Darius looked like he was ready to murder him. Hansley trembled uncontrollably as terror washed over him. This was totally different from what he'd imagined. Things weren't supposed to play out like this.Darius wasn't grateful to him. Instead, he wanted to kill him! Hansley's mind raced as he tried to think of something to get out of this situation. Unfortunately, he had his head in the clouds. He didn't know how scheming he looked.Darius watched him coldly. "Nothing you say is gonna change the situation."Hansley immediately lost the will to fight. There was no doubt that Darius would kill him. He couldn't and wouldn't hold out hope anymore.Darius said coldly, "You knew my actions would harm my father. Yet, you stood by and watched me do it." He exhaled. He utterly regretted not killing Hansley the first chance he'd got. It was the situation with the Evans family all over again."There's something you need to get straight, though. I was originally gonna let you off the hook, but I
Hansley lay on the ground, trembling with fear. "D-Darius, you can't do this! You're already an enlightened martial artist. Killing me won't do you any good!" His eyes darted around as he tried to find Darius. Unfortunately, the black dragons were all he could see.Then, the pain was all he could feel. He shouted, "Darius, you're an inhumane monster! I treated you well after your father's death. Is this how you're repaying me?"Darius raised an eyebrow. His bloodlust grew stronger. Never in his life had he wanted to kill someone so badly. He frowned.After a few seconds, he stretched out an arm and focused his gaze on Hansley. He stopped suppressing his life force. All he wanted was to go along with what his heart desired.Darius didn't know his eyes were slowly turning red. His skin was also turning black from the life force. With these changes, more and more life force gathered around him. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. It was an eerie sight.Hansley was still on the ground. He
"Since you've successfully merged your body and soul, it's only right for me to give you a gift. I'm your apprentice, after all," said Darius.Hansley didn't dare look up. He knew it was likely he would die, though. He tried to sneak a glance at Teivel without lifting his head. In the next second, he shut his eyes.Teivel was even scarier than Darius. He didn't dare look at him any longer. Darius and Teivel both noticed this.Teivel couldn't care less about him, but Darius snorted. His gaze was angry as he looked at Teivel. He said, "Sir, this guy tried to impersonate my father."I tried to have a proper conversation with him, but he kept lying. Most of his consciousness now comprises my father's soul shards, except for the heart of his soul. That still belongs to him. And—"Darius stopped abruptly and dropped his eyes to his feet. The black life force started swirling around him again. He shut his eyes, looking pained. "He told me the heart of my father's soul was used to build tha
Tears immediately streaked down Hansley's face. "I don't know anything about that, I swear!"Teivel snorted. "I bet you don't know I can probe your memories."Hansley's crying stopped abruptly. His eyes widened in disbelief. Darius said coldly, "Mr. Teivel already told me about my father."Hansley stiffened. It had never crossed his mind that some people were powerful enough to probe someone else's memories without permission. This was unbelievable!Hansley's eyes suddenly lit up. He raised his head, looking pleased. "I don't know who you are, old man, but you and Darius need to—"He stopped abruptly. Darius put his hands behind him and watched him curiously. He could see the changes in Hansley's eyes. The emotions were in such conflict that they couldn't belong to the same person.Darius' eyes lit up as he turned to look at Teivel. Teivel looked calm, but the surprise in his eyes was plain. He glanced at Darius, then nodded. He looked conflicted, but his good wishes for Darius co
In that instant, Darius felt his fury peak. He stretched out an arm and channeled his black life force. To his surprise, it swirled in the air before returning to his body. This was the first time this had happened.Darius looked at Teivel in surprise. Teivel didn't turn around. He said, "You're being too rash. They're sharing the same body, so we can't tell who's actually speaking."Darius felt his blood run cold. The thought hadn't even occurred to him. If Hansley had been putting on a show earlier, Darius would've killed Tristan without realizing it.Darius trembled. He glared daggers at Hansley. Teivel sensed this and straightened up. He stepped between Darius and Hansley so that Darius could only see him. Then, he said, "You're too agitated. It's not gonna get you anywhere."Darius shut his eyes and breathed deeply. Teivel saw the black life force around him dispersing. He said, "You're powerful, but you haven't learned how to control the black life force. Or at least, you haven
Darius raised an eyebrow. Then, he looked at Teivel curiously. Teivel sighed and said, "Earlier, I only told you how soul shards came to be."His gaze turned helpless. "But storing soul shards isn't as easy as you think. Soul shards can only be stored in the correct container. And human bodies are those containers.""I was wondering why that old fogey kept creating those zombie-like monsters. Now, I know. He was probably using them as containers for those soul shards. Still, it probably didn't occur to him that the regular individual's soul was too weak to withstand its container's powers."Teivel shut his eyes, looking pained. Then, he turned to look out the window at Hansley, who was still rolling on the ground. "That's why I said it's not a good thing for your father's consciousness to have the upper hand now."This body doesn't belong to him. Sooner or later, he'll become a different person. I'm capable of doing this because I'm an enlightened martial artist. My soul is strong."H
Darius looked at Teivel calmly. He knew what Teivel meant but wasn't sure he understood properly. He lowered his gaze to the ground. "Sir, you lost me.""You're still too naive." Teivel shook his head. He said amicably, "A person's soul changes after leaving the body. They might forget things or get a personality transplant. Look at me—I used to be boisterous, but I became quiet after my soul entered the book realm."He smiled. "Now that I've explained everything to you, I need you to calm down. That's the only way we can revive your father." Teivel straightened up and put his hands behind his back.He moved toward the window and looked out. "Hansley's smart. He's not as sincere as he seems." His brows furrowed deeply.He turned back to Darius. "I haven't observed you and him for long, but I can tell he's capable of bringing out the worst in you."Teivel looked grim. "I don't know what you were thinking when you spoke to him. My advice is to suppress all your negative feelings no matt
"You look like you're raring to go, sir. Are you that excited to get into a fight?" Darius said.Teivel raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Is it that obvious?" He rubbed his face roughly. "Obvious enough for you to read me like an open book?"Darius' lips twitched. Then, he said, "Yes. Now, tell me what your plan is."Teivel's expression became serious. This was Darius' first time seeing him like this. "Hansley's very sly. He must have some ulterior motive for showing up before us. There's nothing much we can do about this situation."There's one way we can catch him out, though. We need to make him think he's powerful beyond imagination and that we believe his lies. That's the only way for us to make him slip up and reveal more information to us."Teivel sighed. "Unfortunately, it's close to impossible for him to believe you've fallen for his tricks. The same can't be said for me, though."He raised an eyebrow. "Do you understand me now?"Darius looked surprised. He'd never thought about