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\'Something is terribly wrong.\'

Dread wrapped around his mind, and his excellent mood crumbled like a sand castle rocked by a tsunami.

His eyes darted left and right, taking the ominous cave\'s surroundings in. A split second later, he saw Julius, bound by chains and unmoving in the middle of the circle.

Traces of dried tears covered his tender cheeks. He recognised his expression in a heartbeat: sadness, despair... and guilt.

Then, he gazed at the other individual present.

A one-armed old man seated on the desk comfortably peered at him as if scanning his soul with his unique blue eye. But his delicate lips, raised into a malevolent grin, struck him the most.

\'Can he see me?\' He thought, narrowing his eyes into slits as his bad feeling swelled in his mind. Like the carillon of thousands of bells, it deafened his thoughts for a moment, except for one. That man was the cause. He was the hidden danger lurking in the shadows... and a lethal foe.

His breathing slowed to a crawl as an icy shiver ran down his spectral spine.

\'We need to leave!\'

This idea boomed, compelling him to act with the swiftest yet most stealthy movements he was capable of.

Gently, he poked Julius to draw his attention, murmuring, "Act normally and slowly turn around to make your back face the creep."

His soul shuddered. The last thing he wanted was to alert their abductor and raise his suspicions.

"It\'s useless, big bro... He can see you," Julius said, his weak voice a murmur in the heart of darkness as tears welled in his eyes.

Upon hearing the boy\'s words, his luminous eyes enlarged as more questions flooded his mind, menacing to drown it under swirling currents. Who was the man? Why did he chain the boy? How could he see him when even Lucius couldn\'t?

Yet, like a blade slashing at his mind, Julius cut his thought process, and his words left his heart bleeding.

"Big bro... They are dead," Julius\' voice cracked, and tears rolled down his cheeks. He had been stuck with Gaston for six hours, and the anomaly took indescribable pleasure in torturing his childish mind with his actions. Like how he killed his grandpa Theodore, adopted father Lucius, and swordsmanship teacher Max.

"... Who?" Adam asked, his face a mask of complex emotions as his hesitant voice cracked in the cave. At this point, he expected the worst. If Alina died, he didn\'t know what he could do to help Julius.

"Max, Lucius... Sniff... Grandpa..."

Julius\' words roared in Adam\'s ears like a thunderclap.

Of course, he was sad to learn that Lucius and Max died, yet relieved to hear that Alina was alive. However, his relief didn\'t last for long.

\'Old Theo? How? Why?\'

His thoughts descended into a dark turmoil. How in this world did, within a single day, two of his acquaintances and his first and only friend die?

Gradually, the reality settled, bringing alongside a raging torrent of anger, grief... and madness.

"How did he die?" He asked, his voice the low growl of a wounded beast, seeing its cubs die. After spending seven years with the old apothecary, he genuinely liked his enthusiastic and kind character. Yet, he won\'t see his smile ever again...

"Killed by Gaston..." Julius answered, clutching his heart as pangs of guilt pierced it. He liked Theo as much as Adam did. However, he knew his big brother couldn\'t stomach the way he died. So, he swallowed his next words, hiding how cruel Gaston had been.

Hearing that, Adam searched his memories to find who Gaston was with gritted teeth. However, he couldn\'t remember anyone he knew going by that name. Who could blame him? He only saw him twice in total, more than seven years ago.

"Who is Gaston? What are we doing here?"

His voice turned into a cold hiss, and his frame trembled. He had the culprit\'s name. He would hunt him to the world\'s edge to avenge his poor friend.

\'We can\'t live under the same sky. One of us has to die!\'

Nothing would stop him in his relentless pursuit, for Gaston carried his mark of enmity.

"The old man who kidnapped us. H-He killed everyone we knew. It\'s my fault, big bro."

Julius hid his face between his arms, his loud wailing filling the damp habitat.

Clap Clap Clap

Simultaneously, they heard someone clap his hands with slow and deliberate movements, clearly mocking them.

"What a touching scene. I almost shed a tear," Gaston said, his smile expanding. "Now that you are awake, we can finally start."

