𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓𝟒
“Hoo. . . . . . .”
The spell I used most when I first arrived in this world, Secret Curse of Fear.
Originally, it would be an attack that would only cause a stir to a female-level yokai, but after overcoming the ordeal of the Blue-White Soul Mirror and fighting against powerful enemies, I had significantly surpassed my previous level in a sense.
Even if it was the same spell, the spell I use now was powerful enough to affect even high-ranking yokai.
「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚.」
However, if a mid-level spell has that much power, its usability is endless.
In particular, it was a great improvement for me, who uses extremely precise distance maintenance and water combat as my main weapons, to have an excellent means of deterrence.
「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
Tiring!
【Gonha】
▶Level 70
I checked the information while Gonha paused for a moment, and I could see that she was indeed a very powerful yokai, just as I had thought.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙂𝙤𝙣𝙝𝙖. . . .𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧?」
One of the well-known yokai commonly called the Nine Children of the Dragons.
Since the production team of the Exorcism series always got ideas from various myths, it wasn’t that strange for the Nine Children of the Dragons to exist in this spell world.
“You’re on a completely different level from them. Then you must have guessed my intentions, so why did you come here so obediently?”
It seemed that Gonha recognized me as a formidable opponent, and instead of attacking rashly, she started a conversation first.
However, I had already made a certain conviction while looking at the appearance of this city.
This guy was a genuine outsider yokai.
Therefore, I couldn’t trust her at all, and since I couldn’t guess her intentions, I was in trouble if I got caught up in her tricks.
“I will exorcise you.”
“. . .It seems you don’t plan on having a conversation. You will soon regret your reckless behavior bitterly.”
Zzezezezeuk!
Poohwaak─!
As Gonha swung her arm, water suddenly erupted from the ground, creating a water spout.
Truly overwhelming power.
When I saw that, I gave up the idea of confronting her head-on and instead used the Evolution spell to extend my shadow and hid inside it using Shadowless Kick.
Swish.
Poohwaak!
『What do you plan to do?』
“First, I’ll finish what I have to do.”
I quickly got away from Gonha and went to the people, and immediately found the Taoist priests of Daehwa-rym and released the possession that had taken hold of them.
Hooong.
“Six-Character Bright Truth Mantra. . .”
“Huh, huh-eok! This place is. . . . . .”
As they regained their senses and grasped the situation, I glanced at Gonha who was rapidly approaching and immediately gave instructions.
“Find the merchants and protect them with the people in the streets.”
“W-We don’t have the confidence to deal with such a transcendental yokai.”
“Just gather them roughly and get out of the way.”
Jang Ri-gyeong had a look in his eyes that said he had a lot to say, but he realized that there was no place for him to intervene and hurriedly took action.
He certainly had incredibly quick instincts.
Kwaaaak!
“. . .You talk quite a lot!”
Gonha seemed somewhat displeased that I had easily dodged her attack, and she shouted at me with an annoyed expression as she swung her arm again.
Before she could get anyone else involved, I used Shadowless Kick again to get in front of her, and Gonha, who had suddenly flown up into the sky, opened her mouth.
“You’re being very annoying. If this is how it’s going to be, I’ll just eat your flesh and soul and take your place. It might even be better that way.”
With those words alone, I could roughly understand Gonha’s purpose.
She had kidnapped people this whole time, force-fed them, and taken as much of their life force as possible, and when they were about to die, she ate them and increased her strength.
『She’s been raising humans and fulfilling her selfish desires.』
To put it simply, this place was her human farm.
No matter what era it was, it was truly a wicked act.
“Don’t die and take my blow.”
Hooong!
Kwa-ga-ga-gak!
As another water column erupted, I grimaced and hid in the shadows with Shadowless Kick.
However, this time, she didn’t just watch.
“It seems to be a trick using darkness as a medium.”
Thud.
Kwaak!
As if she was going to tear up all the nearby land, I clicked my tongue and came out of the shadows and called Black Yin and Black Bird and flew up into the sky.
Gonha laughed at me and gave a uniquely seductive smile.
“Do you think of me as a fool? It was a unique spell, but now that I’ve seen this much, it’s familiar.”
“. . . . . .”
Gonha was certainly a formidable enemy.
She wasn’t just intelligent and wise, but she could understand the system of spells and clearly analyze their principles.
「𝙁𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮.」
That’s why neither Ggong-sam-yi’s flames nor Geusdae’s brute strength could be reliable weapons.
In many ways, she was an opponent that didn’t match up well with me.
“Why? Your expression is dark, unlike before.”
Along with the calm words, a water column rose up behind me and aimed at my back.
I used the Wall of Heaven to block it and at the same time replied to Gonha.
“I just needed some time to think.”
“What?”
“And I think I’ve found a rough answer.”
As the Gonha in the myth was said to have the power to control water, I had a plan in mind the moment I figured out her true identity.
I took something out of the Formless Box I had in my arms and held it in my right hand and raised it to the sky. It was the Yeouiju that the Azure Dragon had entrusted to me.
