A Battle of Spirits

We appeared inside a small hut where a lone batgirl had her back to the wall, engrossed in a ruined book.

“Heyooo! We're back!” I yelled startling Komoria who dropped the book in surprise.

“W-what?! Raze? Lyra? Where did you two come from? Wait, what's that pile of purple stuff behind you?!”

I turned around and sure enough, there was a pile of mangled purple body parts of mush packed together like a crate. It seems that it was transported with us.

“Don’t worry about it. We just had to clear some trials and that thing was the loser.”

She glanced past us again, a large frown descending upon her face. “I think I’m gonna be sick; Let’s get out of here.”

“What did the outside look like when you came here?” The scorpion, Lyra asked. “What are we dealing with?”

Komoria stood up and patted the dust off her clothes. “From what I recall, this place is swarming with kobolds, and get this: they transform mind-controlled humans into crystals and mine them! They were heading towards this large hut deep into this town. I don’t know how far this place goes underground, but the boss’s home is not too far. You really can’t miss it.”

“You were right—it is extremely tough to miss,” the scorpion concluded while in her original scorpion form. Komoria and I have got shafted into the kobolds' role for sneaking past ugly creatures without fail. We were right outside the large crystal cave. There weren't any guards stationed, either. But I wanted to play the scorpion... Dog monsters are so laaaaame!

“Right? There weren't any guards lurking around either. This whole underground area is for mining and storing materials. There's so much of this underground world that we haven't seen, but are already where we need to be.” Komoria seemed happy about it, but still possessed a worried look on her face. Even if she did look like an ugly kobold, I could still understand how bizarre she thought this situation was.

“Well, we must press on and can conclude what the crystals are being used for at a later date.”

“Yeah! So let’s go inside and ice this bitch.” I approached the cave entrance with swagger in my step. Over the entrance, I spotted a transparent film blanketing the cave mouth like one of those non-accessible doors in video games. The moment I try to walk through it, an invisible force shoved me back a few feet.

“How dare you try to enter my Lady’s dwelling! You might be disguised as monsters, but your spirits reveal your true nature!”

Out of the translucent entrance stepped a blond-haired man in holy white armor and a long white cape. His pristine alabaster crown gleamed like a polished gem above his head, while a badass-looking white sword with a golden hilt adorned his waist. The one thing he possessed that I had already seen before was the star-shaped slave crest in the middle of his forehead. Its color was black which meant there was no turning him back from what the scorpion had told me about when she fought against the mind-controlled beast-kin before we met.

I had no idea who he was, but the voice that invaded my ears seemed to know.

“T-thats the hero that came before you, Rex Liason. He went missing just over sixteen years ago after encountering the Basilisk Queen. I thought he had been killed after he lost all contact with the gods.”

The shitty friendship goddess, Endina, began to tell us more about him, but I cut her off. “I don’t have time for this, gotta go.” I forcefully canceled the call and looked back at the man in front of me.

“Looks like we're gonna have to wait to ice the bitch.” I canceled my transformation. “So, you're the Hero? You don’t look like much. How did you end up becoming a slave to the snake bitch.”

His eyes twitched and he raised his voice in anger at my provocation. “Don’t talk about Lady Elenoira like that! You might have stronger stats than me, but my spirit is ten times more powerful than evil and corrupt being like you!”

I turned to Komoria and the scorpion. “You two might want to back the hell up. I’m gonna slam this fuckers skull into the ground and crush it to smithereens beneath my boot. I haven't killed any humans before, but I’m always happy to try something new.”

The prospect of it excited me more than it scared me. Was I just that mental?

“Raze!” Komoria shouted. “You can’t kill him! He's the former hero!”

She transformed back while the scorpion did the same. “Komoria, he has the black crest. There is no salvation for his soul. We can only hope that he is finally freed from his curse through death.” The scorpion patted her on the shoulder.

Komoria had a conflicted look on her face but nodded. They took a few steps back. “...Be careful, Raze! His abilities seem scary and dangerous.”

Yeah, no shit Sherlock. But she has a point.

She used her scanner, huh? I guess I will as well. This fanatical freak might have something annoying up his sleeve.

