Reincarnated in the Astral World

After what happened to Drummonds' enemies, what's remained of Dmitri's family and the Viscount quickly left Josephine's house and returned to their own homes, frightened.

Arthur and Aria took some time to prepare and follow them half an hour later. With the map Josephine gave them, they head directly to the house of Emilio. Moving like shadows through alleys and over rooftops, they swiftly arrive there unnoticed.

"I think this is the place," Aria comments as she looks at the map in her hand and at a large mansion bigger than Josephine's, hidden behind a high wall of colored stones, both she and Arthur tucked in the shadows of an alley across the street.

"It is; Nyx has already located the Viscount with her magical senses," Arthur says with pride and gratitude in his tone.

"Uh? That's a pretty useful ability for you, I see..." Aria's tone is positive, but there's a certain glint of jealousy in her eyes.

Arthur ignores that comment while scrutinizing the house in detail. "There are many guards around, mostly Elites and Fighters, but there are also some mages inside..." He sees men like the old bodyguard of Anastasia guarding the gates and patrolling the area.

"I could make them disappear in the blink of an eye," Aria shows her fingers glowing with grey light.

"Wouldn't that be too risky?" Arthur remarks. "If we start a battle, you might end up destroying the city. I could lure them inside and take them out one by one in the shadows."

"Do you want to do this alone?" Aria's expression is concerned.

"Well, Liam, I mean, I... I've never had a partner, so I only know how to do it alone. Sneaking in also seems easier alone."

"I won't let you do it alone," Aria says with determination. "There are dozens of Elite Warriors in there; they wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

Arthur smiles, leaving Aria puzzled, then he promptly clarifies, "It's comforting to have someone watching my back... but how will we pull this off?"

"You're worried I'll reveal your location, aren't you?" Aria inquires, swiftly starting to etch symbols into the ground surrounding her. "I get it. You did things one way in your previous life, but things are different in this world..."

Arthur attentively observes the lines and symbols Aria rapidly sketches out. He recognizes it as an enchantment, 'But for what purpose?' he ponders.

Aria finishes the symbols, which begin to glow, then she looks at him with a self-assured smile and whispers ancient tongue words, 'Absconditus Visum, Neque Vidi, Neque Visus,'

"Ohh..." Arthur doesn't grasp those words, yet it becomes unmistakably clear to him what it's about when he sees Aria's body turn transparent and then completely disappear before his eyes. "Incredible..."

"Fufufu~" Aria's melodious laughter sounds right in front of Arthur's face, and he can smell the delicious scent of her breath but can't see anything of her, not even a shadow.

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"Are you impressed, darling~?" She asks in a proud tone. "You have no idea what your Mommy can do. This way, I won't blow your cover-"

Aria stops talking when she sees Arthur stretching his hand forward, heading towards her enormous fluffy mounds, making her blush.

*Pah*

Arthur feels the touch of his mother's soft hand on his, and her voice sounding surprised and embarrassed, "What are you doing, darling~?!"

Although it's a light slap, he can't prevent his body from enjoying it. Still, he pulls back his hand and smiles, "Sorry, Mom; I just wanted to know if I can still feel your body like this."

"You naughty boy~! Who's going to believe in your pure intentions??" Aria tries to sound upset, but her tone is half loving and half shy, "If you want to know, yes, my body is as it always is; only it and the clothes touching it cannot be seen by naked eyes."

Regaining herself, her gaze grows determined. "Don't worry, with Mommy here, you'll have the perfect partner-" She stops and blushes more, 'Oowww… what are you thinking, Aria…'

"Oh?" Many things cross Arthur's mind as he nods. "What a nice spell… will you teach it to me one day?"

"Sure, baby~ but it's a Master spell with enchantment and chant, so you need to get a lot stronger to use it. Now let me just..."

Arthur hears Aria's voice drift away from him a bit, and then parts of her dress begin to appear in the alley's shadows. The way it becomes visible, starting from the top, makes it evident she's taking off the dress.

*Glup*

The sound of Arthur swallowing dryly breaks the silence, and the invisible Aria blushes at seeing his eyes shining lustfully. "Don't look, darling~"

"But I can't see anything..."

"It's still weird!"

"Alright…" Arthur turns around as the image of Aria undressing ignites in his mind like fire on dry straw.

"Why are you doing it, Mom?"

"This dress is beautiful but hinders Mommy's mobility."

"Are you going to do this... I mean... just in your p..."

"No! Of course not! That would be too weird... and other powerful mages can see me using magic."

