Chapter 117: The Demon’s Soul Imprint

“A noble ideal.” Ailindel looked at Nolan once more. Her tone remained gentle, but her stance was utterly unwavering. “You were able to open the seal and reach this place, which means you are knowledgeable enough to understand that what you ask for is impossible. If all you desire is a sip from the spring, then I can assist you in suppressing Qroshu before the altar replenishes itself. But if you intend to take the holy relic away, then the entire Three-Saint Seal will collapse completely. Your circumstances may indeed be dire, but I will never allow the sinner Qroshu to be released back into the Vaughn Continent. When forced to choose between two disasters, Qroshu is far more dangerous than any other calamity.”

Her words struck like an icy iron wall, instantly blocking the path before them.

The atmosphere shifted abruptly.

The relief everyone had only just regained vanished again. Little Donnie and Renee instinctively swallowed nervously, while Vivi looked toward Nolan with concern, afraid he would be the one most devastated by this rejection.

Among them, Romina was the most conflicted. She bit her lower lip hard, her heartbeat pounding violently in her chest.

The Heavenly Judgment Knight spoke softly when conversing with Nolan, but when it came to principles and duty, her resolve was absolute.

Combined with her status as a legendary hero from the age of myth and the sacrifices she had made for the world, Romina found herself utterly incapable of harboring even the thought of opposing her.

Seize the Fountain of Potential by force? Leaving aside the fact that attacking Ailindel felt morally unbearable, even if they steeled themselves to do it, who knew how many unheard-of techniques this ancient knight still possessed? Whether they could even defeat her remained uncertain.

Did this really mean they had to give up? Were her people and homeland truly doomed to perish for this reason?

Unconsciously, she looked toward Nolan, the man who always seemed capable of creating miracles.

To her surprise, as well as Vivi’s, there was not the slightest trace of disappointment on Nolan’s face. It was as though he had anticipated Ailindel’s reaction from the very beginning.

He remained calm. Almost too calm.

For reasons she herself did not fully understand, Romina realized she had already begun trusting—perhaps even depending on—this human lord. Ever since entering this place, every step had unfolded according to his expectations. Even upon witnessing the sacred altar and its breathtaking wonders, he had never shown the slightest shock.

Surely…

He still had another card to play.

While everyone wrestled with their own thoughts, Nolan finally spoke.

And what he said left every single person utterly stunned.

“Yes. I completely agree with you. Demon Overlord Qroshu is a calamity upon this world. Of that, I am more certain than anyone. It is a truth universally acknowledged throughout the world of order.”

What?!

Vivi, Renee, Little Donnie—even Romina herself—were dumbfounded.

What exactly was their lord trying to do here? They had struggled their way through countless dangers to reach this final step, only to abandon everything at the last moment?

For Nolan’s territory, perhaps this merely meant losing an opportunity for a dramatic rise in strength. But for the Wood Elves, it meant facing the threat of extinction.

Vivi and the others instinctively glanced at Romina. The usually composed Wood Elf ranger captain had bitten her lip so hard it was nearly bleeding.

Wood Elves were naturally detached because of the environment they lived in, but once their emotions were truly stirred, they burned even more fiercely than others.

Faced with a hero of the War of Heaven, Romina’s body trembled faintly with turbulent emotion, as though she were struggling through an agonizing inner conflict.

Fortunately, Nolan did not leave them suffering for long. The next moment, his tone shifted. “I need the holy relic and the sacred spring. And of course, I understand that the seal cannot simply be destroyed. But the reason I dare make this proposal is because I can eliminate Qroshu’s threat on behalf of this world. Not reinforce the seal,” he added after noticing the confusion in Ailindel’s expression. “I mean solve it permanently.”

Ailindel was genuinely shocked.

Permanently?

For a brief instant, her fingers unconsciously tightened into fists, and complicated emotions flashed through her amber eyes. For one fleeting moment, she had almost believed him.

But reason quickly pulled her back.

“After ten thousand years, my strength as a half-spiritual being has already fallen from the Origin rank to Gold rank. Qroshu, sealed away all this time, has likely weakened even more severely. Perhaps that has given you the illusion that he can be defeated.”

Her tone became stern.

“Your strength is indeed impressive, but you may not understand that demons are terrifying not merely because of their power level, but because of their unique abilities. Most importantly, they cannot be destroyed so easily. Even if you annihilate its physical body here, it will eventually return years later. To permanently free the world from Qroshu’s threat, we sacrificed over thirty thousand of our finest warriors merely to capture and seal him here…”

“I know, respected Heavenly Judgment Knight.” Nolan raised a hand calmly, interrupting her.

The words Ailindel had been about to say stopped in her throat. From those simple words—I know—she sensed an unmistakable weight of confidence. He truly did know.

“…Then may I hear your method?”

At last, Ailindel’s attitude began to soften.

“Of course.” Nolan smiled faintly. “Ending him should also be your deepest wish, shouldn’t it? Otherwise, you would never have volunteered to guard this place for ten thousand years. When demons die, their souls return to the soul imprint hidden at the bottom of the Sulfur Abyss. That is the source of their immortality. I’m sure you understand this better than I do. It is their greatest advantage. Many demons even choose suicide when critically wounded, simply to avoid capture. But there is one way to prevent their return.”

Nolan’s voice was not loud, yet every word echoed clearly throughout the hall.

“By stripping away and transferring the soul imprint.”

The moment those words fell, the entire chamber descended into eerie silence.

Only the soft, crystalline dripping of the sacred spring falling into the basin behind them echoed through the vast hall.

Strip away?

Transfer?

Soul imprint?

To Vivi and the others, the combination of those words sounded utterly incomprehensible. Nolan’s explanation was even harder to understand than the drunken ramblings of half-drunk miners gossiping about politics in the Coldsteel Tavern.

The tiny spark of hope that had just ignited in Ailindel’s eyes quickly faded, replaced by deep disappointment.

For a moment, she had truly believed that after ten thousand years, this man might bring forth some miraculous solution capable of changing everything.

And yet…

She sighed softly. “If such a thing were truly possible, then the Seven Saints would never have gone to such extraordinary lengths to create the Three-Saint Seal, nor would the Tyrians have built layer upon layer of defenses to imprison Qroshu here.”

“It is possible.”

Nolan’s reply was simple and absolute.

Meeting Ailindel’s doubtful gaze head-on, he finally revealed the true key.

“As long as you know a demon’s soul imprint sequence, you can temporarily seize control over all of its actions for a short period of time. That includes transferring the soul imprint itself or severing its connection to it. Once it becomes a rootless soul, its life and death can be completely controlled. And the destruction of its body will become a true and final end.”