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TOSDAG Chapter 30: One Last Dance
🕑 Added 2025-05-21 05:58:12 +0000 UTCThird Person P.O.V
The sound of footsteps echoed through the cold corridors of the Dark Ruins, and as they ran, Huyan Xiong and Ye Shuo couldn't help but comment on what had happened a while ago.
Just over 10 minutes ago, they had felt a powerful surge of soul force coming from deep within the Dark Ruins, and the most worrying thing of all was that the further they advanced, the more obvious it became where the source had been.
"It seems that what we feared is really happening; whatever is emitting that soul force seems to be where we're headed." Ye Shuo said with a serious expression.
Huyan Xiong nodded with a frown; every few seconds, a wave of soul force passed through them, it wasn't oppressive like the first one, but rather similar to being in a lake and feeling a ripple of water coming from a place where something was moving.
And they, as spiritualists with years of experience, were able to detect these signals and trace their source.
Their detection senses weren't as good as Leek's, who could sense most living targets, but considering the power of the origin of this soul force and the waves that had arrived without fail every 10 seconds, it was something that almost any Gold-rank spiritualist or higher could identify without much trouble.
Neither of them could find a viable enough explanation for this sudden phenomenon, and the worst part was that it wasn't the strangest thing amidst all this nonsense, because since it had started, all the demonic beasts in the place, or at least all the ones they had seen so far, were now in a kind of trance.
Without attacking, without moving, without even following them with their gaze or noticing them, it was as if they had become inanimate objects.
Doubts, questions, and mysteries kept piling up, and if they weren't so close to reaching the point of origin, then the idea of evacuating would have been strongly considered.
But considering that this could perhaps be the beginning of something that could threaten Glory City, they both decided the more information they gathered, the better.
In this way, about 10 more minutes passed when they both turned around and saw something that definitely caught their attention.
A room, like so many others they had seen in these ruins, but the problem was that its interior was glowing brightly.
They both slowed down until they stopped, looked at each other, and nodded, deciding to approach more slowly and cautiously.
But when they stood in front of the entrance and saw the interior, they could hardly believe their eyes, Hong Yue Mu, the elder of the family they had come to look for, was there, lying unconscious.
And the young man who had come with them to look for him, Leek, was floating in front of what looked like an altar of some kind, his entire body covered in inscription patterns emerging from a sphere with a huge crack at the top of the altar.
And that sphere pulsed every few seconds, emitting the waves of soul force they had been feeling.
They both stepped forward, ready to bring out both the elder of the Hong Yue family and the Saiyan, but when they tried to pass through the entrance, a barrier of inscription patterns shone, blocking their way.
"The room is sealed?" Ye Shuo punched the barrier, but aside from a slight disturbance, it didn't cause any damage.
"This is bad," Huyan Xiong said, also punching the barrier. "BOY!! LEEK!! HONG YUE MU!! WAKE UP!!" The man shouted in an attempt to wake one of the two trapped inside, but his attempts had no effect.
"It's useless, it seems these inscriptions prevent even sound from entering the room." Ye Shuo said as he touched the barrier. "And even if they didn't, it's obvious they're not simply unconscious"
"Can you undo this barrier?" Huyan Xiong asked when he saw the Ye family elder carefully observing the patterns flashing on the barrier.
"I'm not sure, I don't know much about inscription patterns, but I can at least try." The man sighed before turning his attention to the barrier.
Minutes passed, and if Huyan Xiong was honest, he would have to say that Ye Shuo's increasingly discouraging expression didn't give him much hope that he could solve the problem with this barrier anytime soon.
But before he could ask him about what he had discovered, something happened inside the room.
Leek's body, which until now had been floating motionless in front of the altar, was covered in a layer of ki.
His aura, which had always been transparent white, was now a very pale golden color, his arms, which until now had been hanging limply at his side, flexed as his hands balled into fists, his muscles bulging, and his veins popping out.
"What's going on?!" Both spiritualists seemed shocked by what was happening, and from where they stood, they felt the energy Leek was giving off begin to grow at the same time as the aura surrounding him became more violent.
"AAAHHHH!!!" As if he were now awake, the Saiyan screamed at the top of his lungs, and along with the power of his scream, his ki also began to increase at a faster rate than before, while the color of his aura grew more intense.
