*******************

A few minutes earlier.

"Huh, is this Aiden's energy? Hmm... looks like he found a new toy again," a feminine voice said in the dark surroundings.

A few minutes later, she noticed someone approaching her location.

Then, a gloved hand reached out, retrieving the object in which she was sealed—or had sealed herself.

The man was chosen by Aiden, who floated beside him, urging him to flee the place after acquiring her.

But before the man could leave, he spotted someone he recognized, tied to a chair with ropes. It was then that Aiden and his host began to argue whether to leave or not. Yet, witnessing the man's bravery—or foolishness—to save his friend, knowing well the danger it posed, her impression of him grew.

Even after being found by the Boss of thug, she didn't like at all. The guy didn't lose the hope and still try to help his friend leave.

She felt a strong connection with the unconscious man tied to the chair, an aura emanating from him that drew her in, compelling her to bond with him immediately. She was about to approach him when the thug boss intervened, making it impossible at that moment. The man holding her was being beaten relentlessly, yet he never lost hope, continuing to dodge or block the increasingly brutal attacks despite his growing weakness.

Still, she persisted in her attempt to reach the man, seizing her opportunity when it came. However, before she could act, he rose once again, moving away to protect his friend, which drove her to frustration.

Her intention was to bond with this man, overthrow the insignificant thug boss, reclaim Aiden from the other feeble child, and locate the last one if he is here in this world. With them, they could return to their original land. She recognized the man's immense potential who was held on chair, surpassing even that of her former master. Yet, she couldn't fathom why Aiden had chosen other instead him, knowing well that Aiden had the power to switch hosts.

Yet, she didn't miss the scene where the man she sought to bond with fled like a coward. He ran a distance before starting a peculiar world-level teleportation spell and vanished, instantly erasing the aura he emitted. Freed from the frenzy of bonding, she felt anger at herself for wanting to bond with such a coward, rather than the one who was now gasping for his last breaths, his life slipping away.

"Hey Zero, I know you're in there. Help this kid; he's the only one who can aid us, I beg you," she heard Aiden's voice, desperate and pleading. Resolving to assist, she decided to inquire later.

*******************************

Currently, inside Rey's residence, Jasmine and Emmy are present. Jasmine had taken leave in advance due to Rey's health issues for the following day. However, Rey departed, claiming he needed to meet a friend and carried a peculiar bag that Jasmine had never seen before.

"Hey son, where did you get this bag? It wasn't here in our house before," Jasmine inquired at that moment.

"Yes, mom, it belongs to a friend. I borrowed it to return some items to him," he responded. Before she could probe further about this friend, Jasmine was overcome by an uneasy sensation in her chest, an indescribable premonition that something bad was about to happen.

"Hey Mom, when is big brother coming home?" Emmy asked while eating her food.

"Emmy, you should eat first, then talk. Don't worry, your brother will be back soon," Jasmine said, resuming her meal. However, the unsettling premonition she had was not fading; it was growing stronger. She decided to call him later to check if he was okay.

***********************

Inside the factory's main building, Rey lay unconscious while Aiden attempted to rouse him. Meanwhile, Jacob approached, intent on seizing Zero, mistaking it for the artifact he had previously stolen.

However, as he drew near, he witnessed the artifact he coveted dissolving into the boy's blood. Before he could grasp it, it had completely vanished as if it had never existed. The blood began to behave oddly, retreating back into the boy's body. Like a parasite, it enveloped him entirely, and particles resembling blood entered his mouth, coursing through him in an effort to preserve his health. As they neared his heart, they delivered a slight jolt, prompting it to resume beating rhythmically, though differently from before.

Zero had executed a maneuver to preserve his life by administering a shock to his heart, which had sustained considerable damage and had ceased beating moments earlier.

The blood particles began to absorb his suit and the half-broken mask, which had been damaged by the punches. After absorption, the particles restored them to their original appearance, but in an improved state. Even the cape he was wearing was absorbed and became integrated into the suit.

If someone saw this, they might think the blood had coated the suit, but in reality, the blood-like substance absorbed the suit, transforming it into itself, taking its place. Then, almost immediately, the blood-red color began to fade, and the suit's original color returned as if nothing had happened.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

If someone witnessed this, they might assume nothing had occurred before.

"Looks like you finally woke up, huh?" Aiden said to the suit while drifting away slightly.

"Yes, I never imagined the God General would be in such a state, beaten by such a thuggish brute," a robotic voice echoed in Aiden's ears, startling him a bit.

"What happened to you?" Aiden inquired, remembering that Zero could speak in a normal tone without emotion, but now she was expressing emotions, even in a robotic voice, as if taking system help to speak.

"It's not the right time to talk, but first, we must finish him off and save this boy," Zero stated in her usual robotic tone.

"So, just like back then, you're handling defense, and I'm taking over the body, huh?" Aiden remarked as he entered Rey's body to control it more easily, since Rey was semi-conscious.

