Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 272

Chapter 272: Ramona III

“This place is weird,” Aiden mumbled inwardly, his sharp eyes scanning the village and the surrounding environment.

[Yes, it’s like you don’t even exist for them, which is definitely strange,] Nexus agreed, her voice thoughtful in his mind.

“Of course it’s weird,” Myne suddenly chimed in, her tone serious. “I sense demonic presence here.”

Aiden nodded, realizing that in his current state, he wouldn’t be able to detect such things himself. His Saint energy and Saint sense were both locked in the lower realm, leaving him to rely solely on his immense physical strength.

“Right now, I can’t use my energy or even my soul sense,” Aiden noted, his frustration clear. He had grown accustomed to wielding his full power, and being cut off from it left him vulnerable—at least by his own standards.

[It’s not just that,] Nexus added, [this place feels… off. It’s like there’s a layer of reality here that’s been tampered with.]

“Of course it’s tampered, how else would they hide?” Aiden muttered, eyes scanning his surroundings. The village felt eerily detached from him, its inhabitants barely acknowledging his presence. It was as if he didn’t exist, a strange sensation for someone used to commanding attention wherever he went.

Soon, Aiden found himself surrounded by a group of men dressed in black cloaks. One of them sneered, “Hehe, another lamb has wandered into the slaughter.”

Aiden continued walking, trying to talk to the villagers, who blatantly ignored him, as if he wasn’t even there.

“Let him roam,” another of the cloaked men said, smirking. “Soon, his mind will be corrupted by the Demon Enslaving Illusion Array.”

“Hmm, let’s just wait,” one of them muttered, licking his lips as he eyed Aiden. “He looks like a good sacrifice.”

Aiden almost flinched at the urge to deck the guy in the face, but he restrained himself, choosing instead to ignore them. He couldn’t afford to reveal himself just yet.

“Poor guys,” Myne commented, looking at the men with pity. “They have no idea they’re not dealing with a lamb, but a wild wolf among sheep.”

[Well, the moment Aiden figures out how to save all these poor people and rid this place of its corruption, he’s going to bring hell down on them,] Nexus added, her voice filled with quiet confidence.

Aiden kept his focus forward, already making mental plans on how to dismantle the array and free the villagers. “Let them think what they want,” he thought, clenching his fists. “They’ll find out soon enough.”

Aiden walked deeper into the village, his senses on high alert despite his sealed powers. The strange sensation of being ignored by everyone only added to the eeriness of the place. The cloaked men followed him at a distance, watching, but not yet making a move.

He could feel the weight of their stares, their sinister intent almost palpable in the air. As he passed through the narrow streets, the village seemed increasingly surreal—like it was caught in a web of illusions.

‘The Demon Enslaving Illusion Array…’ Aiden thought. ‘It’s stronger than I imagined.’

[These people aren’t acting like themselves,] Nexus commented. [The array must have corrupted their minds so deeply that they no longer recognize reality.]

Aiden’s eyes narrowed as he observed the blank expressions of the villagers. They moved mechanically, going about their tasks without any awareness of what was happening around them. It was clear they were under some form of control.

‘We need to break the array,’ Myne said, glancing around. ‘But doing so without your Saint energy is going to be tricky. Though we can always use your spells.’

“I don’t need my Saint energy for this,” Aiden muttered under his breath. “Nor my spells,” he added, continuing to locate the source using his Akashic Authority.

‘I’ll rely only on my Authorities from now on,’ Aiden thought to himself. ‘When I change worlds, I’ll leave my old strength behind. I was lucky to meet that guy who could convert one energy into another, but what happens if I don’t find someone like him in the next world?’

Aiden mentally resolved, ‘I would be left without any spells of my own.’

‘So, from now on, I’ll focus on mastering my Authority usage,’ Aiden decided, as he continued searching for the source of the array.

As he continued walking, he noticed a large structure at the center of the village—an old temple, its exterior worn down and covered in strange, dark symbols. Aiden could feel a concentrated demonic presence radiating from it.

