As the jinn and the undead spider were stuck in an illusion, Azzy kept an eye on Aaron and Maria while formulating a new strategy against them.
There's no need for him to teach them a lesson but he couldn't just return like a loser after witnessing the murder. If not for his respect for the rules of the timeline, he would have gotten there and killed them with his own hands.
Maria was freed and Aaron was patting her back as she was rigorously coughing and taking heavy breaths. The cocoon she was imprisoned in earlier was so tight that she didn't have the room to breathe and felt suffocation.
"You alright, sis?" He asked, taking Azzy by surprise once again.
Maria nodded as she took heavy breaths and supported her body by grabbing her knees, "Yeah, I'm fine. That was too terrifying. I feel like I was gonna die."
"You must leave this place before they get out of the illusion. Your job is done anyways. There's no need to risk your life. I'll take care of him," said Aaron, urging her to escape as she wasn't as strong as him.
Maria also realized that she was a burden to him and nodded, "Alright. But, be careful and smart. We won't be able to save our parents if you fall down here. So, put your life as a priority over your ego, alright?"
"Yeah, I know that. Just go…" Aaron forced Maria to use a special teleportation card to leave the place.
Maria poured her soul energy into the activated 8-star teleportation skill card, expecting to teleport far away.
The skill card glowed up and disappeared into specks of light along with the woman. Aaron let out a sigh of relief.
However, in the next second, a painful scream was heard behind him.
"Ahhh…"
He turned around and witnessed the woman crash onto the ground. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the transparent barrier behind her.
"That barrier… it's not only more powerful but more complex than what I have anticipated." Aaron's face darkened as he raised his hand. A mosquito landed on his finger and he shifted his gaze to the jinn and the spider. "If that's the case, then, I shouldn't drag this battle for a long time."
"Go, stratos." He ordered his Arcana.
The mosquito flew toward the undead spider. Aaron, meanwhile, raised his head and looked at Azzy. Without dismissing the illusion, he cannot activate other abilities like his enhanced vision but still, somehow he could feel Azzy's gaze on him when the latter was also supposed to be affected by the illusion.
Feeling that it was probably because of his nervousness, Aaron shifted his attention back to the Jinn and charged forward.
Just as he crossed halfway to his target, all of a sudden, a concentrated transparent-colored beam of energy descended from the sky.
The beam went past him and struck the six-eyed spider. However, the undead remained unharmed but the same case cannot be said for the mosquito which almost managed to invade its body by flying through the gaps between the bones in its abdomen area.
The natural energy beam destroyed its body into nothingness in just one shot despite the fact everyone's soul realm was restricted to the 6-star realm in Emerald City.
"Stratos… What the…" Aaron stopped midway as he sensed the death of his Arcana and turned around to look at the undead spider in reflex before turning back and raising his head to look at Azzy.
His heartbeat spiked up as he realized that the origin of that powerful attack was Azzy, who was currently enveloped by a transparent energy layer over his body.
Earlier, he did sense something wrong but because of the long distance, he couldn't figure it out exactly; now he realized there is really something wrong. Fortunately, he wasn't out of tricks, and being a legendary realm expert, he would have confidence even facing a supreme realm expert.
Treating the new enemy very seriously, Aaron went on to unleash an energy technique, attacking the jinn with a barrage of discs imbued with a fire attribute. It's not a soul skill but certainly as powerful as one.
The jinn still in the middle of punching an illusionary figure didn't see that and Azzy didn't know any defensive techniques that can protect someone and neither he knows how to dispel the illusion. Since it is too risky to come down and face the target, he cannot save the jinn by himself.
As a result, he could only pass strict instructions to his new Arcana spirit. "Jinn, use soul skill: Invisibility without wasting any time."
The Jinn was confused at first but he followed his master's orders and unleashed his ability-turned-soul skill, Invisibility.
He disappeared from Aaron's sight at once, taking him by surprise. "Dismissed? No, I sensed the sudden flow of soul energy into this humanoid being. It's a soul skill…"
As he raised his hand and controlled the flame discs, halting their movements for a while not to waste them unnecessarily, Azzy ordered the jinn to fly higher.
Without knowing what he was aiming for, the Jinn just flew straight toward the barrier and made a quick landing before dashing to the left, flying alongside the edge of the barrier until his target was within his reach.
Azzy instructed the Jinn to throw a punch. The confused jinn did as he was told. However, surprisingly, he felt like he touched something when he shouldn't have.
Maria, who was also experiencing the illusion that Aaron designed, didn't see the jinn coming at her and blasted away.
Coughing out a mouthful of blood, she struggled to get up. Aaron was forced to dismiss his illusion and rush toward her.
Looking at him, Azzy mumbled, "Well, I guess I understand how to deal with him. Criminals deserve to face villainous methods too."
As Aaron was about to reach Maria upon realizing that the enemy wasn't affected by the illusion earlier, Azzy went on to summon his hourglass.
He held it upside down and unleashed the soul skill with his gaze fixed on Aaron.
"Soul skill: Chrono Rewind."
A stream of white-colored energy was shot out of the hourglass and struck Aaron at the speed of light, giving him no opportunity to evade it.
Before he realized it, Aaron started moving in a reverse direction and reached a hundred meters away from where he originally stood at the spot the agent was killed.
Originally, the distance wasn't that long and shouldn't be a big deal but the fact that he was dragged away by an invisible force in just an instant confused him. That momentary confusion also gave the head start to the jinn to cover up his distance to his new target.
The jinn reached her within no time and Aaron shouted, "Careful…"
Maria, who was on the ground while still clutching her stomach in pain, raised her head to look at the jinn from close range. Before she had the chance to even react, the jinn flew into her body following Azzy's instructions.
"Soul skill: Possession"
Aaron just moved his feet but the soul skill made its effect quite instantly. The possessed Maria then rose to her feet and looked at Aaron. Letting out a smirk, she spoke in a deep masculine tone, "Sorry kid but this girl is under my control. Now, if you don't let me beat you up, she's gonna die."
Meanwhile, in the sky, Azzy shut off his eyes and connected his mind to the jinn. He spoke, "Keep him busy that way. Taslan will also assist you. First, I need you to search her memories and get me Aaron's abilities, their relationship, and everything about their background."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