𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏𝟑
“You . . . . . . !”
As we were rushing towards the headquarters, we came face to face with Yoon Hae-cheol and Ban So-ye, who had joined forces with us.
It seemed like they had a tough fight, as their bodies were covered in wounds. Their expressions were also not good.
“They were strong. We were only able to buy some time fighting them.”
Behind Yoon Hae-cheol, who was clenching his fists in anger, Ban So-ye spoke with a slightly surprised expression.
“. . . We lost sight of a large man with his legs tied up. Did you not go that way?”
“We did, and we met Gayle. However, he left after Emeris, a member of Yahwak, was attacked.”
“What, you guys took down one of them?”
Yoon Hae-cheol also muttered in disbelief, but that was not important right now.
We exchanged glances and hurriedly headed towards the collapsed headquarters.
“This is . . . . . . .”
The situation was dire.
The area where the Exorcism Headquarters was located was unrecognizable, with all the surrounding buildings collapsed. The flames were already engulfing the area, making it impossible to recover any data or equipment.
“I’m sure the elder stopped the enemy . . . . . . .”
With things being like this, we could not guarantee Baek Woong-gyu’s safety.
Yoon Hae-cheol and Ban So-ye quickly began to search the area, their faces hardened.
And soon, they found him.
“. . . Elder.”
Baek Woong-gyu, with his arms torn off, had become a cold corpse, half-buried in the rubble.
The moment Yoon Hae-cheol witnessed it, a thick vein popped out on his neck.
“Those bastards. I’ll chase them down and kill them all.”
“. . . Hae-cheol. Don’t get excited.”
“How can I not get excited? This is not the place for him to die in vain.”
In the story, when Yoon Hae-cheol was a rookie exorcist, Baek Woong-gyu was the one who guided him.
It was clear that it would not be easy for him to accept the death of someone who was like a teacher to him.
However, there was something more important to prioritize right now.
“What about the people from the headquarters?”
They would have started evacuating before us, so they probably wouldn’t have been caught up in the building collapse.
The destruction of the headquarters was regrettable, but if we could secure them, it would be like achieving our goal to some extent.
So we had to find them quickly.
“. . . Let’s move for now.”
Fortunately, Yoon Hae-cheol seemed to have calmed down enough not to ignore the situation, and he quickly took the lead again.
As we made our way through the rubble and reached a spot a short distance away from the collapsed headquarters, we saw traces of battle and several corpses.
They were all exorcists from the headquarters, which was clearly not a good sign.
Yoon Hae-cheol clicked his tongue and quickly turned his head, as if he had sensed something, and looked beyond.
“. . . It seems they haven’t gone far yet.”
I had also felt a strong presence not too long ago, not far from where we were.
That was probably where Luke Pensallot and his comrades were.
As we hurried our steps, we found the three men gathered together, just as we had expected.
“. . . Is it you?”
Yoon Hae-cheol asked in an angry voice, and at the same time, he took a step forward and pulled out a talisman from his pocket.
From the looks of it, it seemed that the rest of the headquarters members had managed to escape safely, avoiding pursuit. That was truly fortunate.
「𝘼𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 . . . . . . .」
Even so, we had avoided the worst-case scenario.
It was safe to say that my quick decision-making a while ago had changed the outcome.
“I will bury you here and appease the elder’s soul.”
Yoon Hae-cheol, who had finally let out his pent-up emotions, was about to attack, but Ban So-ye stopped him.
“. . . Stop it. It’s reckless right now.”
“Are you serious?”
“Are you going to rush in and die? I’m sure the elder would be very happy.”
It was a somewhat harsh remark, but it was enough to bring the excited Yoon Hae-cheol back to his senses.
Yoon Hae-cheol, who had calmed down, stopped and observed the situation.
He also knew in his head that it was not the right thing to do.
「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
Seizing the opportunity, I checked Luke’s information with my sentiment function, in order to confirm something that had been bothering me.
And my ominous prediction was confirmed.
【Luke Pensallot】
▶Level 74
▶Ability Scores
【Stamina: A-】
【Spiritual Power : S-】
【Spellcraft: A】
【Mental Strength: A+】
▶Traits(10/10)
【Gladiator(S)】
【Ten Nights Flower(A+)】
【Extrasensory perception(A+)】
【Battle Instinct(A-)】
【Malice(A-)】
【Spirit Absorption(B+)】
【spiritual power Amplification(B)】
【Growth Acceleration(B)】
【Revived Person(B-)】
【Sensory Expansion(C+)】
「. . . 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
Level 74. Not only his ability scores, but all ten of his traits are filled.
