In Reyn's Soul Eye, Roger's soul appeared in all its might, without any embellishments. For the first time, he was examining a Legend's soul in such detail.
Compared to ordinary people or rank-and-file superhumans, a Legend's soul was immeasurably stronger.
Its volume alone exceeded the ordinary by dozens of times. It continuously radiated spiritual power, shining like a torch in the darkness. Yet it felt incredibly solid, devoid of the ephemerality typical of mortal souls. It had undergone a qualitative change, gaining near-physical density.
Roger's soul had a complex structure of twelve layers.
Deep within, about twenty element runes were visible. One shone especially brightly—that was "Demon Devouring and Mutation."
Reyn had read about this element in the "Book of a Thousand Souls."
It was the key element Demon Hunters gained upon reaching Legendary level. Its source was an extremely rare legendary beast—the Great Abyss Griffon.
As the name implied, Great Abyss Griffons dwelled in the Abyss but weren't demons. They were magical beasts comparable in size to dragons. They feared not the Abyss's corrupting energy and fed on demons.
By constantly devouring various demons, adult Great Abyss Griffons acquired "Demon Devouring and Mutation."
This element required monster souls as fuel.
Upon activation, a Demon Hunter's physical attributes—strength, speed, defense, stamina, perception—surged sharply. Even spiritual power gushed forth. The entire body underwent a sort of mutation, multiplying the hunter's combat power manyfold!
The enhancement effect was stronger and more comprehensive than "Fury," with no side effects.
The only limitation was that "Demon Devouring and Mutation" constantly required monster souls—demon souls or those corrupted by Abyss energy.
Thus, high-level Demon Hunters had to integrate the "Soul Shatter Touch" element to collect soul shards.
Soul shards weren't just for making alchemical bombs—they were key to "Demon Devouring and Mutation."
With enough soul shards upon activation, the mutation wouldn't end, and stamina and spiritual power became virtually inexhaustible.
In battle with monsters, a Demon Hunter could slay foes while replenishing stocks, fighting tirelessly like an eternal killing machine.
When Reyn first read the description of this element, it felt familiar.
It was so similar to his own "Soul Recharge"!
However, "Soul Recharge" had a broader absorption spectrum, not limited to monster souls, and also allowed boosting his own power and other elements.
In other words, "Demon Devouring and Mutation" was a sort of simplified version of "Soul Recharge."
But even as a simplified version, this element had an incredible combat power boost and was Superior!
Besides "Demon Devouring and Mutation," Roger's other elements were impressive too.
A quick glance from Reyn caught "Acute Olfaction" (Elephant Trunk Technique), "Shadow Slip," "Swift Shadow Thrust," "Battle Madness," "Psychic Scream," "Phantom Step," and others—several elements atypical for ordinary Demon Hunters, all at least Rare level.
Adding the mandatory hunter elements—"Gosolun Eye," "Soul Shatter Touch," "Poison Resistance," "Self-Healing," "Accelerated Metabolism," plus five gesture-activated spells and two or three standard agility-based combat elements—the total for Roger approached twenty!
Compared to other Demon Hunters or Legends of the same rank, Roger's power was at the pinnacle.
At that moment, Roger activated "Demon Devouring and Mutation," and his speed surged.
Using "Swift Shadow Thrust" combined with "Phantom Step" for acceleration, he moved so fast a trail of afterimages lingered behind him.
Harken, imitating Reyn even with Truthful Will's support to see every move of Roger, simply couldn't keep up. His body couldn't match his thoughts. He could only watch as Roger's steel sword plunged into his chest.
The glowing red-hot sword tip met the barrier of second-level Steel Body.
Sizzle! The high temperature and sword flames softened the skin, reducing its toughness. Finally, "Wolf Fang" pierced the defense and entered the chest.
The blade sank an inch but then stuck.
Surprise flashed in Roger's eyes, but his movements didn't stop. He raised his hand and unleashed Ice Roar on Harken, knocking him down.
The freezing effect of the spell slowed Harken's movements slightly.
Without giving him time to recover, Roger changed the gesture of his left hand and cast a new spell. Several pale purple runes appeared on the ground around, creating a vast magical field. The air seemed to solidify, pressing down on Harken like a heavy weight, binding his movements.
This was the third-circle spell "Gravity Trap," known to Demon Hunters as "Irden Sign."
Under normal conditions, Gravity Trap could fully immobilize an enemy, but Harken, with fifth-level power, could still move, though slower than usual.
As Harken tried to rise, Roger's steel sword hammered down again and again, leaving several wounds on his body.
The wounds were deep, their edges seared by high heat, but not enough to be fatal.
Whoosh! Harken activated Charge, trying to break out of the Gravity Trap's area.
But before he could cover half the distance, another figure slammed into him from the side. The hammer blow hurled him back into the trap.
The strike was heavy. Harken spat a mouthful of blood.
Roger unleashed Ice Roar again, toppling him to the ground.
Then he tried "Aksiy Sign," hoping to exploit the wound and distraction to dominate his mind with a confusion spell.
But the spell had no effect.
Roger looked at his hand in some surprise. A four-circle confusion spell—even a Legendary superhuman would struggle against it. At least, they should have frozen for a moment, not remain utterly unaffected.
