Chapter 467: The Soul Devourer Awakens
There was no suspense at all. The moment Corpse Demon Shatters Heaven struck, Evan was completely wiped out.
Boom!
His body exploded into a shower of loot that scattered across the battlefield. Weapons, materials, coins, and equipment flew in every direction. Somewhere among the pile was the Boomerang Wind Sword Marcus had been sent to recover.
The villagers erupted into cheers.
"That’s incredible!"
"I’m going to become a knight someday!"
Similar shouts rose one after another. To them, the sight of Marcus’s attack had been unforgettable.
Meanwhile, the stunned Soul Vase Ghost took the full force of the six black energy blades. Critical hits flashed repeatedly above its head as over 30,000 health disappeared in an instant.
Pebble and the other pets showed no mercy.
The moment the attacks landed, they swarmed the immobilized boss. Blow after blow crashed into its body, each strike stripping away at least ten thousand more health.
"Trash mob."
Marcus glanced at the Soul Vase Ghost with open disdain.
Without the protection of Swarm of Countless Ghost Souls, it was nothing more than a Level 60 Silver-tier Boss. The creature that had caused so much trouble suddenly didn’t look nearly as threatening.
Then his attention shifted elsewhere.
Something far more interesting had happened. The instant Evan died, the unsealed blue jar finally reached its limit.
Crash!
The shattered fragments scattered across the ground.
A wave of freezing air swept across the battlefield, causing nearby villagers to shiver. Thick blue mist poured out from the broken container, spreading through the air like fog.
Then a figure slowly emerged from within it.
It was a large bird spirit nearly the size of a tiger. Brilliant blue feathers covered its body, while enormous wings extended from either side. A long tail trailed behind it, drifting gently in the air.
The soul of the Twin-Winged Ice Owl.
The spirit floated silently above the shattered remains of the jar, surrounded by a pale blue glow.
For several moments, it simply hovered there.
After being sealed away for two thousand years, the sudden freedom seemed to leave it momentarily disoriented.
Then instinct took over.
Without anyone controlling it, the Ice Owl’s soul slowly began drifting upward, searching for a suitable corpse it could possess and use to return to life.
Unfortunately for it, fate had other plans.
Directly above the drifting soul floated the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat’s egg.
When Pebble had knocked the Soul Vase Ghost away earlier, the egg had followed the Soul Vase it was attached to. As a result, it now happened to be positioned almost perfectly above the Ice Owl’s path.
The moment the cat manifestation above the egg sensed the immense energy contained within the Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul, its eyes lit up.
The translucent cat immediately perked up. Its ears stood straight, its tail flicked excitedly, and then its mouth opened wide.
The black energy surrounding the egg suddenly surged..A swirling vortex formed beneath it, spinning faster and faster as dark currents reached toward the passing soul.
The Twin-Winged Ice Owl immediately sensed something was wrong.
At first, it had noticed the strange egg but paid little attention to it. In its mind, the two could simply ignore each other while it searched for a suitable body to possess.
What it didn’t realize was that the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat was a natural predator of souls.
The moment the pull of the vortex locked onto it, the Ice Owl understood its mistake.
A sharp cry rang through the air. The soul’s previously calm movements vanished.
Its wings beat frantically as brilliant blue light erupted from its body. It struggled desperately against the pull, trying to escape before it was dragged into the darkness.
But the struggle was hopeless.
Two thousand years ago, the Twin-Winged Ice Owl had been a notorious predator. It had hunted water-attributed beasts and even humans, devouring their brains to strengthen itself. Its brutality was one of the reasons it had ultimately been defeated, stripped from its body, and sealed inside the jar.
Unfortunately, two thousand years of imprisonment had left its soul stagnant.
It possessed no meaningful combat power, no offensive techniques, no way to fight back. All it could do was flap its wings and struggle helplessly as the vortex slowly consumed it.
The difference between the two sides was simply too great.
The Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat had originally been a Divine Beast. Even in the form of an egg, it had spent centuries absorbing energy within the Purity Spring of Mist Veil Palace. Its foundation was absurdly powerful.
The Ice Owl never stood a chance.
"NO!"
Across the battlefield, the Soul Vase Ghost watched everything unfold. Although the stun prevented it from speaking, its mind screamed in despair.
The Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul. Its greatest prize. Its path to becoming stronger. Everything it had worked toward was being swallowed right in front of its eyes, yet there was nothing it could do.
Even if the stun ended immediately, the Soul Vase was no longer under its control. Without the artifact, it had no means of capturing the Ice Owl’s soul.
It could only watch.
Everyone on the battlefield watched as the black vortex spun faster and faster.
Above the egg, the cat manifestation bounced excitedly in midair as though celebrating a feast. The Ice Owl’s soul spiraled downward, dragged helplessly toward the center of the whirlpool.
Blue energy and black energy twisted together. The spirit grew smaller, its cries grew weaker, and then, with one final pull... Gulp. The Twin-Winged Ice Owl’s soul vanished completely. Not a trace remained.
’Holy crap...’ Even Marcus couldn’t help muttering under his breath.
The next moment, the egg went crazy. It began spinning violently in the air.
Its color changed repeatedly. First black. Then brilliant blue. Then the dead gray of countless ghost souls. The three colors alternated so rapidly that it looked like a spinning lantern.
Even the cat manifestation wasn’t spared. Its fur changed colors with every pulse of energy radiating from the egg.
Marcus found himself staring nervously.
’Uh...’
’Please don’t get indigestion.’
For the first time, he was genuinely worried. The thing had just swallowed the soul of a Mythic Beast.
Wasn’t that a little excessive?
He half expected the egg to crack apart on the spot.
Fortunately, that never happened.
As the seconds passed, Marcus noticed something surprising.
Despite the massive influx of energy, the egg continued drawing ghost souls out of the Soul Vase at a steady pace. It showed no signs of slowing down, no signs of strain, and certainly no signs of exploding.
The enormous amount of power it had just absorbed seemed to disappear into an endless void.
It was like trying to fill a bottomless pit.
Marcus couldn’t help wondering just how hungry this thing had been after spending a thousand years soaking in the Purity Spring.
As that thought crossed his mind, the violent transformations gradually began to settle.
The gray energy faded first, then the brilliant blue. Both were slowly absorbed into the egg’s original darkness until only a single color remained.
A deep, mysterious blue-black.
The surface of the egg shimmered softly as the last traces of conflicting energy disappeared.
But the most dramatic change wasn’t the color, It was the cat.
Marcus’s eyes widened as he stared at the figure taking shape above the egg. The familiar cat manifestation was changing. Its body stretched and evolved as new features began to emerge, piece by piece.
Something entirely new was being born.
