𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏𝟏
Emeris was a highly skilled exorcist.
She could use almost all types of spells with great proficiency, and she had especially mastered several ancient spells passed down from her ancestors.
In short, she was a talented individual who could not be easily defeated in terms of skill or ability.
But,
「. . .𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩?」
Confusion.
That was the honest emotion of Emeris after fighting Han Kang-yoon.
He could understand the control and utilization of the technique itself, even if she had to make a hundred concessions.
As people often say, geniuses could be surprisingly versatile.
However, it was the first time Emeris had ever experienced an opponent completely destroying her spells like this when meeting them for the first time.
「𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙚?」
Of course, even if he did, such a reaction would be ridiculous unless he had actually fought her.
It meant that Han Kang-yoon’s abilities were special and outstanding.
“The fact that you were waiting for us in advance means that you know a lot, doesn’t it?”
“. . . . . . .”
“As expected, we need to take care of you guys here.”
She can’t say for sure, but it’s clear that one of them knows about Yahwak in detail.
「𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙨. . . . . . .」
At that moment, Emeris could think of another possibility.
It was possible that one of them was involved in the deaths of the other members, including Bi-hyeong.
She didn’t know about Xiao Chen, but the fact that the other two had disappeared in Korea was a convincing hypothesis.
“Echinacea Lianqi, let’s get serious from now on.”
“Of course.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Echinacea Lianqi’s fired spell aimed at the opponent like a self-propelled root, and Emeris took the opportunity to launch a truly powerful spell in earnest.
“Vestas Kreuz.”
It was an ancient curse that engraved a mark on the opponent’s soul and gradually imposed restrictions over time.
Emeris also didn’t know its origin and didn’t use it often because it was burdensome, but it would be difficult to deal with.
Emeris judged that it would definitely work on the opponent.
“You won’t be able to get rid of it unless you get away from me. Of course, I won’t let that happen.”
“. . . . . . .”
However, Han Kang-yoon did not even respond to Emeris’s words and tilted his head as if something was strange.
It was a completely different reaction from Han Seo-ah, whose movements had already slowed down due to the influence of the curse.
And soon, Han Kang-yoon approached Han Seo-ah, cast a spell, and completely absorbed the curse that had been cast on her.
Emeris, who took this as an opportunity, immediately launched a follow-up attack, but strangely, Han Kang-yoon’s response was as fast and accurate as before.
Only then did Emeris realize that her curse had not affected Han Kang-yoon at all.
「. . .𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡?」
It was another moment when Emeris’s expression, which had been filled with anger, cracked.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
「. . .𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩.」
I had always thought that partially reducing the power of spells was all there was to the Witch’s Echo trait.
But this time, it was different.
It didn’t just reduce the power; it completely blocked more than 80% of it.
The conclusion was simple.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙚?」
Of course, the Vestas Kreuz that Emeris used was not such a great spell.
Emeris probably has a few more powerful spells.
However, even so, the fact that she had suffered almost no damage from such a curse was amazing enough.
「𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩?」
Emeris was a specialist who was proficient in various types of spells, but of course, she was most confident in her unique spells.
And most of them were spells that originated from the witch lineage.
Unless she gave them up, Emeris would have no choice but to endure a disadvantageous situation from now on.
「𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨, 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙣.」
By now, the headquarters must have grasped the situation and asked for help from various forces in Korea.
And they will be avoiding us as well.
In other words, if we just stall for time, their plan will inevitably fail.
It was Emeris who was running out of time.
“Let’s fight while keeping our distance.”
“Yeah. Got it.”
It was enough to just hold the enemies back.
Noticing our movements, Emeris clicked her tongue slightly and looked troubled.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚.」
Forcing an offensive to somehow catch us or ignoring us and joining the other party.
However, neither of them would be easy.
「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤?」
We already have the initiative.
We can’t defeat them, but they can’t easily shake us off either.
However, in such a situation, Emeris soon let out a smirk.
“Honestly, it was quite a difficult situation.”
“. . . . . . .”
“But it looks like that’s all it is.”
When she moved her gaze and looked around at those words, I felt a powerful spiritual power wave approaching us quickly.
「𝙊𝙝 𝙢𝙮.」
I could tell who it was without having to think too hard.
It was the man named Dwight Gayle, who had been with Yahwak earlier.
「𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙤-𝙮𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩?」
If not, it might have been simply insufficient to hold the two of them back.
