𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎𝟗
“It is no longer something that can be opposed by human power alone. If you wish to defeat it, you must find a way to exploit its weaknesses.”
Cheong-il’s expression was extremely rigid, and his demeanor exuded a palpable sense of urgency.
“Is it difficult even with Cheong-il-nim’s power?”
“Its nature is more dangerous than you can imagine. I can only hold it off for so long. If it starts to unleash its full power, I won’t be able to withstand it for much longer.”
The group, who had been emboldened by the arrival of powerful reinforcements, nodded in concentration at Cheong-il’s words.
If he was so resolute, it would be unwise to try to confront Polar Night head-on.
It would be better to try to find another way while holding it off.
「. . . 𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨.」
I had been thinking about that aspect as well.
That’s why I’ve come up with my own solution.
「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝.」
In order to make the most of this one chance, we need to draw Polar Night’s attention away from us even more than we have now.
We also need to find the last piece of the puzzle to understand its true nature.
Kwaaaang─!
As I watched Cheong-il and Polar Night, who had once again begun to exchange blows, I pondered the clues I had gathered so far.
「𝙏𝙤𝙮𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧.」
However, as we had previously discovered, Polar Night is not a living creature or a yokai.
It is a kind of magical principle born from someone’s wish.
There were several possibilities, but I was able to deduce one answer intuitively.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙤𝙮𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙚.」
If that’s the case, then it’s highly likely that Polar Night was born at that very moment.
In other words, the wish that Toyo harbored at the moment of her death is what drives Polar Night’s actions now.
I also recalled the last words that Hong Rim had left in the illusory world at that moment.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.」
I couldn’t guess her exact thoughts, but at least she wouldn’t have uttered nonsense in that situation.
In other words, that fact could be used to infer the purpose of Polar Night, however slightly.
「𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.」
I wouldn’t know the perfect answer unless I asked her directly, but I felt that I had uncovered most of it.
Now all my questions had been answered. Moreover, I was confident that the strategy I had in mind could be surprisingly effective against Polar Night.
The only question left was how to create an opening for her and get her to act.
「𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙞𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢.」
If there was an opportunity, it could only be now, while Cheong-il was holding his ground.
Since I had mentioned my last resort in advance, the others nodded in understanding when they realized my gaze.
Simultaneously, we all rushed into the space between Cheong-il and Polar Night, who were engaged in a fierce battle.
Whoosh!
“Nine Revolving Heavens Wave!”
Sophia’s spiritual power shone with an intense light, but as Polar Night waved her hand, a strange wind blew in and swallowed it up.
Since I knew that a one-shot attack wouldn’t be effective, Seo Ji-an followed up by summoning several violent winds, whirlwinds, and water spears, which she fired at Polar Night in succession.
Pshhh!
Clang!
Clang-clang-clang─!
To our chagrin, Polar Night dodged most of them with graceful movements without even exerting herself, and she easily neutralized Sophia’s second attack as well.
“Nightmare Avoidance!”
“. . . It’s no use.”
Thud!
Even Cheong Juhwa’s hard-fought original spell wasn’t a very threatening attack to Polar Night.
It seemed that her nature was fundamentally different from that of Darkness Eater.
However, the continuous barrage of attacks must have been somewhat annoying, because Polar Night eventually created a large fan and spun it once to form a massive wind barrier.
As we were helplessly caught in it, Arietta, who had rushed forward, narrowed her eyes sharply.
“I figured she’d pull out the big one.”
“This is. . . . . . .”
As if she had prepared for this moment after her previous attack had failed, Polar Night’s shadow suddenly rippled and twisted her fan.
Taking advantage of the weakened wind barrier, I, Yoo Ha-on, and Han Seo-ah, who were still in position, rushed into the barrier.
“Faithful Broken Shadow!”
The combination of the Anti-Demon trait and spell that had worked so many times in the past, but Yoo Ha-on didn’t stop there. She used the Blue-White Sword she had received from Cheong Juhwa to stab her opponent directly.
“Haa!”
Pshhh!
She couldn’t simply ignore a sword strike filled with Anti-Demon power. Polar Night, too, was forced to quickly adjust her position and distance herself from Yoo Ha-on.
And at that moment, the Blue-White Soul Mirror frame that I had thrown pierced through the Blue-White Sword, and a strong suction force enveloped the area.
Whoosh!
A very short time later, the place where we existed was no longer the real world.
Polar Night, who had entered the trial space of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, didn’t have time to grasp the situation before I quickly rushed towards her.
“. . . Do you really think you have a chance with something like this?”
Bang!
The spikes of curses that had sprung out from an unseen space pierced my body one after another, but they soon turned into several talismans and scattered brilliant light everywhere.
