One-Eyed Monster

”Do you have any other deductions?” Coban Kangen was evidently impressed with this Igor. He didn’t expect the young man to come to new conclusions based on some things he’d heard before about Willem, and those conclusions seemed somewhat reasonable.

”Yes, I have another deduction, and it’s more important as this deduction led me to conclude that Willem is already dead.”

When Igor said this, Coban Kangen became even more interested because it was essentially another layer of reason. Coban Kangen felt the previous reasons were a bit shaky; no matter how the Soul Devourer devoured others, Willem always retained his own consciousness, which implied that Willem still existed.

”Let’s hear it. We’re on the steam car now; we’ve got plenty of time!”

”Yes, yes, listening to more stories can also help kill boredom.” Kadi joined in merrily; he was the simplest among them. Kadi neither frowned like Igor, deep in thought, nor like Coban, reflecting endlessly on past events. He simply ate and slept when he should, and chimed in at unexpected moments...

”This deduction is about the power that transcends life and death.” Igor spoke quietly, enunciating slowly, clearly emphasizing the importance he placed on this deduction.

”That power which transcends life and death was obtained by Black Crow, but over the past two years, there hasn’t been any noticeable change in Black Crow. Instead, unwittingly, Black Crow was exterminated by the Alchemy Workshop!”

The fate of the Black Crow organization has always been a peculiar phenomenon. Unnoticed, this group, once considered a threat, was annihilated without any form of resistance, while the overt and covert conflicts between the Alchemy Workshop and the Dark Cabinet spread across the continent.

It’s a strange phenomenon, so not many people paid attention to that power that transcends life and death.

After all, that power itself didn’t stir up much chaos, but its appearance did trigger the public strife between the two organizations.

In the beginning, various forces surged, all coveting the secret guarded by the Soul Guardians. The involvement of the Alchemy Workshop and the Dark Cabinet deterred major organizations from acting rashly; they all awaited the battle from the sidelines, hoping to seize an opportunity. However, the results defied their expectations. The two organizations they eagerly anticipated never truly fought, and the Black Crow, which they thought would cause significant trouble for the Alchemy Workshop or the Dark Cabinet, was destroyed instead. Things turned out far from what they imagined.

Thinking of this, Coban Kangen also had some doubts about that power which transcends life and death. If this power was so strong, why did Black Crow get destroyed?

With these doubts in mind, Coban Kangen looked at Igor, hoping he would continue.

”Ahem,” Igor cleared his throat. Whenever he reached a crucial point, he would do this, showing how important he regarded the topic, ”I think, based on all sorts of things inferred, that this power which transcends life and death is just a ruse!”

”A ruse?” Coban Kangen was slightly stunned.

Although he did find that power which transcends life and death somewhat strange before, he never thought it was a ruse.

”Yes, Lord Soron didn’t define this power clearly when he discovered it; he just felt it was unique.”

”This...” Coban Kangen obviously lacked some understanding of the events on Guru Mountain. Even if the secrets guarded were reduced to the Wind Level, non-Soul Guardians like them still found it a bit unfamiliar to comprehend.

However, Coban Kangen didn’t know that even Soul Guardians wouldn’t have a thorough understanding of these matters.

Igor knew so many details because he had those Spirit Books on him, and he was also chosen by Lord Soron!

Igor continued to elaborate on his deduction, an evidently crucial one as it would guide what to do next.

”I believe this power is the power of Soul Devourers, who occupy others’ bodies by devouring their consciousness, causing people to mistakenly believe these individuals have been resurrected.”

Igor’s explanation seemed to make some sense. This power had always been rather esoteric; although it appeared to transcend life and death outwardly, no one really knew its internal nature.

”According to your theory, that seems to be the case.” Coban Kangen said thoughtfully.

”This is also why no qualitative change occurred when Black Crow obtained this power.”

”You analyze very well, but these Soul Devourers—I mean, assuming your deduction is correct,” Coban Kangen paused, still considering these as Igor’s conjectures, ”what exactly are these Soul Devourers trying to achieve with this power?”

”I’ve pondered that question for a long time until I saw Kadi, and then it dawned on me why they so desperately sought this power!”

”Hmm?” This time Coban Kangen was quite surprised. He first looked at Igor, then at Kadi, unable to comprehend the connection between Kadi and this matter.

”Kadi should have been the first sent to our world by them, but we still don’t know Kadi’s exact identity. During the Border Realm incident, the Soul Devourer Master said that Kadi possesses linking powers that allow certain things from their world to be teleported over without obstacles.”

Coban Kangen listened intently, frequently glancing at Kadi, thinking to himself that he never expected so many secrets hidden in this one-eyed fellow!

He originally thought Kadi was just a misguided youth in pursuit of power, but now he realized that Kadi harbored many secrets.

Kadi shrugged at what Igor was saying. Having been through so much, Kadi no longer cared much about this uniqueness of his.

”The Soul Devourers went to great lengths just to awaken Kadi,” Igor stated.

Of course, this was also his conjecture, and the exact purpose of awakening Kadi was something that would need to be gradually uncovered in the future.

Igor believed the Soul Devourers used this ruse to accomplish some outrageous plans, seemingly aiming to awaken Kadi.

The power within Kadi, known as the devouring power, seemed to significantly aid the Soul Devourers in seizing others’ bodies, allowing them to better occupy others’ consciousnesses.

It seemed as if awakening Kadi would enable the Soul Devourers to invade on a large scale...

All of these were deductions made by Igor; though many aspects seemed incredible, they somewhat demonstrated the painstaking efforts of the adversaries behind the scenes.

”You’ve told me all this, and I don’t even know how to express my feelings.” Coban Kangen said, clearly moved by Igor and the others’ trust in him.

”You’ve treated us the same way, haven’t you? You didn’t hold back any secrets of the Kangen Family either.” Igor shrugged.