Aurion’s breathing grew heavier, his stamina draining, but instead of feeling exhaustion, a strange excitement surged within him. He gnced at the big-headed demon and noticed its strained expression, veins pulsing on its forehead. The puppeteer was clearly struggling to maintain control over multiple soul tendrils while continuously unching attacks. Its energy was fading fast.

  Aurion licked the bck blood from his lips, a glint of savagery in his eyes. "Puppeteer… you’re the key to this performance," he thought, his gaze fixed on the big-headed demon. A thrill ran through him as he imagined ending this chase and crushing the mastermind behind the chaos.

  He deliberately slowed his movements, feigning exhaustion, his body sagging as if on the verge of colpse. Meanwhile, he quietly gathered his strength, the energy of Shadow Step surging within him.

  The big-headed demon fell for the ruse. It intensified its attacks, its breathing growing ragged, its control over the other demons weakening.

  Finally, Aurion seized a fleeting opportunity. The moment the puppeteer’s focus wavered, Aurion activated Shadow Step, vanishing from sight.

  In the blink of an eye, he reappeared beside the big-headed demon, his cws gleaming as they aimed for its skull.

  Just as his cws were about to strike, the demon standing motionless beside the puppeteer reacted as if it had anticipated his move. A barrier of soul energy materialized, blocking Aurion’s attack.

  The cws collided with the barrier, a dull thud echoing as spiderweb cracks spread across its surface. But Aurion’s strike had lost its momentum, unable to break through.

  A strange pulling sensation gripped Aurion’s arm as his cws touched the barrier. A portion of his soul energy was forcibly drained.

  Sensing the shift, Aurion hesitated briefly before activating Shadow Step again. He became a blur, evading the shadow-binding demon’s pursuit and reappearing behind the barrier demon. His cws were already raised, aimed at its neck.

  But before he could strike, the barrier reappeared, perfectly positioned to block his path. At the same time, the shadow-binding demon lunged, its cws slicing toward Aurion’s arm with icy precision.

  Aurion halted his attack, cws suspended mid-air. "This isn’t a coincidence. They can predict my movements," he realized. He retreated two steps, putting distance between himself and his foes, his eyes locking onto the shadowy chain binding him. The bck chain, like a living thing, clung to his shadow, radiating an eerie coldness.

  "The shadow-binding demon is monitoring my every move through this chain. That’s how they’re tracking my teleportation," he thought, his excitement momentarily subdued as he analyzed the situation.

  "It senses my shadow… The binding not only slows me but also reveals my position after each teleport. The puppeteer reys the information through its soul tendrils, allowing the barrier demon to block me so precisely."

  The shadow-binding’s grip tightened, the freezing sensation in his soul growing more intense. Meanwhile, the puppeteer’s controlled demons closed in, surrounding Aurion and advancing step by step.

  "Retreat? No… this soul is too tempting," Aurion thought, a manic gleam in his eyes. The puppeteer’s soul was rich and potent, like a ripe feast waiting to be devoured. He could feel its resonance with his own soul, as if they were destined to merge.

  Aurion’s lips curled into a disdainful smile, his eyes cold. "No matter how fast you react, can you outpace my teleportation?"

  He activated Shadow Step, his form becoming a blur as he appeared in front of the barrier demon, cws sshing toward its head. The barrier demon’s soul energy surged, forming a solid shield.

  Just as the barrier solidified, Aurion’s eyes fshed with icy determination. He took a deep breath, drawing on the st reserves of his soul energy.

  Without pause, Aurion activated Shadow Step again mid-air, vanishing from sight.

  The big-headed demon’s eyes widened in panic. It sensed Aurion’s location but couldn’t react in time. Aurion reappeared behind it, cws gleaming as they aimed for the base of its skull.

  A wave of terror washed over the puppeteer. It knew it was cornered. In a final, desperate move, it drained its remaining soul energy, unleashing its most powerful soul tendril yet.

  A massive soul shockwave erupted, carrying enough force to obliterate any living soul. But Aurion remained calm.

  "Too slow," Aurion sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. Countless uses of Shadow Step had honed his control over the ability to near perfection.

  His body dissolved into shadow once more, effortlessly evading the puppeteer’s desperate attack. The soul tendril, powerful enough to tear through souls, struck nothing but empty air.

  In the instant the tendril missed, Aurion reappeared at the puppeteer’s side.

  He stood with his back to the big-headed demon, his head slightly turned. His tail shed out like a bde, swift and deadly.

  A dull tearing sound filled the air. The puppeteer’s eyes filled with regret and despair, but before it could utter a sound, its oversized head was severed, crashing to the ground.

  Blood gushed as the head rolled, the body colpsing lifelessly. The st traces of its soul dissipated, leaving behind an empty shell.

  Aurion stood still, his expression indifferent. Around him, the puppeteer’s controlled demons fell one by one, their bodies hitting the ground with heavy thuds. The battlefield, once filled with killing intent, now y silent, a graveyard of the fallen.

  Aurion stood amidst the fallen demons, the sole remaining protagonist on a stage now littered with lifeless props. The bodies around him, once fierce adversaries, y still at his feet, their forms dissolving into bck mist that surged toward him. The stage no longer needed an audience; the performance was over.

