Chapter 1995: Power of the Soulspeed Werewolf (2)
Rex couldn’t see what happened.
He couldn’t look up. Couldn’t even move a muscle, so he was simply relying on the System’s scanning feature. But he did not need to look up to the sky to know that something bad happened to Lilliana from the scream that tore out of Davina’s throat.
And the notification from the System confirmed it.
Rex’s eyes widened more and more as he read through the entire notifications that had flooded his vision in red. His eyes bulged. His chest tightened. And his breath was caught in his throat, as this horrendous situation came out of nowhere.
How did this happen? She’s still using the ring!
Before departing to the small banquet, High Lord Rashal had given them three intricate rings.
Rings that were embedded with the Black Doom Gem, which contained an incredible amount of immortal energy that could even block the attack from a Transcendent Demigod. Something that would keep them completely safe in case the worst happened.
Even now, Lilliana was still wearing the ring.
It should protect her even from a raw slice, as the ring is sensitive to not only energy, but also force.
Nothing should be able to penetrate the ring’s protection.
But he underestimated the Sundial Arch too much.
Rex gritted his teeth.
Or at least, he wanted to, but the time stasis stopped him from doing anything.
He was waiting for the System’s scan over the Stasis Arch Formation to finish, so that he knew how to proceed even further—but it was already too late. Assured by the ring given by High Lord Rashal, Rex let Lilliana attempt to harvest the souls.
Little did he know that the ring or any item without time resistance wouldn’t work in the Sundial Arch.
And now, Lilliana realized that the hard way.
Rex wasted no time and summoned his Aegis of Moon Sentinel again.
He activated the Law of Misdirection, pushing against the time stasis, and turned around sharply.
Anger and panic seethed inside his chest when his blood-red eyes fixated on Lilliana, who was not too far away from him. She was lying on a mound of green sand that had already turned olive-brown—from the blood leaking out from her waist that was almost bisected completely.
Just seeing her condition made Rex’s heart pound even harder.
He broke the time stasis for the second time to raise his arm, pointing his palm at her.
Moonlight corruption!
Rex shot a large amount of energy into her—snapping her out of death’s illusion as she had lost too much blood already. He could see light behind her eyes the moment his energy got to her, and he didn’t waste any time using his Almighty Bearing to press over the creature fighting Davia and also flared his Alpha presence.
One that fixated solely on Lilliana before the time stasis could hold him again.
Get up, Lilliana.
His telepathic voice wasn’t merely a voice anymore.
It was an absolute command that demanded nothing but absolute obedience.
Every single Silverstar had already acknowledged him as the Alpha, including Lilliana. Just his sheer Alpha presence alone would influence them greatly. It didn’t matter what they were doing or how vital the task was.
As long as Rex spoke with authority, they would drop everything and obey.
Even the stroke of death couldn’t overpower his command.
I chose to turn you because I saw something more. I saw your hunger.
Show it to me. Show me your hunger.
I am your Alpha, and you will obey me. Get up!
Kaboom—!
Above, the colliding Time-Space Soul Prisons detonated like a supernova, bleaching the sky in a searing white flash. The shockwave howled outward, hammering the air—and sending violent tremors through the other nearby Soul-Time Prisons.
Their stability fractured with every aftershock.
From within the glinting crystal, a chorus of thunderous roars erupted as one.
Two white phantoms tore their way free, their features already distorted beyond recognition. With every clawing inch they gained, their forms stretched further—elongating into grotesque, shrieking silhouettes that defied all natural shapes.
And with the sound of a cracking whip, these white phantoms broke free.
Each one wasted no time and rushed down to their physical bodies.
But another power stopped them mid-track.
"Soul Fusion..."
Lilliana, with her last bit of strength and the energy bestowed by Rex, activated her bloodline ability.
She was burning from the desire to obey Rex’s command.
It was the same sensation as having fate telling her that this was what she meant to do.
Despite her incredibly critical condition that would slowly drag her to the world of the dead with patient hands, her body moved on its own. Her bloodline flared one final time. Her thin and sharp claws grasped at the empty void before her, and though she clutched nothing, the two souls pouring from the shattered Time-Space Soul Prisons froze in place.
It tried to return to its flesh, but they were seized by an invisible grip.
An unbreakable wrap that stopped them mid-air.
And with a fierce pull, the souls were dragged down from the sky at blinding speed.
Her eyes gleamed with a sudden hunger that she had never felt before. She knew that Rex’s command had a big part in what she was feeling right now—but this hunger was not entirely from that. It was also different in a way.
Something that no living being should ever feel, as it came from deep inside her.
It was a hunger that came directly from her soul.
Not the dull ache of an empty stomach or the bodily demands of daily maintenance—this was something else. Primal to the point that her entire body reacted to it, and even in her critical state, it burned through the pain and exhaustion like a flame through paper.
Unwilling to be pulled, the souls thrashed.
