Chapter 101: Recommended Emergency Guiding Method: Kiss.

They had him.

Ethan immediately reached for the glowing tether.

The moment his hands closed around it, an overwhelming psychic pressure crashed into him.

His entire body trembled.

"Ugh!"

Xavier was incredibly heavy.

Not physically, but spiritually.

The corruption had practically turned his soul into an anchor, dragging him deeper into the bottomless pit with every passing second.

Ethan gritted his teeth and pulled with all his strength.

Nothing happened.

He pulled harder.

The tether tightened, and Xavier’s body shifted slightly.

"Come on!"

Ethan poured his spiritual energy into the tether.

His energy traveled through the glowing cord and immediately spread around Xavier’s body, forming a temporary protective shield that kept the black tar from directly burning into his soul.

But the moment the shield came into contact with the corruption, the entire abyss seemed to become enraged.

The black tar violently churned.

A wave of it surged upward, attempting to swallow Xavier again.

Ethan’s expression changed.

"Not a fucking chance!"

He pulled harder.

Outside the Mental Sea, his physical body was already reacting to the strain.

Sweat began pouring down his face, his breathing became heavier, and his heart hammered violently against his chest as he continued pouring his spiritual energy into the tether.

Inside the Mental Sea, however, Ethan refused to let go.

"Lumi!"

"Yip!"

Lumi dug her tiny paws into the ground.

Her entire body trembled as she poured more of her energy into the lifeline.

Together, they pulled.

Slowly, Xavier began moving.

His unconscious soul was dragged inch by inch away from the center of the abyss.

But the black tar refused to release him.

It surged around Xavier’s body, attempting to pull him back down while the protective shield Ethan had created flickered dangerously under the pressure.

Ethan’s teeth clenched.

He could feel his energy draining far too quickly.

Still, he refused to stop.

One final desperate pull sent Xavier’s body sliding completely out of the black tar and onto the safe shore.

Ethan nearly collapsed from relief.

They had done it.

But there was no time to celebrate.

Xavier was still covered in the toxic black corruption, and the tar was already beginning to creep toward him again.

Ethan immediately pulled the unconscious Sentinel into a tight embrace.

One hand pressed firmly against Xavier’s chest, directly over his energy core, while his other hand moved to the back of his head.

Then Ethan released his spiritual energy.

A massive wave of pure, bright A-rank energy flooded directly into Xavier’s chest.

The effect was immediate.

The black tar covering Xavier’s spiritual form began to dry.

Cracks spread rapidly across the dark substance.

Then it began to flake away.

Piece by piece, the sticky black corruption turned grey before crumbling into ash and disappearing into the air.

But Ethan knew he couldn’t simply pour his energy into Xavier and hope the corruption disappeared on its own.

He had to actively force it out.

His spiritual energy moved through Xavier’s energy channels like a powerful filtering system, pushing the dark corruption away from his core and forcing it toward the surface.

More tar dried.

More cracks appeared.

More grey ash fell away.

Slowly, Xavier’s true spiritual form began to emerge beneath the corruption.

But while Ethan was entirely focused on Xavier, he failed to notice the abyss behind them beginning to move again.

The black tar surged.

Lumi noticed.

The little fox immediately turned around.

Her ears flattened.

"Yip-yip-yip!"

She sprang into action.

Lumi began running around the perimeter of the safe shore, her tiny paws leaving glowing footprints behind her with every step.

"Yip-yip!"

Another footprint appeared.

"Yip-yip-yip!"

Another.

One after another, the glowing footprints connected.

A bright line of spiritual energy formed around the edge of the safe shore, gradually weaving itself into a protective barrier.

Then Lumi ran faster.

Her glowing footprints multiplied until the light formed a radiant net stretching over the edge of the abyss.

The moment the black tar lashed toward Ethan, the barrier flashed brightly.

BOOM!

The corruption slammed into it and recoiled.

Lumi stumbled backward but immediately regained her footing.

"Yip!"

She refused to stop.

She ran again, reinforcing the barrier with every glowing footprint.

The abyss fought back.

The protective net shook violently.

Black tendrils struck against it again and again, trying to break through the barrier and reach Ethan while he was vulnerable.

Lumi kept moving.

"Yip-yip-yip!"

Her little body trembled from the strain, but she continued pouring her energy into the barrier.

Ethan finally noticed.

"Lumi!"

He glanced over his shoulder.

The little fox was struggling.

The abyss wasn’t simply attacking her barrier.

It was actively fighting against her attempt to contain it.

Every time Lumi strengthened one section, another part of the barrier began to crack.

She was trying to hold back something far too large for her to contain alone.

Ethan’s expression changed.

"Damn it..."

He understood immediately.

Lumi couldn’t do this by herself.

He couldn’t simply focus on Xavier while expecting her to keep the entire abyss under control.

He had to support her.

Ethan immediately extended part of his spiritual energy toward the barrier while maintaining the flow of energy into Xavier.

The moment his energy connected with Lumi’s, the barrier brightened again.

"That’s it, Lumi. Hold it there!"

"Yip!"

The two of them fought together.

Lumi maintained the barrier.

Ethan continued cleansing Xavier.

The abyss surged.

They pushed it back.

It surged again.

They pushed harder.

But Ethan’s energy was disappearing far too quickly.

His breathing became ragged, and his arms began to tremble from the strain.

He looked down at Xavier.

The Sentinel’s spiritual form was still covered in corruption.

There was too much.

Ethan’s energy wasn’t enough.

The black tar surrounding Xavier suddenly thickened again, resisting the purification and forcing its way back through the cracks Ethan had created.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

"No..."

He poured more energy into Xavier.

The corruption pushed back.

He increased the flow.

The corruption pushed harder.

At this rate, he would run out of energy before he could completely cleanse Xavier.

And then something even worse happened.

Xavier’s spiritual form suddenly shifted.

His body began sliding backward.

Toward the abyss.

Ethan’s expression changed instantly.

"No, no, no!"

He tightened his arms around Xavier and desperately held onto him.

But the black tar was pulling.

Hard.

Ethan’s feet dragged across the ground as Xavier’s body slowly began sliding toward the edge.

His energy was draining rapidly.

Lumi was barely holding the barrier together.

Just as Xavier’s spiritual body slipped another few inches toward the darkness, something suddenly appeared in front of Ethan.

A familiar translucent screen.

Ethan stared at it.

His exhausted mind barely had time to process what he was seeing before new words appeared across its surface.

[Preferential Faster Way of Guiding Detected.]

Ethan stared.

What?

Another line appeared.

[Current Guiding Method: Standard Direct-Contact Guiding.]

[Current Success Probability: Decreasing.]

[Recommended Emergency Guiding Method: Kiss.]