I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 301

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎𝟏

“. . .Amazing.”

We arrived near the lake, but the downpour and whirlwinds were completely blocking our view.

In front of a barrier that seemed to cut off access from the outside, Seo Ji-an began to gather nearby nature spirits.

“Considerable control. It might be possible to obstruct him, but my attacks probably won’t be very effective.”

“That’s enough.”

Seo Ji-an, who had managed to control the water and wind nature spirits with great difficulty, used them to unravel the whirlwinds and create a straight path forward.

We rushed inside and were able to meet the exorcists who were fighting near the lake while huddled together.

“. . .Who are you?”

“We came to assist. How is the situation?”

“Not good. He’s hiding at the bottom of the lake and holding out, and most of our attacks are ineffective. Sigh.”

There were high-ranking exorcists from the Hwang family and elders we had met at the Hwang estate, and there were also familiar faces like Hwang Ji-hak, Jung Han-sol, and Shin So-ra.

“. . .Long time no see. But unfortunately, this isn’t a situation where we can exchange greetings.”

“I’m going to die! Stop talking and help!”

It had been a while since we had seen each other, but somehow it felt familiar. However, it was easy to see that even they had grown several levels after experiencing the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

“Where is Cheong So-ha?”

“She’s in the middle of the lake. She’s restraining him somewhat effectively with the special-grade exorcists from headquarters.”

In the end, it meant that we had to head to the middle of the lake as well.

Lake Cheongpung was a huge lake with an area of 67km, so we couldn’t see the situation in the middle from here.

“We’ll head to the middle. Is that okay?”

“. . .Is there a way to counter his power? It’s hard enough to hold out on the outskirts.”

“Yes. It should be possible.”

After finishing speaking, I started to run towards the middle of the lake, and Seo Ji-an supported our movements with her nature system spells.

“. . .Like I said before, don’t rely on it too much. My spells are shaky against yokai of that level.”

“I understand. Let’s do our best to move individually as much as possible.”

I borrowed the help of the Black Yin and Black Birds to fly into the sky, and Sophia scattered paper cranes she had taken out of her bosom into the air while chanting an incantation.

Crash!

“Ugh, my uncle told me not to ruin it. . . . . .No choice.”

It seemed like a borrowed treasure from her family, but Sophia floated in the air with the help of the countless paper cranes while making a sad face about her predetermined future.

After breaking through the middle of the lake with great difficulty, we were soon able to find the three exorcists fighting in the middle of the lake.

「𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙤-𝙝𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙤-𝙮𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. . . . . .𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙚 𝙂𝙖-𝙧𝙖𝙢?」

All three were familiar faces, so it wasn’t hard to recognize them.

However, there was something else that caught our attention.

“It’s like a quicksand pit. . . . . . .”

The circular whirlpool rotating in the middle of the lake, it was obvious what was waiting beneath it even without looking.

In addition, since it was a large lake with an average depth of 97m, it wasn’t easy to approach his main body.

「. . .𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」

However, it wasn’t like we had time to spare.

If we continued to leave him alone like this, he would gradually summon the surrounding nature spirits from the bottom of the lake and cause a huge flood in Korea.

With the entire country already in turmoil, it was easy to predict what would happen if something like that were to occur.

“Are you okay?”

“. . .Who are you?”

All three of them were riding on the back of a giant bird that Ban So-ye had summoned, and they turned to approach us as soon as they recognized us.

“Long time no see. You’ve come back after experiencing something special, so your atmosphere has changed a lot.”

Hae Ga-ram, who greeted us warmly, soon pointed to the whirlpool in the middle of the lake with his fingertip.

“So, do you have a way to draw him out. . . . . .?”

“Is he still in that state?”

“Yes. Thanks to that, we’re just having a meaningless war of attrition.”

If it’s these three, they could pose some threat to Yong-yeonshin.

Knowing that, he cleverly refused to give up his advantage.

“There are two ways. Respond to his invitation or provoke him.”

“. . .Is that possible? Which do you recommend?”

“The first has a high risk, and the latter is very energy-consuming. Even if we manage to draw him out, the opportunity will only last for a moment.”

There’s no easy way either way.

As we were preparing ourselves once more, Seo Ji-an, who had been deeply lost in thought, offered a suggestion.

“. . .I’ll try to draw him out. It shouldn’t be too difficult if I do it right.”

Since that was much more ideal if possible, I nodded and accepted Seo Ji-an’s suggestion.

Then, Seo Ji-an grabbed Sophia’s hand, who was next to her, and approached the lake to start concentrating.

“Continue to cast grand spells in the direction I tell you. I’ll open the path.”

“Hmm. . . . . .Okay. I’ll try it once.”

Whoooosh.

Soon, Sophia began to chant an incantation while summoning her spiritual power, and soon she unfolded the grand spell, Nine Revolving Heavens Wave, that had been passed down through her family.

