Chapter 783 The Master of Deception

Chapter 783 The Master of Deception

As soon as the fight began, Aron noticed the Shadari fighter shifting from his original position and moving toward him, seemingly unafraid of any counterattack. Aron hesitated, curious about this bold move, but quickly understood why. Nova, sensing his confusion, displayed the live stream feed for him. On the broadcast, the Shadari fighter appeared to be standing still in his original spot, already aiming and firing. The conflicting visuals—one from his new vision and the other from the stream—created two entirely different interpretations of the same scene.

"Is that an ability?" Aron asked Nova, startled by the difference between the two views of the same area.

{He seems to be testing if you can see his real body, distinguish the illusion, or if you'll keep dodging while he secretly closes in on you,} Nova suggested, offering a few possible explanations.

"If he’s coming to us, then let's indulge him by feeding him false data," he replied with an imaginary smirk. "Assume the bullets from his phantom are real and highlight their trajectories so I can make it convincing." Clearly, Aron planned to take even this acting seriously.

Though his actions seemed to mimic the passivity of his previous fights that he had decided to stop doing, Aron’s approach was quite the opposite. His current understanding of the Shadari's abilities was incomplete, and the uncertainty around whether they could phase through objects like their missiles meant he needed to tread carefully. By acting as if he couldn’t fully perceive the fighter’s movements, he aimed to give his opponent enough confidence to refrain from using any potential phasing ability. Aron wanted to create the illusion of vulnerability, making the Shadari think he wasn’t aware of the true nature of the attack.

{Copy that,} Nova replied, immediately adjusting the display. Aron began dodging the "bullets" with a look of intense focus, his movements, and expressions crafted to show that he was taking the threat seriously, appearing to believe the bullets were real as he closed in on the Shadari fighter with calculated precision.

“Shit,” he muttered, immediately activating his phasing ability. It turned out to be a lifesaver; an explosion roared through the space where he’d just been, its destructive force passing harmlessly through his intangible form. He managed to suppress a curse as he waited for the blast to dissipate.

Then he heard Aron’s voice, clear and calm: "Ah, he escaped." The Shadari’s anger flared as his vision blurred with fury. “You son of the light!” he cursed, his voice trembling with rage. Summoning his power, he conjured a set of invisible spears while still phased. With a flick of his hands, he launched them at Aron, programming them to materialize just microseconds after leaving his grasp, aimed to not just phase through Aron but to kill him.

Seeing Aron dodge the spears with ease, leaving a series of holes in the space behind him, only fueled his anger further.

But he knew better than to let rage cloud his judgment; reacting impulsively would do more harm to himself than to Aron. Remaining phased, he slipped into the ground behind him, attempting to put as much distance as possible between them. Only once he felt safely distanced did he begin to gather his thoughts, grappling with the shocking reality that Aron could seemingly detect him at close distances even while he was fully cloaked in his stealth phase.

..............

“Who said you can escape?” Aron said, watching as the Shadari fighter vanished into the ground.

With deliberate calmness, Aron began moving, ensuring that the Shadari fighter was always beneath him. He knew that the cloaking ability couldn't last forever. Phasing was energy-intensive, and unless the fighter had an extraordinary ability to regenerate his energy or was drawing on mana to fuel the ability, he would be forced to come out eventually. Aron’s strategy was simple: wait. Either the Shadari fighter would exhaust his energy and reveal himself, or he would emerge by choice—whichever came first, Aron would be ready.