Chapter 521

He stood beside Odalys, shoulder to shoulder. The man, however slow-witted, understood what was happening. He muttered under his breath, "How could you have set a trap and made me fall for it? It doesn't make sense."

Odalys stood tall and aloof. Crossing her arms, she said, "I felt something was wrong the moment they entered the Stewart Villa. You must have appeared suddenly, bumping into Francis after filming. Then you cast an illusion spell on him. The illusion would activate once he arrived at the Stewart Villa and met me—that's why you called him. When he received the talisman, you thought your plan had succeeded."

As she spoke, the man's face contorted. "Unfortunately for you," Odalys continued, "you didn't know Francis carried a talisman I created to resist your illusion spell. I exchanged secret signals with him when he entered the Stewart Villa. He answered your call, opened your package, received the talisman, and then fell under your illusion."

The man went limp and collapsed. He hadn't expected Odalys to see through his scheme.

"You wanted to use the power of illusion to eliminate me, then forcibly occupy Francis's body and use it to return to life?" Odalys said coldly.

His face ashen, the man watched helplessly as Odalys approached. "You're already dead, and you still want to borrow a body? Do you think you can control everything? Your time is up," Odalys said sharply.

The man's lips moved as he met her gaze. "The power on your talisman, meant to kill me, is now attached to you. Let you feel the trap you set for yourself," Odalys said.

His eyes were red, like a ferocious beast. He screamed heart-wrenchingly, but no sound escaped, as if his orifices were blocked. He fell to the ground in despair, his body burning, a force expanding within him. "No!" he roared.

This talisman was meant to save his life, borrowing the energy of the person with the greatest life force to help him seize Francis's body. Once Odalys and Francis died, he would use their energy to forcibly occupy Francis's body, returning to life as "Francis." But now, with the talisman attached to him, its power would grow, and he would suffer increasingly severe consequences—falling into his own illusion and exploding. His soul would die, leaving no chance of escape.

As he sank into these thoughts, his body exploded with a bang. A force pressed down; he vaguely saw Odalys chanting a spell and striking him. Before he could react, a gust of wind blew, and he disappeared.

Odalys, blown by the gust of wind, quickly pulled Francis back half a step. "Is he dead?" Francis asked, his voice hoarse with panic.

Odalys nodded slightly. "He wasn't human. He didn't have a body; it was his soul. He wanted to use yours to come back to life."

"Fortunately, I warned you. Otherwise, if you'd fallen for his trick, you would have died. The person who woke up would have been him—this Francis would have become him, and no longer you," she explained.

Francis listened, his heart pounding. He was familiar with the concept of "borrowing a body" from novels—the body was real, but the "core" had changed. The soul was not the original person's.

"Who wants my body? I don't even know him! Why me?" Francis trembled, his voice laced with anger. He couldn't imagine it. If he hadn't known Odalys, he would have died. "How unlucky am I?" he sighed.

"Because your fortune is low, your soul is easily pulled out. Also, he's been dead a long time, making it easier for him to enter your body," Odalys explained.

Francis fell silent, his palms sweaty. Thinking of his ex-girlfriend and agent, he turned around, finding nothing. "Odalys, where are they? I thought they were caught. How did they appear? Did they escape?" he asked, confused. They had been right behind him moments before.

"Since this is an illusion, except for you, me, and him, everything else is fake. Your ex-girlfriend and agent are your inner demons. He used them to panic you, creating an opportunity to occupy your body," Odalys explained.

Francis was about to speak when Odalys reached for his face. His pupils constricted, and before he could react, he was pulled into a black hole. "No!" he screamed as blinding light struck him. He instinctively raised his hand. After a while, he opened his eyes, finding Freya and others. When Francis lost consciousness, Odalys had entered his consciousness.

"It's not over yet. The man who wanted Francis's body is dead, but the person behind it hasn't been punished," Odalys said coldly. The other party wanted to use Francis to drive a wedge between them. But they didn't expect Odalys to have everything under control.

"The manipulator? Isn't it the one who wanted Francis's body?" Stellan asked, frightened.

Odalys shook her head. "This person has been dead a long time, his soul locked up. He targeted Francis because of his low fortune and to infiltrate your circle. You're familiar with me; once Francis's soul was replaced, they could hide behind me. At critical moments, Francis could destroy my plans—or even kill me," Odalys sneered.

Francis shuddered. Fortunately, Odalys had foreseen this. "What should I do?" he asked hastily.

"Use your blood to create a magic zone to strike back at him," Odalys said.