Chapter 43

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Whoosh!

Hectail, who had jumped back and landed as if sliding, brushed off the remaining embers on his body and muttered with interest.

“Hoh, this fire…….”

The souls Hectail had been holding captive—some of them were screaming in real-time, dissolving into nothingness.

They had been forcibly released from their restraints and attained salvation due to the ‘Flame of Purification’ trait possessed by Kongsami.

“Interesting. Is this your hidden trump card?”

“…….”

Even though it was a direct hit, there was no sign of significant damage. I had somewhat expected this, but honestly, it was a painful situation.

‘To have such durability even after receiving a perfect counter-type attack.’

I couldn’t help but realize it once more, however reluctantly. Hectail was an enemy I couldn’t handle as I was now.

“Watching you struggle like this would be amusing, but I must say, your earlier statement has gotten on my nerves.”

Tap.

Smoothly.

Rustle.

As Hectail lightly flicked his finger, black Jooeon began to appear around Seo Jian’s nape.

He was attempting to activate a curse he had planted in advance.

In response, I pulled out a talisman from my pocket and filled it with Spiritual Power.

“Kongsam.”

Whoosh!

Flare.

At my signal, Kongsami, who had returned to my side, extended a finger and lit the edge of the talisman.

I held it against Seo Jian’s body and recited the Intermediate-Rank Unbinding Art Formula I had prepared.

“Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra.”

Hwoom.

Zzzzzzzzong!

Crackle.

The Unbinding Art Formula, enhanced by the effects of the Flame of Purification and the correction from my Forbidden Technique Value, completely shattered Hectail’s curse.

Seeing this, Hectail paused and let out a low exclamation.

“Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra? That curse shouldn’t be breakable by such a mere Art.”

“…….”

“…Kehehe. No, it seems I failed to notice something.”

Hectail, who seemed to find something immensely amusing, burst into a loud laugh, then eventually let the corners of his mouth droop and continued speaking.

“I clearly thought you were an aspiring Exorcist, but to think you were closer to this side.”

“I merely have some expertise in curse-type Arts.”

“Nonsense.”

Dismissing my reply with a single word, Hectail placed a hand on the bundle of bandages that had been covering his eyes and made an expression as if he could hardly contain himself.

“On the contrary, it’s strange I didn’t notice until now. The scent of karma wafting so strongly. You certainly didn’t accumulate it through ordinary means.”

“…….”

“Show me. The weight of the Forbidden Arts binding your body.”

Smoothly.

Hectail’s bandages unraveled, and soon an intense curse began to invade my body.

I had roughly guessed from the realm, but it seemed he had indeed completed it.

‘Balor’s Death Eye.’

An original Forbidden Art created by Hectail, named after a god from Celtic mythology.

The fact that he revealed it was consistent with Hectail’s intention to seriously confront me from now on.

‘Reinforcements will probably arrive soon.’

But can I hold out until then?

Frankly, I had my doubts, but now there was no choice but to try.

Sssss.

“Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra.”

Hwoom.

Crackle!

“…Hoh, so you can withstand the power of the Death Eye.”

Somehow, I could still move my body, but it wasn’t a favorable situation. Even with the correction from my Forbidden Technique Value and the defense of the Unbinding Art Formula, damage was clearly accumulating.

“Mind Fox.”

Whoosh!

Whirr.

[Keeing!]

Summoning Old Man Tree Specter would probably be meaningless, so I set it aside. This was all the combat power I could currently muster.

“…Haa. Ha. I’ll help too.”

“No, stay behind me.”

Seo Jian was already in a state where she could barely stand. Moreover, without a way to block curses, she couldn’t withstand Balor’s Death Eye.

‘…Soul Combustion.’

Flare.

Flare.

Hwoom.

As I burned the slumbering vengeful spirits, my depleted Spiritual Power recovered in an instant. I stood in front of Seo Jian, blocking her, and called Kongsami to give an order.

“Art of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Fire.”

Flare.

Whoooosh—!

The natural-type amplification Art I had used in the previous battle against Ox-Head Specter.

