CHAPTER 258: SECRETS OF THE ANCIENT VILLAGE

Through his palms, he could feel vibrations approaching from far away, growing stronger, closer, until they became waves rippling through the ground.

The tremors grew louder and heavier, turning into a deep rumble.

"Dominic!"

At his shout, Dominic immediately rushed over and scooped him up.

The moment he was in his arms, Shiao Yi jumped and teleporting them high into the air, far from danger.

BOOOOM!

A split second later, bright red magma burst up from the center of the crater.

It shot high into the air, and the rocks and debris thrown around began to pile up and forming a volcano.

But unlike the volcanoes in Shiao Yi’s world, this one didn’t keep growing larger and the crater didn’t spread uncontrollably.

The laws of this world were clearly different.

Here, the magma is a pure magical energy that has been condensed and it’s released its excess energy very quickly and once that was done, the volcanic activity subsided just as fast.

...

"Words cannot express our gratitude for saving all of Minoan’s settlement from destruction. Thanks to you, not a single life was lost," said the head of the Leto family while bowing his deeply to both Shiao Yi and Dominic.

The man was in his middle years, his body strong and hardened by years of living in harsh nature.

His rugged face framed by rough brown short hair bore deep lines of age and experience.

His narrow red eyes were sharp, filled with the will and strength of a leader who guided his people.

They were now in the Leto family’s main hall, finally calm again after the near disaster had been averted.

Of course, this room too was built underground, like everything else in the tunnels.

The northern hidden settlement was called Minoan Village and the Leto family served as its central pillar of authority.

No wonder the family’s heir, Koios, always acted arrogant and proud.

The irony, of course, was that the disaster had been caused by Dominic himself.

Shiao Yi glanced sideways at him, his half lidded eyes narrowing in exasperation.

The man sat beside him with his usual air of grandeur, completely unbothered.

In Dominic’s view, the entire thing was Koios’s fault anyway, because it was Koios who had kidnapped Shiao Yi in the first place.

He didn’t feel even a shred of guilt about what had happened.

Dominic’s cold sharp gaze pierced through Koios like an arrow of ice.

The young man who is sitting beside his father and his grandfather scowled at first in silent protest.

But when he met Dominic’s eyes, a shiver ran through his body and his face went pale.

He shrank in his seat immediately.

"Don’t pick a fight here, Dominic. You’re scaring him to death,"

Shiao Yi warned through telepathy.

Even though the black agate stone veins around them still interfered with his psychic abilities, a simple telepathy at such close range was possible.

Especially with Dominic, by now, their minds could connect almost instinctively, even without words.

Dominic immediately sent his voice into Shiao Yi’s mind.

Now that Shiao Yi thought about it, Dominic had become completely used to talking to him through telepathy.

"He needs to understand what he’s done. I’m already being far too lenient."

Shiao Yi sighed inwardly.

Dominic had completely ignored his own part in all this. Honestly, Shiao Yi thought the man himself was the bigger problem.

"I couldn’t escape because of the black agate stone veins, not because of Koios," Shiao Yi argued. "It was an unexpected accidental situation."

"It doesn’t matter. The fact that he even thought of making my you his wife is unforgivable," Dominic growled in his mind.

A wave of anger pulsed from Dominic and Shiao Yi could almost feel the weight of it in the air.

The sharp icy glare in Dominic’s eyes grew even stronger and poor Koios went even paler.

It looked like he might faint at any moment.

Trying to calm the raging beast beside him, Shiao Yi pressed his body gently against Dominic’s side as if soothing a wild horse.

The effect was immediate. The tense and intimidating air around Dominic softened and he instinctively slipped his arm around Shiao Yi’s waist.

Shiao Yi couldn’t help thinking how simple and easy to read he was.

The tension in Koios and the others eased a little.

Their shoulders relaxed and the color began to return to their faces.

Good. That was better.

Dominic seemed to remember the real reason they had come here in the first place.

He straightened slightly and spoke in a calm steady voice.

"We came to this northern village because we heard that your clan is one of the most ancient in existence. One that has survived since before recorded history. Is that true?"

The middle aged man who is the head of the family blinked his eyes hesitating.

But it was the elder who nodded.

His short and dry white hair framed a thin body that looked as brittle as an old tree branch, yet his movements were still firm and full of life far from frail.

"Indeed, that may be true," the elder said slowly. "We are likely the oldest family in this region. These mines protect us from the outside world, though sometimes the stored magical energy here runs wild. Long, long ago, back when the place now known as the Desert of Death was still a great city and our ancestors lived here."

The elder’s eyes took on a faraway look, as if he were staring deep into the past.

"Are you saying this was during the age when humans fought against the Aeon?" Dominic asked while leaning forward intently.

"That’s right," the elder replied. "Those battles were said to be terrible and hopeless.

Almost all living humans were about to be devoured by the Aeon. If that final resistance had failed, nothing... No humans, no animals would have survived in this world."

"Do you have any documents or records from that time?" Dominic asked. "If you do, I would very much like to see them."