At that point, the distance between Polar Night and me was only about 3 meters, but Polar Night, who didn’t care about things like eyesight, immediately raised her hand. At that moment, a talisman that had flown to Polar Night’s feet formed a human figure.
“You were careless.”
Thud─!
Its true identity was Cheong-il, who had been turned into a talisman using Han Seo-ah’s perfected witch’s spell.
It was one of the light talismans that he had left behind when he dodged the attack with his spell earlier.
My original intention was to use the light to disrupt Polar Night’s concentration.
“. . . Ugh.”
Whether it was because she had allowed an unexpected blow, Polar Night showed her first opening in this battle.
And as Polar Night was knocked away by the impact of the spell, one part of the space turned into a beautiful peach blossom grove, and an innocent young girl appeared.
As the trial of the Blue-White Soul Mirror took place, part of Toyo’s memories that she possessed flowed out.
“. . . . . . .”
There was no intense reaction, but I was sure that this moment was the only chance I had.
Seizing the opportunity, I drew upon all the power of my evolved Shadow Assimilation trait and charged towards Polar Night, who had collapsed, with my entire body shrouded in shadow.
Swish!
Screech─!
A powerful resonance occurred instantaneously. I was also able to gradually come into contact with Polar Night’s true nature and find the single thread of wish that I had been aiming for within it.
「𝙉𝙤𝙬!」
I pulled it out with all my might and entered the circular opening that my shadow had created, along with the thread of wish in my hand.
Is this what it feels like to be in a dream or to sink into the deep sea?
I somehow managed to hold on to my fading consciousness, and I was finally able to see Polar Night and myself left in the darkness where not even an inch of light remained.
“. . . What did you just do?”
“Well, would you like to guess?”
It’s not difficult.
Through the ability of the Shadow Assimilation trait that I had discovered in my fights with the Great Yokai, I had temporarily separated the wish that was the origin of Polar Night’s existence from within her.
To be honest, I had never tested it before, but it was possible after all.
And now, Polar Night and I were in a space of shadow that had been divided by the power of the Shadow Assimilation trait.
Strictly speaking, her true body was outside, but I had only drawn her wish into this place.
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩.」
It allows me to launch an attack that is not affected by the opponent’s defenses, while simultaneously striking at their deepest level.
In fact, that, too, was probably just a derivative effect.
“I didn’t know something like this was possible. But what difference does it make?”
“Have you not noticed?”
Polar Night, who had been holding her hand back at my words, suddenly made a disbelieving expression, as if she had realized something.
“Why. . . . . . .”
“Your available power has been significantly reduced. Because this is, in a sense, a space that is cut off from the outside.”
In the illusory world before, Polar Night, who had realized our true identities, had shown no inclination to go outside.
At first, I thought it was because she didn’t want to encounter another Polar Night, as Hong Rim had said, but now I could see that there was a more fundamental reason.
“As a magical being born from someone’s wish, you must have some kind of clear purpose and rules.”
It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. It was a kind of principle.
And I guessed that the area where Polar Night could interfere was limited to one world.
“From what you’ve said, Toyo was a very kind being, despite her immense power. And the wish she instinctively thought of at her last moment is also predictable.”
I wish this world were clean.
Or perhaps I wish that all the negative thoughts that fill this world would disappear.
I don’t know for sure, but it probably wouldn’t be much different from that.
In other words, Polar Night can only act within the rules that are limited to such wishes. And from that perspective, the Polar Night of the illusory world was in a different space from her own world.
She wouldn’t have been able to exert her full power properly even if she had reached the outside world at that time.
“Am I wrong?”
“. . . . . . .”
And as a result of bringing out the characteristics of the evolved Shadow Assimilation power to the maximum, I was able to construct this world within the shadow as an area that was not in contact with the outside.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect, and it only weakened the opponent’s power, but it was definitely a much better situation than before.
“. . . I’m certainly surprised. To think that you could come up with a solution to this extent. And if my guess is correct, the moment the extracted wish that I am now is extinguished, the me outside will also lose its essence and collapse.”
But.
“Even so, it won’t take much power to deal with you alone.”
Whoosh!
In an instant, I was crushed by a powerful force, as if I were suffocating.
Certainly, as she said, even if I had prepared for the situation, it would be suicide to face her alone.
However, this was my shadow. The implications of that were very simple.
“Come out, all of you.”
Poof!
Poof-whoosh─!
As if they had been waiting for this moment, shikigami sprang up from all directions, each emitting a different kind of aura and staring at Polar Night.
And in my hand, which had brought about this situation, a strange yellow stone was now held, glowing with an unusual light.
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