𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏𝟐
Shadow Assimilation trait was one of the spells of the Shadowless, the originator of Shadow Catching.
This was also recreated after spending a lot of time because I had never used it myself.
Swish.
Screech—!
In an instant, the black shadows that had rushed in, Emeris and Gayle quickly blocked the attack by each deploying their defensive spells.
However, of course, at that point, I had already prepared my next move.
“Black Yin, Sori-soe.”
The two entities with the fastest speed among my shikigami emerged from the elongated shadows and immediately aimed for Emeris’s back.
“Tsk!”
Emeris scattered straw dolls on the ground and jumped to create distance.
And, taking advantage of that gap, the Western spell flew in once more.
“Sevenfold Strike!”
“No way!”
Screech—!
Clang—!
The timing was truly perfect, but it was deflected by Gayle, who had launched a counterattack with some time to spare.
As expected, those two are clearly strong.
Surprise attacks and joint attacks were ineffective in creating a valid hit.
「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚.」
The Black Yin that had cut through the sky flew toward me and perched on my shoulder.
And in its beak, several strands of thin, golden hair were fluttering.
“You, by any chance. . . . . . .”
Emeris seemed to have noticed something and frowned, but it was already too late.
From here on, it was practically my home ground.
“Curse of Resentment and Despair.”
Whoosh.
Rustle, rustle—!
The cursed doll that connected and attached my hair and Emeris’s.
The water that had demonstrated its power in the previous battle with Myudusa quickly absorbed my curse in an instant.
And it returned to Emeris and me, creating a powerful resonance.
“Hiss.”
“Ugh!”
The intense pain and powerlessness that pierced my entire body, and the feeling as if my life force was being sucked away.
However, I can reduce the damage according to my karma value, while Emeris has to accept it all.
“What kind of power. . . . . . !”
Emeris obviously panicked and hurriedly began to suppress the curse.
It was a self-sacrificing curse that was actually hard to stop, but she was also adept in related systems and demonstrated outstanding control.
「. . .𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜.」
But that was it.
Unlike her, I still had some spare time.
“Curse of Resentment and Despair.”
Swish—!
Clang!
“Keuk!”
This time, Emeris, who had been properly hit, twisted her body with a pained expression.
Judging from her expression, it seemed as if she couldn’t understand this situation.
Well, that would be natural given her common sense.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙚, 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.」
However, my karma value completely overturns that common sense.
That powerful Myudusa hadn’t been able to move and had been defeated for a reason.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚.」
After all, a self-sacrificing curse boasts a near 100 percent hit rate within a certain distance.
If it doesn’t work at all, that’s one thing, but since that’s impossible, I should at least pressure her so that she can’t cast the curse.
Realizing that the situation was changing strangely, Gayle, who had finally shaken off all the shadows, approached while deploying a close-range combat spell.
However, he had no choice but to be stopped by Seo-ah, who immediately blocked his path.
“I won’t let you go.”
“. . . Do you dare try to stop me?”
Gayle’s attacks were fierce.
Although he hadn’t appeared in the original work, he was also a strong person who had overcome countless life-or-death situations.
Each blow, which could lead to a fatal wound, aimed at various parts of Seo-ah’s body.
However, she was clearly one of the main characters of this exorcism series.
After the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons had occurred and she had overcome it, she had now acquired skills that were not unworthy of being called first-rate.
“Rain Spear Formation!”
“Wall of Heaven and Earth! Bewitching Flower Fence!”
A fierce hand-to-hand fight that didn’t give her a moment to blink, but Seo-ah’s defense, which had already acknowledged the difference between them and had become defensive, was not easily broken through.
Thanks to that, I was able to focus entirely on Emeris in front of me.
“This childish game ends now.”
As expected, she’s fast. In the short time that I had turned my gaze to Gayle, Emeris had already completed a spell with considerable power.
「. . .𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨.」
There are some familiar forms here and there, but it’s definitely a spell structure that even I’m seeing for the first time.
However, I was reassured because of that.
If it’s a spell that I don’t know at this point, it’s highly likely that it’s a unique spell related to her family.
As if to confirm that, Emeris’s spell completely destroyed my Wall of Heaven and Earth spell but failed to inflict any significant damage after that.
The Witch’s Echo trait had once again exerted its power.
“What the. . . . . . .”
Her hands and feet were moving busily, preparing her next move, but her expression was clearly flustered.
Well, if she can’t figure out the secret, her next attack will obviously fail.
On the other hand, I was more casual and simply used the self-sacrificing curse once more.
Whoosh!
“Curse of Resentment and Despair.”
“Ugh!”
As a member of Yahwak, Emeris is also well-versed in forbidden techniques, so she’s holding out better than I thought.
But that’s okay. As was the case with Myudusa last time, the Curse of Resentment and Despair is just a preparation process for the real deal.
