episode_0041

***

The barrier gave the illusion of being held loosely, as if forcing sleep, like the inside of a womb.

How long has it been since I felt this way?

I am reminded of the fetus possession that was attempted after being persecuted as a demon of the Iceborne Tribe and being saved by Lord Kritrick.

‘Bang bang bang bang bang’

It was hard not to flinch at the sight of the warrior holding the Ice Binding Barrier with his sword, but my eyes were also drawn to the two Elemental Tribes lying behind him.

Aor, the thorn of the Queen of the Element Tribe, who borrowed her body for a short while for negotiations. A blue-skinned element who is still nameless even though a lot of time has passed since she was born into the world.

When I wake up, how old will my ego be? Or will I lose my ego forever and become an empty shell?

I was a little curious about how the body I had been living in until now would react when it woke up.

An undesirable child born from the element that became the mother of the monster Behemoth.

More than that, a priestess is a priestess.

The barrier prepared for the Ice Demon Tribe makes even the spirits themselves fall into drowsiness.

It would be normal to be unable to even rebel within this barrier and just fall asleep.

It was difficult to approach her with those eyes staring at me intently. No, to be honest, I was scared.

Because the wounds inflicted on him by the priestess have not yet healed.

“Warrior. Please.”

now…!

I thought that maybe the sudden coldness in my eyes had made me let my guard down, but I trusted Critic and attempted to steal his possession.

I felt like I would lose my mind if I just kept waiting.

Swoosh

The soul enters the body. If it is a body that will be discarded soon, there is no need to go through the memories.

There’s not enough time for that, and before that happens, the owner of my body will come to his senses and kick me out.

Hmm-, is the tool that Critic gave you really that effective?

It’s a strange feeling to be given it without any resistance and just giving it to someone.

If he was worried about Aor’s safety, now that the ice was gone, it was the right time to deal with him. The warrior realized it and tried to do it, but failed because the barrier was created faster. Still, he thought that there would be a way to block the decisive blow that he would unleash when the warrior party was around.

But what about the priestess now?

I had anticipated and prepared myself for fierce resistance before closing my eyes, but there was no resistance, as if I was giving up my body. If that’s the case, then there’s no reason to hesitate.

Huh-?!

Now, with some movement of the body, the soul inhales.

A real sense of omnipotence. A confidence that you can do anything.

Is this the feeling that you usually feel?

Ah, I guess this is the level at which you can influence the world.

As the soul settles into the shaman’s body, it becomes clearer.

Natural tree. Clan. Priestess. Oracle. War. Human. Princess. Saint. Sage. And, Warrior.

A moment when countless memories swirl around. A conclusion that suddenly comes to me as I calmly open my eyes.

Oh, this is. There’s no chance of winning.

My experience as a brigade commander speaks for itself.

He said he would die here.

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

The feeling of feeling one’s body against the slowly fading barrier is hopeless.

Not only was he not armed, but his clothes were simple, so he was practically naked. In that case, it would be better to be killed by the warrior, but the weapon of the warrior was a clean staff with little lethality.

Moreover, he retrieved the sword just with the thought of subduing it.

It was difficult to escape from a warrior who was serious about dealing with her even at first glance. It was also impossible to ruin her body to the point where she couldn’t recover before the priestess came to her senses.

Since there was a miracle of resurrection, a clean death would have been a dog’s death.

I had to create a state where even a miracle of resurrection could not restore him, but I couldn’t do that because the warrior in front was blocking my way.

Even the warrior couldn’t stay still while possessing the shaman’s body.

As I was trying to spread my energy in case I could take a hostage, I sensed a figure running away from me in the distance. They didn’t run that far, but the problem was that I didn’t have the confidence to get past the warrior.

“Ha-. Okay. I guess I’ll have to struggle.”

The complete death of the Ice Demon Tribe is approaching. No matter how much I think about it, there is no way to win. Before I can escape or commit suicide, my master will come to his senses and drive me out. The situation after that is obvious without even having to look.

I will destroy any defenseless soul without a second thought.

It was difficult to endure a fight that was predicted to be my end with my whole mind, but I had already decided to do it anyway.

“I will leave you with irreparable scars.”

That was the best I could do.

***

I moved to subdue Kuhora, who had possessed Ollie’s body. I swung the Diamond Staff appropriately, and he easily dodged and counterattacked. It was a bit lacking in the sense that it was completely Ollie’s gesture, but that alone was enough to escape my hand by a hair.

