“Kali! Check this out!”
“This bastard!!!”
[Kali’s Dead Soul]
[Status: Good]
[A magical tool made by processing the dead soul of Great Druid Kali. It blooms when the time is right.]
A mana stone made from all the mana that leaked out of Kali’s body.
She can’t handle it without going crazy.
Just as expected, right before Kali catches up with Jill, she looks back at me and starts screeching like a maniac.
‘Got it.’
This creates a one-on-one showdown.
[Stats]
[Strength: 19(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Stamina: 44(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Mana: 50(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Agility: 25(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Luck: 10(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
‘This is bad.’
But the moment Jill rises to the surface.
The Guardian Knight also flickers out.
In this state, I cannot catch up with Kali’s speed.
But…
‘What I’ve been building isn’t just stats. I can overwhelm her.’
Since defeating Kali, I’ve grown strong in many ways.
Sure, if I turned on the Guardian Knight now, I could easily handle things, but it would be hard to prevent casualties on the surface.
“So, I’ll somehow catch her while being under penalty!”
Snap.
I cross my fingers and make the hand sign.
Then, my mana seeps into the space in front of me, drawing a massive cube formation.
It’s a basic Level 0 formation.
A simple, straightforward formation that holds no function.
“Ugh?!”
“Of course, your movements were accelerated by a curse.”
But the moment she stepped inside the formation, Kali’s movements slowed significantly.
The significance of a Level 0 formation is declaring this space as mine.
Applying magic to the space is still impossible, but conversely, I can prevent the opponent’s magic from being effective here.
Kali’s spells cannot take effect in this area.
“Ugh?!”
Thud!
Using telekinesis, I slam Kali’s body down into the ground.
The moment her movements come to a complete stop.
I draw my magic sword and gather energy at its tip.
Whoosh!
A white sword aura slices through the dark space.
Before she could react, the sword aura struck her upper body.
But it wasn’t enough to cut through her bones in one hit.
I strike the same spot again and again.
“AAAHHH!!!”
Finally, her spine is severed, and Kali’s upper body is split off.
I thought I had blocked her sight with this, where a human’s upper body should exist where her spider body has eyes.
Soon, a hole forms in the spider’s body, and pupils emerge inside, staring directly at me.
What the hell is that?
Is that really Kali?
No.
At this point, it would be accurate to say it’s a monster using Kali’s corpse.
Hehe… Hah… Kali is in perfect condition now. Cut off an eye, and more eyes will emerge; cut off a leg, and more legs will grow! If you slice it apart, it will regenerate with each piece!
Just then, the ceiling collapses, and a boy slowly descends from above.
As I looked at him, I froze in place.
Sola’s younger brother, Zenon.
Caught in Zenon’s grasp was Cardinal Nicholas, or rather, Luna, chuckling away.
“What did you do to Zenon?!”
I fixed his heart. It was what Sola wanted. Hehe…
You crazy bastard.
Zenon’s heart is already dead.
What Belphegor proposed was likely a living heart transplant, but Luna’s method was a bit different.
She completely killed the dying heart and revived it through necromancy.
Can this even be called repairing it?
Not really.
At least, Sola won’t be happy about it.
Hehe! You killed Kali, destroyed Belphegor’s avatar, and scared the real one away! Show me what you’ve got!
“……”
Numerous eyes sprouted from Kali’s body.
The severed upper body grew legs and stood on two feet.
Kali had now become two.
Behind me, Zenon was gathering immense mana, preparing to cast magic.
Despite being outnumbered by my stats, I was surrounded and cornered.
In this situation, even if I activated the Guardian Knight, I didn’t see a way to win.
But just one thing.
One method to win came to my mind.
“This doesn’t seem like a good idea, but it’s all I got.”
Show your potential, Mortal!
Slash!
I lunged forward like a bullet, directly slicing the female half in two.
Even though her movements slowed due to the sealing of magic, the spider monster quickly approached me.
I slashed through its sturdy legs and slid underneath.
“EEEEK!”
Boom!
Zenon’s explosive magic hit the spider monster directly, but I was safe below.
As the spider monster staggered from the explosion’s damage, I crawled out from underneath.
Soon, the ones that had surrounded me shifted to confront me directly.
The encirclement was broken.
Dakia-style Secrets!
“AHHH! Here it comes again!”
What’s coming?!
Iron Blood Storm Slash!
With a twist of my body, I scattered the celestial net made of white sword aura.
Having faced this once, the spider monster closed its eyes and raised its sturdy legs to defend.
The female Kali that had been sliced in half regenerated and stood back up, only to be shattered into pieces.
Zenon responded with a barrier.
Before I knew it, everywhere was a chaotic battlefield filled with dirt and rubble, where I couldn’t see a thing.
Where did they go?
“They’re fleeing!”
Of course, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
As they choked in the thick smoke, I quickly climbed the ladder to the surface.
“Don’t run away! Return my mana stone!!!”
This wasn’t fleeing.
It was stepping back.
A tactical retreat.
…
…
…
“Hah… Hah…”
When Jill arrived above ground, she witnessed a shocking scene.
Soldiers were completely collapsed.
Holy Knights lay injured, moaning in pain.
Jill’s legs moved on their own.
And her hands quickly began to cast healing magic.
“Ugh. Priestess…”
“What happened? Where’s Cardinal Nicholas?”
“The Cardinal is acting strange. He called out for Zenon, and suddenly Zenon appeared and blasted us all with explosive magic…”
“This can’t be.”