Whoosh!
“Mirror of Resentment.”
An equivalent exchange forbidden technique that returns the damage one has received to the opponent by converting it into a curse.
I always feel this, but it really is a spell that’s compatible with the current me.
Although I staggered and stumbled from the slight dizziness, the opponent’s reaction was even more intense.
“Keuk!”
Emeris coughed up thick, black blood from her mouth.
Dark shadows were gradually cast over her eyes, and if you looked closely, her entire body was trembling from the chills.
She was gradually being consumed by the curse as she was repeatedly exposed to it.
“This is ridiculous. This can’t be. . . . . . .”
Realizing that she was in real danger now, Emeris, whose complexion had turned pale, began to take a few steps back while gathering her strength.
Well, it makes sense.
No matter how many times she attacks, it won’t work, while her body is gradually being worn down by the ongoing curse.
The current Emeris must feel as if she’s facing a nearly buggy character.
A freak of nature that she can’t defeat no matter what she does.
It was only natural that her fighting spirit would disappear.
“. . .Hey, big guy. Stop playing around and come help me.”
“What? I’ll be done here soon.”
“Shut up. Can’t you see the situation?”
When I checked briefly, Seo-ah, who had been holding Gayle back, looked exhausted.
If I had taken a little more time, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to hold on and would have collapsed.
However, Emeris was so confused right now that she was ignoring even that fact.
“Hurry!”
“You’re impossible.”
Gayle lowered his head for a moment, but he must have sensed Emeris’s urgency because he began to run toward me, enduring the blows.
However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Seo-ah, who had completely escaped her target, was constantly casting spells to block his path.
“Kreuk!”
And unfortunately, I was confident that I could take down Emeris with that amount of time.
Swish.
“Curse of Resentment and Despair.”
“Keuk!”
Emeris sent a series of spells at me, desperately trying to interfere with my spell’s operation and contain it, but unfortunately, such ordinary spells were too easy for me to handle.
Moreover, the Curse of Resentment and Despair itself is not a spell that requires that much complexity.
Therefore, it wasn’t difficult at all to deploy it while blocking her minor attacks.
“Curse of Resentment and Despair.”
“Gah. . . . . . !”
Emeris coughed up more black blood and gradually began to tremble before collapsing to the ground.
And she could only gasp for breath as she watched me gradually closing the distance.
“This power is, strange. . . . . . . How much karma. . . . . . .”
“. . . . . . .”
I kicked Emeris away with my foot and immediately used a search spell to take a black straw doll out of her arms.
Emeris’s eyes widened at the sight of it, and she immediately reached out to me and gasped.
“That’s. . . . . . !”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? You seemed to know a lot.”
Perhaps Emeris had noticed to some extent during the battle.
That ordinary spells, not unique spells, worked on me too.
So she had been holding her breath and waiting for this final moment.
To launch her final counterattack on me through this substitute doll that could replace a fatal blow.
“Then, goodbye.”
The spiritual power that flowed through my hand blew up the black straw doll, and Emeris let out a deathly scream.
And immediately after, my hand, which had been lightly drawn, slit Emeris’s throat.
Screech—!
Pfft!
It was an intermediate-level close-range combat attack spell, Air Blade.
“So, do you intend to try any further?”
“. . . . . . .”
Gayle, who had eventually shaken off Seo-ah and approached me, fell silent at the sight.
And then, he released his battle stance and asked me.
“Are you going to let me go without a fight?”
“It’s not like I have much space here either.”
At my words, Gayle glanced at Emeris’s body, which was lying in front of him.
Gayle, who had been on the same side as Emeris, must have been well aware of her strength, so he wouldn’t be able to easily attack me after seeing her defeated like this.
After agonizing for a moment, he quickly turned his body and spat out his conclusion.
“I’ll stay out of this. Since so much time has already passed, reinforcements will be here soon anyway.”
“. . . . . . .”
“However, it seems like you’re mistaken about one thing.”
At my questioning gaze, Gayle snorted and continued.
“Do you think that old man from before can stop that monster on his own?”
“Are you talking about Luke Pensallot?”
Baek Woong-gyu and Luke Pensallot, who had left the battlefield first and headed toward the headquarters.
Of course, as Gayle had said, Luke was a being worthy of being called a monster, but Baek Woong-gyu is also a very powerful exorcist.
If he were to take a passive defensive stance, he wouldn’t be unable to face Luke.
However, I was soon able to recall one element of unease from Gayle’s reaction.
「𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚’𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?」
No.
I had been too preoccupied with the two people who hadn’t existed in the original work to think about it.
That means.
「𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠?」
At the same time, an earth-shattering roar filled the surroundings.
Clatter—!
Rumble—!
And when I hurriedly turned my head, I saw the collapsing Exorcism Headquarters.
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