Chapter 35

‘Perfect timing, I got something good.’

The Baekpyeonjang (White Stake) I won from my bet with Cheong Jiyeon.

Originally a Cursed Tool mainly used for Barrier Techniques or sealing arts, its trait of resonating with Cursed Techniques to cause amplification meant it would serve as a good medium even in a situation like this.

Whoosh!

Crash!

“Sorry, but I’m starting to get tired, so hurry up a bit!”

“It won’t take long.”

The Cursed Technique I prepared to deal with the Fire Goblin was, in a way, not a frontal assault but a side-path strategy.

‘Its power comes almost entirely from the vengeful spirits.’

If that was the case, there was no need to painstakingly target the main body. I just needed to somehow sever its connection to the vengeful spirits.

What was needed for that was a type of memorial rite. However, I had reconstructed it in a slightly coercive and violent manner.

Using an Art Formula structure from the sequel’s point in time, one that didn’t exist in the first volume of Exorcism Academy.

‘If I don’t take risks anyway, my current abilities can’t break the connection.’

Therefore, I was about to make the souls angry.

Rustle.

Swoosh.

Taking two specially-made talismans from my chest, I attached one to the Baekpyeonjang and infused the other with a Cursed Technique.

“Hwayeongbeollong (Soul Agitation and Torment).”

True to its name, an Art Formula that agitates and torments souls.

The black talisman Cheong Joohwa had made, imbued with my Spiritual Power, hardened stiff as iron and shot out.

“Add your Curse too.”

[Kieeek!]

Crunch.

After adding the power of the Old Man Tree Specter beside me, I grabbed it and began driving the stake down with all my might.

Kiiing!

Kiiing!

Kiing!

A vibration of Spiritual Power, as if tickling my entire body, echoed in all directions, and the chaotic, scattered sounds disoriented my ears.

At that moment, the state of the vengeful spirits attached to the Fire Goblin changed rapidly.

[Kiyaak!]

[Keeeek—!]

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The vengeful spirits each let out eerie shrieks, and accordingly, the flames that had encroached everywhere surged and roiled.

“Why, why is it doing that?”

Seo Jihye asked in confusion. She probably couldn’t sense the presence of the vengeful spirits right now—only I could—so it wasn’t strange.

I continued to pound the Baekpyeonjang, pouring more power into the talisman.

Kiiing!

Kiing!

[Kieeek!]

How much time passed like that? The Fire Goblin’s eyes began to turn red, and it started acting strangely.

Fwoosh!

Whoomph!

Bang!

Whoosh!

It shot flames in all directions, completely unable to distinguish friend from foe.

Then, spotting me pounding the stake, it began charging at me with a terrifying speed.

Whoosh.

“Burn, burn.”

Fwooshaak!

“Hwayugyeongryu (Transforming Rain Striking Flow)!”

Whooomph!

Zzzzzzzzong!

While Cheong Joohwa deployed a new Defensive Art to block the flames, I, convinced the time was ripe, called to Seo Jihye.

“…Now.”

“Good. Clear Chain Binding!”

Whoosh,

Charrrrrrr!

Blue chains sprang from the talisman Seo Jihye threw, wrapping around the Fire Goblin.

Simultaneously, the Old Man Tree Specter shot a Curse, and the Mind Fox poured out all its power with its thoughts.

[Kehek!]

[Kiiing!]

Crunch.

Whoooosh.

It probably couldn’t hold on for very long, but this much was enough.

To decide the match, I threw the Baekpyeonjang right then, driving it into the ground directly in front of the Fire Goblin.

Thud!

‘Almost done.’

I immediately formed a Hand Seal and began deploying the Cursed Technique. Completing it wouldn’t even take ten seconds.

It was right then that an anomaly occurred.

Skkreeeech!

Bwoooom!

“Keuk!”

Crunch!

With a sudden sound of tearing air and the sound of breaking bones echoing, Seo Jihye tumbled across the ground.

“Hueup. Keuk. Kkulruk!”

Seo Jihye clutched her side, coughing up blood. At the same time, an intense Spectral Energy began to be felt from beyond my field of vision.

“Found, it. Fire Specter.”

What appeared was a Specter with a large frame, muscles, and a thick single horn.

This was a completely unforeseen situation. I hadn’t anticipated it at all. My expression hardened as I quickly checked the opponent’s information.

‘Appraisal.’

Ding!

【Ox-Head Specter】

▶Level 44

▶Stats

【Stamina: B+】

【Monstrous Power: C+】

【Art Formula: D-】

【Mental Power: C-】

▶Traits (5/10)

【Fratricide (B+)】

【Rampage (B)】

【Bone Crusher (B-)】

【Monstrous Strength (C+)】

【Strong Body (C-）】

At this level, it was undoubtedly B-Rank. A complete disaster.

