𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟒𝟔
It was literally a bombardment.
The sudden powerful spells that were cast surprised not only Cheong Gil-yeong, who was being targeted by Bi-gang, but also the elders who were chasing after him.
“Who on earth could cast such spells. . . . . . .”
“Anyway, this is a stroke of luck. Hyung-nim. At this rate, that bastard must have been hit as well.”
As Hwang Cheol-ho said, Bi-gang’s appearance, which was soon revealed, was not good even as a joke.
His originally strong body was riddled with wounds, and curses were crawling all over his body, preventing him from recovering.
Cheong Gil-yeong, who confirmed this, glanced at Han Kang-yoon and looked at his face briefly.
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙠𝙞𝙙. . . . . . .」
The first emotion Cheong Gil-yeong felt when he found Han Kang-yoon among the support group a little while ago was doubt.
Han Kang-yoon was a strong young man who had even defeated Cheong Woon-do, who had been an elder before him, with his own hands. There was no reason for him to be with support group.
However, as things turned out, it was certain. Han Kang-yoon had used the four elders, including himself, as bait.
And the effect was undeniable.
“. . . I knew it, but you’re a really dirty bastard.”
“I’m disappointed to hear you say that. I was just trying to come up with a way to help desperately when I wasn’t part of the main force.”
Cheong Gil-yeong snorted at that lame excuse, but he couldn’t help but acknowledge Han Kang-yoon’s contribution.
Han Kang-yoon had completely caught the yokai off guard and created the best chance.
Now it was time to seize it and not let it go.
“Ji-bong!”
“I know. Let’s finish him off here.”
Of the four elders, only Baek Ji-bong and Baek Sang-hwa could use grand spells.
In order to give the yokai a surefire fatal blow, the two elders began to recite the grand spell’s incantation again.
However, Han Kang-yoon stopped them by stepping in front of them.
“Not now. Save your strength for a little longer.”
“What? Can’t you see that the bastard has been hit and can’t move?”
Despite the elders’ reaction, Han Kang-yoon’s attitude was firm.
“Calm down and look at the direction where he is again. Does that look like the figure of someone who has been hit and can’t control his body?”
When they heard that, they looked closely and sure enough, something was strange.
Transparent membranes, like the previous Gochi, were seeping in between the hideous skin of Bi-gang, and they were rapidly enveloping his entire body and obscuring his form.
At the same time, a creepy voice pierced everyone’s minds.
『These hateful exorcists. . . . . . I won’t let a single one of you go. . . . . .!』
“Unbelievable! What else is there?”
Hwang Cheol-ho let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it, and at that moment, Yoo Ha-on and her group, who had been preparing, arrived next to the elders.
Han Kang-yoon, who confirmed Yoo Ha-on’s appearance, opened his mouth softly as if he had been waiting.
“I need your help.”
At that resolute figure, they had no choice but to nod their heads, putting aside the various questions they were about to ask.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
「𝙄𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩.」
The so-called 3rd phase.
Bi-gang’s self-destructive technique and final form, which consumes a lot of energy.
To be honest, I thought it would take a lot of sacrifices to get this far, but the situation had improved considerably thanks to the elders’ efforts.
And in fact, the reason for such a change was clear.
「𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙞𝙡-𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜?」
He was originally supposed to be killed by Bi-gang on the spot.
However, now he is alive and well and contributing to the effort.
It was clear that he had also gotten involved in the Cheong family’s affairs in various ways and had grown to a new level.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙞𝙡-𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚.」
Anyway, back to the main topic, Bi-gang, who has reached the 3rd phase, is in a so-called berserk state.
In that state, all of his abilities are greatly increased, and his resistance is so strong that he can no longer be harmed by ordinary attacks.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚.」
As I said earlier, this is a self-destructive technique.
Bi-gang will continue to consume his own life force, and the moment it’s all gone, he will also die and return to a handful of dust.
If there is one variable, it is that the duration of his existence increases every time he absorbs a human’s life force.
In other words, in the original story, it was a phase that could be cleared by using Yoo Ha-on’s Anti-Demon trait to exhaust him and eliminate his means of recovery while protecting the other exorcists.
「. . . . . . .」
As those who are quick-witted have already realized, the difficulty has naturally increased now that Yoo Ha-on doesn’t have the Anti-Demon trait.
In fact, if we can’t stop him from killing exorcists and absorbing their life force, the rampage will continue.
It meant that we had to somehow deal with him and protect everyone around us.
I called Seo-ah, who was with Yoo Ha-on, and gave her a quiet instruction.
“Don’t let him absorb human life force. If you see any sign of that, stop him at all costs.”
“. . . Yes. I’ll let the others know too.”
Bi-gang’s direct opponents will be left to the elders as before.
Yoo Ha-on and her group will protect the surrounding exorcists, and our group will help out whichever side is being pushed back at the time.
This was the best position I could think of.
Bam!
Bam-bam!
Finally, Bi-gang’s revealed form was intense.
Ghostly energy flowed from his entire body, his size had more than doubled, and the number of arms and legs had increased, giving him the appearance of a spider walking on many legs.