The inscriptions all over the room began to glow even brighter, as if they were being forced, while those covering the young man's body stretched like a rope, tightening until they tore and disappeared, although a thin layer of energy still held him together with the sphere placed on the altar.
Neither spiritualist knew what to do, and everything became even more confusing when Hong Yue Mu began to show signs of awakening.
"GET… OUT… OF… MY… BODYYYY!!!!!" The Saiyan shouted as his aura finally exploded, the inscriptions all over the room, as if they were melted electronic components, went out after blinking hard a couple more times.
The barrier covering the entrance to the room trembled one last time before shattering like glass, and before the pieces hit the ground, they vanished.
Leek's dull golden aura faded, and the young man's body fell to the ground, shaking as if he had just woken from a bad dream.
And that was when both spiritualists entered the room at full speed, Ye Shuo arriving first with Hong Yue Mu, who was beginning to open his eyes, and Huyan Xiong, who supported Leek's back, keeping him in a sitting position.
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Third Person P.O.V
5 Minutes Before
All Leek saw around him was a space of changing colors, ethereal, undulating shapes dancing around him.
There seemed to be no up or down, yet he could still orient himself correctly and "walk" or float if he so desired.
His memories were a little fuzzy, but he could still recall everything that had just happened, the conversation with the old man and the fight they'd had, along with the way he'd gotten his ass kicked.
It was embarrassing and frustrating, but it was also the undeniable truth of what had happened.
Despite the stupid things he said and how crazy he seemed, in Leek's opinion, that old man was a martial arts expert who surpassed him in absolutely every field.
And the only reason the Saiyan managed to land a few blows was because his ego seemed to be even bigger than his fighting skills.
"Well, I won in the end." He said, shaking his head, and looking around again.
"So." He decided to focus on his current situation, looking at his body and noticing that he still bore the wounds that the old man had inflicted on him, which meant he was still within the mental space, so he decided to try to break the mental connection and "wake up".
"NOOOOO!!!" But before he could close his eyes again, a voice shrieked with grief and anger from deep within this mental space, and a giant, ghostly hand "fell" from what must have been above, attempting to crush Leek.
"Shit!" Leek cursed as he jumped back to avoid being crushed by another giant hand, and when he looked up, he could see the old man's entire body, which, like the hand that had tried to crush him, now had a ghostly appearance, was a dozen meters long, and seemed to be melting.
"GIVE ME YOUR BODY!!" The old man roared with despair and anger reflected in his now completely white eyes, before raising another hand and trying to grab Leek.
"PERSISTENT MADMAN, I'VE BEATEN YOU BEFORE, BE A MAN AND ADMIT DEFEAT!" The Saiyan shouted, running from one side to the other while dodging the giant hands.
He no longer had enough ki left to launch too many energy attacks, maybe 2 or 3 at most, plus his entire body was screaming in agony due to the multiple injuries.
Thanks to his transformation into an Ozaru, he had been able to regain mobility in his arms, but that didn't mean moving them didn't hurt like hell, so all he could do was keep dodging until he found an opening good enough to take advantage of the little ki he had left and launch an attack that would make the difference.
Until that, he continued running to avoid being crushed like an insect.
It was fortunate that this time, the old man's ki felt considerably more destabilized and weakened than before, or else he would be finished.
"I WILL KILL HIM! I WILL KILL THE SAGE EMPEROR AND AVENGE MY FAMILY!" The old man screamed, his voice filled with pain, remorse, and rage.
Leek didn't stop, but he gritted his teeth when he heard those words.
Revenge.
Take away everything a man cares about, and he'd willingly give up even his own life for the slightest chance of revenge.
"Was this all to avenge the fallen?" Leek wondered.
Ever since the fight with the old man started, he'd wondered what the hell was up with that attitude of "respect" and "pity" he'd shown at the beginning.
At first, he thought it was nonsense, but...
The old man knew he was trying to do something horrible, and that's why he showed pity? All this for the chance to get his revenge?
"The misfortune of one soul will never justify the suffering of others." The words left Leek's mouth as his gaze sharpened, his resolve strengthened, and he prepared to end this.