‘…This is a big problem.’

I was currently in the middle of deploying a Cursed Technique that bound myself and the Fire Goblin together. Therefore, I couldn’t move easily right away.

On top of that, Seo Jihye was out of commission. All that remained was Cheong Joohwa, who had already greatly depleted her Spiritual Power blocking the Fire Goblin’s attacks several times.

‘…Damn it.’

The preparation was perfect. If I had taken just one more step forward, I could have definitely ended the fight.

However, that was aimed solely at the Fire Goblin alone.

In the current situation, there was nothing I could do.

‘If I’m careless, I’ll die.’

As I frantically racked my brain for a countermeasure, my eyes met Cheong Joohwa’s for a moment.

After that, Cheong Joohwa hesitated over something, then soon changed her gaze as if having made a decision and spoke to me.

“…Come before I die.”

Then she quickly ran out, threw a talisman onto the ground near where the Ox-Head Specter stood, and activated some kind of Cursed Technique.

Kwaaaang!

Thud-thud.

Kugwagwagwang.

Amidst the collapsing ground, Cheong Joohwa disappeared along with the Ox-Head Specter.

‘…….’

Cheong Joohwa must have known. That in this state, none of us could avoid death.

So she trusted me and separated the Ox-Head Specter from the battlefield to buy me the little time I needed to decide the match.

If so, there was only one thing to do.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I drew up all the Spiritual Power within my body.

Whoooosh.

Accordingly, a black shadow began to mix into my Spiritual Power, and I gathered it all to compose the Art Formula.

And forming a Hand Seal, I deployed the Cursed Technique.

“Spirit Devouring Formation. Honyeongtamsik (Soul Spirit Gluttony).”

Literally, a Forbidden Art that greedily devours the opponent’s soul.

If the opponent possessed a soul and mental power stronger than one’s own, it was a dangerous Cursed Technique that could instead strip one of everything and turn one into a wreck.

The opponents were hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits harboring deep-seated resentment down to their very bones.

To engage in a tug-of-war of souls against them—any moderately skilled Forbidden Arts Master who witnessed this scene would surely be horrified and recoil in disgust.

But there was no need to worry.

Even if you combined all the karma contained within those hundreds of thousands of souls, it probably wouldn’t even touch a single hair on my body.

The fact that my Forbidden Technique Value had reached its limit meant exactly that.

[Kieeek!]

[Kyaak!]

[Keeeek!]

The enraged vengeful spirits spat out Cursed screams, but they had no effect on me. I stretched my right hand forward and further accelerated the Art Formula.

[Kieeeeek—!]

“…You’re noisy.”

The vengeful spirits struggled desperately, but eventually, one by one, they were pulled by the power of the Cursed Technique and began to be absorbed into me.

Accordingly, the Fire Goblin, which had been standing dazed as if its soul had left, began shaking its head and clutching it.

“…Burn, burn.”

That phrase the Fire Goblin had repeatedly uttered until now was no different from the resentment-filled cries of the vengeful spirits.

A girl who had listened to the screams of hundreds of thousands of people, and likewise, after hearing the final scream of one last person in the fire, lost her life.

That was the Fire Goblin’s true identity.

That’s why, in the original work, after Yoo Haon used the Power of Demon Slaying to help the souls find peace, the Fire Goblin was finally released from its cycle of suffering and ended its life.

I was merely doing it in a different way.

[Kieeeeek—!]

By the time I had swallowed even the last handful of remaining vengeful spirits, the Fire Goblin collapsed on the spot.

“…….”

And into me, who had swallowed hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits, a new Trait was engraved along with a familiar notification sound.

Ding.

【Soul Combustion (A)】

▶Can absorb the souls of the deceased and burn them to convert into power.

Cheong Joohwa fundamentally does not trust people.

The memories of her childhood days made her that way, and now she herself had decided to keep her heart that way.

‘They’re all the same.’

Trustworthy people? At least for Cheong Joohwa, such a concept did not exist. It was she who had experienced the malice of people and groups from far too close a distance.

It’s not that she particularly rejects others. On the contrary, Cheong Joohwa was the type to easily offer light help.

But at truly perilous moments, that is, only regarding matters that crossed the line she herself had set, she instinctively assumed a self-defensive posture.

‘…….’

It was the same with the incident in the Guard Unit.

When Seo Jihye ran to stop the Fire Goblin, and the moment Han Kangyoon was about to do the same, Cheong Joohwa tried to firmly draw the line as she always had.

‘But, something.’

Something bothered her. It was a rare occurrence for Cheong Joohwa, who had already chosen the position of a bystander numerous times.

To such a Cheong Joohwa, Han Kangyoon said:

Then who exactly will perform this role?

It was an obvious statement. That’s why it was all the more valuable.

