"This is what remains of Lockmadon..."
Hao Ren took the faintly glowing "substance" from Singer Tunala and sighed with emotion.
It was a faintly glowing fragment only the size of a fist. The fragment had a hazy texture, like a thin cloud of insubstantial smoke, yet it was completely opaque and had a certain weight. Even with Hao Ren's knowledge, he could not tell whether it was tangible or intangible. At the same time, although the fragment's owner had already died, it continued to expand and contract rhythmically, as if it still retained the characteristics of life.
Silvery spider silk wrapped around the fragment, yet did not touch it, forming something like a loosely structured cocoon, with the fragment floating at its center.
The spider silk severed the fragment's energy exchange with the outside world, just in case.
"It resembles the physical 'imprint' left behind after an extremely powerful soul shattered," Anthony said, stroking his beard. He had conducted some research into the field of souls as well. "This 'Lockmadon' was truly absurdly powerful. If we hadn't been able to directly borrow the power of the Goddess to attack it, it would have posed quite a threat to ordinary Inspectors."
Singer Tunala paced two steps on the spot, her eight elegant, slender spider legs seeming to dance to a rhythm. "When I attacked it, I sensed a 'recoil' similar to divine power of a True God. That matches the information Explosion Ren mentioned. The others probably didn't sense it as clearly as I did, but they should basically have felt the same thing."
Tunala was an Inspector whose seniority was comparable to that of the Dragon Queen. As a demigod who had ascended from a Spider Demon, she possessed exceptional perception. It was an enhancement and extension of the Racial