‘That must be the source,’ Aiden thought.

[No doubt. The array’s core is likely hidden there,] Nexus confirmed. [If we destroy it, the illusion over the village should break.]

Aiden glanced back at the cloaked men, who were still trailing him. They hadn’t made a move yet, but he knew they wouldn’t stay passive forever. He smirked. “Let’s see how long you’ll keep this act up.”

Making up his mind, Aiden headed toward the temple, walking with purpose. As he approached, the air grew heavier, thick with malevolent energy. The symbols on the temple walls glowed faintly, pulsating like a heartbeat.

“Careful, Aiden,” Myne warned. “There could be traps.”

He nodded, not stopping. “I know, but it won’t change anything”

When he reached the temple entrance, the cloaked men finally made their move. They stepped forward, blocking his path, they used their own energies to divert Aiden attention somewhere else.

“Going somewhere, lamb?” one of them muttered “Its not this way you should go” he said as he tried t influence Aiden mind..

Aiden sighed, cracking his knuckles. “Guess it’s time to remind them who the wolf really is”

Aiden then looked directly at the robed figure, no longer ignoring them,

“Is he looking at me?” the demonic cultivator thought , frowning, as he glanced back, he turned to see a food stall right behind him.

“Phew, for a moment, I thought he was—huh?” His thoughts were abruptly cut off as he felt his vision tilting, his control slipping away. He then found himself face-to-face with two gleaming Eyes. Aiden stood before him, holding a black sword dripping with fresh blood, while his other hand hold his head to his face level.

“You were a fool to ignore me,” Aiden said coldly, his gaze piercing. With one swift motion, he raised the blade and drove it through the cultivator’s head, ending him in an instant.

“That bastard!” another demonic cultivator shouted, rushing to save his comrade, but he stopped dead in his tracks. He watched in horror as Aiden effortlessly unleashed a devastating attack, reducing his friend to nothing more than a mist of blood.

“I will kill him!” the demonic cultivator roared as his body began to transform, his Wolf Martial Spirit materializing behind him. He integrated with it, turning into a fearsome werewolf before charging at Aiden, claws outstretched.

Aiden glanced back at him, calmly sidestepping as the claws missed his head by inches. To the demonic cultivator, everything seemed to move in slow motion as Aiden’s cold, indifferent eyes locked onto him. Without hesitation, Aiden raised his black sword high into the air and brought it down in a swift, precise motion aimed at the cultivator’s neck.

“No, damn it!” the cultivator shouted in panic, but he wasn’t fast enough. His head was cleanly severed from his body, rolling to the ground as his now lifeless form collapsed.

“Now that the guards are taken care of, it’s time to break this thing,” Aiden muttered, turning toward the array core. He raised his Black Celestial Sword, infusing it with the Authority of Dimension, and slashed at the core. A muted, blurred light emanated from the strike, splitting the core into two.

As the core shattered, the people trapped within the array suddenly felt like puppets whose strings had been cut. The demonic cultivators who were relying on the array for cultivation were violently jolted from their meditations, each suffering a backlash from the abrupt interruption of their cultivation.

Aiden watched as the array collapsed, the energy dispersing into the atmosphere. The once-entrapped villagers slowly began to regain their senses, their eyes blinking in confusion as if waking from a long, dark slumber. Some stumbled, clutching their heads, while others simply looked around, trying to understand what had just happened.

“They’ll be fine,” Myne said softly as she floated beside Aiden. “The illusions were deep, but not permanent. Give them time.”

Aiden nodded, his gaze fixed on the fallen demonic cultivators. “These guys were too reckless,” he muttered, wiping the blood off his sword. “Using such a crude method to trap and control people. Typical low-level cultists.”

[Still, they could’ve caused a lot of damage if left unchecked,] Nexus chimed in. [You broke the array just in time. And now they’ve paid the price.]

Aiden looked back at the villagers, who were now gathering together, some helping the weaker ones stand. Aiden felt no need to interact with them; this wasn’t a mission of heroism—it was a necessity to remove the demonic influence in the area.