Chapter 531: Only Two Left

Leon expression remained calm, but he had no intention of allowing the battle to drag on any longer.

He didn’t even know what Mortis, Blaze, or Ember could do at their full strength before killing them, and he had no desire to find out.

The fewer opportunities he gave his enemies, the better.

Empress, Cavin, and Granite landed on the ground, barely having time to recover from the explosion before the girls launched another coordinated attack.

Inferno Breath! Flame Throw! Dark Silk Threads!

The three abilities struck almost simultaneously.

Empress didn’t bother dodging.

Instead, she slammed her foot against the ground, causing a gigantic crystal to erupt in front of the three guild members.

The massive formation blocked the incoming flames, absorbing the impact as the surrounding area filled with heat and smoke.

However, Violet’s [Dark Silk Threads] had already spread around them, wrapping around the crystal and reaching for their bodies.

Empress immediately swung her spear, cutting through the threads before they could fully restrain the group.

Her movements were quick and precise, and she destroyed most of the strands before they could interfere with their next move.

Even so, Leon had already begun assessing the situation.

He had initially assumed that Cavin would be the most dangerous opponent because of his position as the guild leader and the power he had received from the God of Souls.

However, Empress’s abilities were proving far more troublesome than expected.

’Or perhaps Cavin hasn’t shown what he could truly do.’

Her defenses were strong enough to protect multiple people at once, and her soul attacks could threaten even Leon himself.

Worse still, she seemed capable of unleashing those attacks without giving her opponents much time to react.

’But why have they been so passive?’

Leon couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Despite their overwhelming abilities, Cavin and Empress had spent much of the battle reacting to his attacks rather than taking the initiative.

It was almost as if they were deliberately holding something back.

Granite rushed toward Leon, attempting to take advantage of the moment Empress had blocked the girls’ attacks.

Leon met him head-on, deflecting his strike before counterattacking with his sword.

Granite managed to avoid the first blow, but Celeste immediately sent her dark flames toward him, forcing him to retreat.

Meanwhile, Cavin charged at Emilia and Violet, using his enhanced strength to pressure both girls at once.

Emilia unleashed her [Spectral Flames] to keep him at a distance, while Violet sent her rapier forward, freezing the area and forcing him to defend himself instead of attacking freely.

Empress remained near the center of the battlefield, using her crystals to block incoming attacks and create openings for her companions.

Every time Leon attempted to approach her, she forced him to change direction with another defensive formation.

However, Leon eventually found an opportunity.

As Granite tried to move around him, Leon activated [Soul Chains], sending several chains toward the ground around his opponent.

Granite attempted to escape, but the chains rose around him and trapped him before he could get away.

Celeste immediately seized the opening.

Dark flames erupted around her as she launched them directly at Granite, striking him before he could break free.

The flames consumed his body and attacked his soul, destroying it before he had a chance to recover.

With Granite dead, only Cavin and Empress remained.

’Two left.’

Leon turned toward them, his expression growing colder.

However, Cavin didn’t appear particularly disturbed or pained by Granite’s death, or any of his other companions’ actually.

Instead, he looked toward Empress, and the expression on his face gradually became completely neutral.

"Alright, that should be enough power. Let’s end this."

Empress nodded.

Without wasting another moment, she slammed her foot against the ground, releasing another terrifying burst of power.

The ground shook violently as her attack surged toward Celeste, moving so quickly that the phoenix girl barely had time to react.

The attack struck Celeste head-on.

Her body trembled as the overwhelming force penetrated her defenses and attacked her soul directly.

The damage was so severe that her soul immediately began to crack, bringing her dangerously close to shattering completely.

"C-Celeste!" Emilia shouted.

His body transformed as his oni powers surged through him, greatly increasing his strength.

He appeared before Emilia and smashed his fist into her with tremendous force, sending her flying across the battlefield.

She was badly hurt by the impact, and he tried to do the same with Violet before Leon stopped him, kicking him away as his feet slid against the ground.

’Emilia can survive due to her Constitution, but Violet won’t.’

The situation had seemingly turned against them in an instant.

Empress finally stopped attacking at that moment, turning her attention toward Cavin instead.

After everything that had happened, she seemed completely unconcerned about her own safety, and she calmly kneeled before the guild leader she had served for so long.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Her soul appeared in front of her body, taking the shape of a heart made entirely of crystal shards. Each shard reflected the surrounding light, while an immense amount of energy radiated from the crystalline heart.

Cavin looked at it with a faint smile.

"Thank you for trusting me," he said. "I’ll end this, and when I do, the two of us will ascend together."

Empress nodded without hesitation, placing her complete trust in her guild leader.

Leon, however, wasn’t about to let them finish whatever they were planning.

He immediately rushed toward the two of them, raising his staff as he unleashed the greatest number of abilities he had ever used in a single attack.

Vines of Desolation! Lightning Cataclysmic! Cataclysmic Soul Fireball! Shadow Bullets! Venom Nova! Soul Chains!

Countless vines surged toward Cavin and Empress, followed by destructive lightning, blue flames, poison, and dozens of shadow bullets.

At the same time, Leon’s soul chains erupted from the ground, attempting to restrain them before they could escape the combined assault.

The attacks converged on the pair from every direction, threatening to engulf them completely.

Yet Cavin didn’t move away.

Instead, he stepped forward as Empress’s crystalline soul began to dissolve into countless silver shards.

The fragments streamed toward him and seeped directly into his chest, merging with his own soul as though the two had been connected from the beginning.

BOOM!

A tremendous shock wave erupted from Cavin’s body, annihilating every attack that approached him.

The vines disintegrated, the lightning vanished, and the combined force of Leon’s abilities was swept away before it could inflict any damage.

The shock wave continued spreading outward, striking Leon and forcing him backward.

He struggled to maintain his balance, but the impact was so powerful that blood poured from his mouth.

’What the fuck did they just do?’

Leon stared at Cavin in disbelief.

Had he really just witnessed Empress’s soul enter Cavin’s chest? Had the two of them actually fused together?

But how was something like that even possible?

He had seen countless strange abilities in both his lives, including powers that could manipulate time and attacks capable of destroying souls.

However, fusing two souls together to create a single being was something he had never encountered before.

"It seems you truly have no idea what kind of power the gods possess over this world," Cavin said as silver shards began spreading across his body. "We were granted slightly more power than the usual servants in the Higher Domains."

Leon barely paid attention to his explanation. Instead, he turned toward Violet, who was still nearby, and gave her an order.

"Make sure Celeste and Emilia are safe. Only return to fight if they’re both in good condition. Otherwise, stay with them and wait for an opportunity."

Violet immediately understood the seriousness of the situation and nodded before rushing toward the two injured girls.

Leon couldn’t afford to let his companions get caught in another attack, especially when he had no idea how much stronger Cavin had become.

Once Violet had left, Leon turned his attention back to the guild leader.

Cavin’s transformation was already changing his appearance dramatically.

His oni body, which had previously been covered in dark scales, was now completely coated in silver ones.

The scales overlapped across his arms, chest, and legs, forming a dense layer of protection that shimmered with every movement.

Silver shards extended from his shoulders and back, while his gauntlets had become larger and more elaborate, their surfaces covered in intricate patterns.

A strange crimson mask had also appeared over his face, concealing his features entirely.

Dark energy seeped from its eye sockets, giving him an ominous appearance as his aura continued to grow.

Beside him, Empress’s body had gone limp after her soul fused with his.

The co-leader of the Requiem Guild had fallen unconscious, leaving Cavin as the only one standing between Leon and victory.