The man looked at Kyle calmly. "Are you so consumed by revenge that you will throw away your future, Impact Master?"
The other two looked with confusion at Kyle and the man.
Impact Master?
Kyle wasn't surprised that the man knew of the former title of his persona.
Naturally, the Array of Stars would investigate every potential candidate.
"Yes," Kyle said, trying his best to sound convincing.
Of course, Kyle wasn't willing to throw away his future in exchange for killing some people he had never met.
But he also wasn't supposed to.
If he actually were so convinced about fulfilling his revenge, the Array of Stars wouldn't have a way in.
"Titan's Flood is dead," the man said.
"So?" Kyle asked. "Titan's Flood might be the ringleader, but there are others."
"Is it really worth it?" the man asked. "Your primary enemy is already dead. Is your heart consumed by so much anger that you also want the others to die?"
"Each person decides their own life," Kyle said before narrowing his eyes, "and they have chosen theirs."
The man noticed that Kyle's conviction was not as strong as before.
Sure enough, with the ringleader dead, Impact Master's desire for revenge was no longer as strong.
However, something in the back of the young man's mind told him that Impact Master wasn't completely honest.
Something was going on.
Kyle knew that, despite all of his practice, it was still almost impossible to lie to someone who was this powerful.
The man looked at Kyle.
Then, an enormous amount of Energy gathered around Kyle, and his body was locked in place.
Kyle's eyes widened in horror as the Energy reached deep into his body.
It reached the darkest and most hidden depths of his being.
The next moment, an ancient aura of destruction reared its head from the depths of Kyle's soul.
The young man slightly narrowed his eyes.
The Aura of Death broke out, consuming Kyle's body.
This was the Lord's Blessing.
The man had found it!
Kyle's identity as a Parasite was unveiled!
The Aura of Death was trying to consume Kyle so that he couldn't share his secrets with the enemy.
Yet, the young man just shoved more Energy into Kyle.
At that moment, Swamp Dragon and Warp Space felt like they couldn't breathe anymore.
All the Energy in the surroundings had vanished!
Kyle screamed as the storm of destruction tore his body apart.
However, the man's Energy was keeping it in place, stopping him from dying.
Moments later, a grey sphere filled with destruction came out of Kyle's body before landing on the man's hand.
Then, the man moved his hand to the side, and the sphere was transported to the Elemental Dimension.
Inside the Elemental Dimension, the sphere exploded with powers none of the Transcendents could comprehend.
Yet, within the Elemental Dimension, such an explosion was common.
The next moment, Kyle's face turned white.
He had nearly died!
The Lord had actually tried to kill him just now!
The other two Transcendents just looked at Kyle in horror.
What had just happened?!
"Who would have expected that the Red Witch's hunch would prove to be correct?" the man mused calmly.
The next words were directly transmitted to Kyle's mind.
"Isn't that right, Kyle Freeman?"
Kyle's eyes widened in horror.
But then, he sighed.
"Yeah, well. Whatcha gonna do?" he asked with a shrug. "The jig is up. Go ahead. Kill me."
The man looked at Kyle with a raised brow.
That was a surprisingly calm reaction.
He had expected more fear.
"Do you think you're the first Parasite that tried to join us through the Star Seeking?" the man asked.
"Nope. Anyway, can you hurry up?" Kyle answered.
The man furrowed his brows.
He wanted to show how powerful and imposing the Array of Stars was, but Kyle was just being nonchalant.
He hadn't entirely believed the Red Witch when she had predicted Kyle's reaction.
According to her, Kyle would probably just accept his death calmly.
"I'm not killing you," the man said.
Kyle snorted. "As if! Come on! I'm a Parasite. Why would you not kill me?"
"You WERE a Parasite," the man said. "Your former leader's suppressive Curse has been lifted."
"The Cult no longer has any way to control you or threaten your life."
"When I was asking about your revenge, I was not only asking about your persona."
"I was also asking about your revenge. Is your desire for revenge so strong that you will hand your life to a horde of locusts that consume everything related to Energy?"
