Making a move

After taking the Potions away, Kronos naturally returned to his Villa in the West Borough.

The rest of the time was spent waiting patiently for the Butler to arrange another meeting with Jason, so that there would be a chance to properly set up the trap.

Over the next few days, Marquis Argel's Butler met with the shareholders many times, both in groups and individually, including Jason.

Taking advantage of these numerous opportunities, Kronos thoroughly investigated everything about Jason's Villa, including the location of every Small Hole and the Secret Room.

Having made preparations in terms of intelligence, Kronos then focused on preparing "ammunition."

With the Research Center Project being handled by others while he was in the West Borough, Kronos didn't have any other important matters to attend to, so he spent his days making Scroll.

Whether he developed it himself or learned it from family secrets, Kronos mastered it all, producing a large quantity of each.

After all, this is about facing a Sequence 5 Beyonder skilled in combat; no amount of caution is too much.

Now everything is ready, we're just waiting for the right time.

Kronos didn't have to wait long. Two days later, Jason left his house again at the invitation, but this time it wasn't the Butler's invitation, but rather from several other Kain shareholders.

The reason Kronos knew this Message was naturally because the Butler already knew Message.

According to the Butler, Kain Bank has a total of seven shareholders. Apart from the Argel Family, the other six shareholders are the targets the Butler is currently pursuing.

Today's invitation likely indicates that these six shareholders are forming an alliance to devise a solution.

This is a rare opportunity; it usually lasts for a considerable period, giving Kronos ample time to make preparations.

Following the time Jason left, Kronos arrived here once again.

After drugging the Devil Dog, this time Kronos didn't leave it lying there, but thoughtfully placed it in its own doghouse.

Because the situation is different today, Kronos cannot reawaken the Devil Dog before Jason returns, so a reasonable "script" needs to be given to it so as not to arouse Jason's suspicion.

And sleeping is a good "script".

After arranging the Devil Dog in a very natural sleeping position, Kronos began decorating the Villa, taking a full two hours to complete. Then he waited for Jason to return.

Around 10 p. m., Jason returned to the house in a carriage. The first thing he saw after getting off was the Devil Dog "sleeping" in its kennel.

This dog used to be Jason's most beloved pet, but ever since it became Paranormal Creature, its affection for Jason has grown increasingly distant. It's normal that it's not affectionate anymore; it just went to bed a little early today, but Jason didn't suspect anything.

After spending a short time in the living room, Jason returned to his room.

At this moment, Kronos was hiding in a storage cabinet in Jason's room, ready to make his move at any moment.

Jason took a piece of clothing from the wardrobe next to Kronos's hiding place and then went into the Washroom.

Kronos had been waiting for this opportunity. He slowly emerged from the locker and tiptoed to the Washroom door.

He activated his Eyes of Mystery Prying, not for any other reason than to check if Jason possessed any Beyonder Item.

The main reason for choosing this time to make the move is this: people usually leave their belongings nearby when they are washing up, making it the most likely time for them to put down Beyonder Item.

Through his Eyes of Mystery Prying, Kronos saw a pocket watch on the sink—an Beyonder Item that Jason did not possess.

That's good. Now all that's left is to wait, wait for Jason to leave this sink, at least make sure he can't reach for the pocket watch with just a tap.

After washing his face, Jason walked towards the towels placed nearby, which was at least two steps away from the sink.

This was the perfect opportunity. With a sudden Spirituality, Kronos activated a Ritual Magic within the Washroom.

In Kronos's plan, regardless of whether Jason had any Beyonder Item, the Washroom would be a good opportunity to take action, so this Ritual Magic was initially set up there.

In fact, Ritual Magic is not very powerful; most of it plays a supporting role.

The one that Kronos set up was the same; it was just a regular Purification Ritual, the kind that's common in many Church, used to help Purification things like the Wraith.

Logically speaking, this Ritual shouldn't even be able to harm a Sequence 7 Beyonder, let alone Sequence 5. But it just so happens that Jason's Pathway was just right.

Jason sensed it the moment the Spirituality Kronos stirred. While the Concealment of Time blocked his perception of malice, the fluctuations of Spirituality could not be blocked.

