𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟕𝟏
Assisted by the boss Hong Lin, I left Yoo Ha-on’s body outside in the care of Arietta and chased after her spirit into the mental space of Baekryeo.
Whoooosh.
“. . . . . .”
As expected, it’s quite a bizarre space. If one were to float naked in space, would it feel like this?
At the very least, it was a place completely different from the mortal world, and it felt like even a little magic wouldn’t be able to exert its power here.
「𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮.」
She can stroll around a space like this as if it were her own home.
I don’t know, but in this place, Baekryeo would probably boast of an unrivaled strength.
I heightened my tension and chased after Yoo Ha-on’s spirit using the incantation that Hong Lin had taught me.
「𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮.」
Hong Lin said that the time I had been given wouldn’t even amount to half a day.
In fact, my gut feeling wasn’t much different.
Six hours at most. If I couldn’t settle the score within that time, I don’t know, but I might meet an unfortunate end.
Whoooosh.
How far had I gone? Little by little, the surrounding scenery began changing.
And before long, I could feel it. The presence of a formidable yokai waiting for me on the other side of these streaks of light.
“. . .Are you Baekryeo ?”
“What if I am?”
“You have to return my colleague to me.”
I turned my gaze slightly and saw Yoo Ha-on, who had lost consciousness and was being held captive behind her, wearing a leisurely expression.
There were no major wounds visible on her body. If only I could get her out of here, she would definitely be able to return to her original body.
“You’re not funny when you say such obvious things.”
Baekryeo flicked her finger and summoned a luxurious chair, and as she sat down and crossed her legs, she asked me,
“I saw your memories. They were quite interesting.”
“. . .Is that even possible?”
“Normally, it wouldn’t be possible, but humans tend to wander around leaking their mental images without realizing it.”
I don’t really understand, but it seemed that she had indeed grasped information about us through some means.
“Of course, it’s not perfect. In fact, the plausible content is probably only about 10% of the total? Maybe even less.”
“. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”
“Anyway, that alone was enough to pique my interest.”
Baekryeo, who had let out a small laugh, soon pointed a finger at me.
“You’re special, even among your party members. You must be harboring some great secret. Am I wrong?”
“. . . . . .”
Honestly, I hadn’t thought that she would have guessed that much.
It seemed that the power of the yokai known as Baekryeo far exceeded my expectations.
However, from her reaction, I could confirm that she hadn’t properly figured out what I was hiding.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing much, just to join hands. I can definitely become a greater strength to you than your current colleagues.”
That’s when I finally understood what she was trying to say.
She wanted me to cooperate with her, who had taken over Yoo Ha-on’s body and would escape the world within the art of magic.
“I don’t know what kind of compensation you want, but if you do, I’ll help you achieve your goal. Isn’t that a good enough deal?”
Of course, it would be a great help if I could obtain the power of a great yokai like her.
However, it was something that wasn’t even worth considering from the beginning.
“I’ll have to decline.”
“. . .Why? You must have thought of your colleagues as nothing more than playthings.”
It was such an unexpected statement that it took me a while to understand its meaning.
And after a brief moment of contemplation, I soon realized why she had made such a judgment.
「𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚?」
If so, it would make sense that she would make such a proposal to me.
I chuckled inwardly, but then I hardened my expression as one possibility came to mind.
“Don’t tell me. . . . . .”
“Oh, of course I had some fun with that. I couldn’t fool her completely because she was such an upright child.”
As Baekryeo turned her head and nodded, Yoo Ha-on, who had been held captive, opened her eyes with a blank expression and approached Baekryeo to rest her head on her.
“As you can see, she has become completely mine, at least in this space. Is there any way to undo this?”
The situation is worse than I thought.
However, even so, Baekryeo still hasn’t been able to take over Yoo Ha-on’s body.
In the end, it meant that she hadn’t achieved her goal yet either.
“I don’t think there’s any need for further conversation.”
“So it ends up like this. Well, it’s a shame, but it doesn’t matter.”
She wove together the streaks of light floating in the mental space and shot them towards me, but they didn’t even come close to me before they scattered and disappeared.
It happened even though I hadn’t put up any particular defense.
“It still doesn’t work. You guys are really unreasonable beings.”
“If you release her obediently, I have no intention of fighting.”
“Aren’t you being too confident? I’m sorry, but I’ve also been through trial and error for several months.”
Baekryeo, who had changed her gaze, still gathered and compressed numerous streaks of light to create an ash-gray sphere.
“This will work. So, if you can, try to block it.”
The moment her incantation unfolded, another world expanded within the mental space and imprisoned me in place.
It really is an incredible level of magic. Even I, who had broken through Seo Cheon-ye’s Dream-Illusion Formation, felt my movements being restricted without mercy this time.
No matter how hard I tried, I could only move my limbs a little, and I couldn’t seem to exert my full strength.