"You are also made of Energy. Do you believe the Cult's God will not consume you as well when you have accumulated enough power?"
"Fuck Magic Bitch!" Kyle shouted. "She made me kill millions of people!"
"In order to fix a broken world, which you have destroyed," the man said. "Doesn't that make all the suffering you have caused meaningless?"
"She left me to rot in the Tertiary World!" Kyle shouted. "The Cult saved me! Without them, I would stay an Overseer forever!"
The man just calmly looked at Kyle.
"You're correct. You would have remained an Overseer."
"But you're not any longer."
"I am asking you again. Is your revenge that important to you?" he asked.
Kyle narrowed his eyes as he remembered all the pain Magic Lady had caused him.
The Sin-Flames.
The feeling of eternal imprisonment.
The helplessness.
"Yes," he said with gritted teeth.
Once again, the man didn't seem surprised or worried.
"The Array of Stars is very loose with its rules," he said. "The World Managers do not follow a set of rules. It is up to them to decide on how to manage their worlds."
"But that also means that other members are free to choose."
"If your desire for revenge is this strong, maybe it will motivate you to become strong enough to reach the level of power necessary to take your revenge."
"I can promise you…"
"If you become strong enough to kill the Red Witch, the Array of Stars will not stop you."
"As long as it is a True Battle, you are free to challenge her to a duel to the death."
"And she won't have the opportunity to reject."
Kyle looked with suspicion at the man.
"That sounds too good to be true."
"And yet, it is the truth," he said. "After all, you are worth the investment."
"You still have an entire century of longevity left from what I could feel."
"It's only a matter of time until you become a Unique Transcendent, and you will not be just any Unique Transcendent."
"Usually, we kill every Parasite that passes the Star Seeking."
"But in your case, I'm willing to take a gamble."
"The Cult can no longer control you. You are a free man."
"Was that a pun?" Kyle asked.
"No," the man answered. "You truly are a free man, and from what I have heard, you're a free man that repays their debts."
"The Array of Stars has freed you from the clutches of the Cult. Are you willing to repay us for returning your freedom to you?"
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
He felt stifled.
As if!
He was just exchanging one prison for another!
Or, more precisely…
He was just in two prisons right now.
Kyle sighed. "Fine! I didn't want to die anyway! I'm so riddled with debt that one more won't make a difference."
Kyle's sigh had several meanings.
The Lord and Lady Arrowstrife knew how difficult it would be for Kyle to fool the recruiter from the Array of Stars.
While it seemed like Kyle was alone, he actually had Lady Arrowstrife and the Lord behind him. This was not Kyle versus the recruiter.
This was the three of them versus the recruiter.
At this moment, Kyle's perception reached deep into his soul to confirm something.
Sure enough, he felt the presence of the Lord sleeping in his soul.
The Blessing the recruiter had destroyed was the first Blessing the Lord had given Kyle.
At that time, Kyle's mission hadn't been to infiltrate the Array of Stars.
Yet, when his mission had changed, the Blessing had also changed.
The Lord had created an even stronger and deeper Blessing below the first Blessing.
The Array of Stars was supposed to believe that they had gotten Kyle.
They were supposed to believe that they had unmasked his secret.
And right now…
Kyle looked at the recruiter as a tiny glint of satisfaction shot over the recruiter's face.
They believed they had him.
If a simple examination from a random recruiter could unmask a Parasite, the Cult wouldn't be as successful as it was.
There had been so many contingency plans.
If Kyle failed to become a Unique Transcendent, he would infiltrate Archon.
If he became a Unique Transcendent, he was supposed to withdraw from the Star Seeking to take his revenge.
If the Array of Stars gave him sufficient benefits, he was allowed to waver and join them.
And if, somehow, Kyle managed to reach such a level of power that the Array of Stars desperately wanted him, they would investigate him anyway.
Then, they would get rid of the Lord's Blessing and use it as leverage to make him join.
Kyle's acting skills had been of secondary importance.
His only job was to become strong enough to join the Array of Stars.
As for the deception…
The Lord would take care of that.
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