What’s going on?
This human alchemist was weaker than the young Frostborn. How did he suddenly become so strong?
Realizing that this human with an ominous aura was conjuring something dangerous, the Soul Eater shifted its attention away from the taunting female towards Salvatore.
It shut all of its eyelids, abandoning its vision in order to enter the Silent Realm. It only needed its perception to focus on its enemies.
I need to interrupt whatever he is conjuring.
This is a Taboo Alchemy that only “sages” can complete.
But isn’t he just an “apprentice?” Not even at “master” level…
The Soul Eater: ??? [Nick Young Meme.jpg]
It hadn’t been summoned by anyone for hundreds of years, and all of a sudden it realized it no longer understood how the world works…
In the Soul Eaters’ understanding, there was no such behavior as “doping.”
However, it recognized the alchemy technique.
Taboo Alchemy—[Sun Corona Refinement].
Use an existing material to exchange for a small part of the Sun—or to send the target straight into the star if failed.
It didn’t want to receive the devastating attack.
As a summon, it wouldn’t die. This body was simply an avatar, like a statue.
But it would still hurt.
If I’m banished to the Sun…
The Soul Eater shook his drill-like head uncomfortably. It disappeared instantly, avoiding the steel lances that were flying towards him, and moved farther away—at least out of the flames’ range.
As a matter of fact, it wanted to flee already; it wasn’t even summoned by Silent Lady’s believers.
An infidel who stole the spell and imposed multiple strange restrictions upon summoning the Soul Eater… All in all, it was unwilling to be here.
It would willingly accept it if it were its boss telling it to work overtime.
But it was more accurate to say that it was working for another boss that knew its boss. It was alright with helping out, but it would never work overtime for him.
Unlike its hunter-like appearance, the Soul Eater was a relatively well-tempered summon. Surprisingly, it was much more cowardly than it looked. When it wasn’t the Silent Lady’s believers summoning it, it might flee in the face of a strong enemy.
The reason was simple – this creature lived in groups.
It was the natural enemy of all Transcended that used mana. They fed on the souls that possessed mana pools.
Soul Eaters could see souls and sense the locations of spellcasters easily, as well as the power and characteristics of any magic being cast nearby. It also had a strong, resistant body that was proficient at charging and thus was commonly nicknamed as the “Silent Spear” in ritual.
At the same time, it could swap between the Silent Realm and the material world at will, which appeared as if it could teleport.
As such, among the high-ranking summons, they were quite popular.
Let’s not forget the fact that an alchemist was a physically weak and slow Transcended. Only those reaching the level of “Sage” could intimidate the Soul Eater even a little.
Still, it had become hesitant.
It was crawling further and further away from the group. It hid into the mist generated from its body in the blink of an eye. It looked like a marshmallow lizard in action.
Annan also noticed the Soul Eater’s fear, and quickly realized that the Taboo Alchemy posed a huge deterrence.
For spells of such level, the user would chant at a high frequency for each chorus of the alteration process and direct it at a specific route. This would enable the user to cast typically impossible spells by borrowing “Truths” from other people or “deities” and apply it through an unequal exchange contract.
It’s essentially using loopholes in “Truths” to steal the authority of their owners. If the stolen party noticed it, they could confront the user by following the evidence.
That was why it was called “Taboo Alchemy.” Ancient Gold Rank alchemists, also known as the “Sage” profession, were nicknamed “The Thieves of Fire”.
(TN: I think “fire thief” is related to Prometheus stealing fire for man in Greek Mythology.)
However, if the user stole these “Truths” without being noticed and attained Gold Rank, they would be able to reliably utilize the power of that “Truth” without consequences.
Although the spellcaster would have to pay a painful price to existing owners afterward if the crime was noticed. It would normally be used only in an emergency.
The power of those at the “Truth” rank was potent. Even if the user only stole a little, it could still overwhelm anyone Gold Rank or below, just like how those below Silver Rank couldn’t nullify elemental power entirely.
This senior’s got something here.
Salvatore did explain the concepts of Taboo Alchemy to Annan before.
But he didn’t tell Annan that he had already mastered at least one of these taboo spells.
For him, Annan wasn’t a Gold Rank yet, so it was too early for Annan to know about it.
What the heck is that sticky thing crawling out of the senior’s body?
How can it cuss at others during spellcasting? It seems to be better than the senior in spell casting too.
Isn’t that Venom [1]?
If not, what is that evil creature with a malicious aura?
In the end, the Soul Eater didn’t retreat. Apparently, it had some doubts about the power Salvatore had mustered.
Although the Soul Eater didn’t know what drug Salvatore used, it didn’t believe that Salvatore’s power boost could last forever.
Otherwise, if the “Sage” wanted to eliminate it, there was no need for Taboo Alchemy techniques. “Sages” could eliminate it as easily as flicking a finger.
Aside from that, the Soul Eater was a little hungry as well.
It wasn’t old, by the Soul Eater standards.
It smelled that there was indeed a substantial, delicious soul nearby. It couldn’t pinpoint the exact location yet, so it decided to stay around to look for it.
Hmm, that Frostborn’s soul seems so delicious and fragrant. I want to eat it.
Those two human souls seem dry. I don’t want to eat them.
That strange alchemist’s soul who suddenly became a “Sage” seems to have a foul stench.
Conflicting smells assaulted its olfactory function.
In the end, it couldn’t hold its appetite.
It moved left and right, escaped into the Silent Realm the moment it rounded the corner of a building, and instantly reappeared behind Annan and the rest.
There was no warning. It struck like a cannonball, attempting to pierce through Salvatore directly!
At this moment, an invisible wall of air rose behind Salvatore.
Annan had already anticipated its attack.
It habitually liked to ambush from behind.
When the Soul Eater was hesitating, Annan had taken out a bottle of frost air. He placed the hammer next to his feet and clasped his hands together like he was praying.
Then, Annan used Salvatore as bait while being wary of his back. With that, it granted him the opportunity to intercept the most threatening “Silent Spear” at the first moment!
The Soul Eater, who came quickly, had its speed reduced tremendously as soon as it reached the wall. Although the wall was not too effective as the creature was solid, Annan immediately cancelled the spell once the Soul Eater hit it, and raised another wall right after!
Four consecutive, precise wall spells were activated. That slowed down the Soul Eater’s Charge to a snail’s pace.
Those walls were all Annan’s guided spells, Impeding Wall!
While Annan quickly erected and canceled the Impeding Wall, a stream of chilling air spread rapidly on the ground and covered the Soul Eater’s body entirely, freezing it in place.
For the first time, the [Elven Skin Gloves] fulfilled its purpose, allowing Annan to use two guided spells simultaneously to hinder the Soul Eater’s actions in time!
At this moment, dozens of electrified steel lances descended from the sky.
The shadow had anticipated Annan’s actions and believed that he would hinder the Soul Eater in time. So, it readied many spears in the air to launch at any time.
The steel lance barraged downwards, pinning the Soul Eater to the ground while severely injuring it. On impact, they released pillars of flame, which then also crystallized and hardened into steel.
With Annan and the shadow’s cooperation, the Soul Eater was sealed inside a sturdy steel column with a radius of about five meters!