Chapter 658: This place looks familiar II

Azazeal's eyes narrowed when he remembered where he had arrived. A sardonic smile played on his lips as he surveyed his surroundings.

"It's been a long time. I almost forgot about this place."

He glanced at the two spirits, and the vacant smile on his lips broadened.

"I sensed only one spirit, but he discovered two? I knew I chose the right man for the task, and he didn't disappoint me at all."

The darkness in the air crackled as his purple eyes turned into obsidian.

Dark chains materialized instantly, rushing towards the two spirits who frantically tried to break free from the otherworldly power that ensnared them in place. Unfortunately, they couldn't escape, and the dark chains started wrapping around their bodies.

Azazeal clenched his fist, and the spirits let out screams of terror as the spiritual energy surrounding them started to fade.

They shrank in size within the darkness until they transformed into two dark orbs, obediently landing on his palm.

Nine and the others stared at the man hovering in the air. The air was eerily silent, save for the lingering echoes of the spirits' screams, now transformed into tiny orbs.

"Can we even do anything...?"

He whispered with clenched fists. Due to the weight pressing down on their bodies, they couldn't move even an inch and could only watch Azazeal do as he pleased.

As if catching his words, the man floating in the air directed his gaze downward to meet his. Nine held his breath as the pair of dark eyes locked with his own.

Not only Nine, everyone kneeling around him felt a chill run down their spines when they saw the emptiness in the eyes of the man staring at the brown-haired man.

The emptiness in his obsidian eyes was quite similar to what Kyle would show at times, but unlike Kyle, who would eventually unveil his emotions, the eyes looking at Nine held no depth. They were hollow.

It was crystal clear that the floating man wouldn't even think twice about taking them all out, and to top it off, he currently had the strength to eradicate them all.

The two dark orbs in Azazeal's hand burst into boundless energy that surged into his body, transmuting into pure darkness.

However, his gaze stayed fixed on Nine, or more precisely, the moving thin, golden threads within the man's eyes.

"The spirituality in his eyes is quite potent."

Azazeal's eyes shifted towards the others around Nine, a flicker of surprise passed through his gaze as he saw their fates.

"Ah... they're all connected to Kyle. I must admit, they all have bright futures ahead."

He vanished from his position and materialized on a boulder facing the group. A surge of darkness emanated from his body as his eyes locked onto Alec.

"Where's Kyle? Doesn't he want the notebook that held his past back? Or did he run off after sensing my arrival... leaving you all behind to meet your end?"

His eyes crinkled as the faces of those kneeling before him paled when the dark energy emanating from his body began seeping into their bodies.

An unassuming notebook materialized in his hand, and he extended his senses in all directions to envelop the entire tomb in search of Kyle. If that man had set foot in this tomb, Azazeal knew there was no way he could leave with his current strength.

Alec gritted his teeth as an even more intense pressure bore down on his body. He hadn't witnessed the ancient memory, yet without anyone telling him, he was sure the man before him was Azazeal, the leader of all the shadow generals!

'Fuck... I can't speak due to the pressure. Does he even expect an answer!?'

Azazeal's eyes were strangely fixed on Nine before and now on him, as if the latter had noticed something special in them.

Alec's eyes narrowed as Azazeal suddenly extended his hand towards the phoenix's body behind him. Under the mounting pressure, he let out a scream.

"Wait-!"

However, before he could even finish his words, he coughed up a mouthful of blood because the intense pressure on his body abruptly intensified. Azazeal glanced at him with a nonchalant expression.

"Don't meddle when you can't even stand on your feet before me right now."

He continued with his actions, causing the phoenix's heart to sink.

Bia tightly closed her eyes and shouted Kyle's name in her mind to tell him she was about to die young, and it's all his fault!

Asher, who could still move somewhat, tried to intervene but was forcefully thrown back by a mere glance from the man.

Just as everyone's heart sank, thinking that now no one would be able to stop Azazeal, suddenly the man's arm was grabbed by someone, and he let out a chuckle.

"Already here? Considering you were quite a distance from me, I figured it might take you some time to reach me."

Azazeal raised his entertained obsidian eyes to meet the gaze of the person who had just clasped his arm, and he saw what he desired. The dark and wrathful look on the silver-haired man's face.

He didn't budge, and Kyle was flung back into the distance. Azazeal massaged his wrist and glanced at him.

"You do realize you are sporting a look that's practically shouting you are about to rip me to shreds any moment. Is that really how you plan to greet an old friend?"

Kyle steadied himself in mid-air. In one of his hands, he was tightly holding the golden sword he got from Hubert. The very sword he rarely ever took out of his mind space.

An expression of anger and deep frustration flashed across his icy face because the way Azazeal pushed him back without even lifting a finger made him realize he was still utterly

powerless against the man standing before him.

"Old friend, you claim? Well, how delightful to see you again, my dear friend."

His voice dripped with sarcasm as he locked eyes with the dark-haired man.

Azazeal blinked a few times.

"Why do you look angry? I am here to give you back what I took from you. I thought you

would be happy to see me again?"

Kyle's eyebrow twitched violently. He noticed the subtle amusement flickering in Azazeal's vacant gaze.

He laughed angrily in his mind. Why does it feel like the man was deliberately trying to get on

his nerves?

'So, you want to play it like that, huh?'

He sheathed his sword and immediately extended his senses in all directions before reaching out his hand towards Azazeal.

"I have held up my end of the bargain. Now that you have taken the two spirits, hand over the

notebook."

However, his expression chilled when dark flames burst from Azazeal's hand, reducing the notebook in his grasp to ashes. The man looked at him with a vacant smile, and the very flames that consumed the book now crept towards Bia and the others.

"You bastard!"

Kyle vanished from his spot. He materialized behind Azazeal and brought his sword down towards the man's neck. But before his blade could make contact, he was forcefully thrown

backward.

Azazeal glanced back at him with a sigh. The dark flames he conjured spread out to envelop the group of people kneeling next to him, ready to engulf them all as they struggled to even

move.

"You're still the same. I expected you to change after losing all your memories and staying in that manaless land for so many decades. I thought the next time I would see you, you would have become someone ready to give up everything just to confront me and bring about my

end."

His words shocked many except the phoenix and Yue, who knew Kyle had lost all his memories. However, they couldn't even speak a word.

Azazeal pointed at them while looking at Kyle, his lips curving upward.

"Are they the reason? They're your distractions, right? You can thank me later for getting rid

of your distractions now."

He didn't take away Kyle's mobility because he wanted to watch; he desired to witness the

man desperately trying to save the ones dear to him but fail miserably. But he raised a brow when Kyle did nothing at all and just stared at him with an emotionless face.

"Hmm?"

Azazeal's eyes narrowed sharply when he suddenly sensed the spiritual energy and divine energy in the air thinning as if consumed by something.

He glanced down at the spot where he stood, and numerous symbols illuminated the darkness, forming a beautiful design that shone brightly amidst the dark.

"Ah..."

He lifted his eyes to glance at Kyle. So, that's why the human left his friends alone and went to such a faraway place? He was completing a massive array. The symbols hungrily consumed everything, even the dark flames he conjured and the dark energy emanating from his body.

"I have to say, you have gotten very proficient in this profession."

He praised and slowly raised his hand to dismantle the array but halted when Kyle began

speaking in a calm voice.

"I have a gift for you. I thought I should definitely give it to you when you return to the place you once called home. Now that you have met me, don't you want to meet some other old

friends?"