“. . .To even resist that, you really are an unbelievable being.”
“How can you use such magic with your own strength. . . . . .”
The level of the incantation itself was amazing, but even so, it required an enormous amount of energy to perform such a large-scale incantation.
And yet, she had succeeded in doing it all by herself, so I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“It’s simple, because it’s not my own strength.”
“. . .I see. Are you borrowing the power of many people in this mental space?”
“You’re quick-witted. That’s right. Even if it’s just a tiny bit of power that’s too small to be seen, it’s a different story when it’s added up countless times.”
She really was an incredible great yokai.
If she hadn’t been a being within the world of magic and had instead become an enemy in reality, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it would have been.
Baekryeo, who approached me as my movements were restricted, raised her hand to her forehead and muttered with delight,
“If I can get my hands on your soul as well, I can definitely be reborn.”
“. . . . . .”
“Don’t be so resentful. If you think about it, it’s all your fault.”
Indeed, if she had such an ability, she must have felt great despair the moment she became aware of our existence.
I felt a little sympathy for that fact. However, that didn’t mean I could go easy on her.
“I knew you would come out this way.”
“What?”
“Soul Absorption.”
As the name suggests, it is a forbidden technique that literally devours the opponent’s soul.
It was an incantation that I had used when I first met Ggong-sam-yi and against certain enemies, and if the opponent had a stronger soul and mental power than oneself, one could end up losing everything and becoming a cripple.
“Are you out of your mind? You’re trying to compete with me in the same field in this mental space?”
“Is there something wrong with that?”
It must have been absurd from Baekryeo’s point of view. After all, she was a yokai who had reached the extreme in this field of magic.
“. . .Even if you are an outside being, do you think you can handle it?”
Whoooosh!
The tug-of-war between souls had already begun.
As she concentrated and inhaled, I felt my strength and soul being sucked into her in an instant.
Indeed, it is a truly formidable power.
I, too, was skilled in this type of forbidden technique, but I could recognize in an instant that I couldn’t compare to her, who had carved countless years into her body.
However, it didn’t matter. The power I possessed wasn’t limited to that.
“. . .Huh?”
My soul, which had been endlessly sucked into her, stopped moving at some point and began to resist, maintaining a balance.
At that sudden phenomenon, Baekryeo panicked and drew out even more strength. However, it was futile.
“H-How, the soul of a mere human. . . . . . . . . . . .”
The karma value that had exceeded its limit, and the fundamental difference between a being within the art of magic and an outside being.
Combined, even the greatest of great yokai couldn’t overcome the formidable power contained within my soul.
In contrast to her, who was exerting all her strength, I remained perfectly calm.
Upon confirming that, Baekryeo exclaimed in disbelief,
“This is ridiculous! It’s impossible for a human’s body and soul to do such a thing!”
“If you don’t return Yoo Ha-on to me, I will destroy your soul right here and now.”
As the situation became urgent, Baekryeo used various tricks to forcibly break the Soul Absorption technique.
However, it was obvious even from her appearance that she had suffered a great blow because she had fled from the contest that had her soul as collateral.
“Phew, phew. An insignificant human being. . . . . .!”
“I’ve seen it firsthand. You can never defeat me in this space.”
“. . .I hate to admit it, but it seems that way.”
Although Baekryeo had suffered a great blow to her pride, she didn’t lose her composure even in the midst of it all.
It really is a tenacity that one doesn’t see often.
As if my unease had come true, Baekryeo soon distanced herself from me and held the blank-eyed Yoo Ha-on in her arms.
Then, this time, Baekryeo’s astral body lost its strength and Yoo Ha-on’s body seized it.
Cornered, Baekryeo had hidden her body directly within Yoo Ha-on’s spirit.
“I didn’t think I’d end up doing something so unsightly. If you don’t back off right now, I’ll tear this child’s spirit into pieces.”
“Can you do that? It must be the only hope you have.”
She had explicitly stated that she had spent a considerable amount of time subduing Yoo Ha-on’s spirit.
That meant that it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to go through the process of taking over someone else’s spirit now.
“. . . . . .”
Baekryeo, who had been hit hard by my words, remained silent and glared at the void.
“So? What’s the problem? I have nothing left to lose anyway.”
Baekryeo, who returned the words I had just uttered to me, covered her head with both hands and gave me a final warning.
“I really will do it. If you don’t back off, do as you please.”
“. . . . . .”
If she came on this strong, there was definitely nothing I could do about it.
Just like that, as the tense situation continued, I felt a strange aura-filled streak of light trying to seep into my mind.
Of course, I could have blocked it, but I realized intuitively that it wouldn’t harm me.
Whoooosh!
Swish.
And as I accepted the streak of light into my mind, someone’s mental image soon began to flow into me.
It was none other than Yoo Ha-on’s, whose spirit had been taken over by Baekryeo.
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