Soren hurled a bunch of ice arrows at Faron as the Forsaken Knights protected him from the incoming spells: <Earth Bullets>, <Water Bomb>, and <Shock Wave>. Melee fighters like Ervin, Faron, Captain Brady, and Gabriel, who was one of the Initiators from the Abbate Family, were also having a hard time getting to Soren as they couldn’t get past the Forsaken Knights. 

Bang!

Ervin used his Bloodline Talent and extended his lance, trying to attack Soren through the gap between his undeads. But suddenly, a large black sword chopped down as it got close and broke the lance into pieces. The reaction speed of these Forsaken Knights had already given these Initiators a big headache. Not only that, but they now had Soren to take control of the strategy which allowed these Forsaken Knights to fight together as a team; eliminating the major weakness they had before.

Dead Rising!

Seeing how the situation was developing, Soren cast <Dead Rising> and extracted the soul remnants from the two dead Initiators. They both had been chopped into two half so using their bodies was not ideal.

Black mist rose from the two Initiator’s dead bodies as two translucent figures floated above them. These two figures which looked a lot like the wraiths were the soul remnants of these Initiators. Although they were somewhat powerful, it was not to the extent that they could fight Rank 1 Initiators. But Soren hadn’t intended for them to fight these Initiators in the first place.

Dark Gravity!

Soren aimed his staff at Faron who was trying to use an area of effect spell <Whirlwind> with the origin point being close to Soren and cast his spell. But just as the first phase of <Dark Gravity> took effect and the gravitation force around Faron increased exponentially, a long metal rope came out from behind him and dragged him outside the area of effect; also rendering his own casting invalid in the process which gave Faron a small backlash. This long metal rope was the <Metal Bind> spell used by Jayne, the female Spellcaster of the group who specialized in Metal Element spells.

Of course, Soren wasn’t going to let it end like that as he quickly cast <Ice Barrage> and sent the ice arrows towards Jayne. As the ice arrows flew towards her and distracted her, Soren sent the two soul remnants towards Faron. Faron had just suffered from a backlash, so he was unable to defend himself properly. The only thing he could do now was to rely on the other Spellcasters of the group and hope they would protect him. And as he had hoped, an earth wall formed in front of him as Denzel cast <Earth Wall> spell and protected him from the attack.

But as Soren expected, these Initiators had no idea that the soul remnants sent by him were not physical entities; the earth wall couldn’t hinder them. Of course, they were also not that strong as they were only remnants but Soren had never intended to use them to attack Faron. As the soul remnants got close to Faron and phased through the earth wall, Soren exploded them with a thought. A silent explosion occurred around Faron which only affected his soul. The shockwave from this soul explosion shook his soul and left him dazed for a short while. Blood started coming out of his nose, ears, and eyes as he suffered from soul damage.

Soren obviously wasn’t going to let this chance pass by. So, he quickly ordered his Forsaken Knights to stop the others from helping Faron as he used <Dark Gravity> again. As he had now lost the protection of his Forsaken Knights, he had to depend on his <Shadow Steps> to evade the attacks coming his way.

A dull thumping noise was produced as Faron fell down hard on the ground under the effect of the increased gravity. Gabriel, who was near Faron, tried to help him but he was met with an attack from one of the Forsaken Knights. The other Initiators were also unable to assist Faron and could only stare helplessly as the second phase of the spell took effect.

This was one of the most powerful spells in Soren’s arsenal, and it had earned its position. Screams rang through the area as Faron visibly withered and decayed under the effect of the dark tendrils; soon taking his last breath. The person who had threatened Soren at one point and had forced him to sign the Blood Contract was now dead; in body and in soul.

Of course, the battle didn’t stop just because he died.

Dead Rising!

There was now a newly dead body on the battlefield, and Soren wasn’t going to let it go to waste. So, he used his spell <Dead Rising> on the dead body of Faron and raised him as his undead.

Only five Initiators were left now; Ervin, Jayne, Denzel, Gabriel, and Captain Brady. At this point, there was no need for complicated tactics as Soren could just use his Forsaken Knights and decimate these Initiators; so, he did exactly that. He sent all three of his Forsaken Knights to fight his enemies while keeping ‘Faron’ close by for his protection. The morale of other Initiators had dwindled down quite a bit after seeing their companions die one after another. But they were seasoned fighters nonetheless. So, they buckled up and used all that they had to fight Soren’s undeads.

Captain Brady was walking the path of a melee fighter because of his Bloodline and Soul Form. So even if he dreaded these black-armored knights, he had to get close to them if he wanted to remain in the fight. Of course, Soren also wasn’t going to just sit around and watch the fight.

