Aaron fell silent, his hands shaking as he realized he was about to fight one of the evil souls of a past figure.
The young man obviously had to be careful because Jack The Ripper's talent was Stealth rank S-R.
Although it was only Stealth, but it was certain that its power was greater than the typical Stealth ability.
"How about it?" asked Aerith.
Aaron took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The young man tried to convince himself that he could defeat Jack The Ripper with his current abilities.
"Alright. I'll do it."
Aerith smiled. She opened the way for Aaron to enter the Dark Dimension's rift. Aaron walked inside, followed by Aerith behind him. The two were finally within the Dark Dimension with the red cage where Jack The Ripper was.
The red-haired and black-dressed woman stepped closer to the red cage. Her hands were held on the cage's metal as her eyes focused forward, gazing at Aaron.
"Are you ready?" asked Aerith, Aaron took a deep breath and breathed slowly.
"I'm ready."
[The Cage Destruction Seal has been deactivated]
[Initiates opening the soul cage ]
[WARNING!]
[The detached evil soul could potentially invade the real world]
[Extra precautions required]
Aerith pointed her hand upwards, an orb of purple light shot into the sky and exploded to form a large dome cage, preventing Jack The Ripper's soul from escaping the Dark Dimension.
"Haha! You created this dome solely to prevent me from escaping into the real world, right?" asked Jack The Ripper, laughing evilly as he stepped out of the soul cage.
"Don't you think I'm stupid? It's easy for me to catch a soul like you in the real world."
The purple energy dome formed successfully; Aerith cast her eyes ahead to look at Aaron. She also told him about the significant time difference between the Dark Dimension and the Dark Pillar Tower.
"An hour here is the same as 15 minutes in the Dark Pillar Tower. So, you can take your time, Aaron," Aerith replied.
"I have no problem with the time difference. But, I have a problem with how long I can hold out against him."
"Your name is Aaron? I remember that name once; we met in a small alley around London. He was a terrible drunk, and I didn't like him. What a poor man," said Jack The Ripper.
"Let me start first!"
[Stealth Talent Activated]
[Stealth Sub Talent Activated]
[Night Mist Steps]
A cloud of mist suddenly appeared in the battle area, significantly reducing Aaron's vision —only five meters of visibility. Aaron prepared by casting a magic spell to enhance his body's physique and senses.
[Magic Activated]
[Body magic: Enhanced body strength]
[Body magic: Enhanced senses]
[MP -250]
Aaron's body lit up in white, his hands and feet strengthened to withstand the Stealth attack from Jack The Ripper. He sharpened his hearing and vision to detect the soul figure's presence.
"Haha, you chose defense, apparently."
Jack The Ripper came out in the thick mist and swung a small dagger. Aaron was able to see it and quickly defended by raising his hand.
[Damage -23]
Thanks to the enhancement of body strength, he didn't suffer significant damage from Jack The Ripper's attack, even though his talent and ability were at rank S-R.
'Only a small damage. This is good. At least he won't be able to defeat me fast,' Aaron explained.
Once Jack's location was known, Aaron clenched his fist and punched the soul figure right in the face. Due to Jack's soul-like form, Aaron's punch didn't feel like he was hitting a human. Still, the punch did a significant amount of damage to Jack.
[Damage +45]
Having good momentum, Aaron lunged quickly forward, not allowing Jack to dodge or disappear. The young man drove his hands and feet forward, punching Jack The Ripper's face, stomach, and waist.
Once again, Aaron didn't feel his fists and kicks hitting human flesh. It felt different and a bit odd to him.
[Damage +23]
[Damage +40]
[Critical +78]
[3 Combo]
'Damn, it seems like if I kick him in the balls, he won't feel any pain,' Aaron complained.
"You bastard! How can you move this fast? How did you figure out my Stealth attack pattern?" asked Jack The Ripper, surprised to get an unexpected combo attack from Aaron.
"You don't seem to know that my previous talent was Stealth. The Night Mist Step has always been my favorite sub-talent," replied Aaron.
"One of its weaknesses is that you can't disappear again for seven seconds. I don't know how long it will last if the rank ascends to S-R."
"Three seconds."
Sure enough, Jack The Ripper disappeared into a dense sea of mist for the second time. Aaron went back on alert. The young man was confident that Jack The Ripper would not perform the same attack after the three combo attacks.
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Illusion of a Thousand Glasses]
'Illusion of a Thousand Glass? Is there a sub-talent like that?' Aaron asked.
Aaron returned to guard, standing in a low stance. From the right, shot the shadow of Jack The Ripper rapidly. Aaron hurried to dodge while jumping backward.
Unexpectedly, Jack The Ripper's figure also emerged from behind. As a result, the attack hit Aaron hard in the back this time, dealing critical damage that surprised him.
[Critical -90]
Aaron bounced forward with blood flowing through the corner of his lips, a sign he was already in a fairly dangerous situation.
Jack The Ripper finally appeared, not as one but ten who seemed to surround Aaron's position. Aaron never knew there was a sub-talent like this in the Stealth talent.
'Is it possible that ascending to S-R has unlocked other sub-talents?
'I have to analyze it quickly; don't let him take advantage of my ignorance.'
"Can you hold off the sub-talent's attack this time, Aaron?" asked Jack The Ripper.
"Come here. Show me how good you are."
Aaron made a fist and brought up a purple energy aura in both his fists, which was useful for adding specific damage to his attacks.
Jack's clones rushed forward and pointed their daggers at Aaron one by one. Aaron blocked and punched them, but the swift movements of the other clones caused Aaron to be hit with attack damage as well.
[Damage -45]
[Damage -51]
[Damage -34]
[3 Combo]
[WARNING!]
[The amount of HP is at the minimum limit]
[Consume HP Potion Immediately ]
Aaron occasionally groaned in pain as the daggers cut into his body. Although it was only the soul figure, the attack was able to hurt Aaron's soul, which would naturally have an impact on his body.
The young man punched at one of the ten Jack The Ripper clones surrounding him. Surprisingly, pop-up damage appeared before Aaron when it didn't when Aaron punched the other clones.
'He's the real one!'
Noticing a gap, Aaron used the chance to start hitting Jack The Ripper with a massive barrage of strikes.
Since he didn't activate the Night Mist Step sub talent, he couldn't dodge Aaron's combo attacks.
"I found you! You won't be able to escape from me anymore!" threatened Aaron.
[Damage +56]
[Critical +120]
[Critical +90]
[Damage +35]
With a powerful kick to Jack The Ripper's stomach, the thick mist around Aaron began to fade, as did the clones who had been ganging up on him.
[Critical +107]
[5 Combo! Great!]
Aaron sighed as Jack The Ripper lay helpless. With the disappearance of the mist and all the clones, Aaron could tell that Jack The Ripper was helpless.
"Well done, Aaron. You defeated him," Aerith said, arriving with a flash of purple light between Aaron and Jack The Ripper.
"I didn't expect someone like you to defeat me. If I was still in my physical form, you would've died at my hands, Aaron!" scolded Jack The Ripper.
The young man took the HP potion and downed it without a second thought. Slowly, the HP amount he had increased gradually to adjust the amount of HP in the potion.
[HP +250]
'It looks like the battle didn't increase my EXP,' Aaron explained.
"Now, it's your turn to seize his soul core and make him your servant."
"Alright. Guide me, Aerith."