Death... and me

After that, they sat down to talk about what happened. As for Kentucky, Roan sent him straight away to help the demon beasts conquer the Freten and Gargoc Regions. With the Stage Nine Demon Beasts, it wouldn't take too long.

"Spatial item to escape?" Roan narrowed his eyes as he could not help but say, "I didn't know they could create such items."

Phex shook his head as he replied, "They can't. Even for us demon beasts, it's obvious that the level of that thing far surpasses what we can forge on this planet."

"Can you tell me in detail what you felt when Fikin activated that spatial item?" Rean asked as he thought of a possibility.

Phex, Frin, and Xaon nodded before telling Rean what they saw and felt with their Spiritual Senses.

"I see..." Rean nodded before saying, "Yes, it's definitely not something you can create on this planet. In fact, even in our Sunkan Planet, it would have been impossible."

"How come?" Roan asked in response.

"Simple! The spatial fluctuations were just way too numerous. No teleport formation here or in Sunkan could reach that level of power. Besides..." Rean then looked at Phex's group as he asked them, "your Spiritual Senses can cover over a thousand kilometers, right?"

Phex nodded, saying, "My Spiritual Sense is the largest other than Darian, but Darian isn't here at the moment. My Spiritual Sense can go up to 1600 kilometers. Of course, once it surpasses a certain threshold, 1300 in my case, it becomes a little difficult to discern things."

Rean smiled as he continued, "That's the point. No teleport formation, be it here or in Sunkan, could teleport someone over 1000 kilometers." Of course, Rean didn't count the Soul Gem Circuitry Teleport Formation. "However, Phex still wasn't able to capture Fikin's presence after that teleport. If even a teleport formation can't do that, let alone an item."

Roan had to admit it made sense. "I understand where you're coming from." Obviously, Roan was thinking about the Bestial Sacred Ground. "Phex and the others did say that the path to the 'Realm of Gods' was open in the past. Chances are that the item Fikin used was a remnant of that time, brought here by one of the so-called Realm of Gods' residents."

"Indeed." Xaon also thought it to be plausible. "Then again, even the other Soul Rulers' Ancestors, Sect Leaders, and Zasfin Emperors seemed to be shocked when they saw Fikin using that. Most likely, none of them knew that Fikin had such an item on hand."

Frin couldn't help but ask, "Does that mean Fikin can run away anytime he wants?"

Roan immediately shook his head as he said in response, "Definitely not." Surprised, Rean and the others asked why. "That's because of the amount of damage you inflicted on him. Which one would you choose? Revealing the existence of that spatial item or forever sacrificing your Soul Power?"

None of them needed to think twice before answering in unison, "Revealing the spatial item, no doubt."

Roan smiled before continuing, "However, he preferred to sacrifice his Soul Power instead of showing that spatial item until the very last moment. If that spatial item was something he could use at any moment, he definitely wouldn't have almost died and suffered such a huge loss. He would have teleported away first." Roan then lifted one finger as he continued, "That means this item of his could only be used once! Only a life-saving treasure with that characteristic would be worth keeping hidden, even if it meant sacrificing his Soul Power."

Phex didn't find any issues with Roan's logic as he said, "I see what you mean. In the end, Fikin still had a chance to escape after using the Soul Mark Immolation Art. However, if he used the bead, he would indeed guarantee his safety, but the item would be gone forever. In his position, I would also prefer to keep the bead since my life is a lot more important than my Soul Power."

None of the demon beasts or Rean refused that logic. The difference between an item you could use many times and one that you couldn't was just that important. Especially when it concerned an item like that akin to a second life.

Roan then waved his hand, not looking too concerned as he said, "Well, it wasn't as if any of us wasn't expecting Fikin to have some life-saving treasures. Just how many did you see the Zasfins or the demon beasts themselves using one during this time, huh? It's just that it was a little bit more impressive than what we expected."

Soon after, he changed the topic, telling them, "Let's focus on the conquest of the Freten and Gargoc Regions. As for Aite and Wesdin, we won't touch it as those are the regions that will be used to give war merits to the Hafel Clan. If we use our strength to take it, the whole plan will be useless. Besides, it'll look like we're concerned with the Zasfin forces in those two regions, which will help the Hafel Clan's cause even more."

Frin immediately got up and nodded after that, saying, "Good! I'm heading out to help with it."

However, Roan shook his head as he told him, "There's no need. We won't find any resistance there anymore."

"What?!" Naturally, Phex's group was taken aback. 

Rean laughed as he looked at their faces. 'Sure enough, demon beasts aren't that good with strategies.' He then explained, "Isn't that obvious? The Aite and Wesdin Regions are well protected. As for Freten and Gargoc, nothing can stop us from taking it anymore. That meant the Zasfins won't leave their forces defending those two regions. Instead, they'll definitely send all their forces to reinforce Aite and Wesdin to make sure they won't lose those two regions at the very least."

Suddenly, a demon beast arrived at the scene before giving a report, saying, "Commander, all the Zasfins are retreating. What should we do?"

Roan nodded as he soon ordered, "Let them go. Focus on building our defenses in Humk, Freten, and Gargoc."

Sure enough, it was just as Rean and Roan explained. They just needed to be careful in case the Zasfins tried to do something else. Still, for the moment, this war had been won by the demon beasts for sure. If they succeed in putting Hafel Clan as the next Soul Rulers' Organization Leader, everything will be over.

"The only problem now is Fikin, the one who would be the biggest issue when putting the Hafel Clan there," Roan said. "Then again, there's nothing else we can do on our side anymore. The only ones who can deal with this problem are the Hafel Clan. We did what we could for them already. If they really want to have a member of their clan as the leader, this is the moment to show their cards."

Meanwhile, somewhere on the south side of the planet, there was a set of ruins forgotten by all. Almost no one knew that it even existed. This location couldn't be any further away from the Soul Rulers' headquarters, located at the north.

Suddenly, spatial fluctuations appeared inside a building at the center of the ruins. Not long after, a silver flash of light appeared before a figure came out of it. Naturally, that was Fikin.  On his hand, there was a silver bead brimming with silver light. However, the light on the bead was a lot fainter than before. 

*Crack, crack, crack...*

*Shatter!*

Following that, the bead shattered, leaving only dust and a gloomy expression on Fikin's face behind. Well, the fact that Fikin didn't have Soul Power anymore left him even angrier.

"I swear all of you will pay for this."

However, it was at this moment that a voice reached his ears.

"Unfortunately, you won't have the chance to do that."

Hearing that, Fikin felt a chill on his back as he looked behind.