It wouldn’t be so strange, considering that it would be difficult to deal with even one Allan Kruger who remained on that side.
「. . .𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙.」
This side was in a stalemate, and in fact, we were in a position where we just had to stall for time.
However, Gayle’s appearance completely ruined that.
It was impossible to simply maintain a defensive posture. It was clear that we would be hit soon at this rate.
“. . .Should we run away and join the others?”
Seo-ah, who recognized the situation, said so, but that wasn’t a good idea either.
Since we were being pushed back with our full force anyway, it could end up being a choice that would lead to a crisis.
「𝙂𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙮. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣.」
In the end, I decided to modify my previous plan and take a gamble.
My gaze turned to the direction where Echinacea Lianqi, a woman in a strange traditional costume, was.
“I have a story I’d like to share with you.”
“Rather than that, you’re just trying to buy time, aren’t you?”
Echinacea Lianqi doesn’t show her true feelings to anyone through her thick mask.
And as I said before, she probably can’t let her guard down right now.
However, it was possible to shake her at this point.
“I saw you in a vision of the future. It seems that you have a different purpose than them.”
“. . . . . . .”
“My purpose is not much different. If you let me out of this battle, I will cooperate with you.”
At that proposal, Emeris hardened her expression and turned her gaze to Echinacea Lianqi, and Echinacea Lianqi clicked her tongue slightly as if my behavior was annoying.
In fact, there were several calculations involved in this action.
It would be great if she accepted my offer, but it didn’t really matter if she didn’t.
This would have sown the seeds of doubt between them.
「𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙀𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙨’ 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠.」
I clearly said that I saw a vision of the future.
And Emeris had just had several of her specialty spells destroyed by me not too long ago.
If she also assumes that it was through learning through visions, it is true that the situation is roughly correct.
「. . .𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙.」
Emeris’s eyes rolled slightly as she observed Seo-ah’s reaction.
However, Seo-ah already believed that I was one of the prophets, so she didn’t show any particular reaction.
Then, Emeris’s expression gradually filled with conviction.
“I thought it was suspicious, but was I right?”
“. . .Are you saying you’re going to trust the enemy’s words right now?”
“I’m not an idiot, so I believe it. The situation is like that.”
The members of Yahwak were all stubborn and difficult to reconcile, but their purpose was the same.
It was that important to them, so they had no choice but to think differently if there was someone with a different purpose.
“If you don’t explain properly, I’ll take care of you here too.”
“. . . . . . .”
Doubt had already sprouted, and as Gayle appeared from behind at just the right time, the atmosphere became even more fierce.
In such a situation, Echinacea Lianqi soon sighed and took a step back.
“Do as you please. It seems that the choice I have to make has already been decided.”
“You. . . . . . !”
“Can’t I help it? You should know that it was your doubt that created this situation in the first place.”
With that, Echinacea Lianqi quickly jumped onto the building and disappeared.
Emeris sighed with a murderous look on her face at her calm and composed appearance.
“. . .Should I thank you for this? You filtered out the troublemakers in advance.”
“I don’t know what the truth is.”
“So, with that great foresight, have you also predicted your future from now on?”
As if the complicated situation had been sorted out, Gayle, who was standing next to her with his fists clenched, began to speak while moving his feet.
“I don’t know for sure, but it looks like I have to take care of these guys first.”
“. . .Do as you like.”
The 2v2 situation was set up again.
Furthermore, this time, we were able to take a slightly more active offensive with the addition of Gayle, who seemed to have outstanding abilities as a vanguard.
However, in such a situation, I smiled faintly.
In fact, the one I had been truly wary of until now was not Emeris but Echinacea Lianqi.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡.」
Emeris is also a fearsome opponent, but things are a little different now that I know the effect of the Witch’s Echo trait.
And Dwight Gayle, who just appeared, is level 61.
Compared to the members of Yahwak, he is only one step lower, and his traits are not that great either.
What does that mean? It meant that he was at a level that I could handle.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙.」
In this case, there is actually no need to stall for time.
Calculations had already been running through my head, and a conclusion had also been reached.
「𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」
I slowly used a spell to lengthen my shadow, and soon began to subtly consume the surroundings.
And soon, I launched the spell I had been preparing, waiting for the moment when the opponent was about to launch an attack.
“Shadow Catching.”
Then, everything was covered in thick darkness.
Leave a Reply