Each one writhed and twisted—as it dragged down from the low atmosphere, spectral forms flickering with desperation, pouring every ounce of their will into breaking free. It was useless. They were pulled closer, and their struggles only grew weaker as her hold tightened.
Once they were at arm’s length, Lilliana’s claws stabbed into the ground.
Her energy pierced deep into the sand and created anchoring threads that kept the souls from running away. They hung before her, still thrashing and twisting, like food that could be eaten alive on a dining plate.
All of her claws gleamed again.
Lilliana seized the first soul—and tore a great chunk from its form, and the sound that followed was not of this world. An astral, otherworldly scream pierced the air and raked against the mind. Having a chunk of its being torn, the soul convulsed in agony.
But it didn’t faze her.
She brought the torn piece close to her mouth and bit into it like a starving beast, gulping it down with a shudder of raw satisfaction. Eating souls—are the first time for her. Before becoming a Silverstar, she wasn’t even well-versed in the world of souls.
Never in her entire time being alive had she ever thought of being able to do this.
That one day she would be able to drag and eat souls like a reaper.
And as if that wasn’t shocking enough, the taste of a soul was even more shocking. It was sweet as the juice of a ripe fruit, but richer, deeper, and laced with something that spoke directly with her own soul. Once she tasted it, stopping was no longer an option.
Lilliana ate. Piece by piece. Tearing and devouring. Consuming every fragment of the caught souls.
The screaming gradually faded.
The struggling gradually stopped.
And as she fed on the souls, her body began to mend.
Her devastating wounds did not close with flesh. Instead, a white translucent membrane stitched itself across the gashes, a ghostly patchwork that pulled her broken form back together. Soul-stitched. It was imperfect, but it wasn’t wrong either.
Like the flaws were deliberate.
More than healing, her aura began to climb, too.
It rose steadily, a pressure that accumulated around her like an unseen storm. The air around her could only thicken, and the sand beneath her began to tremble. She was the engine now, and the souls were her fuel.
Not merely restoring her, but elevating her. Making her more than she was seconds ago.
Rex watched in stunned silence.
She ate the souls like they were the most delicious thing in the world, devouring them that carried size and energy enough to shake the air around them. It took a full minute to finish both, and when she did, she was already on her feet.
A minute ago, the stroke of death had left her on the ground, bleeding away to die.
Now, she was even stronger than she ever was.
Something about her had changed, too. Her energy brushed against Rex’s skin like an unfamiliar hand, and then he saw it. Her hair and fur, once green, now swayed with a pale, ghostly hue. A very pale shade of green.
Lilliana closed her eyes to soak in the moment, and when they opened again, they were colder. Firmer.
The color had shifted to a pale white, and within them, something moved.
White phantoms. Shifting shapes. The faint, writhing impressions of the souls she had devoured—now caged behind her eyes, staring out like prisoners through the bars of her gaze. Moments ago, they had rejoiced at their freedom.
But now, devastation seeped into them as they realized they had only changed prisons.
Earlier within the glinting crystal, now within Lilliana.
For a hushed second, the world went silent as she met with Rex’s gaze.
And without wasting another second, she disappeared, dissolving into nothing.
Meanwhile, Davina was still locked in battle.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. The creature before her was a gnarly, twisting horror, and nothing she threw at it seemed to matter. Her attacks landed perfectly. And still, it came unbroken, undamaged, as if the concept of being wounded had never been taught to its flesh.
For a second, Lilliana’s broken stature crossed her mind.
It was an image that forced her to grit her teeth as desperation coiled cold and tight in her chest.
Then, the creature suddenly wailed.
ROAR—!
An agonized, piercing squeal that split the air, and Davina had done nothing to cause it.
None of her attacks had worked, yet the creature screamed anyway, thrashing as though something had reached inside it and brought a world of pain. She glanced over her shoulder briefly and saw a surprising sight.
Lilliana was doing something.
She didn’t have time to look properly, but she knew that this was Lilliana’s doing.
Hope returned.
Davina only needed to buy enough time.
A sudden blow hurled her backward, striking her crossed forearms hard.
She skidded across the green sand, boots carving furrows, and threw her hands forward. A hundred miniature stars flared to life around her. She hurled them all at the creature, a barrage of explosions that rippled the air and painted the desert in stark white flashes.
The blasts were still roaring, and the smoke still billowing when the creature moved again.
It parted the smoke and crossed the distance in an instant, faster than her eyes could track.
In the blink of an eye, it was already before her face.
Davina’s breath caught. Her eyes stretched wide. She tried to raise her arm, to summon a barrier, to do anything—but the creature’s sharp limb was already arcing toward her, faster than her desperate reflex.
She was going to get hit!
At the last second, a hand seized the creature’s face.
Fingers drove hard into its skull, and with a thunderous crack that shook the ground, the creature was ripped from its path and slammed into the sand hard. The impact cratered the desert floor—and cracked the ice underneath.