Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

The brass barrage accurately hit Eclair. Although he hadn't used it for many years, Aaron's accuracy was still there. The sound of flesh being pierced could be clearly heard from ahead. But Aaron didn't have time to be happy because after he fired the bullets, a strange flickering appeared in the room, and then everything changed.

The whole world suddenly went dark. The sun disappeared, and an eerie white light shone outside the window. The door that was swayed open no longer led to the familiar corridor, but to a dimly lit corridor that exuded a gloomy, deathly aura. The old wallpaper outside the door was a deep yellow. There was nothing in the corridor, which exuded a deathly stillness that seemed to exist outside of time.

Eclair opened not a door, but an infinite abyss leading to an unknown destination. In an infinitely long time, everyone outside had already been devoured, leaving only Aaron, who was permanently abandoned here, facing the indescribable world outside the door.

Cold sweat broke out instantly, and an inexplicable sense of panic erupted within him. That inexplicable fear made him physically disgusted with this place; just being here made his heart feel like it was spasming.

Not only had the outside changed, Aaron looked up at the sky, but even the window had changed. It was no longer dark and gloomy; a deathly white light shone through the window, and a bloodshot eyeball crawled up from outside, perched on the window, and stared curiously at Aaron in the room. The walls of the entire room became incredibly damp, with sticky fluid constantly flowing down the cracks in the walls.

Whose blood is that? Is that the monster's blood? It's... Eclair's blood!

The lights in the room flickered on and off faster and faster, and behind the curtain of darkness came a sudden burst of bright white light. Every time the lights flickered on and off, something was changing in the room, but Aaron couldn't see it. He could only feel that the lights were flickering on and off faster and faster, that something was getting closer and closer to him, and that something terrifying was awakening.

After the light flickered again, Aaron froze, for he saw Eclair in the bright white light. Her face was stiff, and in the flickering light, she moved with an awkward gait, constantly slithering toward Aaron. As she moved, she made an uncomfortable sound, which sounded sticky and viscous.

The bullets he used could blow up a rhinoceros at close range; as for what would happen if they hit a human? He has seen it now.

He watched as Eclair's alluring left side of her face slowly collapsed like a landslide, revealing her swaying brain and half of her brainstem, while the other side remained intact. As she walked toward Aaron, her right shoulder seemed unable to bear the weight, drooping down to her waist like a collapsing mountain, held together only by a few threads. Her white bones were exposed, and her intestines and internal organs, unable to withstand the pressure, spilled out from the opening in her chest cavity, dripping wetly onto the ground.

Half of Eclair's body had "collapsed" off, half of her body was flesh and blood, and half of her face was human, but her half of her face still had a twisted, eerie smile that sent chills down one's spine.

Aaron was horrified. He retreated while firing at the monster, but he suddenly realized that he had run out of bullets and had no power to resist!

Suddenly, the monster vomited violently, vomiting up a skinless monster made of fleshy buds that screamed. When she raised her head again, it suddenly split in two, revealing countless fleshy buds and black beetles that screamed and pounced on Aaron.

Countless beetles and fleshy buds swarmed over, slamming Aaron against the wall. The black beetles frantically tore at his body, while the fleshy tongues formed from the buds gripped Aaron's throat, lifting him off the ground. The head, split in two, let out a tremendous roar at Aaron, and a huge stench filled Aaron's nostrils. The fleshy buds slowly lifted him off the ground. Aaron tried to smash it with his pistol, but instead of hitting it, countless black beetles engulfed his arm.

Aaron felt as if his soul was being torn apart. Beetles kept burrowing into his body from all sides. He didn't know whether suffocation or fear would kill him first. Fear grew wildly in his heart like vines, and red tongues tore at his body, as if trying to drag him into an abyss of no return. No, he was already in the deepest part of hell.

What he couldn't believe wasn't the horrific scene before him, but all of this was beyond reason. He had once confidently believed that he understood Eclair. Although Eclair was a superhuman, superhumans were not gods, and their abilities were not unpredictable. Based on his experience, Aaron knew what she would do!

Eclair had said her ability was to fire a bullet just enough to kill one person, but what was happening now? Everything around him, the excruciating torture of ten thousand insects piercing his heart, it was as if he were facing an evil god. What was he fighting against? Why was he facing something like this?

