Chapter 671 The Soul Eater

Liam slowly lowered himself onto one knee beside the unconscious boy, his expression becoming much more serious as he looked at the child’s pale face. Only a few hours ago, Leo had been standing in this very village with curiosity in his eyes, asking Liam if he had come to kill the ghost that had taken his brother. Now that same child lay completely motionless in his mother’s arms, his chest rising and falling so faintly that someone who was not paying close attention might have thought he was already dead.

Liam looked toward the grieving woman. "What happened?"

The woman’s lips trembled.

"I-I..." Her voice broke immediately, and she swallowed hard as tears continued rolling down her cheeks. "H-He..."

She couldn’t finish.

Her hands tightened around Leo’s small body as though she were terrified that if she loosened her grip for even a moment, something would take him away from her completely.

Irina immediately lowered herself beside the woman. Her usual cold expression softened as she placed one hand gently against the mother’s back. "Take a breath," she said quietly. "You don’t have to rush. Just tell us what happened."

The woman inhaled shakily, but the grief in her eyes remained overwhelming.

"If you don’t tell us, we can’t help him," Irina continued, her voice remaining calm and reassuring. "Please. What happened?"

The mother squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before finally forcing the words out.

"He went to sleep yesterday night."

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"He was fine," the woman continued, her voice trembling. "He ate dinner. He spoke to me. He even asked me if the men who came to our village would really kill the ghost that took his brother." Her voice cracked again, and she had to pause before continuing. "Then he went to sleep."

She lowered her head toward Leo.

"He never woke up."

Silence settled over the gathering villagers.

"I thought he was simply sleeping deeply," she whispered. "I tried waking him this morning, but he wouldn’t respond. I called his name over and over. I shook him. I even poured water on his face."

Her tears fell onto Leo’s clothes.

"Nothing."

Liam’s expression hardened.

"When did you first realize something was wrong?"

"This morning," she answered. "I found him like this when the sun came up."

"Hmmm."

Liam turned his attention toward Leo.

The boy looked peaceful at first glance. There were no wounds on his body. No blood. No bruises. His breathing was steady, albeit faint, and there was nothing physically obvious that could explain why he had suddenly become completely unresponsive.

But Liam had already learned enough about Elaris to know that appearances meant very little here.

He had come to this village because people were falling asleep and never waking up. He had already heard stories about souls being taken from their bodies. Yesterday, he had even encountered something watching them from a distance before fleeing into the forest and disappearing directly into a mountain.

And now Leo had fallen victim to the same phenomenon.

Liam stared at the boy for several seconds.

There was only one thing he could think of that might be able to tell him what was happening.

His system.

More specifically, the strange consciousness that existed within it.

For some time now, Liam had deliberately kept the consciousness restrained. It was not something he wanted freely roaming around inside his mind without reason, especially considering how irritating it could be whenever it decided to speak. But this was different.

This was no longer simply an investigation.

A child’s life was hanging in the balance.

Liam slowly closed his eyes.

Deep inside his mind, he reached toward the invisible restraints he had placed around the consciousness.

Then he released them.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then...

Ding!

A familiar voice echoed inside his head.

[So you finally decided to release me from my shackles.]

Liam rolled his eyes.

Of all the things it could have said, that was what it chose.

"I need you."

The consciousness immediately became quiet.

Liam’s expression remained serious.

"I need you to check this kid."

There was no joking in his thoughts this time. No irritation. No playful response. His tone carried the seriousness of someone who had already decided that whatever was happening to Leo needed to be stopped.

The consciousness seemed to understand.

A strange sensation passed through Liam’s mind as the system began examining the boy.

Liam kept his eyes on Leo while the analysis continued.

The villagers watched silently.

Irina remained beside him.

Even the grieving mother had stopped crying for a moment, staring at Liam as though the young man kneeling beside her son represented the last remaining thread of hope she had.

Then the system responded.

══════════════════════════════════════

[SYSTEM]

══════════════════════════════════════

[Target Analysis Initiated.]

