Shion Lan fought his way out of the predicament he was in and said, "There is a way out of here."
He moved at tremendous speed, cutting through the ranks of spirits, then stopped. As soon as the spirits moved toward him, they were annihilated by the red line—but some managed to pass through it. Shion brought Sol Hart down and dealt with them. Once he sheathed his sword, he looked at Sol and said, "As I said before, there is a way to handle this situation."
Sol listened to him anxiously.
"We have to summon the director himself."
Sol's mind froze for a moment, then she spoke nervously. "Are you aware of what you're saying?! Summon the director?!"
But Shion said calmly, "Yes. There is an eighth-level evil spirit here, and no one is capable of confronting evil spirits of the same level. The best solution is the director, given his high level," Shion explained calmly after seeing her agitation. Then he asked, "But the strange thing is—if Solan is still alive, why haven't we heard anything about her?"
Sol fell silent for a moment before saying, "Because she is still alive inside."
Shion, however, did not seem surprised like he knew everything from the beginning what made Sol surprised and he said, "That makes sense, considering she never appeared in the kingdom, and this thing is still here. But what happened to her that she hasn't done anything?"
"Because she's in a coma inside the palace."
Shion noticed something odd. "If she's in a coma, then why hasn't the evil spirit dealt with her?"
Sol was startled as well and began to think. Shion said, "Do you truly not know, or are you pretending to be ignorant?"
Sol looked at Shiun, who stared at her coldly, waiting for her answer—but another event distracted them. They heard the sound of spirits crashing against the barrier. Shion kept his eyes on Sol as she looked down and said, "Shion Lan… I lied to you."
The moment her words ended, a rift opened in the seal and the spirits poured out. Shion swung his sword.
"(Star Tide)!"
The strike pierced that tide, but chains suddenly shot out and bound Sol. Shion looked at her in shock as she was dragged inward.
"Sol!!"
Shiun shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged in again. 'Even though she lied to me, she felt guilty and didn't mean it! I have to save her!'
Shion advanced using the Stellar Body and unleashed the elements of fire and water.
"(Star Vortex)! (Cutting Flames)!"
He moved like a madman, striking down every spirit that blocked his path
…
Bound by chains, Sol looked around and saw fourth-level spirits restraining her and taking her toward the palace. 'I shouldn't have done this! I'm in huge trouble now! How will I face that thing in this state?!'
Sol Hart tried to think of a way to survive, but she noticed waves of spirits moving behind her. She glanced back and was shocked by what she saw.
'Shion Lan!'
She sighed, unable even to utter his name. Shion was striking the spirits with four fiery cutting blows with every swing, and he repelled the rest with the vortex, yet the number of spirits did not diminish.
As he murdered, "Have I returned to the Dark Crow battles or something?! Why am I facing this many!"
Shion used the power of his soul and contacted Shi Yun Lan.
"Shi Yun Lan! Let me use (Death of the Stars)!"
Shi Yun Lan replied lazily, mockingly, "Did you name the forbidden technique? Death of the Stars?"
"Come on! There's no time to argue!"
"Don't use that technique on spirits, or you'll be harmed."
"What do you mean?!"
"No time to argue! You can't suppress things that are already dead, and your stellar aura can deal with them easily."
After striking several spirits with a fiery blow, Shion shouted, "This is no time for jokes!"
"I'm not joking. Your stellar aura can restrain these spirits. But if you use that technique, the aura's power will diminish. And you have a different body that can't properly manage the aura of death—unless you let me control your body."
Covered in sweat, Shion fought on, maintaining the vortex and slashing left and right. Finally, he sighed.
"You can control my body."
"I won't."
Shion was shocked. He nearly got hit by a spirit but pushed it away with the vortex after regaining his focus.
"You bastard!"
"Don't shout. You used the technique not long ago, and if you keep using it, draining your soul, you might die for nothing. You have to finish this yourself. Don't worry—I'm behind you."
"Then use your true form!"
"That's worse! You'd have to be on the verge of death so your soul wouldn't be drained too quickly. Otherwise, I can only maintain my form for a short time before we leave here. Besides, didn't you want to keep this a secret?"
Furious, Shion swung relentlessly.
"(Star Surge)!"
He used his strongest move, charging through the ranks of spirits at tremendous speed. His power was nearly exhausted when he reached the outskirts of the province's subordinate village. He saw a vast wasteland of devastation, dry earth under a gloomy sky. The palace stood in the center beneath the dark heavens.
On the road leading to it, he saw fourth-level spirits moving while holding Sol, who was trying to escape and seemed to be the reason their movement was slowed.
Shion rushed toward her. A mirage of spirits chasing him screamed for revenge. Sol noticed him and shouted,
"Shion! Get out of here!"