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!!!"

Aaron vomited violently, his whole body convulsing so violently that it felt as if he were about to become the monster before him. Countless beetles were gnawing at his body, and he felt his body becoming strangely lighter. The beetles were gradually hollowing him out, and he was trapped in a state where he could neither live nor die. Even his eyeballs were not spared; the shadows in his vision were increasing, and all he could see were black insect shadows.

Amidst his fear, he felt a surge of rage. He was about to die here, torn apart by countless insects, dying a humiliating death in this dark, unknown corner where no one knew him. It seemed that not even his body would be left behind. The most terrifying place in hell could not be more terrifying than this. But Aaron's greatest feeling was not fear, but humiliation, a humiliation that filled him with extreme anger.

Chapter 117 Self-Proving Prophecy

He was furious. He was furious that he was about to be grabbed by the neck and die in this dark corner. Even though his entire body was covered by fleshy growths and beetles, with only half of his eye showing, he was still enraged.

He still finds it impossible. He firmly believes in his judgment that all strange phenomena in the world are based on spiritual power, and no one can violate the laws of spiritual power, not even gods. Eclair's ability is undoubtedly that pistol, and he could not possibly be wrong. But Eclair said that her ability is to fire a bullet that can kill a person.

No, wait...

Eclair claimed her ability was to increase the stakes, but she never actually fired a single bullet at herself. Both shots were more bark than bite, causing no real damage. Even the bullet aimed at Freya didn't kill her; it only turned her into a doll-like state.

No… Thinking carefully about the scenes when Eclair mentioned raising the stakes each time, everything Eclair did was very strange. Why would she tell him about her abilities? Ordinary people might think that this was just the extra leeway of a superhuman and wouldn't think too much about it, but Aaron knew that superhumans were just like ordinary people. They were also human, capable of scheming and using clever tricks. They might have a habit of doing things, but they wouldn't do anything unnecessary.

She must have had a purpose in doing this. Why did Eclair do this? What was her reason?

Aaron struggled to recall the scene when Eclair fired the gun. What happened when she pointed the gun at him? Why did she threaten him? Was it simply for amusement? She was indeed insane, but Aaron clearly remembered the fear that made his heart almost leap out of his chest when Eclair pointed a gun at him. These emotions must have been reflected on his face, but there was no sadistic expression on Eclair's face...

She was instilling fear in herself; Eclair was deliberately instilling fear, not for amusement.

This explains everything. Everything she did was to instill fear in herself. By firing the gun only once, she would be afraid at most once, and once the fear reached its peak, its effect would weaken, leaving only numbness.

That's why she told Aaron about her abilities; what she actually added wasn't power, but Aaron's fear.

Each time she raised the bet, Aaron's emotions fluctuated like a rollercoaster, experiencing the ups and downs of fear, much like a Russian roulette wheel. That's why she told Aaron about her abilities, raising the bet again and again, causing Aaron's emotions to rise from low to high, and letting fear consume him.

Fear... fear... and more fear...!

Aaron strained to lift his head, his bloodshot eyes taking in the scene before him: the blood-like slime seeping from the cracks in the walls, the eyeballs pounding against the windowpane, and the flesh-and-blood monster that seemed impossible to have been created by human hands.

This explains everything.

Think about how the monster grew stronger step by step. The first time was when it crawled toward Aaron, and the second time was when Aaron found that his pistol was out of bullets. The monster was like a nightmare in a nightmare. The more afraid you are, the stronger it becomes. When you feel that you have no power to resist and are completely defeated, it will transform into the most vicious demon and make your fear completely tangible.

Eclair's ability isn't about raising the stakes; she's actually a mind-based superhuman. What Aaron sees is merely a manifestation of his own fears. He's constantly battling within himself, and only when he's truly terrified can Eclair's abilities be maximized. That's why she talks to Aaron and plays the betting game with him.

She didn't need to go through all that trouble to kill Aaron, but just as a magician would instinctively play cards when he sees them on the table, or an athlete would instinctively slap a ball in their hand, for a superhuman who makes a living by manipulating fear, manipulating the fear of others is a completely habitual action. She will do it as long as there are people at the table, because that's how she makes a living.

