Chapter 2413: Chapter 2414: Shadow of the Mist

After the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon discovered the Illusion Node, it paused for one or two seconds, then let out a loud "wah-wah" scream and angrily jumped in place.

After sulking for a while, the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon began engaging in seemingly random actions intended to break free, such as destroying nodes or crashing around attempting to flee the illusion. But it was all to no avail; the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon eventually turned its fierce gaze towards Angel.

With another round of unintelligible "wah-ya" shouting, after several seconds, the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon seemed to gather its courage, tightened its grip on the flame spear, and charged at Angel viciously.

Its reckless behavior was just the beginning; when it got close to Angel, it changed its reckless style.

Cunning!

Seizing a moment when Angel was not paying attention, the flame spear was thrust into the ground, and sparks rose like a blanket of fire, obscuring Angel’s vision.

A loud shout echoed from above, and when Angel looked up, he saw the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon had leapt high into the air, swinging the spear to slash at his head.

With a light swipe, the flame spear from above was deflected. Yet, as Angel waved his hand to deflect the attack, a figure emerged from the cascade of sparks, the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon wielding its spear aimed straight at Angel’s chest.

The attack above and the thrust in the middle occurred almost simultaneously, forcing Angel to focus on the upper threat while ignoring the middle.

Just when the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon was about to succeed, a phantom limb of white tendrils blocked the spear in the middle, imbued with penetrating force, and instead pierced the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon’s chest.

But the phantom limb piercing didn’t bring forth any blood; both the specter in front and the figure above dissipated, turning into smoke.

As the fire smoke drew Angel’s attention, another sensation of threat emerged from behind.

The Flame-scaled Summoned Demon had somehow appeared behind Angel, sinisterly wielding the spear to stab at Angel’s back.

But the back was precisely where phantom limbs most easily grew; a new phantom limb quickly formed, blocking the attack from behind.

The Flame-scaled Summoned Demon let out a strange cry, concealing itself in the sparks, and then within half a second, three Flame-scaled Summoned Demons attacked simultaneously from behind the head, back, and lower limbs.

Two of the Flame-scaled Summoned Demons had dull eyes, but the one attacking the lower path had crafty, lively eyes.

Without hesitation, Angel grew several more phantom limbs, two targeting the dull-eyed Flame-scaled Summoned Demons, and all remaining limbs attacking the lower path’s Flame-scaled Summoned Demon.

The upper and middle Flame-scaled Summoned Demons vanished in flames from the attacks, whereas the lower Flame-scaled Summoned Demon swiftly evaded the phantom limb attack, using the recoil to strike at Angel’s back faster.

Angel instinctively turned sideways, dodging the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon’s attack. However, at that moment, a flame spear thrust into his eyeball, directly shattering his skull!

By now, Angel understood. The Flame-scaled Summoned Demon attacking from behind was still made of flame; the so-called lively eyes were a deception. The real Flame-scaled Summoned Demon had hidden right in front for a silent assassination.

Having succeeded with its strike, the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon revealed a complacent grin, flipping over and landing not far away.

Yet, its joy didn’t last long. Angel, who had a flame spear stuck in his eye socket, slowly turned his head, looking towards the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon and mirroring its sinister smile.

It was then the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon realized something was amiss!

It stayed stunned for less than half a second before immediately realizing this was an illusion!

Without hesitation, it stamped its foot, turning into roaring flames, bursting in mid-air, and splitting into ten Flame-scaled Summoned Demons scattering in escape.

All these Flame-scaled Summoned Demons had dull eyes, none lively, making it hard to discern the true body at first glance.

But just then, a slightly youthful voice rang out: "The one on the left, running towards us, is real!"

The identified true Flame-scaled Summoned Demon paused in surprise. Before it could figure out who had spoken, several white, ribbon-like phantom limbs emerged from the shadows, binding it tightly.

The flames ceased, and the sparks settled.

Only then did Angel walk out slowly, standing in front of the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon.

The Flame-scaled Summoned Demon tried to struggle, but the phantom limbs bound it tightly, even wrapping around its shriveled head, leaving only the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose exposed.

