Death... and me

Kentucky couldn't keep flying anymore as his mind started to become muddled. Obviously, their group immediately plummeted to the ground after that. Seeing what would inevitably happen, Roan used his Divine Soul Power to grab Luan, but it was just too hard to control it with the energy remaining in his body.

*Zush!*

*Clang!*

Rean immediately tried to defend against a wolf-like white powder creature, but since he was too close to the white powder, the wolf's power wasn't something he could counter anymore. The wolf hit Rean's sword, forcing both weapon and man against the ground.

*Crack, crack, crack...*

Several of Rean's bones broke in an instant after that. The worst part was that Rean was also running out of Divine Soul Power, so he couldn't even heal himself from that.

As for Roan, his situation wasn't any better. Two other demon beast-like creatures attacked him while he tried to protect Luan. Unfortunately, he was also hit by the attacks and was sent kicking through the ground and white powder. Obviously, a lot of the white powder started to enter his body, which made him start to transform as well. Even his Dark Element couldn't counter so much of it.

The only good thing was that neither the twins' minds were muddled by the salt transformation that was taking over their bodies. That's because the system countered anything that could affect their soul, so they were very much awake. Then again, that didn't help their situation at all.

Luan, as the weakest member of the group, was the first one to completely turn into a salt statue. For some reason, the Kibin in his forehead didn't seem to appear after that either. Most likely, it was also affected by the salt transformation. Following that, it was Kentucky who had met the same fate. It just took longer because of the size of his body and his resistance. Otherwise, he would have transformed before Luan.

The twins, who were almost out of Divine Soul Power, were left with only one option at this point. 'Let's burn our Nascent Souls!'

Yes, that was the one thing the twins did their utmost to avoid, burning their Nascent Souls. That's because once the power was spent, the twins' strength would drop back to the Peak Stage of the Core and Soul Fusion Realm. However, they didn't have any other choice.

Immediately, the twins' power swelled as they far surpassed their actual limits. Both their injuries healed in almost an instant as they fought back the creatures that were launching themselves against them. If they could only fight a Middle Stage Void Tempering Realm cultivator alone before, then it was no surprise they could fight even stronger ones at their current state.

'Death Style, Second Form, Crescent Moon!'

Both twins used Crescent moon, sending waves of mixed Dark and Light Element against the white powder creatures. 

*Swish, swish, swish, swish...*

All the creatures were easily cleaved into halves, falling to the ground way before they could reach the twins. The power of the creatures' attacks was at the Space Bending Realm, but the burning of the twins' Nascent Souls far surpassed that. However, more and more demon beast-like creatures began to take form in the white powder. Obviously, the situation didn't improve that much at all. If anything, it was still terrible as Luan and Kentucky had already transformed while the twins were in the middle of the same transformation.

Fortunately, the burning of their Nascent Souls added enough power for their Dark Element to halt the transformation. It was even enough to slowly fight it back. 

Rean then looked at Kentucky and Luan before asking Roan, 'What do we do? We'll run out of energy in a few minutes. Should we try to take them with us?'

Roan immediately shook his head, saying, 'They already transformed. Besides, haven't you noticed? As soon as they finished transforming, the creatures ignored their existence. I'm not sure if they can be saved or if they're gone for good. However, I'm sure we won't survive if we try to help them, especially Kentucky. After all, he's too big.

Roan then looked in the direction they were heading in a moment ago. 'Let's continue to head up the river. We have no other choice anymore.'

Rean immediately nodded even though it pained him to leave Kentucky and Luan behind. 'Alright.'

They talked through their Soul Connection, so their conversation didn't last even a second. 

'Death Style, Shadow Steps!'

If there was one thing one didn't lack in this place, it was darkness. Only Rean's light sphere created any light at all. Thanks to that, it was the perfect environment for the use of Shadow Steps. Now that their Nascent Souls were being consumed, their speed was far greater than before.

*Zush, zush!*

The creatures simply couldn't keep up with the twins' speed as they blended with the shadows, moving even faster than Kentucky at top speed. The problem was that the creatures would continue to take form further ahead and attack them from their opposite direction. 

'Death Style, First Defensive Form, Reversive Arcs!'

'Death Style, Third Form, Three Claws of the Dragon!'

'Death Style...'

The twins dodged, attacked, and parried the incoming attacks while keeping their speed at maximum. Thankfully, they had attained Third Grade Star Bodies. Otherwise, their bodies would be screaming in pain due to the overflowing power.

A few seconds passed, then tens of seconds, a minute, two minutes... the twins' Nascent Souls gradually disappeared as they forced their way through the enemies. 

Unfortunately, there was no end to the river or the white powder creatures. Worse than that, it looked like the power of the creatures was also increasing as they moved forward. What was before an easy task to destroy the creatures ahead of them now became harder and harder.

At some point, the twins completely gave up on attacking the creatures and used their higher speed to move around them. But even that was hard to accomplish as the creatures were also getting faster.

'Roan, I'm almost spent!' Rean exclaimed through their Soul Connection.

'Same here. My Nascent Soul won't last more than a minute now,' Roan said in response.

*Roarrrrrr!*

Suddenly, a defying roar entered the twins' ears. Rean immediately increased the power of his light sphere, illuminating even further ahead. 

Though, Rean and Roan's expression turned ugly as soon as they saw the origin of that roar.

'Is that a dragon?'