As the sky above the burning city turned red, Soul's body changed. Streaks of red appeared alongside his black and pink Corruption. Soul's physical shape altered to accommodate his new form. He grew to a new height, reaching six feet and nine inches fall. Soul had become significantly taller than before. Almost as if he was trying to tell people that they were short. Short horns spurted from his forehead, made out of black and red Corruption. It was almost as if an entirely different version of Soul had been awakened.
As the red Corruption spread, the pink Corruption died away, almost as if it had never been there in the first place. Hazy breath exhaled from Soul's mouth, almost like he had trouble breathing while using this new form. "Well, look at what we have here. You've got a new trick up your sleeve, Aaron Stone? Covering yourself in tar can hardly be called an improvement." Ronin mocked Soul, drawing his attention. Soul looked down towards his hands, his fingers tipped with claws that not even the eye of a needle could compare to. It was scary to see how dangerous his hands were.
Soul's face was no longer visible, but it was replaced by something else. He had been replaced by a red version of his original face, and this time, he was out for blood. Soul rushed towards Ronin, not bothering to pick up Tsuyukagiri. This would surely be his closest fight yet, as he'd only fought one person that was at eighty percent Boundlessness before, and even then, he almost died.
Ronin sighed, almost as if he thought of Soul as nothing more than an insect underneath his foot. He swung his sword at Soul, expecting to slice him in half. However, the blade bounced off Soul's skin as he ran, leaving Ronin wide open for a brutal counter-attack. Soul swung his clawed hands at Ronin, his hands glowing red as he came into contact with Ronin's blood. Blood flew through the air as Ronin looked at him in shock.
Soul didn't stop with just that one attack, though. He kept on slicing at Ronin, drawing more and more blood as he went along. The scratches looked no different to the ones left by animals, showcasing just how far Soul had gone while in this form. Soul appeared to smile as the blood flew through the air, reminiscent of his past self. Ezrahel ran up to Soul, trying to pull him away. "Soul! That's enough!" Ezrahel yelled, grabbing the black and red monster's attention. Soul stared him directly in the eyes, his vision red. However, after looking down at his hands, the feeling of rage subsided. Soul looked down at his black and red palms, and his face was filled with disgust.
"What...have I done to myself?" He asked himself, his voice raspy. "All you need to do is calm down, revert your body to what it was before, and then we'll be able to deal with this situation," Ezrahel told Soul as he looked around before standing up. "Where the fuck is Oki?! I need to make sure that he's safe before doing anything else!" Soul yelled, running around while trying to find Oki. He needed to make sure that Oki was fine. After all, he may be killed once the Corruption is found out, but if Oki dies, Soul is a goner.
As Soul moved through the flames, he saw a small child lying in a ring of fire, protected only by the dead body of another person. It was a Beastman that had laid down his life for the child. As Soul approached the child, he realised that it wasn't Oki, but he was touched by the show of kindness. Soul lifted up the child, carrying them on his shoulders as he walked through the burning debris. The child was unconscious, probably due to the smoke, but they were still breathing, so Soul knew they weren't dead. Soul heard the sound of timber breaking, almost as if it wasn't the fire this time. He looked around and saw wooden sheds collapsing in the distance. However, what he saw next shocked him.
Orochi was running through the wooden sheds, holding something in his arms. A child. "Orochi! Over here!" Soul yelled out, waving his hands above his head to grab his attention. Orochi looked over to him, and a smile lit up his face as he realised where Soul was. "Soul! Finally, I found you! The guy who was going to pay me money arrived, and he's caused this much damage by creating fire." Orochi explained to Aaron, pointing out the agonisingly obvious landscape. "Oh, I didn't notice. After all, it's not like we're beside the damn fire." Soul responded to Orochi before looking at the child. Oki.
"Thank god. I was looking everywhere for this guy. He's the child that came along with me if you had been paying attention earlier. However, I kinda need this kid to be alive if I don't want the people back home to brutally injure me." Soul told Orochi, who looked at him with shock. "That bad? I didn't realise that you were in such dire need of finding this child. Sorry about that." Orochi apologised. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. All that matters is that we have the child, and he is not dead. The latter part is important." Soul responded, looking around the destroyed city.
"I've had an interaction with the man who's paid you. A man who carries extreme grudges of things like winning against him in a fight and finding the most extraordinary ways in making sure that it is known. After all, you're nothing more than a distraction to him. It's a good thing he hasn't found out where my kingdom is situated. Attacking me there would be a suicide move." Soul explained to Orochi, describing his relationship with that pyromaniac lunatic. The pair looked at the destruction that he had caused one more time.
"Yeah, I can kinda see what you mean, Soul."