"It’s still trying to attack you; I can feel the flame power gathering in its eyes!"

The voice came from Angel’s shoulder, causing the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon to blink and look over, only to see a severed hand with facial features crawling onto Angel’s shoulder.

To others, this strange severed hand might cause them to pause, guessing its kind, but the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon did not; as a fire attribute Magical Creature, it instantly recognized the severed hand’s identity—the Fire Element Elf.

Upon seeing the severed hand, the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon understood why its true form was exposed. Because Fire Element Elves naturally perceive changes in flames.

Distinguishing between flame avatars and true bodies is incredibly easy for a Fire Element Elf.

"I’m Dangross; what’s your name?... It’s no use glaring at me; the one binding you is him. He’s the one you should deal with, but are you really sure the person in front of you is real or fake?"

As Dangross spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon, feeling it emitted a strange aura, especially when dazed and during the previous fight, this aura was particularly evident.

Confronted by Dangross’ question, the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon was left stunned.

The human in front looked vibrant, its aura matching its previous perception entirely, yet the prior phantom bore the same semblance, leaving the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon unable to discern whether the presence was a reality or illusion.

"Dara, gugu, kusha!" A bizarre string of words emerged from the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon’s mouth, although the language remained unintelligible, its disdainful eyes suggest it was probably cursing Angel, the despicable illusionist.

"You comprehend Dangross’ words, which means you understand Universal Language," Angel spoke, "How about we have a conversation?"

The Flame-scaled Summoned Demon snorted coldly, closed its eyes in a non-cooperative posture.

"Apparently, you lack the awareness of a captive." As Angel’s voice dropped, he started manipulating the phantom limbs into constriction.

The Flame-scaled Summoned Demon felt immense pressure from the tightening phantom limbs, contorting its face.

It whimpered loudly in pain.

Seeing the plight, Angel slightly eased off, preparing to inquire further, intending to try more persuasive means if the Flame-scaled Summoned Demon continued being unyielding, perhaps even... Nightmare Illusion.

Yet, just as Angel was about to speak, Dangross, perched on his shoulder, suddenly exclaimed, "I remembered! There’s a scent of that bizarre energy we encountered on the previous level lingering on it!"

Bizarre energy from the first level? Angel understood what Dangross referred to; during their search for the main control node, passing through a corridor, Angel sensed an anomaly, an energy point with remnants that were highly peculiar.

Not only was it complex, but it also carried a strange aroma Angel had not sensed before.

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, there was also a noticeable presence of spatial energy. Angel often used The Gate of Void, so he was familiar with spatial energy and could ascertain that some residual energy from spatial traversal was within.

At that time, Angel speculated whether someone inside the lab had used spatial traversal, leaving some energy residue. But with the Magical Energy Array fully activated, he thought it improbable.

Busy with heading to the main control node, Angel hadn’t delved deeper into the investigation and left.

Now as Dangross brought it up again, Angel recalled the matter but remained puzzled, as he hadn’t sensed such energy on the Fire-scaled demon.

Perhaps noticing Angel’s confusion, Dangross said, "The flames might have masked your perception of the energy, and indeed, the energy on it was quite subtle. Only during the battle and the moment of daze did I sense faint fluctuations."

"Battle and daze?"

"Yes, I sense when it’s pondering, such fluctuations occur. Normally, however, there are none."

Angel wasn’t sure if what Dangross said was true, but he was willing to trust its judgment.

He looked at the Fire-scaled demon: "Did you escape from the Magical Beast Park? Were you transported here from outside?"

The Fire-scaled demon gave no answer, only presented Angel with a sinister smile.

Suddenly, the Fire-scaled demon began to inflate, but the Phantom Limb kept its body tightly restrained, causing the swelling force to concentrate entirely in its head.

Its face enlarged visibly, like an inflating balloon, expanding to four or five times its size in an instant.

Despite the distortion from its face stretching, the sinister smile on the Fire-scaled demon’s lips remained unchanged.

