“Kahahaha! I’ve been looking forward to this day! A real battle, a real battle! Let’s fight for our lives!”
“This crazy woman!!!”
Swoosh!
Without giving me a chance to answer, Transylvania’s goddess launches herself straight at me.
I can feel it for sure.
That’s Transylvania’s full power.
This is not some prearranged match or duel; it’s a fight where life and death are at stake.
‘I’m going to die!’
The stench of impending death brushes my nostrils.
Instead of countering, I quickly leap out of the way of Transylvania’s charge.
At the same time, I swing my magic sword behind me, but the blade only grazes Transylvania’s hair tie.
“Are you trying to make me uncomfortable by letting my hair down? Clever move!”
“I just got lucky… But are you really going to keep charging at me like this?”
“Yes. As I said before, I’ve become someone’s servant. I can’t tell you who, but she’s massively strong and engraved the magic contract on my heart. Once my master arrives, you’ll have no chance of winning, so you’d better shake me off and run. Of course, I won’t let you go.”
“…”
She pretends to hide her master’s identity while slyly chatting away.
It’s probably a forbidden word to mention Yerina’s name due to the slave contract.
But conveying it indirectly seems to be allowed.
What a flimsy slave contract…
‘This guy… is enjoying this.’
Transylvania clearly stated it was a fight of life and death.
She’s definitely going all out.
Yet, there’s a smile on her face, more delighted than ever, that simply won’t fade away.
She’s enjoying this.
She’s eager for me to bring out my full power and to face her in real combat.
“Are you seriously trying to get captured on purpose to fight me?!”
“No way! That can’t be it!”
Got it.
I had forgotten that Transylvania is a crazier woman than I imagined.
Getting caught by Yerina just to have a match with me?
“You really sold my name well! I had to struggle against the assassins that suddenly attacked when I stopped by Cheongnan without a thought!”
“…”
I fell silent.
I feel a bit sorry about that.
‘I can’t be subdued. I can’t waste time until Yerina gets here.’
I have to run away fast.
Having made that decision, I start to flee with Mi Jeong.
“Do you think I’ll just let you escape?!”
Swoosh!
A powerful wind bursts forth from Dakia’s sword, flying straight at me.
But after transforming my magic sword into a whip, I send out a blade of magic, shattering the wind entirely.
As I strike back against the incoming sword aura, Transylvania continues to chase me.
Her speed shows no signs of slowing down.
‘Damn. I’m at a disadvantage.’
Transylvania slashes forward while running.
I have to swing my sword looking back to counter it.
Because my sword aura is stronger, I can strike once while she has to swing twice, but it’s much more awkward to look back and swing, and my speed drops more than I’d like.
If this situation continues, we will inevitably be caught.
Swords alone won’t work.
I give Mi Jeong a glance, and she nods before turning around quickly and making a hand signal.
“…Mi Jeong Style. Martial Arts Secrets.”
This is definitely a level worthy of being called martial arts secrets!
Stage 2 formation, no less!
Now, Mi Jeong has reached a new level where she can apply her magic to formations.
“…Constraint Formation!”
“Whoa!”
Magic swirls around Transylvania.
The tetrahedral formation twists and changes into a cube, forming a stage 2 formation.
The binding magic inscribed within immediately envelops Transylvania’s body.
Before I know it, Transylvania is kneeling on the ground, unable to move an inch.
It worked.
Now all we need to do is bind Transylvania and escape.
“Stage 2?! This binding magic… Hmm! I remember experiencing something like this before! It was a long time ago! Yes! The fox yokai’s magic had a similar scent! You learned this magic from the fallen Taesu!”
“What…?!”
I guess it’s no big deal that she found out I learned it from Taesu.
But what surprises me is that Transylvania is breaking the binding magic forcefully!
The magic inscribed in the space begins to fade away.
The core that had been tightly concealed is somehow revealed transparently.
With a single stroke, Transylvania slices through it and nullifies the formation.
“Kahaha! I chose my master poorly! I should have picked someone I didn’t know!”
“Damn it!”