  He felt the souls flowing into him like dark rivers, pooling in the depths of his mind. Yet, the soul of the big-headed demon was different. The bck stone within him purified it, transforming it into a pure, concentrated essence that merged seamlessly with his own soul.

  A strange new power stirred within Aurion. Unlike the versatility of Shadow Step, this was an aggressive force—Soulrend and Abyssal Shadow. He closed his eyes, immersing himself in its essence.

  "This is simir to the puppeteer’s soul tendrils… but without the control. It’s pure destructive force," Aurion analyzed. The new ability required physical contact. Once he touched an enemy, the condensed soul energy would surge into their mind, delivering a fatal blow capable of tearing their soul apart.

  "I’ll call you Abyssal Touch," Aurion murmured, his fingers brushing against the nascent power. A hint of madness flickered in his eyes. "Touching souls… what an elegant way to kill."

  "I’ll use it to craft even more perfect deaths." After absorbing all the spoils, Aurion gnced at the distant battlefield, his eyes burning with anticipation.

  He spotted the heavily armored demon lying nearby, its body charred and twitching. Its scales, nearly impervious to physical attacks, had been no match for the demonic fmes that burned both body and soul. The demon was still alive, but its soul was slowly being consumed by the bck fire.

  Aurion approached the dying demon. Its body, scorched and twitching, emitted faint whimpers of fear and desperation. Aurion’s expression remained calm as he raised his cw. With ease, he pierced through the armor that had defied countless attacks, ending the demon’s suffering.

  As for the speed demon and the one that had torn its own flesh to enter a berserk state, Aurion saw no trace of them. He recalled a brief glimpse during the earlier chaos—they had been battling the purple mist demon. The outcome was clear: they had fallen to the Phantom Mist Demon.

  The purple mist still lingered at the center of the battlefield, a sinister death trap. It spread endlessly, seemingly omnipresent. But now, the mist trembled violently as bck fireballs relentlessly bombarded its surface, shaking the entire area.

  From a distance, the Inferno Demon, wielder of demonic fmes, stood tall. Its massive frame exuded raw power. With each swing of its cws, the air tore with a sharp whistle, and bck fireballs formed like burning meteors, hurling toward the mist with terrifying speed and heat.

  The Inferno Demon’s eyes gleamed with ferocity. Every fireball that struck the mist thinned it further. Once the mist dissipated, the Phantom Mist Demon would be exposed, and the Inferno Demon would cim victory.

  The Phantom Mist Demon hid deep within the purple haze, its body blending seamlessly with the fog, flickering in and out of sight. Each time a fireball struck, it adjusted its position, avoiding direct contact with the fmes.

  With a wave of its hand, the Phantom Mist Demon sent tendrils of purple smoke snaking toward the Inferno Demon, attempting to ensnare it. The mist moved with uncanny precision, spiraling unpredictably as it closed in.

  Seeing the mist approach, the Inferno Demon leaped back, unching a barrage of fireballs that exploded upon impact, scattering the purple tendrils into wispy smoke. The Phantom Mist Demon retreated, biding its time.

  Suddenly, the Phantom Mist Demon gathered all remaining mist into a dense barrier, obscuring the Inferno Demon’s vision while stealthily repositioning itself. It moved silently, preparing to fnk its opponent for a deadly strike.

  But the Inferno Demon was no fool. It had been quietly charging a massive fireball in its mouth. Just as the Phantom Mist Demon prepared to attack, the Inferno Demon hurled the fireball toward its fnk—the exact direction of the impending ambush.

  The fireball roared through the air, forcing the Phantom Mist Demon to retreat hastily. The explosion tore through the mist, revealing the demon’s location.

  Seizing the opportunity, the Inferno Demon unched another fireball, refusing to let its opponent recover. The Phantom Mist Demon scrambled to summon more mist, but its reserves were dwindling. Each dodge became more desperate.

  With its mist nearly exhausted, the Phantom Mist Demon made a final gamble. It channeled all remaining soul energy, condensing the st of the mist into a massive purple vortex. The vortex surged toward the Inferno Demon, filled with corrosive power and hallucinogenic toxins.

  In response, the Inferno Demon unleashed a ring of bck fire that erupted from its body like molten va. The fiery ring expanded violently, colliding with the purple vortex.

  The two forces cshed in a deafening explosion, shaking the battlefield. Fmes and purple smoke scattered in all directions. As the fire ring spread, the purple mist burned away, leaving only faint wisps drifting in the air. The Phantom Mist Demon was exposed.

  Its slender, humanoid form was both elegant and deadly. Delicate purple scales covered its skin, shimmering faintly with each breath. Its tail, long and whip-like, swayed gracefully with its movements.

  The Inferno Demon, panting heavily from the exertion, showed no mercy. With a vicious grin, it hurled another barrage of fireballs at the Phantom Mist Demon.

  The Phantom Mist Demon’s eyes filled with despair. It had no strength left to defend itself. The fireballs rained down relentlessly, leaving no room to escape. The bck fmes engulfed its body, burning it alive.

  With one final, piercing scream, the Phantom Mist Demon writhed in the fmes before falling still. Its body turned to ash, the purple scales disintegrating into dust carried away by the wind.