Only I Am A Reader
chapter-491

"Impossible! Aurora has already put you away!"

Looking at the person standing in front of him, Ken couldn't help thinking that he had fallen into a bad dream.

He first met someone who he respected and wanted to befriend, entered a very bizarre Gate, and then ended up meeting one of every Hero's worst nightmares. Perhaps…

Was he still sleeping right now? Did his inner desire for a real teammate end up creating this nasty lucid dream?

'I don't care about that anymore, so just let me wake up!'

Unfortunately, no matter how much Ken pinched himself, all he did was remember the pain all over his face. Even if this was a dream, it didn't seem like he could wake up from it.

"Indeed. Yet, I'm standing right here. Why do you think that is the case?"

'I… I figured it out!'

Being spared a few seconds to think, Ken quickly reached a new conclusion. This might not be a dream, but he wasn't that far off. The person in front of him wasn't Cassian, it was just an illusion user!

Though it was rare for Heroes or Villains to possess such a potent illusion ability that worked even on Aurora, this was the only plausible explanation that Ken could think of.

The way this 'Ray' had beaten him, tricking him to believe that he could overpower him if he wanted to, even bringing about a desire for friendship within him.

Finally, he turned into someone that almost everyone associated with terrifying encounters… Was it more of a hypnosis and illusion mixture?

Unless someone actually had an ability that mimicked that of an Ability Measurement Device, Ability User battles were always this tricky. Unless the enemy readily revealed their ability's specifics, one could only keep guessing until they hit the nail on the head.

Thinking back, Ray had only used his fists to hit him. He wasn't a powerful swordsman, let alone the Lord of Shadows. He was just a crazy trickster!

"I know! You are just another scammer!"

Was he trying to take out the competition and monopolize Aurora for himself? Ken wasn't sure of Ray's intentions, but he knew he could no longer stay still. He had to strike back.

"Take this!"

Picking himself back up, Ken manifested his Weave Barrier ability again, only this time, he didn't keep holding it in the same awkward position.

Instead, he used his left hand to wrap the barrier over his right hand like a boxing bandage. He might have a defensive ability, but that didn't mean that he couldn't fight!

It was just that his physical strength was a bit lacking, so even a glove as tough as Gate Metal didn't give him superiority. However, against the scammer in front of him, Ken felt strangely confident.

"Ugh, how do I say this… Wrong answer?"

Unfortunately for him, before Ken could land his shining fist anywhere, the moving shadows climbed up, wrapping him into a tight embrace. Just like that, Ken's theory collapsed before it could even take off!

'No… Is this also a hypnotic illusion?'

Ken still tried to convince himself that he wasn't actually caught by the notorious Cassian, but whether it was the famous Villain or someone else posing as him no longer mattered.

No matter how hard Ken tried, he couldn't escape the Shadow tendrils' hold. He was now at his enemy's mercy…

'Aurora! Where is Aurora?!'

In such a terrifying situation, Ken's mind screamed for unfairness. Why did he have to be separated from Aurora on the day this psychopath joined the team?

Why did he have to be the first one that met him? Didn't Aurora swear to forever protect them as long as they walked beside her? Why wasn't she next to him, doing just that?

'This is all her fault!'

It didn't take long for Ken's raging emotions to be simplified into pure anger toward the reason he was here. Aurora was the one to blame!

If she had at least properly filtered her teammates, this wouldn't have happened…

At this moment, Ken couldn't even comprehend how contradictory his thoughts were, his mind was just throwing a fit in the face of imminent death.

However, unlike what Ken expected, the Shadow tendrils stopped squeezing right before they were about to crush his body.

"Tsk, wrong answer again."

Although he couldn't read minds, Leo could read faces quite well. He could tell how twisted Ken's mind was.

Normally, for those that did a lot of wrong after losing to temptation, they felt regret the moment it seemed like they would meet their end. On the other hand, Ken showed no such remorse.

He was someone who had already accepted his current way of life as the norm. Everyone else could be in the wrong other than him!

"Wrong… Answer?"

Getting the chance to breathe again, confusion clouded Ken's mind even further. Was he supposed to answer some question?

"Is it really that hard for you to learn? It doesn't matter who I am. Why do you think I'm confronting you right here?"

"You are… Hunting famous Heroes?"

Ken felt that answering that question correctly was the key to survival, but his answer was no better than random gibberish.

Even if he was too inhuman to think of the answer that Leo wanted, there were many better explanations than such a basic response. Ken's brain had practically given up.

"Well, whatever. I'm sure a physical lesson will do the job."

Without further ado, the Shadow tendrils brought Ken over to Leo before they opened up the area around his chest. It was time for physical lesson number one.

"First, let's take this away."

Ripping open the part of the armor that covered Ken's Enigma Stone, Leo put his hand over it, allowing his Shadow to slip through.

"What are you-"

Ken uttered a question out of fear, but a Shadow tendril already moved to cover his mouth. From here on, it was too late to take anything back.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you."

Leo wasn't being merciful, he just believed that Ken's crime wasn't worthy of death. He was indeed a malignant scammer who held back Aurora and exploited her, but he didn't directly cause her any harm.

He was just a worthless parasite, someone who could be taken care of by removing him away from the main body. In fact, Leo had just the perfect punishment for him.

'Being deprived of your tool of crime should be enough.'

A minute after Leo's Shadow disappeared into Ken's Enigma's stone, it crawled back out as the dim light inside the stone started to fade away.

'It works.'

"Mm. mmmmm. Mmmm!"

Ken's eyes bulged out of shock, but no words of his came out. A moment ago, he was willing to do anything to escape death, yet now, he finally understood what a fate worse than death meant.

Just like they used to cut a thief's hand, Leo had somehow managed to deprive Ken of his Special Ability.

The punishment that Leo judged to be sufficient was turning Ken into a normal person!

Although it didn't seem like much, this was the worst fate a selfish person like Ken could ever imagine. The one thing that made him special was no longer there!

"It doesn't matter who you see me as, but you just need to understand one thing. You are only reaping what you sowed. As soon as you understand that point, I'm sure things will get better for you."

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that his punishment was over.