𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟖

ᴀ𝕨𝙚𝙗𝙨𝔱𝘰ṙ̇i̇̇𝕖𝕤.𝐜𝘰𝘮

Thud.

Thud.

Crash!

“. . .It’s starting to show up.”

As we got closer to our destination, I stopped Sori-soe and sent him back into my shadow.

It’s better to move directly from here on. We might catch the enemy’s attention if we do something noticeable.

Sori-soe grumbled in a dissatisfied voice and followed the order.

『. . .My back is killing me, don’t ever call me for something like this again. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not a mount.』

Slither.

Perhaps because the distance is getting shorter, the ominous aura is definitely getting stronger.

Everyone will somehow handle it, but I gave them a heads up just in case.

“Use the purification ritual periodically. You might get swept away by all sorts of negative urges if you get eroded.”

“Yes. Got it.”

A place where black fog lingers on the ground, taking root.

As we approached the center of the ritual, we could hear quite a commotion, as if someone was fighting.

Boom!

Caw!

「𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙙?」

It must have been a while since the exorcists arrived here, but I can’t believe they’re still fighting.

I couldn’t understand how Yoo Hye-yeon made it possible.

As we carefully approached the epicenter of the noise, I started to feel an ominous yet familiar sensation for some reason.

「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙖?」

The feeling of a giant snake squeezing its scales, and at the same time, the afterimage of evil climbing up my body.

Yoo Ha-on’s group must have felt it too, as they walked with a more tense look than before.

Bang!

Crash!

Rip!

We soon arrived at the epicenter of the curse.

There, several people were fighting over the voodoo seed.

“I’ll cast a barrier! Everyone, fall back for now!”

“Only those confident in the purification ritual come forward!”

“Attack the moment the vanguard creates an opening!”

The exorcists looked quite desperate. Among them, I could see the tired faces of the teachers.

“How unfortunate.”

Yoo Hye-yeon scoffed at the teachers, mocking them.

“Is this all you get after abandoning your family for a position? It’s still lacking. Compared to the humiliation we’ve been through, this is nothing more than child’s play.”

“. . .You don’t have to complain, we’ll settle this soon.”

Several people, including the vice-dean Yoo Hye-jin, joined forces, but Yoo Hye-yeon’s power, who held the voodoo seed in her arms, seemed to be on par with them.

However, there was another opponent that the exorcists were struggling with even more.

It was the man who was helping Yoo Hye-yeon next to her.

“Nosal! Are you okay?”

“I can still hold on. Why is such a monster here. . . . . . .”

“All the injured have retreated. However, they’re not in good condition as they’ve already been eroded by the curse.”

A powerful being with his entire face covered in bandages, smiling pleasantly as he constantly chased the exorcists.

That’s right.

The mysterious collaborator who saved Yoo Hye-yeon as she was being transferred to Yangcheolgung was none other than the warlock Hektel.

「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜. . . . . . .」

I never imagined he would join hands with Yoo Hye-yeon.

If he was guarding the voodoo seed, it made sense why the high-ranking exorcists in charge of the festival’s safety couldn’t use their strength.

「𝙀𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙭 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙃𝙚𝙠𝙩𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.」

To me, he’s just a compatible enemy, but ordinary exorcists would have a hard time penetrating Hektel’s curse and directly attacking him.

Yoo Ha-on’s group made faces of disbelief as they watched Hektel overwhelm the high-ranking exorcists single-handedly.

“What’s going on? He’s a total monster.”

“Is he, by any chance. . . . . . .”

A being fundamentally similar to Bi-hyeong, the mastermind of the Yeongwol Island incident.

Yoo Ha-on’s group, who had actually faced Bi-hyeong there, seemed to realize it in an instant.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚.」

If Hektel is guarding the voodoo seed in addition to Yoo Hye-yeon, it won’t be easy to break through.

Even if a special-grade exorcist capable of dealing with Hektel is called in from outside for support, it will take considerable time to break through the barrier created by the voodoo seed and enter the academy.

In that case, there was only one way.

I approached the nervous Yoo Ha-on and prompted the activation of the blue lighthouse trait.

“That’s the center of the ritual. Do you sense anything?”

“. . .I can’t be sure, but I think I might know a way to break the ritual.”

That’s enough. Thinking about what happened in the original story, Yoo Ha-on will probably be able to find a way to remove the voodoo seed.

“You guys wait here. And if you get a chance, don’t hesitate to help the teachers.”

“Then, what about Oppa?”

“I need to separate those two. I’ll lure one of them to a different location.”

Baek Eun-seo was shocked at my words.

“Are you crazy! Luring that monster? It’ll take more than two lives.”

“I have a way. I’m not planning on doing anything particularly dangerous, so don’t worry.”

There was no time to argue anyway. I firmly shook off Yoo Ha-on’s group’s dissuasion and started to get up from my seat.

“Ggong-sam-yi.”

“. . .Burn it?”

“Just give a moderate warning and come towards me.”

At that, Ggong-sam-yi instantly climbed up the wall of the building and approached Hektel.

「𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩.」

As expected, after a short while, Hektel’s aura began to move away from the center of the battle.

I lured Hektel by adjusting my speed moderately, as I intended to get him as far away from the voodoo seed as possible.

The place we arrived at was the second public training ground.

This was where I first faced Cheong Haram in the intermediate evaluation of the previous comprehensive combat training.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

𝚊𝘸𝘦𝚋ṡ̇ṫ̇ᴏ𝕣𝘪𝙚𝔰.𝙘𝕠𝕞