Dark Raven!

And so he cast his homing type of spell and sent it towards Brady. Although this spell didn’t have enough power to do severe damage to these Initiators, it was still enough that they needed to defend against it. Seeing the raven flying towards its intended target, Soren ordered one of his Forsaken Knights to focus solely on Captain Brady.

BAM!

The large black sword chopped down on the ground blasting out soil and earth as Brady dodged the attack by a hair’s breadth. But as he moved away from the Forsaken Knight, the dark raven suddenly came from behind him and exploded on his back. Even with his high defenses, Brady stilled screamed in pain as the spell withered a big area around his spinal cord.

But it hadn’t ended there. By the time he recovered after being hit with that spell, the Forsaken Knight from before had already arrived before him. An ominous feeling enveloped Brady as he tried to dodge the attack. Suddenly, black chains came out of the ground and bound his body, holding him in place. Being unable to move, Captain Brady could do nothing but watch as the large sword chopped his partially transformed head off.

Now, there were only four left.

However, before Soren could even smile on his last kill, that red beam of light came at him once again. Apparently, it had some time constraints on it as Denzel hadn’t used it again; till now, that is. But Soren didn’t fluster in the face of this attack as ‘Faron’ came forward and protected him by becoming his meat shield.

Three of the remaining Initiators were now hesitating whether to continue with this or not. However Ervin, because of what Soren had done, was not willing to back down at all; even if it meant his death. So, Soren focused on him next.

Ice Barrage!

Soren walked forward and sent a dozen of ice arrows towards Ervin as two of his Forsaken Knights kept the other Initiators busy.

Ice Barrage!

Ice Barrage!

Ice Barrage!

He kept walking towards Ervin while attacking him with a bunch of ice arrows. Being attacked by Soren and the Forsaken Knight at the same time flustered Ervin as he was forced to constantly defend himself. As Soren came close to him, Ervin made one last try as he used all the Mana he was left with to fill his Soul Form, turning it into a gigantic sword. He then used the gravity to accelerate the gigantic sword and dropped it towards Soren at a frightening speed.

BANG!!!!!

Alas, all his efforts were bound to go to waste as Soren swiftly used his <Shadow Steps> and dodged the attack. Seeing his final attack being dodged so easily like that filled Ervin with disappointment and despair. At this point, he could do nothing but watch Soren come close to him and cast his <Frost Domain>. As he was turned into an ice statue, Ervin turned his head and took one last look towards his dead daughter. His expression before his death conveyed a wide array of emotions, but the most prevalent one was regret.

And with his death, the Liston Family was over. Even if there were family members still left alive, without a Rank 1 Initiator, they could not establish a proper Family. As for Wayne and Kyle who had gone to fight in the war for the Stuteron Kingdom, they only worked for the Liston Family.

As for the remaining Initiators, Ervin’s death had destroyed that last bit of hesitation in their mind.

“Mr. Soren. How about we call a truce?” It was Denzel who spoke in a weary manner as he saw the situation turning severely unfavorable for them.

Soren also panted heavily as he looked towards him. The fight had taken a big toll on him as he bled from various injuries. His mask and face were covered in blood as it dripped on the ground through his chin. Although he was confident that he could kill these three Initiators, he decided to let it go as he was aware that it wouldn’t be so easy anymore; given his condition.

So, he nodded towards Denzel and called his Forsaken Knights back.

And like that, the long and fierce fight was finally over.

………

Soren stood in the Liston Family’s Mansion gazing at the aftermath of the battle. The whole ground was in a mess with dead bodies strewn around. He had already taken out the Storage Pearls from the dead Initiators and had also absorbed their Quintessence. Not only that, but he had also taken off the Enhancement Artifacts that they were wearing. With that, he was now finally done with this place.

“Argus, let’s go,” Soren shouted as he removed his blood-covered mask and put it in his Storage Pearl. Argus had hidden in the bushes by the side of the mansion before the battle began so he remained completely safe.

Wan!!

Wan!!

Wan!!

A small white figure came out of the bushes and ran towards Soren with weak and high-pitched barks continuously coming out of his mouth. Seeing this little guy run like that with his small limbs, a peaceful smile formed on Soren’s tired face. As Argus got close to him, Soren picked him up and put him in his inner jacket pocket. He then took one last look at the mansion as he slowly walked out.

….

