Reborn as an Extra Chapter 578: One more Final Gamble, Both or None! Part-3.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
Ellie guided Rio through the vast expanse of the area; it resembled a sprawling garden covering an immense territory, where she lingered like a princess eternally trapped within this enchanting paradise.
No sustenance to consume, no fresh air to inhale, and no liquid to quench thirst existed; it amounted to nothing more than an elaborate facade.
Beneath the facade, only a desolate wasteland stretched out, empty of any visible features.
Rio felt genuinely astonished that Ellie preserved her mental clarity despite enduring imprisonment in this prison for a millennium; her psychological endurance stood out as remarkably solid.
’Even with the reinforcement from my sword intent, I doubt my own mental resilience could match that level...’
This might explain why Ellie managed to respond so swiftly when Liam’s father overtook his body.
"It’s fortunate that the pacts between summoners and their summoned beasts link their souls... otherwise, Neo Aldif could have dominated every one of Liam’s summoned creatures, even including you..."
The mention of Neo’s name caused a heavy scowl and rage to etch across Ellie’s features.
"That individual was utterly vile! Ashtel Rex ended his life; if not, I’d have made certain he suffered greatly! Ugh..."
"Just the thought of his visage stirs a desire to torment him until death! Without his interference, Liam’s existence wouldn’t have faced such dire peril..."
Rio agreed with Ellie’s statement and responded,
"Yeah, I’d have stepped in without hesitation... sooner or later, Liam would’ve ascended to SS-rank, rendering that cursed old schemer’s schemes utterly futile..."
"Sadly, his demise means we can no longer deliver the retribution he deserved..."
Ashtel didn’t merely demolish the form of Liam that Neo had commandeered; he even obliterated Neo’s essence entirely, wiping it from being with that ultimate strike.
The sole factor that allowed Liam’s spirit to endure the devastating blow was Ellie’s act of pulling his soul back to her within the spirit realm via reverse-summoning; without it, even he would’ve perished in the annihilating force.
"Incidentally... I’ve been meaning to inquire... could it be that, similar to how you rescued Liam’s soul... Neo prepared some contingency to preserve his own?"
In response to Rio’s query, Ellie denied it with a shake of her head.
"My method is quite distinctive, in truth..."
"To have a summoned beast pull their summoner into the spirit realm, the agreement between them has to be one of equality first... and I seriously doubt Neo established anything like that..."
Neo viewed his summoned beasts merely as instruments; he’d never forge a balanced pact with them.
"Furthermore, even with an equal pact in place, the creature performing the reverse-summon must surpass the summoner in power, or the effort fails..."
"I managed to draw Liam’s soul because both his form and essence fall into rank A... far inferior to my true form in the spirit realm..."
"Yet for Neo Aldif, that’s unattainable... as an SS-ranker himself, and after hijacking Liam’s body to amplify his strength forcibly... his essence grew even mightier..."
A sly grin formed on Ellie’s lips as she continued,
"So it’s impossible for any of his summoned beasts to pull his soul, given how overwhelmingly powerful he is for them..."
"The spirit realm suffers heavy influence from miasma, so you must exceed your summoner’s might to forge a firmer bond; without that superiority, reverse-summoning simply can’t occur..."
Rio acknowledged Ellie’s explanation with a nod.
"That’s reassuring, then; no need to fear his return to stir up chaos down the line..."
Ellie let out a sigh upon Rio’s remark, her voice tinged with doubt as she replied,
"I’m not entirely sure; he was incredibly sly. He might’ve devised another safeguard using a different approach from the one I employed for Liam..."
"If he’s truly gone, that’s ideal, but should he linger in some form, I’d rather he reemerge once you hit SS-rank, Rio... since you’re the only one among us who can wield miasma, after all..."
"I’m confident you’d inflict severe difficulties on him..."
Rio cocked his head in puzzlement at Ellie’s suggestion and questioned,
"But Liam possesses equal talent... he could attain SS-rank in time as well. Don’t you trust in his potential? You appear rather doubtful about what lies ahead..."
Ellie offered a faint smile, one that concealed layers of unspoken feelings and sorrows.
"I hold great faith in him... yet he suffered betrayal from his own father during his most vulnerable moment... he yearned to see me at least once..."
Ellie had informed Liam that she stumbled into a snare while exploring the spirit realm, landing in a subterranean spot where she teetered on the edge of demise.
That account held partial truth; she hadn’t tumbled into the snare by accident—she deliberately leaped into it, choosing to enter this prison of restraint by her own volition!
To evade the relentless chase of miasmic decay, she immersed herself in perpetual miasmic erosion balanced by unending cleansing!
Each passing instant, miasma assaults this sanctified enclosure, straining to shatter the barrier of the colossal gateway to the miasma ocean and thereby taint her from within, since she has fused her being with this mighty barrier.
Her vitality now mirrors that of this mighty barrier; should it fracture or succumb to corruption, she would share its doom.
Should anyone ever manage to unlock this gateway and dissolve the barrier one day, she too would perish and fade into oblivion.
"The primary cause I never wished for Liam to come see me... the core reason behind my deception to him, stemmed from knowing it was virtually impossible for him to arrive here..."
"He’d need to traverse the full breadth of the tainted spirit realm to reach me... and only an oddity like you could pull off such a feat, Rio Flash..."
"I couldn’t endure the thought of him enduring this nightmare solely for me..."