I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 48.2

Crackle, crackle. . .

The Elder Water Ghost retreated back into the shadows, grumbling in dissatisfaction, but I ignored it and prepared myself.

I never thought things would turn out this way.

I had only experienced it in games, but I realized it as soon as I saw it.

What had just happened was the effect of Yoo Ha-on’s Blue Beacon trait.

Blue Beacon (A)

▶ Guides the user towards the more correct path when faced with a fork in the road or a major turning point.

It was a trait that was considered one of the protagonist’s identities in the first installment of Exorcism, and it acted as a sort of compass and guiding light for the story.

In other words, the fact that it had been activated meant that the current situation with Sori-soe couldn’t be resolved by simply standing by and watching.

Is this the lingering effect of Hell difficulty?

The exorcists at headquarters must have been tracking down Sori-soe with all their might, but if that wasn’t enough, then the situation had already escalated to a difficulty level beyond that of the original story.

“Do you think the two of us will be enough?”

“There’s no one else we can openly ask for help, and if there are too many of us, it’ll be harder to move.”

Given the changed circumstances, I couldn’t say for sure, but most of Sori-soe’s abilities were still based on the information I knew. In that case, I should be able to handle at least one Yoo Ha-on.

With the possibility of unforeseen obstacles, the two of us, Yoo Ha-on and I, were just the right number to be able to extricate ourselves if necessary.

Screech!

Screech!

I sent out several Black Birds to scout the areas where Sori-soe might be hiding, but as expected, there was no way we could find any traces just by searching randomly.

I stopped moving and looked at Yoo Ha-on with a serious expression.

“Did you find anything?”

“Point your finger in any direction.”

“Huh?”

One of the reasons I had brought Yoo Ha-on with me was to borrow the power of her Blue Beacon trait.

Now that it had been activated once, the Blue Beacon trait would inevitably help us solve this incident.

“. . .Are you sure about this?”

“There’s a reason for it, so don’t worry and just pick one.”

Yoo Ha-on hesitated for a moment before pointing her finger at a spot.

It was a direction that was west from Dongaksan Mountain, and north from the village.

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, I sent out a Black Bird and began to move in the direction her finger was pointing.

As we went deeper into the forest, the terrain gradually became more difficult, and our speed naturally slowed down.

After about two more hours of walking, we finally found the first trace of Sori-soe.

“. . .This is the one we met before.”

“The blood hasn’t completely congealed yet. It couldn’t have gone far.”

Choi Jin-hee, a 3rd-grade exorcist who was one of the three exorcists dispatched from headquarters, and who was also the first victim in the original story.

Her corpse lay sprawled in a gruesome manner on one side of the forest.

I didn’t know what had happened to the other two, but they were probably in a gruesome situation as well.

I used my Black Birds to thoroughly search the area ahead, and soon found Lee Jung-il, another exorcist from headquarters, hiding with injuries.

Rustle.

“Lee Jung-il, are you okay?”

“Ugh, h, how did you get here. . .”

Lee Jung-il’s condition was clearly not good. He seemed to have narrowly avoided a fatal blow, but he was in no condition to fight.

Yoo Ha-on, looking at his wounds with concern, spoke up urgently.

“What happened to the others?”

“They’re. . . gone. All of them. . .”

Lee Jung-il’s face twisted in anger as he spoke to us with trembling eyes.

“. . .I can’t move. Hurry and run before the yokai gets here.”

“What about the support request?”

“Ugh. . . The radio signal is blocked. I sent out shikigami, but they were all intercepted by the yokai.”

In other words, we had to deal with the situation with just the people who were here.

“Can you tell me anything you remember about the yokai’s abilities?”

“Ugh, no! That yokai is not someone a mere academy student can handle. I need to call at least a 2nd-grade or higher. . .”

“It’s already too late.”

As soon as I finished speaking, an eerie aura began to permeate the surroundings. And the sound of multiple presences approaching.

Lee Jung-il, sensing it, opened his mouth urgently.

“T-The yokai don’t attack directly. He can eat and control animals or humans with sorcery, and those it controls have enhanced physical abilities. You have to destroy the sorcery inside them to stop them.”

So far, this matches the information I had on Sori-soe.

However, Lee Jung-il continued, his body trembling as if he still couldn’t believe it.

“And he can use the bodies of the exorcists he’s eaten to cast sorcery.”

“. . .No way.”

Yoo Ha-on’s eyes widened in surprise, and I frowned as well.

If that was true, then the reason Lee Jung-il and his companions had been defeated made perfect sense.

This must be the effect of Hell difficulty.

Rustle.

Thud.

Thud.

Soon, a group of animals such as wild dogs and bobcats, and two humans, appeared.

Lee Jung-il recognized one of them and hung his head in sorrow.

It was Kim Jun-sik, who had been dispatched from headquarters with him, now staring at them with a vacant look in his eyes, devoid of his own will.

The other one. . .

He was definitely a character from the original story. He must be one of the Defense Corps exorcists who had disappeared from the village at the very beginning.

A low, deep voice began to speak from Kim Jun-sik’s mouth, the colleague of Lee Jung-il.

𝐚𝙬𝘦𝘣s𝐭𝔬𝚛𝕚𝘦𝐬.𝕔𝐨𝔪

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