Reborn as an Extra Chapter 543: Inside Hell. Part-2.

Rio possesses the power to control souls, yet even he cannot securely house two souls within a single body without them violently conflicting.

Shoving two souls into one form is practically equivalent to endless torment!

These souls would endlessly battle one another, inflicting severe harm, resulting in excruciating agony straight to the core of one's being, until ultimately both souls perish amid prolonged, agonizing suffering.

’Actually, I’m still puzzled about how my soul ended up in this body, but if it hadn’t merged with the original Rio’s soul, I’d be enduring the exact same torment...’

Up to this point, Rio remains unable to unravel the enigma surrounding his own form, nor does he understand how his soul blended so seamlessly with the original Rio’s without any harm.

However, this bizarre entity is far from enjoying a favorable condition like Rio’s.

Its whole frame is grotesquely warped and contorted from the taint of miasmic corruption.

Truthfully, it appears as though someone simply grabbed a haphazard chunk of decaying flesh and crammed numerous souls into it.

Afterward, they infused it with miasma to warp and mutate it into a being capable of shambling about independently.

Inside, the souls repeatedly collided, forcing them into nonstop, excruciating agony, with every face shedding bloody tears from the overwhelming torment and despair.

Yet that wasn’t the worst part; the true horror lay in how the miasma was steadily mending their wounded souls, trapping them in perpetual agony!

They were unable to merge or annihilate one another, since the miasma persistently restored and tainted them simultaneously!

Certain faces wailed in sorrow, others cackled insanely, and some were so tainted that distinguishing them as faces at all proved impossible.

"What the actual f*ck is this thing!?"

Rio had encountered nothing like this before; its sight was so repulsive that, had he the capacity for ’disgust,’ he would have retched endlessly from sheer revulsion.

As Rio grappled with this unease, additional such abominations emerged from the lake, some bearing decayed organs protruding from their already mangled bodies.

Among them, one featured an enormous eye that fixated unblinkingly on Rio.

Rio can sense soul energies and infer the feelings of those around him, and that colossal eye radiated ceaseless pleas for aid and compassion.

It gazed upon Rio with profound sorrow and desperate hope!

’It’s no surprise that people warn this area is far from normal... it truly is an utterly distressing spot to linger...’

Though Rio lacks the depth of emotions to experience true sympathy or compassion, even he felt a wave of discomfort witnessing such horrors.

This clearly indicates that anyone else trapped here would have long since succumbed to utter corruption from psychological collapse.

’To roam freely in a realm like this, one requires extraordinarily robust mental strength and potent defenses against prolonged miasmic taint...’

Rio lifted his flute skyward and channeled light elements to unleash a brilliant purifying glow in every direction!

The instant this purifying radiance touched the tainted beasts, their forms began dissolving into oblivion nearly immediately.

In the midst of their dissolution, each one radiated ’relief’ and expressed profound gratitude to Rio from the depths of their essence.

All their souls fragmented right then, overwhelmed by the heavy miasmic corruption, and the purification granted them final release.

The miasma had been coercing their fractured souls to endure without breaking, but once its hold was purged, they shattered at once.

Having cleansed those grotesque beings, Rio leaped from the enormous rock and touched down on the earth, calling forth the ’cube of possibilities.’

He allowed it to hover freely nearby, shielded by his sword intent, and proceeded onward.

’This domain—it’s throwing my instincts into total disarray and rendering them worthless!’

Rio sensed that his S-rank instincts and innate foresight were spiraling out of control since stepping into this zone.

Even though Rio could still command the miasma within this area, the local miasma seemed intent on resisting his authority.

’How peculiar, it’s behaving so strangely...’

Rio is well aware that miasma holds a partial awareness and embodies a fiercely aggressive force.

Normally, it remains quite submissive under Rio’s guidance.

Here in the spirit realm, the miasma acts like a child torn and bewildered when forced to choose between favoring Mom or Dad.

The miasma mirrors this confusion; its innate awareness seeks to muddle Rio’s instincts, yet it hesitates to assail him directly.

’Never mind, I lack the moment to ponder the inner workings of a ’law’ like ’miasma,’ and I’m not even sure if it possesses an inner workings...’

Rio shook his head and swung his sword.

Rio harnessed the pervasive miasma spreading everywhere to establish a sensing perimeter for himself.

He could rely on his own mana for this task, but with his mana reserves finite, he preferred to conserve it, opting instead to mimic ’mana detection’ using the miasma.

Through this method, he could perceive his surroundings in the thick miasma without expending any mana whatsoever.

Rio advanced at a deliberate, unhurried gait without taking to the air, aiming to remain inconspicuous and as covert as feasible.

The spirit realm harbors countless formidable malevolent spirits, alongside likely hordes of corrupted horrors dwelling within.

Should Rio charge ahead at high velocity or deploy potent space-warping techniques, it would stir massive ripples in the local miasma currents.

Such disturbances would readily alert any nearby SS-rankers.

Therefore, maintaining a subdued approach proved wiser than barreling forth foolishly.

As he pressed on, Rio encountered yet another bizarre abomination.

It resembled a colossal bloom, though not formed from a mishmash of fused lifeforms.

Rather, it mimicked a vast lotus, with a thick stalk bending low and the blossom dangling from it.

That stalk consisted of countless hands; some human-like, others elven in appearance, and more from various beasts.

All melded chaotically and decaying rapidly.

The petals formed from oversized, rotting organs that oozed dark blood without cease.

At its center loomed a gigantic face with a yawning maw, perpetually spewing miasmic waste as the bloom ambled forward aided by those amalgamated hands.

The odd entity would erupt in mad laughter sporadically before resuming its vile expulsion.

Merely beholding it would suffice to inflict permanent trauma on any ordinary individual.