I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 160

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟎

Special-grade exorcist Shin No-eul had never faced an adversary as formidable as Myudusa in all her years of service.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.」

To be honest, she was terrified.

She had not shown it in front of her unit members, but Shin No-eul was intimidated by the sheer force of presence exuded by the creature she had just encountered.

And with good reason.

As the most prodigious exorcist among her unit members, Shin No-eul could sense the danger posed by Myudusa more deeply than anyone else.

Perhaps she would have fled if it weren’t for the gazes of her subordinates watching her back.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.」

The creature before her was a calamity. If she could not buy some time, at least for the time being, the surroundings would be reduced to rubble.

That was why Shin No-eul ultimately chose to fight.

And the current situation was the result of that decision.

「𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙞𝙩. . . . . . .」

Shin No-eul’s grand spell had undoubtedly been effective.

Shin No-eul had unleashed the most powerful attack she had ever mustered, an attack that she had never even imagined herself capable of, and Myudusa had taken a heavy blow without being able to dodge it.

However, that was not enough to finish it off.

Despite having received the full force of the grand spell, the creature was still standing.

That was the power of an S-rank yokai.

「. . . . . . .」

Shin No-eul’s Loan Thunderbolt had thoroughly aroused its vigilance, and the creature, now enraged, had abandoned all pretense and unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

Each blow was as deadly as a precision-guided missile.

She had done her best to block them, but that was her limit.

In the end, only three people were still in any condition to fight: Han Kang-yoon, Arietta, and herself.

Of those three, Shin No-eul herself was nearing her limit due to overexertion on the front lines.

“. . .Whew, whew.”

Myudusa’s eyes rolled back in its head and its tail thrashed about.

Unlike its simple emission of demonic energy earlier, its current attacks were imbued with the creature’s unique spellcraft, transforming them into deadly weapons that could not be blocked by ordinary defensive spells.

Screech!

Crackle!

Boom!

“Ugh!”

Shin No-eul had combined her own advanced defensive spell with the intermediate-level defensive spells of Han Kang-yoon and Arietta, but the creature’s attacks still found gaps in their defenses.

They had managed to hold out by the skin of their teeth, but the damage was steadily accumulating on their side.

「𝙈𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨. . . . . . . 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙮.」

Her heart had long since lost its rhythm and was pounding as if it would burst, and her grip was so weak that she could not even clench her fists.

Shin No-eul realized instinctively that this was the end of the line for her.

That was why she glanced briefly behind her, her vision clouded.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚. . . . . . . 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.」

Even Shin No-eul, who had experienced countless battles throughout her life, was struggling to hold out, yet these young people, who were barely adults, were somehow managing to follow close behind her.

They were truly extraordinary individuals.

Shin No-eul was not exaggerating when she said that Han Kang-yoon and Arietta would be the new generation that would lead the Korean exorcism community.

Their abilities were impressive, but it was their indomitable spirit that truly set them apart, even in a situation like this.

That was why she could not let them die here.

With newfound determination, Shin No-eul wiped the blood from her forehead and gave an order.

“I’ve done what I can. You guys go now.”

“. . . . . . .”

“I’ll buy you some time to escape.”

Shin No-eul was not going to survive this. In fact, it was a miracle that she had lasted this long.

「. . . . . . .𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜.」

Shin No-eul, a newly minted special-grade exorcist, was no match for a yokai of this caliber.

To defeat such a creature, one would need exorcists who were among the very best that even the Three Great Houses had to offer.

But that was okay.

After all, she had managed to save the lives of almost all of her unit members and had bought enough time for the civilians to evacuate.

Honestly, this was the best possible outcome she could have hoped for.

「𝙎𝙤 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨.」

Shin No-eul quietly drew a spell formation near her heart and summoned her spiritual power from deep within her body.

Some called it True Essence, the act of drawing out one’s last vestiges of life force.

「. . . . . . .𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪.」

Kwak Woong-gil, a three-year veteran of Red Unit and a steadfast pillar of support.

Shin No-eul took a step forward, her mind filled with the name of the man who had lost his life just moments before.

“Give my regards to the unit members.”

As Shin No-eul valiantly marched forward, her body riddled with wounds, someone stepped in front of her.

It was none other than Han Kang-yoon.

“What are you doing. . . . . . .?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that.”

Shin No-eul was taken aback by Han Kang-yoon’s actions.

But at the same time, she could not help but feel a greater sense of unease.

This was clearly a hopeless situation, yet Han Kang-yoon’s expression was eerily calm, as if he were accustomed to such circumstances.

“You. . . . . . .”

“If I let Team Leader go like this, the others will try to kill me. And that wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“Are you joking right now?”

Shin No-eul could not help but laugh out loud in disbelief.

There was a monster right in front of her that would not die no matter how many times she struck it, and yet this boy had the audacity to talk about fairness.

But his eyes were not the eyes of someone who had given up on everything, like Shin No-eul had.

「. . .𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄’𝙢 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜?」

As if to confirm Shin No-eul’s suspicions, Han Kang-yoon continued to speak softly.

“It’s the wavelength of the demonic energy it’s emitting.”

“. . .The wavelength of the demonic energy?”

When she listened again, focusing her senses, she did indeed notice something slightly unusual.

