His frame trembled as he lifted his hand, placing it over his face to hide his expression.

"Grey? What happened?"

"Brother Grey? Is there a problem?"

The mage was already drifting out of reality, unable to hear their voices amidst his frantic mumblings.

"Bright white light that stung the face? That date? The sudden teleportation to the elven community? Of course it’s him," Grey whispered as tears began to flow freely.

"The first mage. He-He-He saved Jesse from certain death. He knew that the Otherworlder was coming; hence, he rescued her and brought her to the one place I last visited and formed a bond with."

He kept rambling while raking his fingers through his hair, a pained and haunted look etched across his face.

"Grey?" Elara was beginning to grow increasingly worried by the mage’s erratic behavior, and Jesse shared her concern.

"Bu-but if he knew that the Otherworlder was coming, why didn’t he rescue Mum? Wh-why didn’t he take her out of that place the same way he did with Jesse? Why did he let Mum die?"

Jesse was about to inch forward, perhaps to snap her brother out of his mad rambling.

Before she could, however, Elara pulled her backward while keeping a wary eye on Grey’s hands.

They were now pressed firmly against the ground, muscles bulging and veins lining his forearms as he dug his fingers into the earth.

The sheer force caused multiple cracks to spiderweb across the surface.

"Tha-that—that damned celestial! He betrayed me!" Grey suddenly thundered into the air, his voice full of rage as the ground beneath his grip collapsed into a small crater.

He shot upright to his full height, the sudden movement causing Jesse and Elara to shuffle backward in fright.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! How could he have done this to me? Why? Why didn’t he save her too? He knew what was going to happen, yet he didn’t prevent it?!" Grey uttered angrily, the veins around his temples protruding as he clenched his jaw with agonizing force.

’Come to think of it, how did he know where I was teleported to by the Zodiac? Why did Noir refuse to show his face to me even after I lost my memory? If he had, I would have recalled everything much sooner.’

"Er... let’s not jump to conclusions here," Noir finally spoke up in his mind after weeks of silence.

’That damned Celestial. I will show him whenever I set my eyes on him again. He wants to play god? I will show him what happens when you mess with me!’ Grey bellowed inwardly, totally ignoring Noir’s attempt at mediation.

"Brother GREY!" Jesse shouted, her voice sharp with concern.

At the sound of her cry, the mage finally snapped out of his dark spiral, looking through his moist eyes at his little sister.

He took a moment to wipe his face clear of any lingering moisture before quickly crouching down in front of her.

"I’m sorry you had to see that," he whispered.

’The war is approaching faster than I realized. Things are about to change soon. I can’t let Jesse get caught in the crossfire.’

He looked deep into her golden eyes, his expression becoming grave.

"We need to leave this place. If the Otherworlders could attack here once, they could certainly do so again," Grey urged, his gaze shifting between Elara and Jesse.

"I should leave? This is the community I grew up in, Grey. My people are all dead, and you expect me to abandon my homeland?" Elara protested, her eyes flashing with a defiant glare.

Grey rose to his full height, his voice steady.

"I never said you should abandon your hometown; this is a tactical retreat. If you lose your life, the elf bloodline will be wiped out entirely, and I cannot let that happen.

I am taking you to a safe place until this conflict is over. Then, you can happily return and rebuild everything from scratch."

Elara was about to retort when she paused, letting his words sink in.

After a minute of deep reflection, she heaved a long, tired sigh.

"Fine."