After the sudden annihilation of the security forces and the unexpected appearance of Vanessa, Azrael fell into deep thought, carefully considering how he might safely escape from his current predicament. Honestly, in a head-on fight against Vanessa, he knew that his chances of killing her were very low. Not only was she at the peak of the epic level, but her mastery over poison was extraordinarily difficult to deal with. Although he was certain that the skill she had used to turn Xu Ting and the level-32 warrior into a living toxic bomb, one potent enough to threaten even peak-epic warriors, was definitely a class skill. Something that could not be used repeatedly, much like his own class skill Absolute Decree, he still did not want to take the risk of facing her directly because if he were poisoned during the fight, it would become extremely troublesome to deal with. Although he carried several antidote potions in his inventory, he wasn’t confident that those potions would be able to neutralize Vanessa’s poison as her venom seemed far more potent than ordinary toxins. Moreover, even if he fought Vanessa by teaming up with Elyara and Luo Bingqing, using Wings of Wind to boost his speed and combining Fallen Star and Tyrant’s Intent in an attempt to deliver a fatal strike, victory would still not be guaranteed. The reason was simple: Vanessa was not alone. He did not know why she hadn’t brought the rest of the Transcendent Organization’s members with her. But once she found herself in real trouble, he was certain those people would quickly rush to her aid. Once the rest of the Transcendent Organization’s members joined her, it would become utterly impossible for Azrael and his companions to defeat them. As for Morrison and the remaining members of the security forces, Azrael didn’t even consider relying on them for help because with a single glance, he could tell they were already finished. After carefully considering all possibilities, Azrael reached a solid conclusion. ’There is no way for us to beat this woman and get out of here safely.’ Knowing that they couldn’t escape from Vanessa through conventional means, Azrael simply decided to change his method. "Aunty, since you say this is your home, then how about you show us around? I am really curious about that door you are trying to open." Follow current novᴇls on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚✦𝕟𝕖𝕥 Vanessa was taken aback when she heard Azrael’s words, not expecting him to say something like that. But she soon smiled and gave a casual shrug. "Haven’t you already gathered information about the location of that door from Hiroshi?" She asked playfully. "Since you already know where it is, why don’t you go there by yourself and have a look at it?" She pointed at Morrison and the other members of the security forces. "You see, although aunty would like to show you around personally, she is a bit busy with these bad people who killed some of her friends." "Oh..." Azrael nodded calmly. "It’s indeed important to deal with the people who killed your friends. Don’t worry, aunty, you continue punishing them. I will go there on my own." "Good child. I knew you would understand..." Vanessa smiled and waved her hand lightly. "Go on. I will join you soon, after I deal with these people." Luo Bingqing and Elyara, standing beside Azrael looked at him and Vanessa with wide, bewildered eyes, their faces full of disbelief as they tried to understand what was happening. They had already known that Vanessa had some mental issues, but witnessing the exchange before them made them begin to wonder if Azrael was the same. ’Is it because both of them have mental problems that they are talking as if they have known each other for a long time?’ The two thought simultaneously as they watched Azrael glance at them. Morrison, too, was baffled by the bizarre scene unfolding before him. At this point, if someone had told him that Azrael and Vanessa already knew each other, he would have believed it without hesitation as their conversation was far too casual, as though they were old acquaintances. "Let’s go. Why are you two still standing there?" Azrael said to Luo Bingqing and Elyara and at the same moment, the flowing wind carried a low whisper to their ears. Luo Bingqing and Elyara were startled when they heard Azrael’s whisper and immediately understood that things were not as simple as they appeared. They quickly moved closer to him, and all three of them began walking deeper inside the castle. They had barely taken a few steps when Vanessa seemed to remember something and called out to them. "By the way, you still haven’t apologized to aunty for intruding in her home and secretly peeking at her." Azrael didn’t stop walking and replied without looking back. "You also tried to use your poison to kill us earlier and haven’t apologized to us. Since we both made mistakes, let’s call it even." Hearing Azrael’s reply and seeing that the three of them continued deeper without stopping, Vanessa’s smile faded slightly. "It was your fault for sneaking into my home like thieves. I was merely defending myself." Azrael sighed softly when he heard her words and feeling the sudden chill in the aura behind him, he stopped and turned to look back at her. "Listen, woman, let’s stop playing around already..." He said in an indifferent voice. "I was just trying to see if I could get inside without a fight by taking advantage of your mental instability. But it seems you have no intention of letting us pass." "Mental instability...?" The smile on Vanessa’s face vanished completely when she heard Azrael’s words and a chilling aura burst forth from her. "Are you calling me an idiot?" Elyara and Luo Bingqing began sweating buckets as they felt Vanessa’s cold glare and their grips on their weapons tightened. Azrael looked at Vanessa for a moment, then shook his head and turned away. "Let’s go," He said to Luo Bingqing and Elyara, before beginning to walk deeper into the castle once again. "Stop!" Vanessa shouted in a cold voice, pointing one of her fingers at them. A mass of moss-green liquid condensed at her fingertip and shot toward them like a bullet. Azrael and the others felt an intense sense of crisis and their hair stood on end. Elyara and Luo Bingqing quickly turned around and were about to release a counter-attack when Azrael placed a hand on their shoulders. "Don’t worry," He said calmly and the next second, the light-blue pendant hanging around his neck shattered, and a deep-blue barrier instantly enveloped a three-meter area around him. The mass of green liquid struck the barrier and exploded into a cloud of noxious smoke. But the deep-blue barrier didn’t even flinch when the attack hit it and remained completely unmoved. "Aunty, even if thousands of you appear here, you wouldn’t be able to make a dent in this barrier..." Azrael said in a flat voice and waved his hand dismissively at her. "You stay here and take care of the people who killed your friends. Meanwhile, I will go and take a look at that door with my companions to satisfy my curiosity."