Chapter 300

“Death Transcending Wheel.”

The surging shadow shot toward the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter’s body like a blade.

The Jade-Eyed Fire Specter glanced at it and ignited a blazing flame, but strangely, the shadow didn’t shrink back at all and struck it directly.

Groooan!

It wasn’t a physical penetration. In that moment, I could perceive that my shadow had pierced the essence of the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter in some other realm.

‘…This is working!’

Immediately after, the curse of the Death Transcending Wheel began to flow through the shadow connecting it and me, and only then did the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter seem to sense something was wrong and thrashed violently.

Groooooo—!

The Jade-Eyed Fire Specter, clutching its head with both hands, kept staggering backward.

The flames it had ignited had already vanished without a trace, and its body, which had been larger than a building, was also gradually shrinking in size.

“D-did it work?”

“Yes. But not yet.”

If it were a creature that could be defeated by just this much, it would be unworthy of the name Great Specter.

In reality, its Level was 82, a Specter nearing the peak within the World of Forbidden Techniques, not inferior even compared to Bloodrot or Docheol.

[Though, it also gained various advantages from being an ‘entity from the outside’ on the inside.]

Kwimae was right.

But I wasn’t worried. Having gone through all those processes, we were now by no means easy opponents either.

Crackle!

Fwoosh!

As I focused my energy, the Specter Bone in my right arm, where Kwimae resided, began to gradually reveal itself.

Having confirmed that our attacks were effective, there was no longer any reason to hesitate.

“Well, I’m getting somewhat used to dealing with big shots like that now.”

“…Same here.”

My companions also began to slowly line up in front of the creature, following my lead, and the Exorcists nearby looked at us with disbelief.

“A-are you planning to confront that thing?”

Indeed, with a bit of exaggeration, a Great Specter of this level is nearly an entity that cannot be opposed with a human body.

Moreover, in the eyes of those who haven’t even reached Special-Rank, our appearance must seem like moths choosing self-immolation.

However, this was an extremely natural choice.

“Isn’t that what an Exorcist is?”

“……”

Leaving him, unable to hastily give an answer, I took a step forward, spreading my shadow wide once more.

Then, the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter also began to rage violently.

Grooo!

Crash!

As it brought its hands together and slammed the ground, the earth all around shook as if an earthquake had struck, and fierce flames surged forth.

The flames began to form a circular shape centered on where we stood, and as this repeated, a superheated dome that blotted out the sky took shape.

“W-what is this…!”

The steel frames of the collapsed buildings glowed red-hot, and the intense heat was such that some parts began to melt.

The Exorcists trapped inside were busy just panting and protecting themselves.

‘…Incredible.’

If the superheated hell of the afterlife truly existed, would it look like this?

The power it was emitting was on a different scale, a level I had never seen before.

Yet even amidst this, the gazes of my companions directed at the creature showed no sign of diminishing.

“Can we do it?”

“…Of course. I’ve been gathering as much as I could since earlier.”

As Seo Jian gestured, intense smoke erupted from the ground where flames surged, beginning to emit a grating sound.

Sizzle!

Hiiisss—!

It was the sound of flames and water meeting, and the water currents Seo Jian had drawn forth didn’t stop there, gradually revealing themselves and beginning to form a massive sphere.

“…I can only say it’s unfortunate for it, but its compatibility isn’t good.”

Of course, ordinary water currents would simply evaporate and vanish without a trace before the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter’s flames.

However, the Natural Qi of water that Seo Jian wielded had already reached a level I couldn’t even imagine from my perspective.

It engaged in a perfectly balanced struggle against the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter’s flames, and soon the water currents gathered from all directions spread out, completely dismantling the superheated dome that had imprisoned us.

Hiiiiissss!

Swoosh—!

“Gasp, pant!”

“…Tch, I thought I was going to die.”

Even Cheong Kilyeong, an Elder of the Cheong Family, said that, so I could guess without even asking how the other Exorcists must have felt.

The Jade-Eyed Fire Specter also seemed to sense our unusual power and hesitated, so now it was time to launch a counterattack.

“If there are problems on the other side as well, we don’t have time to spare.”

“…We just need to press with full force, right?”

Cheong Joohwa immediately drew her Azure-White Sword and began reciting the incantation for the Purification Formation, while Arietta charged toward the creature.

And I, covering them with an Advanced Art, decided to examine the creature’s essence from a more fundamental perspective.

‘If my previous speculation is true, then this creature is also an aggregate of Strong Desires formed from negative thoughts?’

Of course, that might be too simplistic a thought, but I felt confident that it matched to some extent in terms of its fundamental nature.

Also, because of that, I felt that the curse of the Death Transcending Wheel, fired earlier by borrowing the power of the Phantom Body Trait, had also dealt a somewhat direct blow.

‘It feels somewhat different from Yoo Haon’s Demon-Suppressing Trait…’

Then, what kind of power does my Phantom Body Trait possess?

There was no way to find out except through trial and error.

“Fear-Bringing Delusion, Ember-Clinging Jealousy, Encircling Slaughter Tainted Wave.”

