I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 233

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑𝟑

「𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜.」

But now that I’ve completed the trial of Blue-White Soul Mirror, I could see the flow clearer than before.

It wasn’t hard to judge whether my karma value would be able to withstand the curse of Demon Desire Jar.

「𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡, 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩.」

I held up Demon Desire Jar as I deployed the strengthening ritual, and Jo Wang-rin could only watch with a face of confusion.

Briefly leaving the battlefield, Baek So-yul and I unfurled a special mat we had prepared in advance and placed Demon Desire Jar on it to prepare for the ritual.

Xiao Chen’s personal teleportation ritual was engraved on the mat, and I knew how to deploy it by heart.

“It’s an unfamiliar ritual, so it’ll take some time.”

“Yes. Leave the perimeter to me.”

Just in case, I sent Black Yin, Do-young, and Ggong-sam-yi out to watch over the perimeter.

And finally, the ritual targeting Demon Desire Jar began to operate.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨.」

Even though I’ve been taught the knowledge several times, it’s not easy to operate a ritual that was engraved in advance.

A ritual that’s several times more complex and intricate than normal.

It was hard to believe that someone had researched and created this system on their own.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬.」

I concentrated and retraced the structure of the ritual, and gradually completed it by pouring in my spiritual power.

When it was about halfway done, I started to feel a piercing hostility.

“. . .He’s coming.”

Baek So-yul looked tense, and that alone was enough for me to understand the meaning of those words.

Luke Pensallot, he was clearly targeting me even in the middle of this chaotic war.

「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠.」

It was natural.

Luke, who had become even stronger due to the influence of Hell Difficulty, wasn’t someone that even a highly skilled person could easily face.

But because I knew that clearly, I had also made thorough preparations to face him.

Soon, a strong surge of spiritual power poured down from the sky above Luke, who was approaching me and Baek So-yul.

“You damn bastard! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you again!”

Screech!

Roar!

Yoon Hae-cheol, who had lost someone like a master to Luke, appeared along with a strong attack ritual.

And behind Yoon Hae-cheol, a woman with a presence that wasn’t inferior to Luke’s revealed herself.

“Luke Pensallot, the head of Yahwak, you won’t leave this place alive.”

The promising special-grade exorcist from the headquarters and the greatest elder who had pacified the Cheong family.

If the Kruger family was the key to winning against the remaining enemies, these two were the trump cards prepared solely to kill Luke.

Looking at their backs, I finally finished operating all the rituals and completed the transfer of Demon Desire Jar.

By now, it must have been planted deep within the territory of the Four Sovereign Sect, welcoming the calamity that would come soon.

“As I promised, from now on, Baek So-yul, you can take the others and take care of the other side.”

“Yes. Please be careful.”

And now, it was my turn to properly welcome the guests.

I approached Luke, who had an unreadable expression, and fearlessly smiled slightly.

“I’ve been waiting.”

“. . .You had already predicted everything. Honestly, it’s surprising.”

“This is where you’ll be buried.”

The situation had reversed.

I, who had become the hunter, and Luke, who had become the target. The sharp gazes of both sides finally faced each other.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

「𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄’𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬.」

Luke, who had confirmed the faces of the two people that had newly appeared, stared at Han Kang-yoon with a look of surprise.

Surely, no one else had noticed the scheme of the Four Sovereign Sect, or the fact that he had helped them.

In fact, the Three Great Houses had also only focused on the Four Sovereign Sect that had rushed in as a diversion, and hadn’t grasped the truth hidden within.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬. . . . . . .」

At least Han Kang-yoon seemed to have predicted it. That was why he had been able to make such perfect preparations and lure him into a trap.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨.」

He had already shown his intention to target Han Kang-yoon, and he didn’t really plan to drag it out.

But even so, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the fact that he had seen through the timing and method so accurately.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.」

In other words, it meant that Han Kang-yoon had the information and knowledge to obtain it.

“I guess I can’t trust those Four Sovereign Sect bastards.”

But even in such a situation, Luke didn’t panic.

Thinking calmly even in the midst of a crisis and drawing out possibilities was Luke’s specialty and strength.

In some ways, it could be said that he had something in common with Han Kang-yoon.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨. . . . . . .」

Cheong So-ha of the Cheong family.

Luke knew about her as well.

She was the one who had killed his colleague Bi-hyeong, and she was one of the top five exorcists in Korea.

「. . . . . . .」

There weren’t many people in the world who could match Cheong So-ha.

She was the only person that Luke couldn’t guarantee an unconditional victory against in this place.

「𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」

How he would deal with her right now was secondary.

The most important thing when facing multiple opponents alone was to somehow reduce the number of enemies.

And to do that, he needed to aim for the weakest one.

Luke’s gaze, which had been directed at Han Kang-yoon for a moment, changed its target again a few seconds later.

「𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢.」

This time as well, but even in the previous incident, the element that had impressed Luke the most was Han Kang-yoon’s unexpectedness.

