Chapter 428 - 429 : Facing your own fears (1)

Chapter 428: Chapter 429 : Facing your own fears (1)

The moment Alex stepped into the fog—

Everything turned white.

His vision blurred, as if the world itself had been erased and replaced with nothingness.

For a brief moment, there was no sound, no movement, no sense of direction.

Just silence.

Then—

Something changed.

A presence.

No... not one.

Two.

Ten.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

It felt like countless unseen eyes had suddenly locked onto him.

Watching.

Observing.

Judging.

And none of those gazes felt friendly.

Alex narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "Victoria... you can come out now."

The crimson sword at his waist shimmered.

In the next moment, it transformed into a woman.

Victoria appeared beside him, her long red hair flowing down her back, her crimson eyes scanning the surroundings sharply.

She frowned immediately.

"What the hell is this place?" she muttered, her voice filled with irritation. "I don’t like this one bit... I hate it when something stares at me like that."

Alex slowly removed his mask, revealing his calm expression.

"Well, that makes the two of us," he said casually. "I’m not a big fan of people watching me without my permission either."

Victoria glanced at him sideways and smirked slightly.

"So I take it... if I destroy everything here, you won’t mind?"

Alex waved his hand lazily.

"Do whatever you want," he said. "I also want to test something."

The moment he said that—

A dangerous grin formed on Victoria’s face.

Her aura erupted instantly.

The air grew heavy.

Red energy began gathering around her body, swirling like a violent storm.

Alex tilted his head slightly and asked, "What exactly are you planning to do, if you don’t mind me asking... Mrs. Crazy?"

Victoria didn’t even look at him.

"What else do you think?" she said coldly. "I’m going to blow this entire forest to bits."

Alex sighed.

"I figured you’d say something like that," he replied. "Go ahead... let’s see what happens."

Victoria raised her hand.

Multiple spheres of condensed red energy formed around her, each one pulsing with destructive power.

She was just about to release them—

When suddenly—

A voice echoed from behind her.

"You really did survive... huh, Victoria?"

The moment she heard it—

Victoria froze.

Her body trembled.

Her eyes widened.

"It... can’t be..."

Slowly—

She turned around.

And saw him.

The man she hated more than anything.

The man she had sworn to kill.

Her father.

He stood there, looking at her with a mocking expression.

Victoria took a step back.

A chill ran through her body.

The figure laughed.

"Even when I’m standing right in front of you... you can do nothing," he said coldly. "I can’t believe someone as worthless as you shares my blood."

Victoria’s face turned red with rage.

Her aura exploded violently.

"How dare you!" she shouted. "Did you already forget... how I wiped out your entire lineage?!"

Her voice trembled with fury.

"How dare you call me worthless!"

Spears of crimson energy materialized in her hands.

Without hesitation, she hurled them toward him.

But just before the attack could land—

The figure changed.

His form distorted.

And another silhouette appeared in his place.

A woman.

The spears stopped mid-air.

Victoria’s body froze again.

The woman smiled gently.

"You’ve really grown, Victoria."

Victoria clutched her head tightly.

Her breathing became uneven.

"How... how is this possible...?"

Her voice trembled.

"It can’t be..."

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"She’s dead..."

"I killed her with my own hands..."

Her voice broke slightly.

"So how..."

"How can mother be here...?"

Alex stood a short distance away, calmly observing Victoria.

His gaze was steady, almost analytical, as he watched her lose control inside the fog.

’Interesting...’ he thought.

Then he spoke internally, "Partner, what do you think? It looks like this illusion isn’t easy to break out of... if even someone like Victoria is getting affected like this."

The system responded immediately.

[ From my analysis... this fog has a source. It is not natural, Host. ]

Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So you’re saying there must be a creature or something here causing all of this?"

[ Exactly, Host. ]

Alex let out a quiet chuckle.

"Well, at least we got something useful out of letting Victoria go crazy."

The system replied again, its tone slightly sharper.

[ I suggest you bring her under control immediately. She might accidentally kill your allies wandering inside this fog. ]

Alex tilted his head slightly.

"One more thing... I feel a little dizzy, but the illusion itself doesn’t seem to be affecting me."

A brief pause followed.

Then—

[ From my observation, whatever is controlling this fog is wary of you. That is why it is not targeting you directly. ]

Alex smirked faintly.

"Yeah... that sounds about right."

He cracked his neck slightly.

"Alright then... let’s stop the crazy lady from getting even more crazy than she already is."

His gaze shifted toward Victoria.

"And honestly... I can’t even tell what she’s attacking anymore."

In front of him—

Victoria was completely lost in the illusion.

She was attacking wildly.

Spears, blades, bursts of red energy—

Everything was being thrown toward a constantly shifting silhouette.

The figure kept changing forms.

Her father.

Her mother.

Unknown faces.

Familiar faces.

Every time she destroyed it—

It simply reformed again.

Over and over.

Endlessly.

Victoria’s breathing had become unstable.

Her attacks grew more violent.

Then—

In an instant—

Alex moved.

He appeared beside her and grabbed her wrist firmly.

"Alright, that’s enough," he said calmly. "Crazy time is over for now. I’ll call you again when I need someone tortured."

Victoria struggled immediately.

"Let go of me!" she shouted. "This is my chance to kill them! Didn’t you promise to help me?!"

Alex looked at her directly.

"My lady... this fog is an illusion."

His voice was calm but firm.

"Everything you’re seeing is fake."

He tightened his grip slightly.

"Even with all your power... you can’t see through something this simple?"

Victoria froze slightly.

"But... but..."

Her voice trembled.

For a moment—

She looked lost.

As if she didn’t know what was real anymore.

It almost looked like she was about to cry.

Alex sighed.

"Damn it... kids these days."

Before she could react—

He suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"Relax," he said quietly. "When the time comes... we’ll bring those bastards to their knees."

His voice dropped slightly.

"And we won’t give them an easy death."

Victoria’s body stiffened.

But slowly—

She stopped resisting.

"You know that too, right?" Alex continued. "This isn’t the time."

He leaned slightly closer.

"So be a good girl... and turn into a sword again, okay?"

For a moment—

Victoria said nothing.

But inside—

Something shifted.

A strange sense of comfort spread through her.

Warm.

Unfamiliar.

Safe.

’What... is this feeling...?’

She clenched her teeth slightly.

Then she muttered, "You bastard... you used me as a guinea pig, didn’t you?"

Alex didn’t even hesitate.

"Of course I did."

He smirked.

"And you were a fantastic guinea pig. You should be proud."

Victoria’s eye twitched.

She pushed him away and stepped back.

"I hate you," she snapped. "After I kill that man... remember this—I’m coming for your head next."

Alex waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah... sure."

Then he said impatiently, "Now turn into a sword already. I really feel like cutting something right now."

Victoria puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

But she complied.

Her body dissolved into red particles.

In the next moment—

A crimson sword with a beautifully curved blade formed in Alex’s hand.

The weapon radiated intense energy.

Alex swung it lightly a few times.

"Hmm... perfectly balanced."

He looked toward a specific direction inside the fog.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Let’s see what you can really do."