Jared and Flaxseed collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily, lacking even the strength to lift their hands. Seeing that the two had lost their ability to resist, the crimson chains stopped attacking. Instead, they wrapped tightly around the two, forming two enormous crimson cocoons.
“Finally spent, are you?” Stebarin’s voice rang out again, carrying that same razor of smugness and cruelty. Then, a crimson figure slowly appeared within the array. It was Stebarin. Looking at Jared and Flaxseed, who were encased in crimson cocoons, he curled his lips into a cruel smile.
“Well, Jared, weren’t you supposed to be unstoppable? What happened to all that thunder?” Stebarin’s face was full of mockery.
Jared tried to stand up, but the chains had drained every ounce of his power. He could not so much as twitch a finger.
Stebarin slowly walked toward Jared and extended his right hand to press against the crimson cocoon wrapping the latter.
He said, “Your talent is indeed impressive. Unfortunately, you’ve offended the wrong person. However, rest assured, I won’t let you die easily. I’ll absorb your soul bit by bit so that you can experience unprecedented suffering!”
After speaking, Stebarin closed his eyes, his hands rapidly forming seals. Crimson runes flew from his hands, merging into the cocoon wrapping Jared.
“Blood God Soul Devouring Technique!” Stebarin shouted. Instantly, the cocoon wrapping Jared began contracting while emitting an eerie red glow.
Jared could feel his soul being pulled by a tremendous force, as if about to be torn from his body. He let out a pained scream. The sensation of having one’s soul pulled out of one’s body was unimaginably worse than any physical pain.
“Jared…” Flaxseed called out. He wanted to help Jared, but being wrapped in a crimson cocoon himself, he couldn’t move at all.
Stebarin opened his eyes. As he watched Jared struggle painfully, his lips curled into a satisfied smile.
“How does it feel? Quite wonderful, isn’t it? Don’t worry; this is just the beginning. There’s something even more spectacular coming!” he remarked.
With that, Stebarin closed his eyes again, increasing his spell’s power. Jared could feel his consciousness gradually blurring, the force pulling his soul growing stronger.
Just as his soul was about to be completely separated from his body, a golden light suddenly erupted from his consciousness field.
“Huh?” Stebarin frowned, seemingly sensing something. Then, a powerful suction came from Jared’s consciousness field, drawing Stebarin’s spiritual sense in as well.
“W-What?!” Panic flared across Stebarin’s face. He wanted to withdraw his spiritual sense, but it was too late. His consciousness was instantly sucked into Jared’s consciousness field as if it fell into an endless abyss.
When Stebarin’s consciousness awakened again, he found himself in an unfamiliar dimension. Everything here was chaotic, surrounded by golden light. The air was filled with powerful and pure energy.
“Is this… A consciousness field?” Stebarin said in surprise. He hadn’t expected to be sucked into Jared’s consciousness field.
Just then, a majestic voice came from the chaos. “How dare you trespass on my territory?” Stebarin looked toward the sound and saw a figure in crimson robes slowly emerging from the chaos.
The figure was tall with a dignified countenance, radiating a powerful aura. It was none other than the Vermilion Demon Lord residing in Jared’s consciousness field.
Stebarin’s expression changed. He could feel that the crimson-robed figure’s power far exceeded his own.
“W-Who… Who are you?” Stebarin asked in shock.