Soren’s boots sunk in the red snow as he walked on the empty streets filled with the after-effects of the massacre that he had started. Strangely, he didn’t feel much towards this action of his. Even when he thought about his family back home and what they would think of his actions, he still remained numb. If he had to put it into words, it would be that his drive to find a way back home surpassed any other feeling. The law of the jungle was the survival of the fittest; he was beginning to understand that even more now that he saw the consequences of his own actions.

Even the hatred he felt for the Liston Family had been washed away; same with that girl who destroyed his eye. While the fact that he had already taken his revenge played a part in that, it was mainly because he now understood what it meant to survive in this kind of world. He understood that there was no need to hate your enemy. These people didn’t target him because they hated him personally; they just chose him because he was weak. So, he had no reason to fill his mind with hatred because of his enemies; he just needed to eliminate them.

Knowing that now, he was just glad that the only thing he lost in all this mess was an eye.

Thinking about this, he suddenly remembered how he was about to give up when he had lost his eye. A self-deprecating laugh escaped his mouth as he thought about how weak he was at that time; giving up just because he lost his eye. The essence of survival lay in the tenacity and determination to never give up, no matter what. And he truly began to comprehend that now.

….

Walking through the streets, Soren finally reached his destination; the City-Guard Barracks. He took one look at the board above and then walked in. He was already quite familiar with this place so he didn’t have any problem finding the person he was looking for.

“Hello, Claude. How have you been?” Soren said as a simple smile appeared on his face which was covered with traces of dried blood. But in the current situation of the town, this was pretty common.

Instead of the blood on Soren’s face, what shocked Claude more was his presence. From what he knew, Soren was supposed to be captured by the Liston Family. After Claude had heard that news, he was sure that he would never see Soren again. But here he was, standing in front of him while giving out an aura that made him tremble in fear.

“Ho-how are you here?” Claude asked with a shocked expression as he dropped the medical supplies, for which he had come back to the City-Guard Barracks, on the ground.

“I need something from you, Claude.” Soren ignored Claude’s question and just stated his reason for coming here.

“Ok. Wh-What do you need?” Even though Claude dreaded the fact that he could also get incriminated when the Liston Family would come looking for Soren, he still decided not to reject him. If not for their fleeting friendship, then for the dreadful aura that Soren was emanating.

“A map,” Soren replied Claude with a simple answer.

“Ok, give me a few minutes.” Claude easily understood what type of map Soren was asking for as he quickly went inside the barracks to get one.

While Claude was looking for the map, Soren went outside the barracks and leaned against the wall with his legs crossed and his hands in his pocket. He was planning on leaving this place, and for that, he needed an official map. Although Isaac had created a rough map of the area around the Eastwood town, it was not enough for Soren. After moving out of this place, he was planning on going to the nearest town. Only after reaching there, he would decide what to do next. But to get to the nearest town, or anywhere else in this area for that matter, he needed a proper map.

Soren had to wait for a couple of minutes but he finally got the map from a flustered Claude. Keeping the map in his Storage Pearl, Soren thanked Claude and walked towards the main gate of the town. But as he walked a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped and stood there. A thought passed through his mind as he quickly turned around and went inside the town. An obvious trace of confusion appeared on Claude’s face as he watched Soren. Only after he couldn’t see Soren’s back anymore did Claude turned around and rushed inside the barracks.

….

A Zombie Wolf carried Soren and dashed towards the jungle at a high speed. Before, Soren had actually gone back to the library to fill as much of Isaac’s database as he could. Because of the town’s condition right now, no one paid any attention to the library; a fact that Soren took advantage of and gathered all the information. Finished with that, Soren then created a Zombie Wolf for his transport and was now on his way towards the nearest town from Eastwood.

The cold wind hit his face as he closed his eyes and just relished the moment. At the same time, he also remembered the fragmented memories that he had recovered after his breakthrough. He had more important things to do at that time so he had put it aside. But now that he was free, he couldn’t help but think about all those memory fragments; especially the one fragment which induced a feeling of fear in him.

This specific memory fragment of his actually contained a small conversation. As he remembered up to that, he couldn’t stop himself from replaying that image in his mind once again.

“Hey, ki…Do you have…..preference for it?” This part of his memory was already vague, to begin with, but the fragmentation on top of it made it almost impossible for Soren to remember it clearly.

“Can….hear me? If……….…tell me anything, I’ll….give you a random name.” The person who was speaking probably had a deep voice but it was accentuated to a whole other level in Soren’s memories.

“Sor…..” Although the other person’s words had left a deep impression on Soren, they still couldn’t compare to the shock that the words spoken by this voice had brought him.

“Speak up, ki...I can’t……you.”

“So…Soren” That was because this was his own voice.

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