Until, bang––

The Fire-scaled demon’s head exploded, and blood, brain matter, and bone fragments scattered everywhere.

The aura of the Fire-scaled demon ceased completely at this moment, indicating it had died.

With its demise, Angel finally perceived the eerie energy fluctuations.

The strange energy emanated from a misty shadow emerging from the Fire-scaled demon’s head. The specifics inside the shadow mist were unclear, but one could vaguely make out numerous starlike spots flickering within.

"Chk, chk..." A peculiar laughter came from the shadow mist, its meaning unknown, but Angel again sensed taunting.

Without hesitation, Angel manipulated the Illusion Node to encircle the shadow mist.

Yet the shadow mist showed no interest in confronting Angel, instantly dissolving into a semi-ethereal state, dispersing into countless star points before vanishing.

"Wh—what happened? Where did that mist go?" Through the still sparking embers, Dangross sensed the disappearance of all auras.

Angel softly replied, "It already fled."

As the architect of the Illusionary Realm, Angel sensed clearly that the eerie energy point rapidly distanced itself. Even the Illusionary Realm didn’t hinder its escape, as if the realm didn’t exist for it. Upon leaving the realm, it immediately collected its aura, vanishing completely.

"Did it just flee?" Dangross looked incredulous, "Doesn’t a typical plot twist involve it revealing its true form and reversing the momentum? How did it just flee?"

Angel ignored Dangross’s plot theories, heading directly toward the Fire-scaled demon’s corpse.

As for pursuing the escaped shadow mist, Angel refrained, perceiving the other’s eerie form wasn’t material, otherwise, the Illusionary Realm wouldn’t have reacted thus. Capturing a semi-ethereal non-material existence isn’t feasible in a short span.

Moreover, prior to catching it, locating it is crucial.

Tracing a striving-to-escape shadow mist is evidently challenging. Hence, it’s more practical to investigate the Fire-scaled demon manipulated by that presence first.

Angel crouched down, examining the headless body of the Fire-scaled demon.

He tried to detect residual energy from the shadow mist within the Fire-scaled demon, hoping to capture its coordinates through certain means.

Yet, the Fire-scaled demon’s interior was devoid of any eerie residual energy.

Though slightly disappointed, given the adversary’s cunning nature, such a result was inevitable.

Angel continued studying the Fire-scaled demon’s body, uncovering no other anomalies. Conversely, Dangross noted the residual flame energy within the corpse was remarkably pure.

If the flame energy of Fire-scaled demons were all this pure, they wouldn’t remain at the bottom of the food chain.

It was certain this Fire-scaled demon was indeed unique.

But whether this uniqueness was innate or post-transmutation by the shadow mist intrusion remained uncertain.

Angel personally felt the likelihood of shadow mist modifications was high.

If the shadow mist traversed into the lab space, this Fire-scaled demon should be the one from the Magical Beast Park. And Reynaud had some understanding of the park’s Fire-scaled demons, confirming they weren’t special cases. Therefore, Angel believed it transformed by the shadow mist.

If indeed modified, considering the transformation’s efficacy, this Fire-scaled demon proved to be notably improved.

At least from the prior battle, whether in terms of energy level or craftiness in combat, it seemed comparable to the forefront contenders of the New Star Tournament. Whereas the Fire-scaled demon’s inherent power was likely comparable to Lyon before entering the portal.

This meant the shadow mist directly transformed a low-level apprentice into a pinnacle apprentice.

Such a notion is somewhat bewildering.

Is this inherent to the shadow mist’s ability? Or does it indeed possess expertise in species modification, energy alteration?

Currently indescribable, yet regardless of the case, Angel held an unresolved question: Why did the shadow mist possess the Fire-scaled demon?

The Magical Beast Park must have numerous creatures, even strong Sea Beasts raised there, why specifically attach to such a low-level creature?

Was it due to some inherent possession limitation?

If indeed limited, what drove the possession?

Angel softly murmured: "Or perhaps, in its semi-ethereal state, it cannot affect the Material Realm?"

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