[Name: Rex Liason]—[Class:Fallen Hero/Soul Warrior]—[Level: 25 (Degraded)]

[Skills: Spirit Prison (MAX), Spirit FIght (MAX), True Sight (MAX), Spirit Slash (MAX), Astral Projection (MAX), Hibernation (MAX), Grand Scan (MAX)]

[Status: Enraged]—[Attack: 2,234]—[Defense: 587]—[Magic: 2,000]

This guy has been missing for almost 20 years and his stats were beyond "meh". Some beat me out, but he must have been hibernating for a long time, waiting to be confronted.

I grinned to myself. This was the perfect time to test out my own new ability.

“Before we start, simp, I want to set the battlefield.”

“...” He just glared at me, not making any sudden movements. Seems like he's a guard dog first a foremost. 

“Here we go, then—[Soul Duel]!” A white barrier spawned into existence creating a circle that ensnared us while forcing my companions out of the ring's range. We had maybe thirty feet to move around with, but that was more than fine for me.

“I don’t know what this ring is, but you better be ready.” He clapped his hands together and released a beam from it like one of those fighting games that took place on the street. It quickly flew into my chest, bypassing my defenses before I could even react.

“That didn’t do shit. What a weak attack.” I tried to activate [The Rabbit], but nothing happened.

Huh?

I tried to use both [Wrath] and [Envy] but was given the same response as before. Maybe it was like those black balls that sealed magic and Skills? Perhaps this loser had a similar ability. Speaking of black balls, I turned back to Komoria. “Hey! Can you pass me the remaining orbs! I think they should be able to pass through here easily.”

Huh? Ah shit.

Komoria looked at me with confusion. Maybe she didn't hear me. I followed her gaze and was greatly surprised. She was looking down below me to— What the fuck...? My body was lying flat on the floor as if I was asleep. The other guy was doing the same. It had suddenly become a sleep-off.

“Raze! Wake up! What happened?” she yelled in distress.

“They can’t hear or see you. No one can observe a spirit's existence except for other spirits and myself.”

I noticed that my body had a white ethereal glow to it as if I was gonna fade into nothing at any moment. A ghost version of Rex floated about his body as well. How bizarre was that?

“You're in my domain now, fake hero. No one knows the spirit realm like me, prepare to be expunged!”

His body expanded inside, amazing in height until he towered over me in the form of a giant glowing white knight.

That fucker is huge.

“My pure spirit is massive compared to your weak and tainted one. No one insults Lady Elenoira and gets away with it.”

This dude is like thirty and acting like this... Fucking grow up!

A blazing hot white ray shot out of his body and pierced mine once more, this time even faster and thicker than the last. “Ahhhhh! What the fuck is this shit?!” I screamed. “It hurts...but, like, inside... It feels like my very soul is being torn. Fuck off!”

“As it should be. An evil being like yourself must be purged in the name of justice. Only a few more attacks until you are cleansed for good.” His voice surrounded me like surround sound. He was the conductor and I was his musician. I needed to get back in control of the fight or I'll get banished to the shadow realm. 

He released another blast, but this time I was ready for it. I swam through the air, using my weightless body to the maximum, and managed to narrowly dodge the cleaning light...or so I thought. It suddenly changed direction and zapped my ankle.

“Owwww, fuck!!! That shit really hurts. That's cheating! You can't curve the bullet—or beam! This isn't The Wanted!”

I needed to figure out a way out of this, but I couldn't use anything that I relied on before. What the fuck can I do when I’m just a bodiless soul? I contemplated my options in my head.

I can’t run because of the [Soul Duel] and I can’t fight that huge fucker head-on. Though I don’t think he's using any magic or anything to keep it up, I think he's manipulating his very spirit and condensing it into a laser to fire at me. I wonder if that means I can do it as well...

I closed my eyes, focusing on my own spirit, my own soul, and seeking to form it into a weapon. In response, my body began to react. I could feel something strong and powerful surging inside me. I allowed it to flow through me like blood and with it, allowed my body to increase in size, Unlike his white knight form, mine ended up a lot darker and more menacing than the giant knight before me. My arms became claws with curved spikes that jutted out of my body like a porcupine. I could feel a tail-like appendage manifesting from my rear end. I must have looked like the dark-spirited version of Godzilla or something awesome like that. I guess my spirit is darker than I thought.

“W-what is that thing?!" he wailed like a child. "Your soul shouldn’t be nearly that strong and yet you were able to manifest your Spirit Guardian with ease! It’s so corrupted and repulsive that I want to puke my guts out!”