In fact, it’s a nearly perfect spec for a human body.
Considering his relatively young age, he is an evil talent who might someday surpass level 80.
「𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙤𝙤, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.」
Now that I’ve confirmed the truth, I can understand why Baek Woong-gyu, a special-grade exorcist, died so easily.
If someone with these specs were to rampage without caring about the damage around them, it would have been almost impossible for him to stop them completely.
Luke, with his characteristically aloof gaze, began to scan our faces one by one.
And then he slowly opened his mouth.
“. . . There are many empty seats.”
Echinacea Lianqi and Gayle had completely withdrawn from this battle, and Emeris had lost her life to me.
The only ones left now were Luke himself, Drax, and Allan Kruger, the villain of the next arc, who was known as the Body Snatcher.
Luke continued speaking in a nonchalant tone, as if accepting the fact.
“After I decided to carry out the plan, a prophet told me. He said that I would meet a lifelong rival who would bring me to my end.”
“. . . . . . .”
“I’ve been to several countries, but I’ve had a bit of trouble here. It’s a big loss.”
The damage to our side was not insignificant, but the same goes for the other side.
By now, exorcists from various forces, including the Three Great Houses, would be gathering. They could not move any further.
In the end, it meant that it was a battle with no winners.
“One of you must be there. Someone who knew that we would come here.”
At those words, Ban So-ye and Yoon Hae-cheol glanced at me.
I was the one who had told them about it.
And it seemed that Luke had had the same thought at the same time.
“The terrible sin hidden within is now clearly visible.”
I had used forbidden techniques several times while fighting Emeris, and I had been stimulated by the battle in various ways.
Even so, the fact that he had noticed it right away could only be explained by the fact that he had extremely precise senses.
“I was convinced the moment I met you again here. You are my enemy. From this moment on, you have become a target of Luke Pensallot.”
As if he just wanted to leave those words, Luke quickly disappeared between the buildings with the other two.
Ban So-ye and Yoon Hae-cheol did not chase after them. To be exact, they couldn’t chase after them.
They must have instinctively realized that he was not their opponent, from the aura he had emitted a while ago.
「. . . 𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩.」
We were not able to protect the Exorcism Headquarters itself, but we did manage to save most of its members.
And in the process, we had definitely achieved something by repelling Emeris, a member of Yahwak.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨.」
I had never thought that we would be able to catch all of them in this one battle.
However, it was a whole other problem to have become so visible and become a target in this way.
Luke would now be after me in some way or another, and I would have to deal with that in an already complicated situation.
「𝙉𝙤, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮.」
He was an opponent that I would have to fight sooner or later anyway. Rather, I should be grateful that he created the opportunity for me.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩.」
I might not be able to even touch his toes right now, but things would be different if the right time and means were provided.
Luke would also have to regroup his forces for the time being, so our conditions could be considered roughly equal.
「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡.」
In any case, it is impossible to know what will happen before the situation arises.
For now, we also needed to sort things out and take some time to regroup.
And before that, there was something else that needed to be taken care of.
“. . . Oppa?”
“I’ll be back soon. Wait here.”
I glanced at the other side of the scene, where several people were starting to gather, and slowly walked away.
And there, a graceful woman in a traditional costume from somewhere was waiting for me.
“Well then, shall we talk about what we didn’t finish talking about?”
“. . . . . . .”
And so, the situation was once again facing a new change.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“You have made my position very difficult. Surely you don’t mean to say that you don’t know.”
Of course she would say that. As a result, she, Echinacea Lianqi, had betrayed Yahwak.
“There are no second chances with that man. If I meet him again, he will definitely try to kill me.”
“I apologize for that part. I was in a hurry at the time.”
“If it was something that could be passed over like that, I wouldn’t be worrying like this.”
Echinacea Lianqi was silent for a moment, then looked at me again and continued speaking.
“Luke Pensallot was one of the people who fit my purpose, or rather, I should say that he had the potential to. Originally, I should have stayed by his side and observed the situation a little longer without leaving.”
That had all changed because of my actions.
It must have been quite a headache, as I could even feel a slight hostility towards me from her.
“I don’t really trust prophets. They keep their mouths shut when it comes to things that are disadvantageous to them, and they try to lead every situation in their own way.”
“. . . . . . .”
“So, in order to give me a proper reward, you will have to tell me everything you saw, without missing a single thing.”
In the end, what she wanted was information. Information to achieve her goals.
But of course, I am not a prophet, and the fact that I saw her future is a lie.
However, there was one piece of information that held similar value that I could convey.
“I know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone who fits your purpose.”
At those words, Echinacea Lianqi’s eyes quietly focused on me.
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