“T-That’s. . . . . .!”
Since Gonha was also a being based on the myth about the dragon, she was shocked as soon as she saw the Yeouiju and realized its true identity.
「𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚. . . . . . .」
Since I was planning on returning it soon anyway, it would be okay just this once.
“Don’t worry about bluffing. There’s no way a human can handle the power of a dragon. . . . . . .”
“Do you think so?”
Of course, like Gonha said, it’s very difficult to handle the Yeouiju with a human body.
In fact, even in the game, spells of that kind had a ridiculously difficult level of acquisition, and it was impossible to even try to use them unless you were at least level 60.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙.」
It wasn’t a spell specifically for the Azure Dragon, but as long as the Yeouiju was used as a medium, I could use it even in a case like this.
So then, all that remained was the question of whether I could properly control the power of the Yeouiju that was running wild, even if I had the spell.
However, I was confident that I could do it, since I had used natural system spells of water and wind many times and had advanced one step further through the Blue-White Soul Mirror.
“Heavenly Water Aspiration, Gale Force. . . . . .”
As I chanted the mantra and poured in spiritual power, the Yeouiju resonated with it and began to emit intense natural energy.
The purity of that energy was truly great, and it was not inferior to the power of nature that Gonha was wielding.
Hooong!
Pa-jijijik─!
As the total amount of power increased, the energy raged violently and tried to escape my control, but my current skill level was definitely at a higher level than that.
In the end, I succeeded in completely controlling the natural energy, and my field of vision seemed to expand, and a sense of omnipotence enveloped my body as if I had become a giant being.
“T-This can’t be. How can a human really. . . . . . .”
Gonha, who had been trying to pretend to be calm, seemed to be visibly shaken as if she hadn’t thought I would actually succeed.
And as if she felt a sense of crisis, she abandoned her previous composure and attacked me with all her might without holding back an inch.
“Even so, what can you do with a power you’re not familiar with? Just get swept away!”
Thud!
Kwaaaaaak!
Four water spouts that were incomparably larger than before.
Sharp blades of air were added to it, and they curved in a parabola and attacked me simultaneously.
However.
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Peureureung!
After a violent shockwave rang out, the water spouts scattered as if they had exploded and disappeared without a trace.
By invoking natural energy, I was also able to temporarily wield the same power as Gonha.
“What!”
I feel sorry for her, but it’s a spell that I’ve used hundreds or thousands of times in the game to the point of getting sick of it.
I just wasn’t used to the feeling of controlling and manipulating it in reality, but even that was starting to feel familiar.
“Is this what you showed me just now?”
Kwaaaaaak!
When I summoned exactly the same water spouts and shot them out, Gonha also gathered her strength again and responded.
The result was a draw.
Strictly speaking, I was slightly pushed back, but it was so minimal that it didn’t affect the outcome.
「. . .𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙞𝙟𝙪?」
She really was a great opponent.
I would have been able to fight this closely if I had just cleared the trials of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, not to mention after defeating the great yokai Bi-gang and improving my skills through numerous battles.
On the one hand, her defeat was almost certain at this point.
Because I still had a secret weapon left that was not inferior to the Yeouiju.
“Is this enough?”
“Yes. It seems like there’s some extra left after absorbing the energy of the Yeouiju.”
Verdi, who had suddenly appeared from the Sun-Moon Stone bracelet, raised her power with a calm smile and chanted a spell.
“If it’s that kind of opponent, this spell will work well.”
Glowing letters floated up around Verdi, and they flew quickly and attached themselves to Gonha’s body.
“Keuk! This is. . . . . . .!”
Even though she was already struggling with the tug-of-war between us, as the interference increased, the momentum of the water spouts that Gonha was summoning gradually weakened.
In the end, Gonha, who had lost the battle of attrition that had drawn out all her strength, was swept away by the water spouts and fell to the ground, coughing up blood from the shock.
“Keuheuk!”
Kwaaaaaang!
I waited on guard in case she had any secret weapons left, but it didn’t seem like it, judging from the fact that there was no reaction at all.
I soon went to the crash site with Verdi, and Gonha was seen gasping for breath in the irregularly formed crater.
“Haa, ha. Keuheuheu. This is ridiculous. To think I would meet such a meaningless end. . . . . . .”
Gonha still couldn’t believe that she had lost, and she spoke to me with a look of disbelief.
“Not only did you get your hands on the Yeouiju, but you have powers that I can’t see as belonging to an ordinary human. Keuk!”
She coughed up blood once more, as if she had been badly injured, and then she gave a bitter smile and left some mysterious words.
“However, let me give you a word of advice. Such great power will lead you to death instead. . . . . . .”
“What do you mean?”
“You have already become a target.”
Leaving only those words, Gonha stabbed herself in the chest with her own hand and fell into a complete eternal sleep.
The great yokai who had ruled over the non-existent city had finally met her end.
Leave a Reply