632 Bright

Vincent was starting to believe the figure of light could be the sole reason for his unexplainable bouts of excessive anger.

[You could be right. Overload skill’s name was corrupted after all.] Kazumi said. She had a similar thought about Vincent’s excessive behavior.

*Step. step* Are you going to keep ignoring me?” Questioned Vlad after he became annoyed. Wolfie and Freerie glared at him while Vincent and Kazumi ignored their surroundings and conversed as if they were the only ones in the Soul Domain.

Vincent moved his gaze onto Vlad. “You are acting friendly all of a sudden. And here I thought you hated me because I come from the same world as the one who brought you suffering.”

Vincent sarcastically said before noticing Vlad was wounded. His hands were scratched, bruised, and cut. From his chest, shining white blood could be seen.

“Are those wounds? But you shouldn’t have wounds on your body since your soul forms your current body. It...”

[This is the second time Mimi’s father has come to this place. I don’t know how it was possible, but the you controlled by Overload has somehow brought Mimi’s father to this place.]

“I am Vlad and not Mimi’s father. ” Vlad complained angrily.

“Okay, father-in-law Vlad.” Vincent teased, causing Vlad to reveal a deep frown.

.....

It was painted on Vlad’s face how dissatisfied he was to hear being called father-in-law. Not even in his wildest nightmares did Vlad ever dream of hearing such a word from a person like Vincent.

[Well, either way, Vlad was injured while fighting Wolfie and Freerie. Vlad couldn’t beat them because they kept recovering.]

*Tsk* “I could have beaten those monsters. They stopped recovering and taking turns while the other recovered. They are probably being controlled by that figure of light or the throne. I can feel a link between them now that I have had enough time to observe them.” Vlad explained.

[Vlad is correct, Vincent. Wolfie and Freerie were hurt after Vlad hurt them. The figure of light saw this and healed them while mutating them to their current enormous size.]

Vincent looked at Wolfie and Freerie. He couldn’t perceive any friendliness in them, as if the two had become controlled by anger.

“Wolfie. Freerie. The two of you are not being manipulated. Are you?” Vincent asked.

[Wolfie. Freerie. Come to mommy Kazumi. We can still play together. I do not mind how large the two of you have grown.]

*Tap* The figure of light frowned. He tapped on the throne’s armrest loudly once.

Wolfie barked viciously once, while Freerie buzzed viciously once. The two large emerald living sculptures rushed toward Vincent, Kazumi, the two eggs, and Vlad.

[Hey, kids... you aren’t planning to attack us, are y...]

Vincent quickly rolled the two eggs out of harm’s way. He grabbed Kazumi and threw her out of the way.

*Swish* Vincent felt sharp pain coming from his chest. He looked down, and a frown appeared on his face. Lodged in his chest was a large cold stinger.

Vincent looked forward and saw Freerie flap its wings aggressively. The wing with the ice pattern was shining, and a cool mist surrounded that wing.

Vincent saw Freerie’s stinger rapidly regrowing. He could now understand how quickly Wolfie and Freerie were recovering.

On the side of his view was Wolfie opening its jaws to bite Vlad. The two moved erratically as Vlad parried Wolfie with his left arm and took a step back every time.

[Vincent... a-a-are you...]

“I am not dead yet, but this hurts like hell. It feels like Maria managed to pierce me with one of her icicles.” Vincent said while contorting his face.

*Bam!* Vlad landed a hit on Wolfie. “Not deep enough!” He said while taking a step back. He looked at his right hand, and his knuckle was bleeding profusely now.

*Tsk* “Is my life going to end like this? Even without being hit once by these monsters?” Vlad complained angrily.

Vlad moved his gaze onto Vincent after hearing Vincent say he was injured. His eyes widened at the view of Vincent pierced by a stinger and another stinger recovering from being shot.

Vlad covered both hands with a lot of Energy Flow. He extended his fingers and formed a blade. “I will be the one to kill that monster!” He shouted while jumping as high as he could possibly jump.

Vlad stopped gaining altitude after reaching two meters above the dark ground. *Tsk* “I didn’t think I was this weakened.” He complained.

Vlad swung his arms toward Wolfie before he started spinning. Multiple arcs of red light shot. One after the other, they landed on Wolfie, causing a cloud of fine emerald dust from the destroyed parts of Wolfie’s back.

