The mountain peak within the tower's interior was engulfed by an eerie and malevolent mana storm, creating an otherworldly atmosphere where the boundary between life and death seemed to blur.
As a consequence of Eren's actions, the ethereal and intangible souls of the departed became visible as they were drawn into this peculiar region. He shattered the runic array formation that sustained Eliza's Purgatory, setting free a multitude of souls trapped within.
Eliza's Purgatory had been designed with a mechanism: when anyone died within its bounds, their souls would seamlessly integrate into the fabric of Purgatory. Eliza would then utilize these souls to fashion wraiths, endlessly supplying challengers who dared to intrude into her domain with formidable opponents.
Eren, lacking both the time and the patience to subject himself to the torment he had faced before, opted to dismantle the very core of Eliza's Purgatory. Rather than enduring days to reach the seven-headed serpent statue through a grueling process, he sought to obliterate the bedrock of Eliza's creation.
The threat posed by the wraiths vanished as their former bodies decayed and evaporated into thin air, leaving no traces once their souls were severed. These souls were then compelled to inhabit the bodies of the deceased Rankers Eren had previously slain, infused with potent forms of Wrath Mana and Gluttony Mana.
This marked the fruition of Eren's plan, developed in tandem with the Lazarus Project, to vanquish Eliza's wraiths by transmuting them into his minions. He aimed to wrest control of all the souls she held sway over, transforming them into loyal subordinates who would heed only his commands.
With an encrypted array disk obtained from Lin Karr, Eren had acquired the whereabouts of the laboratory where Reen was created, buried deep within the Osan Woods. Sponsored by Arthur, the lab was instrumental in the Project Clean Slate for Eliza. Unfortunately for both Arthur and Eliza, the lab was ruined when Reen came to life and broke all her shackles, causing mayhem.
Eren had visited this facility before venturing to the Nightshade Duchy, salvaging various partially destroyed study materials and research papers pertinent to Project Clean Slate.
Ever since hearing about the Lazarus Project from Layla, Eren had initiated a project of his own. Drawing parallels between research papers he obtained from Arthur's dilapidated lab and Lazarus Project details, he experimented with his own flesh and bloodline.
Eren's side project gained substantial momentum with the acquisition of his necromancer powers and the attainment of the Summoner Class. It was during this phase that he ventured into experimenting on living subjects, ultimately leading to the creation of fiends.
Darven and Harja Mel became the first subjects of Eren's experiments, undergoing the transformation into fiends as part of his side project. The successful conversion of these two Rankers into fiends bolstered his confidence, instilling in him the audacity to venture into Eliza's Purgatory without trepidation.
Initially, Eren had grappled with several limitations when crafting his fiends. However, over the course of a decade, he surmounted these challenges, refining his revival technique to near perfection with minimal flaws.
***
Eren allowed the once-protective barrier to dissipate, recognizing its futility.
He welcomed the souls of the departed to surround him, those who had met their end within Eliza's Purgatory. His intention was to assess their potential before extending an offer of renewed existence under his dominion.
The gathered souls exhibited an array of forms as they encircled the trio. Some appeared as mere ethereal wisps, while others coalesced into small clusters of death-infused mana that still retained traces of consciousness. A select few souls maintained humanoid semblances, indicative of their relatively robust Spiritual Force.
It was evident that the possession of substantial Spiritual Force was fleeting for these departed souls. Those who managed to retain their humanoid forms likely possessed formidable Spiritual Force at the time of their demise, had passed away relatively recently, or potentially both.
Eren's frigid blue gaze scrutinized the spectral entities, his death-imbued hands making contact with them. He shut his eyes and methodically assessed their caliber one by one, the souls flickering around him akin to fireflies dancing around a lantern.
***
"Hmm? I remember you both."
Eren opened his eyes, a grin stretching across his face as he regarded the two spectral humanoid figures that had materialized before him. "Ashton and Hilda, if I recall correctly?" Eren inquired, allowing them to maintain their current forms and consciousness through the effects of his spells and Abilities.
His expression took on a wicked twist as he contemplated the audacity of Ashton and Hilda, the very individuals who had once sought his demise in the icy realm of Eliza's Purgatory. "Kekeke. I don't mind granting you a second chance at life. But know that upon becoming my fiends, you'll be bound to my will as slaves," Eren stated knowingly, aware that Ashton and Hilda comprehended his words.
"Hilda, do you recall the advice I offered you the last time?" Eren asked with an air of amusement, flashing a smile as he allowed the souls of Ashton and Hilda to choose their new mortal vessels.
In her former life, Hilda had been a skilled Ranker of her generation. However, she was a cultist and her dedication to a deviant Ranking Technique had transformed her physique into something less conventionally feminine, earning her Eren's colorful critique likening her to a tirelessly weightlifting gorilla.
Ashton, on the other hand, had opted not to kindle a romantic flame with Hilda, a choice whose reasons Hilda either didn't comprehend or chose to disregard.
Eren had advised Hilda that, should she be granted a second chance at life, she ought to prioritize her appearance. To Eren's delight, this was the counsel she had opted to follow when presented with the opportunity to return as one of his fiends.
Ashton inhabited the body of a young male Ranker, while, following Eren's suggestion, Hilda assumed the form of an alluring female Ranker affiliated with House Lancelot.
With this transformation, Ashton and Hilda's love story was poised to recommence, albeit as fiends unwaveringly loyal to the Osan Woods' Butcher.
AN: Ashton and Hilda first made their appearance in "Chapter 302: Ashton & Hilda – A Short Love Tale." Eren bids farewell to Hilda in "Chapter 308," offering her farewell advice.
Eren acquires the coordinates of the laboratory sponsored by Duke Arthur Renar in "Chapter 365." This facility was the birthplace of the artificial demon beast, who we know Reen, as detailed in s.
In "Chapter 415," Eren is mentioned to have explored the ruined lab, securing significant findings from the site. "Chapter 490" delves into Eren's comprehensive study of summoning, animated spells, necromancy, and their connections to revival techniques, all rooted in the research materials he salvaged from Arthur's abandoned laboratory in the depths of Osan Woods.
Eren's foray into this field of study begins with Chapter 490, coinciding with Layla's briefing on the Lazarus Project. Chapter 494 explores Eren's parallel project alongside the Clean Slate Project. Chapter 1138 details how Eren successfully created fiends, drawing from the knowledge gleaned from Arthur's forsaken laboratory as well as the test results he had obtained from his own experiments.
Furthermore, "Chapter 490" contains an author's note that foreshadows the eventual return of Ashton and Hilda. Several other minor foreshadowing instances are scattered throughout the narrative. Unfortunately, I am unable to mention the specific chapters the rest of them have been mentioned in due to their numerous and subtle nature.
The characters Darven and Harja Mel are mentioned in "Chapter 1137."