I anticipated Transylvania would eventually nullify the formation, but I didn’t expect it to be this fast.
I send out another blade of magic as she charges at me, but she deflects all of them and only speeds up more.
“I won’t fall for the same trick! Do I look like a goldfish to you?!”
“Urk!”
I tried to strike at Transylvania’s ankle or wrist with the shattered pieces of magic, but she dodges them all, completely unharmed as she rushes at me.
Is it true that the methods I’ve used before won’t work again?
“If you want to beat me, you need to come up with something more creative… Huh?! What the?!”
Boom!
With immense force suddenly hitting her, Transylvania rolls on the ground.
She quickly regains her footing, trying to charge again, yet her body remains pinned to the ground.
But still, Transylvania trembles slightly, managing to raise her head and stare at me.
“Is this…! The telekinesis magic that can’t be learned because the technique has been completely lost?! How did you master it?!”
“I have no idea, idiot.”
“With your skill, you couldn’t have learned it in just a few days! Were you hiding this magic when we met? So audacious!”
Stage 5 magic, telekinesis.
It’s basic magic.
Even Transylvania, the so-called encyclopedia of humanity and swordsmanship, might not know telekinesis.
There’s no way she can nullify it.
If I bury Transylvania deep into the ground like this, it’ll take her ages to get out.
… Or so I thought.
“Thank you! Showing me this is the first time I’ve encountered someone who can use telekinesis in 200 years!”
“Uh…”
The intensity of the mana, which had been gathering at my fingertips, starts to fade.
The magic begins to lose its effectiveness, and the telekinetic force weighing down Transylvania dissipates as well.
I didn’t do this.
Transylvania forcibly nullified my magic.
How is this even possible?
It’s impossible.
It should normally be impossible.
Even if it’s the same magic, the composition differs slightly depending on the caster.
To nullify magic, one must fully understand its structure, making it theoretically impossible for anyone but the caster to nullify it.
‘Did she figure out the composition just by observing the magical effect?!’
This crazy woman Transylvania is shattering that common sense right now.
She has perfectly grasped each component of a magic she’s never seen before just from its magical effect.
As a result, telekinesis is no longer just mine.
“Hahaha! You’ve given me a new insight! Truly, you are the best, Yoo Jin!”
“Ugh!”
The moment Transylvania, who just moments ago couldn’t use telekinesis, gathers her power at her fingertips.
She casts the telekinesis magic and slams my body into the ground.
With her face glowing with delight, Transylvania slowly approaches me.
I try to nullify telekinesis like her, but it doesn’t work.
Even if it’s the same magic, the composition of my telekinesis differs from hers.
‘What am I supposed to do? Just crushing me with overwhelming physical power isn’t an option!’
I can’t steal physical prowess…
“Ah. Now I’m convinced. You indeed look most beautiful when you are in despair.”
“Let me go…”
Transylvania saunters closer, her face adorned with glee.
I desperately try to get up, but with every time I lift my head, the telekinesis strengthens, pressing my face into the muddy ground.
Damn it.
Does this brat have some kind of grudge against me?
“… Heh.”
“Powerlessness-”
Just then, Mi Jeong swings Blin’s wooden club (Enhancement +1) from behind Transylvania.
Transylvania doesn’t even look back; she simply reaches her hand back and mutters.
“Reversal.”
“… Argh.”
Thud!
The wooden club swings and bounces back off Transylvania’s hand, hitting Mi Jeong right in the forehead.
Mi Jeong, having struck herself with her own strength, goes flying backward.
She rolls around for about 10 times before lying flat.
Fortunately, her head isn’t cracked, and it looks like she just fainted.
“Have you given up? This is way too anticlimactic compared to what I expected. You must have some tricks left, right? Am I right?”
“Do you think I’m some treasure chest…”
“Oh? How did you know?”
With a sly grin, Transylvania comes closer and grabs the back of my neck.
Her gleaming red eyes are filled with expectation.
It seems she’s waiting for me to pull out another new technique or magic.
I guess she plans to copy it and make it her own.
Sorry, but that won’t happen.