He stretched out his right arm as if about to deliver a karate chop, gritting his teeth to endure the pain, and concentrated his energy.
Earlier, while that black chameleon had trapped him and they were both falling straight into the black lake, he had been unable to use this technique, but now that he was in this strange mental space, where it was easier for him to use his energy, he was determined to succeed.
A layer of semi-transparent ki covered his limb, rippling like a flame against the wind.
The concentration of ki trembled, trying to solidify and define its shape, until finally, after one last push in the form of an injection of all of Leek's remaining ki, the ki blade sprouted from the Saiyan's hand, stretching about 40 centimeters.
And unlike Goku Black and Vegito's, which he had been inspired by, his ki sword was glowing blue.
"LET'S END THIS!!" Leek shouted, running toward the old man, jumping to the side to dodge another hand that tried to grab him and climbing the limb.
He no longer had enough ki to allow him to fly, so he had to struggle to maintain his balance as he continued forward.
"GIVE ME YOUR BODY!!" The old man repeated once more, raising his left hand to crush the Saiyan running up his right arm.
Leek ignored the words, leaping toward the giant hand that was trying to grab him, and with a flick of his hand, four of the five fingers were severed, only for the Saiyan to use the fingerless hand as a platform, propelling himself forward into the old man's face.
"NOW, GET OUT OF MY BODY!!" He screamed, plunging the sword into the old man's forehead.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" The man screamed in agony as the whites of his eyes faded, returning to clarity as he stared directly at the young man.
Soon, his brow furrowed, and his cry of pain turned into one of anger.
"NO!! THIS ISN'T THE END!! I'M NOT GOING TO DIE LIKE THIS!!" The man's ghost roared.
Even with his form melting faster with each passing second and the sword stuck in his forehead, he refused to accept the end.
A hole in space opened behind the old man's figure, and like an insect shedding its exoskeleton, the figure's back split open, and a much smaller version of the spiritualist emerged, being pulled into the hole in space while the "shell" he left behind vanished like dust in the wind.
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Third Person P.O.V
"What are you-!!!" Leek's eyes opened again as he shook slightly, and when he looked around, he noticed he was back in the dark ruins, and Huyan Xiong was helping him stay seated, while a few meters away from him, Ye Shuo was helping the man he had seen before falling unconscious to stand up.
His body felt completely healed, and his ki reserves were at their maximum, which surprised him since he was barely halfway there when he fell unconscious, there was also no remaining pain from the injuries the old man inflicted on him, although his senses still felt a little dulled due to the fatigue he had experienced after fighting.
While he was still processing everything that had happened, Huyan Xiong patted him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"You seem to be okay, kid, let's go." He said, looking at Hong Yue Mu, who was receiving a quick explanation of everything that had happened from Ye Shuo.
"You'll tell us everything that happened to you when we're out of these ruins." The man stood up and offered Leek his hand to help him up.
"Exit? Wait, DODGE IT!!!" Leek was barely on his feet when his eyes widened in alarm, and he shouted a warning as the cracked sphere atop the altar flashed once more before firing a beam of light similar to the one that had knocked him unconscious and forced him into the old man's mental space.
All the Spiritualists present were Black Gold rank, so they had experienced enough dangerous situations to remain alert at all times, and at Leek's warning, they all moved even if they didn't directly see what could be endangering them, jumping to the side and sharpening their senses for any threat.
The beam of light passed by without hitting anyone, although before it hit the wall, it suddenly changed direction, moving across the room, faster and faster than before, until it was aimed directly at Leek.
The Saiyan saw the beam coming but knew he couldn't move in time, so he raised his ki-covered fist and threw it toward the energy beam.
But instead of impacting with each other, the beam of light seemed to be absorbed into the interspatial ring on Leek's finger.
The ring glowed brightly for a moment before a navy-blue orb with inscribed patterns materialized outside it.
Surprise filled the Saiyan's face, that was the sphere he had found inside the skeleton's ring on the stone throne, but he couldn't say anything else when the sphere glowed and moved at incredible speed, hitting him in the nose, knocking him down before flying out of the room at incredible speed.
