Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

"How recent are we talking about here?" Francis asked. "We've only been away for a month or so."

"Like two to three weeks recent." It was Cedric who replied this time. "It's made by the House of Light. They have had an altar at every branch since I left, and many people have been going there to use it."

"And...does it do what it says? If so, how exactly does it work?" Darwin asked.

"Wait a bit; we're still arranging it," Erica replied.

Cedric, on the other hand, momentarily paused his equipment repairs to prioritize something else.

He slipped from their attention and proceeded to cleanse a bunch of corrupted materials like stone, wood, metal ores, etc. Typically, these would be unusable since they're steeped in demonic corruption, but Cedric had a way to purify them and return them to their previous state, somewhat.

He wouldn't be able to preserve its entire structure, but a little is better than nothing at all, especially considering how sparse their resources are out here.

Meanwhile, under the boys' gaze, the girls finished building the purification altar. It shone with a gentle white light for a short moment, signifying that it was ready for use.

"As the name suggests, this altar purifies demon souls. It eliminates all remaining traces of demon corruption in them, turning them into pure souls, which we call 'Essence Souls'," Erica explained.

"Essence Souls are at least 20% more effective than Demon Souls, and it applies to all Tiers of Demon Souls, as in a Tier 6 Essence Soul, for example, is 20% more effective than a Tier 6 Demon Soul," Chrissy continued. "Moreover, since it's been purified, you don't have to worry about mental demons when consuming them.

I think it has Acala's guarantee too, but I'm not sure since, like you all, I've been out of civilization since it was released to the public."

"This thing could purify up to Tier 9 Demon Souls; that's what Cedric told us before. As for Demon Lord Souls, I don't think the altars are ready for those just yet." Erica stated, "But still, considering that the two of you only needed Tier 9 Demon Souls, this is more than enough to assist you and make the process smoother.

With the distraction of the Mental Demons, you can wholeheartedly focus on channeling Soul Power into your body to achieve your breakthrough."

"Damn! That's..." Floyd was wide-eyed, and so was Darwin.

If what they said was true, then this was a huge game-changer. How many times has it been since they were forced to split their attention to guard against the mental demons and facilitate the process of their breakthrough? Hell, they even tasted failed breakthroughs before because of how difficult it was.

And if the two of them, who are considered geniuses of the Starlight Royal Academy, have experienced failed breakthroughs before, what can be said about the common superhumans out there?

The fact that there is an invention that not only cleanses Demon Souls of their demonic remains, turning them into pure Soul Power, which is not only safe to use but also 20% more effective than Demons, while also removing the mental Demon problems that would certainly increase a Superhuman's chances of succeeding in their breakthrough, was obviously a huge thing. .

"And in case you're not convinced yet, let me demonstrate how to use it." Chrissy happily clapped her hands before stepping up to the altar.

She summoned a bunch of Demon Souls from her personal stash; no, she didn't get them from her inventory because she couldn't use them out here. She has a unique pouch that could hold sensitive materials, like Demon Souls, and keep them secure.

Under everyone's watch, she placed six Tier 8 demon souls at the center of the altar. Then, she placed her hands at the edges of the altar and poured her energy into it. The altar then released a faint and gentle white light that swallowed the demon soul.

They then heard a sizzling sound and very faint wails of what sounded like a demon. It lasted for a brief moment before nothing was heard from it again. Then, after a minute, the altar stopped releasing light, and what was left were six crystalized orbs with a smooth surface. It looked like a medicinal pill.

Erica picked it up and inspected it for a bit. She smiled and nodded in satisfaction before muttering, "Yep, it works alright."

She then turned around and gave some to the boys and said, "Here, try and see if it's real or not."

The boys did not hesitate at all. They've been working together as a team for years now and have trusted each other ever since. Even at the beginning, they did not doubt the girls when they explained the functions of the altar. That said, it won't hurt to confirm it.

Moments later, after absorbing the essence souls, the boys opened their eyes and had varying expressions. Floyd and Darwin were excited, Francis was dumbstruck, and Elric was smiling bitterly.

Despite their varying expressions, one thing is for sure: it was exactly as the girls said. Essence souls are indeed way better than demon souls.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Floyd cursed repeatedly in excitement. "Holy sh*t, that felt good. The absorption never felt so smooth and pleasurable. What the hell!?"

"All it took was minimal input from me. The Soul Power did the rest, that's...hoooh! This isn't good; I gotta chill. But this is way too exciting."

"I bet we can consume this in the middle of a battle and replenish our energy without needing to pause. Isn't that convenient? So long as we have Essence Souls, we can continue fighting. Gah, you two hurry up! Convert all the Demon Souls you need for your breakthrough; I want to get some too," Francis urged.

"Hey, Cap," Erica called out. "What's with the face? You don't like it?"

"No, no. I love it, actually. It's just..." Elric then released a sigh and admitted, "Aw, man. I just thought that this wouldn't have been nice to have back then. Lord knows how much I had to endure during my breakthrough. If I had this, I would've enjoyed my breakthrough more instead of worrying if I was contaminated by corruption."

Contamination was a fairly common occurrence amongst those who just broke through the Planar Traveler Realm. The Demon Race was ruthless; they just wouldn't allow any humans to become stronger and threaten their advances.

It is rumored that demons could always tell whenever a human was evolving to a higher realm. Rumors also said that demons would obstruct them as much as they could, and since humans are harnessing the power of demon souls, they are able to influence this process.

Mental demons are the residual demon will in demon souls. A single soul has a very miniscule amount left, but since humans will consume large amounts of demon souls during their breakthrough, the collective residue combines and induces psychosis in humans, and in the middle of a breakthrough, where superhumans are in their most vulnerable state, this is dangerous.

With how sinister the Demon Race was, it is difficult to come out unscathed in a mental battle with them, especially after a breakthrough. Those who failed to guard their minds completely from their influence might become contaminated by corruption, and if that contamination was left unchecked, Demons would soon have another Demon Lord on their side.

That's why each planar traveler must report to the army and undergo a lot of inspections to check for contamination. Elric experienced this too, since he wasn't too confident if he did a great job. Well, it turns out that he did, but it was a bitter experience.

Knowing that Floyd and Darwin wouldn't have to experience this thanks to Essence Souls makes him feel both happy and jealous. And from the looks of it, he'd have to be jealous for a while since the altar can't handle Demon Lord Souls just yet.

"What are you two waiting for?" Francis' voice returned Elric to the present. "Go on, start purifying your demon souls. Cedric's nearly done with your chambers."

"Eh?"

That caused Darwin and Floyd to look over where Cedric was to see what he's doing. And they saw him making two separate wooden huts in the middle of the camp.

"When did he even...?"

"He started as soon as the girls began explaining the altar's use," Francis stated. As the scout of the team, of course he's observant. He's been watching Cedric all this time, actually.

"I'm betting my left kidney that those huts are for the two of you. He's been pelting it with runes and symbols for the last five minutes. He's going all out to make sure you're successful. Don't embarrass the team and give the same energy, will you?"