Ch.104Exchange

What Does the Binding of Souls Truly Mean?

Generally speaking, the binding of souls is nothing more than rephrasing the word “death” with different letters.

After all, soul binding is precisely the act that allows any human who is prepared to die to definitively drag another down to hell with them.

It’s not without reason that even the knowledge-obsessed mages of the magic tower unanimously agreed to eradicate all documents and information regarding soul binding.

Two souls merged into one perish without a vessel to contain them, and the vessel deprived of its soul becomes nothing but an empty shell.

Thus, both soul and body meet their demise.

For neither a soul without a body nor a body without a soul can exist alive in this world.

However, the story changes if there exists a means to perfectly restore the merged souls before they perish.

For instance, if one possesses extensive and powerful regenerative abilities capable of restoring both the conceptual meaning of existence and the soul to their original form.

A soul that has been combined and then returned to its original state develops an intense desire to recombine with the soul it was once bound to.

That desire transcends anything humans can imagine, and it never fades or dissipates.

The desire for recombination in a soul that has been bound and then separated allows one to precisely locate the other even if they are at opposite ends of the continent.

Of course, the soul’s attraction and the mind’s attraction were distinctly separate matters.

The intense and special emotions felt by the three who survived soul binding were far removed from mere recombination desire.

So it wasn’t particularly surprising that Serena appeared at this place. Her soul had guided her to her lord.

The problem was the timing of her appearance and what Charlotte was doing at that time.

Serena glared at Charlotte with murderous eyes and growled.

“My lord clearly ordered us to hunt down the black-blooded demons, so why are you here? Did you ignore the command given by my lord?”

From Serena’s perspective, Charlotte was simply insane.

She knew how her lord dealt with black-blooded demons, knew that he was extremely wary of them, and knew with what intention he had ordered their elimination.

Just as humans breathe to live, Serena naturally had to obey her lord’s commands.

No human can live without breathing. Likewise, there could be no Serena who disobeyed her lord’s commands. It was simple logic.

Yet that madwoman had left the royal palace on her own to satisfy her selfish desires. Even going against her lord’s orders.

It was absolutely unacceptable behavior.

“My lord? First Knight Commander of the Royal Order, speak properly despite your low intelligence. Your lord stands before you now, yet you dare refer to someone else as your lord? Baring your fangs at your master makes you no different from a beast.”

From Charlotte’s perspective, Serena was simply thoughtless.

Honestly, what happened in the underground workshop had caught Charlotte by surprise too. She wouldn’t deny that.

She had only intended to find fault with the connection to black-blooded demons, but somehow it had unexpectedly led to black magic as well.

However, it was also an opportunity she would never have grasped had she remained idly sitting in the royal palace.

In the end, Charlotte’s actions had been a great success. Not only had she instilled trust, but she had also learned about the nature of black magic and engaged in physical contact that would have been impossible under normal circumstances.

Yet that thoughtless woman was blaming Charlotte for falling behind due to her own stupidity.

It was absurd.

“Why would you be my lord? Don’t spout nonsense just because you have a mouth.”

“Who else would flaunt their intelligence being inferior to that of a mere beast as proudly as you do?”

After exchanging one remark each, Serena and Charlotte fell silent again.

They both knew each other’s abilities better than anyone. The moment either showed even the slightest opening, their head would fly off, so neither could afford to let their guard down.

Serena gradually pushed the World Eater forward, infusing it with even more mana. The overcharged World Eater hummed and screamed along its blade.

Charlotte layered defensive magic circles on her outstretched arm. Dozens of compressed magic circles continuously destroyed and regenerated in real time.

Regardless of how they viewed each other, both were unwilling to back down first.

Charlotte’s arm, extended with deployed magic circles, began to tremble slightly. Even with physical enhancement support, in a pure contest of strength, Serena had the advantage.

Since both used the same physical enhancement techniques, what remained was only basic physical ability, and in that aspect, Serena was inevitably superior to Charlotte.

Charlotte checked the rate at which the magic circles were being eroded and the speed at which the World Eater was penetrating, then calculated how much longer her defensive magic circles would hold.

The result: approximately 3 seconds remaining.

A long time if considered long, sufficient if considered sufficient. The longer they directly pitted sword against magic in this test of strength, the more disadvantageous it became for Charlotte.

A magic circle formed on Charlotte’s left hand.

Seeing this, Serena pushed the World Eater forward to completely shatter the defensive magic before her, when—

Her body was suddenly flung into the air.

“—!!!!!”