Oh, a Spirit Guardian? That sounds kinda cool. I hope I can use it again.

Rex’s form shrunk down back to his normal, spiritual self again. He got on all fours, even though he was still in the air, and puked….rainbows?

“Your aura is so….bleehhhhhhhh…...disgusting...my pure spirit cannot take being near...it.”

I can’t tell if he is insulting me or praising my strong and superior self. Either way, he attacked me first sooooo—I sliced at him with my shadow monster form and cleaved his whimsy spirit into two.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! IIIIIIIT BUUUUUURNNNNS…. BLEEEEEEHHHH!”

Burns? Getting a little dramatic there, aren't we bud?

Even with his body bisected into two, he still managed to yack up an ocean. I never thought spirits could puke...especially not that much. It was getting a little excessive and annoying to hear. 

Guess there's a first for everything. I swiped at him again, but his spirit faded into nothingness. I looked down at myself and realized I was back in my own body.

“O-oh….I’m back….”

I pulled myself up and gazed over at my opponent with a vindictive stare.

He wasn't cut in two like before, but that didn’t stop him from vomiting physical liquids this time. I guess the vomit train never stops. The normal sound had returned to my ears which allowed me to hear the call of someone behind me.

“Raze!!! Are you okay?!” Her voice sounded slightly distorted to my ears, but I knew who it was almost immediately.

I turned to face her with a fearless smile. “I’m fine, we just had a stupid spirit battle with a man and monster. I love me some Godzilla action!”

She tilted her head with a puzzled expression. “God...zilla?”

“It doesn't matter," I snapped. I turned back around to face Rex. He was a mess, but I had to end things, now.

I activated [The Rabbit]—and this time—it worked. Feeling as weightless as my spirit, I soared up into the air. I moved on to using [Wrath] to double my attack value and with the force of gravity, I slammed down on his already defeated body.

I heard bones crack and crack beneath my weight and felt his very life leave his body. A white orb floated out of his mouth and next to me. I placed my arms up to block it, but sadly,  it went through anyway and was absorbed into my body. Hmm...nice. I felt stronger and younger as if a new power had been injected into me like drugs. All around me, the white field was crumbling away. I had won the [Soul Duel].

“Raaaaaze!” Komoria ran at me and hugged me for some reason. I don’t remember her ever being this clingy before even when she was more of a whiny bitch.

“Erg... Get the fuck off me.” I pushed her back with enough force that she almost fell down. After seeing the shocked look on her face I grimaced. “Uh...my bad.” I turned away, feeling slightly embarrassed and guilty for some reason.

“Owwww!" She rubbed her butt. "What gives?! I was just worried since you looked dead for a few minutes and suddenly came back like a forbidden resurrection…”

“We had some sort of spirit duel with our souls alone. Of course, he was no match for me—the greatest soul around.” I thumped my chest before wiping the blood off my boots. 

Stats time!

I pulled up my status from my scanner. I almost forgot that I tried [Gluttony] out right before I killed him. I guess this was the Skill I received from killing him.

[Name: Raze Havok]—[Class: Savior/Disruptor]—[Level: 35]

[Skills: Zodiac Wheel: Rabbit (RANK 7), Skill Share (MAX), Fearless Confidence (MAX), The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath (RANK 5), Envy (RANK 2), Gluttony (RANK 1), Blessing of Ares: Boar (MAX), Soul Duel (MAX), Astral Body (RANK 0)]

[Status: Intrigued]—[Attack: 3,233]—[Defense: 2,000]—[Magic: 1,500]

[Astral Body], huh? Seems I can get back to that spirit place with it, but I can’t harm anything but spirits and undead in that form… Seems pretty shit! My stats jumped way up from killing him and absorbing his soul, like wow!

Komoria’s Skills may have increased as well from her [Soul Bond] with me, but that doesn't really matter now… I gazed at the cavern entrance. The barrier had disappeared. Just like after defeating a mini-boss in Souls games. 

Let’s kill the hoe!

I triumphantly marched inside with my two lackeys following suit.

“Be on guard, there's a chance there will be more teleportation circles.” 

I groaned loudly. 

“Yeah, true. Hey...what did you guys do when you got teleported away anyway?” Komoria stopped to ask us the question that was probably on her mind since we came back. I ignored her and walked all the way in.

“I’ll explain later, the scorpion reassured her before following me inside.