Thinking about it this way, he actually felt a sense of pride. He felt that he had gone to great lengths to deal with Eclair, but Eclair, such a powerful superhuman, had also gone to great lengths to plant the seeds of fear in his heart.

Knowing the other's abilities before his death, and knowing that he was not in the so-called hell, and that the scene before him was merely a manifestation of his fears, he should have no regrets in dying.

It's inevitable that he'll die here. After all, he's just an ordinary person. He could never defeat a superhuman. If an ordinary person could easily defeat a superhuman, then what's the point of a superhuman being?

He fought to the very last moment, and as an ordinary person, he once put a powerful superhuman at a disadvantage, forcing the opponent to use his abilities on him in a fit of rage. He should feel that he can die without regrets and can die peacefully...

If Aaron were truly just an ordinary person, he should have thought that way.

Aaron's heart was far from calm; he was still burning with rage, still uncontrollably furious. How many years had it been? How many years had it been since he had felt this angry!

When Eclair claimed to be a powerful superhuman, when she threatened his life with her immense superhuman power, when he was once again drawn into the battle of superhumans, when spiritual energy once again raged wildly around him, it was as if he had returned to that familiar battlefield of superhumans. What returned was not only trembling and fear, but at the same time, the arrogance of superhumans also ignited in his heart, turning into a raging tide of anger that swept over his entire body.

Even though he is no longer the same as before, even though he has no spiritual power left, even though he is now just an ordinary person, how could he possibly lose to Eclair? He saw through her abilities, so how could he, how should he, how could he possibly die here?!

He was furious, he was unwilling to accept it, he would never be limited to this, he was capable of much more! He would never die here like this!

But what other way could he break the deadlock? He was now in the deepest disadvantage, completely trapped in a web woven from his own fears. In just a few minutes, he would die of cardiac arrest in the real world. Even if he knew the other party's abilities, what could he do?

What else can he do? What methods can he use to overcome his fear? To stop being afraid? To escape this cage?

For some inexplicable reason, a word flashed through Aaron's mind: self-fulfilling prophecy.

This was a theory he learned in school in his previous life. He couldn't remember the specific principles, but he did remember that the theory was proposed a long time ago. By the time he lived, the theory had been proven and accepted by more and more people, becoming one of the most popular doctrines of that era.

If that theory is true, and the research on humanity in that world truly points to the human heart... could he rely on it to escape all that he is facing?

Self-fulfilling prophecy...

He thought to himself,

He made a faint sound.

"I……"

"I once stood at the highest point in Lucerne, overlooking the entire Lucerne Empire..."

"I have met the most powerful man in Lucerne..."

"I once stood alone in Alice Palace, facing the King..."

Aaron was pleasantly surprised to find that this actually worked; the pressure on his body really did lessen. So he continued to do it.

"I have seen a great deal..."

He meditated in his heart.

"What I've been through...you can't even imagine in your entire life..."

Yes, he really shouldn't be afraid. He's seen things that most people could never imagine in their entire lives.

He saw ancient dragons swirling in the sky, and divine flames descending from the depths of the heavens. He saw dragons leaping from the sea, raging against the sky, their outstretched wings enough to blot out the entire heavens. He witnessed the greatest battlefield in the world.

"I once led three hundred men in a charge; I was only twenty-four years old that year—"

He said softly:

"I have witnessed the passing of blood between the old and the new, those heroes who were arrogant for half a century turned into fiery ghosts on horseback, while I alone charged at the evil dragon and tore it to pieces."

“I once saw the enemy driving a hundred-meter-long tank towards me, and I cut the train in two. Behind me was Esgard.”

“Those most renowned figures in the extraordinary world, those who stood at the pinnacle of their nations and commanded the winds and waves, these people who clashed with me on the battlefield, are now all dead souls on my sword.”

“I have fought against mythical creatures, I have become the most terrifying nightmare of my enemies, I have thwarted the wars started by the most powerful group of people in the world, making them furious and powerless, I have stopped millions of people, no, I stopped the entire Seven Kingdoms!”

A certain power awakened within him, and Aaron no longer suppressed himself, letting the overwhelming rage surge through his entire body.

He opened his golden eyes and roared hoarsely, "I am the kingdom's sword, the spirit of the dead, I am—Aaron, the Grand Master of the Obsidian Knights!"