The wavelength of the demonic energy, which had initially been infinitely sharp and dense, was now fluctuating quite erratically.

「𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. . .」

It was a long shot, but when she thought about it calmly, it made sense.

“. . .It’s tired?”

The creature, which had seemed almost invincible, was finally showing signs of fatigue after a prolonged battle.

The realization filled her with a sudden surge of energy.

It was a living being, after all. It could get tired, and it could die if it reached its limits.

It was as if she were only just now grasping this obvious fact.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩. . . . . . .」

Even if that were the case, it did not fundamentally change anything.

Shin No-eul was in no condition to take advantage of such a hopeful observation.

“. . .As the unit leader, I am ashamed to admit this, but I have reached my limit. I can barely muster one or two more spells at most.”

Even now, her vision was blurring every few seconds, and her entire body felt like it was being squeezed, leaving her utterly exhausted.

Han Kang-yoon chuckled at Shin No-eul and said, “As you said earlier, Team Leader, you’ve done what you can. You can rest if you need to.”

“. . . . . . .”

“I’ll take care of the rest.”

Normally, she would have snapped at him and flatly refused.

After all, his words were nothing short of absurd, regardless of the circumstances.

But strangely enough, Shin No-eul did not feel as if Han Kang-yoon’s boast was a lie.

That was why she could not bring herself to argue. She could only purse her lips and swallow her unformed words.

Swish.

A hesitant hand reached out and brushed against the hem of Han Kang-yoon’s coat as he turned to leave.

And with that, Shin No-eul offered no further resistance.

The figure of Han Kang-yoon, standing tall against the backdrop of the monstrous creature, seemed even larger than the creature itself.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」

To be honest, I had expected much greater casualties.

After all, the original future had involved the annihilation of Red Unit and their mutual destruction with Myudusa, so the survival of everyone present was nothing short of a miracle.

However, thanks to their early containment of the chaos and fear, the unit members had performed beyond their abilities, and Shin No-eul had fought a truly flawless battle.

And so, the opportunity had finally come.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙.」

It may appear to be in good condition on the surface, but its remaining energy is probably only about 30 to 40 percent.

And by now, I had a good grasp of its spell and attack patterns.

If there was ever a time to make my move, it was now.

“Senior, are you okay?”

I asked Arietta briefly, and she nodded immediately.

“I’m tired, but I’m fine.”

Even as she said those words, her arms and legs were trembling slightly.

Arietta had also pushed herself to her limits.

However, unlike other humans, she still had the card known as True Noble Blood up her sleeve.

I rolled up my sleeve slightly and quickly approached Arietta, extending my finger toward her.

Whoosh.

“Blood of Pacification.”

Slurp.

Flick.

She licked the blood off my finger a few times, and her eyes turned red.

Her fangs protruded slightly, and the trembling that had been visible in her body moments before was gone.

“. . .Yeah. I can move.”

In that case, there was no problem.

I activated my Spirit Absorption trait and began to summon my shikigami one after another from the shadows.

“Come out, all of you.”

Swish.

Swish.

Roar!

Although their numbers had been greatly reduced due to my use of shikigami techniques earlier, my main force was still intact.

Drip.

Drip.

My nose began to bleed, likely due to the repeated replenishment of my spiritual power.

But it did not matter. I wiped it away with my sleeve and looked at Myudusa before me.

「𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 37%.」

If this were a game, that would be the number displayed as the creature’s HP.

And that was the victory condition that I had set for myself after all the battles I had fought against Myudusa up to this point.

I could defeat it now.

I cast aside the last of my hesitation and filled my being with conviction.

First, my opening move.

“Senior, White Yang.”

“. . . . . . .Okay. Got it.”

The twin shikigami, Black Yin and White Yang, could be temporarily fused together to summon a special shikigami.

It was Gwang-am, the same shikigami that had come to my aid in my battle with Shin Do-hoon.

Swish.

Roar!

『BOOM!』

A four-legged beast with a body covered in white and black flames and the appearance of a haetae.

With it on our side, Myudusa’s mental attacks would be rendered useless.

And second, the cursed doll that I had prepared specifically for this moment.

Swish.

During the battle earlier, I had collected the scales that had been shed from the creature’s body and woven them into this cursed doll using my own hair.

What would happen if I used it now?

“Curse of Resentment and Despair.”

Whoosh.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

The intermediate-level curse that I had cast on the straw doll resonated powerfully, flowing into both me and Myudusa.

“Ugh.”

“Hiss─!”

A searing pain and a sense of weakness coursed through my entire body, as if my life force were being drained away.

It was a self-sacrificial curse that could not be resisted without the proper knowledge.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩. . . . . . .」

While the damage I took would be reduced by my karma value, Myudusa would have to endure it all.

In its current state, after having fought a series of battles, that was not a trivial amount of damage for Myudusa to ignore.

“. . . . . . .Curse of Resentment and Despair.”

Whoosh.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

“Hiss─!”

And at the end of this mutual destruction technique, there was another self-sacrificial curse that I had used in my previous battle with Hektel.

It was a forbidden technique that converted the damage I had taken into a curse and reflected it back on my opponent.

“Mirror of Resentment.”

The deathly embrace that would slowly guide Myudusa to its demise was finally revealing itself.

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