“THE THREE ULTIMATE SOULS!” Soulayer used his final and ultimate skill, wanting to end this battle as he already had suffered too much damage by the hands of this kid.
He dropped his greatsword, making it splash against the water, then pulled up the string that was holding the jar around his neck.
That jar was as big as his hands, and he held in both of his, his expression yet again softening.
Soulayer immediately shook his head and quickly glanced at Stark, then he shut his eyes and began to turn the lid of the jar, his expression darkening after each twist.
As the jar twisted, Soulayer’s eyes began to glow with an intense crimson aura, and the water in the giant pond began to ripple at the sight of this powerful display.
“Die!” Soulayer roared, his muffled voice echoing through the area as he flung the opened jar forward, sending a wave of crimson energy surging around him.
But right as that happened…
Nine screens appeared around Stark.
[They are watching.]
Each of these screens showed the figure of one of the 9 participants of the trial, every single one of them observing the fight with great interest.
Stark couldn’t see their faces as their figures with pitch-black, obviously, but their eyes, all burning with different colored auras, could be seen from beyond the crimson screens.
Their judgmental stares indicated that they knew Stark could now see them, and it seemed to make them enjoy that situation even more: after all, HE was the weak one, not them.
“Feeling hopeless yet~?” he saw one of the figures move its mouth, but couldn’t hear the words it said.
“Hurry up and die, I want to start the trial,” another sighed.
“SHOW MEEEE WHATTT YOUU’VEEE GOOTTT!” some kind of motivator shouted while doing signs.
‘I hope you all keep that same attitude when I’m there,’ Stark maniacally smiled before turning his attention back to Soulayer, who had seemingly freed the three green spheres that he had been protecting inside the jar all this time.
It was his ultimate skill, so he needed to be careful.
“ABYSSAL ROAR~” Soulayer roared again (for no reason), and this second one was… way stronger than the first.
This could only mean one thing: Soulayer acknowledged Stark as the strongest opponent he had fought yet.
‘Appreciate it,’ Stark kept smiling as he positioned his fists in front of his face, ‘But I’m still killing you…!’
The three spheres inside the jar left it once opened and began to swirl around Soulayer, creating a dark and ominous aura that seemed to engulf him completely.
The crimson glow suddenly turned green again, almost as if Soulayer was absorbing the power of those spheres…
And he was.
…
[Skill: The Three Ultimate Souls]
[Description: The souls of Soulayer’s friends who died inside the ‘Soul Graveyard’ rift, they are his strongest souls and most precious ones, if the battle goes bad for him, he will activate this skill and release those souls to aid him.]
[I do not wish for anyone to experience this.]
…
And just as it said… three green ghost-like figures appeared around Soulayer, spinning around him.
One was a woman, and two were men, their faces were devoid of any feature, and they had no hair either, it was impossible to identify them.
Yet… Soulayer’s determination when his friends were around him almost tripled, and he grabbed his sword again.
~FWISH~
One of the male souls surrounded the entire greatsword and a powerful green outline appeared.
~FWISH~
The second male headed toward Soulayer’s second arm and created another sword, identical to the first one, yet its texture completely green.
And finally…
~FWISH~
The soul of the woman gently held onto Soulayer’s neck and peeked at Stark from behind his shoulders.
‘…’ Stark wasn’t deterred, and such an emotional or powerful skill wouldn’t stop him for murdering that boss.
Soulayer was now stronger, faster, and also had two swords, but it didn’t matter.
‘Two or three hits and he’s done…’ Stark only thought of the positive in this situation.
“Holy… that thing is strong!”
“Looks like that guy is going to die before even reaching the trial, what went through his mind to attempt this at his level?!”
“Probably too desperate to level up, heh~”
The other participants, who’s screens were still around Stark, spoke, even they could sense that boss was abnormally strong.
The soulless Soulayer, and his soul friends, advanced toward Stark, one step at a time.
‘Okay, Stark…’ the boy slapped his cheeks, ‘You can only use your fists, nothing else, you can do it…’
He was getting ready, not using his skills was something he had never done before, but maybe it was time to actively train to not rely on them?
~FWISH, DASH~
Surprisingly, Stark was the one who began dashing toward the boss.
He was holding on to his five [Crystal Stun] potions with his hands, ready to use them at any time: they were his grace, his solution, and his only true plan to win.
Yeah, okay, maybe that wasn’t ONLY using your fists and aura, but who cares, he could use as many of these potions as he wanted in battle, right?
~FWISH~
Stark jumped when he was around three meters away from the walking Soulayer, his face full of determination.
‘TAKE THIS,’ he threw one of his potions toward Soulayer, who didn’t even bother avoiding it.
~CRACK~
It hit him straight on, and the mist began to surround its body, and yet…
[Soulayer is unaffected by the mist]
‘FUCK…!’ here goes his plan.
~FWISH~
Wanting to make sure, Stark threw another one while still beginning to fall down, this time aiming it at his shoulder.
Stark expected him to yet again do nothing as he took a stance, ready to battle the human.
But…
“SWORD COUNTER,” almost as if panicked by the potion, Soulayer used his skill to throw the potion back at Stark.
~CRACK~
It exploded on him, but of course, Stark was unaffected by the mist too.
‘…!’ many people would identify such an action as the boss wanting to not get hit again.
But to Stark… it meant something big, and it could definitely help him win.
He had figured it out, and a light bulb shone in his head as he remembered the actions of Soulayer.
Why would he suddenly defend himself when the potion was headed toward his shoulder…?
What was around his shoulder that he needed to defend?
And so with that logic, the answer came fast: it was the soul of the woman that was hiding behind.
Meaning… Soulayer was defending them.
Stark would make sure to take advantage of that.
“SOUL STRIKE!” Soulayer roared again as he dashed at Stark, ready to cut the human alongside his soul friends.
