𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟒𝟕
Sswaeaeaeg!
Bang!
『Cough, cough!』
Jaucheonrin, the ritual used by Liu Zizhen of the Liu family during the previous Baekrimjeong incident.
He had used it simply as an attack ritual, but in fact, Jaucheonrin exerts its power more effectively when it is used to counterattack an opponent who is writing a complex ritual, just like the one he is writing now.
My spiritual power flowed like electricity, filling the gaps in the unfinished ritual, and Bi-gang was forced to cancel the deployment of the spell, despite the risk, as his nasal cavity began to burn.
In addition, Geusdae, who had seized the opportunity, began to interfere with Bi-gang, emitting his characteristic aura.
『You, you little bug!』
Despite his bluster, he must be quite frustrated by now.
In front, Arietta and I, along with the four elders, were distracting him, and the stalks he had shot out were being intercepted by Yoo Ha-on and her party, hindering his absorption of life energy.
In other words, Bi-gang must be feeling like he is slowly being pushed into a corner.
『Don’t make me laugh!』
Boom!
Thanks to the regenerative power of his rampage, Bi-gang had already recovered from the recoil of canceling his ritual and had begun to drive Geusdae back.
Since there was no need to rush things, I sent Geusdae back to the shadows and distanced myself from him, joining the elders.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m not hurt.”
“Huh, I knew you were brave when you faced the Four Sovereign Sect, but you’re braver than I thought.”
Baek Ji-bong checked on my well-being with a surprised expression, and Hwang Cheol-ho exclaimed in admiration as he struck down a stalk that had sprung up from under his feet.
Then, throwing a handful of amulets behind him, he also blocked the hands of the exorcists of the support team who were secretly trying to attack him.
I was impressed by the way he did his job without being asked, and I turned my head back to Bi-gang.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨?」
After the initial surprise attack, we had managed to block his absorption of life energy without losing a single exorcist.
Even if Yoo Ha-on’s anti-demon trait hadn’t been present, it would have been normal for him to start reacting by now.
Snap!
As if to confirm my prediction, tiny cracks began to appear in Bi-gang’s body as his life energy gradually drained away.
Proof that he too had been given a real time limit.
Perhaps from now on, Bi-gang would face us with the determination to fight to the death.
『It’s too much to expect to defeat you all, but. . . I must also be prepared to make sacrifices.』
Muttering to the sky, Bi-gang suddenly sharpened his energy and cut off several of his own legs, scattering blood and flesh everywhere.
As we stood there speechless at the sight, an unknown wave of energy spread through the air, and some kind of ritual began to be constructed at a rapid pace.
「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
It was the first time I had ever seen anything like it, and it was a pattern that could not be found in the original Bi-gang.
In other words, a new trick that had emerged in the aftermath of the Hell difficulty.
It was easy to see that it would be extremely dangerous.
“Verdi-nim.”
『That’s a ritual that offers one’s own flesh as a sacrifice.』
Fortunately, the ancient witch seemed to have some idea of what was going on.
In that case, Bi-gang would now receive a reward commensurate with the sacrifice he had made.
And it wasn’t long before we realized what kind of reward that was.
Rumble!
Bang!
“Ugh?”
Hwang Cheol-ho, who had barely managed to block the blow, which was almost impossible to follow with the eye, groaned.
Then he shouted urgently.
“It’s not something we can see and block! Scatter!”
As he said, Bi-gang’s subsequent attacks were like facing a typhoon head-on.
Hwang Cheol-ho retreated repeatedly, vomiting blood, and the others were in no better condition.
Crash!
Screech!
“Ugh! What the hell!”
“You bastard! We have to form a defensive formation!”
Cheong Gil-yeong seemed to be trying to limit the path of the attack by gathering together and blocking it all at once, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
Moreover, if that happened, he would surely target the other exorcists and absorb their life energy, so it could never be considered a good strategy.
Boom!
“Aagh!”
“Aaagh!”
In the end, the exorcists who had been retreating from his relentless attacks were killed, and their life energy was transferred to Bi-gang, restoring him somewhat.
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙤!」
Making a quick decision, I risked danger and rushed forward, shouting.
“Verdi-nim!”
『Yes. My strength has recovered somewhat.』
Verdi, who understood my intention in an instant, used the collected natural energy to materialize her own spirit.
Then she immediately reached out and began to write a spell.
“To be sure, even I have rarely seen a yokai of this level. . . but. . .”
Strictly speaking, Bi-gang, who was standing before her, was not even close to her prime.
Even if it was only a fragment of that power, it would be enough to get him.