First, having confirmed that the Death Transcending Wheel’s curse had taken effect on the creature, I poured out curses in a similar manner, borrowing the power of my Forbidden Technique Value.

Of course, I didn’t forget to infuse the transformed power of the Phantom Body in between.

Zzzing!

Fwoosh!

Grooo—!

This time too, the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter seemed to feel considerable pain, thrashing about angrily, and amidst it, I could realize one strange fact.

‘Why is that?’

Strangely, since earlier, it had been barely able to defend against my attacks.

Most of what I had fired earlier were Intermediate-Rank curses, not attacks it should be unable to block.

Yet, while desperately blocking Yoo Haon’s more powerful Cursed Techniques, it was instead pointlessly getting hit by my attacks.

‘……’

Only about ten minutes had passed since the battle began, but the creature had also roughly grasped our Traits by now.

And among them, the most effective were Yoo Haon’s Art Formulas imbued with the Power of Demon Slaying.

Focusing on blocking that was understandable, but continuing to get hit by my attacks was something it would also want to avoid.

‘Perhaps it really can’t block them?’

It was absurd, but that thought occurred to me.

And if that speculation were true, it would be deeply connected to the power of my newly transformed Phantom Body Trait.

“Purification Formation!”

Shimmerrr!

Craaackle—!

Struck by Cheong Joohwa’s Purification Formation, deployed for the second time as if she never tired, the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter staggered heavily and retreated backward.

And behind it, Arietta, having joined forces with Seo Jian once more, was summoning a shower of blood.

Splurt!

Craaackle!

Groooooo—!

As damage accumulated, its once-gigantic body shrank bit by bit, and unlike the beginning when it overlooked high-rise buildings, its height now didn’t even reach half of that.

It was proof, without needing to look far, that our combat power was overwhelming its individual strength.

“Heavenly Thousand Rotation Wave!”

“Curse Demon Heaven Formation.”

Sophia’s Grand Art, containing immense Spiritual Power, struck the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter, and a beam of light fired by Yoo Haon flew toward the creature, which had helplessly collapsed.

The out-of-spec Binding Art that Hochoong had used in the World of Forbidden Techniques.

The exhausted Jade-Eyed Fire Specter didn’t even think to block it, and ultimately, having its entire body completely restrained, it was driven into a defensive position.

“…Seems the outcome is roughly decided, right?”

“Don’t let your guard down. It’s a creature that can target a momentary opening at any time.”

However, no one denied that victory or defeat was almost decided.

And at that point, Seo Jian, who had quickly analyzed the situation, spoke up.

“Let’s split the personnel. There’s no need for all of us to be tied down by it any longer.”

“…Then?”

“A few to finish it off should stay, and the rest should support the anomaly in the northeast.”

Certainly, that was the urgent priority right now.

And knowing the creature’s identity, I could easily distinguish the list of those who should stay and those who should move.

“Seo Jian, Sophia, and I—the three of us will move.”

The Dragon Abyss God is a Great Specter that appears in Cheongpoongho (Clear Wind Lake), which covers an area of 67 km².

Given the terrain is extremely disadvantageous for humans, Seo Jian, who can wield the Natural Qi of water, is absolutely necessary, and Sophia, who can ignore environmental constraints and strike the enemy with her out-of-spec Spiritual Power, would be helpful.

“…Junior, will that be enough?”

“This side isn’t at a stage to be reassured either. Can we leave the rear to you?”

At my words, Arietta, Yoo Haon, and others nodded, and simultaneously, the Elders recovering Spiritual Power in the back responded in agreement.

“Hard to believe, but it seems you’ve grown even more since facing Bikang. Leave this place to us and go quickly.”

“…Being scared of a creature that exhausted would be more shameful than that.”

With the plan decided, there was nothing to hesitate about.

Seo Jian, Sophia, and I, aided by Black Yin and the Black Bird, soared into the sky, fiddling with the various Communicators we had, trying to gather information about the situation at Cheongpoongho.

But we couldn’t hear anything that useful.

We only learned that it was difficult to even approach the creature hiding deep within the lake and that the situation on-site was very bad.

‘…It’s not an opponent Cheong Soha can handle alone.’

I don’t know who the Exorcists blocking Cheongpoongho are, but I could certainly anticipate that, with many combat forces currently deployed to the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter side, they must be struggling terribly.

Moreover, the Dragon Abyss God is a Specter that becomes increasingly troublesome to deal with the longer it’s left alone; knowing its information roughly, I couldn’t help but worry.

“…Wind and rain.”

Even though a considerable distance remained to Cheongpoongho, an unusual atmospheric change welcomed us.

Sophia, with her keen senses, of course, and especially Seo Jian, who could wield Natural Qi, stared straight ahead with a hardened expression and said.

“Not certain, but it’s stronger than the one from earlier.”

“…Still, we have no choice but to go.”

There’s no point worrying about what comes after. We leave matters on the other side to the comrades who remained and first block the creature somehow.

And so, we finally reached our destination, Cheongpoongho, after an hour of flight.

Facing the countless whirlpools covering the sky and the immense presence slumbering at their center.