In a flash, Aria removes her dress and stores it in one of her magic treasures, then she takes out a more casual outfit and puts it on. For Arthur, hearing her changing clothes is as exciting as it is torturous because he can't see anything.

"Done," Aria's voice sounds behind Arthur's ear, sending a pleasant shiver through his body. "We can go, baby~"

"Alright..." Arthur needs to calm down and focus. 'It's hard to think about killing when Mother is invisibly behind me whispering into my ear like this...'

'Hehehe...' Nyx's response is giggles in his mind devilishly.

Arthur covers his blond hair with the hood of his cloak and climbs onto the rooftops of the houses in front of Emilio's mansion. With Aria following him invisibly, he doesn't need to worry about anyone noticing her presence and acts freely.

He runs across the rooftops until he finds an area without guards and then jumps from the top of the roof over the street and the high wall of the mansion, landing in the garden with the lightness and silence of a cat.

"Nice jump!" Aria whispers into Arthur's ear after simply floating over the wall.

Arthur can't help but notice how it was much easier than he expected. As Liam, he was a master of parkour on Earth, able to jump from high places using techniques to lessen the impact of his falls.

But now, his body is so superior to a human from Earth, that he can jump from much greater heights without worrying about the fall. Also, thanks to his superior agility, he can move quickly while maintaining as much silence as possible.

Another major advantage that Liam didn't have is Nyx, who whispers in his mind the positions of all the people near Arthur like a perfect radar.

'Ten meters ahead, an Elite Warrior, second grade…' she reports, and Arthur moves like a shadow through the garden, quickly spotting his target.

"hum… humm… hmmmm…" The man sharpens his sword with his back against a wall near a fountain, relaxed.

Arthur must stay crouched behind the garden plants to avoid being seen, but Aria can position herself wherever she likes, having a privileged view of the situation.

It's clear he can't just run toward the guard, who would spot him immediately. 'Will he use one of his kunai? Or a needle?' Aria wonders about Arthur's next move.

But surprising her, he doesn't use any of the ranged tools on his belt; instead, he picks up a stone from the garden and throws it into the fountain.

*Plooop*

"Huh?!" The guard hears the noise and sees some of the fountain water splashing out. "Something disturbing the fish?"

The man walks up to the fountain with his sword in hand and peers into the water. "Are you all right, little friends-" Under the moonlight, the guard sees the reflection of a hooded figure emerge behind him.

*Shoossh*

The guard tries to react, but no sound escapes his mouth as Arthur opens a deep gash across his throat from one side to the other with his curved dagger, one of Aria's gifts.

'NO!!!' The poor man barely comprehends what happened before his vision darkens. His blood flows rapidly from his body, falling into the fountain and turning the water red.

Arthur skillfully catches the body of the guard, letting it slowly sink into the fountain without making a noise.

Witnessing the scene up close, Aria silently claps her hands and smiles proudly. 'That's my boy~!'

Arthur doesn't pause and swiftly moves toward his next target using the position reports from Nyx. The garden around the mansion is vast, and he uses it to silently take down several guards, all Elite Warriors, killed before they can even understand who the enemy is.

After dragging the last body behind a bed of tall plants, Arthur eyes his next targets, two guards around one of the mansion's back doors.

Taking out the two guards isn't a problem, but there are other guards in the area, so any noise might alarm them.

'I could help him…' Aria almost uses her magic but decides against it. 'But I want to see how he handles this.'

Arthur doesn't need much time to think; he quickly picks up a stone like before, but this time, he throws it at an apple tree in front of the guards, causing a fruit to fall to the ground.

"What?!" The guards are initially alert but quickly relax when they see the apple rolling on the ground.

"Another squirrel stealing apples?"

"Damned animals…"

One of the guards walks over to the apple and bends down to pick it up. "Where are you-"

*Whoosh*

Arthur emerges from behind the plants like a shadow and leaps over the guard, slashing his throat with the curved dagger. Simultaneously, he uses his other hand to throw a kunai infused with his intent.

*crush*

"WH-" The second guard is shocked, but before he can draw his sword or shout, the kunai pierces his throat.

In the midst of his movement, Arthur controls the fall of the first guard and then lands in front of the second, also preventing him from hitting the ground hard and making noise.

Two more instantaneous and silent deaths. Arthur quickly drags the bodies back into the garden, and no other guard is alerted.

Aria watches everything with a proud expression.

'I've met assassins in the past, but he sure is good. Perfect awareness, silent movement, ruthless and lethal. Just like a machine.' Her eyes grow hazy with worry and sadness for a second, 'How much did you have to kill to become so good, darling?'