𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑𝟖
Despite the unexpected nature of the object, it seems that the person who detected its aura is quite sensitive to curses.
Perhaps it’s a yokai with powers in that area, like the Elder Water Ghost.
「𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . .」
It won’t be easy.
At least that much was certain.
“W-What do you mean?”
“Are you saying that this place is going to be attacked?”
Naturally, the citizens of the shelter were terrified when they heard about the situation.
The general public’s perception of high-ranking yokai is that of a natural disaster.
It’s only natural to be scared when one of them specifically targets this place.
“L-Let me out!”
“Damn it! Can’t you hear me telling you to open the door? I’m leaving!”
“I’m going to the shelter next door, the one in the next town!”
Leader Ji Yeong-min watched the citizens, who were on the verge of a riot as if they were in a panic, and slammed the wall with a stern face.
Bang!
Bang!
Boom!
The citizens were startled by the loud noise and hesitated for a moment.
Ji Yeong-min ignored their reaction and continued to speak logically.
“Think back to when you all came here. Was it a good place? It’s the same everywhere outside right now. There’s no safe place.”
At his resolute words, the citizens gradually calmed down and slowly returned to their seats.
Ji Yeong-min made a promise to them.
“We’ll do everything we can to stop the yokai. So don’t act rashly and wait.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
In the end, the citizens didn’t say anything more, only sending Ji Yeong-min an earnest plea.
Ji Yeong-min, who had calmed the situation, immediately approached Joo Yong-taek and asked for his opinion.
“What do you think we should do?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to stay inside and defend? The shelter’s defenses have already been proven.”
Ji Yeong-min nodded, indicating that Joo Yong-taek’s opinion made sense.
However, I frowned, looking at the two of them in disbelief.
“What are you talking about?”
“W-Why?”
They looked like they really didn’t know the reason. Only then did I realize something obvious.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙎-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚.」
The people around me, including myself, are all important characters in the story and have extraordinary talents.
However, it’s only natural that not everyone in this world is like that.
Even if they had experienced the last Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, it’s likely that they had only faced up to A-rank at most.
“The shelter’s barrier won’t be enough to stop him. If you don’t want to get all the citizens killed, you have to draw his attention.”
“Are you saying that we should go outside and fight him directly?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
My answer darkened the expressions of the two men.
Going outside right now meant fighting the yokai that were swarming nearby and then fighting him.
In other words, it was no different from throwing away their lives.
“. . .Since you’re a sorcerer of your caliber, that must be the right answer.”
Ji Yeong-min took a step forward, making up his mind.
Joo Yong-taek also hesitated, but soon shouted to his colleagues with a determined face.
“Only those who are prepared to risk their lives should join us. Those with family, just stay put.”
He was a popular leader, as most of the people stood up, but Joo Yong-taek put his hand on the shoulders of a few of them and made them sit back down.
“Those who have responsibilities shouldn’t come.”
In this way, the members who would go outside were finally decided.
We opened the door of the shelter with anxiety and moved to a place a short distance away, and soon finished preparing to lure him in.
“But didn’t it lose its way when you broke that thing earlier?”
“The method is simple.”
Just throw a curse out there.
Your desired prey is here, so come quickly.
And finally, the curse I cast triggered a reaction from him.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“It’s not far. You’ll be able to see it with your own eyes soon.”
“. . . . . .”
Fortunately, the number of yokai roaming around this area had been greatly reduced because of his overwhelming aura.
It was a welcome development for us, as we could just focus on our target.
“Less than 1km to go.”
The air was heavy, and someone could be heard gulping.
It wasn’t unusual to be scared. Even if the boundary was ambiguous, he was clearly a yokai close to S-rank.
Soon, something with a huge form appeared between the tall buildings.
It looked like a combination of a toad and a lizard.
Its thick skin looked like it could withstand any attack, and the thorns on its constantly inflating back added to its intimidating presence.
“T-That’s. . .”
And finally, I was able to grasp his exact level through my emotional ability.
【Dotbaldoksoo】
▶Level 62
▶Ability Scores
【Stamina: A+】
【Yokai power: A-】
【Spellcraft: B+】
【Mental Strength: B】
▶Traits (7/10)
【Poison Eater (S-)】
【Grudge Capture (A+)】
【Cursed Hand (A-)】
【Intimidation (B-)】
【Power Enhancement (B-)】
【Strength Enhancement (C+)】
【Stamina Storage (C+)】
Judging by its level, traits, and ability scores, it’s at the level of an S-rank.
