Soul Mutant

The instant Luo Ya extended his palm.

"Zzt, zzt~~"

A frenzied stream of cold, dark energy began to gather wildly. A horrifying blood-red vortex quickly took shape in the palm of Luo Ya's right hand.

As time passed, the blood-red vortex expanded at an astonishing rate!

In the blink of an eye, it had grown to nearly three meters in diameter, towering over Luo Ya himself!

"Is this the 'Gate of Hell'?" Albert stared at the blood-red vortex gate, golden light blazing in his eyes. At the same time, rich golden Holy Light surged from the flame-wreathed spear in his hand, making him look like a legendary "Angel Warrior"!

"Take this, Holy Flame Judgment!"

As an "Angel Warrior," Albert's power had undoubtedly grown even further, and he was confident he could break through his opponent's move.

But the very next second, his expression changed!

"Boom!"

Right before their eyes, the rows of towering red maple trees and the huge, solid boulders on the little mountain beneath them all ripped free of the ground!

Their destination: the blood-red vortex in the sky!

Even the scattered suction alone had such terrifying force that Albert was caught completely off guard!

Though he was passionate about battle and challenging powerful opponents, he wasn't an idiot. There was no way he'd willingly do something tantamount to suicide.

Who knew what would happen if he were swallowed by that blood-red vortex?

"Go!"

With no other choice, Albert simply used his spear like a javelin. The Golden Flame Spear streaked across the sky like a meteor, hurtling toward Luo Ya.

This spear throw was already one of Albert's strongest moves.

The blood-red vortex in Luo Ya's hand was simply too powerful and terrifying. Albert didn't dare rush at it himself.

If even this thrown spear didn't work, then without his trusty weapon, he'd have even less chance of defeating his opponent.

"Black Hole Devour, activate!"

Seeing that his opponent had thrown his weapon, Luo Ya immediately increased the power of his move once more.

With the assistance of the Black Hole within his body, his Devour power was like an additional, powerful engine, giving it strength far beyond the norm!

One could say that unless they were a god-level powerhouse, even those who had mastered the Devour power to its limits could never unleash such astonishing might.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the blood-red vortex burst forth like a beast breaking free from its cage, unleashing a blinding black light that swept straight ahead. Everywhere the light touched, space twisted, and even sunlight was devoured.

"Whoosh~"

Albert's "javelin" was like a moth flying into a flame, leaping straight into this bottomless abyss!

"Boom!"

The spear, burning with golden flames, exploded the instant it fell into the blood-red vortex!

Albert stared in disbelief. Even the power of his strongest move had failed to break the vortex.

In the sky, the blood-red vortex remained unchanged. It only trembled slightly before spitting a little golden Holy Flame energy down onto the nameless mountain below. The trees and boulders touched by the golden Holy Flame vanished in an instant, melting away like snow.

One had to admit that Albert's Holy Flame Judgment was powerful. Even the small amount of energy that leaked out had such terrifying destructive force.

If he were allowed to unleash it freely, he could probably level the mountain beneath them with ease.

Yet even this terrifying attack had failed to break the Devouring Vortex in Luo Ya's hand. It showed just how frightening the power he was displaying now truly was.

"Go!"

Having dealt with Albert's attack, Luo Ya moved as well.

Even as he moved, the blood-red vortex in his hand never disappeared.

At once, endless suction surged out in all directions from the palm of Luo Ya's right hand.

In the blink of an eye, everything within several hundred meters ahead was within Luo Ya's attack range.

Albert was caught within it, too. His dark-golden pupils contracted slightly as he stared at Luo Ya in shock. In the face of the blood-red vortex, he was surrounded on all sides by irresistible suction. He could barely move at all.

Despair!

It felt as if the entire world were pressing down on him. Albert couldn't even muster the thought of fighting back.

"Rumble~~~"

Carrying the blood-red vortex with him, Luo Ya shot through the sky and charged straight toward his opponent.

As he flew, the blood-red vortex devoured everything around it without pause!

There wasn't even a trace of light along Luo Ya's flight path!

Because even the light itself was swallowed whole!

At some point,

Luo Ya had appeared right in front of Albert, so suddenly it seemed downright uncanny. The blood-red vortex in his hand was less than three meters away!

"Zzt, zzt~~"

Now that they were so close, Luo Ya reined in the power of his move.

Even so, the terrifying suction spilling from the blood-red vortex made Albert's face twitch. His wild, lion-like hair was whipped into disarray.

At that moment, Luo Ya had Albert in his sights.

And in Albert's eyes, there was only the blood-red vortex, a gateway that seemed to lead straight into the depths of Hell.

The Gate of Hell truly lived up to its name!

"So, what do you think? Do you want to keep going?" Faced with Luo Ya's smile, Albert could only return a bitter one.

He could just barely imagine the astonishing force the blood-red vortex would unleash if Luo Ya gave it everything.

With the vortex locked onto him from this distance, there was no way he could escape.

In other words, whether he lived or died now depended entirely on Luo Ya's whim.

"There's always someone stronger, and there's always a higher heaven. I thought that after my recent leap in strength, I'd have a hard time finding an opponent in the Saint Realm. I never expected someone to teach me a lesson so soon."

"I lost." Albert accepted it with good grace.

A loss was a loss. There was nothing he couldn't accept about that.

Hearing Albert concede, Luo Ya merely smiled.

If Albert hadn't run into him, he might truly have struggled to find an opponent.

"Albert, that last move of yours, Holy Flame Judgment, fused fire and light energy together, didn't it?" Luo Ya had suspected as much during their first clash.

But it wasn't until Albert used Holy Flame Judgment that he could be sure.

Ordinarily, two different kinds of power couldn't be used together.

But a few people, like Albert, were exceptions.

Once someone could fuse two very different kinds of power, their strength would naturally increase tremendously.

If Luo Ya hadn't had the Black Hole inside him to bolster his power, he might not have been able to withstand Albert's final Holy Flame Judgment.

"How did you do it?" Seeing that the battle was over, Milia and Beiya came over. The silver-haired elf was the first to ask the question that had baffled her.

"Beiya!" Milia, the blonde girl, understood social graces better.

That sort of thing was the trump card that a powerful expert relied on to make a living. How could she ask about it so casually?

"Actually, I don't know why I can do it either."

"Ten years ago, I challenged a powerful expert and lost, badly injuring my soul. I was unconscious for several months. When I woke up, I discovered that I could use two kinds of energy together." Albert said it casually.

The answer left Beiya and Milia somewhat stunned. Even if someone knew how it had happened, they couldn't possibly imitate it.

Luo Ya, however, was already certain.

Albert had definitely undergone Soul Mutation, and had been lucky enough to survive.

"What a lucky guy."

To be honest, even Luo Ya envied the benefits that came with Soul Mutation.

Unfortunately, whether it happened at all was purely a matter of luck.

And even if someone were lucky enough to experience it, it might not be a good thing. The odds of surviving Soul Mutation were far too low.

Fail, and there was only one outcome—utter annihilation of the soul!