Cynthia leaped into the air, fist tightened, raised to bring down an earth-shaking, defining punch.

"Cynthia. Look out!" Soren screamed.

From behind her came another Antibody—another king Antibody.

Its body formed a giant hammer—one so big that if it landed, it would completely cover Cynthia's form.

However, she was now in midair.

Cynthia was not weak, but dodging that attack was not possible.

Soren knew this.

"Screw this." Using Ivory's frog-like ability, his legs moved.

Fast.

Precis.

Powerful.

He leaped into the air, whipping out his dagger.

Soren knew that he needed to stop that attack before it landed.

Instantly, he activated Bulb's ability.

x5 his attack.

With Ivory's shade's ability empowering his arms, this was all he could give right now.

Bang...

Soren's blade hit the giant hammerhead on.

The recoil rushed through his arms, shaking his insides vigorously.

He COUGHED a jet of blood.

Soren landed heavily on the ground, staggering a bit before he got his footing.

His hands shook ceaselessly.

He looked up. It was still not enough.

Two king antibodies.

Soren could clearly see that smirk in their one eye, on their chest.

But wait, he defended against that attack. Why were they still smirking?

A faint, dreaded feeling rose in his heart.

He immediately dove out of the way in time.

Whoosh... Any slower and he would have died.

Another attack. This one was an ax.

Soren looked behind him. That dread he felt became reality.

He had been wrong. The King antibodies were not two—but three.

They had all been played. Soren immediately realized that these creatures were sentient.

If not, they would not have come up with such an elaborate plan.

The first king Antibody, was just for show. It was bait.

Cynthia had taken the bait, thinking she only had one opponent.

But then the second came, and then the third.

With this much, Soren finally understood why getting the Crowned Jewel was always impossible.

None of the prisoners would have ever made it.

However, he was not just anybody.

Soren rose slowly to his feet. The recoil. He could still feel the damage in his body.

His left arm shook ceaselessly. It was numb to the feel.

He popped a vein or two after that last attack.

Cough.

More blood.

His gaze alternated between blurry and clear.

And yet, he still stood. Slowly raising his dagger to his face.

His smile was calm, almost gentle, and completely detached from the blood soaking his clothes.

It was the look of someone who had already accepted the cost.

"Soooreeennn!" Cynthia called to him.

"Don't worry about me, Cynthia," Soren replied. "I promised you that Crowned Jewel. I'll get it for you."

He looked around, only antibodies behind, and then the three king antibodies in front.

"No matter what happens, your focus is to get to the Crowned Jewel. You hear me."

No response.

"Cynthia!"

She sighed and then gave a reluctant nod.

"Good." He added, wiping his lips. "Now let's try this again. It's been a while, but..."

*First Form: Thief's Void*

The world went silent and gray, expanding from him outwards.

Cynthia moved, rushing towards the Antibody kings. The first one brought down its giant hammer for her.

Whoosh...

Soren had already appeared before her. His blade raised high.

Boom.

The sound was loud. However, the king Antibody frowned.

Why?

Because regardless of the sound, there was no hit.

Soren paused mid-step. His dagger had defended the attack without contact.

This was possible because of Pencil's Shade—strawberry.

Its ability was gravitational manipulation. To repel or attract was within his will.

What Soren had done was repel.

Boom, he dug into the ground, pushing forward as flames rushed from his body.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

He riddled the antibody with holes.

However, the second came from behind—hands like arch blades.

Soren sensed it in his Blackfield.

When using the first form, his body was far stronger than normal.

However, sending it and dodging the attack were two totally different things.

Soren willed his body to move, but it would not move.

Shit! The stress has compounded in my body.

Slash...

The blade tore through his midsection, his body and guts everywhere.

"SOREN!!!" Vinegar screamed in his head—the last voice he heard before he lost consciousness.

[You died]

.....

Soren jolted awake. What the hell was he thinking?

Using his first form?

That was a fantastic dumb idea. The reason was not because it was not effective, but because of his lack of mastery of the technique.

Even Soren knew that the first time he used it, he had been very lucky.

And that day, he still passed out after using it.

Maybe it was because of his low rank, but his Thief's Void was just too demanding of his soul energy pool.

To make matters worse, he was using abilities of Shades that usually required a lot of soul energy.

Basically, the reason for his death this last time was because he ran out of soul energy.

To make matters worse, he was using Ivory's Frog abilities to enhance his body.

Ivory was a person that had reached the minimum requirement for being a soul mecha pilot, which was rank six.

Soren already knew this. The higher the form achieved for the soul he consumed, the higher the soul energy cost.

Bulb's shade, Ivory's shade, Vass's shade, and Pencil's shade.

Too much for either his body or his soul energy to carry.

It was no wonder he shut off mid-battle like a light bulb.

While constant looping could help his body grow and become stronger, his soul energy was fixed at a cap.

There were only two times Soren remembered it increasing.

The first was when Chronovore devoured a fresh shade, and the second was when he first achieved First Form.

Right now, Soren was greatly against the idea of consuming more shades regardless of Chronovore's hunger.

The weight on his soul was just too much.

Even if he had to, then the shade would have to first be wounded, as Chronovore had a certain taste.

In prison?

That was a bad idea waiting to happen.

If Chronovore could not consume the Shades of the prisoners, then what could it consume?

Soren sat deep in thought. His mind searching for an answer. And then his eyes fell on the Discipline of Sorrow.

Wait a minute... why didn't I think of that?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.