Chapter 161

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 161: SS-Class Power (2)

Apollo’s arrow slowly approached, then suddenly disappeared—transforming into a massive wave of flame.

Its speed… wasn’t fast.

Easily avoidable.

But the sheer size was overwhelming.

Flames that could turn the world upside down.

The name “Sun Arrow” wasn’t just for show.

Still, this much is easy.

“Soul Disassembly.”

I reached into the flames and activated Soul Disassembly.

Originally, it required a disassembly window where the item had to be placed, but that no longer applied.

Now that I’m an SS-rank Soul God, things are different.

As my rank increased, I gained access to more divine authorities, and the limitations on my skills were lifted.

I analyzed the source of the surging crimson flames.

They were composed of Apollo’s divine power and soul energy.

The first shot—the Sun Arrow—was the core of the flames, with energy spreading out from it.

Using the power of disassembly granted to me, I severed the connection.

A rift began to appear in the wall of flames rushing toward me...

KWA-KWA-KWANG!

The Sun Arrow exploded in place before it could even touch me.

Apollo’s arrow failed to reach its target.

“So you had something up your sleeve.”

Apollo stood proudly on his Sun Chariot, staring down at me.

He didn’t look particularly flustered despite his arrow being blocked.

“Apollo! You need to destroy him right now! He’s gotten so much stronger in less than a month!”

“Empty husk of Artemis, don’t call my name so lightly. Your identity’s already been exposed—show some respect to the Sun God.”

Apollo glared at Artemis.

The real Artemis was sealed inside her soul body.

That black shadow I saw before—he was the god who sealed her.

The Artemis body prancing around outside must be one of his subordinates.

This is getting complicated.

“I’ll deal with you myself.”

Apollo turned his gaze away from Artemis.

He grabbed the reins of the Sun Chariot.

In the blink of an eye, Apollo and the chariot expanded before me.

A massive sword of flame had formed in his right hand.

“Soul Emission.”

I infused soul energy into my soul sword.

White flames emission forth intensely.

Same Soul Emission as always.

FWOOSH!

Before I realized it, Apollo was right in front of me, swinging his flaming sword down from above.

A simple downward slash.

Yet even that basic move held overwhelming power.

BOOM!

His flaming sword clashed with my soul sword.

Then came the second and third strikes in quick succession.

BOOM! BOOM!

Each clash sent out massive shockwaves.

The explosions erupted at point-blank range, but neither of us was affected.

His sword strikes—more manageable than expected.

Maybe it’s because Apollo doesn’t belong to the War God class?

I can even counterattack.

“Enlarge.”

At my command, the white flames of my soul sword expanded dramatically.

Apollo’s chariot tried to retreat, but my blade reached first.

CRACKLE!

Realizing he was too late, Apollo grabbed the blade with his left hand.

Flames roared as shock spread across his face.

He hadn’t expected this much power.

“Hmph. You’re strong…!”

He let go of the sword and pulled back, leaping away.

GRRRRR!

In his place, the flame horse of the Sun Chariot lunged at me.

Like a wild beast, it opened its fiery jaws wide.

SWISH.

I lightly swung my sword, and the chariot was split clean in half.

It was then engulfed by the white flames of Soul Emission and began to vanish.

But in that brief moment, Apollo had already flown far away.

“O, Sun.”

Floating high in the sky, Apollo had already resummoned his Sun Chariot.

His right arm was raised toward the heavens.

His index finger pointed skyward.

He was pointing at the sun.

“Reveal a fragment of thyself here.”

At the tip of his finger, a small sphere formed.

It glowed a deep crimson.

Artemis screamed when she saw it.

“Apollo. That crazy bastard! He’s trying to kill everyone…!”

She tried to flee, panic in her movements.

The nymphs with her also retreated in every direction.

“Sundown.”

It began as a sphere no larger than a fingertip.

But as it fell, imbued with Apollo’s divine authority, it expanded exponentially.

FWOOSH!

It hadn’t even fallen far before the massive sphere of flame dominated the sky.

Its sheer size was overwhelming, and even Zeus’s Thunder Pillar got caught in it and began to burn.