‘Boom- boom!’

As the distance narrowed, the long length of Geumgangbong became more cumbersome, but he couldn’t put it down, so he looked around while striking Geumgangbong diagonally. In order to adapt to Olli’s fast speed, his body had to react earlier than he thought.

‘Boo-woong’

Soon, the Geumgangbong was about to be swung by the opponent’s hand, so he made big movements to quickly take the initiative. Even Ollie’s body was not skilled enough in close combat to notice the weak point that was intentionally exposed, so he was only fighting with Ollie’s physical ability.

Still, it’s tricky.

It’s amazing that he specializes in handling multiple weapons, but if you ask me what Oli’s strength is, I would say it’s his agile evasion. The ability to dodge attacks right in front of him by a hair’s breadth is amazing.

That too, in place.

Compared to that kind of Ollie, Kuhora’s attacks were good enough for my level.

Measure the distance the wind pressure reaches and be careful not to get hurt.

“Tsk.”

Ollie’s eyes are blurry as he barely avoids the attention he is receiving.

I feel like it’s admirable that he’s trying to get used to it here and there because he’s dedicated to Ollie’s face.

I’ll end this short review by thinking that this must have been how Ollie felt when he first taught me.

“Ha!”

This time, I increased the speed on my side, as if I was thrilled.

As the attack and defense are reversed, the range of evasion increases. That means there are more openings, but experience and intuition tell you whether it is a trick or a real weakness.

It’s all full of loopholes.

Judging from the fact that he rushed in from the beginning without any particular conversation, he was an extraordinary guy, but he seemed to be the type that suffered physically due to his weak body compared to his outstanding intelligence.

“Do you think you can take away Ollie’s body just like that? Ollie is not just this much!”

As soon as the initiative is passed, there is room to complain.

“Huh-!”

On the other hand, if it was the original Ollie, he would show an expression of resentment that he would not have made. The guy looks like he wants to refute, but when he slams it on the ground in a threatening manner, it shatters and he will not have time to open his mouth carelessly.

Well, not bad.

This is Ollie’s angry expression that we don’t usually see. The cool image that made it hard to know what he was thinking in the 4-dimensional mental world became much more colorful, so this had its own unique charm.

“You’re doing great, my dear! If you keep pressuring her like that, the priestess will come to her senses. Then, the Ice Demon Tribe will be completely destroyed.”

Millet’s voice from the inside pocket is lively as if he is a god. As Millet advised, I know it well, but what I chose was to buy time by making people think, “Can I do this?” rather than suppressing them.

“Tsk. That disgusting bitch ended up betraying me.”

I didn’t bother to follow him as he took a step back to correct his posture. He probably noticed it too.

Checkmate.

There was no way out, and the situation was just a matter of counting down until Ollie woke up. The only thing that was left was the intrusion of a mid-level servant horse, but even that was something he was concerned about as he dealt with it.

“Not at all. I was against the war from the beginning-.”

“Huh!”

Before Mille could say anything, Ollie’s new form rushed in. In a situation where defeat was certain, the best Kuhora could do was to inflict as much damage as possible on Nana Ollie, so it was probably the right choice.

‘Paang-!’

As Ollie’s side kick, like a fencing thrust, aimed for the shin, he quickly caught it.

‘Bam! Bam! Bam!’

He spun around while being caught. He blocked and deflected the roundhouse kick with his free leg, but frowned at the force of the impact.

I’m sick.

“Eww!”

A body that keeps turning while holding onto the other ankle. Looking at it again, it was a body that was really flexible and resilient.

“This is crazy…?!”

He was a guy who was trying to punch you while standing in the air, but when he grabbed your leg and started spinning around, it was hard to hold back his moans.

‘grasp!’

He tried to bend over but ended up lying down on the other side, picked up a rock rolling on the ground, and threw it at me.

“Tseu-heup.”

A pebble that would crumble within a second. I wasn’t the type of person to let go just because it hit me with a single pebble, but the guy didn’t miss the moment when I lost strength in my hand that was holding onto it after it hit the pole.

If you had fought him while wearing armor, the damage would have been considerable.

I missed the Geumgangbong while defending against Ollie’s kick. In fact, I put it down on purpose to induce him to attack me.

“Huh.”

