Chapter 170: Beyond Yourself (1/2)
”Is this a takeover?” Rakna muttered as he remembered a certain phenomenon he had read in the journal of that demented soul practitioner. ”Eva.”
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❮◈❯ What do you mean 'Eva'? This is not my problem. My only concern is that you come out of here alive. I don't care about the rest. I'm returning to my duties. Good luck. ❮◈❯
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She made her stance clear and Rakna rumbled. He released the full capacity of his soul power and wrapped Flavia with it. ”[Soul Scourge,]” he uttered and worked on isolating the intruder. But he quickly realized that it was incomparable to anything he had done with his soul power yet.
The strength of the soul he was trying to suppress was a lot higher than what he was used to and it was about equal if not a bit higher than his. But although that did pose a problem, it was more or less manageable as long as the white soul itself didn't fight back. However, what made it close to impossible for Rakna to do anything was the simple meaning of 'takeover'.
”A part of Flavia's soul has already completely fused with it,” he whispered. ”I can contain what is currently spreading, but it's impossible to get rid of the source anymore.”
”{Really?}” Higure was startled. ”{I admit I wasn't that good at it, nor did I have your instinctual control, but I was quite proficient with soul power when I was alive. Shouldn't it be possible for you to remove the ingrained part?}”
”You're confusing 'fused' with 'mixed'. It's not that simple. What's happening here is a takeover; in other words, Flavia's soul isn't being encroached by another, it is being replaced. It's transforming into something else.”
”{…that sounds bad.}”
Rakna gritted his teeth. ”You have no idea. If I had waited for her to wake up and leave the Dungeon on her own, Flavia would already be someone else,” he said and put his hand on the ground as the floor began to quake. He clicked his tongue and looked up to see cracks appear on the ceiling.
[You don't have much time left, Rakna.]
”I know… there's only one thing I can do,” he responded and as his Soul Scourge leveled up, he directed all of his concentration on the white soul. He first isolated it as best as he could and then yanked it out. If he couldn't get rid of it, he for sure was going to at least weaken it.
”Who are you?!” A resentful voice echoed in Rakna's head as the residues of the white soul formed the hazy figure of Cuniya above the unconscious Flavia. ”What do you think you're doing!?”
Rakna's eyes flashed red and his hand found itself clutching the neck of the witch. Red flames burst out from all around his body and very small drops of lava flowed down his skin; Obsidian Blood had reached its limit of tolerance.
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❮ ◈ ❯
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Volcanic Star Magic Awakened!
Attributes Swapped!
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---
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The curse is growing stronger
Ireful Shell has leveled up!
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❮ ◈ ❯
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”{Oh boy…}” Both Fray and Higure were taken aback seeing it for the first time.
”Killing you,” Rakna snarled out with his elongated fangs and his pupils that looked as if they were being filled with a cascade of magma. The output of his soul power multiplied and the normally invisible force started gaining a crimson shade.
It quickly swallowed the figure of Cuniya and she promptly screamed. ”It burns! What… kind of monster are you?!” She howled and struggled to escape from the volcanic soul. ”Even if you exorcize me now, it won't save her! It's too late! Sooner or later, I will take over!”
Rakna didn't respond and clenched his hand. In the blink of an eye, a torrent of red aura filled the area and when it disappeared, the soul of Cuniya was gone and Flavia's complexion had somewhat paled a bit.
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❮ ◈ ❯
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Soul's Decree has leveled up!
Primal Soul Core has leveled up!
Primal Soul Core has leveled up!
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❮ ◈ ❯
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Rakna reigned in his emotions afterward and drowned the voices of Ireful Shell. The curse had triggered itself without him even getting injured. It was apparently aligning itself with Obsidian Blood due to its dark nature.
Rakna transformed into a werewolf and picked up Flavia with one arm, positioning her so that she would be hanging from his neck. He then walked to Tyran and injected a strand of soul power into him to force him awake.
The T. Rex's reaction was explosive. He jumped up to stand on his four legs and immolated himself with fire. He looked around before he realized what was happening when he saw Flavia carried by his master. He let out a soft growl and lowered his head in shame.
Sensing his despondence, Rakna patted his head. ”It's all right. Since you got injured to this point, you must have shielded her from the witch's mental attacks. She probably wouldn't have survived without you. Good work.”