Ha.

Even for a sun god, the scale was insane.

The power to drop miniature suns in an instant?

“Soul Disassembly.”

I used Soul Disassembly to observe it.

Its structure was completely different from the earlier sun technique.

It had multiple cores forming the foundation of its power, and the roots branched out in various directions.

It wasn’t just massive—it was immensely powerful as well…

Most of all, the soul energy forming its framework was overwhelming, and it was falling at incredible speed.

With my current Soul Disassembly, it would strike before I could dismantle it.

It was impossible at the moment.

In that case...

“Summon Phoenix.”

As I summoned the phoenix, I spoke.

“Soul Fusion. Phoenix.”

The soul form began to transform.

Fwoooosh.

Flames surged from my body.

Wings of the phoenix spread wide from my back.

[Master. Have you adjusted to the wings?]

The phoenix’s voice echoed in my mind.

We had temporarily fused.

“Yeah. Let’s go. To Apollo.”

Soul Disassembly wasn’t the only power that had evolved.

Soul Fusion had also awakened new abilities in line with its SS rank.

[You may now attempt Soul Fusion with beings whose soul wavelengths closely match your own.]

Unlike disassembly, Soul Fusion had stricter conditions.

The requirement for similar soul wavelengths wasn’t easy to meet.

But the phoenix was different, having evolved through repeated fusion with my clone.

Perhaps because it had been strengthened through my clone?

Our wavelengths were nearly identical.

That was why I could now accept the phoenix’s soul form.

I took flight.

From the evolved phoenix’s wings, pure white flames blazed.

Maybe it was because the upgrade had been heavily influenced by my clone?

Every time the phoenix released soul energy, its soul form was reconstructed with White Flame.

Because of that, our compatibility was perfect.

Wings spread, I charged straight into the miniature sun.

“Soul Barrier.”

I pierced right through the sun-shaped flame.

The orb of fire radiated immense soul energy.

A miniature sun worthy of Apollo, the sun god.

Vast soul power was intricately woven within it, and now, with Hercules’ soul emissions added, the force was overwhelming.

Any ordinary divine soul body would’ve been disintegrated upon contact.

No chance to seal it—it would burn them to pieces instantly.

But I wasn’t the same.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

My soul form, temporarily fused with the phoenix.

A phoenix born of flames.

Fire attribute was second nature to me.

Though the miniature sun contained soul emissions that were fatal to soul bodies, its core attribute was still fire.

Because I was familiar with that attribute, I could defend against it easily.

BOOM!

[Even if Apollo’s sun was imbued with soul emissions, its essence was White Flame. Same as my soul body—completely harmless to me.]

“Right. Let’s go at full speed.”

Whoooosh!

I blasted through the domain of fire.

“You... what have you done…? That power—isn’t that Soul Flame?”

Apollo furrowed his brows as he saw me soar into the sky.

He seemed slightly rattled by how quickly I had closed the distance.

“Is that… the phoenix’s power?”

“Soul emission.”

No need to answer.

I flew toward Apollo and brought my soul sword down on him.

Clang!

Apollo blocked with his flaming sword.

Even though I flew at top speed using the phoenix’s power, he responded swiftly.

“Heeheeheehiiing!”

As my soul sword overwhelmed his flame sword, his sun chariot got in my way.

Slash!

I cut through the entire chariot, staying close to him without giving him a chance to create distance.

At the same time, I extended my soul sword, aiming straight for his throat.

Fwoosh!

But a flame shield blocked my strike.

Apollo summoned flame weapons on the fly to counter my attacks.

When the shield vanished, he switched to a sword.

When the sword disappeared, he brought back the shield.

If I cut both at once, he’d summon the sun chariot again.

He kept shifting the distance just enough—never allowing a single hit.

Relentless.

At this rate, it would never end…

Whoosh!

I thrust a tentacle imbued with soul emission.

It extended from my sword-wielding right hand.

Its target—his right arm, the one holding the flame shield.

That arm didn’t have a Soul Barrier!

Shluk!

“Grr… a tentacle!?”