Turning back, I saw Zenon ravaging the ground with explosive magic.
Soon, a hole appeared in the ground.
Floating in midair, Zenon clutched Cardinal Nicholas as he descended into the hole.
“We need support. Only with support…”
“I received news! The Sacred Knights’ main unit has been summoned!”
“Cornelia?”
At that moment, Cornelia rushed through the crowd.
Trailing behind her was a pale-skinned girl.
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu regarding the girl, but there was no time to ask who she was.
“They said the main unit will arrive soon? Got it. Then I’ll head down!”
“What?! Why would the Priestess go down when enemies are swarming below?!”
“Yoo Jin is down there. And when he’s with me, he becomes incredibly powerful. No matter how strong he is, fighting both the spider monster and the floating mage simultaneously will be tough.”
Without hesitation, Jill turned and walked toward the entrance descending underground.
Soon, the main unit of the Sacred Knights arriving to suppress these monsters would occur.
All I had to do was hold on until then.
If I fail, I would die alongside Yoo Jin.
It’s a better option than living if Yoo Jin dies.
“Yoo Jin will never escape. He prioritizes the safety of others over his own life. That’s just who he is…”
Yoo Jin would probably act foolishly once more.
He’ll stick to his principles even if it costs him his life.
Just as I was getting ready to head down again, for some reason, the girl also tried to go down without saying a word.
As I was about to grab her to stop her…
“Hey, it’s dangerous down there—”
“Don’t run away! Return my mana stone!!!”
Yoo Jin burst out from the entrance.
The spider monster broke through the entrance and came roaring up.
Yoo Jin waved a black mana stone in his hand and quickly dashed out of the cathedral.
The spider monster chased after him, smashing through walls.
Watching them already fade away…
Jill and Cornelia were left frozen in shock.
“Oh!”
Shortly after, Zenon ascended, floating in the air.
His indifferent expression surveyed the fallen soldiers and Holy Knights.
Again, as he began to gather magic in his fingertips, Jill’s face turned pale.
Zenon! Stop fooling around! You need to chase after him! Kali is totally fixated on that guy! We need to kill him to control Kali!
“Order… I shall obey…”
Nodding in agreement to Cardinal Nicholas’s command, Zenon withdrew the magic he had gathered, wrapped Cardinal Nicholas in his arms, and flew toward the direction where the spider monster and Yoo Jin had disappeared.
It was an unexpected situation, but Jill’s trust in Yoo Jin remained unshaken.
He’s leading them somewhere.
Yoo Jin was luring the enemies.
But why was he heading toward the city?
He wouldn’t fight risking people’s lives…
“I need to chase after him!”
“Then I’ll too…”
“What can you follow when you can’t fight? Please explain the situation once the main unit arrives.”
“……”
Jill grabbed Cornelia’s shoulder, holding her back.
Even if Cornelia came, it wouldn’t change anything.
She would only be a hindrance.
That was the objective and clear truth.
Meanwhile, Jill had already dashed far ahead.
Only Cornelia remained behind, grinding her teeth in frustration.
“Huh? But where did the Blood Ghoul girl go…?”
Turning around, Cornelia realized too late that the Blood Ghoul girl had vanished.
Meanwhile, an alarm blared throughout Cologne.
As sirens blared loudly, Yoo Jin sprinted through the entirely empty plaza after all the people had evacuated.
“Return my soul! My magic! Give them back to me!!!”
“I haven’t even opened it yet! If you pull off gacha, I’ll return it!”
The spider monster overwhelmingly surpassed Yoo Jin in raw speed.
But while fleeing, as he laid down formations in his path, the spider monster kept losing speed due to the accelerating curse being dispelled.
However, despite appearing somewhat evenly matched in speed, the reality was that the spider monster was clearly gaining on Yoo Jin.
Each time Yoo Jin slowed to jump a wall, the spider monster barreled through, effortlessly following.
Before long, both had reached an alley.
Just 10 meters separated them.
Due to mana exhaustion, Yoo Jin’s legs stiffened.
He fell and rolled on the ground.
“AGH! Hah! Hah! I’m almost there…”
“You filthy human child! I’m gonna kill you! I will absorb your lingering soul and resurrect completely!”
The spider monster twisted its body grotesquely, emitting an eerie voice.
Because of the side effects of resurrection, the spider monster couldn’t resist its impulses or emotions.
When Kali died, it had a great grudge towards Mi Jeong for failing to share its fate with her.
But a greater force than that was the longing for the dead soul.
If it could absorb that, it could resurrect as the complete Great Druid Kali instead of this gross form.
It could do anything to obtain a dead soul.
Literally anything.
“Return to being a handful of dirt.”
“……”
Slowly and with an iron-solid leg, it approached.
Faced with mana exhaustion and dwindling stats, Yoo Jin had no means to fight back; however, he instead wore a smile.
Just then, the ground suddenly sank.
“You’re not the one I’m facing.”
“……?”
The earth began to rumble.
Is an earthquake happening?
But the spider monster noticed that the source wasn’t particularly deep.
It shook as its eyeballs trembled.
Such a powerful being was rare.
Crash!
A gauntlet burst from the dirt.
Then, kicking up soil in all directions, a fully armored Holy Knight rose.
With matted hair dripping with mud, the one-eyed knight stood up, clenching his jaw.
“Mi Jeong. Mi Jeong, come out. I will kill you.”
Faced with that force, the spider monster shrank back.