“I could kill someone like you a hundred times! A thousand times! Ten thousand times! I don’t need to care about an ant like you!”

"I--!"

Golden light exploded around Eclair, who looked at Aaron as if she had seen something impossible. There was actually someone in this world who could enter the cage of fear and then escape from it!

Eclair reacted swiftly, leaping backward with her gun already aimed at Aaron. But she suddenly froze, her eyes meeting Aaron's. His eyes reflected fire and storm. She had taken down an ordinary civil servant of the Kingdom of Dok, but what had awakened was... something else?

Eclair was unaware that fear had crept into her body through Aaron, and she was suffering a backlash from the spiritual energy.

All abilities come at a price. She used nightmares woven from fear to bind ordinary people and extraordinary individuals, a tactic that proved consistently effective. But she forgot that fear itself has a price, and that fear can also backfire on her. Everyone who manipulates the primal power of humanity walks on the edge of a precipice, and should tread carefully. Those who instill fear in others should also be prepared to face fear themselves.

At this moment, the fear that Aaron had shattered was returning to Eclair intact, and Eclair was unaware of it, just like a mountaineer who is unaware that the ground beneath his feet is loosening.

Eclair was a highly skilled tactician. Since her carefully crafted cage of fear couldn't restrain Aaron, she decided to kill him directly with a psionic bullet, even if it made a commotion. She raised her hand to aim and, relying on her senses, shot at Aaron's torso. But just as she was about to pull the trigger, Aaron said something that almost made her drop her gun in shock.

Aaron said, "Do you know why I was able to escape? Because I'm a Lucerne officer, and I know all your secrets!"

Chapter 118 Lusette's Seniority

In an instant, Eclair's heart felt like it was being clenched. Aaron's words were like a crack opening in her heart, continuously sending fear into her mind, making her tremble all over.

Acker's momentary lapse in concentration gave Aaron time. He grabbed the pistol from the ground, and it felt exactly the same as when he first picked it up. It seemed that Acker's strength was far greater than he had imagined. Fear had already taken control of him before he could even fire a shot, and he didn't even manage to fire a single bullet. But this gave Aaron a chance to counterattack.

Aaron gripped the gun handle again and aimed it at her.

The moment the pistol was pointed at Eclair, her pupils contracted again, this time due to the grip of fear. Aaron had awakened the fear she felt as an ordinary person. After all, she had once been an ordinary person, and the fear of guns was still there. Although she immediately realized that as a superhuman, she was not afraid of bullets at all, that fear had already dealt her a fatal blow.

Suddenly, the world before Eclair's eyes began to change fatally. The light began to dim, and strange things began to appear outside the window. She struggled desperately to restore her vision, but she suddenly realized that it wasn't a problem with her vision, but rather that her power was being reversed.

By the time she realized what had happened, the world before her eyes had already changed irrevocably, and she was powerless to do anything in front of Aaron.

"Why...why...I...I...!" Eclair trembled uncontrollably.

Aaron stared intently at Eclair, his expression calm as he delivered a fatal blow to her senses: "Your abilities are no longer effective against me."

Aaron knew that bullets couldn't hurt Eclair, which was the power of the superhumans, but fear could render Eclair powerless. On the battlefield of the superhumans, words were a more powerful weapon than bullets.

Eclair's pupils were unfocused, and her face was deathly pale, but she suddenly stopped speaking. A moment later, crimson blood trickled from the corner of Eclair's mouth.

She's injured? Aaron was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that she was biting her tongue!

Eclair is the person in the world who knows her own abilities better than anyone else. Just as a venomous snake usually has a way to resist its own venom, Eclair cannot directly eliminate fear, but she can suppress and eliminate it. Although she cannot completely eliminate it, she can at least ensure that when she and her enemy are trapped in the same cage of fear, she will be the first to escape.

"Oh no!" Aaron cried out inwardly. Although he had escaped from the nightmare, he was still an ordinary person, and the gap between him and Eclair was still enormous. He seemed fearless, but that was just a facade. He was only trying to make himself look scary, but in reality, Eclair's fear was the only weapon he could use to restrain her.

What else could scare her? It has to be something that would give her a huge fright.

He asked again, "Your marksmanship is quite good. Who taught you?"