Reborn as an Extra Chapter 596: Soul Merge. Part-2.

"As for any soul power deficiency... I can make up for it by extracting soul power from the monsters in the spirit realm, just like how I have been doing in the past few days, to use it for myself..."

Rio’s eyes lit up brightly as fresh ideas began to emerge in his mind gradually!

During his journeys through the spirit realm, Rio had discovered a way to boost his soul’s power, which involved drawing out pure soul energy from others and channeling it into his own essence.

It amounted to a straightforward technique of seizing what others possessed and turning it to one’s own advantage.

"She might end up weaker, but if this approach works, she’ll survive..."

With numerous strategies swirling through his thoughts in quick succession, Rio promptly retrieved the enormous grayish-black dragon scale from his space ring.

This particular dragon scale had been bestowed upon Rio by the dragon king as a prize; he presented it to him due to its unique property of bolstering and safeguarding souls.

’Who would have thought that I’d one day turn into an artifact creator as well...’

"Phew~.... Here I go!"

Rio cleared his mind of wandering distractions that could shatter his concentration, shook his head, and then drew his sword while assuming a proper stance.

Employing light elements, space elements, and time elements simultaneously, with miasma serving as his power reservoir, Rio sliced the colossal dragon scale into multiple small square segments!

Through spatial suture techniques, Rio joined those square pieces to form two large enclosures.

In this manner, Rio succeeded in crafting two provisional holders for Liam and Ellie’s souls, one for each.

"Alright... now that this is done... I’m certain of one vital detail..."

Rio gazed at the two large, unsightly boxes and couldn’t resist muttering,

"I have no talent in art or artifact manufacturing at all... this looks worse than a cardboard project kids make in their school assignments..."

Feeling a wave of disappointment, Rio shook his head in frustration over his complete lack of skill.

Not just in music, but in art and crafting too—he excelled at none of them.

Besides wielding a sword, he possessed no innate abilities.

’But reflecting on it now... even my sword prowess came from pilfering that boundless talent...’

’So, does that imply I don’t truly have any genuine aptitude for the sword either?’

Having pondered that much, Rio halted his mind from veering off into deeper tangents.

’Sigh... I suppose this is the key drawback of being unable to experience sorrow... I’m conjuring odd notions in my thoughts when I ought to be grieving over Ellie and Liam’s plight...’

Rio approached Ellie’s position, gently lifted Liam’s soul and settled it into its designated container, and afterward, he positioned Elisia’s soul fragments within the second one.

At last, using the remaining dragon scale material, he fashioned a substantial container to house Elisia’s lifeless form inside.

Rio applied space-time manipulation to place Elisia’s body under a ’Time Freeze’ condition.

This technique was something Rio devised by drawing inspiration from the abilities of both Alverto and Raji.

Alverto possessed profound command over time elementals, and Raji too could leverage her world authority to ’freeze’ the fabric of space-time; she had the power to halt ’time’ in a specific area by ceasing spatial ripples and time elementals.

The time freeze wasn’t merely tied to Raji’s world authority—it served as her trademark technique.

Rio employed it on Elisia’s body to preserve its current condition temporarily and ward off any additional harm.

’Only non-living items can go into the space ring... even though Elisia has passed... I refuse to store her in the space ring...’

’It feels too irreverent...’

With a sigh, Rio chose to employ telekinesis for transporting the three large containers, and he further enveloped them in his sword intent along with light elemental concealment to shield them from view.

Rio applied his personal stealth abilities to them, rendering detection or visibility impossible through ordinary methods.

He intended to transport all three back with him to the human empire.

"I’ve already expended the teleportation scroll, so direct teleportation to my entry point here isn’t an option..."

"I’ll have to trek the entire distance back..."

It had taken Rio almost three months to arrive at this spot, mostly because he had wandered in multiple directions hunting for leads earlier.

At present, he could simply head straight back, soaring at high velocity through the air.

The vessel that had ferried Rio to the dwarf kingdom had set a six-month limit; over three months had elapsed by now!

Time was slipping away rapidly, compelling Rio to hasten his return without delay!

While bearing Liam and Ellie along, Rio took to the skies and cast a final glance at the enormous door.

’This door... it’s truly accursed... countless souls have met tragic ends on its account... I absolutely never want to return here...’

Not just King Allen and Astra, but the shadow dragons as well, and now Ellie—all had endured suffering either directly or through its influence because of this massive door.

Now that its seals had shattered, it could turn into a magnet for demons ensnared as puppets by the sea of miasma.

’I must file a report concerning this matter...’

The authority and might governing this location surpassed Rio’s current reach; at best, he could submit a report to Ashtel.

Whatever follows hinges on the world alliance’s choices.

Rio in his present state lacks the strength to mend this seal; without Raika’s aid, he couldn’t have even dealt such damage to it single-handedly.

’I sense that I may have to revisit this place in the future, so I’ll etch its coordinates into my memory...’

Shaking his head, Rio ceased fixating on the enigmatic giant door and mounted his sword to soar away!

Previously, Rio had been experimenting with miasma control and the formation of miasma crystals, yet his goals had shifted entirely now.

As he flew toward home, Rio’s primary focus turned to ’How can I effectively rescue Ellie by fusing her soul fragments together?’

Short on time, Rio couldn’t afford to pause anywhere for full-scale trials; he had to hurry back while simultaneously working to save Ellie.

It posed a challenging endeavor, yet Rio had no alternative but to achieve it, given his vow to return with Liam and Ellie regardless of the odds.

Even if it required retrieving their ’Souls’ from the depths of hell, Rio was determined to exert every effort to fulfill this duty!

’To honor Lia’s faith in me, failure is not an option! Otherwise, I’d be too embarrassed to face her!’

Though Rio’s feelings toward others had vanished entirely amid this latest power surge, his devotion to Lia endured with undiminished intensity!