Chapter 430: The Death of Vega and the Psycho Power Battle Style
Vega, who had died more than once in previous works but repeatedly revived due to his immortal soul, faced a true crisis of annihilation for the first time.
Although he didn't know what this 'Ghostly Gauntlet' was, his soul instinctively told him that once he entered it, he would no longer be himself.
This was even more difficult to accept than eternal soul annihilation.
Thinking of this, Vega had already chosen to resist the Ghostly Gauntlet's suction while desperately activating the Psycho Power that was originally used to fix his soul's form and maintain its consciousness. Under his manipulation, it rapidly took shape, preparing to construct a new spatial teleportation channel.
The consequences of doing so were very severe: it would lead to blurred consciousness, memory loss, and a sharp drop in Psycho Power during subsequent resurrections. It might even cause the soul to be torn and disintegrated during teleportation, ultimately weakening to the point of being assimilated by the native soul of the body it intended to occupy. But Vega no longer cared about any of this.
If he couldn't escape this current predicament, then everything else would be meaningless!
I must survive!
His intense will to live even made the Ghostly Gauntlet's soul-specialized suction unable to shake Vega at this moment. And Vega knew that the Stand, still on the ground, no longer had a chance to stop him.
But at this very moment, the World, standing still, spread its arms, and Cheng Tian once again uttered the name of the move that signified Vega's complete demise—
"ZA WARUDO!"
A special barrier representing time stoppage directly enveloped the entire dungeon scene.
Even Vega, in his soul state, was still frozen by the unreasonable time stop at the exact moment he was forcibly tearing space to perform a spatial transfer.
And Vega's soul, no longer resisting due to the time stop, was instantly pulled onto the Ghostly Gauntlet during this mere 1-second time stop, making intimate contact with the ghost eye that stored souls.
"And then~ Time continues to flow~"
At this moment, Vega finally realized what Cheng Tian's ability was, but it was too late.
Vega's soul completely disappeared into the Ghostly Gauntlet.
"Vega, soul! GET ☆ DAZE!"
Enduring the faint throbbing in his brain, Cheng raised his Ghostly Gauntlet, steadfastly completing the final step of the capture process.
You have killed the Shadaloo leader, "Vega."
You used the special item "Ghostly Gauntlet" to successfully capture the "Immortal Spirit of Vega."
Your extra skill, 『Soul Salvage』, has increased its innocent soul storage limit by 100, now at 299.
Due to the evil nature of the "Immortal Spirit of Vega," it cannot currently be directly converted into a "Guardian Spirit" but will occupy a Guardian Spirit slot. You can attempt to perform a soul dissection on it later.
"Immortal Spirit of Vega" meets the "Extremely Evil" characteristic.
Extremely Evil Soul Collection Progress — 1 / 36.
Due to your act of killing Vega, the Shadaloo organization, which is absolutely built around "Vega" as its core, will inevitably experience internal strife and fragmentation. Neither the Four Heavenly Kings nor the most powerful SIN branch will be able to truly take over Vega's legacy.
You and your party members will gain special permission for a maximum of 3 item plunders from "Shadaloo Base" or "SIN Department." The deadline is until Shadaloo's internal detection of leader Vega's demise and the completion of a full-scale transfer.
If you have the assistance and guidance of "Red-Haired Research Ape Uutan" during the plundering process, the probability of plundering certain items related to his area of expertise will be significantly increased.
Since you successfully captured the "Immortal Spirit of Vega," the "Psycho Power Erosion Marks" that Vega cast during his lifetime and remained on others will dissipate along with him.
Detected that you possess 『Domination』, a superior alternative skill to 『Psycho Power Erosion』 —
You can attempt to take over Shadaloo's "Doll Unit". This action will consume 1 item plunder opportunity. If the takeover is successful, the remaining "Doll Unit" can be stationed at "Hammond's Innovation Lab" through a "cooperation contract."
You performed a killing act during the "KOF97" tournament qualifiers and within the designated activity area. Even if it was theoretically self-defense, you will still receive a certain degree of extra attention from the organizers. Please be mindful of your words and actions hereafter.
Due to Vega's special identity, you can choose to publicly announce Vega's death later, or you can wait for subsequent events to unfold naturally. Different choices will lead to significant fluctuations in your personal reputation, social status, and other aspects within the dungeon, and this change will also widely affect the future saves of other players currently in the same dungeon.
As a series of prompts flashed, after the Transfiguration ended, a golden treasure chest appeared on the scattered duck corpse, which had reverted to human limbs and severed body parts. The winged golden skull emblem, representing the Shadaloo flag, was also hanging on the lock of the chest.
Only the chest appeared, with no additional soul fragments.
However, this was normal, as his entire soul had failed to escape from Cheng Tian's hands; if even one fragment had escaped, Vega could have survived and revived.
According to the spatial prompt, transforming Vega into a Guardian Spirit would likely require a more detailed dissection.
Vega, a powerful individual who had appeared as a BOSS in every Street Fighter game, had died silently at Cheng Tian's hands.
While this certainly involved Cheng Tian's careful planning against an unsuspecting opponent, with Cheng Tian knowing Vega well but Vega only having a superficial understanding of Cheng, the greater reason was actually Vega's own overconfidence.
How dare he venture alone into Cheng Tian's stronghold? Then he shouldn't blame Cheng Tian for using every trick in the book to blow him up!
After this round of execution, Cheng Tian's mana bar was left with just over a hundred points. Using time stop was out of the question, and other skills could only be used sparingly, focusing on minor ones.
However, even though Vega was dead, it didn't mean the Four Heavenly Kings' assault would stop.
In fact, Cheng Tian now had an additional timed plunder mission: to find an opportunity to visit Shadaloo or the SIN Department and make off with some loot.
The safest scenario would be to delay or eliminate the Four Heavenly Kings and Juri Han before plundering. That way, the only enemies to face would likely be the Doll Unit and the heads of the SIN Department.
At this moment, Cheng Tian's head was actually still a bit swollen. Although Za Warudo didn't have a strict cooldown and could be cast as long as there was enough MP, it did have a hidden negative effect: it increased the burden on one's body and mind. The current headache was one manifestation of this.
Even Dio's body would struggle to withstand brief, continuous time stops, and Cheng Tian's body, with just over 30 strength even with the enhancements from the Sun Mask and twin swords, was clearly not enough.
"A sound soul dwells within a sound body."
This thought flashed through Cheng Tian's swollen mind.
Perhaps to distract himself, under Bazett's care, Cheng Tian directly opened the chest dropped by Vega.
A black-purple crystal ball popped out, looking like something a witch would use.
With a touch, Cheng Tian knew exactly what it was.
This was a legacy skill stone containing Vega's lifelong development and utilization techniques of his Psycho Power—
Psycho Power Battle Style!