『What is this energy!』
Behind the bewildered Bi-gang, spider legs suddenly shot down from the sky and pinned his body to the ground.
Boom!
『Ugh!』
Bi-gang tried his best to dodge or block it, but in the end, he was completely immobilized for a moment.
Seizing the opportunity, the exorcists and elders began to attack him with their rituals.
Bang!
Boom!
Bang!
『Aaagh!』
His flesh was torn apart, and his energy scattered in all directions.
Bi-gang’s expression was now visibly filled with desperation.
『This can’t be. . . I haven’t even fully regained my strength yet!』
With eyes filled with madness, Bi-gang cut off his remaining legs and offered them as a sacrifice once more.
Then, losing all reason, he began to charge towards us.
『Kyaaaah!』
“We can’t let him.”
Seo Ji-an raised her tired face and turned her hand towards the sky.
At once, the blood of the victims, which had been gathered in a spherical shape behind her, surged into the sky.
It was quickly received by Arietta, who had predicted Bi-gang’s exact path of attack and was floating in the air.
“. . .It’s over.”
As she waved her hand, the gathered blood transformed into long needles and shot towards the ground like rain.
Of course, the target of this attack was the monster that had become Bi-gang.
Sswaeaeaeg!
Screech!
『Kyaaaah. . .!』
Bi-gang, who had taken the full force of the devastating attack, collapsed to the ground, uttering a single, final word.
And then, his body began to split apart completely.
Crack!
Crackle!
His body, which had lost its color and turned to dust, disappeared.
The moment when the great yokai Bi-gang, who had driven four elders to the brink and almost sent the punitive force to death, met his end.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“We’re almost done setting it up. Leave the rest to us and get some rest. You’ve all worked hard.”
At Baek Ji-bong’s one word, each of the exorcists in the punitive force slumped down in their seats with a look of exhaustion on their faces.
After defeating Bi-gang, we immediately set about retrieving the bodies of our comrades and laying the foundation for the barrier.
And that was almost complete, and the punitive force’s mission was truly over.
“Damn, I’m exhausted.”
“But we survived. We have to do our part for the others.”
“You worked hard too, old man.”
Groans could be heard from all around, and some of those who had lost close comrades shed tears.
There had certainly been a lot of casualties, but Bi-gang had been so strong that it was a miracle that there hadn’t been more.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤.」
To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding.
Because even a Bi-gang like this was just one of many great yokai trapped in the upper chamber.
“Whew.”
Perhaps sensing my expression, Arietta, who had been drinking water to quench her thirst, came over and asked.
“. . .Is this just the beginning?”
“Yes. He was strong enough, but in the end, we’ve only just begun.”
If my predictions were correct, one of the great yokai trapped in the upper chamber would be released at regular intervals from now on.
In other words, what we had to do was make the most of the time between those intervals and defeat them before they could fully recover their strength.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝.」
One thing that was fortunate was that the abilities of Yoo Ha-on and her party, who were also the main characters of the original story, had grown a lot.
Perhaps thanks to the grace period given by the Hell difficulty, they too seemed to have raised their level considerably.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣.」
In the battles to come, their genius would be more helpful than anything else.
In order not to fall behind them, I too had to constantly think and plan.
“It’s time. Get ready, everyone.”
At the direction of Elder Baek Ji-bong, the exorcists moved in unison and completed their preparations for the construction of the barrier.
And at the exact moment when the promised time arrived, a huge beam of light appeared in the sky above Seoul.
It was the moment when the Eight-Star Formation, the final barrier formation that would protect all of Korea, revealed itself.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
As soon as the construction of the barrier formation was complete, I immediately went into action.
There were only 10 days left until the next great yokai would appear.
There was no time to waste.
However, after 10 days had passed, I had to admit that I had been wrong.
「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣?」
The predicted 10 days had passed.
However, there was still no sign of another great yokai, and instead, only moderately strong yokai had begun to appear, as they had at the beginning of the third Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
The meaning of this was simple.
We had been given another grace period.
「𝙒𝙝𝙮?」
It was clearly a minimal consideration given to us so that we could build up our strength to face the great yokai we would encounter in the future.
Of course, it would be the first and last time, and such consideration would not be given twice.
At least, that’s what I thought.
However, what was unfolding before my eyes was also a fact. It was not something that I could simply ignore.
「. . .𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.」
There is a cause for every effect, and an action for every reaction.
Of course, the current situation must also have a meaning.
And the first possibility that came to mind was something I didn’t even want to imagine.
「𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝?」
My face, which had sensed the unpleasant change, darkened.
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𝐀𝐖𝐄𝐁𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘
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Translation-(COMPLETED) – I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥《⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐》!!
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