He was definitely not that strong of a yokai.
「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡. . .」
But that didn’t mean he was an easy opponent.
Even though I had defeated my previous shikigami in the space of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, they were just weakened illusions in the end.
Taking down a yokai of this caliber all by myself was a very risky undertaking.
“D-Damn it, eat this!”
Some exorcists let out a roar and cast spells at him, feeling his intimidating presence even though he was just standing there.
Screech!
Boom!
Zap!
Intermediate-level spells, and some advanced spells added to them.
But he just crouched down and took it all.
“N-No damage?”
“This level of spell isn’t enough! Prepare something stronger!”
But he wasn’t going to let that happen. From his bulging back, a powerful curse mixed with venom shot out and glared at the exorcists.
“Azure Sky Wall!”
“Dragon’s Breath!”
“Bayou World!”
The exorcists reacted quickly. They used defensive spells one after another, overlapping each other to maximize their power.
They had also become accustomed to dealing with high-ranking yokai during the last Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
However.
Crack!
Sizzle!
Zap!
“What the heck!”
Unfortunately, their opponent was far beyond their common sense.
The exorcists looked disappointed as they watched their spells shatter with just a light flick of his attack.
Joo Yong-taek and Ji Yeong-min, who were behind them, barely managed to block the attack, but many of them had lost their will to fight.
However, their attack was quite helpful to me.
「𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩.」
While his gaze was focused on the exorcists earlier, I deliberately cast a curse on his back, extending my shadow stealthily.
The result was a perfect hit.
However, despite the fact that I had completely caught him off guard, he didn’t take much damage.
Despite the fact that it was a fairly powerful curse due to my karma value.
「𝙃𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚.」
Ironically, that was indeed the case.
A perfect curse specialist who possesses a powerful curse and a high resistance to it.
Judging by the fact that he could easily block normal spells as well, it seemed that his basic defense was also very high.
「. . .𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚.」
There are two main ways to deal with such a monster.
Repeatedly attack with more physical attacks, or attack with something that has a high resistance to curses or forbidden magic.
Fortunately, I had both, but I decided to try a different approach altogether and opened my mouth quietly.
“I’ll take care of him. The exorcists of the shelter, please block the surrounding roads and prevent any yokai from approaching.”
“Are you sure?”
It may sound a bit harsh, but I had brought them for that purpose in the first place.
I had the power to defeat him all by myself now, and I was confident enough to do so.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩.」
Of course, caution was necessary. Unexpected things could always happen.
That’s why I had been watching the situation carefully without stepping forward until now.
But. I had already made up my mind.
I cast aside the last bit of doubt and slowly walked towards him.
He rolled his huge eyeballs around, searching for me.
I met his gaze and smiled, slowly raising my palm.
“Go ahead. I’m confident.”
As the aura of the curse began to gather in my palm, he also began to inflate his back, furious.
He didn’t have any doubts about himself.
I could clearly see in his eyes the desire to turn me into a handful of poison and swallow me whole.
His curse was completed, and so was mine at the same time.
『Groan!』
“Cleansing Death Fragrance.”
An advanced-level curse that erodes the opponent’s body and soul with the power of a strong curse. It was the spell that Hektel often used.
And its power was surprisingly even greater than Hektel’s at the time.
Swish!
Zap!
The two curses collided, and their aftereffects began to erode each other’s bodies.
I clenched my body tightly, and he simply stared at me without any sign of struggle.
However, as I said earlier, I had already made up my mind.
I am stronger than him.
Swish!
Crackle!
He suddenly opened his eyes wide in terror as his own curse began to be pushed back.
But it was too late to restore the broken balance of power.
In the end, he was hit by the huge vortex of power and was thrown backwards.
Boom!
『Groan!』
He got up right away, but his expression was blank.
It was only natural, as he had never thought that he would be overwhelmed by a curse.
And his body was quickly being eroded by the curse.
『Gulp.』
He had concentrated his nerves to shake off the curse as if he was vomiting, but there was a small, unmistakable tremor in his eyes.
And I slowly walked towards him again.
“Loneliness of clearing the mountains, death of the four worlds. . .”
As I uttered the incantation of Yahwak’s warlock Hektel, which I had never used before.
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