‘…He really is an Exorcist.’

Unlike the despicable members of the Cheong family.

Han Kangyoon possessed, exactly as they were, parts of the image of an Exorcist that Cheong Joohwa had admired and envisioned in her heart since childhood.

Thinking about it now, perhaps from that moment on, she had been gradually drawn to the person named Han Kangyoon.

‘Even so, to make such an impulsive decision….’

The moment Han Kangyoon began deploying the Cursed Technique he had prepared and a newly powerful Specter appeared, Cheong Joohwa instinctively pictured the best judgment in her mind.

‘…It’s a good thing I finished scouting the terrain beforehand.’

An empty space in the ground, also known as a sinkhole. Fortunately, its existence allowed her to separate the enemy like this.

However, to execute that, she had to stake her own life. Something she would never have done normally.

Recognizing her current situation, Cheong Joohwa let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

‘I decided to always pull my foot back in dangerous situations, and yet.’

It was true.

If Han Kangyoon couldn’t quickly subdue the Fire Goblin and join her, she would undoubtedly die here.

“Isolated? Stupid, choice.”

“I agree.”

That’s why Cheong Joohwa straightforwardly agreed with the Ox-Head Specter’s puzzled words.

Seeing that it could converse to some extent, it must have already devoured people and absorbed their knowledge.

Probably a nearby Exorcist was the target.

‘…It must be quite strong.’

Even she thought it was a foolish choice. In her current depleted state, there was absolutely no way she could win.

But.

‘He’ll come.’

Her intuition, which had protected her for over a decade, strangely was certain that Han Kangyoon would definitely repay her trust.

Whoooosh.

A clear-colored Spiritual Power seeped into the talisman she took from her chest.

“Clear Chain Binding.”

Cheong Joohwa decided, for the first time in her life since birth, to place her complete trust in another person.

Charrrak!

Kiiing!

Although one arm and leg were bound by the blue chains from the talisman, the Ox-Head Specter moved its body regardless.

Crunch.

Crunch-crunch!

Zzzzzzzong!

“Cursed Technique. Weak.”

It was clearly a Specter with high physical abilities. With her nearly depleted Spiritual Power, she couldn’t properly restrain it.

Since they were underground anyway, there was nowhere to run.

Cheong Joohwa steeled her resolve and prepared her final move.

“Kill, eat. Then eat Fire Specter too.”

Thud.

Thud.

Kwoong!

Facing the Ox-Head Specter’s charge, Cheong Joohwa glanced toward the wall. And without hesitation, she threw a talisman in that direction.

“Clear Chain Binding.”

It was the same Restraint Spell Formula she had used earlier, but this time the goal wasn’t to stop the enemy.

Charrrak!

Thwump!

Cheong Joohwa, having driven a chain into the wall, used the recoil to run along the wall surface and leap into the air.

Tap!

“Won’t, miss.”

Kwaang!

Immediately, the Ox-Head Specter also jumped and followed.

Truly a fearsome physical ability—inescapable. However, what entered the jumping Ox-Head Specter’s field of vision were talismans plastered all over the surrounding walls.

“Actually, I already laid them out when I fell earlier.”

Pouring her last Spiritual Power, Cheong Joohwa deployed the Cursed Technique.

“Clear Chain Binding!”

Charak!

Charrrak!

Kiiing!

More than twice as many chains as before. The Ox-Head Specter literally had its entire body restrained mid-air and stopped moving.

However.

“Told, you. Cursed Technique, weak.”

The Ox-Head Specter’s bronze-colored body turned red, and its body began to swell grotesquely.

Crunch.

Under the power, now stronger than before, even the layered Cursed Technique ultimately couldn’t withstand it.

Zzzzzzzong!

Zzzzzzzzzong!

All the chains shattered, and the Ox-Head Specter once again kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.

Cheong Joohwa was hanging from a chain at a fairly high position, but it was a distance the Ox-Head Specter’s ability could easily reach.

‘…This isn’t going to work.’

Her sharp mind had already finished analyzing the situation. There was no way out. The next strike would kill her.

Cheong Joohwa, watching the Ox-Head Specter draw closer, for some reason recalled Han Kangyoon’s face.

If he had repaid her trust, she thought she would have been truly happy.

Soon, as the Ox-Head Specter’s grasp reached out, Cheong Joohwa tightly closed her eyes.

And then.

Kwaaaang!*

“…Not late.”

Breaking through the pile of earth, Han Kangyoon revealed himself.

Somehow, together with the Fire Goblin he had been fighting desperately just moments before.

The Fire Goblin, hanging dazedly from Han Kangyoon’s shoulder, looked at the Ox-Head Specter and quietly opened its mouth.

“…Burn?”

To that, Han Kangyoon replied.

“Yeah.”

Immediately after, flames surged.