Aaron did not seem as serious as they were, adjusting to their strength, but he did not want to remain in this state for long.
The four exchanged glances before taking positions to attack. Of course, within his own shadow realm, everything inside it was under Aaron's complete control.
He could steal anything, including magic, and he could use that theft as his own power.
Although there were difficult conditions that had to be fulfilled, within the shadow realm, the difficulty was far lighter than in the real world.
"Yes, come here. I have a surprise for you," he muttered softly.
He calmly raised his hand before extending it, and from there, a revolver formed as his index finger slowly pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Those trapped by the soft black substance beneath their feet could not move freely, allowing the bullet to head toward its target without obstruction.
The target was the woman. She opened her mouth wide as a hole in the right side of her chest began spilling fresh blood, soaking her military uniform.
Those trapped by the soft black substance beneath their feet could not move freely, allowing the bullet to head toward its target without obstruction.
The target was the braided-haired woman. She opened her mouth wide as a hole in the right side of her chest began spilling fresh blood, soaking her military uniform before her body immediately collapsed.
Her companion's eyes widened when Aaron suddenly shot toward her, his expression turning serious as the revolver pointed directly at her.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of footsteps against the liquid echoed longer than it should have. They could easily evade the attack, and Aaron knew this would happen.
One thing was certain: he could not bring four people into the shadow realm at once for too long.
The revolver disappeared as Aaron warmed up, stretching his neck and hands.
Back in the real world, the four of them were faced with two difficult choices.
Celvira and Felina had been waiting for him, setting up a massive explosion exactly where they would emerge, just as planned.
Boom!
The explosion's shockwave was inevitable. Countless black particles instantly formed a storm, tearing apart anything still around them.
The three of them were still alive, although the blue light had left behind tiny invisible needles that damaged their vital organs from within.
Andreas was the one who suffered Felina's attack the most, especially because he was the first to emerge from the shadow veil and take the brunt of the surprise attack.
As soon as she saw their strength declining, Felina formed a motion as if drawing a bow, a pale blue glimmer emerging from the tip of her index finger before shooting toward the devastating black dust storm ahead.
Whoosh!
The storm faded as the pale blue glimmer passed through it, carrying a powerful gust of wind that swept away surrounding materials and objects before striking the woman standing silently beside the two men.
"Ah..." A shrill scream that shattered the silence of the night escaped her mouth.
The attack successfully entered her body, but because she had come here prepared, she pulled a bottle from her pocket.
It was a potion. As soon as the pointed cap of the potion was opened, she looked like someone who had not seen water for a week as she drank it.
The remaining potion soothed the throat that had previously felt scorched by fire as the thick purple liquid flowed through it.
Her two companions remained silent, observing the condition of the two women and the two enemies watching from a distance. The woman who had been shot by Aaron knelt silently, while the woman struck by Felina's attack hurried to neutralize whatever was piercing her bones from within.
Then, from behind them, a shadow rose before solidifying and revealing a blond-haired man with deep gray eyes as he extended his hand.
"I'll touch you, okay?" Aaron said calmly.
Andreas, who had just recovered from his wounds after using a wound-transfer technique, turned around, his pupils trembling.
"What?" he muttered in disbelief.
"Watch out..." The black-haired man beside him pushed his body away.
His position, which had previously been far from Aaron, was now close as a deep, ice-cold touch landed on his shoulder.
A churning sensation seized his stomach before rising toward his throat at a steady pace. Something pale white emerged from the black-haired man's body, while Andreas managed to evade it by leaping away after the push, distancing himself from his previous position.
Andreas clicked his tongue, sinking deep into his thoughts as his expression turned deathly pale.
'Capturing them alive is ridiculous! I have no idea what 'they' were thinking when they ordered us to do this. And who is the person performing the advancement ritual?'
Filled with confusion, Andreas watched his companion, who had tried to protect him, collapse to the ground. He could not see where the two women were, as his focus remained on Aaron and the two women to his left.
Yes, NightField knew the location of the five of them in connection with the advancement ritual being performed. As for the rest, they held themselves back so as not to attract the attention of dangerous individuals and groups around them, especially since this city served as a connection between two provinces in the Kingdom of Norn.
Aaron intended to finish off the woman he had shot, but her companion had already carried her away just as Felina launched an attack at them.
'Damn you, Felina. How could you let them escape? Huh, I really can't believe it.'