“This is all I have. You just revealed all my cards.”
“Don’t lie! It’s impossible that you unlocked telekinesis by sheer luck! There’s got to be something else, right? Isn’t there?! Hehehe.”
“…”
It’s true that I happened to unlock it, and there’s really nothing else to pull out.
Ah, there is one thing left.
Using the Dimensional Converter, Longinus’ Spear.
However, if I use that, I’ll have to face Draken in the shadow realm again.
The problem is, when I was dragged in front of Draken last time, I looked directly into his eyes.
And that memory is long gone.
‘There’s no guarantee I’ll make it out safely the second time either.’
I might fail to erase the memory and end up remaining a wreck in the shadow realm.
Right now, it’s a very risky option as my mental enhancement trait hasn’t grown enough.
Even if I do manage to escape, the problem is that Longinus’ Spear doesn’t have the coordinate-setting feature, so I might end up anywhere on the way back.
Rather than risking my life, it may be better to get caught by Yerina.
If I were to get caught by Jill or Yulia, the chance of hitting a 100% completion rate would be high since they’d tend to do their own thing.
But with Yerina inherently suspicious of others, that won’t be a concern, at least.
“Bind me. Capture me and take me to your master.”
“You really won’t reveal your hidden cards, huh? You must have been learning some absurd techniques! I’m looking forward to the day when we clash with all our strength!”
She babbles nonsense as she grabs my arm and gathers her magic.
It looks like she’s about to cast a binding spell.
From the looks of it, the technique is quite simple, and it seems I could follow along just by observing the effects.
Despite being in a position to be captured, I might as well learn something.
At that moment, Transylvania flinches and looks shocked as the magic she gathered scatters.
“What?! You, Yoo Jin! What the hell…!”
“What? Why?”
“Ahhh! What is it you’re carrying in your body?!”
Transylvania backs off, tripping and landing on her butt at the sound of a girl-like voice.
I look back, curious about what’s happening.
Peeking out from the inside of my clothes, a nameless being pops its head out, its eight eyes sparkling as it alternates between me and Transylvania.
“Are you scared of her?”
“Th-That’s the Great Druid! You piece of trash! Did you really team up with the Four Heavenly Kings?!”
“No, that’s got to be Kali. I don’t sense any magic from her.”
“I can smell it! It was so faint I didn’t notice… But once she shows herself outside of your clothes, I realize! You filthy thing! Where’s the boastful noble who claimed he could face Draken?! Why’s only a coward left behind?!”
“No…”
“What on earth did Kali suggest to you to make you flip? Ah! Was it her chest? It must be her chest! You go crazy for a chest! You one-dimensional idiot…! I’m ashamed to have respected you even for a moment!”
“Hey, why are you making such assumptions about me…”
I’m baffled.
Sure, the female form attached to Kali is pretty, but thinking of her spider-like lower half makes me want to side with evil like that doesn’t feel quite right.
Besides, it’s basically just a byproduct of Kali now, so the physical development is a bit off…
It seems that Transylvania has been dying to frame me all this time.
“Huh?”
“Dammit! My legs won’t move…”
Transylvania tries to stand up to charge me but shrinks back at Nameless’s words, unable to budge.
It seems she already has a strong trauma from the Four Heavenly Kings and is trembling at the thought of being dragged in front of Draken again.
While Nameless, being just a byproduct of Kali, has no dimensional tearing abilities.
But it seems Transylvania is making a misunderstanding, so I won’t bother breaking it.
It’s better that way for her to keep misunderstanding.
“Did you get brainwashed by the Great Druid?! Is that it?! Right, Yoo Jin?! Answer me!”
“Now’s our chance. Let’s run.”
“Huh?!”
“Listen well, Great Druid! I will definitely retrieve my comrade, Yoo Jin! You’d better prepare for the day when I bring him back to his senses from your flimsy feminine schemes!”
“…”
Leaving Transylvania trembling in place, yelling with all her might, I carry the unconscious Mi Jeong and run away.
“Waaah! My friend!!!”
Transylvania cries out.
Tears also flow from my eyes.