In fact, even Emeris had been defeated by Han Kang-yoon despite having the overwhelming advantage in strength.

Unless he accurately grasped what was contained within, it was extremely dangerous to make a hasty judgment about his opponent.

「𝙊𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙪𝙮. . . . . . .」

Surely, he was a colleague of Baek Woong-gyu, whom he had killed before. And he had heard about him directly from Drax, who had faced him.

To be honest, Yoon Hae-cheol wouldn’t be able to last more than a few minutes if he were to face Luke one-on-one.

「𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩.」

Luke’s actions were quick and concise after he decided on his target.

After shooting a ritual at the other two to keep them in check, he charged straight at Yoon Hae-cheol as if he were bouncing off something.

It seemed like a simple process, but when it was deployed by Luke, it was nothing short of a fearsome killing blow.

“Spectral Ghost Wolf.”

“Ugh!”

Swoosh!

Bi-hyeong’s signature technique, which was known for its speed, was borrowed and used by Luke, but Yoon Hae-cheol narrowly avoided it, seizing the timing.

It was something that would have been impossible according to Drax’s understanding of Yoon Hae-cheol’s abilities, which meant that Yoon Hae-cheol had also grown noticeably in the meantime.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙨.」

Luke also knew well what purpose Yoon Hae-cheol had come to face him with now.

So he didn’t let his guard down. Even that gap was within Luke’s expectations.

“Fireworks Root.”

Screech!

The talismans that Luke had scattered in advance stretched out like a clothesline, binding Yoon Hae-cheol.

It wasn’t a particularly complicated or high-level ritual. It was just fast and strong enough that it was hard to block while his posture was disrupted.

“. . .I won’t let you.”

Clang!

Boom!

Just as Han Kang-yoon had just shaken off Luke’s restriction, Cheong So-ha had already drawn her Blue-White Sword from a great distance and cut through Luke’s ritual, aiming precisely at it.

Yoon Hae-cheol, who had regained his freedom thanks to that, was already finished deploying his next ritual.

A series of attacks that were impossible to follow.

Yoon Hae-cheol shouted with an angry expression, filled with resentment.

“Damn it!”

Swoosh!

Boom!

It was a perfect direct hit.

Yoon Hae-cheol’s body flew powerlessly through the air, and soon collided with the cold floor, scattering blood.

It seemed like he had somehow activated a defensive ritual, but the blow was severe at a glance.

Cheong So-ha and Han Kang-yoon, who had sensed it, quickly closed the distance, and Luke raised his spiritual power again to finish off Yoon Hae-cheol before them.

“It’s too late for regrets.”

From concentrating on attacking Yoon Hae-cheol, who was blinded by anger, to adjusting the distance with the others in the meantime.

Luke’s battle was so calm and perfect.

But even Luke hadn’t realized it.

The fact that Yoon Hae-cheol was also making countless calm judgments and calculations in his head.

“. . .Cough! Yeah, it had to be this way.”

Yoon Hae-cheol knew.

If he had been able to kill Baek Woong-gyu so easily, Yoon Hae-cheol wouldn’t be able to be Luke’s match no matter how much he sharpened his skills.

That was why Yoon Hae-cheol had calmly accepted it.

He knew he couldn’t win against him, so he had to somehow turn his defeat into a cornerstone for victory.

“No matter how much of a monster you are, there’s no way you could perfectly look around your surroundings in a situation like this.”

After Baek Woong-gyu’s death, what Yoon Hae-cheol had worked hard to polish was a single ritual that could catch Luke off guard.

“Didn’t you feel something strange?”

“. . . . . . .”

Yoon Hae-cheol’s scattered blood was filling in the gaps of a hidden ritual formation, creating a ritual.

It wasn’t a ritual that was originally used in this way, but it was a secret technique of his master Baek Woong-gyu that he had modified in his own way and recreated.

A grand spell, Typhoon Hundred Car Wheel.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧.」

Luke quickly judged the situation, even though his expression showed surprise.

With his skills, he could hit Yoon Hae-cheol with his ritual first.

But the moment he read the desperate determination in his eyes, even Luke couldn’t help but hesitate.

“. . .Are you planning to complete the ritual even if you die?”

And, strangely enough, it seemed like he had been helpless, but he had built up a mantra in between Luke’s previous attacks.

If this happened, Luke would also be damaged.

It was a really bad judgment, considering that Han Kang-yoon and Cheong So-ha were still alive.

「. . .𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙮.」

He had already missed the perfect timing. He wouldn’t be able to avoid some damage even if he pulled out now.

Sizzle!

But his decision was quick.

Luke twisted his body without hesitation and got as far away from the range of the ritual as possible.

Boom!

Bang!

A huge shockwave swept through the surroundings, and the destroyed ground shot out like bullets, searching for targets everywhere.

When all of that had died down, Luke could only bite his tongue as he looked at his left arm, which was bleeding profusely.

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