Chapter 515: Nier the Lord of Souls, Almost 40 Million Combat Power?!

"Finally!" a voice suddenly exclaimed, "I don’t have to speak to you in panels anymore!"

The speaker sounded genuinely delighted, as though he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

Two beautiful women knelt on both side of the throne, positioned close to the feet of the figure seated above them.

They remained there while he spoke, their expressions changing as their attention turned toward Leon and his companions.

As for the target of Leon’s hunt, he was an imposing figure standing around three meters tall.

His dark armor was covered in glowing cyan cracks that spread across its surface, while a white heart symbol stood prominently in the center of his chest.

He had deep blue hair, white eyes, and long, elf-like ears that gave him an unusual appearance.

His crooked teeth were sharp enough to tear through flesh, making his smile look particularly unsettling.

Powerful gauntlets covered his hands, and he held a massive spear that burned with fire.

Even from a distance, the weapon looked dangerous, and Leon had no intention of underestimating it.

Eye of Truth!

---

[Lord of Souls, Nier (Tower Boss)]

[Level: 100]

[Talent: Soul Protection (S-Level), Supreme Spirit Enhancement (S+-Level), Supreme Strength Enhancement (S+-Level), Supreme Agility Enhancement (S+-Level)]

[Combat Power: 38,500,000]

[Details: A ruler who has controlled souls within this tower for centuries. However, he cannot leave this domain until he acquires enough souls, a condition placed by another being on him for treason.]

---

Leon studied the panel carefully.

With 38.5 million combat power, Nier was considerably stronger than pretty much anything he faced in this life.

His three S+-Level enhancement sub-talents also made him a dangerous opponent in physical combat, while his S-Level Soul Protection suggested that attacking his soul directly wouldn’t be easy.

"I don’t usually bother killing those who enter my tower myself," Nier said as he rose from his throne and began walking toward the center of the hall. "But it has been far too long, and usually nobody manages to get through the third floor."

The two women beside his throne glared at Leon and the girls as Nier approached, seemingly displeased by the arrival of the newcomers as it made their lord stand up.

Nier, however, paid little attention to them.

His white eyes flashed as he looked directly at Leon and his companions, seemingly examining the souls within their bodies.

And the moment he saw them, his expression changed.

"This..."

He wasn’t particularly surprised by the strength of their souls, especially Leon’s, whose soul had reached a level comparable to his own.

Instead, something else seemed to have caught his attention.

"...Oh god..."

Nier suddenly raised his hand, summoning a book from thin air.

The moment he opened it and examined its contents, his expression transformed, and his smile widened until it became almost frightening.

"PEOPLE!" he shouted toward the armored soldiers and the women surrounding his throne. "THIS IS IT!"

The kneeling figures immediately raised their heads, turning toward Leon and the girls before looking back at their master.

They seemed to understand the significance of his words, and the atmosphere throughout the chamber changed.

"If we obtain these souls... we will finally be able to leave this place!"

Nier turned his back toward Leon and his companions, addressing his followers with growing excitement.

"We will ascend to a new domain, all of us, and gather enough souls to become unstoppable—"

Cataclysmic Soul Fireball!

While Nier was busy speaking and his followers watched him as though he were a god, Leon gathered his power and launched a devastating fireball toward the center of the chamber.

BOOM!

The attack struck before Nier could finish his speech, erupting into a massive explosion that engulfed him and a large number of the armored soldiers.

The blast shook the chamber, sending destructive energy across the floor and throwing several figures aside.

Even Celeste, Violet, and Emilia stared at Leon in surprise.

They hadn’t expected him to attack so abruptly, especially while Nier was still addressing his followers.

"What?" Leon shrugged, keeping his weapon ready as the explosion faded. "I’m not going to wait for them to gang up on us when he finishes."

He looked toward the smoke covering the center of the hall before turning to the girls.

"Let’s end this quickly. Fire with everything you’ve got."

The girls immediately nodded, preparing their abilities.

Celeste’s embers began gathering around her, Violet readied herself for battle, and Emilia raised her scepter as golden light gathered around its tip.

And at that moment...

RAAAAHHHHHH!

A terrifying roar echoed through the throne hall, followed by a powerful surge of energy that swept through the mist created from Leon’s fireball, forcing it to disperse and revealing the figure standing at the center of the destruction.

The Lord of Souls, Nier, emerged with blood trickling down his forehead.

His dark armor was still intact, and although his body showed little visible damage, the anger burning in his white eyes made it clear that Leon’s attack had hurt him more than he wanted to admit.

"You..." Nier growled, raising his massive spear and pointing its fiery tip directly at Leon, "So much soul damage from a single spell..."

His voice shook the soldiers, and the flames surrounding his weapon grew brighter as his aura spread throughout the hall.

"SOLDIERS!" Nier shouted, his voice filled with authority. "KILL THESE PESTS!"

However, despite his command, none of the soldiers moved.

Nier’s expression changed as he noticed the silence behind him, and he slowly turned toward the surviving figures standing among the wreckage.

"Huh, Lord Nier..." one of the few soldiers who remained standing stammered, his voice trembling as he looked at his master. "P-Please look around."

Nier followed his gaze, and the full extent of the destruction finally became clear.

There had been exactly fifty soldiers at the beginning of the battle, with twenty-five stationed on each side of the throne hall.

They had stood in perfect formation, ready to obey their lord’s orders and eliminate anyone who dared threaten their ruler.

Yet, after Leon unleashed a single attack, only sixteen remained.

The rest had been killed almost instantly.

Those stationed near the center of the chamber had suffered the worst of the explosion, but even soldiers who had been standing farther away had been caught in the devastating wave of soul power.

Even Nier, whose soul had already reached its maximum potential, had felt a sharp pain shoot through his very being when the fireball exploded.

For someone who had spent centuries ruling over the Tower of Souls, experiencing such pain from a single attack was something he had not expected.

Leon, meanwhile, was more surprised by the result than anything else.

’That’s the Lord of Souls for you,’ he thought with a quiet sigh, watching Nier emerge from the smoke without any seemingly serious injuries. ’I just have to do more damage. He’ll fall eventually.’

Although his opening attack had failed to finish off the tower boss, it had at least demonstrated that Nier was not completely immune to his abilities.

"Looks like I have to do everything around here," Nier muttered, his entire form flashing with a powerful aura that caused the air around him to tremble.

Despite the destruction of his army, a smile slowly returned to his face as he tightened his grip on his spear.

"That doesn’t change the fact that we’ll be able to leave soon."