"Leek, are you okay?" The first to approach Leek was Ye Shuo, who tried to help him up, but the young man didn't take his hand, and while still holding his bleeding nose, he spoke in a state of alarm.
"We can't let him get away, that guy is too dangerous!" He shouted, covering himself with a layer of ki, gritting his teeth to ignore the remnants of dizziness he still felt, and setting off to chase the sphere.
The three spiritualists seemed quite surprised, and when Hong Yue Mu was about to ask what was happening, he saw Ye Shuo and Huyan Xiong move to follow the young man, so he joined them even though he still didn't fully understand the situation.
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Third Person P.O.V
████████ moved at full speed, he didn't have much time left, a minute at most before what remained of his soul, after separating it in the mental space to avoid annihilation, vanished completely.
He had been defeated, he knew it, and yet he refused to accept it.
The path the spiritualists traveled defied the heavens themselves; a defeat like this, though shameful, did not mean the end for him.
He had not settled accounts with the sage emperor, so he still couldn't stop fighting now.
His power split in two as he advanced, and a single thought was enough for the inscription patterns to glow and several solid stone walls to close behind him, while the second activated a different one in the distance.
He knew the stone doors would not stop him, but he just needed to buy himself a little time before the second set of inscriptions activated.
And when he reached the place where that boy... no, that beast, had been teleported, in the giant cavern with a lake and a small island in the center, he floated on the water, moving forward until he reached the center of the island.
There, he placed the sphere he was using as a body substitute while listening to the screams and the sounds of heavy stone doors shattering one after another in the stairwell he had passed through a few seconds ago.
Once it touched the sand, the inscription patterns on the orb peeled away like a wrapping, covering the sand around it, forming a 12-pointed star pattern, and in its center, the sand sank, revealing a medium-sized, ornate box with three different compartments.
He hurriedly opened the middle one to retrieve its contents, perhaps the least valuable in normal situations, but right now it would be the only item capable of saving his life.
It looked like a piece of mummified skin, unpleasant to look at, but it contained an unbeatable vitality compared to almost any other being in this world.
████████ took it and absorbed the vitality and soul force contained within, instantly feeling its effects; his soul force, which had been plummeting, was immediately replenished, and while that didn't prevent it from plummeting again due to the lack of a body to support it, it was no problem; as long as he held onto the object, it would continue to replenish his soul force as it drained away.
And on top of that, he also felt his soul, which until a moment ago had been fading, regain its form, able to remain in this world without disappearing and even taking physical form, all due to the massive amount of vitality it absorbed.
Obviously, this wasn't a permanent solution; the vitality contained in this piece of skin, even if it was enormous, would only allow him to extend his stay for two hours at most, but during that time, he would have an enormous amount of soul force to use.
At that moment, snapping him out of his thoughts, the last stone door was destroyed, and the three spiritualists, along with the anomaly, entered the chamber, activating the last trap left to play.
The entire place was covered in a glow similar to the ritual room they were in before, sealing the place to prevent anyone from leaving, while the entire cavern began to tremble slightly, surprising the newcomers.
The old man put the box away when he noticed Leek looking at it intently before turning his full attention to the intruders. "None will escape from this place, and no matter which, I will take one of their bodies!" The semi-transparent figure screamed, his mummified skin floating on his chest as if it were his core.
He was lying about part of his statement; he no longer wanted to take control of the monster's body, there were too many scenarios where something could go wrong, and he was now certain he wasn't even human.
So he decided it would be best to eliminate him, from their previous fight, he sensed that what triggered the transformation into a giant ape was the moon the boy had seen, and without it, he wouldn't have to worry so much about its danger.
Besides, he knew too much, and if he survived, he could cause problems in the future, so he had to die in this place.
So, after killing him and two of the three other spiritualists, he would take the body of whoever was left, he would find a better body after, or improve its compatibility with the body he possessed.
"I've already defeated you twice here!" The Saiyan said as he touched his temple. "I have no problem doing it one more time! And this will be the last!"
The young man smiled defiantly, ready for one last round.
X-X-X-X-X
Well, here we have one more chapter, the next one will be the climax, and I'm trying my best to do it, please look forward to it!
And for Legend level members, don't forget to vote in the published poll.
See you in the next chapter!
