The gate to the Spirit Realm opened completely.
Flander, the elegant leader of the Gourmet Association with platinum-blond curls, stepped out from within. His subtle expression shifted into surprise. "Why did you give up escaping?"
Aaron touched the center of his brow, his expression grave. "This is a trap!"
The trap did not lie in killing Bokin Soren, but in what came after killing him!
That intense premonition of danger just now had already explained everything!
"If I entered the Spirit Realm and used Spirit Realm Teleportation, that's when I'd encounter the truly fatal danger, wouldn't I?"
Aaron gave a derisive laugh. The now-weakened prickling at his brow was the best proof!
The intense danger he had sensed earlier had not come from Flander before him, but from the Spirit Realm he had been about to enter!
The thought left him deeply shaken with lingering fear!
"Oh?"
Flander neither confirmed nor denied it, seemingly waiting for Aaron's explanation.
"Bokin Soren was merely the most insignificant part of the trap... Your frenzied pursuit of the Sothos Bloodline, including the Green Banyan Council, was meant to draw out forces from my branch... As for the outcome, it didn't matter. As long as someone was lured here, the plan was a success!"
Aaron maintained his smile. "If Bokin Soren failed to take down the intruder and instead died at their hands, that was still an acceptable outcome, because you were nearby. So long as he called for help, you could arrive in an instant! But that wasn't the key to the trap! You knew I possessed Spirit Realm Teleportation and could flee at any time. Before you descended, there was simply no time for you to seal me in."
"So... the key lay with the easily overlooked Bokin Soren—not the 'Law' on him.