Chapter 93 - Rebellion – 2 (2/2)

“The one in charge of the Elakatra…” It was magic powerful enough to completely deceive not only my eyes but my senses and mana. Considering my own level, it would only be natural that humanity wouldn’t notice it. I recalled the mana of pure white light that appeared alongside this elf. ‘Was that the mana of their boss? No wonder they deserve to be called Elyos…’

“No, that’s an ability that anyone with Elven blood has at the core of them, even hybrids. It just happens to be weaker and cannot be properly expressed. That power you saw means that the monster had developed its abilities through its own strength.”

“Mireina can do it too?”

“If the hybrid was given enough time and had the talent to handle Jinma’s mana, then yes.”

“Huh. No, wait. Rain, what did you say earlier? You said this body was a human.”

“I see the soul rather than the body. By judging just the physical form, it is definitely a hybrid.”

“Hahaha.” I laughed as soon as I grasped what he meant. The body was of an elf, but the soul was human, which meant…the corpse before me was a soul monster that had killed an elf and took over its body.

“I was thinking about this the wrong way.” Until now, I had thought it would be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between a monster that had taken over an elf and a normal one. I thought the scattered elves on the battlefield would view each other with mistrust as a result. However, if there was a way to differentiate between them, that entire premise would be wrong.

“It’s impossible for hybrids, but it would be possible for an elf. More than that, they have learned to manipulate the soul monsters.” The Wind of Eutinus. It was now clear who had made it. The Elakatra had magic to control the soul monsters who had mutated with the sole purpose of stealing bodies.

“It would be easier than controlling a normal monster. The quality of their soul has deteriorated, and their sense of reason has been lost. They’ve discarded too many essential parts of their soul.”

“What terrible creatures to cling to life and target others’ souls.”

“If the monster eats the soul of an elf or a hybrid and takes over their body, they could develop their strength even more through slaughter and fusion.”

“It seems like the Elakatra are making soldiers to destroy Jinma.”

“I see…” He let out a sigh.

“All of the hybrids that died on the Rookie’s Battlefield may have been used as sacrifices to these monsters.”

“…”

“Don’t you feel like this monster’s ability is similar to your own?” I had thought they killed the soul, but the Wind of Eutinus made it clear to me when they began to merge. With my Demon’s Claw, I could devour them. It was tailored to me, but still similar to their own ability. They merged into each other and became stronger, taking other monsters into their body to grow. It was similar, in a way, to my Predation.

“…Is the leader of Elakatra aware of me?”

“Of course.” Maybe they were someone I was connected to in the past. I couldn’t say for sure, however, with my fragmented memories.

“They created the Chaos Soul to destroy humanity. Monsters that try to devour human souls, but not elven ones.”

“So they’re using Earth as an experiment site.” Chaos Souls to annihilate humans, and a soul monster to annihilate Jinma. Both were controlled by the Elakatra, who were trying to nurture troops that were harmless to them but lethal to their enemies.

“If so…” One question still remained.

“They may have guessed that Jinma has a connection to Earth.”

“It’s possible.”

“Why would they send that soul monster in the form of an elf to Earth before it was completed? I would only let it go when it had been strengthened to the point where no one could touch it.”

“…That’s it.” Rain had a bloody smile upon his lips as he responded.

“They don’t know the situation here.”

“They don’t?”

“That’s right.” Rain laughed darkly.

“They couldn’t properly check it out. It’s what you despise the most, Fate. They were arrogant.”

It was an eerie but confident laugh.