A pale silver light erupted from Mason's body.
The strange glow spread across the chamber like ripples across a calm lake before condensing around his forehead.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Then whispered,
"Soul Mark."
The world distorted.
Everything around him blurred.
The ruined chamber...
The shattered walls...
Even the Awakened monster...
All dissolved into countless silver fragments.
The next instant—
Mason opened his eyes.
He was no longer inside the underground prison.
Instead...
He stood within an endless crimson wasteland.
The sky above resembled flowing blood.
The ground beneath his feet pulsed like living flesh.
Gigantic veins stretched across the landscape, disappearing into the distant horizon.
This...
Was the monster's Soul Sea.
Mason slowly smiled.
"Just as I thought."
"As long as your soul exists..."
"...mine can enter."
The heavy restraints binding his physical body no longer existed.
Inside a Soul Sea...
Only souls fought.
Not chains.
Not prisons.
Not walls.
Mason stretched both arms before cracking his neck.
"That's much better."
A monstrous roar echoed throughout the crimson world.
The creature had noticed the intruder.
The blood-red ground split apart.
The gigantic monster emerged once again.
Except...
Inside its Soul Sea...
It looked even more horrifying.
Its body was nearly twice the size.
Countless crimson chains wrapped around its limbs.
Black mist leaked endlessly from its eyes.
Each heartbeat shook the entire Soul Sea.
Mason's smile disappeared.
"...You're uglier on the inside."
The monster answered with another deafening roar.
Without hesitation—
It charged.
BOOM!!
The entire Soul Sea trembled beneath its first step.
Its speed completely exceeded Mason's expectations.
"So fast—!"
Mason immediately raised one hand.
A crimson rune appeared before him.
Dark essence gathered rapidly.
Then—
A long spear materialized within his grasp.
Its blade glowed like molten lava.
Cracks resembling flowing magma covered its entire shaft.
Heat distorted the surrounding air.
The spear possessed overwhelming destructive intent.
Destructive Magma.
An Awakened Beast-Class Data.
One of Mason's greatest weapons.
Without wasting another second—
He threw it.
BOOOOM!!
The spear tore through the crimson sky like a falling meteor.
Its speed became almost impossible to follow.
The monster tilted its enormous body.
The spear missed by mere centimeters.
Instead...
It slammed into the crimson earth.
CRAAAAACK!!
The ground exploded.
Molten lava erupted from beneath the surface.
Within moments...
A sea of blazing magma spread throughout the battlefield.
The monster stepped backward.
Its enormous claws hissed as they touched the burning liquid.
Mason sighed.
"...My aim really is terrible."
Originally...
His plan had been simple.
If the spear pierced the creature—
Molten magma would erupt directly inside its body.
Instead...
He had merely changed the battlefield.
The monster roared angrily.
Its six arms slammed into the ground simultaneously.
BOOOOM!!
The resulting shockwave scattered lava in every direction.
Rivers of molten rock flew through the air.
Mason immediately dashed forward.
His speed exploded.
The lava actually worked in his favor.
Each step across the burning ground accelerated his movements.
Within moments—
He reached the embedded spear.
Without slowing down—
He pulled it free.
The creature attacked.
One gigantic claw descended toward him.
Mason barely leaned aside.
The claw missed his head by less than an inch.
Even so...
Five deep cuts instantly opened across his shoulder.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Mason clicked his tongue.
"So that's the difference..."
"I'm still only an Initiate Mystic."
"This thing is an Awakened Demon."
The gap between their ranks was enormous.
If not for fighting inside a Soul Sea...
He would already be dead.
Ignoring the pain—
Mason circulated every drop of essence he possessed.
Dark energy wrapped around his right arm.
The muscles beneath his skin expanded dramatically.
With a powerful step—
He thrust the spear forward.
CRACK!!
The molten blade pierced deep into the monster's side.
For one brief second...
Nothing happened.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
Molten lava erupted from inside the creature.
The burning magma burst through countless cracks across its crimson body.
The monster released an ear-splitting scream.
Its movements immediately slowed.
Its gigantic body staggered.
Mason didn't waste the opportunity.
He wrapped even more essence around his fist.
His arm glowed with terrifying power.
Then—
He punched.
BOOOOM!!
His fist slammed directly into the creature's chest.
The impact sent the enormous monster sliding backward hundreds of meters across the crimson wasteland.
Mason landed gracefully.
Breathing heavily.
"...I thought..."
"...that would've finished you."
The smoke slowly cleared.
The monster still stood.
Its enormous body remained covered in molten cracks.
Yet...
It continued regenerating.
The lava slowly disappeared beneath newly formed flesh.
Its countless crimson eyes focused upon Mason once again.
The killing intent pouring from its body became even stronger.
Mason stared silently.
Then slowly sighed.
"I was hoping..."
"...not to use this."
He lowered the spear.
Dark essence erupted from every pore of his body.
The crimson sky itself began trembling.
His muscles expanded.
Golden markings spread across his skin.
His bones cracked violently.
A deafening roar escaped his mouth.
Within seconds—
The human disappeared.
Standing in his place...
Was a gigantic golden lion.
Its mane resembled flowing sunlight.
Ancient runes burned across its muscular body.
Every step radiated overwhelming pressure.
Unlike his God Body...
This was merely a relic.
A Beast-Class transformation.
But even so...
Its power far surpassed his normal physique.
The monster hesitated.
For the first time since the battle began...
It sensed genuine danger.
The golden lion lowered its body.
Its muscles tightened.
Then—
It vanished.
BOOOOM!!
