The surrounding Silverfalls Vine reacted as one, its consciousness rippling sharply toward a single direction.

Ray's eyes snapped open. He lifted his arm and pointed.

"Over there!"

Alfred did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

The Skyfrost Sword slashed downward, and a colossal Skyfrost Slash tore through the darkness. The frozen blade of light ripped open the black fog, frost spreading in a straight line across the vegetation it passed.

"Awoo—!"

A deep, distorted howl echoed through the forest.

The black fog shrank violently, compressing into a pulsing knot of purple light.

The Skyfrost Slash struck the purple light head-on and dissipated.

As the darkness thinned, their opponent finally revealed itself.

A black ape stood there, a little over two meters tall. Its body was lean and agile rather than imposing, but its head was crowned with strange golden hair that burned like fire.

A faint purple glow wrapped around it like mist, and its topaz-colored eyes stared straight at Ray and Alfred with unmistakable shock.

Ray's heart skipped.

He had never seen this soul beast before.

Alfred's voice rang out, sharp and grave. "Three-Eyed Demon Ape. It has already reached the ten-thousand-year level and awakened its third eye. Extremely dangerous."

Before Ray could respond, Alfred charged forward.

This time, there was no cautious probing.

Against an opponent of this level, staying together would only expose Ray to mortal danger. Alfred chose close combat immediately.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape snarled, its white fangs flashing. Its body coiled, then exploded forward like a black storm.

Ray felt a stabbing fear surge through the Silverfalls Vine beneath his feet.

Danger!

He reacted on instinct.

He threw himself forward, rolled, and yanked hard on a prepared strand of Silverfalls Vine, twisting his trajectory midair.

The timing was perfect.

Behind him, the Three-Eyed Demon Ape vanished.

Not fled.

Vanished.

It reappeared exactly where Ray had been a heartbeat earlier. Its claw slashed downward, forming a hexagon of amethyst light that crushed the air itself.

If Ray had been even a fraction slower, he would have been reduced to pulp.

Cold sweat drenched his back.

It tricked Teacher…?

"Hmph."

For the first time, anger flickered across Alfred's face.

In the next instant, countless azure sword waves erupted outward, flooding the battlefield and engulfing the Three-Eyed Demon Ape.

The ape could not truly teleport. What it had used was illusion.

And the illusion only worked once.

Alfred's eyes burned with brilliant purple light as the Purple Demon Eyes reached full power. Frost Scar followed Frost Scar, each slash precise and merciless.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape reacted with terrifying speed. It crouched low as violet light burst outward, forming a barrier that deflected the sword waves before exploding to force Alfred back.

At the same time, its other arm swung.

A lance of tanzanite light shot past Alfred and streaked toward Ray.

Why me again?!

Ray didn't dare hesitate. He wrenched himself sideways with Silverfalls Vine, barely escaping.

The tanzanite beam struck the ground.

Purple-black flames erupted, crystallizing every plant they touched into amethyst statues that melted moments later.

Ray's face turned pale.

This was darkness at an entirely different level.

Alfred pressed the attack relentlessly. Sword waves chased the ape again and again, but it dispersed into violet light once more.

Another illusion.

Alfred anticipated it.

He sidestepped cleanly and countered with a Skyfrost Slash.

But this slash was different.

Its size shrank to just one meter, yet the azure light became blinding. The soul power within was compressed to a terrifying degree, not a single ripple wasted.

The ape's violet barrier split.

The condensed sword wave tore straight toward its body.

Panic flashed across the Three-Eyed Demon Ape's face. It roared, throwing up another shield and leaping aside at the last possible moment.

Alfred did not pursue.

He stopped.

His stance changed.

Both hands closed around the Skyfrost Sword.

And then—

His sixth soul ring lit up.

Black.

Pure black.

Ray's breath stopped.

A ten-thousand-year soul ring.

In the world of Soul Masters, such a thing bordered on legend. Among ten thousand people, perhaps one might ever possess it.

So this is Teacher's true strength…

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape sensed the danger instantly. It retreated rapidly, rage and fear twisting its features. Its black fur shimmered with indigo as golden light flared from its forehead.

Its third eye opened.

Golden radiance poured out, and its body swelled to nearly three meters tall.

Violet energy gathered between its palms, compressing into an ever-growing sphere of light.

Ray's heart hammered.

Teacher…!

Alfred remained unmoving.

His eyes were closed.

The black soul ring expanded slowly, power coiling like a sleeping dragon. The Skyfrost Sword's glow shifted from icy blue to an eerie, pure white.

He looked detached from the battlefield, as if the world no longer concerned him.

If not for the terrifying pressure filling the air, Ray would have thought he had abandoned the fight.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape let out a furious roar.

Its palms slammed forward.

The violet sphere detonated into a beam of indigo light that tore straight toward Alfred, draining the ape's energy as it poured everything into this final attack.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape did not stop.

Almost the instant its violet beam was unleashed, a second attack followed. From the golden third eye on its forehead, a narrow ray of radiant gold shot straight toward Alfred's head.

A spiritual attack!

Alfred's eyes snapped open.

In that instant, a dazzling violet-gold brilliance erupted from his gaze. Compared to before, this light was purer, denser, and immeasurably more tyrannical. This was the Purple Demon Eyes unleashed at full power.

Gold and violet collided in midair.

Invisible waves of spiritual power exploded outward, distorting the space around them like ripples on water.

Ray, who was watching from afar, felt as though a hammer had slammed into his mind. He had no way to defend against a spiritual shock of this level. Nausea surged violently, his vision spun, and his consciousness shattered.

He lost his balance.

Still perched atop a tree, Ray fell.

Back on the battlefield, Alfred raised his head. His face was deathly pale. Blood streamed from his nose and ears, staining his white robes. Even he had paid a price in that clash of spiritual power.

Before he could recover, the massive violet beam arrived.

At the final instant, Alfred closed his eyes.

Then he moved.

His jet-black sixth soul ring lifted from beneath his feet and expanded, enveloping his entire body. In the next heartbeat, it ignited with a blinding white radiance that surged straight into the Skyfrost Sword.

Alfred and his sword turned snow-white.

His figure vanished.

A white blur streaked across the battlefield, leaving a trail of blossoming ice in its wake. Wherever it passed, the raging violet energy froze solid, cracking under the sudden, absolute cold.

The imprisoned light shattered in an explosive burst.

The white blur flashed again.

Alfred reappeared behind the Three-Eyed Demon Ape, clad in white, sword in hand.

The ape's expression froze.

A thin vertical line appeared at the crown of its head. It traced straight down through its blazing third eye, cleaving its body cleanly in two.

"Raymond! The third eye!" Alfred's voice thundered.

The shout pierced through Ray's haze.

His head felt as if it were being drilled by thousands of needles. Agony flooded his senses, so intense he wanted to slam his skull into the ground just to escape it.

His vision swam, but instinct took over.

Silverfalls Vine shot out.

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