Heart-wrenching sob of a man escaped from the Corrupted Abysmal Flame, and Haden slammed his shoulder into the flame monster, sending it hurtling away from Rion.

Rion stood frozen, broken words escaping his lips as the sensation of the trapped souls brushed his mind, "Ten... Thousand... Ten Thousand..."

Hearing the hollow cadence of his voice, Haden turned toward him. A troubled shadow crossed his face, and he called out, "...Rion?"

Rion did not respond, still immersed in the emotions bound within the Corrupted Abysmal Flame.

Haden's expression grew darker as dread seeped into him, his heart pounding harder. He seized Rion's shoulders and yelled, shaking him in a desperate attempt to pull him from his trance, "RION!"

Rion's lips parted, and he spoke without even a flicker of emotion, "I did it... I freed one of them..."

Haden froze, the light in his eyes fading, yet suddenly the spark buried deep within Rion flared brighter, and his mind began to clear.

The regrets, pain, anguish and dread that had spread in him vanished instantly, and he came out of his daze.

Confusion spread across his face, and he called out while looking into Haden's eyes, "Father?"

Colour returned to Haden's eyes, and his lips parted, "Rion—"

But before he could finish, the flame monster crossed the distance between them and lashed out, slamming a kick into Haden's side.

Unable to guard himself, Haden was sent flying away, and the monster shifted its focus toward Rion.

Rion swiftly drew his spear and thrust forward.

The weapon passed straight through the creature's body since he had not infused it with his aura. The flame monster stared at Rion, its eyes clouded with confusion.

Suddenly, Rion's lips curved upward, and he said softly, "Be free."

His words twisted into the conceptual firmament of freedom and, just as before, within an instant, it pierced the flame monster's form and reached the bound souls.

The creature froze once more, and the anguished cry of a young warrior escaped from the merciless grasp of the Corrupted Abysmal Flame.

The emotions trapped within began to surge toward Rion, and he muttered through clenched teeth, "Be... Free."

A faint, barely audible wail left the corrupted blaze, and Rion prepared to repeat the command, but invoking the conceptual firmament of freedom was straining his mental state, and the surging emotions only worsened it.

His lips parted, and the flame monster shoved him away.

Rion tumbled across the ground several times, and the fire forming the monster's body grew far more violent.

The scorched earth beneath him crumbled as he tried to rise. He collapsed back and muttered, "Blasted hell... only if I still had some of my aura left."

He pushed himself up, stared at the monster, and murmured, "No wonder it wasn't working before..." He glanced at his palm and added, "Freedom cannot be forced. It must be chosen."

A faint smile touched his lips as he said, "Forcing which is meant to be freedom itself... how foolish."

The flame monster vanished from its position, its claw streaking toward Rion's head, yet all Rion did was smile.

Right when the flame monster was about to crush his skill, Haden appeared beside him and swung a heavy blow to its head.

Rion jumped back, Haden blocked the claw with its other hand, and the monster did the same.

They separated from each other, only to launch a barrage of attacks the next moment.

Shockwaves rippled outward from their clashes, and Rion kept his gaze fixed on them. After a few minutes, he too would need to join Haden, for he had to free all ten thousand imprisoned souls.

Yet there was one problem: there was no way Rion could endure the mental backlash of using the conceptual firmament of freedom even a hundred times, let alone ten thousand.

So, before joining in the battle, he had to somehow make the conceptual firmament even stronger.

Strong enough that it could free all of the souls in a single command.

"How do I do that?" He questioned himself while half of his mind focused on the battle unfolding before him.

The flame monster swung its blazing claws, slashes bursting forth and racing toward Haden.

Haden raised his left hand and clenched it.

His spear flew back into his grip. He spun it and deflected the slashes away.

The monster lunged forward, a dreadful heat radiating from it, and Haden continued to engage.

None of them used any groundbreaking attacks, as Haden was low on aura and the monster lacked even the hint of intelligence; it was nothing but the layered shell formed from the unimaginable anguish of the trapped souls.

As Rion observed, he realised the flame monster had almost no intellect, and an idea formed in his mind.

After drawing a deep breath, he twirled his spear and gathered his aura into his feet.

He looked at Haden and sent a Mental state, <Get away!>

Haden looked at him from the corner of his eyes and asked, <What are you trying to do—>

Before he could finish, a thunderous boom echoed through the forest, and Rion shot toward the monster, aura spiralling around the tip and shaft of his spear.

Haden instantly stepped away, and Rion reached the creature in a heartbeat. The monster twisted toward him as he lunged forward.

AZURE ASCENDING SPEAR — RION'S SPECIAL — SERPENT'S ENDLESS GREED!

The aura around his weapon formed into a colossal golden serpent and surged ahead.

It clamped onto the flame monster, and the ground shook as it dragged the creature from the crater's centre to its edge.

When the serpent vanished, only the Corrupted Abysmal Flame and the chain revolving around it remained of the monster, and before it could reform, Rion plunged his hand into the Corrupted Abysmal Flame.

His hand began to turn to ash, but before it could be completely consumed, he whispered, "Be free."

The conceptual firmament of freedom surged through the Corrupted Abysmal Flame, and this time, his will followed behind it.

As it reached the amalgamation of trapped souls, a chill ran down Rion's spine, his heart faltered, and his eyes turned entirely pitch black.

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