Legendary Soul Art

Everyone in the group followed the student's finger only to cover their mouths at the disgusting scene. Five bodies were impaled into the stone pillars and blood still dripped down their legs. It wasn't hard to guess that they weren't killed that long ago which only spelled trouble.

"It was too good to be true indeed," Number One commented as he only needed a single glance to know what was going on. He wouldn't be surprised if Rose has already planned that way ahead of time.

"Everyone, retreat! We need to get out of here before the Black Vultures smell the blood!" Headmaster Blake cried out in all seriousness and lead the group back but they only managed to fly for a few hundred meters before they spotted even more corpses.

"They weren't here before!" the female students pointed out while their bodies trembled and everyone quickly realized what was going on.

"It's a trap!" Headmaster Blake shouted with his face darkening and he dropped the idea of running away. "Everyone prepare to fight! Someone is using the Sand Bandits' dead bodies to lure the Black Vultures! It's definitely too late to escape!"

It was quite a common tactic to rob people in this area as Soul Beasts only ate flesh and left all the Storage Rings alone. The moment the targets see the corpses, it was usually too late to escape as the Black Vultures were already lured too close.

Their only choice was to fight it out inside the grove of stone pillars as that limited the number of their enemies. If they flew up to escape, they would be swarmed with thousands of Soul Beasts at once.

"Darius!" Number One called out as he ignored the panicking students and threw a Soul Boosting Pill at the only other person with any special skills. "Take the pill before the fight. It will regenerate your Soul Energy for a whole minute. Kill as many as you can."

Darius caught it just before multiple corpses began falling from the sky. They bumped against the stone pillars lifelessly and smashed into the ground. It was clear the bodies were used to lure the Black Vultures from the sky but Number One didn't remain idle.

"Nami, Luna, follow me," Number One ordered sternly while launching up above the pillars to maybe spot Rose in the sky but it was already too late.

Screee! Screee! Screee!

Thousands of Black Vultures announced their presence with annoying screeches and they filled the whole sky up to the horizon. It was already gloomy before but now they couldn't even see the sun with every inch of the sky covered.

"It's time for some real training," Number One announced cheerfully as he popped a Soul Boosting Pill into his mouth. "Whoever kills the most gets a single wish from the rest."

Nami and Luna's brightened at the proposal. "We can wish anything?"

"As long as you can win. I'm also playing," Number One replied with a chuckle and he aimed at the black sky with his gun. "Bang."

The beam of light shot wide and lit up the whole sky. It completely evaporated all the Black Vultures on its path but the gap swiftly filled with more Soul Beasts. It felt like they were doomed with the whole swarm collapsing at them but Number One couldn't be more excited.

Each Soul Beast had an Orange Crystal which meant more money for him. Killing Soul Beasts was the second most efficient way to earn money and it was all he needed. If anything, he should be thanking Rose for saving him the trouble.

Bang!

Another shot pierced through the sky and the girls finally acted on their own. Tens of blades fired at random and each of them sliced through multiple Black Vultures. It would be hard to hit the target if they had one opponent but with thousands of targets so close to each other they didn't even need to aim.

That could of course only work for a few seconds before the Black Vultures were ready to land on them with their sharp close extended.

"Be careful!" Luna warned Number One as she landed with Nami on a stone pillar. Both of them canceled their wings as they pulled out their Soul Swords but Number One couldn't do that.

Number One had little to no power in the close combat but it seemed like Luna was worried for nothing. Just as the swarm was about to hit them, he launched straight at them and blasted his way out with another beam. He immediately became a target which pulled the majority of Black Vultures away from the group.

"Come get me if you can!" Number One shouted in provocation while firing behind him every few seconds but he underestimated his enemies. They weren't as stupid as he thought and suddenly began to dodge as soon he aimed in their direction.

They managed to clear at least half of the swarm within that short period of time but that also freed more space for a maneuver. By the time Number One fired his fifth shot from the air, he could no longer hit a single vulture.

"Damn, I guess they can get me," Number One commented as he noticed the Black Vultures closing in and dropped his idea entirely. They were still faster than him so he would be ripped to shreds if he didn't improvise.

Instead of running upwards, Number One suddenly dove straight towards the ground and his Soul Wings exploded in all directions. The blades cut through numerous beasts which caused Number One to chuckle. "Can't dodge everything, can we?"

Number One let his body free fall as he observed the vultures' reactions but then his face froze. A golden light flashed behind the barrier of clouds and he spotted an outline of wings that were growing distant.

Rose!

Only a single person had a Golden Talent and it couldn't be anyone else. Number One's plan to escape into the stone pillars grove was momentarily canceled as he formed another set of wings. His Soul Energy was running low so he swallowed another pill before chasing after Rose.

'Are you okay down there?' Number One questioned Nami while blasting another hole ahead to pass through. Even though he trusted his ladies, he still had to make sure they were okay.

'Don't worry about us, we are cleaning up and will join you in a bit,' Nami informed hurriedly. 'Some students seem to be injured though. Should we help them?'

It was impossible to avoid injuries with such a large amount of enemies but Number One felt no responsibility for the rest. Everyone was on their own in this world and he wasn't their babysitter.

'The pills are yours. You can sell them to Headmaster Blake if he wants to buy,' Number One replied just as he climbed higher into the sky and the contact they had was cut off. Their connection didn't work on long distances or else it would be too powerful tool to have.

The Black Vultures chased after Number One madly but they gave up as soon as he passed through the clouds. That didn't stop him from going after Rose and he finally saw the sun that was hiding this whole time. He was blinded for a moment but then he spotted the person that orchestrated everything.

"I knew it was you," Number One called out with no fear as he flew up to face Rose. "Are you having fun with your games? What's the point of all this?"

The black cloak fluttered to the wind as Rose observed Number One through the Golden Mask and she remained silent. He wasn't able to get any answers to this topic before but that didn't stop him from trying.

"What are you even preparing me for? What if I die to one of your stupid challenges?" Number One continued to ask to get anything out of her. "Once I'm dead, you won't be able to help your Master so what's the whole point? Are you using them to train me?"

"Don't worry, you are not going to die," Rose assured. "Your will to live is strong and I pick your opponents carefully. They are just enough to push you to your limits."

"And what if you are wrong?" Number One questioned while nearing to face her up close. "I already almost died to Miss Black when she cut off my heart and I only survived because she didn't cut off my head. Did you think that was possible? How long can I survive until you finally fail your calculations?"

Rose was taken aback by his words and didn't deny anything. "I knew she will try to kill you and I knew you will recover. She wasn't a fan of cutting up bodies so you were fine either way. I wouldn't send anyone after you that you can't handle."

Rose paused and added, "If you do end up dying, that only means you were not the right person so it's not a big deal. I still believe your fate is already sealed and you won't die so easily."

"Right person for what?" Number One asked again but Rose stopped entertaining his questions.

"Are you sure you have time to talk right now? Your challenge is not over," Rose pointed out calmly.

"The Black Vultures are not an issue for us," Number One replied confidently just before he heard the loudest screech ever. It followed by a strong blast of wind from behind and Rose fleered.

"Are you sure about that?"