CHAPTER 202: BACK HOME

A bright light shined outside of Ribest. Riven appeared along with the others.

"That was too bright," Noel complained.

"We made it," Riven said. He looked at the walls of the town only to spot the massive hole and the people working to fix it.

Right off the bat, he knew that something massive had happened. He looked around and saw the blast line that caused the hole in the wall.

"What sort of attack could do something like this?" Mia asked, looking at the line of the attack.

"It’s definitely compressed magic of some kind. Something like this would shatter a normal human’s mana veins and crack their spirit zone," Sofia said. She walked close to the path of the blast.

"You would need at least a peak sixth or seventh circle mage with enough time to cast a spell like this, probably a thirty-minute incantation," she explained.

"So whatever did this is very powerful," Liana muttered.

Riven frowned. He looked at the workers at the wall. "Let’s go," he said and walked toward them. The workers spotted them coming and immediately became on guard.

"Hey, who are you?" one man shouted.

"Riven Von Grave, fourth son of the Grave family," Riven yelled.

The man raised his brow. The son of the Baron? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the academy or something like that?

The workers looked closer, and when Riven was fully in view, they could tell he was the son of the Baron.

They all stopped their work and greeted them.

"Young masters, welcome back," they all greeted, bowing their heads.

"Thank you, raise your heads," Noel spoke. "Is our father around?" he asked.

"Yes, the Baron is around. After the battle yesterday, no one has left the town," the man said.

"The battle? Tell me exactly what happened," Riven asked, eager to know, but Noel grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let’s get to Father first. We can hear everything we need to from him," Noel said.

"True, I think it’s better to do that," Riven said. "We’ll be on our way then," Riven said and turned to the gate.

"Young master, no need to walk that far, you can use here," the man said.

Following what the man said, they got in through the hole in the wall. The inside of the city was deathly quiet. People didn’t come out at all; it was as if they were mourning.

The atmosphere was heavy. Shops were closed, it was a dead man’s land.

"Whatever happened here must have taken the joy out of everyone," Mia stated.

"We’ll find out what it is. I’m just happy that the town is still standing," Riven said, looking around.

After more than twenty minutes of walking, they finally made it to the manor. It looked intact. Riven heaved a sigh of relief. He walked to the gate.

The guards saw Riven and Noel. They opened the gates in a rush for them to enter. Immediately he walked past the gate, he rushed to the door of the house, the place he hadn’t been in a while now.

As he walked through the door, the first person he saw was Dark. Dark stared at him for a few seconds then spoke, "Boy, you’ve grown a bit."

"Mr. Dark, it’s been a while," Riven said.

"It has," Dark replied. He looked at the people behind Riven. He saw Noel and the three girls. He shot Riven a look before speaking, "I’m guessing you want to know what happened outside the town.

Your father is in his office. I was planning to leave, but I guess I’ll stay for a bit," Dark said. He led them upstairs and into the Baron’s room. He didn’t even bother knocking, he straight-up pushed the door.

"Hey, kid, your kid is back," he said, speaking to Riven’s father. Riven walked into the office, and it was already packed to the brim.

His father’s brother and sister were there, the drunkard, Lady Emily, but there was also a figure that he didn’t expect to see: Quin, seated on a chair with his legs placed on the desk.

He turned his neck and looked at Riven. He let out a smile. "Hoho, seems you caught me in your home," he spoke.

"Mr. Quin?" all five of them spoke at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" Liana asked.

"Well, that’s a long story. You should settle in first. Your father was asking me about what happened on your island journey. You should come and tell him," Quin said.

’Quin already knows about what happened on the island? He wasn’t there.’

"I don’t think what happened to me is important now. I just want to know what happened to the town during the demonized attack.

Is Mum safe? My brothers? And Amber? Are they safe?" he asked.

"Calm down, Riven," his father spoke. He looked up at his son. "You brought the daughters of the Dukes here, and you are already jumping into questions, no settling down.

Help the young ladies get into a room and you settle down as well. We can talk later. You must have been through a lot on your own end," his father said.

Riven wanted to speak again, but Noel tapped him, signalling him to keep quiet. "We understand, Father. We’ll rest for now. Riven is just worried that something might have happened, he hasn’t been able to relax all day," Noel said.

"That’s fine," their father replied. Then he got up and looked at the three daughters of the Dukes. He bowed his head. "It’s nice to have the three of you here," he said.

The girls immediately panicked and bowed their heads as well. "No, sir, the pleasure is ours," they said together.

Riven’s father was stunned. These girls, despite not being nobles themselves yet, were at a higher level than him by a lot. They could order him now, and he couldn’t refuse, so seeing them bow was a shocker.

The girls lifted their heads, following Riven and Noel out of the room.