Chapter 27

The anti-social militant organization Night School has seven Sorcerers in total.

All of them primarily operate based in East Asia and are considered so dangerous that they are on the blacklists of several countries.

And among them, Bihyeong had made Korea, where he was born and raised, his main area of operation.

‘Even though I moved personally after a long time because I saw something interesting.’

While hiding his body and traveling throughout every corner of Korea, he coincidentally discovered a powerful entity slumbering here on Yeongwoldo.

That was the beginning of the incident.

‘He is also a fellow being with goblin blood mixed in. If handled well, I should be able to borrow immense power.’

Bihyeong is a being who inherits the blood of a primordial goblin. He was confident he could somehow utilize even an opponent of a higher grade than himself.

Moreover, since the island where it was buried was also property owned by Cheonghwa Academy, Korea’s Exorcist training institution, the situation seemed perfect for drawing up a decent plan.

So he began his actions.

But in the end, he failed.

‘…What could have been the miscalculation?’

He had thoroughly checked the professors’ combat capabilities in advance.

Indeed, in his perfect plan, the academy’s available forces were completely helpless, separated from the students and tied up.

‘They had considerable skill, but they were merely retired veterans who had left the frontlines.’

They were no match for handling Bihyeong.

Therefore, the situation should have unfolded perfectly according to his calculations up to that point.

‘…….’

The thing he was most careful about in this plan was preventing the sacrifices, who would form the core of the resurrection ritual, from pointlessly losing their lives before they could fulfill their value.

But there were no particular problems in that regard.

‘He had captured all the professors until the very last, precarious moment.’

What remained were immature ones who hadn’t yet shed their childishness. He thought it was utterly absurd for such individuals to properly grasp the situation and make a cold, rational judgment to kill their own comrades.

In fact, in the latter half of the ritual, he deliberately released two professors, which could be said to have laid the groundwork for a certain degree of success.

Professors who, due to a clever trick making them perceive false information, would themselves pull the trigger for the resurrection. With that, the ritual should have been completed.

‘There were a few troublesome ones even among the immature, but that’s why I assigned suitable opponents to each.’

To the blonde girl with vast spiritual power, the new sprouts of the Hwang and Cheong Families among the Three Great Noble Families, and others with both skill and decisiveness, he had sent Specters of C-Rank or higher that he had personally brought.

In other words, from his common sense, there was no particular reason for the plan to crumble to this extent.

‘Ultimately, it means there was an unforeseen variable.’

Bihyeong gazed indifferently at the immature beings blocking his path.

For their age, each possessed outstanding talent, but even so, they weren’t an immediate threat.

‘How disappointing.’

Keuseundae, who had barely managed to reconstitute a body and resurrect, had been dragged back into the lightless depths by someone, and the resurrection ritual had ended.

‘Holding onto regrets any longer would be a waste of time.’

He had already expended a lot to capture all of the academy’s forces.

With no particular target left now, Bihyeong intended to slowly leave his place.

“However, I cannot simply let those who dared to wound me go.”

“Tsk!”

At those words, Yoo Haon and his companions, who were confronting Bihyeong, fell into despair.

Despite somehow managing to continue the fight with the help of their second-year seniors Cheong Haram and Hwang Jihak after the sudden encounter, the enemy before them was far too powerful.

“Your skills weren’t half bad. But consider meeting me your misfortune.”

Baek Eunseo, gripping her broken spear with trembling arms; Hwang Jihak, covered in blood; Cheong Haram with one arm twisted; and finally, Yoo Haon, nearing exhaustion from pushing himself to his limit.

‘…I have to do something.’

The others were in no condition to fight at all. The one with the least injuries was Yoo Haon himself.

Resolved, Yoo Haon stepped forward, stroking his treasured Cursed Tool.

A necklace he’d heard was left by parents he never knew, which brought composure to his heart.

‘Please.’

Against Bihyeong, who lightly deployed a Cursed Technique, Yoo Haon poured out all his power.

“Soul Specter Punishing Wolf.”

“Soul Blaze Rending Wave!”

It was Yoo Haon’s Cursed Technique, imbued with a desperate wish, but it crumbled all too easily before the powerful enemy.

‘…This is the end.’

Guessing the end, Yoo Haon tightly shut his eyes.

But the scream that rang out next was not his own, but the opponent’s.

“Guhk!?”

A black talisman filled with ominous energy had pierced through Bihyeong’s defensive spell, attached itself to his main body, and was spewing a curse.

Fortunately, it seemed Bihyeong’s Cursed Technique, which had been about to engulf Yoo Haon’s group, shattered due to its effect.

‘…What on earth is this,’

He had dismissed it as an insignificant attack, but the curse that instantly invaded his body.

Bihyeong realized its origin and was horrified.

‘There is someone who should not exist!’

He himself had also been accumulating Forbidden Arts, so he could tell.

The utterly vile karma of a Forbidden Technique emanating even from a curse of this level. It was a type he had never seen before, even as Bihyeong.

‘…….’

Since reaching this state, most enemies had been trivial.

But right now, Bihyeong truly felt fear for the first time in a long while.

‘Is this really the karma a single being could accumulate?’

The sheer scale of the Forbidden Arts was utterly unbelievable.

Had they once overturned the world in the past? It was a vile sensation to the point that one couldn’t even imagine it unless it was something similar to that.

