I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 169

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟗

What the actual. . . . . . . . ?

Baek So-yul couldn’t hide her confusion even as her spell neared completion, and she continued to scrutinize Han Kang-yoon’s insides.

Well, that was only natural, wasn’t it?

Baek So-yul herself was a high-ranking exorcist whose abilities were practically on par with a special-grade, and even if Han Kang-yoon possessed abilities that transcended life, the difference between them was still stark.

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 1𝙨𝙩-𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.」

Furthermore, Baek So-yul had dabbled in a wide range of forbidden spells in the past, and she had developed enough tolerance to withstand them.

At this point, she was confident that she could defeat even a warlock of considerable skill using only the same forbidden spells.

「. . .𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜?」

Otherwise, she couldn’t possibly understand the situation.

But it didn’t matter. Those underhanded tactics wouldn’t work on her anyway.

She knew this well from her past experiences with the criminals she had apprehended.

The curse emanating from the Vessel of Amnesia couldn’t be endured by simply relying on one’s mental fortitude.

Even the strongest of the 1st-grade criminals she had encountered in the past had been unable to withstand it for more than 5 minutes, and had ended up surrendering their souls to Baek So-yul.

Therefore, the moment her spell was complete, Baek So-yul turned to Han Kang-yoon with a sly smile and said,

“You’re going to regret this.”

Baek So-yul herself wouldn’t have been able to hold out for so long if it weren’t for the special-grade spiritual tool, the Scarlet Jade String, which weakened the effects of the curse, and her unique constitution that made her less susceptible to pain.

So it was only a matter of time before Han Kang-yoon collapsed, after which she would be able to make him her servant without lifting a finger.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 5 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩.」

Baek So-yul made her prediction and braced herself for the curse that was about to descend upon her.

Paht.

Swoosh.

At first, she couldn’t feel any change.

But a moment later, a faint ringing filled her ears, and a spine-tingling sensation coursed through Baek So-yul’s body.

Ziiiiing.

「. . .𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜?」

The Vessel of Amnesia was a high-level forbidden spell that continuously inflicted a curse on its targets until one of them collapsed.

Naturally, its intensity increased over time, which meant that it wasn’t particularly potent at the beginning.

However, there was something strange about the Vessel of Amnesia that Han Kang-yoon had activated.

To put it bluntly, the intensity of the curse was far greater than anything Baek So-yul remembered.

That could only mean one thing.

When it came to handling forbidden spells, Han Kang-yoon was on a higher level than Baek So-yul.

“. . .I’m starting to get curious about Kang-yoon’s true identity.”

Not only did he seem to have a lot of knowledge about this type of spellcraft, but he also seemed to be hiding a lot of other things.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

After all, she would be able to ask him anything she wanted once a little more time had passed.

As it happened, the binding spell that Han Kang-yoon had cast on her earlier had just been broken.

Baek So-yul casually scattered the spiritual power that had been binding her body and turned to Han Kang-yoon with a relaxed expression.

“As I thought, Kang-yoon, you’ll be quite useful in many ways.”

However, as the 5 minutes passed, Baek So-yul couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong.

Ziiiiing.

「. . .𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣?」

As the ringing and the curse returned, Baek So-yul looked at Han Kang-yoon in surprise, unable to keep the sweat from beading on her forehead.

The 4 minutes she had anticipated had already passed.

The intensity of the curse had tripled compared to before. It was no longer something she could withstand with just her mental fortitude.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙮. . . . . . .」

And yet, Han Kang-yoon was enduring it. No, it even seemed like he was more relaxed than Baek So-yul, who was using the power of a spiritual tool.

「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

In fact, Baek So-yul herself was starting to feel a splitting headache, and she was no longer able to endure it.

If she continued like this, there would definitely come a point when even the power of the Scarlet Jade String wouldn’t be enough to withstand it.

「. . .𝙉𝙤, 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣.」

Once a spell had been activated, there was no turning back.

Baek So-yul calmly suppressed her panic and steeled her mind.

5 more minutes passed like that.

Ziiiiing!

“. . .Ugh.”

Along with the ringing, the curse grew even stronger, and Baek So-yul grimaced, her vision blurring.

Over 10 minutes had passed since the spell had been activated.

As a result, the curse had become more than 5 times stronger than it had been at the beginning.

To be sure, this was already beyond the realm of normal.

Even the Scarlet Jade String, which was capable of blocking curses that were on par with grand spells, was reaching its limits.

In fact, Baek So-yul’s mental strength had also been completely depleted.

In that situation, Han Kang-yoon tapped his head and spoke in a relaxed tone.

“10 minutes have passed.”

“. . . . . . .”

“If you’re going to give up, now would be a good time. The spell is probably going to go berserk from here on out.”

Before she could even ask what he meant, a sudden, intense ringing assaulted Baek So-yul’s head.

Paht.

Zzzhhooooong─!

Staggering from the overwhelming shock, Baek So-yul was forced to acknowledge the one possibility she had desperately tried to avoid.

「𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢. . . . . . ?」

She couldn’t win this confrontation with Han Kang-yoon.

It made no sense, but Baek So-yul could no longer deny it.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜?」

I barely managed to suppress the rising nausea and stared at Baek So-yul in front of me, my brow furrowed.

It had seemed like a long time at first, but now that I was watching her, it was clear.

Baek So-yul must have been using some kind of method to reduce the effects of the curse.

「. . .𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡-𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙣?」

I had expected her to try something like that, since she had tried to use the same method on her elder, Baek Man-seok, who was a special-grade exorcist, so I had anticipated that she would have some kind of trick prepared.

Even so, she had held out far better than I had expected, and the spell was now on the verge of going berserk.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

As I had mentioned before, the curse of the Vessel of Amnesia borrowed the strength of its targets to continuously increase its power.

However, since its source was an advanced spell, there was a fundamental limit to how powerful the spell itself could become.

That limit was 10 minutes.

If neither of the two targets surrendered their souls by then, the spell would lose control and go berserk.

Of course, its power would be incomparable to anything it had done so far.

“Ugh, damn. What the hell is. . . . . . .”

Unlike her relaxed demeanor from before, Baek So-yul was now showing clear signs of panic.

I was barely holding on thanks to the adjustment to my karma value, but by now, Baek So-yul must have felt as if her soul was being squeezed by the hands of a giant.

Ziiiiing!

Zzzhhooooong─!

The ringing sounded again, and with it, the power of the forbidden spell increased by another level.

As it repeated, Baek So-yul’s expression grew paler and paler, and she began to look like someone who was about to die.

It was clear to anyone that she was nearing her limit.

“Submit your soul.”

“. . .Ugh, gasp.”

“As you know, there is only one way to break this spell.”

There was no other choice.

Baek So-yul was left with only two options.

“Either become a cripple forever, or become my loyal servant.”

Baek So-yul’s face, which had remained composed until now, gradually hardened. She knew that there was no other way.

Swoosh.

The strength finally began to drain from Baek So-yul’s eyes, which had been desperately trying to maintain their focus.

Seeing this, I slowly approached her and uttered my final words.

“You have lost.”

At the same time, Baek So-yul lost control of her body and collapsed onto the bed.

The curse that had been tormenting her body and mind quickly dissipated, and then I felt Baek So-yul’s soul come under my complete control.

「. . .𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?」

It was similar to the feeling I had when I had forcibly enslaved the Elder Water Ghost based on its enormous karma value.

In that case, Baek So-yul must have also glimpsed the extraordinary karma that was etched into me, just like the Elder Water Ghost had.

My guess must have been correct, because when Baek So-yul woke up a short while later, she couldn’t control her body properly, and she began to stare at me as if she had seen something indescribable.

“Who are you. . . . . . .”

Baek So-yul seemed to be quite knowledgeable about forbidden spells, so she must have realized to some extent what my karma value meant.

In fact, her eyes were already filled with intense interest and awe.

After a moment, she let out a heartfelt sigh and admitted her defeat.

“. . .Haah, it was never a fair fight to begin with.”

“Didn’t I tell you? You wouldn’t get another chance.”

“Who would have known? I never expected you to be such a monster.”

Baek So-yul muttered softly, her voice uncharacteristically subdued.

“. . .This is it, then. I never would have guessed it would end like this.”

As far as I knew, she had a whole mountain of things she had planned to do in the future.

It must have been frustrating to see it all go up in smoke in an instant.

Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel the enormous ambition and aspirations that had filled Baek So-yul gradually fading away.

However, something else quickly began to fill the void.

In a word, it was pure desire.

“. . .Still, it’s not so bad.”

“. . . . . . .”

“Following Kang-yoon around might be quite refreshing.”

Baek So-yul fixed her gaze on me with a dazed expression.

Her reaction was, well, very Baek So-yul-like.

As many users had analyzed, her behavior was unpredictable, especially when the difficulty level was raised.

At its core, she was a pure hedonist.

「𝙄 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . . . . . .」

She was giving up more quickly than I had thought.

The way she was able to let go of everything she had built up until now was definitely not something an ordinary person could do.

Baek So-yul carefully observed my reaction and then asked in a somewhat conciliatory tone.

“After all this, you’re not going to order me to kill myself or turn myself in, are you?”

“I have no intention of doing so. Unfortunately, I’m also short-handed.”

“. . .That’s interesting. I like it.”

To be honest, I hadn’t expected things to turn out this way when I had set out with Yoo Ha-on and the others, but I had achieved unexpected results.

The 2nd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons was now just around the corner.

There, Baek So-yul would be a useful pawn in many ways.

I quickly gave Baek So-yul a few behavioral commands and then left her room and returned to my assigned quarters.

With that, all of my business at Baekrimjeong was concluded.

Now, all that remained was to return to the academy and make my final preparations.

「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨.」

The fourth chapter of the main story of the 1st installment of exorcism, commonly known as the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons

The moment had finally come to face that enormous wave.

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