Cautiously, the figure made its way to the office door at the back of the tavern.
It stopped, held its breath, and carefully surveyed the surroundings. After confirming several times that it was safe, four soul rings—white, yellow, yellow, and yellow—rose behind it. Looking somewhat guilty, the figure edged into a corner, doing its best to hide the glow of its rings. Then the first and second rings flashed. A brown vine as thin as a strand of hair sprouted from its right hand, lengthened, slipped into the keyhole, and quietly turned...
"Click."
Holding its breath, the figure carefully manipulated the vine, trying to unlock the door. At the crisp click, delight flashed across its face. It swiftly withdrew the vine, concealed its presence, and tiptoed inside.
The room was nothing like the figure had imagined. It had expected mountains of gold and silver coins, cabinets full of rare treasures, or perhaps the thug meditating inside to recover. But the spacious office contained only a desk with several small drawers and a few pictures on the walls depicting scantily clad beauties.
The figure stared in disbelief. Too excited to keep hiding its presence, it hurried over and tried to open the drawers.
"Ka-la, ka-la."
It tugged at the drawers several times, only to find they were locked.
"Locked..."
The figure brightened. Why lock something away unless it was valuable?
Its soul rings appeared again, now pulsing rapidly. The third ring flashed, and countless tiny vines poured from its right shoulder, quickly wrapping around its arm. Five sharp, hard spikes formed at the tips of its fingers.
"Shhk!"
Like a hot knife through snow, the figure's fingertips pierced the drawer without effort, breaking its lock. It pulled the drawer open, revealing what was inside.
There was almost nothing in the drawer, just a small cloth pouch about the size of two palms.
The figure's face fell, but it withdrew the vines from its right hand, revealed its palm, and picked up the pouch, holding it in front of itself.
Feeling its considerable weight, the figure's expression improved.
It opened the pouch, and the glittering gold inside nearly blinded it. The bag was full of Gold Soul Coins.
"Whew."
The figure's breathing quickened. In a hurry, it poured the coins onto the desk.
"Clatter, clatter."
The Gold Soul Coins piled up on the desk like a little mountain.
"Holy crap!"
The figure let out a low gasp, greed plain on its face. Carefully, it picked up a coin and held it before its eyes, examining it in the light of the soul rings behind it.
"They're real!!"
The figure grinned from ear to ear. It hurriedly opened the pouch wide and dropped in the coins one by one as it counted.
"One, two, three, four... one hundred and twelve."
So absorbed in counting the coins, the figure failed to notice that a faint, suppressed-sounding breath had entered the room.
"Damn, I'm rich!"
Overjoyed, the figure gave the pouch a casual heft, tucked it into its clothes, and turned to open the other drawers.
"Pfft."
Halfway through the turn, its body suddenly froze. A sharp pain shot through its chest.
The figure stared in shock at the two blazing "ghost fires" in the darkness before it, and at the robed man whose form was gradually emerging.
Its voice trembled. "P-Puppet Thug..."
Hearing the fear in that voice, Hals grinned. His face, lit green by Soul Flame, and his dazzlingly white teeth looked utterly terrifying.
A dark-green Soul Essence flowed without end into Hals through his right arm, which had pierced the figure's chest. The arm was transparent, jade-green, and faintly glowing.
Feeling the cool substance continuously pour into him, Hals felt as if he were floating on air. He bowed his head, his body shaking violently, his voice trembling as well.
"Greed."
"Excitement."
"Fear."
"And... and..."
Hals shook even harder. The Soul Flame in his eyes surged more fiercely, slowly spreading over his head.
"And despair!"
"Boom!"
The Soul Flame finally burst forth, blazing high into the sky. The blissful, euphoric sensation that came with it destroyed the last of Hals's reason.
"Pfft."
The Second Soul Ring behind him flashed, carrying a strange ripple. Hals yanked his right arm out, pulling a dark-green soul from the figure's body with it.
Seeing the soul right in front of him, Hals could no longer hold back. He dropped to his knees, lowered his head, and tore into it, devouring its maddeningly sweet essence.
"Gulp, crunch..."
Spittle flew as Hals buried his face in the soul. His expression held nothing but madness and ravenous hunger, not a trace of reason.
Before long, the soul of an adult had been reduced to a few fragments of Soul Essence that fell to the ground. Not a bit went to waste. A lantern glowing with green light appeared at Hals's waist and sucked up the scattered Soul Essence.
Even after consuming an adult's soul, Hals felt not the slightest bit full. Instead, his hunger grew stronger. Wave after wave of it battered his mind, stoking his urge to hunt.
"Thud."
Hals clutched his stomach and dropped painfully to his knees. He pounded his head against the ground again and again, his voice full of agony.
"More... more..."
With difficulty, Hals lifted his head and greedily fixed his burning gaze on the dozen or so soul-flames scattered outside the tavern. A deep, inhuman growl rumbled from his throat. His figure became a cloud of Black Mist and vanished.
"Roar..."
After Hals left, the spacious office fell silent once more.
On the cold floor, a figure with a gaping wound in its chest lay motionless. In the darkness beside it, a few bloodstained coins gleamed.
Outside the tavern, darkness shrouded everything. The watchers from various factions had tacitly avoided disturbing one another, enjoying the rare, oppressive quiet.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
A piercing scream shattered the rare silence of Nork Town.
The watchers, who had been chatting and resting, released their martial souls in unison and warily looked toward the scream.
Soul Ring light suddenly flared in the previously dark area, and watchers from different factions emerged. They exchanged glances, reaching an unspoken agreement. Keeping one another in their sights, they rushed toward the place where the scream had just fallen silent, taking different routes.
Among the countless combinations of Soul Rings were several perfectly matched Five-Ring Soul Kings.
When the watchers arrived, the sight before them chilled them to the bone.
A figure in a dark-green robe, green flames burning across its face, was kneeling on the ground, bent over and tearing into something. Beside it lay a watcher from one of the factions, his body ripped in half. He was already dead.
Apparently unaware of the watchers closing in, Hals continued to devour the soul in his hands until it was completely consumed...
The Soul Essence fell to the ground, and the lantern dutifully sucked it up, making sure not a trace went to waste.
Licking his lips, Hals shakily raised his head. His stomach still gnawing with hunger, he looked at the watchers gathered around him. The flickering Soul Flame in his eyes held a predator's greed.
When Hals's terrifying gaze fell on him, the highest-ranked watcher in the crowd—a Level 59 Agility Attack Battle Soul King—felt his pupils contract, as if a thorn were lodged in his back.
Without hesitation, he activated his first, second, third, fourth, and fifth Soul Skills. Instead of fighting back, he fled at full speed.
"Run!!!!!"
His trembling, fearful shout rang through the sky. In the blink of an eye, he was already a thousand meters away.
Seeing that even the highest-ranked watcher had fled, the others snapped out of their stupor and used every means at their disposal to run for their lives, wishing they had a few more legs.
Ignoring the watchers fleeing in all directions, Hals licked his lips and turned into a cloud of Black Mist. Like a shadow, he steadily closed the distance, then thrust his arm down.
After devouring the Soul King's soul in a few bites, Hals savored its richer, sweeter taste. He felt a little fuller at last, and a sliver of reason returned.
Leaving the lantern to clean up, Hals slowly stood. He hunched over slightly as Soul Power surged, and a Hook radiating fierce menace appeared in his right hand.
"Whoosh!"
Hals transformed into a cloud of Black Mist and shot after another panicked "meal." The mist contracted, and Hals reappeared. Then...
He raised the Hook.
And brought it down!
"Pfft!!!"
"You're all mine..."
Before you continue