Target: Leo

Race: Human

Condition: Critical

Physical Damage: None detected

Vital Signs: Stable

Consciousness: Suppressed

Soul Condition: Abnormal

Warning:

A foreign force is currently feeding upon the target’s soul.

Soul Integrity: 71%

Rate of Soul Degradation: Increasing

══════════════════════════════════════

Liam’s eyes opened wider.

His brows slowly drew together.

His soul...

He looked at Leo again.

The boy hadn’t been injured.

Nothing had attacked his body.

Something was attacking something far deeper.

His soul.

Liam’s jaw tightened.

"Do you know what’s feeding on him?"

The consciousness remained silent for several seconds.

Then its voice finally came.

[No.]

Liam’s expression became even darker.

Nothing?

[I cannot identify the entity or force responsible.]

Then tell me what you do know.

There was another pause.

[Whatever possesses the ability to feed directly upon a human soul is not an ordinary existence.]

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

[You should proceed with extreme caution.]

Liam glanced toward the villagers.

Nobody could hear the conversation taking place inside his mind, but he could see the fear on their faces. They were waiting for him to say something. Waiting for him to tell them that Leo could be saved.

He looked back at the boy.

Can we get him back?

The answer came almost immediately.

[No.]

Liam froze.

For some reason, that answer bothered him.

Not because it was necessarily wrong.

Because it didn’t sound complete.

He had spent enough time communicating with the consciousness to recognize its tone. There was something different about the way it had said that word.

No.

Simple.

Direct.

Final.

Yet Liam could feel something beneath it.

Something hidden.

His eyes narrowed.

"You’re lying."

Silence.

Liam’s expression became sharper.

There is something else behind that answer.

Nothing.

The consciousness did not respond.

That silence was all the confirmation Liam needed.

His gaze hardened.

There is a way.

Still nothing.

Isn’t there?

The consciousness remained completely quiet.

Liam stared at Leo for several seconds.

His instincts had become extremely sharp over the course of his journey. He had learned to distinguish between uncertainty and concealment. The consciousness wasn’t saying that there was no possible solution.

It was refusing to tell him something.

Liam’s voice became colder inside his mind.

"You know how to save him."

The silence continued.

The villagers shifted nervously around them.

Irina glanced toward Liam.

She noticed the subtle change in his expression but didn’t interrupt. She had fought beside him long enough to recognize when he was thinking about something important.

Liam finally spoke internally again.

[There is something you’re not telling me.]

The consciousness remained silent for another few seconds.

Then...

[Yes.]

Liam’s eyes sharpened.

[I knew it.]

He leaned slightly closer to Leo.

The child’s face remained peaceful, almost as though he were simply sleeping.

But now Liam knew better.

Something was eating away at him.

Something invisible.

Something that could reach directly into the human soul without leaving a physical wound.

And whatever it was, it had already consumed nearly a third of Leo’s soul.

Tell me how to stop it.

The consciousness answered.

[There is a method.]

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

Then tell me.

A pause.

[But you cannot do it.]

Liam’s expression changed.

For the first time since arriving at Elaris, genuine confusion appeared in his eyes.

What?

The consciousness repeated itself, its tone completely serious.

[There is something that can be done.]

A faint pressure seemed to settle over Liam’s mind.

[But you cannot do it.]

Liam stared at the unconscious boy for several seconds after the consciousness gave him its answer.

There was a method.

There was something that could potentially save Leo.

But he could not do it.

Those words kept repeating inside his mind.

Liam’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the child’s now pale face. He didn’t care how difficult the method was. He didn’t care whether it required him to enter some dangerous place, fight something stronger than himself, or pay some enormous price. A child was lying in front of him with his soul slowly being consumed, and Liam wasn’t going to stand there and watch it happen.

He closed his eyes briefly before speaking internally, but unlike the silent thoughts he normally used when communicating with the consciousness, this time his words carried the same firmness he would have used if he were speaking aloud.

