𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖𝟒

̇ȧ̇𝕨𝔢𝙗𝙨𝔱𝘰ṙ̇i̇̇𝕖𝕤.𝐜𝘰𝘮

Back when the first installment of the Exorcism series was all the rage, Guilford was one of those characters that was often brought up in the community.

【How the heck do you beat Guilford?】

【Why doesn’t he have any weaknesses?】

【If you fight him long-range, he just keeps spamming intermediate spells, and if you get close, he just beats the crap out of you with his staff. Isn’t this character just unbalanced?】

Guilford’s fighting style could basically be described as a hybrid type.

Whoosh.

“Void Slaughter.”

Bam!

He uses spells to restrict his opponent’s movements from a distance, and when an opening appears, he immediately closes in and engages in hand-to-hand combat.

Since both of these aspects had already reached a certain level of mastery, players who first encountered Guilford in the game event would often let out howls of frustration.

「𝙍𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙-𝙤𝙣.」

In the first installment of the series, most enemies had clear specialties, whether it was close-quarters combat or spellcasting, so an opponent like Guilford, whose boundaries were ambiguous, was quite an unfamiliar existence.

However, just like in any other game, as time passed and strategies and more powerful enemies began to emerge one after another, Guilford’s position naturally declined.

And then, when countless sequels were released, Guilford’s treatment was unfortunately nothing more and nothing less than a stepping stone.

It was enough to say that the trend was to chAlange yourself to defeat Guilford at the lowest possible level or to set a time attack record for the fastest victory.

Clang!

I calmly maintained a certain distance as I defended against the spell that Guilford had cast.

It wasn’t exactly an action that would give me the upper hand, but it was enough to keep Guilford tied up and unable to move.

“. . .Are you really planning to fight properly? Why don’t you try attacking for once?”

“Sorry, but I’m in no hurry.”

Since I knew all of Guilford’s special moves like the back of my hand, I would never fall for his standard tricks.

And the shikigami that I had summoned were helping my teammates suppress Guilford’s fellow class B students.

From Guilford’s perspective, he must have been feeling like he was gradually losing his advantage.

“. . .To be honest, I underestimated you. My apologies. You’re a trickier opponent than I thought.”

Sensing that his team would eventually collapse at this rate, Guilford began to prepare his finishing move, drawing upon his spiritual power.

Guilford’s sure-kill attack pattern, passed down from his family’s unique spell. It had to be that technique.

And that was exactly the timing I had been waiting for.

I let out a relaxed smile and calmly drew upon my spiritual power.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

𝐚𝔴𝐞𝐛𝘴ᴛ𝚘ʀ𝐢𝚎ṡ.ᴄȯ̇ṁ

Guilford Fisher was a Welshman and a special-grade prospect who had made a name for himself in England.

“He’s definitely a talent who will make it big in the future. I guarantee it as a former royal guard knight.”

“Yes. Guilford is amazing. He’s so talented, even at his young age.”

“He’s already as good as students a few years older than him, so do we really need to say more?”

He had been called a genius since he was young, and there were hardly any people his age who could match him.

Then, he received an invitation from Cheonghwa Academy and came to Korea to take on a new chAlange.

And it was there that Guilford, for the first time in his life, felt a towering wall before him.

“Yeah. He’s strong, just like the rumours say. What a pain~”

“. . . . . . . .”

A hand extended with a bright smile.

On the surface, it seemed like he was acknowledging his opponent, but Guilford, who had collapsed limply to the ground, could be sure of one thing.

That there was definitely no expectation for his opponent in the praise she was giving him.

After that, Guilford devoted himself to training even more than before.

He established his own style, which had been lacking in maturity, and continued to improve his overall level.

And now, he had solidified his position as one of the top students in his grade.

「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙎𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙖, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬. . . . . .」

Guilford, who was only ranked 5th in terms of grades, did not think that he was inferior to the students above him.

In fact, Shin So-ra and Jung Han-sol, who were ranked right above him, had also said that they couldn’t guarantee a victory if they fought him.

However, even Guilford couldn’t help but doubt his own confidence in the current situation.

「𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨?」

Han Kang-yoon and his party encountered Guilford while searching for the treasure in the cave.

A fight broke out between them, and Guilford naturally ended up facing off against Han Kang-yoon, the strongest of the opposing party.

「𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.」