And exactly the moment the spell unfolded, Seo Ji-an, who had been concentrating, opened her eyes wide and gestured towards the whirlpool in the lake.

Then, something amazing happened.

Boom!

Screech────!

A circular gap appeared between the whirlpools as if a hole had been drilled, and Sophia’s grand spell, which dug through the gap, pierced the bottom of the sea while creating a flash.

Groooooooo────!

A cry that seemed full of pain or resentment.

Along with that, intense vibrations spread through the air, and the downpour and whirlwinds that had been tormenting us grew even stronger.

The attack from a moment ago had accurately hit Yong-yeonshin and enraged him.

“Don’t stop. We have to keep pushing.”

“Ah. Ugh.”

Sophia chanted an incantation again while summoning her spiritual power, and Seo Ji-an began to assist her by repeating the same process as before.

And only then did I realize exactly what Seo Ji-an was aiming for.

「. . .𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮?」

By cooperating to launch attacks that pierced through the bottom of the lake, the two of them were declaring that the area was no longer a space that was only advantageous to Yong-yeonshin.

In fact, no matter how strong Yong-yeonshin was, he couldn’t effectively attack us from the bottom of the lake by himself.

So, wasn’t he just acting out by causing downpours and whirlwinds like he was doing now?

And if this were to be repeated, he would definitely. . . . . . .

“He’s moved. He’ll show himself soon.”

“He’s coming. Everyone, get ready!”

Boom.

Screeeeeeee────!

In an instant, the surface of the lake split open like a bomb had exploded, and a huge form shot up from the gap.

A dragon’s head and tail, but its body resembled a sea monster, and its arms and legs, covered in scales, seemed to move as freely as a human’s.

The mysterious yet uniquely intimidating monster soon landed and floated above the surface of the water on all fours, carefully taking in the faces of those who had attacked him.

“. . .He’s smaller than I thought. I imagined him to be a bit bigger.”

“Don’t let your guard down. The energy I feel is on a different level from other yokai.”

Ban So-ye, who had been muttering with a blank expression, took a deep breath and shook her head at Cheong So-ha’s words.

In any case, now that he had shown himself, what we had to do from now on was clear.

Thud.

Rustle.

Hae Ga-ram, who had taken off the demon mask he had been wearing, dropped it over the lake and began to chant an incantation.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go after meeting you once.”

Whoooosh!

A high-level barrier immediately enveloped the surroundings using the mask as a medium. After watching it, I realized that the level of the barrier was different from usual, and I noticed something.

“Surely, that mask just now. . . . . . .”

“Ah, it’s the real thing. The one that was maintaining the great barrier formation of Yangcheolgung.”

“Is that okay?”

Well, if a crisis like this were to hit the entire country, it would be a reasonable decision.

I realized Hae Ga-ram’s determination to fight this battle and felt reassured at the same time.

“At least this should hold him for a while. We have to finish him off during that time.”

“. . .Yes. Understood.”

With this, Yong-yeonshin’s escape route was cut off, and a situation was created where we could fight him head-on.

Unlike before, when he had monopolized the advantage, our positions had been reversed to some extent.

“. . .Hmm. Okay. So, do we just attack recklessly now?”

Sophia was the first to move.

She must have used up a lot of energy from unfolding grand spells several times since earlier, but without showing any signs of exhaustion, she fired powerful spells at Yong-yeonshin once more.

Following her lead, Cheong So-ha and Ban So-ye also rode on giant flying shikigami and charged straight at him.

“Since he’s small, he’ll be agile. It’s dangerous to get too close.”

“I’ll approach, so please support me from nearby.”

Although Ban So-ye expressed her concern, Cheong So-ha charged straight at Yong-yeonshin without any hesitation and swung the talisman-wrapped sword.

To be honest, I thought she wouldn’t be much help without the Blue-White Sword, but it seemed I had been completely wrong.

Swish!

Screech────!

Cheong So-ha, who swung the sword vertically once, soon turned it horizontally and sent the talismans attached to the sword flying towards Yong-yeonshin.

Crash!

“Seal of the Heavenly Lords!”

The talismans each emitted light and covered Yong-yeonshin’s body, hindering his movements, and Ban So-ye’s powerful curse struck his entire body during that gap.

“He’ll counterattack!”

“Don’t worry.”

Whizz!

Boom!

After exchanging attacks once, Cheong So-ha quickly returned to Ban So-ye’s side, and Yong-yeonshin was finally able to shake off the talismans covering his body and free himself from his restraints.

Although it was clear that they had landed a considerable amount of attacks, the expressions of the group weren’t good.

“Did it. . . . . .hit?”

“Well.”

As I had expected from my knowledge and sensing him, this was the problem when fighting him.

His monstrous defense and endurance.

Unless we could penetrate that, we would never be able to achieve victory over him.

Rustle.

I stared at his gaze, which seemed to be mocking us from the surface of the water once more, and quietly signaled to Shadow.

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