"Tell me."

The consciousness remained silent.

Liam opened his eyes again.

"I’ll do anything to help the boy."

For several seconds, there was no response.

Then the consciousness finally spoke.

[Are you certain?]

Liam didn’t hesitate.

"Yes."

His answer was immediate and absolute.

"Whatever it is, tell me. If there’s a way to save him, I’m going to try."

The consciousness seemed to study him through the strange connection between them. Liam couldn’t see it, but he could feel the weight of its attention inside his mind.

Then it finally responded.

[Very well.]

Liam waited.

[Bring the boy inside.]

His brows furrowed slightly.

[Bring his mother as well.]

Liam’s expression remained serious.

Then the consciousness added one final instruction.

[And bring one other person whom you trust completely.]

Liam’s eyes immediately moved toward Irina.

There wasn’t even a need to think about it.

He trusted her.

Perhaps not in the same way he trusted Tatiana, and their relationship was still complicated by the events of the previous night, but when it came to standing beside him in a dangerous situation, Liam knew exactly who he wanted at his side.

Irina.

Liam suddenly stood.

The movement was so abrupt that several villagers flinched.

He had been kneeling beside Leo for what felt like an eternity, staring silently at the child without saying a word. To the villagers, it had probably looked as though the young man had become overwhelmed by the situation.

Perhaps they thought he had frozen.

Perhaps they thought he had finally realized just how helpless they were.

But when Liam raised his head, there was nothing resembling panic in his eyes.

There was determination.

Cold, focused determination.

The grieving mother immediately looked up at him.

Liam turned toward her.

"If you want to save your son, bring him inside."

The woman’s eyes widened.

She looked down at Leo before looking back at Liam.

"You... you can save him?"

"I don’t know yet," Liam answered honestly. "But I’m going to try."

That was enough.

The woman immediately nodded.

She was willing to believe anything if there was even the smallest chance her son could be saved.

Liam then turned toward Irina.

"Come. I need you."

Irina’s eyes briefly flickered with surprise.

She immediately moved toward Leo and carefully helped the mother lift the unconscious boy.

Leo was surprisingly light in their arms.

Far too light.

Irina’s brows furrowed as she felt the strange stillness surrounding the child. She had powerful senses, yet whatever was happening to Leo remained difficult to perceive directly. There was no obvious enemy standing nearby. No visible spell. No physical wound.

And yet something was clearly wrong.

The three of them began moving toward the house.

The villagers parted immediately.

Nobody said a word.

They simply watched.

Some looked hopeful.

Others looked skeptical.

A few exchanged quiet glances.

Elaris had already tried everything.

Shamans had been summoned.

Spiritual practitioners had been paid.

People who claimed to understand curses, souls, dreams and supernatural phenomena had all come to the village over the past few weeks.

None of them had succeeded.

Some had admitted they didn’t understand what was happening.

Others had attempted rituals that accomplished nothing.

And several had simply taken the villagers’ money before leaving with excuses.

Now this young man, who had only arrived yesterday, was telling Leo’s mother to bring her son inside because he was going to try to save him.

The villagers couldn’t help wondering who exactly Liam was.

He was clearly powerful.

They had already seen enough yesterday to understand that much.

But perhaps he wasn’t merely a fighter.

Perhaps he knew something about the spiritual side of things too.

The thought gave them another small reason to hope.

Liam reached the house first and pushed the door open.

The mother followed with Leo.

Irina came behind them.

The moment all three entered, Irina turned around and carefully closed the door.

Then she locked it.

Click.

The sound echoed through the quiet house.

For the first time since the villagers had gathered around Leo that morning, Liam was completely separated from everyone else.

Outside, dozens of worried eyes remained fixed on the closed door.

Inside, Liam turned toward the unconscious boy.

Whatever was consuming Leo’s soul had already taken a dangerous amount.

And now Liam was finally going to find out whether the consciousness truly knew a way to save him.