Vlad kicked his leg and turned his body in mid-air. The trajectory of the red arcs of light began to move toward Freerie’s location.

*Bam, bam, bam* Freerie flapped its wings, but it wasn’t enough to alter the directions of the first few projectiles of condensed energy.

A cloud of fine emerald dust also covered Freerie now. Freerie remained hidden as if the wings stopped flapping and scattering the fine dust around it in the process.

Vlad landed. In front of him were two huge clouds of emerald dust. Wolfie nor Freerie scattered the dust, showing how they were injured and currently recovering.

Vlad went over to Vincent. “You can only die by my hands.” He said before pulling the stinger swiftly.

*Tsk* “The crazy things I have to do to kill you on my own.” Vlad complained before clenching his most injured fist tightly and dripping blood onto Vincent’s wound.

historical

[Crazy things?] Kazumi arrived and saw Vlad giving Vincent his blood. [That little blood will not help. Vincent is losing more than a couple of drops of blood.]

Vlad looked at Kazumi. “So you were the one who was putting words in my mind.”

[Yeah!? And so what? Are you going to kill me since I am the soul of the fifth hero? I don’t have memories of the past or a body, but I am one of the people you wish to kill for no reason.]

“You... you are the only woman invader that came to this world?” Vlad was shocked to hear this information.

[Now. Can you stop looking shocked and tell me why you chose to let Vincent bleed to death?] Kazumi looked around and continued [But why is the Soul Domain still stable? Isn’t Vincent dying? Or is the figure of light the owner of this place now?]

“I thought it would work for a monster. ” Vlad said. He stopped dripping blood from Vincent’s wound.

“I faced a few strange undead who kept regenerating recently. Only by draining their blood could they stay dead.” *Tsk* “I suffered a lot while my body tried to resist the poison in their blood...”

[Wait a minute!?] Kazumi interrupted [Are you saying you thought Vincent is a monster like them because his skill coincidentally allowed him to regenerate at an unbelievable rate?]

“All monsters are alike...” Vlad paused. He turned around after hearing footsteps. He looked at the throne and saw the figure of light descend the small hill of shining emerald crystal grass.

*ROAR!* After a loud roar, the emerald dust scattered from around Wolfie. As the large body of the emerald wolf became visible, the vicious contorted face accompanied by a deep glare was intimidating.

BUZZ!* With a powerful flap of its wings, Freerie scattered the emerald dust scattered from around it. The stinger was recovered, and it could be shot.

*Argh* “Wolfie. Freerie. I forgive you. Please return to the kind little soul pets you were.” Vincent said while grunting in pain.

“It is no us to pull them to your side. That thing completely controls them.” Vlad informed based on his deductions.

[We can only be here for ten minutes, but over three minutes have passed.] Kazumi went beside Vlad and requested [Please help us. Vincent can not enter his Soul Domain today after being forced to leave. Furthermore, I do not have enough mana to bring Vincent here.]

“Ka...” *Thud* Vincent suddenly fell on the dark ground.

[Vincnet!]

“I stopped the bleeding, but if he received that kind of damage in a real body, he would have been dead for a long time. No one can survive without vital organs...” Vlad stopped after recalling Vincent stood up without a heart. “Well, those monsters with strange recovery speed can somehow survive without a heart.”

[Vincent! Vincent! Vincent!] Kazumi went over to Vincent while repeatedly calling out his name. She desperately nudged Vincent’s body, yet he did not wake up.

Kazumi fell into despair. If Vincent’s soul died, it meant there was no more second chance anymore. Vincent would die, and the figure of light would take his place as the corrupted and mutated part of his soul.

“Ten minutes? The sky is already becoming brighter. That happened when I left this place.” Vlad said.

The usual darkness of the Soul Domain illuminated a green hue. However, the time wasn’t up, nor the figure of light had anything to do with this mysterious phenomenon.

Kazumi shook her head to remove some of the tears covering her eyes. She looked at the sky, and her eyes widened in surprise.

[B-Bright! You were born at last.]

Kazumi cheerfully said upon the sight of a large green ball of light illuminating the Soul Domain as far as their eyes could see.

The closer Bright descended, the more of a pleasant warmth could be felt. The warmth felt soothing as if a gentle healing touch was caressing their souls.