Surely, the one who disrupted his plan was the same person. It felt like a blocked puzzle piece finally clicking into place now.

‘Huh.’

Bihyeong felt panic and exhilaration simultaneously.

He no longer cared about the likes of Keuseundae sealed on the island. He had finally glimpsed the next level, which had only been faintly visible, from an entirely unexpected place.

‘This person is a threat to our plans. I must hurry back.’

Completely unexpected information.

He had to deliver this news to his comrades. This was an existence that could affect their grand undertaking.

“…You can rejoice. Heaven helped you.”

Leaving one last word for Yoo Haon’s group, Bihyeong deployed a prepared Art Formula. Afterwards, his body was enveloped in mist and disappeared without a trace.

Whoosh

Hum

The unique Teleportation Art of Xiao Chen, a comrade and one of the Sorcerers belonging to Night School. It was something he had prepared in advance to escape the island.

Ultimately succeeding in fleeing to a nameless small island near Yeongwoldo, Bihyeong collected himself, organizing his complicated thoughts.

Originally, at this point, he would have safely hidden himself and the incident would have concluded.

However.

“As expected, there is not a single error in the ancestor’s words.”

“What!”

There was a guest waiting for Bihyeong at that spot.

“Thanks to you, I was able to catch the bug that’s been bothering me all along. Isn’t that right?”

Bihyeong also knew who the opponent was. Cheong Soha, a Special-Rank Exorcist and one of Korea’s powerhouses, holding one of the two major factions of the Cheong Family.

‘…How on earth did she know.’

Someone had him completely in their grasp. Only one person immediately came to mind.

‘That person from the island!’

The one who had accumulated that much karma in their soul. They were undoubtedly an unimaginable heavyweight. If so, it wouldn’t be strange if they had noticed his schemes long ago.

Shing

A sword was drawn following Cheong Soha’s hand movement.

Feeling a life-threatening crisis, Bihyeong frantically accelerated his thoughts.

‘In this tired state, I absolutely cannot win in a fight.’

Especially the Azure-White Sword, called the treasure of the Cheong Family—that was dangerous.

‘…I should avoid this place.’

Fortunately, Bihyeong was known even among his Night School comrades for his fast Art Formula deployment.

If it was just evading while keeping her in check, it shouldn’t be a problem.

However.

“Unfortunately, I’ve already recited the incantation.”

A chill ran down Bihyeong’s entire body in an instant.

The Jooeon engraved on the blade of the Azure-White Sword drawn by Cheong Soha were all glowing blue. She had already completed constructing the Art Formula in advance.

A unique Grand Art using the Azure-White Sword as a medium. It was coming.

Sensing death, Bihyeong shouted with malice.

“…You, worthless dog of a family!”

“Purification Formation.”

Simultaneously, the entire small island was swallowed by blue light.

“Is it over?”

Bihyeong used a teleportation art to flee. By now, he’s probably being greeted by Cheong Soha’s illusion on a small island located west of Yeongwoldo.

‘If only I could comfortably receive her help, I wouldn’t need to suffer like this.’

But Cheong Soha perceiving me as the ‘ancestor’s proxy’ is a one-sided delusion. The moment that illusion shatters, I will be minced beyond recognition and meet my death.

‘Keeping her close is problematic. The likelihood of her finding me suspicious is high.’

That’s why this degree of distance was just right.

As with Cheong Haram, simply borrowing her standing or having her help me from a different position like this was sufficient. At least for the time being, that would be ideal.

Slither

Before I knew it, my flickering shadow had calmed, and the vitality that had filled my body had also mostly disappeared.

Soon, the backlash of Phantom Body Phase 2 will come.

“All of you, go in.”

Whoosh!

I sent all the Shikigami I had summoned back into the shadows and hid my body in the tunnel I had prepared through Earth Rat.

My condition didn’t look very good, but the two professors are also still alive.

‘I distinctly remember Baek Jieun dying in this incident in the original story.’

Choi Dowon survives in the original storyline, but Baek Jieun did not.

Ultimately, it means minor futures are changing due to my actions.

‘It might be fortunate that I had Bihyeong definitively dealt with here.’

Bihyeong is also a character who, in the original course, would have escaped the island and lurked for an even longer time.

But I chose to finish him off, even going so far as to use Cheong Soha.

‘The future will change anyway. In that case, it’s better to steer it in a direction favorable to me.’

Chapter 1 of the story is over.

It can be said the story has truly begun.

The upcoming Chapter 2, and everything after that. The remaining incidents were piled up like a mountain.

‘…….’

The road ahead is still long. But I’ve started to get a rough grasp of things.

‘First, I need to replenish my Shikigami.’

This fight made it abundantly clear. While it was good to create Shikigami like Doodoori and Great Peak’s Molt, which possessed combat power beyond my own capabilities, my current combat style has many flaws.

I got through it safely this time, but if another enemy besides Keuseundae had existed and the fight had dragged on, I wouldn’t be here right now.

‘If Severed Shadow died once more in Phase 2 state, that would have been the end.’

Ironically, the most reliable one was Old Man Tree Specter. In other words, I needed to contract more ordinarily powerful Shikigami.

‘After the incident ends, it’s almost vacation, right?’

Thud*

That would be a perfect opportunity to set my sights on something. Thinking about future matters, I surrendered my body to the approaching sleep.