He didn't listen. As she begged him to leave, Shion thought, 'The strong ones are ahead and the army is behind us. There's no choice but to head to that magic circle—damn it!
The fourth-level spirits launched attacks at him with magic and aura. Instead of confronting them, Shion dodged, sheathed his sword, and said,
"(Paths of Fire)!"
Fiery lines shot from his palms—four threads weaving through the gaps in the attacks, dealing minor damage to the spirits. He seized the opportunity, drew his sword again, and shouted,
"(Cutting Flames)!"
The spirits dodged easily, but their retreat opened a gap. With explosive steps, Shion dashed toward Sol and grabbed her. Realizing he couldn't retreat this time, he asked urgently,
"Where is that circle?!"
Sol snapped out of her shock and pointed toward the palace.
"On the third floor, in the fifth office on the right. After you turn right, you'll find Imat Neumann's office. Remove the bookshelf and you'll find a lever that opens a secret passage leading to a room in the basement that no one knows about. The magic circle is there."
Shion memorized the route and sprinted forward. Sol warned him of spirit attacks targeting them, but Shion dodged skillfully. Still, the spirits were extremely fast. Fourth-level spirits surrounded Shion Lan again and attacked him once more.
Despite his exhaustion, he used the power of the water element again. 'I should've brought some powerful elixirs and potions!'
He tossed a healing potion into his mouth, regaining part of his physical strength and mental stability, and continued toward the palace. He passed through ruins from which all kinds of spirits emerged—animal, plant, and human—each harboring murderous intent toward Shion and Sol.
He increased his speed, thinking, 'Once we enter the palace, escaping will be even harder!'
Then Shiun remembered something important and asked, "Sol! Where is the evil spirit?!"
"Sealed in the palace!"
Shion's face turned gloomy but Sol continued in hurry, "But it's in the main basement, far from our circle!"
Hearing that, Shion felt slightly relieved. Sol continued, "Once we enter the palace, the spirits won't be able to enter!"
"How do you know?"
"Because of the seal placed by the elders of the Neumann family for generations."
"Then why did you need protection?"
"Because once I enter the circle, a gap will open that the spirits can pass through. But not much."
"Damn it!"
As Shion cursed, his vortex was on the verge of collapse.
"Sol! Take out a potion from my pocket!"
She pulled out a potion and handed it to him as he ran. He nearly choked but didn't slow down. The fourth-level spirits retreated, grabbed weaker spirits, absorbed their energy, and performed powerful techniques and spells, as if they had returned to life.
Shion was about to reach the palace and felt a surge of joy when he saw some engravings on its walls—but Sol screamed,
"Watch out!!"
Powerful chains shot out as before, piercing Shion's Star Vortex. He reacted instantly and hurled Sol Hart with all his strength, sending her past the protective barrier.
Sol looked at him in shock as she saw the chains bind Shion and drag him away from her. He shouted at her,
"Find the circle and finish this!"
Then he vanished from her sight as the spirits attacked the barrier. It stood firm, unmoved by that swarm—but Sol screamed after snapping out of her shock,
"Shion!!!"
...
Shion Lan was dragged back, away from the palace, and faced the spirits once more. He was injured after his technique was shattered with ease, yet he was still able to stand.
Shion realized something. 'Fourth-level spirits aren't that strong individually, but they're terrifying when they use the techniques they had when they were alive. They consume their own existence—but that's offset when they absorb weaker spirits. But can I endure until this army of spirits is finished?!'
He wasn't given time to think. Attacks came at him viciously from all directions.
"(Star Vortex)! (Star Tide)!"
Shion spun and struck every spirit in a circle around him. He sensed a powerful aura behind him and instinctively raised his sword to block a heavy blow—a combined basic attack from all the fourth-level spirits.
He unleashed all his stellar power to block it, but his sword showed signs of cracking. Shion realized what had happened only after the sword shattered into fragments, leaving him with a battered hilt.
The spirits gave him no chance. They lunged at him—some attacks capable of injuring him physically, consuming the spirits' existence, and others targeting the soul, which all spirits could use.
The spirits flew at Shion, vanished, and then wounds appeared—blood soaking his clothes, streaks and stains spreading. Shion vomited a mouthful of blood before collapsing, struggling desperately to move.
The spirits moved in to attack again, but Shion instinctively responded.
"(Fire Claws)! (Cutting Flames)!"
He turned the Fire Claws technique into a spell wrapped around his right hand and struck the spirits with Cutting Flames. Four fiery lines appeared—low in sharpness but immense in presence. The spirits were affected, but they didn't dissipate due to Shion's weakened stellar aura.
"Am I… going to die… here…?"
Half-conscious, Shion continued swinging his hand wildly, trying to escape the siege. In the end, his body betrayed him. He fell to the ground.