"Yes, but please be quick; this boy won't last more than 10 minutes," Zero stated.

"There's no need to worry; it will be completed in just 3 minutes, and then we can depart," Aiden replied, as he manipulated the body to grasp the dagger at his side and stand up.

During this time, Jacob observed the artifact being absorbed into the boy's body, who then rose and began speaking in a robotic tone to the empty air. Abruptly, the boy drew a sharp dagger and aimed it at him.

"So, it's a parasitic artifact, is it? But fret not, I will handle it far better than you, boy. Just go to sleep," Jacob declared, lunging towards the boy.

However, the boy had transformed; his speed had doubled, and his agility had significantly increased.

'It seems the artifact has temporarily enhanced his power, but I can still handle this,' Jacob thought. Yet, he suddenly felt an intense pain in his abdomen and discovered a clean cut on his right side.

"You bastard, how dare you strike me," Jacob exclaimed, attacking with increased speed, but the boy managed to evade every blow and even counterattack.

Jacob's body accumulated numerous dagger wounds, bleeding profusely from several places, causing widespread pain. Moreover, he felt his strength waning as his vision blurred.

"What poison have you used, you treacherous snake? Now you resort to such methods to kill me," Jacob gasped, trying to conserve his stamina.

"Ah, so the poison is effective. I had doubts, given it was said to work only 15% of the time, but it appears to be accurate and is saving us time," Aiden observed, noticing a drop of poison leaking from a tiny hole in the dagger's tip.

'Hey Zero, can you channel some mana into your hand socket? I'm about to give this bastard a more gruesome end than he attempted on Rey,' Aiden communicated telepathically to Zero.

"Yes, I can, but I think it's not necessary since we can easily kill him, and... this boy is Rey, okay?" Zero said to him, about to say more but stopped and repeated the name Aiden had mentioned.

"No, we will give him a cruel death as how much this bastard had done bad things." Aiden said and Zero start gathering mana in her sockets as it takes some time because mana density was low in this area than she required.

After several more dodges, Jacob grew tired and retreated slightly.

"Hey, where are you all? Come and help me!" Jacob shouted, calling for his men, but no one came.

"Are you trying to summon your goons, huh? What a shame; they're all dead," Aiden declared, hovering mid-air about five meters above the ground, channeling mana into his legs.

"I will kill you," Jacob retorted, beginning to gather Qi in his hand to replicate the move he had used previously. As he did so, he noticed the boy's hand was glowing similarly.

'Is he also a cultivator? But I sensed no Qi from him. Could this be because of the artifact?' he wondered, his greed for the artifact intensifying.

"Give me that artifact and go die," Jacob shouted, lunging with a punch towards Rey's head. Rey, moving at high speed, contorted his body in an unimaginable way, using the momentum of Jacob's hand to dodge the blow. Capitalizing on the momentum, Aiden delivered a powerful punch straight to Jacob's jaw, driving him down towards the ground.

With these immense strength Jacob jaw dislocated, and his head crashed into the ground which destroyed his backside of head and spine got destroyed by going back in a strange angle and blood splatted around like water with a spider crack like crater formed around.

Even after confirming the man was dead, Aiden thrust the dagger into his throat to be certain and surveyed the destruction they had wrought.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Rey screamed suddenly, his body on the verge of collapse, trembling with pain from the overuse of mana in a body unaccustomed to it. His leg bones were cracking slightly, but it was his hand, the one Aiden had used, that was in far worse condition, bleeding profusely with bones shattered into fragments.

"What happened to him." Zero asked in concern.

"I think his bones get destroyed with the use of Mana as it was the first time he used." Aiden said and about to go.

"Hey, wait. Just give me a second and help me carry something," she said, moving the body towards a seemingly closed wall. Upon reaching it, she pressed a hidden button, revealing a door that led to a room filled with high-priced jewelry and a safe secured by a code.

"Can you take this? It could be useful to us in many ways," she suggested. Aiden sighed slightly but proceeded to add the items to the inventory system Rey had provided, which he had never used before.

"Hi yes there are more people are we going to rescue them and where is the boy Rey wanted to save." Aiden said talking about Evan and those people he talked about.

"The cowardly boy escaped using a spell of world-level teleportation, and I suspect someone will come to investigate since your attack caused quite a commotion. Let's leave quickly so we can rescue him," Zero stated in her usual robotic tone.

"Don't worry, with your assistance, we can reach his home in three minutes, and he'll recover swiftly since I have something for that," Aiden replied with a grin.

"Wait, you know he's in this world and his location?" Zero asked, incredulous that he was indeed in this world.

She didn't expect that the three of them are now together with each other like before and that what she wasn't expecting as she think that they will be able to meet with each other with their new host.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________So who is he that both talking about and how is both of them going to save Rey who was on verge to die.

If you want to know so stay tuned to find and tell me, how did you like the chapter today.

And have a good day/night my all friends.

[2000+]