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

"Regarding any shortage of soul power... I can compensate for it by drawing soul power from the monsters within the spirit realm, similar to what I've done over the past few days, and utilize it for my own purposes..."

Rio's eyes gleamed with excitement as fresh concepts gradually emerged in his mind!

During his journeys through the spirit realm, Rio had discovered a technique to enhance his soul's power, which involved pulling out pure soul energy from others and infusing it into his own being.

This straightforward approach entailed seizing what was originally someone else's and turning it to one's advantage.

"She could end up diminished, but should this approach work, at least she will survive..."

Numerous strategies swirled through Rio's thoughts in rapid succession, prompting him to swiftly retrieve the enormous grayish-black dragon scale from his space ring.

This particular scale had been bestowed upon Rio by the dragon king as a prize; it possessed the unique property of safeguarding and sustaining souls.

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

"Phew~.... Let's begin!"

Rio cleared his mind, banishing all wandering distractions that might impair his concentration, then drew his sword and assumed a ready position.

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

Through spatial suture, Rio joined the square segments and formed two large containers.

In this manner, Rio successfully fashioned two provisional holders for Liam and Ellie's souls, one for each.

"Alright... having accomplished this... I'm now certain of one vital aspect..."

Rio gazed upon the two bulky, unsightly boxes and couldn't resist muttering,

"I possess absolutely no skill in art or artifact creation... this resembles a child's crude cardboard craft from school more than anything..."

Disappointment washed over Rio as he shook his head, feeling downcast about his utter lack of aptitude.

Beyond music, he fared poorly in art and crafting as well—all of them eluded his grasp.

Aside from wielding a sword, he lacked proficiency in any area.

'Reflecting on it now... even my sword prowess stemmed from pilfering that boundless talent...'

'So, does that imply I might lack genuine aptitude for the sword too?'

Upon reaching this point in his musings, Rio halted his mind from veering further off course.

'Sigh... this must be the primary 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 extracted Liam's soul and settled it into its designated holder, followed by depositing Elisia's soul fragments into the remaining container.

In the end, he fashioned a substantial container from the leftover dragon scale material to encase Elisia's motionless form within.

Rio invoked space-time manipulation to impose a 'Time Freeze' state upon Elisia's body.

This technique had been devised by Rio, drawing inspiration from the capabilities of both Alverto and Raji.

Alverto commanded profound expertise in time elementals, while Raji harnessed her world authority to 'halt' the space-time continuum; she could compel 'time' to cease in a specific area by suppressing spatial movements and time elementals.

Time freeze tied closely not just to Raji's world authority but served as her hallmark technique.

Rio applied it to Elisia's form to preserve its condition unchanged for the moment and avert additional harm.

'Space rings can only accommodate inanimate items... even though Elisia has passed... I refuse to store her in the space ring...'

'It feels irreverent...'

Rio let out a sigh and opted to employ telekinesis for transporting the three large containers, additionally enveloping them in his sword intent and light elemental disguise to conceal them from view.

Applying his personal stealth techniques to them rendered detection and visibility impossible through ordinary methods.

He intended to transport all three alongside him on the return journey to the human empire.

"I've already expended the teleportation scroll, preventing direct return to my entry point in this area..."

"I'll have to journey back on foot..."

Nearly three months had been required for Rio to reach this destination, largely due to his circuitous paths in pursuit of leads previously.

At present, he could proceed directly in a straight path, soaring at high velocity.

The vessel that conveyed Rio to the dwarf kingdom had imposed a six-month limit; over three months had elapsed already!

With time slipping away rapidly, Rio needed to hasten his return without delay!

As he bore Liam and Ellie along, Rio soared through the skies and cast a final glance at the enormous door.

'This door... it's truly accursed... countless individuals have met tragic ends on its account... I have zero desire to revisit this place...'

Besides King Allen and Astra, the shadow dragons and now Ellie had all endured suffering, either directly or indirectly, owing to this massive door.

With its seals now shattered, it could soon attract demons ensnared as puppets by the sea of miasma.

'I ought to submit a report concerning this matter...'

The authority and might governing this site surpassed Rio's current reach; at best, he could relay a report to Ashtel.

The ultimate decisions rested with the world alliance.

Rio's present power fell short of restoring this seal; without Raika's aid, he couldn't have inflicted such damage to it single-handedly.

'I sense that a future return here is inevitable, so I'll etch this spot into my memory...'

Rio ceased fixating on the enigmatic colossal door, mounted his sword, and launched into flight!

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

En route back through the skies, Rio's primary aim turned to 'How can I effectively rescue Ellie by fusing her soul fragments together?'

Lacking sufficient time, Rio couldn't pause in one spot for exhaustive trials; he had to hurry onward while simultaneously attempting to salvage Ellie.

It posed a challenging endeavor, yet Rio had no alternative except to achieve it, bound by his vow to retrieve Liam and Ellie regardless of the odds.

Even if it required wresting their 'Souls' from the depths of hell, Rio resolved to exert every effort toward fulfilling 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 as fervent as ever!