Chapter 114

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Swoooosh!

Kwadududuk!

Shin Dohoon’s body, which had been aiming for Myeongyool’s neck, was swept away by a wave of Spiritual Power and lost control.

Taking that chance, I ran over, supported Myeongyool, and quickly pulled him back.

“Myeongyool-nim, are you alright?”

“…Is that you. How embarrassing. Was it Arietta who fired that Cursed Technique?”

“Yes. She is also safe.”

Myeongyool calmly got to his feet, but his arms and legs were trembling faintly. His strength was already completely gone.

Watching the scene, I could guess the general situation.

‘It seems Shin Dohoon has regained all of his original power.’

On top of that, he had a healing ability that was hardly human. It must have been a difficult fight for Myeongyool, who had already retired from the front lines.

‘Even so, I didn’t expect him to be so completely defeated.’

It meant that either Myeongyool had become that weak, or Shin Dohoon’s power had grown stronger than I thought.

“…Has the masterpiece come to its senses. How did you do it?”

Shin Dohoon, with an annoyed look on his face, put the Short Blade he was holding into his clothes and faced us.

His two eyes were stained crimson, just like Arietta’s before, and untamed Spiritual Power was flowing out in all directions.

‘…His condition is very strange.’

Perhaps it was a kind of possession state, commonly seen in Forbidden Arts of this type.

As if to support that thought, Myeongyool, who had caught his breath, spoke urgently.

“Stand back. That man has been completely consumed by the Forbidden Curse. He will surely Rampage soon.”

“Rampage, you say?”

“Yes, I’ve seen it before while retrieving a Forbidden Curse. He will lose all reason and become an undead that craves only human flesh and blood.”

I had a rough idea from the Corpse Specter (S-) Trait, but as expected, Shin Dohoon had not completely mastered the power of the Forbidden Curse. If so, it would be better to settle this as quickly as possible before he went on a Rampage.

I gauged the Spiritual Power remaining in my body.

‘About half left.’

I had already gone through one battle, and on top of that, I had used up a lot of Spiritual Power by imbuing my blood to wake Arietta.

I had the Spiritual Power in the Bari Jade Bracelet and the Soul Combustion Trait, but whatever the case, I had to end this quickly.

“All of you, come out.”

Swoosh.

Fwoosh!

Fwoooosh!

Black Yin, Old Man Tree Specter, Sorisoe, and even Kongsami.

At the same time, I took out the Mist Veil of Dark Noon and strengthened Black Yin and Kongsami, who had the highest combat power.

Fwoooong.

Psssssk.

It was a Combat Posture for a short, decisive battle. Seeing it, Shin Dohoon also drew out his power and spoke to me.

“I was distracted by something else earlier and didn’t pay you any mind, but you’re not just some riffraff. You must be the one who woke the masterpiece.”

“And what if I am?”

“I’ll kill you before you can interfere any further.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shin Dohoon rushed at me without a moment’s delay.

An incredible speed. To be clear, his movements were much better than before. When I peeked at his information window, his weakened power had indeed returned.

“Burn it.”

Fwoooosh!

Wharrrr!

“Kugh!”

Shin Dohoon, who took the flames head-on without avoiding them, was momentarily flustered by the greater-than-expected damage from the Flame of Purification Trait.

However, he soon gritted his teeth and pushed through it, closing the distance.

“Damn it, this fire hurts a bit.”

“…Clear Chain Binding.”

Chwarak!

Chrarrrrk—!

Several blue chains shot out from the Talisman I threw at the right moment and restrained Shin Dohoon.

But due to his brutish strength, the chains were all severed in just a few seconds.

Someone blocked Shin Dohoon, who had suddenly gotten right in front of me. It was Arietta.

“…You go no further.”

“Step aside. Do you think a masterpiece that hasn’t even awakened its own power can face me?”

Shin Dohoon quickly drew up his Spiritual Power and took a step forward.

Empty Blade Hand, an Intermediate-Rank Offensive Art.

It was a type of Cursed Technique that displayed its power in close-quarters combat.

Arietta also began to counter, but the might of Shin Dohoon, who had fully regained his power, was not something she could easily handle.

Swoooosh!

Kwagagak!

Claaaaang—!

“Ugh.”

“For all my expectations, you’re nothing special. You’re quite skilled for your age, but not to the point of being special to me.”

“…Then take this, too.”

As Arietta prepared the Incantation for an Advanced Art, she played a card she had saved for the perfect moment.

It was the Shikigami, White Yang, contracted through the Half-Moon Stone embedded in her earring.

Hop!

Hwiririk!

Fwoooong.

[Kiiiiiiing—!]

“Targeted Phosphorus Bullet!”

“Of the Azure Heavens… Kugh?”

Just as Shin Dohoon was about to deploy a Defensive Art, the binding of the incantation sent by White Yang ensnared him.

In the end, Shin Dohoon was left defenseless against the attack, and his entire body was torn to shreds.

Chwaaaak!

Kwagagagagak—!

“Keoheok—!”

“Hah, hah.”

Arietta, who had fired numerous Cursed Techniques in a short period, was breathing heavily. She couldn’t command Shikigami as efficiently as I could, so the Summoning of White Yang must have been a considerable burden.

However, despite taking all those attacks, Shin Dohoon still hadn’t died and was rapidly regenerating his body.

It was a level of regeneration that could no longer be called human.

“…Junior. You have to take Teacher and run.”

Seeing this, Arietta seemed to sense that she couldn’t defeat Shin Dohoon right now, so she quickly retreated and switched to a defensive stance.

