Reborn as an Extra Chapter 863: Soul of an Anomaly. Part-2.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
After flying for a while, Rio arrived at a vast swamp filled with corrupted mud and water everywhere.
Thin black fog carrying miasma was everywhere, and visibility was very low.
If it were someone else, this kind of terrain would have been a nightmare for even an early S-ranker, as the miasmic rain falling from the dark cloudy sky would have caused tremendous harm to their sanity.
But for Rio, all this was of no concern at all; in fact, his visibility was enhanced by miasma in this corrupted place, and he could walk unhindered anywhere he wanted to.
’So, this is the place those death swarms are?’
After leaving the Eldor tribe’s encampment, Rio started analyzing his own soul, but the progress was very slow; thus, he decided to look for inspiration in an attempt to try to increase his soul manipulation skills.
The death swarm of parasites that Ratna mentioned was a world-ending catastrophe-level plague of small demonic worm-shaped creatures that lived inside the realm of consciousness itself!
The creatures were the manifestation of evil and nightmares!
All creatures in the world have a sea of consciousness, and everyone has a fear for certain things hidden inside the depths of their mind.
The demonic nightmare worms are created by the combined essence of miasma and nightmare energies and completely paralyze their host’s consciousness before taking over their sea of consciousness and seizing their body!
Due to their innate nature, these creatures possess tremendous mastery over brainwashing, mental manipulation, sea of consciousness analysis, etc.!
Even during the days of the thousand-year demon extinction war, King Allen and Astra had to take several measures to prevent their soldiers from falling prey to these demons!
Eventually, Astra created a restriction seal on the existence of these ’Heart Demons’ using the power of the world with King Allen’s help and managed to confine them to the Demon Continent.
Just like the Shadow Dragon race was forcefully marked and sealed inside the spirit realm, King Allen and Astra had used the same method to confine these heart demons.
Thus, nowadays, this planet-destroying, plague-like calamity only wreaks havoc in the demon continent and is completely unable to leave this continent, making its threat much weaker than what it used to be.
’The threat of this demon parasite swarm is extremely high, and if Ratna does not plan things out properly, he and his people will likely not make it past this year...’
’But that’s got nothing to do with me... I have my own situation to deal with first.’
Although Ratna was helpful to Rio in finding a momentary source of inspiration, Rio had already paid the other party back for that favor and helped Ratna become free of miasmic corruption.
What happened to Ratna from there on was not something of concern to Rio.
The reason he came to this swamp was not to help Ratna eradicate the demon swarm but for his own reasons.
’The ability to analyze and parasitize the sea of consciousness while suppressing the soul and mind of the original owner of the body...’
’This trait... is quite fascinating and might be useful to my own research.’
Rio was right now stuck in a long process of analyzing his own soul and needed an inspiration to boost the speed of this process.
The death swarm of mind parasites were the best source of inspiration available!
’If I can mimic the methods these parasites use and enhance my own skills, it will be helpful to me.’
Just when Rio was standing in mid-air and thinking about his plans, the entire swamp started to shake and rumble as if an earthquake had come!
Cracks appeared on the ground as a gigantic worm the size of a mountain drilled out of the ground, causing a massive amount of debris, miasmic mud, and corrupted water to be flung in all directions!
A powerful mental wave spread in all directions and targeted Rio instantly.
Being targeted by that demonic worm, Rio’s consciousness faced a sudden attack, and his mind felt like it was being targeted by a dangerous beast!
"An SS ranker?... No, it’s not a proper demi-god; the aura is different. A failed one? A pseudo SS-ranker?"
Not all creatures could successfully ascend to the realm of demi-gods; there were countless beings in the world who had tried to ascend but failed midway.
These failed ones would usually have higher overall stats compared to usual peak S-rankers but would not have a ’World Authority’ like the usual SS rankers would.
The gigantic creature made a massive screeching sound as if it were roaring at the sky, but in reality, it was sending a powerful psychic message to Rio’s mind.
[Who art thee to invade mine land!!]
[Begone!]
Hearing those words, Rio remained as expressionless as ever and replied using similar psychic waves through the help of his own mental energy,
"No need to be so aggressive. I am Rio Flash, a humble pilgrim. I was just passing through here and didn’t mean to offend anyone."
"If you wish me to leave, tell your minions to not get in my way and let me pass by this area peacefully... I only wish to head towards the south of the continent."
"Your people are blocking my path-"
Before Rio could even finish speaking, the other party cut him off and shouted in a loud voice,
[Lies! Thou art unkind!]
[I can feel thine curiosity towards my brethren! I shan’t let you pass!!]
[Begone! Evil Monstrosity!]
Although the other party was showing a tough front and trying to be as intimidating as possible, Rio could sense hesitation and fear in that mental wave.
’D*mn, what a powerful perception and intuition ability! It sensed my intentions and realized that I was going to capture a few of its minions and experiment on them!’
Rio wasn’t using stealth mode or trying to hide when he came to the swamp, so it was understandable that the other party noticed his presence, but even Rio felt quite surprised that the other party realized his intentions!
’This... this is the perfect test subject! I must capture this fellow and analyze every aspect down to the depths of its soul!’