Through Kongsami’s flames, the most powerful attack method I currently possessed was fired directly at Hectail.

Fwoom!

Flicker.

Flicker flicker flicker.

“This fire is indeed interesting. Is it similar in nature to the power of a Divine Beast? You have quite a precious Shikigami.”

The attack hit directly, and the sound of clothes and flesh burning pierced my ears.

Despite it surely being a significant blow, Hectail deliberately dodged a step late while analyzing the flames.

It was truly the composure of an overwhelmingly powerful being.

“But that’s all. Do you have nothing more to show?”

After that, I tried attacking by utilizing all the means at my disposal to the maximum, but the results weren’t much different.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

“The nature of the power you use is clearly close to this side, yet it feels alien at the same time.”

Hectail, leisurely giving his assessment, finally delivered the final verdict with a sinister smile.

“…Enough. I’ve spent more time than I thought. Let’s end this now.”

Grrrrrr.

An immense amount of Spiritual Power erupted in an instant, pressing down on my body.

Hectail, displaying the overwhelming violence stemming from his Level 65, pulled out dozens of strands of souls from the beads at his waist and began reciting an incantation.

“The Gu Poison of Azure Mountain, the Delusion Curse of Death Realm.”

Hwoom.

Crackle crackle!

Instantly, the surrounding land dried up and turned into barren wasteland. Soaring Spiritual Power took the form of a black heat haze and began to erode the area around Hectail.

An Advanced Art of the curse lineage. And one belonging to the fairly powerful category at that.

“…Mind Fox.”

[Keeeeng.]

Following my instruction, Mind Fox sent out a wave of thought with all its might.

Piiiiing.

Not at Hectail, but directly at me.

‘It wouldn’t work on the opponent anyway.’

On the contrary, I had summoned Mind Fox precisely for this very moment.

To endure the opponent’s attack a little longer, to place a suggestion close to hypnosis on myself.

‘Soul Combustion.’

Flare!

Hwoom.

Bracing for the pain that would soon follow, I burned vengeful spirits, drew out all the Spiritual Power stored in the Bari Jade Bracelet, and prepared my final sorcery.

This was the decisive blow I had been waiting for all along.

As I finished my preparations, Hectail poured the completed curse directly onto me.

“If you meet Bihyeong over there, be sure to give him my regards.”

Screeeech!

Rustle rustle rustle!

“…Burn it!”

Whoooosh!

Kongsami shot out flames imbued with the Power of Purification with all its might, but it was still insufficient. The fiercely burning flames were soon swallowed by the opponent’s curse.

Rustle.

“Water Flow!”

Splash.

The water barrier created by Seo Jian was the same; it was immediately eroded by the curse and the Art Formula itself shattered.

But it probably helped somewhat in offsetting the power. I made my decision, sent Kongsami and Mind Fox back into the shadows, dashed forward, and directly received Hectail’s curse.

Whoooosh!

“Han Kangyoon!”

Seo Jian’s urgent cry reached my ears, and along with immense pain, my consciousness began to blur.

Crack.

Crackle.

Due to the curse’s aftermath, hideous Jooeon writhed all over my body, and black, dead blood began to drip from my nose and ears.

However, it was all according to plan.

I was teetering right on the very limit of what I could endure.

Drip.

Drip.

Even as blood flowed, I kept my gaze fixed on the opponent and didn’t let go of my consciousness.

The correction from my Forbidden Technique Value, Kongsami’s Flame of Purification, Seo Jian’s Natural-Type Sorcery, and my Spiritual Power pushed to its limit.

On top of that, the power of the Life Returner trait that enhances survivability in extreme situations, and the final sorcery I had deployed.

Converting all of that into numerical values, I judged that I could, just barely, contain this one attack within my body.

‘…….’

The only thing I had over Hectail right now was my off-the-charts Forbidden Technique Value, which had reached its peak.

Then, of course, the only way to navigate this situation was to utilize that.

And in the end, I won the gamble.

A Forbidden Art of equivalent exchange that returns damage to the opponent by converting the damage I receive into a curse.

Having pierced through the curse with all my might, I fired the sorcery imbued with the power of the Death Eye and Hectail’s curse directly back at him.