"PFUUU."

Adam exhaled loudly. He wouldn\'t have to search for the man. He was before his eyes.

"DIE DOG!"

Blinded by rage, he didn\'t waste time on words. He shot a mana bullet aimed between the hateful man\'s brows, a quick death, almost too merciful for this evil doer.

Meanwhile, Gaston\'s remaining eye sparkled as he moved his weapon with inhuman speed.

CLANK

Without effort, he sliced through the bullet, dividing it into two parts before standing up. His feeble steps resounded with forceful noise, a contradiction Adam failed to understand.

Yet, terror gripped his heart as the old figure blurred in his eyes, causing his anger to vanish into a puff of smoke.

Gaston\'s presence loomed like a shadow over them, permeating the air with malevolence. He could feel the weight of his gaze, like icy fingers tracing down his spine. The man\'s words, dripping with mockery and malice, echoed in his mind, taunting him.

\'I can\'t beat him without a solid strategy,\' he thought, using the brief moment of inaction to make the cogs forming his mind spin at maximum capacity.

"Sixteen years. That\'s how long I have been waiting. Don\'t ruin this moment with your futile resistance," Gaston declared, his voice laced with a disturbing, perverse joy.

Under the duo\'s trembling eyes, he cut his palm, letting his blood drip on the magic circle.

Then, he walked to Julius and made a slight cut on his arm, causing the scarlet liquid to drop on the circle as well.

In reaction, the dim light intensified with each passing second, casting dancing shadows on the walls. Yet, they had no time to marvel.

"Shall we proceed with the ritual?" Gaston asked, his voice dripping with irony.

Echoing his words, Adam felt the circle\'s magic infiltrate his circuits. Like a thirsty beast, it drained the little mana he had left after his trial, causing his composure to crumble.

\'Shit!\' He thought in panic after losing the greatest weapon in his arsenal.

Left with little choice and unable to formulate a decent strategy in such a desperate situation, he summoned his most trusted companion, his Beastbane Dagger. With extreme swiftness and lethal accuracy, he rocketed his spectral form to Gaston, swinging his blade with all his strength to decapitate him.

WOOSH

The wind howled behind his strike. However, Gaston\'s eye took the shape of a crescent as he laughed.

Meanwhile, Adam gazed at his trembling hand, despair coloring his face. Gaston did not dodge his strike. He didn\'t block it, either. Instead, the dagger only passed through his vulnerable neck, dealing no damage...

Just because Gaston could perceive him through the modified gem he possessed didn\'t imply he would be susceptible to intangible attacks. This realisation came crashing into his mind. What option did he have left without mana and unable to damage him?

As the circle fully activated after being fed Adam\'s energy, Gaston\'s body glowed a bright red light. His old shell crumbled, turning into dust. Yet, a blood-red ghost with Gaston\'s younger features stood in his place.

He had become a soul-devouring ghost. An ominous type of evil spirit who entered people\'s soul seas to devour and absorb their strength. That was Gaston\'s method of assimilating Adam\'s soul. However, his plan didn\'t end there. Why should he remain a ghost? No, he had grander ambitions.

The magic circle\'s primary function was to link two people through their blood, making their souls recognise each other\'s bodies as their own, a rare feat only possible because of the rogue acolyte\'s legacy.

Thus, after devouring Adam, Gaston would devour Julius\' soul and possess his body, restarting his life anew, younger and stronger than ever.

That was why he dared to use cursed items and sacrificed his body without batting an eye. He didn\'t care anymore. Especially since Julius had his talent unlocked and his identity recognised by the kingdom. He could join a magical academy, begin his journey in the world of magic, and dethrone that mediocre magus.

After all, despite his top talent for magic, he didn\'t want to end up as one of the strongest. No. Instead, he would become the very first human being to reach the elusive and legendary ninth tier.

As his long journey of careful manipulation and planning replayed in his mind, he couldn\'t help but laugh uncontrollably.

"Your soul, give it to me! Hahaha."

He flew at Adam, eyes filled with malevolence, ready to collect the fruits of his labor.