Apollo, who had just been blocking with his flame shield, was caught off guard.

A sudden tentacle shot out and pierced through his right arm.

As he staggered, I cut through the shield with my soul sword and lunged toward his body.

Crackle!

The Soul Sword clashed against Apollo’s barrier.

As expected of a god’s barrier—it was strong.

But a Soul Barrier... that originally belonged to soul-type Awakeners like us.

“Soul Disassembly.”

Upon activating Soul Disassembly again, the pattern of the Soul Barrier revealed itself.

Perhaps because it belonged to a soul-type Awakener.

I instantly grasped the principles behind the skill’s structure and how to dismantle it.

Of all the structures I’ve seen through Soul Disassembly, this was the most solid and stable. But I knew exactly where to strike.

However...

To completely dismantle it, my soul power and skill level still fall short.

If Soul Emission handles the offensive side of soul-type abilities, then Soul Barrier is the cornerstone of their defense.

Its structure is so stable that taking it down fully requires immense soul power and a high-level Soul Disassembly skill.

Still, creating a small crack should be doable.

Thunk!

“What...!?”

For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Apollo’s face.

He couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw the Soul Sword piercing through his abdomen.

I aimed for his throat, but he dodged.

[You have damaged the soul form of the Sun God 'Apollo.']

[Soul Reaper is activated against the Sun God 'Apollo.']

[You are stealing SP and soul power from the target.]

A system message popped up, indicating the success of the Soul Reaper skill.

Even without killing him, just wounding him allowed me to reap his SP and soul power.

“Guh…!”

He tried to pull the blade out, but I followed him and kept it lodged in.

My SP and soul power numbers spiked rapidly.

[Soul Power increases by 200.]

[SP increases by 100 million.]

[You have reached the maximum amount of Soul Power you can obtain from the target. To gain more, increase your Soul Reaper skill level.]

[You have reached the maximum amount of SP you can obtain from the target. To gain more, increase your Soul Reaper skill level.]

Including soul power, the total gain was worth about 200 million.

Just a momentary stab, and Apollo had been drained of immense power.

“You bastard…!”

He must have felt his strength draining away.

Apollo’s demeanor completely changed.

His entire body began to glow with a blinding white light.

Whoosh.

He pulled back.

I tried to pursue, but his speed was different from before.

Apollo, now flickering in brilliant light.

Looks like he’s burning through SP recklessly now.

“Nectar.”

A golden chalice appeared in Apollo’s hand.

He chugged it down in one go.

Immediately, his soul form—pierced by the Soul Sword—was fully restored.

Nectar, the drink of the gods.

Did it have the power to restore even soul forms?

“To think you’d break through a Soul Barrier… even that whore Artemis said something true for once. I was saving SP for the future, but maybe now is the time to use it.”

He pointed at me with a glowing finger.

A beam of white light shot out like a laser.

Crackle!

It was stopped by the Soul Barrier.

But one side of the barrier was starting to melt through.

Even with the phoenix fusion, this attack was difficult to block.

[Master. This is the power of Light. It’s slightly different from my domain, so I can’t defend against it as easily as before.]

“Yeah. That’s good enough.”

I looked at Apollo.

He was going all-out now.

His SP must be draining at an incredible rate.

Forcing him to burn through that much was already a big win.

Hmm.

Maybe it’s time to pull back?

“Heimdall’s Return.”

I flapped my wings and activated Heimdall’s Return.

My soul body turned into light.

As the world became pure white and I began to warp through space—

I saw something unusual within the light.

“Did you think turning into light meant I couldn’t follow?”

Apollo, now also transformed into light.

He was chasing me even as I used Heimdall’s Return.

He reached out a hand of light toward me.

“I’ll erase you here and now.”

Apollo’s hand closed in on my soul body in an instant.

Nothing was stopping him.

Thunk.

Apollo furrowed his brow instead of smiling.

Confused, he muttered:

“Huh…? You’re not using your Soul Barrier?”

“You know why?”

I whispered in his ear, as he looked bewildered.

“Because I don’t want to waste my SP.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]