Even the exorcists who had regained their courage at his horrible appearance cowered again and showed signs of disgust.
And it wasn’t just his appearance that had changed.
“Uh, uh-huh!”
Suddenly, an exorcist who had been watching the situation from the ground was caught in his arms by a stem that had sprung up from the ground.
And he swallowed his body in one gulp and chewed it up.
Baek Ji-bong let out a roar at the horrible sound of human flesh and bones being crushed.
“You bastard!”
Screech!
Bang!
However, his skin had already become harder than before, ignoring ordinary attacks.
And he shot the stem back into the ground and began to glare at the exorcists.
『I won’t spare a single one of you. . . . . .!』
Puff!
Bam!
Several exorcists were caught by the stems that kept springing up under their feet, and they began to be dragged away by him, just like the previous victims.
“Ugh, uhhhhh!”
“Help me!”
However, this time, Yoo Ha-on and her group, who had received my instructions, did not stand idly by.
Swoop!
Crash!
“The stems themselves aren’t that strong!”
“. . . I think we can stop them at this rate.”
It’s easy to say, but it’s actually like acrobatics to accurately target the stems that are moving around your body.
However, it was possible for Yoo Ha-on and her group, each of whom had outstanding talents.
“Good! You guys stop the stems!”
Hwang Cheol-ho, who had roughly confirmed the situation, shouted at Yoo Ha-on and her group and began to run towards the Bi-gang.
The elders followed him, and I also gave instructions to my group.
“Laura, help the juniors. And senior, come with me.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“. . . I understand.”
After splitting into two groups, Arietta and I followed the elders and headed towards Bi-gang.
“Look, the bastard’s condition is not normal, so let’s. . . . . . .”
“Just leave it. He’s not the kind of guy who needs our advice.”
“. . . If you say so.”
Baek Ji-bong tried to dissuade us, but Cheong Gil-yeong agreed with a single word and turned his gaze away.
And soon, Hwang Cheol-ho, who had tried to attack Bi-gang several times, approached us, retreating.
“Ji-bong Hyung-nim, it seems like we have no choice but to use a grand spell. His shell is unbelievably hard.”
“If your attack is blocked like that, it seems like it will be difficult to inflict any meaningful damage with my grand spell either. . . . . . .”
Strictly speaking, the grand spells used by Baek Sang-hwa and Baek Ji-bong are slightly lower in level.
A versatile technique unique to the Baek family, which has increased its utility in exchange for reduced power.
That was why Baek Ji-bong had a somewhat insecure expression on his face.
「𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.」
Unfortunately, Baek Ji-bong and Baek Sang-hwa’s grand spells probably won’t do much damage to him as he is now.
“But it’s better than just sitting around, right? As you can see, his movements have slowed down quite a bit even though he’s become stronger and bigger. I’ll hold him off, so give it a shot, Baek family.”
At Cheong Gil-yeong’s words, Baek Ji-bong and Baek Sang-hwa nodded and stepped back to begin reciting the incantation.
In the meantime, it became our job and the elders’ job to hold him off.
“He’s a smart guy. Be careful, there might be something he’s hiding.”
“Don’t worry. This Hwang Cheol-ho is no ordinary person!”
Hwang Cheol-ho continued to target Bi-gang’s eyeballs, skillfully dodging the legs that kept slamming down on the ground.
It seemed that he was determined to make it difficult for him, even if he couldn’t do any damage.
「. . . 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙜𝙪𝙮𝙨.」
The title of elder and their experience are quite helpful in this situation.
Arietta and I assisted Hwang Cheol-ho’s movements and aimed spells at the Bi-gang’s eyeballs.
『These disgusting bastards!』
As Bi-gang lifted several of his legs and slammed them down on the ground at once, the surrounding ground shook and the dust blocked our vision.
And I realized intuitively that Bi-gang was trying to catch us off guard and unleash his ultimate move.
“Geusdae! Sori-soe!”
『Goooo!』
Geusdae, who started running forward at my shout, and Sori-soe, who quickly turned his back to me and followed after him.
『Don’t worry about it. Just stick with me.』
“No problem.”
Puff!
Bam!
Dodging the stems that kept springing up from the ground, Arietta and I, who were riding on Sori-soe’s back, reached Bi-gang in an instant.
And as if to our surprise, we could see Bi-gang, who had gathered an enormous amount of demonic energy and was unfolding some kind of technique.
It was as if he had been deliberately using powerful but simple attacks up until now to deceive our eyes and was waiting for the right moment.
『This bastard, how the hell. . . . . .!』
“You hid it too well, so it’s more obvious.”
Unlike us, who could watch each other’s backs and assist each other, Bi-gang had to expose himself to a very brief moment of vulnerability in order to unleash a powerful move.
The deliberate use of large attacks to obscure his vision was for that purpose.
I, who knew most of the bastard’s tricks anyway, could clearly see the thoughts behind it.
And taking advantage of the opportunity, I quietly used the bastard’s technique in reverse and dealt him a critical blow.
“Jaucheonrin.”
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