Chapter 160

Even for Shin Noeul, a Special-Rank Exorcist, the Cat-Head Serpent was a formidable foe he was encountering for the first time in his life.

‘…How long has it been since I last felt this way?’

He was honestly afraid.

Though he didn’t show it in front of his unit members, Shin Noeul himself was thoroughly intimidated by the aura emanating from the creature he was facing for the first time.

That was only natural.

As the member with the most exceptional Spiritual Sense in the unit, he could feel the danger of the Cat-Head Serpent more deeply in his heart than anyone else.

If not for the gazes of his unit members watching his back, he might have felt the urge to flee.

‘But I can’t do that.’

What lay before him was a calamity. If he couldn’t buy at least some time, the surrounding area would be reduced to ruins.

That’s why Shin Noeul ultimately chose to fight.

And the result of that choice was the current situation.

‘Damn it…’

Shin Noeul’s Grand Art had clearly been effective.

An attack with the maximum firepower Shin Noeul himself had never drawn out before had flown towards the Cat-Head Serpent, and the creature, unable to dodge it, had suffered significant damage.

However, that hadn’t settled the matter.

Despite taking the Grand Art head-on, the opponent was still standing.

That was an S-Rank Specter for you.

‘……’

Shin Noeul’s Great Thunderclap Strike had properly awakened the creature’s vigilance, and afterwards, it had become completely enraged, attacking with all its might without any further testing of the waters.

Each strike was like a fatal dagger.

He tried his best to cover them, but that was the limit.

In the end, only three people, including Han Kangyoon and Arietta, were in a state to fight properly.

Among them, Shin Noeul himself was nearing his limit from pushing himself recklessly at the forefront.

“…Hoo, hoo.”

The Cat-Head Serpent, its eyes completely rolled back, was lashing its tail.

Unlike its earlier simple Spectral Energy emission, now combined with its unique Art Formula, it had become a vicious weapon that couldn’t be blocked by any ordinary Defensive Spell.

Screeeech!

Crackle!

Zzzzzzzz!

“Kgh!”

Shin Noeul deployed a high-level Defensive Art, and Han Kangyoon and Arietta each deployed intermediate-level Defensive Spells, combining their strength, but attacks still slipped through the gaps in their spells.

They could somehow barely hold on, but ultimately, the damage was accumulating on their side.

‘My vision… is blurring.’

His heart had already lost its rhythm long ago and was pounding as if about to burst, and his grip had completely lost strength, to the point he couldn’t even make a fist.

Shin Noeul intuitively realized it. That he had truly reached his limit here.

So, with blurred eyes, he glanced back.

‘These kids too, really…’

Even Shin Noeul, who had experienced all sorts of battles, found this fight hard to endure, yet they, barely on the cusp of adulthood, were somehow stubbornly keeping up from behind.

They were truly remarkable talents.

It was no joke; Han Kangyoon and Arietta would become the new generation to lead the Korean Cursed Arts World.

That was true just looking at their skill alone, and it was also true of their unbreakable spirit even in a situation like this.

That’s why he couldn’t let them die here.

With strong conviction, Shin Noeul wiped the blood from his forehead and gave an order.

“You’ve done enough. You two go now.”

“……”

“I’ll buy you the time to escape for the last time.”

Shin Noeul couldn’t survive any longer anyway. In fact, holding out until now was close to a miracle.

‘…I knew it, actually.’

A newly minted Special-Rank like Shin Noeul was no match for this Specter.

To face something like that, literally the top Exorcists even among the Three Great Noble Families would have to come.

But it was okay.

In the end, almost all the unit members had survived, and he had succeeded in buying time for the civilians to evacuate.

Honestly, it was the best outcome among the scenarios he had envisioned.

‘So I have no regrets.’

Shin Noeul quietly drew a Cursed Technique inscription near his heart, drawing forth Spiritual Power from deep within his body.

It was an attempt to draw out his own last life force, something some called True Origin True Energy.

‘…I’ll follow soon.’

Kwak Woong-gil, a third-year member of the Jeokhwadan and a reliable cornerstone.

Remembering his name, who had lost his life just moments ago, Shin Noeul took a step forward.

“Give my regards to the unit members.”

As Shin Noeul, battered and bruised, began to advance proudly, someone blocked his path.

It was none other than Han Kangyoon.

“What are you doing now…”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that.”

Shin Noeul felt absurd at Han Kangyoon’s action.

But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel an even greater sense of dissonance.

Clearly, it was a situation without even a sliver of hope, yet strangely, Han Kangyoon wore an impassive expression as if familiar with such circumstances.

“You…”

“If I let the Unit Leader go like this, the others will probably try to kill me. Then there’s no difference, is there?”

“Is now the time for jokes?”

Shin Noeul let out a hollow laugh, finding it utterly ridiculous.

With a monster right ahead that wouldn’t die even if killed, glaring fiercely, it truly took extraordinary nerve.

However, it definitely wasn’t the look of someone who had given up on everything like Shin Noeul.

‘…Does he still have some trick up his sleeve?’

As if confirming Shin Noeul’s thought wasn’t wrong, Han Kangyoon continued speaking quietly.

“It’s the wavelength of the Spectral Energy it’s emitting.”

“…The wavelength of the Spectral Energy?”

Hearing that, Shin Noeul focused his Spiritual Sense again and indeed felt something slightly odd.

The wavelength of the Spectral Energy, which had initially been infinitely sharp and dense, was now shaking quite irregularly.

