Chapter 324: Soul Gambit

’I’m glad my gamble paid off...’

Regis thought to himself, the feeling of relief welling in his heart.

His right eye shifted to the side as he slowly turned his head, each movement clearly requiring great effort.

He opened his mouth, yet no words came out.

Elysia held him carefully, as though he were made of fragile glass.

Her arms trembled, yet her expression remained calm.

It was obvious she was trying to rein in the torrent of emotions swirling within her.

Nevertheless, the hope, happiness, and relief she felt could not be completely concealed.

They inevitably seeped through, forming a faint smile on her lips.

However, as Elysia sensed the condition of the young man’s body in her arms, her pupils dilated as her body trembled even more.

"You..."

Her voice was filled with shock and disbelief.

"Your soul... has been split!?"

Not only Elysia, but Wisteria’s smile also froze as they both realized the magnitude of the situation.

Even in the countless years that had become the foundation of magic, the study of the field of the soul remained lacking as compared to other fields of magic.

The only things that could do anything to affect the soul were none other than the higher beings: Gods and Devils.

Injuries to the soul— even the slightest ones— would take years to recover.

And now that the young man before them had seemingly sacrificed half of his, no one knows how long it would take him to recover.

Maybe he would not recover in this lifetime.

Hearing her panic-stricken voice, a helpless smile appeared on Regis’s face, ’As expected of the queen of elves...’

Elysia then began tending to his injuries on the spot, pulling out potions and other medicinal elixirs from her storage artifact.

As Regis felt the stinging pain caused by his healing injuries, he began thinking back to the battle earlier with the abomination.

Despite all the wounds and broken bones he sustained, he did not feel even an ounce of regret.

In the battle, he was able to use all the weapons in his arsenal.

Excluding the magic spell he used to protect Elysia and Wisteria;

His physical body that went toe-to-toe against the abomination made of two of the strongest elven archers and swordsmen.

And, of course, his Gifts that he had been able to depend on for most of the battle.

Besides that, he also used two weapons in a discreet manner.

In the final moments of the battle earlier, Regis knew that he had no other way of winning.

Even though he could fight equally with the abomination, he was aware that he could not last for much longer back then.

And so, Regis took a gamble. (A/N: It began back in Chapter 321, just in case you guys don’t realize my genius in naming Chapters :3)

It started when he decided to use his final Instant Regeneration and ceased utilizing his Tranquility.

From the moment he closed his left eye, he started an extremely painful and arduous process—

—which was none other than the splitting of his soul.

That was right.

Regis’s halved soul was not an injury caused by the abomination.

It was a byproduct of the gamble he took.

In the battle, he also did not use chaos energy, despite the huge help that it would have given him.

This was, of course, because Regis knew that while it could buy him some breathing room as he dodged the countless abilities bent on taking his life, it would not help him end the battle.

At best, it could temporarily ease the pressure he was under, but once it runs out, it would leave no lasting impact.

After all, his chaos energy was only at the One Star Realm.

And so, Regis decided to go all in on his gamble instead.

After successfully splitting off his soul, Regis gritted his teeth through the pain and began the next stage of his plan.

It was the same moment he knelt on the ground as the light in his right eye was lost.

At that moment, aside from the Sinful Arbiter of Darkness, which was already enhancing his overall capabilities due to the night, he unleashed one ability in a single instant.

The crucial ability he used to win was none other than—

—Soul Possession.

That was right.

The reason he split off his very own soul despite the extreme consequences was none other than to cast this evil craft.

Regis’s half-soul then began possessing the abomination, which already had the souls of two elves, who were both tainted by demonic power.

It was then that the battle for control of the body began.

However, even with two demonized elven souls assaulting half his soul, he was still able to win because of three decisive factors.

The first was his chaos energy.

An energy with the ability to nullify every other energy in the world.

The second was his Corruption Manipulation.

An evil craft with the ability to manipulate all forms of corruption— including but not limited to negative emotions, curses, and even a part of demonic power itself.

The third was, of course, his Perfect Adaptation.

A Gift with the ability to adapt to any phenomenon.

The first two were used to buy time.

Regis’s soul was immediately assaulted by the two demonized souls residing within the abomination’s body.

Yet one must remember: so far, the only thing Perfect Adaptation had been unable to adapt to was direct physical attacks.

And in the fight for control inside the abomination’s body, the demonized souls could employ everything aside from direct physical attacks.

This was the crucial reason why Regis was able to emerge victorious against two demonized souls despite entering the battle with only half a soul.

And of course, this happened while he used his own body to dodge everything the enemy threw his way flawlessly.

Despite being an on-the-spot plan—

Despite this being something he had never trained for—

Regis’s ability to simultaneously control both halves of his soul ultimately turned the tide of the battle.

It was just that the price of victory was heavy, as the cost of it was half his soul.

’I’m really... amazing.’

Regis, who was still lying in the Elven Queen’s embrace, thought to himself in satisfaction as a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

He was currently assessing the state of his own body and could not help but feel happy, ’As expected of the queen. Her potions are not ordinary! I can feel that not only have my body’s injuries healed, but even my aura and mana are recovering at a frightening pace. It’s just that my soul...’

However, right at this moment, something caught his attention.

Woong—

Elysia brought something out of her storage artifact.

It was a glowing white fruit that Regis still could not make out clearly, his vision remaining blurry.

However, the queen’s next words made his right eye nearly pop out of its sockets.

"This is a fruit of the World Tree..."