However, there was no way Shin Dohoon would let us escape.

As the dust cloud cleared and Shin Dohoon’s cold eyes were revealed, Myeongyool, who was behind me, uttered just one low sentence.

“…Be careful. It will probably start soon.”

Immediately after, Shin Dohoon’s face contorted greatly. It looked as if he was suppressing something, and also as if he was enduring unbearable pain.

And from Shin Dohoon’s entire body, an intense power began to radiate.

It felt less like Spiritual Power and more like the aura of a Specter.

“Kugh! Stop! Why now…!”

That aura slowly began to consume Shin Dohoon’s body, gradually increasing in size.

“Why…! Why…! I should have perfectly adapted to the Forbidden Curse…! Keok!”

Shin Dohoon’s voice, which had been struggling for a while, suddenly cut off.

And in his place, there was no longer the human Shin Dohoon, but a single Specter.

‘Appraisal.’

T-ring!

Blood Specter (Blood Ghost)

▶Level: 58

The system, too, now judged Shin Dohoon not as a human. He had been consumed by the Forbidden Curse, and his very nature had completely changed.

[It smells dangerous.]

“……”

As Sorisoe said, the current Shin Dohoon was exuding an even more eerie presence than before.

From now on, I had to approach the battle with the mindset of an Exorcist facing a powerful Specter.

“Sorisoe, enlarge.”

[Understood.]

Fwoooong.

Srrrk!

It was effectively an A-Rank equivalent Specter. In some ways, it could be seen as similar to the Manticore from last time, but back then, I had seen through all of the opponent’s actions, and several powerful Exorcists were supporting me.

A quick glance showed that Myeongyool, due to his age, was not recovering his strength easily.

In the end, Arietta and I had to face the Blood Specter before us on our own.

‘Fortunately, I’ve seen Blood Specters often in the game.’

Of course, its nature wouldn’t be exactly the same, but at least the Appraisal function judged the current Shin Dohoon to be a Specter of that type.

If so, he must possess the powerful physical abilities and regenerative power characteristic of a Blood Specter. Even more so now that he was in a Rampage state.

Therefore, a countermeasure for that was the top priority.

“…Junior, the Art Formulas I have lack firepower.”

“Yes. I know.”

It would be a different story if Myeongyool’s Grand Art was available, but that too was impossible right now.

However, there was one idea that came to mind.

It was to feed Arietta’s blood to Shin Dohoon.

‘Shin Dohoon is, so to speak, a failure. He cannot accept the blood of Arietta, who has made the power of the Forbidden Curse completely her own.’

Forbidden Arts of this type were originally like that.

With Shin Dohoon’s body already in an unstable state, there was a high probability that the moment he absorbed her blood, he would overload, completely lose his functions, and collapse.

When I explained this to Myeongyool, he nodded as if it made sense.

“Indeed, I think it’s a method worth trying.”

“…Then Junior and I will have to stop its movements.”

The task was not much different from when I faced Arietta earlier. However, the difficulty would be much higher.

With that, I hardened my resolve, approached Arietta, and held out my arm.

“…Why?”

“Drink my blood.”

“Blood?”

In fact, I had already confirmed that Arietta’s Unidentified Trait had Bloomed earlier.

【True Noble Blood (True Noble Blood) (S)】

▶Possesses the primordial blood within the body. It can be replenished through the flesh and blood of living beings, and by consuming it, powerful strength can be obtained.

‘I had a feeling, but as expected, it was a different Trait than before.’

Originally, the City of Nocturne Trait should have been there, but what was unlocked was not that, but the True Noble Blood Trait.

And that was the Trait possessed by Beatrice, the Blood-Drinking Princess, a powerful enemy from the series’ sequel that I had mentioned before.

‘It’s tricky to use, but it’s an incredibly powerful Trait.’

The simplest way to use it is to absorb the blood of a living creature to temporarily amplify one’s physical abilities.

‘Of course, it’s not possible just by drinking any blood, but…’

The blood of a decent Exorcist like me should be enough to boost Arietta’s physical abilities.

“When you were coming here earlier, didn’t you feel anything strange?”

“…My body did feel light.”

“Yes. From what I saw, you were much faster than usual.”

As if she finally understood what I was trying to say, a subtle look of bewilderment crossed Arietta’s face.

“Junior, aren’t you, uh, creeped out by this?”

“We’re about to die, what does that matter? We don’t have time.”

It wasn’t a lie; we really had no time to spare. As I cut off her rebuttal and thrust my arm forward, Arietta, having made her decision, cautiously brought her mouth closer and sank in her teeth, which had at some point become sharp.

Chomp.

A somewhat soft and warm sensation, followed by a slight pain.

After absorbing the blood, Arietta’s eyes began to turn red once more.

“…Yeah. With this, it might just be possible.”

And, there was another secret plan that could only be used now that the two of us were together.

Could I borrow White Yang for a moment?”

“…The fox? Alright.”

“Thank you.”

Hop!

[Kiiing.]

The twin Shikigami, Black Yin (Black Yin) and White Yang (White Yang). A special Shikigami that could be temporarily summoned by fusing the two.

‘It’s at the level of an Advanced Art, so it’s a bit overwhelming for my current abilities, but…’

Some of the burden would probably fall on Arietta, White Yang’s master, so it should be manageable somehow.

Fwoosh.

Fwooooong.

Tzzzzzz!

Thus, I drew out all the Spiritual Power from the Bari Jade Bracelet, activated the Soul Combustion and Intracranial Spell Repository Traits simultaneously, and slowly began to construct the Art Formula.