It was that golden light!
Rod suddenly became excited.
There was hope!
Just as he was about to rush over and grab the Light Blade to stab the monster to death like before,
the golden light dissipated.
And the monster, torn in two, turned around and took a step toward him.
Boom.
The ground seemed to shake, half of the monster's body dragging on the ground, the other half upright, with only the lower part still connected together.
Black viscous substance flowed down from the cut surface of the torso, and two red-glowing eyes stared at him from vastly different angles.
It wasn't dead yet!
A chill exploded in Rod's soul in an instant, and he clenched his gun fiercely, almost instinctively activating his Spiritual Energy.
The Spirit Pressure Gauge skyrocketed, and the muzzle of the gun burst into Spiritual Light.
Bang!
The white line shot out instantly, hitting the side of the monster's body. The True Silver Bullet entered the pure black viscous material filling the body, releasing its energy, and blasting large chunks of black substance outward.
The black creature staggered a step, but quickly stabilized and continued moving toward him.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Rod fired five shots in rapid succession, emptying his magazine.
All five white lines hit the severed surface of its body, the silver light from the exploding True Silver Bullets flickered in succession, and the black viscous matter splattered all around, like fireworks thrown by a mischievous child into a cesspit settled over ten thousand years, blasting out ancient filth.
Click.
Rod rapidly ejected the spent cartridge, instantaneously reloading seven True Silver Bullets.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Seven shots almost rang out in an instant, all seven True Silver Bullets accurately hitting the monster's wounds.
Rod's concentration was unprecedented; Spiritual Energy continuously produced in his soul like breathing, instinctively like muscles releasing strength.
Click.
Seven True Silver Bullets were reloaded once more.
Seven more shots rang out.
Rod felt like his whole person was on fire, his soul restless, his Spiritual Energy surging tumultuously.
The "Raven" was beginning to heat up, unable to withstand his mad infusion.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
After another series of seven shots, the monster finally fell, its enormous body hitting the ground almost emptied of its contents.
A strange whining sound rose in the air, as if something was leaving.
The monster's corpse began to evaporate, countless black dust rising into the air, and the scattered viscous material on the ground also began to decompose.
Black dust momentarily filled the sky and earth, obscuring the eyes.
But Rod clearly saw a giant black line formed of countless black dust enter his body.
Suddenly, on the black altar, a mass of black fire larger than all previous flames appeared.
A moment later, the black dust vanished entirely, dispersed into the air.
The Dream Realm returned to its original state, all traces of the monster's existence vanished, the distant Black Fog also disappeared, and the gray-white tranquil mist flowed slowly without a ripple, infinitely distant, as if reaching the end of time.
Everything was so peaceful as if the invasion had never happened.
But the excited yet exhausted spirit, the heated handgun, and the True Silver Bullets still held in his hand all reminded him that none of this was an illusion.
Finally!
It was finally over!
I had finally survived.
I had passed through another crisis.
Rod heaved a long sigh, and just as he relaxed his spirit, fatigue surged up like a tide, and all he wanted to do was collapse and sleep right there.
But that was impossible; he still had many things to do.
Rod raised his head and looked toward the mass of black fire, about the size of half of a fist.
[The Soul of Twisted Demon Flesh]
[A Part of the Dark Side of the Twisted Demon Flesh]
[Black Blood enveloping Corpse and Dead Souls; a monster formed from the spiritual substance shed from a greater existence, floating for countless years within the River of Eternal Death.]
Rod furrowed his brows.
This soul seemed to be related to something formidable.
He carefully noted down every word, planning to study them further when he returned.
Again, he carefully listened to the soul for half a second, and sure enough, it was a strange noise mixed with countless noisy and maddening whispers.
Rod immediately stopped listening, thinking that unless it was a human soul, he would never listen again.
He jumped off the altar and came to the Obelisk, noting it wasn't healing as quickly as before.
The cyan-gray surface was covered in cracks, large claw marks were visible everywhere, and some fine cyan ash was gathering from the air into the stele, slowly filling the gaps.
Very slowly.
A continuous pain transmitted from the depths of his spirit, but the intensity was much less than at the start.
Indeed, my spirit had bound itself to it.
Perhaps, it was my soul.
Rod extended his hand, gently touching its surface.
The deep night sky appeared again on the surface of the stele, countless points of light emerging once more against this pure black background.
So, is this actually the inside of my soul?
Rod speculated.
And everything outside belongs to me?
But why is the text and information on everything else displayed in the way I understand best,
while the points of light inside the soul bear completely unfamiliar, strange text?
This question remains unanswered for now.
Rod could only sink it into his heart, hoping to uncover the truth one day in the future.
Moving his gaze, Rod saw the dark red "Dark Devourer" and the light blue point near it.
The "Dark Devourer" could no longer accept any souls.
I could only commit to the light blue point.