Chapter 386: A Sudden Soul Attack
Third Person’s POV
Instead, his face radiated an unsettling calm that was quiet and possessed an unshaken certainty.
It was the kind of composure that came not from ignorance or bravado, but from an unshakable confidence in his own power.
As Ethan realized this, a pressure gripped his chest, and the man’s image in his eyes became even more dangerous.
Still, instead of fear, he felt an exhilarating feeling in his body as he had yet to encounter a powerful, worthy enemy who could raise such fear in his heart in all his years in this second life of his.
All this time, even though he encountered many difficult situations and enemies, nothing had forced him to be in fear and worry about his life.
They all had been manageable and nothing serious in his warrior’s heart, but this man presented a different kind of challenge to him, and such a gamble where he edged on the precipice of life and death was intoxicating.
As he was lost in his strange thoughts, he suddenly saw movement behind him and saw four, no, five figures emerging behind the young man, their forms cloaked in heavy black robes.
They moved like shadows in a silent and deliberate manner and gathered behind him as though their natural place was at his back.
The air around them seemed to warp faintly, and their presence fed the unease that had already rooted itself inside Ethan.
He recognized them instantly as they were the ones he had thrashed in the town yesterday, and the moment he did, he formed the connection between them and severed eye contact without hesitation, as now was not the time for some conflict.
Just as he turned his attention to search for Virelle and the others, a flicker of familiar presence made him halt.
In the far corner, half-hidden by a stone pillar, stood the blond demon girl, Lucy.
Relief washed through Ethan’s chest like a cooling wave.
His eyes lit faintly, and for a brief moment, he allowed himself the comfort of the fact that she had survived on her own in this trial, and this meant that he would get ample opportunities to meet her, which would have been possible if she had failed, as she would have gone back to her family.
He walked toward her with natural, unhurried steps while being careful not to attract unnecessary attention, but as he stopped in front of her, his relief soured into unease because he noticed that something was wrong with her.
Her lake-blue eyes were empty and vacant of the light that a living person had.
They held no spark, no recognition, only a hollow stillness as though her soul had been scooped clean from her body and she had been turned into a puppet.
As he focused on her, a sudden sharp prick shot through Ethan’s soul.
It was very subtle that would not have been noticed by normal people, but the fact that it happened was undeniable to his sensitive soul senses.
Instantly, he went on full guard.
A surge of silver soul power erupted from within him and swept through his soul space like a raging storm.
It tore through every corner of his inner vast space and rended apart any lurking presence that did not belong.
It was then that he found the thing lurking there.
From a darkened crevice within the core of his soul space surfaced a grotesque object.
It was a small skull, black as crystal, but he could sense the raw malice in its hollow sockets that stared at his inner jellyfish form.
But what twisted Ethan’s stomach in disgust was its mouth.
Instead of teeth, a cluster of writhing gray tentacles slithered out and twitched and grasped as if it were searching for something to consume and latch onto.
Looking at it, an instinctive chill crawled down his spine.
Even for him, who had seen and fought horrors beyond mortal nightmares, this was the kind of abomination that made the soul itself recoil.
His crimson eyes narrowed, and within his soul space, a weapon answered his will.
One of his feelers suddenly hardened as silver light converged into it and turned into a silver sword, gleaming with a brilliance that cleaved apart the encroaching darkness.
With no hesitation, he flashed next to the black skull as if he were teleporting and drove it straight into the skull.
His feeler sword pierced the grotesque thing straight through its bony forehead and came out of the other side.
In response, it screeched with a soundless shriek that tore at his consciousness and struggled like mad.
But Ethan didn’t give it a chance as his whole body glowed with a shining, dreamy silver light, and the sword entrenched in its skull exploded into a volley of sharp silver light that destroyed the skull with it.
As it dissolved into fragments, Ethan’s hand shot out in the real world, his reflex guided by instinct.
His fingers closed around something slimy clinging to the back of Lucy’s neck.
It was a translucent gray leech, and its form was barely visible to the naked eye.
Looking at it, he realized that this creature was the one that had attacked him silently, and staring at its appearance and sharp row of inner teeth, disgust flickered in his gaze.
Without pause, a silver gleam burst from his eyes and a blade of pure soul force, invisible to the material world, cleaved through the Astral space and slashed at the leech parasite with ruthless precision.
But to his shock, the leech sensed it instantly.
The parasite recoiled with an unnatural agility and instantly abandoned its grip on Lucy.
It darted through the Astral layers and fled without a shred of hesitation as it could clearly feel the threat emanating from that little silver sword shooting towards it.
In its haste, it didn’t fight back.
It simply escaped and slipped deeper into the shadows of the Astral realm, until it vanished entirely into a looming construct that made Ethan’s pupils contract.