So the moment Jason sensed it, he rushed straight to the sink; he felt more at ease having something in his hand.

But while he reacted quickly, Kronos reacted even faster, flashing into the Washroom and grabbing the pocket watch in his hand.

So the two of them confronted each other directly.

"Who are Your Excellency? What do you want in my house? This is trespassing." Jason was a little surprised, but he didn't take it seriously.

He didn't sense any malice from Kronos; he felt he was just a petty thief. Jason would love to have a few more people like that in his house; he hadn't killed anyone in a long time, and his hands were itching for a kill.

As soon as Jason finished speaking, the Purification Ritual activated, and a faint white light shone on Kronos and Jason.

This ordinary Light of Purification naturally had no negative effects on Kronos; in fact, it even improved his condition.

But Jason was different. The faint white light was like a deadly poison. As soon as it landed on him, he felt a burning pain.

While the pain wouldn't be enough to seriously injure a Sequence 5, it at least made him grimace.

Seeing Jason's skin turn completely red and then emit black smoke, Kronos knew he had achieved his goal and immediately took out the prepared Scroll.

A Fire of Light struck Jason, and the combined Fire of Light and the Light of Purification caused Jason immeasurable damage.

In fact, if Kronos could have used a Divine Light from the Sequence 5 Light Priest at this moment, it would have been a near-fatal blow to Jason. But unfortunately, Kronos didn't.

Not only did Kronos not know it, but there was no similar Record in the family's secret code, which meant that no one in the entire Argel Family had ever mastered this skill.

Since the quality of his skills is somewhat lacking, Kronos has no choice but to compensate with quantity.

Jason was caught off guard by the attacks of the Fire of Light and the Light of Purification, and was unable to react for a moment.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kronos unleashed three Scroll — Holy Light, Fire of Light, and Sun Halo —spewing skills at Jason as if they were free.

If Jason still hasn't realized what's happening by this point, he's practically asking for death.

As a member of a Devil family, he naturally couldn't possibly react so poorly. After realizing what was happening, a Sword of Lava appeared in his hand, and he slashed directly at Kronos.

At this point, Kronos got a little cocky and took out his Bright Light War Blade, recklessly charging forward.

In that instant, Kronos felt as if he had been hit by a horse, and he was sent flying backward, crashing through the Washroom door.

The difference in strength is indeed quite significant. If this were a pure fight, Kronos would be cleaved in two by Jason in just a few moves.

After Kronos was cleaved away, Jason finally had a chance to escape from the Washroom. The Purification Ritual was then confined to the Washroom, so the Purification effect disappeared as soon as he came out.

Although he was no longer Purification, various light-effect skills were still "ravaging" him.

In order to free himself from the constraints of these skills, and to completely tear apart the intruder who had angered him, Jason's state changed.

As he slowly approached Kronos, his body gradually grew larger. As his body grew, horns began to grow on his head, and a pair of Wings began to unfold from his back.

This is Devil Transformation. After taking just three steps, Jason transformed into a demon nearly three meters tall, with deep, curved goat horns on his head covered in countless mysterious patterns, and a pair of giant, bat-like Wings spread out behind him, wreathed in crimson and pale blue flames, emitting a strong sulfurous Devil.

The Devil grinned maliciously at Kronos before him, preparing to tear him to shreds in the next second.

Just then, Kronos raised his head and met the Devil's gaze.

Jason the Devil clearly saw a hint of a smile in his eyes. How could he possibly be smiling when he was already in such Extremis?

In that instant, Jason sensed something was wrong and was about to dodge when a tremendous force slammed into him.

The tables have turned; just now it was Kronos who was sent flying, and now it's Jason.

Jason had just stepped out of the Purification Ritual's range, was knocked back.

The Light of Purification shone on him as if it were free, causing him to continuously emit black smoke as he burned.

Kronos got up from the ground, then went to the Washroom door, looking at Jason struggling on the ground with a mocking expression, holding something in his hand.

This is the very thing that just sent Jason flying; it's also the trump card that Kronos took out of the Storeroom — the Deadly Crossbow.