A realization struck him, leaving his mind blank for a moment.
'Where is that man now?'
After thinking for a moment, he hurriedly looked up, his gaze sweeping across the dark sky, which displayed a strange sight as cracks began to form, momentarily making him forget about his actions.
Crack...
The five of them directed their gazes toward the same spot in the sky, the cracks resembling the shell of an egg from which a chick was about to hatch.
A few moments later, a winged humanoid figure emerged from the cracks, sending a brief tremor through the ground beneath their feet.
Confused, they all instinctively furrowed their brows as they stared at the winged creature, whose body was marked with black and pale white lines, floating directly above them; its glowing purple eyes pierced through the darkness, observing everything below.
It was a fusion of Zuhen and Tell, with Zuhen's body serving as the source of their power and existence.
It was truly unexpected that Zuhen had managed to break free so quickly; rather than fleeing, the black-haired man spread his arms wide.
'Damn, I managed to break free from that man's grasp. But what exactly is that creature, and where is Senlock now?'
As he had suspected, Senlock was nowhere around him, but he knew that he was still alive. Senlock had fled the area, or rather, he was too lazy to fight while his body was nearly destroyed by the potent poison of the box jellyfish.
As for the black-haired man, he had managed to escape because Aaron had not immediately displaced their souls, choosing instead to watch the strange sight unfolding above him.
This had happened twice, and at least this time, he had done it deliberately because the plan was proceeding exactly as he had imagined.
Realizing this, Aaron had no choice but to return to where Felina and Celvira were standing, the place where they had spoken earlier. Beneath the terrace of the half-destroyed building, damaged by their own actions.
"Did we succeed?" Celvira looked pale as she asked in a weak voice.
There was a reason she was like this; after all, the farther she moved away from Zavi Actitus, the weaker her power as the third-level evil spirit, Nammeridya, became.
"..."
Aaron showed no reaction as he watched the creature flying above his head, which seemed to be observing something below.
"...That is Lord Zuhen," Felina said, sounding somewhat indifferent.
Neither Celvira nor Aaron reacted further to the statement; instead, they were somewhat surprised by the unique form and intimidating aura radiating from the bird-like winged creature.
Felina's lips twitched, and she fell silent for a moment at their reactions.
One thing was certain: Zuhen's presence here could help them defeat the uninvited guest.
The towering buildings that had once filled the area now lay level with the ground. The sight of the lush trees that had previously been hidden was now clearly visible, bathed in the beauty of moonlight and the stars hanging overhead.
Smoke filled the streets, which were cracked and destroyed by the battle. The air felt heavy; merely drawing breath was already an achievement, yet they appeared calm amid such conditions.
Smoke filled the streets, which were cracked and destroyed by the battle. The air felt heavy; even breathing was difficult, yet they appeared calm amid such conditions.
From above, Zuhen, his consciousness returning as the flames in his eyes subsided, observed the scene below.
'Only two people remain... and who is the man standing atop the ruins with his eyes closed?'
He shifted his gaze to the left, coming face-to-face with three familiar figures below who stared back at him.
'Have they not realized that man is there?'
Zuhen suspected that the figure was none other than an observer, or perhaps something more specific, of the battle.
"Jin..."
As the word left his lips, his gaze shifted toward a pile of rubble ten meters high; just as he had suspected, the man's presence vanished, as though it had been erased by the world itself.
"Something is strange..."
Muttering to himself, he flapped his black wings and descended, landing on the flat ground, a surface covered in that familiar black dust.
He realized that something sharp had pierced the sole of his foot; he lowered his head slightly to look at the mound of black dust.
'What kind of ability is this? Clearly, this is a Spreader Type. Did they manage to surround them? And... is Felina really willing to cooperate with those three?'
That was when a realization struck him: in this fused state, he could not sense Zavi's presence through their spiritual connection.
He cast a brief glance toward the trio, his purple eyes trembling violently.
"Is he dead?" he muttered to himself.
"Hey," said the black-haired man standing thirty meters away. "How did you manage to break free from that spell?"
'Oh, so it was a spell, huh? You can't underestimate those who work for the King... and it seems we have an uninvited guest.' With his black-and-white-lined face expressionless, Zuhen turned to the right as several people floated in the air.
"It seems someone is performing a level advancement ritual here," one of them said, his tone clearly sharp and piercing to their minds.