Neither sound...
Nor movement...
Could be perceived.
Only a golden streak crossed the battlefield.
The next moment—
The lion appeared behind the monster.
Silence.
The creature remained standing.
Completely motionless.
Then...
A perfectly clean line slowly appeared across its torso.
CRAAAAACK!!
Its body split apart.
Molten lava exploded from the wound.
The creature released one final, agonizing scream before collapsing onto the crimson ground.
The Soul Sea itself began collapsing around Mason.
The battle...
Was over.
The crimson wasteland inside the Soul Sea slowly fell silent.
The gigantic body of the Crimson Scavenger remained standing for only a brief moment.
Then—
CRACK.
A thin line appeared across its chest.
Another spread across its neck.
Then dozens.
Molten lava burst from every crack, flooding the monster's body from the inside. The terrifying beast released one final roar that shook the entire Soul Sea before collapsing onto the crimson ground with enough force to send waves of blood rippling toward the horizon.
Its countless crimson eyes dimmed one after another.
Life disappeared from them completely.
Mason slowly returned to his human form.
His breathing had become ragged.
His shoulders rose and fell heavily.
Blood dripped from several wounds across his body, while his right arm trembled from overusing essence.
Even so...
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"I won."
The familiar whisper of the System echoed throughout the Soul Sea.
You have slain an Awakened Demon.
Species Identified: Crimson Scavenger.
Reward Calculating...
Mason's eyes brightened.
The System continued.
Suitable Body Detected.
Soul Compatibility: Successful.
A new body has been acquired.
A translucent screen appeared before him.
---
Data Acquired
Name: Crimson Light
Type: Sword
Rank: Awakened
Class: Demon
Description:
A blade forged from the crystallized heart of the Crimson Scavenger. The sword burns with scarlet light and grows hotter as more essence is poured into it. Wounds inflicted by Crimson Light are difficult to regenerate.
---
Another notification appeared.
Five Mystic Fragments obtained.
Soul Evolution has slightly progressed.
Mason exhaled deeply.
"Not bad..."
He stretched his fingers before glancing one final time at the collapsing Soul Sea.
Cracks spread across the crimson sky.
The entire world began shattering like broken glass.
His consciousness was forcefully pulled back.
...
Mason slowly opened his eyes.
The underground chamber came back into view.
The ruined ceiling.
The shattered walls.
Dust still floated through the air.
His physical body remained exactly where he had left it—
Still tied tightly to the heavy chair.
He looked around.
Then his expression froze.
"...What?"
The battle outside had completely changed.
Dozens of metallic warriors filled the chamber.
Each stood nearly three meters tall.
Their bodies were forged from silver alloy covered in glowing blue inscriptions. Their eyes burned with azure light while crystal cores embedded within their chests continuously supplied them with energy.
They were robots.
Every swing of their massive blades split monsters apart.
Some fired concentrated beams of essence.
Others fought with enormous shields that could withstand attacks from Awakened creatures.
The chamber had transformed into a battlefield.
Awakened monsters poured in through the destroyed ceiling.
Yet the automatons met them head-on.
Steel collided against claws.
Essence exploded.
Bodies fell one after another.
Not far away...
Nora continued fighting.
Her movements were calm.
Every slash of her sword cut through invisible threads rather than flesh.
Monsters suddenly stumbled.
Some collapsed without visible injuries.
Others lost control of their own bodies before being finished by the Guardian Automatons.
Even while fighting several Awakened creatures...
Her breathing remained steady.
Mason clicked his tongue.
"So she's grown this much..."
His eyes shifted toward the corpse lying inside the Soul Sea.
A slow smile appeared.
"I almost forgot..."
"My new body."
His consciousness immediately left his restrained body once more.
Instead of returning to his own flesh...
It entered the corpse of the Crimson Scavenger.
The gigantic body suddenly twitched.
One finger moved.
Then another.
The countless crimson eyes slowly reopened.
Life returned to the monster.
But this time...
The one controlling it...
Was Mason.
The Crimson Scavenger slowly stood.
The Guardian Automatons immediately turned toward it.
Weapons locked.
Target acquired.
Before any of them could attack—
Mason slowly raised one enormous claw.
Dark essence gathered before him.
The surrounding air distorted violently.
A gigantic black door materialized in midair.
It stretched nearly fifteen meters high.
Ancient runes covered its surface.
The moment it appeared, an overwhelming pressure spread across the battlefield.
Every ordinary monster instantly dropped to its knees.
Even the Guardian Automatons paused for a brief moment.
Only Nora remained unaffected.
She glanced toward the mysterious door before returning to her own battle as though it didn't concern her.
Mason couldn't help but laugh.
"So..."
"You really can't feel it."
The enormous gate slowly creaked open.
Absolute darkness waited beyond it.
The entrance to his Second Trial.
The Crimson Scavenger's gigantic body slowly walked toward it.
Halfway there...
Mason stopped.
He turned his monstrous head toward Nora.
The young woman stood surrounded by defeated monsters, her sword still glowing with crimson threads of destiny.
For several seconds...
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Mason smiled.
"You are far better than I thought you were."
His countless crimson eyes narrowed.
"But this isn't over."
"I'll be back."
Without waiting for a response...
The gigantic monster stepped through the ancient gate.
The doors slowly closed behind him.
The overwhelming pressure vanished.
The battlefield became quiet once again.
Only the sound of clashing weapons remained.
Far away...
Nora slowly lowered her sword.
Her expression remained calm.
Yet deep inside...
She knew.
The next time Mason returned...
He would be far more dangerous than before.