"Did I mess up the gesture?"
Doubting himself, Roger cast Aksiy Sign on Harken again. The result was the same—zero.
Reyn, watching this, sighed inwardly.
Harken imitated his Truthful Will and was completely immune to mind control spells.
"Master Roger, he's immune to all mental spells!" Reyn explained loudly.
As he spoke, he himself charged into the Gravity Trap, knocking Harken—who had just started rising—with one hammer blow, then tossed the hammer aside and piled his full body weight onto the enemy's back.
Zoltan arrived in time too. Empowered by Dragon Force, he had nearly fourth-level strength. Together, they pinned Harken to the ground, preventing him from turning over.
Roger instantly grasped their intent.
He took a deep breath. His fully black eyes clouded with a bloody haze, blood boiling in his veins—the sign of "Battle Madness" activation.
Battle Madness, like Fury, greatly boosted strength, though briefly.
At the same time, a ghostly dragon head descended on him—Reyn, without losing focus, cast Dragon Force on him, boosting his power even more.
Roger raised the steel sword "Wolf Fang." Flames on the blade surged upward, turning it into a blazing torch.
"Aaaaa..."
Harken thrashed desperately, but it was too late.
The red-hot steel sword crashed down on his neck. The combination of sharpness and heat instantly carved a deep cut to the bone, interrupting Harken's attempt to use Reynbow Beam.
Roger, putting all his strength into it, delivered five more blows and finally severed the head.
The head rolled across the ground.
The headless body stopped twitching. Reyn felt the enemy no longer resisting and only then eased his grip.
He stared at the head on the ground—an exact copy of his own—and felt a strange, eerie sensation.
Anyone seeing their own decapitation, even knowing it was fake, would feel uneasy.
"He's not dead yet," Reyn reminded.
"I know."
Roger eyed the longsword in the corpse's hand. It was rapidly shortening. The head and body turned into a ghostly image and vanished, revealing the true form of a shortsword.
The bizarre shortsword leaped into the air. Runes on it flashed, and it was about to dart away.
Reyn tried to grab it, but slowed by the Gravity Trap, he clutched only empty air.
The sword's red light flared.
The shortsword, barely airborne, was struck and cleaved in two. The translucent worm coiled around the hilt was also bisected. The scorching flames instantly incinerated it.
The strange worm let out a silent scream before dying.
Reyn saw a mangled soul shard fly from the worm and get absorbed by him.
In the next second, his phone's energy charge began skyrocketing.
The energy spent in battle refilled in two or three breaths, returning to maximum.
But an even mightier surge of spiritual power flooded his brain, making Reyn groan softly. His head felt like it might explode!
A mid-rank Legend's soul, even a clone's—how much spiritual power did it contain?
Even the ninth-level lich he'd fought before would seem trivial by comparison!
Reyn had never experienced anything like it. It was like swallowing a handful of blue pills at once—endless energy with nowhere to go.
Fortunately, he had experience. He immediately opened his phone interface and directed all the energy into boosting elements.
Right now, only Steel Body, Strength, and Charge could still be boosted.
The progress bars for all three elements began filling rapidly at once. Vast spiritual power was consumed, and Reyn finally felt a bit better. Though absorption still outpaced spending, keeping the charge maxed and wasting some energy, at least he wasn't bursting from inside.
Zoltan glanced at Reyn, whose face looked a bit odd, and asked:
"That guy is definitely dead, right?"
"Dead," Roger nodded curtly. "The Trickster's Phantom Doppelganger exists thanks to the Cunning Spirit Worm. Kill the worm, and the clone can't revive."
Reyn, barely suppressing the euphoria from the energy influx, said admiringly:
"The Phantom Doppelganger truly deserves its Superior element status. Just one clone, and so much trouble."
Unlike a simple phantom, the Phantom Doppelganger could exist indefinitely until destroyed.
Upon reaching mid-Legendary rank, the Trickster integrated this Superior element, creating multiple clones. Each was one rank weaker than the original but had all its elements, including "Mimicry"—another Superior element gained at entry Legendary rank. The combo made the Trickster incredibly hard to kill.
"That was Harken, right? How many such clones does he have?" Reyn asked.
"No fewer than four," Roger replied. "I ran into Harken on the first level. He sensed me. I had to fight his main body and several clones. Barely escaped and made it back here. Didn't expect him to send one clone scouting down ahead. Good thing I made it in time, or he'd have gotten away."
As he spoke, he looked at Reyn curiously:
"Reyn, why did Harken's clone, in your form, seem even more dangerous? What's up with you?"
Before Reyn could answer, Zoltan burst out indignantly:
"Roger, you have no idea! This guy's body—Reyn's—is so tough armor-piercing bullets won't dent it! My Axe dulled on him! I've never seen such a monster!"
"Whoever picks a fight with him is in for it big time!"
Zoltan puffed up. His failure against Harken's clone meant he'd fail against Reyn too. In just months, Reyn had gone from ordinary human to a warrior stronger than him.
It stung the dwarf hard. He felt like his century-plus years had been wasted.
Roger noticed his old friend's dejection and smirked.