Her vision completely inverted as her body spun endlessly up and down in midair. Bewilderment spread across Serena’s face.

Charlotte had blasted Serena away with telekinesis.

Had it been the usual Serena, she would never have fallen victim to such an attack. She could have easily resisted mere telekinesis.

But at that precise moment, Serena had been gathering her breath to completely shatter the magic circles, and Charlotte hadn’t missed that split-second opportunity.

Though she quickly shattered the telekinetic force binding her body, once both feet had left the ground, the initiative had already half-shifted to Charlotte.

There was nothing in midair for her to stab her sword into to halt this rotation.

She could cut through the air with the World Eater, but she couldn’t add enough mass to stop the upward momentum.

That was beyond the realm of swordsmanship.

Flaming spears wrapped in fire rose from magic circles drawn on the ground. The surrounding air heated up, radiating intense heat.

Each spell had enough power to easily incinerate an area with a radius of several meters at the point of impact.

Anyone who could replicate even one of those countless spears would be welcomed with open arms at any magic tower in the kingdom.

Dozens of spears of that caliber flew toward Serena. Some even twisted their trajectories bizarrely to fly in from the opposite direction.

Charlotte refrained from using other spells prematurely.

Though she hated to admit it, a swordswoman of Serena’s skill might be capable of the insane feat of using wider-area spells as footholds to reorient herself in midair.

Therefore, Charlotte intended to give Serena no such opportunity.

“Useless!”

Serena exclaimed upon seeing the incoming flaming spears. She was confident she could cut down not just dozens, but hundreds or thousands of such trivial attacks.

She twisted her shoulders and pulled both arms to her right side. Then she waited for the moment. The moment when her rotating body would face forward.

When Serena’s blue eyes caught sight of the flaming spear about to hit, the World Eater tilted slightly.

So slightly that one would not notice unless looking very carefully.

Through that brief motion, the World Eater explosively released the mana accumulated to its limit on the blade. A sword energy forming an X-shape sliced through the incoming flaming spears.

With just that, the flaming spears scattered into mere sparks in midair.

Charlotte calmly watched the sword energy that had pierced through all her spells without losing any momentum as it plunged toward the ground, then flicked her finger to draw a teleportation magic circle.

A magic circle glowed blue beneath her feet, and Charlotte disappeared just as the slash struck where she had been standing.

Nevertheless, no sound was heard.

The downward slash burrowed straight into the street. The stone tiles of the main road were sliced as cleanly as tofu.

Strangely, Serena’s sword energy didn’t shatter the ground it penetrated, but merely carved it according to its own shape.

Eight flaming spears remained, approaching from directions other than the front.

Charlotte, who had reappeared right beside Serena, extended her right arm and flicked her finger once more. At that signal, the flaming spears expanded.

And exploded in midair.

It was such a massive explosion that it temporarily cast a long shadow behind Charlotte.

If a sword could block magic, then the solution was to not give anything for the sword to block. It was simple. And for Charlotte, executing it was even simpler.

The explosion in midair shattered all the windows of the surrounding buildings. Hundreds of glass pieces broke simultaneously, creating a chorus of sharp, cracking sounds.

Wooden buildings creaked and screamed continuously, some even collapsing entirely.

Stone buildings weren’t spared either. Most were in precarious situations with cracks spreading across their stone walls, looking as if they might collapse at any moment.

However, even this massive explosion was insufficient to stop Serena.

Through the lingering aftermath of the explosion, Serena emerged with a chilling gaze.

The mana surrounding her entire body glowed blue. Somehow she had perfectly regained her balance, though it was unclear what technique she had used.

At least some final rationality remained, as there was no sign she was about to use enormous techniques like Star Drop or Mountain Strike.

If she had, Charlotte would have had to use top-tier magic like Meteor Collision or Purgatory, and the moment those sword techniques and magic collided, the entire city would have vaporized.

They’d both be in trouble afterward.

Whether that woman was restraining her major techniques knowing this or not, it was a blessing from Charlotte’s perspective.

Just before the tip of the World Eater reached Charlotte, a hand wrapped in a black glove opened.

Simultaneously, Serena’s body sank straight down toward the underground.

Her armored body crashed down with a thunderous sound, burrowing easily tens of meters below. The grinding sound of earth and stone continuously echoed from the hole where Serena’s body had sunk.

“You truly have no capacity for learning. Even livestock kept at home would have realized something by now—”

Sting.

Before finishing those words, Charlotte felt something stinging on her cheek. She unconsciously raised her hand and wiped her cheek.

A few drops of blood stained her black glove.