My Substitute CEO Bride (Nash Calicraft) novel Chapter 2262

"Yeah, you really are easy to deceive," Helio repeated the same words spoken by the fake Dahlia. He had known from first contact that the person was not Dahlia. Hence, he decided to turn the situation to his advantage. 'Helio' dissipated into nothing; it had been a mirage—merely a decoy.

The real Helio did not appear. Instead, he was using the Rat's power to alter the shadow barrier. The fake Dahlia transformed into a one-eyed monster, searching for Helio.

However, because Helio had opened his own portal to enter the shadow barrier, he was not affected by the creature's power. Realizing it had no other option, the monster pulled the real Dahlia out from a dark shadow.

It then smugly taunted, "Boy! Didn't you come here to save her? Come on! Show yourself!"

The creature was still overly confident. It believed no one could escape its grasp within its own barrier.

Helio stepped out from the shadows.

Seizing the opportunity, the monster unleashed countless void shadows at him, attempting to absorb him into the barrier.

However, when everything settled down, Helio reappeared before the creature, completely unharmed.

A grin spread across Helio's face as he burst into laughter. "Haha, that was interesting! How about you try that trick again?"

Then, the sudden turn of events left the monster in a panic. It stared at Helio in disbelief, shouting, "Impossible! Impossible! I am the God of Shadows! How could this happen?"

A blinding white light flashed by, and the barrier shattered. Helio and Dahlia plummeted into the endless darkness. As the white light faded into the distance, a thought crossed Helio's mind—once again, he had made the wrong choice...

...

The Universal Top Seven did not used to be the only group under Universal Group. Many martial artists of various ranks and skills had once gathered under the group's banner and helped the group expand its influence and power.

However, during a mission in the Land of Nion, Helio made a costly decision that led to the deaths of nearly half of these martial artists. Patrick had been among the casualties. He was one of the original Top Seven who had grown up alongside Helio. Patrick was also Dahlia's sister. Both siblings were adopted by the overseas Ledjer family.

The Ledjer family was a legendary and powerful family in Gorgeous Country, known for having numerous individuals who were among the world's wealthiest. They had influence so vast it could be described as overwhelming.