An atmosphere where even shouting is not allowed. It is perfect for the nonstop, back-and-forth bare-handed combat.

The attack is fierce, but there is no actual impact, so only the sound of the blows is heard.

It seems that Kuhora knew that he couldn’t win against me with striking, so he responded with jujutsu to subdue me. Even Ollira would have done the same.

‘Pah-ang! Pak!’

Kuhora’s inexperience was felt in the kick aimed at the square.

If I had to throw him, I would have tripped him instead of kicking him.

The senses of a master are the extremes of the five senses. The closer the range, the faster the reaction is, a fight of fractions of a second.

The habits of your opponent. Muscle movements. Intuition’s warnings.

It wasn’t just sight that allowed him to sense the enemy flying towards him.

It’s similar to how you can feel or see the flow of water when you just push it with your palm underwater.

Before the attack reaches me, the density of the air signals me. When I enter battle, every single hair on my head stands on end, sending information through my nerves.

Send it.

Watching Ollie’s movements, which were faster than anyone else’s, and now Kuhora’s, I thought about the training I had done with Ollie in the past. Looking back, I had trained foolishly, but I had no choice but to do so if I wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the party members, even though I was a weakling.

To summarize my skills, I would say I am an instant master who has developed through attribute training.

Thanks to the special privilege of 10x experience points, I have been able to achieve double the results with less effort than others, and experts and masters in each field have invested in me.

But that doesn’t mean I live my life in vain.

Immediately after accepting the contract to kill the Demon King, he not only honed his skills to the point where even the best were astonished, but he also believed in an environment where he would recover from injuries and practiced more than in actual combat, believing that death was right by his side.

As they grew in this way, their level became similar to that of their party members, and they complemented each other. When their growth reached its limit, they challenged themselves to overcome further trials.

What I lack is confidence.

Although it was difficult to ignore Kuhora possessing Ollie’s body, there was a gap that Ollie could not reach.

“This is true.”

It feels like I’m fighting a degraded version of Ollie. At least, it’s more disappointing than when I first sparred with Ollie, when my level was lower than now.

“Fuck, fucking motherfucker… !”

Breathing that is sloppy due to lack of energy distribution. Fists and kicks that are thrown roughly. A head that has no time to spare due to urgency.

If I had tried to subdue him from the beginning, it would have been more difficult. I used this method because he was an opponent who was moderately strong but had weak skin.

I also didn’t know how to subdue it more definitely.

“Ugh, crunch! Kwaaak!”

Ollie’s scream as he grabs his head as if he is slowly coming to his senses.

“Wow. It’s the first time I’ve seen the Bingyi Demon Tribe’s possession being released.”

I listened to Millet’s comments with one ear and observed Ollie’s changes and the position of the intermediate service horse.

“This is ridiculous! Already like this, me! This is absolutely… !”

Unlike the noisy barrier, Ollie stopped and knelt in vain.

“What happened?”

I was about to say it was over, but I held back because I thought it would continue on so persistently that it seemed like it was over.

“… warrior.”

Ollie’s face returned to its emotionless state. It was a shame that I only got to see various expressions for less than 5 minutes, but I was still glad to see the subtle changes in Ollie’s expressions.

“You! Wait a minute.”

Ollie, who was quietly getting up, tried to approach to see if things were okay, but stopped when Mille stopped him.

“If the Bing-ui Demon Tribe fails to possess, they will become a spirit and escape. But there was no such movement at all, right?”

“… Really?”

In my opinion, Ollie was right, but Millet’s opinion was also valid.

Because I couldn’t feel Kuhora’s energy at all.

“… … .”

Here, Ollie is defending himself by saying that he is the real one, and if he was Kuhora, he would have to act so as not to get caught, but he does not show any of that and just stays quiet.

“Um- It’s okay. Ollie is right.”

I looked at Ollie who was staring at me intently and answered calmly.

“Is that so? If you say so, then so be it.”

Millet, who likes to explain things logically, follows along without any objection. It’s fortunate that there’s no need to explain anything since it’s the warrior’s intuition. It was just Ollie in front of him.

“Huh. If the possessed demon fails to possess, they turn into spirits and escape. It seems the shaman killed them inside her own body. There has never been a record of this before, so this is truly an interesting discovery.”

But I guess it’s because I like to explore that I insist on talking about the reasoning I derived.

“Oli.”

Leaving Mille alone, I faced Ollie to resolve and sort out the case.