Trollope hadn’t yet grasped what was happening when he roared at the most suspicious figures, Alicia and Larry: “What’s going on? Did you two do this?”
Before they could answer, he reached for his sword, ready to strike.
But after barely two steps, dizziness crashed over him. A wave of weakness flooded his chest.
Liquid surged up his throat and erupted from his mouth—
Vivid crimson blood.
Trollope stared in disbelief at the pool of blood he’d vomited. He had no idea when he’d been poisoned.
A soft glow then enveloped him, granting his mind a fleeting moment of clarity.
It was Alicia. She’d sensed the source of their affliction: something inside their bodies resonating with a malevolent psychic wave.
“I can’t dispel it,” Alicia frowned. “This land constantly feeds that psychic resonance. Whatever’s resonating with it has been inside them too long. I can only slow their transformation.”
“Into Soulspirits?” Larry pressed.
Alicia gave a heavy nod.
Trollope finally understood they weren’t his enemies—but panic still clawed at him. “What are you talking about? What’s happening?!”
“Look at your man,” Alicia sighed.
Trollope turned. His guard writhed on the ground, face twisted in agony. His body contorted grotesquely. Razor-sharp claws sprouted from his fingers—claws now tearing into his own flesh. He raked them across his scalp, shredding skin and bone until his skull split like broken tiles. An octopus-like head emerged, slick tentacles dripping from its maw.
The newborn Soulspirit staggered upright, clothes shredded by its mutated form. Its glistening dark hide made Trollope’s stomach churn.
Sensing enemies, it lunged at Alicia and Larry—only for Larry’s blade to cleave it in half.
“Will I become that?” Trollope whispered, staring at the remains.
“Yes. I can only delay it for you.” Alicia’s voice turned grave. “Did Garp lead you here? Did you see anything unusual?”
“Garp… that bastard lured us!” Trollope’s eyes blazed with fury, but a searing pain in his skull drowned his rage. He gripped Alicia’s arm, gasping: “Revenge… the statues… the map… Kill me!”
He choked out the last words with his final strength. His body began to twist.
Alicia raised her staff—but Larry’s sword fell first, severing Trollope’s head.
“No time for grief,” Larry said flatly.
Alicia nodded sharply. She thrust her staff skyward. A colossal transparent Barrier erupted from her, expanding in an instant to encase all of Aetron County.
The Soulspirits were now beasts trapped in a cage, awaiting slaughter.
…
While Trollope met his end in rage and despair, Marjory rode high. With so many prime hosts, he’d soon birth a mighty Soulspirit army.
Yet even with an army, he’d never stand on Metasili Continent. The Adventurers Guild had branded his race forbidden—and hunted them to extinction.
Once, the Soulspirit Race had ruled an empire. After the Guild’s decree, it crumbled within a year. They became vermin scurrying in shadows.
Marjory, a survivor of that fallen empire, knew the Guild’s true horror beneath its friendly facade. Once his army hatched, he’d flee Metasili. Beyond the continent lay the Guild’s blind spots—dangerous, but survivable if untargeted.
Then the Barrier shot up, sealing them all inside.
Marjory unleashed a psychic shockwave to shatter it—but the Barrier held firm. Its strength across such vast terrain reminded him of the Guild’s S-rank monsters.
Sensing the Barrier’s core, he sent his newborn Soulspirits to test it.
…
Alicia swayed slightly, drained from maintaining the Barrier. Larry steadied her as they reached Trollope’s desk. There lay the map he’d mentioned—a terrain chart of Aetron County marked with strange red dots.
“The statues he mentioned… could they be here?” Alicia guessed.
“Likely,” Larry said. “We can’t save the infected, but we must stop this psychic corruption. Destroy every suspicious statue.”
“Then let’s move.”
Alicia’s words were cut short by a piercing screech. Hostile intent flooded the air.
Soulspirits descended from the sky and crept from the earth, encircling them. Dozens of obsidian bead-like eyes locked on the pair. Lizard-like claws extended in unison.
A hundred psychic shockwaves converged—reducing the entire building to rubble.
Yet their targets stood untouched.
This time, it wasn’t Alicia’s power. Larry’s sword aura had shredded every wave.
His blade flashed. The encircling Soulspirits disintegrated into crimson mist.
Marjory witnessed it all through his kin’s eyes. He recognized these two—they’d been in Garp’s palace.
“At least A-rank adventurers,” he muttered. Within his reach, but swallowing them would cost dearly. He hated losing propositions.
“Focus on breaking this Barrier. She can’t sustain this intensity forever.”
The Barrier over Aetron County served dual purposes: corrupting intruders and channeling the land’s Essence Force for Marjory. The strain would cripple him and scar the land’s veins—but he’d sacrifice anything to protect his legacy from two mere A-ranks.
