By the time Emy returned, Ravian had already risen and crossed to the window, watching Max and the rest of the gang slip quietly out of the alley into the night.

When he saw that Emy had arrived, he turned toward her and caught the lustful, sadistic look on her face.

’Ah—lust. The ruin of the strong, the shackle of the gifted, the maker of the weak. It’s the same no matter what world it appears in,’ Ravian thought as he watched her come closer. From her expression, he knew she hadn’t checked whether the Soul Stone was still inside the pouch before handing it to Max—exactly as he’d expected.

When Emy finally reached his side at the window, she smiled at him and looked off in the same direction he’d been facing, but there was nothing there now.

"Were you making sure they’d left, Ravian, so we could have ourselves some real privacy?" she asked, closing the gap between them until her shoulder pressed against his.

"Yes. After all, what we’re about to do mustn’t be interrupted in any way—right?" Ravian said, watching her from the corner of his eye while still facing the window.

"Don’t worry. Max doesn’t suspect a thing," Emy said with a mocking laugh.

Disgust rose in Ravian at the sound of that laugh, but he let nothing show on his face.

"Hmm? Why so quiet? Does it still hurt?" Emy asked, pressing her hand against the wound on his forehead with more force than necessary.

"Argh!" Ravian cried out, plainly from the strength behind her hand.

"Oops. Seems it’s worse than I thought," Emy said, though the smile on her face showed not a trace of regret.

Then she shoved him toward the worn-out bed, and Ravian sat down, eyes on the floor, holding his head and the cloth wrapped around it.

"You really ought to replace this mattress. Actually, you ought to replace this whole house. The place isn’t comfortable in the slightest," Emy said as she sat beside him on the bed and looked at him.

But all at once, Ravian lunged forward and pulled her into an embrace.

Emy was startled by the sudden hug, but she assumed Ravian only wanted to get started, so she returned it with even more desire, her hands roaming over his body as she leaned into him to bring them both down to lie on the bed.

"Thank you, Emy." Ravian spoke quickly, cutting her off—he had no intention of letting this go any further.

"Hmm? What are you thanking me for?" Emy didn’t follow.

"Thank you for still being the same sadistic, treacherous girl. It really does make this easier for me," Ravian said, wearing an expression that looked genuinely grateful.

"What are you saying, you bas—" Emy started, but again Ravian cut her off.

"Devour her."

Only two words, yet enough to set off an enormous change.

All at once, that same sensation of healing and power surged back into Ravian.

"Ahaaaaa!" Emy’s scream tore through the entire house as she felt her soul being dragged out of her body.

"Shhh. It’ll be over quickly, I promise," Ravian said, clapping one hand over her mouth to silence her as black and white tendrils began to spill from his body, binding Emy and devouring her soul.

...

A few short minutes later—

[Ding!]

[Successfully absorbed the soul essence of a Tenth-Rank Awakened being.]

[The Records of this soul have already been absorbed before. They cannot be absorbed again.]

[First condition fulfilled.]

[Establishing the foundation of the Sovereign Pride Physique.]

The System laid those words out before Ravian.

Then the same changes that had come over him before began to repeat—but for some reason, the System halted partway through the process.

[Does the Host wish to absorb the Soul Stone at the same time, to complete the awakening process as well?] the System asked.

"Yes," Ravian said with a nod, then drew out the Soul Stone, gripped it in his hand, moved away from Emy’s remains, and began the process.

[The foundation of the Sovereign Pride Physique has been established, replacing the Host’s previous ordinary body.]

[The Host’s body is now able to break past the limits and obstacles others face at every stage of bodily transformation and refinement.]

[Ding!]

[Second condition fulfilled: Mid-grade Soul Stone detected.]

[Absorption and awakening process initiated.]

The same notifications appeared before Ravian, but this time, the process moved faster.

[Process completion: 10%]

...

[Process completion: 50%]

...

[Process completion: 100%]

[Awakening process complete.]

[The Host has fully awakened.]

[The first Gate of Sovereign Pride has opened once again.]

Several windows appeared at once, along with others telling him yet again that he had obtained the Sovereign Pride Physique—yet Ravian didn’t feel a great change in his soul the way he had the last time.

"Why don’t I feel the change in my soul power like before, System?" he decided to ask.

[That is because your soul had already been strengthened before, Host. When you died, you lost only your body; your soul was untouched, so it did not change to the same degree as your physique did.]

A window appeared and explained.

"Hmm. That makes sense," Ravian said, resting a hand on his chin in thought.

But suddenly—

Creak!

Ravian caught a creaking sound from the direction of the window and bolted upright in alarm.

He whipped his gaze toward the source and found the window standing open.

’What? When did this window open? I’m certain it was shut when I was standing here with that girl a moment ago,’ Ravian thought, approaching it warily, plain fear on his face. ’What if it was one of those gang bosses Karius fought in the previous loop? I wouldn’t stand a chance of resisting.’

When Ravian finally reached the window, he peered through it without sticking his head out.

He found nothing.

The window simply hung wide open, without any movement—and the strange thing was that the wind wasn’t strong enough to have caused it. The alley was quiet, the homeless sleeping in their corners as always, unmoving, while the moon shone in the sky above them.

Ravian didn’t know why, but his heart was pounding hard inside his chest.

He spun around and scanned the entire room.

Still nothing.

"Have I really gotten this jumpy after dying twice already?" Ravian said, frowning in confusion.

But then a voice came from the window behind him.

"Died twice? Now that sounds interesting. Tell me more." A deep voice, right at his back, from the window.

His eyes went wide with sheer terror.

Boom!

He was struck in the back with enough force to send him flying before he could even turn to face the window.

Damn!

Ravian’s body smashed into the wall of his house hard enough to shake the whole place.

Cough!

Cough!

The breath was driven from his chest, and he coughed hard—his coughs coming out mixed with bright red blood.

He couldn’t even pick himself up off the floor, the impact had been that brutal. Had this still been his old body, the one before awakening, the blow would have snapped his spine at the very least.

Lying on his side on the floor, Ravian lifted his eyes—and then he saw him.

A massive man who looked to be in his forties, black hair streaked with gray that lent him an elegant air, a stern, naturally hard face as if he’d been born wearing it, and noble clothing cut in a martial style. Yet those fine clothes were strangely stained with red, and over his shoulder he carried a bag that dripped a red liquid.

Yes—it was him. One of the Guardians of the Viera Empire, lord of the Dmitri Marquisate, the man responsible for the eastern front. Karius Dmitri, in the flesh.

’How? I didn’t leave the house this time. I even made sure Max and the others left earlier than before—so why? Why is this damned old man coming for me again?’ Ravian asked himself, eyes wide with undisguised fear, every hair on his body standing on end.

He had done everything to avoid him—to avoid the Death Squad, Lysandra, and his own death—so how had this happened?

Karius came the rest of the way through the window with a grace that didn’t match his build, then walked up to Ravian, crouched in front of him, and looked into his crimson eyes.

"You just mentioned you’d died twice, didn’t you? I’m truly curious what you meant by that," Karius said with a noble smile that never reached his eyes.

’W-what? Did he hear me mention my deaths?’ This time, Ravian’s expression was unreadable—a tangle of worry, fear, and the sense of being cornered.

’Will I be forced to give up the only life I have left, when I don’t even know whether I’ll ever earn another?’ The thought flickered through his mind, and his eyes welled up without his meaning them to, from the pain throbbing through his entire body.

"Are you ready to talk, or are you useless—just going to waste my time, boy?" Karius said, staring down at him.

Then Ravian opened his mouth...