‘This, could it be…’

He was uncertain, but thinking calmly, it was clear.

“…Is it tired?”

Even the creature that seemed to have no limits whatsoever was also feeling fatigue from the prolonged fight.

The moment he recognized that, a strange surge of energy began to well up within him.

It too was a living being; if pushed, it gets tired, and if it reaches its limit, it dies.

That obvious fact only now seemed to sink in.

‘But…’

Even so, fundamentally, nothing changes.

To harbor such hopeful observations, Shin Noeul’s own condition was even worse.

“…It’s a disgraceful thing for a Unit Leader to say, but I’ve reached my limit now. At best, I can barely weave an Art Formula once or twice more.”

Even now, his vision blurred every few seconds, and he was suffering from a sense of exhaustion as if all his organs were being wrung out.

Towards such a Shin Noeul, Han Kangyoon chuckled softly and said.

“As you said earlier, Unit Leader, you’ve done enough. If you’re tired, it’s okay to rest.”

“……”

“From now on, I’ll handle the rest.”

Under normal circumstances, he would have gotten angry and firmly stopped him.

After all, it was nonsense that didn’t make sense without even considering the circumstances.

But strangely, Shin Noeul didn’t feel Han Kangyoon’s bold declaration was false.

So he couldn’t voice an objection. He merely moved his lips and swallowed his unorganized words.

Swish.

His outstretched hand, filled with hesitation, brushed past the hem of Han Kangyoon’s clothes as he turned away.

And with that as the last, Shin Noeul didn’t offer any further restraint.

Because that back of Han Kangyoon’s looked even larger than the giant monster visible beyond his vision.

‘Every single one of them performed beyond expectations.’

To be honest, he had anticipated greater damage than this.

Originally, the future was for the Jeokhwadan to be annihilated, mutually destroying the Cat-Head Serpent, so everyone surviving was an utterly fantastical story.

However, thanks to managing the confusion and fear in advance, the unit members displayed skill beyond their usual abilities, and Shin Noeul fought a literally flawless battle.

Thus, finally, the opportunity had shifted to their side.

‘It too has been heavily depleted.’

Though it seemed fairly intact on the outside, its remaining energy was probably at best 30 to 40 percent.

And now, I had grasped most of its Art Formulas and attack patterns.

So if there was a timing to play the decisive card, it was right now.

“Senior, will you be alright?”

I looked at Arietta and asked briefly, and she immediately nodded.

“I’m tired, but no problem.”

Even as she said that, her arms and legs were trembling finely.

Arietta too had repeatedly pushed herself.

However, unlike other humans, she still had the card called True Noble Blood.

I slightly rolled up my sleeve and quickly approached Arietta, offering my finger.

Hwoong.

“Vein of Unfurled Peace.”

Srrr.

Lick.

Her pupils turned red after lightly licking the blood a few times.

Her canines protruded sharply enough to be slightly visible, and the trembling she had shown until just before was no longer felt.

“…Yeah. I can move.”

Then there was no problem.

Activating the Soul Combustion Trait, I began summoning Shikigami one by one from the shadows.

“All of you, come out.”

Swish.

Srrr.

Puhwaak!

Since I had been assisting with Shikigami Art from earlier, the number had decreased significantly, but the main force was still preserved.

Drip,

Drip.

Perhaps due to repeatedly recharging Spiritual Power several times, a trickle of blood flowed from my nose.

But it didn’t matter. I wiped it away with my sleeve and looked at the Cat-Head Serpent before me.

‘About 37%, huh.’

If this were a game, its HP would definitely be displayed like that.

And that was the condition for victory I had personally set for myself through the battle against the Cat-Head Serpent so far.

Now, I could defeat it.

I discarded the remaining hesitation and filled that space with conviction.

First, the first move.

“Senior, White Yang.”

“…Yeah. Got it.”

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

It was Vast Darkness, which I had also relied on during the previous fight with Shin Dohoon.

Srrr.

Puhwaak!

[Kwaaang!]

A four-legged beast whose entire body was covered in white and black haze, its appearance resembling a Haetae.

With it here, the Cat-Head Serpent’s mental attacks would be practically useless.

And second, the Curse Doll specially prepared for this very situation.

Swish.

Through the earlier battle, I had already woven the shed skins I had stripped from it with my hair and stored them in this Curse Doll.

So then, what exactly becomes possible?

“Death Grudge Delusion Curse.”

Hwoong.

Pssssshhh!

The intermediate-rank Curse I shot towards the straw doll resonated powerfully, flowing into both me and the Cat-Head Serpent.

“Kgh.”

“Shiiiiik—!”

Excruciating pain and a sense of exhaustion piercing through my entire body, and a feeling as if my life force was being drained.

A self-sacrifice type Curse that, colloquially speaking, one would inevitably fall victim to if unaware.

‘But…’

I could reduce the damage according to my Forbidden Technique Value, whereas the Cat-Head Serpent had to accept all of it as is.

In the current situation after consecutive battles, that wasn’t a level the Cat-Head Serpent could easily ignore.

“…Death Grudge Delusion Curse.”

Hwoong.

Pssssshhh!*

“Shyaaaak—!”

And what awaited at the end of such a mutual destruction tactic was another self-sacrifice Curse I had used in the previous battle with Hectail.

Namely, the Forbidden Art of equivalent exchange that converts the damage one receives into a Curse and returns it to the opponent.

“Mirror of Counter-Grudge.”

The ring of death that would gradually lead the Cat-Head Serpent to its rest was finally revealing itself.