“Mirror of Counter-Grudge!”

Screeeech!

“Keuhk!”

This time, even Hectail couldn’t escape unscathed.

Squelch.

Rustle.

As traces of the curse crawled over his body, Hectail grimaced and began using the souls he had captured to expel the curse.

Grrrooom.

He somehow managed to suppress the curse, but it seemed he had taken considerable damage, as one of his legs gave way.

“Keheh, heh. This is surprising. To think of enduring that attack. Are you in your right mind?”

Hectail showed an excited laugh, supported his trembling leg, and slowly rose from his spot.

He showed signs of trying to finish me off immediately, without even caring for his own safety.

However, this was as far as it went.

Colloquially speaking, time’s up.

“…Tch. As expected, I dragged it out too long.”

Feeling the presence of multiple individuals from the other side, Hectail made a face full of regret, as if displeased.

Smoothly.

Taking bandages from his robe and wrapping them around his face again, he pulled down the robe covering his body and left me with a final message.

“After finishing the matter involving the Cheong Family’s daughter, I’ll come find you again.”

Tap!

Watching Hectail’s retreating back, I too gradually began to feel my consciousness blur.

The last thing I could see as I collapsed was the figures of Exorcists appearing from between the trees and Seo Jian approaching my fallen form with an unreadable expression.

When I came to, a somehow familiar space was greeting me.

“This place is…….”

A monotonous hospital room and lights placed at wide intervals so as not to hurt the eyes.

It was clearly the medical facility owned by Seo Jian where she had been treating Seo Jiha.

Hearing a faint breathing sound, I looked around and saw Seo Jian, who had placed a chair a little distance away and fallen asleep.

Also, from the bed next to mine, Yoo Ain, wrapped from head to toe in bandages for curse removal, was staring at me who had woken up.

“…You’re awake.”

“You seem to have taken quite a beating.”

“I am only ashamed that I failed to fulfill my duty.”

It was no exaggeration; Yoo Ain looked completely dejected.

She probably felt guilty for not properly protecting Seo Jian.

“…He was strong. I’ve never seen such a monster before.”

“…….”

“And you… you ultimately protected the young lady even against such a monster.”

Seeing this unfamiliar side of Yoo Ain, I felt an inexplicable pity and somehow managed to offer words of comfort.

“We’re all alive, so that’s what matters.”

“…You can’t even bring yourself to say ‘well fought.’ But it’s the truth, so there’s nothing to be done.”

After scolding herself for a long while, Yoo Ain eventually smiled a somehow fleeting smile and said to me.

“Still, ignoring the young lady’s instructions and bringing you here seems to have been the best choice. I offer my sincere thanks.”

“…….”

I don’t know who treated me, but my physical condition isn’t as bad as I thought.

As I fidgeted under an inexplicable feeling of embarrassment, Yoo Ain spoke to me again.

“At first, I thought you were an incomprehensible fellow.”

“I suppose so.”

“But now, I’m even more confused. What is the young lady to you?”

It wasn’t a particularly hostile question. What was contained there was pure curiosity.

After pondering deeply, I gave her an answer.

“An indispensable collaborator.”

“That’s not the obvious answer I wanted. But, fine.”

Yoo Ain, who had dragged out her words for a moment, shed her serious demeanor and asked another question.

“What do you think of the young lady?”

“A good colleague.”

“…You really only pick the most stiff-necked answers to give.”

Yoo Ain, making a somewhat dissatisfied expression, uttered a fundamental question as if she never thought she’d have to ask something like this.

“Then, simply in terms of human appeal, what do you think?”

“…….”

From the start, Seo Jian was a character who became a topic of discussion in the original story solely for her appearance, despite not having much narrative weight.

Of course, it was impossible not to feel any appeal.

Holding that honest impression, I gave Yoo Ain an answer.

“I think she’s pretty. The prettiest among the people I’ve met so far.”

Then, suddenly, the sound of something falling was heard in the room.

Clatter.

Thud.

It was the thick book that had been resting on the lap of the sleeping Seo Jian.