Chapter 429: Soul Escape? Not on my Ghost Gauntlet!
Yes, that's right! It's a frog!
At this very moment, Cheng, who was only a wall away from Vega, was in the 'Magic Burst' state commonly used by spellcasters in the Ys worldview. Magic Burst doubles the number of Crystal Demon Eyes inherited from the Eye of Fact, from 2 to 4.
What he held in his hand was the low-level Magic Gentleman's Cane, obtained by killing the Vampire Magician during the initial Makaimura trial.
Of course, it was no longer the lowest-grade green 'Excellent' equipment. It had been successfully upgraded to blue 'Fine' by consuming the 'King's Statue Curse' easter egg item, which had the 'Transformation Curse (Frog)' effect, obtained in the third stage of Makaimura.
After the upgrade, the 'Gentleman's Cane' equipment's attribute bonuses remained unchanged, still only 2 Spirit points, but its transformation spell judgment was slightly stronger.
The biggest change, however, was that the 『Transformation』 skill, which was originally fixed and could only turn targets into ducks, now randomly chose between ducks and frogs. Furthermore, while the target was transformed, he would be unable to attack or use skills.
Among many crowd control skills, transformation spells remain a top-tier choice. As long as they aren't immune, they still have their uses.
The reason Cheng Tian brought this cane into the dungeon was entirely because he initially wanted to cosplay as Street Fighter's 'Magic Old Man JP' using the cane and his Heart Priest skill system, and perhaps even snag a 'Magic Middle Man' title along the way.
It was just that the successful loading of the Dio template made him completely forget this initial goal.
And now, bringing out the cane again, his goal was to instantly kill Vega, leaving him no room for a comeback.
By replicating remote skills with his Heart Image Crystal, Cheng Tian could simultaneously cast 5 transformation spell missiles.
For a boss-level unit like Vega, a transformation spell that normally lasted 5 seconds would definitely be drastically reduced to less than 1 second. He might even develop temporary resistance due to repeated transformations, further shortening the final transformation duration.
Cheng Tian had also considered this point.
Under normal circumstances, these five missiles would certainly hit the target simultaneously, but Cheng Tian utilized the characteristic of the five-pointed star transformation spell missiles having a flight trajectory delay. By arranging four Heart Image Crystals in staggered positions beforehand, creating distance between them, the transformation effects that would originally act on the target simultaneously now became a chain of effects!
In more gaming terms, it was a typical frame-perfect skill combo!
Vega's first transformation into a frog lasted only 1 second. This sudden change in his body shocked him even more than being silenced.
However, due to his target suddenly becoming smaller, Vega inadvertently managed to evade at least a dozen punches from the dual fist barrage.
Bazett's and The World's fists clashed with loud thuds, much like the special effects when Star Platinum and The World exchanged blows.
But it was at this moment that Vega discovered the terrifying nature of this spell: it not only had an indirect silencing effect but also forced his physical strength to be reduced to the level appropriate for the corresponding form.
That is, he was now a frog with a long health bar, more resilient and harder to kill!
Caught between two fists, one on each side, Vega's consciousness almost left his body along with the organs that were nearly squeezed out of his mouth.
But the moment that incredibly long 1 second passed, the second transformation spell missile seamlessly connected, giving Vega, who was in soul-ascending pain, no chance to unleash a super move.
This time, Vega was turned into a red summer duck.
With the first experience, Bazett and The World clearly became more coordinated. They simultaneously reduced their punch speed and narrowed their attack range, delivering as many high-frequency strikes as possible while maintaining Vega's current position.
The duck's head, neck, chest, feet, and wings were visibly deforming at high speed.
Bang~ The duck turned back into a human, and this time the transformation spell had been weakened to 0.5 seconds, but the third transformation spell missile arrived as expected again.
The subsequent fourth and fifth ones were no longer needed, because Vega's body, which had been forced to revert to an animal's strength, could no longer withstand it. He was instantly blasted apart in mid-air by the clash of two fists, one large and one small. His body was torn into pieces on the spot, with organs, flesh, and bones scattering into the air.
The Shadaloo Grand Master, Shadow General, the eternal Psycho Crusher, and the Japanese-made Psycho Power, were actually beaten to death like this!?
No! It's not over yet!
Cheng Tian's eyes glinted as he noticed a certain detail!
And just as the animal-like corpse burst apart, Vega's soul, kept intact by the pack of evil psychic energy, had already escaped, hovering in mid-air, his face incredibly distorted as he looked at the true culprit, Cheng Tian!
The biggest difference between Vega and all other Street Fighter combatants was his soul body, which was deeply integrated with psychic energy and possessed a nearly indestructible quality. Even if his physical body was shattered, his soul could revive by possessing others.
Cammy, Decapre, and the Dolls were his backup bodies, and powerful physical body holders like Ryu were also his targets.
And even if his soul was shattered, it would scatter like the Shikon Jewel, residing in other people's bodies to lie dormant and recover.
Even Capcom's retcons could assist Vega's resurrections, just like Geese, Rugal, and others. As long as he still had popularity and value, and could extract profit from players, Vega could legitimately revive as DLC... Although his current body being shattered made Vega incredibly angry, it didn't mean he lost his sanity. He knew very well that he could still make a comeback!
If he were to possess someone nearby, the defective Decapre in December would barely be usable.
Soul Vega tried to engrave every detail of Cheng Tian's appearance, power fluctuations, and so on into his soul. This was the first being, besides Ryu, who had caused him such great damage and humiliation in Vega's life!
But at this moment, Vega's soul perception detected that a gaze was fixed on him—
Following the gaze, he found that the orange-gold humanoid figure was staring intently at him!
Only after his physical body was destroyed and he became a soul body could Vega further perceive that this orange-gold humanoid was some kind of combination of psychic energy and soul!
This also meant that the other party could make physical contact with him on a soul level!
A strong sense of crisis immediately enveloped Soul Vega's entire being.
But the next second, he felt an irresistible, powerful suction coming from the exact opposite direction of the orange-gold humanoid.
Turning his head almost instinctively, he saw a strange gauntlet appear on Cheng Tian's right arm. The ghostly pupil in the center of the gauntlet snapped open and began to generate a powerful pulling force that only affected souls—
Ghost Gauntlet! Soul Collection!