...Soren turned to Cynthia. "When we get to the King Antibody. There is more than one of them.

She raised a hand, obviously attempting to question how he knew that.

Soren shook his head. "Trust me. There are more of them." He said nothing more.

Even he thought it ridiculous to give out too much information on the subject matter.

Still, he knew she would heed his words.

...Once again, they were before the first king antibody.

Cynthia leaped to attack it like last time. And as expected, the second king antibody was behind.

But before it could attack, Soren was already coming from its back.

"Unravel."

He punched, hitting his mark on the back of the king antibody.

Its body unraveled—layers peeling away as if reality itself had been torn loose.

But Soren was not done. Flames exploded from his hands, focused downwards.

The king Antibody screeched a loud, deafening scream in pain.

It tried to attack Soren, but he already predicted this, leaping back for just a fraction of a second, then exploding for it again—circling it to target its more damaged side.

Soren noticed that the king antibodies were slower when it came to movement.

However, as Soren circled to the side of the second king antibody, the third king antibody attacked him from behind.

But Soren only smirked. "Got you, bastard."

He did not need to look. Cynthia had his back.

Boom

Her fists came down on it.

While they were not fast when it came to movement, that did not mean that they were slow when it came to attacking.

Meaning that right now, Cynthia was facing two King antibodies while he was facing one.

Soren checked his soul energy reserves; he was a little below half full.

For an F-rank, it was not a lot—and it was a literal miracle he had that much.

He had been training control, using little soul energy for maximum effect. With Bulb's ability to aid his attacks, he produced effects far beyond his station as an F-rank Soulbound warrior.

Still, he attacked.

There was something he needed to know. Something he did not have the opportunity to check before.

But now, he could. He attacked again and again.

Using Vass's SS-rank flames, combined with Tommy's Unravel, and Bulb's ability x5 for extra impact.

It was a lot to handle.

Blood leaked from the side of his lips. But he still did not stop.

The only reason he had not used the first form was because it would consume more soul energy.

Riddling the body of his prey with continuous attacks.

Until...

He felt it.

Soren smiled.

While Chronovore was always hungry. Its desire spiked whenever a meal was before it.

In the Discipline of Sorrow, the first pilot came across a soul—one with the water that remembers.

While it was described as a soul, Soren noticed that the kind was not stated.

In his time learning about Shades and Eldritch souls, Soren had come to the conclusion that what separated one from another might not be as distinct as most of the world thought.

And thus the idea.

What if Chronovore could devour not just broken Shades but also broken Eldritch souls?

It was a crazy idea, and the possibility of it was minimal—but he had to know.

And now, he did.

Soren's smile widened, eyes sharp.

"Chronovore...Devour." He ordered.

Chronovore rushed from his person.

The serpent suddenly grew—as if to match the size of its meal.

And then it chomped down.

The wounded king Antibody thrashed about and even tried to use its blades on Chronovore, but it was no use.

Soren felt Chronovore swallow. The king antibody instantly turned into an incredible flow of soul energy.

Soren could feel it. His soul energy had climbed to the peak.

No, it was beyond that.

His soul could not carry all the soul energy and was expelling some of it.

Grey soul energy danced off his body like smoke from an active volcano.

"Can you feel that?" Vinegar asked, mid-battle.

"Yes!" Handler turned. "It's coming from the head region." He felt the hair on his skin stand.

"Such suffocating soul energy. I'll not even be able to breathe there, and I am A-rank. What kind of monster are they fighting?"

Vinegar looked in that direction, worried. "Please be safe." She whispered.

Of course, she did call for Soren in her mind, but the thick soul energy did not let her reach him.

However, while his teammates worried, they did not know that Soren was not the victim but the monster.

"Cynthia." Soren called calmly.

She turned to him.

"Go, let me handle these two."

Cynthia did not waste time; she leaped back and then headed for the Crowned Jewel.

The two king antibodies tried to attack her, but to their surprise, they could not move forward.

One of them looked below.

It was not just that they could not move, but that their huge legs were being pulled backwards.

Instinctively, they turned.

There Soren was—a hand stretched out.

As he slowly closed his fist, they were pulled back.

Gravity.

"Did I permit dinner to leave?" Soren asked rhetorically.

Soren's brown eyes had changed to a glowing gray.

He was already at a distance those below could not see, but now, the soul energy from his body had begun to form mist—blinding the entire head region.

That was just how potent the king antibody meal had been.

More blood fell from his lips.

He took a look. "Such a pit."

The blood was due to his soul's incapability to carry the Soul energy that Chronovore was sending into him

He needed to expel some out.

Soren did not waste time. "Let's try that again..."

*First Form: Thief's Void*

The mist froze. Then the world bent.

This time around, even Big Mama wailed in pain.

"What is the big one doing?" Vera asked Edward through the comms.

Edward frowned, surprised. "It is no longer attacking us. No. It's...retreating?"

Edward was surprised. Since they had been coming into the mines, this was the first time that Big Mama was retreating before them.

Edward looked to the storm cloud on her head region.

"What is the F-rank doing there?"

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