Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil
chapter-1801

"Aaaah!"

Arman appeared genuinely determined to retaliate against Eren.

He screamed and initiated a well-timed attack, anticipating Eren's dodge or parry.

Arman eagerly awaited the opportunity to counter-attack after Eren handled the initial series of strikes with his wooden sword.

However, as Arman closed in on Eren, he noticed a change in the latter's expression. Before Arman could halt his attack or inquire about Eren's condition, he witnessed Eren's eyes turning completely white. In the next moment, Arman lost consciousness.

Sedating Gaze + Spiritual Attack

Eren employed his ocular powers on Arman, rendering him unconscious. "Reen," he called out to his trusted aide. She knew what to do even before materializing as a young girl in front of Eren.

In the blink of an eye, Reen gently caught Arman's falling and unconscious body by the back of his shirt collar before placing him on the sandy ground. The Siren's Sanctuary's backyard doubled as an unnamed beach, causing Arman's body to sink slightly into the sand because of Reen's speedy handling.

"Ask Kayara and Roza to gather here. Let them take care of the boy," Eren instructed Reen solemnly.

"I'll be heading downstairs. Guard this place, will you? And don't disturb me unless absolutely necessary," he added, surveying the surroundings and deploying his Soul Sense to scan the entire city for any signs of unusual activity.

Although he found nothing unusual, it did little to ease his concerns.

"So the jig is up? They knew about us?"

Reen inquired seriously as she scanned the surroundings with her own senses. She had taken on the responsibility of guarding Eren's body while he entered the underground facility, understanding the vulnerability of his physical form when taking control of one of his clones.

"Don't know. Only one way to find out."

Eren shrugged before vanishing from the scene. He entrusted Reen with managing affairs in Sunhaven while he retreated to a secure location. After all, he needed peace and a sense of security before confronting a threat as significant as Nira Nightshade.

***

Eren had primarily kept his pseudo-avatars on auto-pilot, avoiding taking over their consciousness to maintain his ability to multitask. However, the fact that his enemy managed to harm one of his avatars suggested mismanagement from his end.

Eren was ready for the worst-case scenarios. However, he had a hard time believing that his clones could mess up.

'That archer elf is bad news. I acquired her inheritance but also attracted this trouble,'

Eren sighed, appearing inside the underground facility. Recalling how he had eliminated Nira Nightshade's apparition to safeguard his secrets, he speculated that the real Nira Nightshade must be somewhere outside Anfang.

Unaware of Nira Nightshade's presence in Labh Salem, Eren was surprised by the prompt mentioning her. He suspected that his pseudo-avatar might have made the Mesh generate the prompt after encountering and identifying her, aiming to alert the real Eren about the seriousness of the situation.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Steps echoed in the empty corridor as Eren headed straight for the section where he practiced Rootless Tantra. It boasted multiple security measures and Array Formation-driven functionalities for such situations, making it the logical choice.

"I don't know how she found out about my pseudo-avatar, which should be a completely different entity from me in almost every aspect," Eren pondered as he hurried towards the Tantra practice section.

"But if she has uncovered the connection between me and the true inheritor of the elder ichor, I need to leave this place and stay out of sight.

Damn it. All the remaining clones I have might get exposed if Nira catches the guy alive. It won't be impossible for them to find my location through my clones. Especially when they use the powers of the gods.

I might even be forced to depart Labh Salem without achieving anything substantial here," he clenched his fists in frustration.

Upon sitting down inside an Array Formation Eye, Eren activated the safety measures of the entire underground facility. Utilizing the Tantra practice section's isolation barrier, he created an additional security measure around himself.

While a part of him considered the possibility of paranoia, Eren couldn't dismiss the fact that the attack on his pseudo-avatar by Nira Nightshade might be linked to more than mere coincidence.

However, Eren didn't want to rely on the comfort provided by the assumed coincidences, especially not in Labh Salem where the influence of faith and the Immortals was unmistakable.

Did Nira just happen to pass by the region where one of his clones was located and get irritated by him? Eren's clones weren't completely like him. However, he was sure that his clones would not start the fight on their own without any valid reason.

[ Warning: One of your pseudo-avatars is under attack. The avatar's health has dropped below 41%. The attacker's name is Nira Nightshade. The pseudo-avatar is surrounded.

Proceed to take over the pseudo-avatar's consciousness? ]

After accessing the Spectral Screen and reading the updated prompt, Eren noted that within just a minute, the pseudo-

avatar's health had significantly declined.

This indicated that the pseudo-avatar was actively engaged with Nira and her potential forces, likely surrounded and compelled to fight. Otherwise, the avatar wouldn't take such risks in confronting someone of Nira's caliber.

"No need to second guess. Let me see what that bitch wants from me," Eren narrowed his eyes, speaking to himself. In the next moment, he called upon another of his Elder Seed Artifact Spirits. "Shallot, come out, dear."

Shallot promptly appeared beside Eren, in her child form, wearing a princess dress, with a cute and innocent expression.

"Protect my main consciousness from any external Spiritual Attacks. I'm going to take a look at one of my Soul Imprints. Pull me out if you sense any Spiritual trap coming my way from the other side," he instructed her, gesturing for her to sit in front of him.

"A– alright," Shallot nodded cutely before sitting cross-legged in front of Eren. The latter raised his hands, held Shallot's small hands in his, and closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath before selecting "Yes" on the spectral menu.