Ch.158158 – A Veteran’s Show of Skill

# 158 – Showing the Skills of a Veteran

Exorcist Io.

To stand against the malice of ghosts that deceive humans, he became an FM exorcist so devoted to principles that some called him rigid.

He shows no compromise in ghost-related incidents, and anyone who interferes with his exorcisms—even civilians—is considered possessed and subdued by force.

“Oknodie. That senior looks pretty strong… Isn’t there a way to talk things out instead of fighting?”

“Sorry, Titosoga. I don’t think that’s possible!”

Io himself corrects his pushed-back stance, cracks his neck with audible pops, and draws up his fighting spirit.

Whoosh.

Crackle. Crackle.

A formidable opponent who wouldn’t lose even compared to the first-year advanced class NPCs he’d faced so far.

No, someone even more skilled.

It couldn’t be helped.

This person was also a member of the advanced class.

Not a first-year, but a second-year advanced class student.

Professor Platton, Dragon Principal.

Someone who had survived those vicious professors’ lectures for a year and advanced couldn’t possibly be weak.

“Do you want peace? Then I’ll tell you how.”

Blue electricity crackled around Io’s eyes.

A phenomenon that occurs when manipulating large amounts of magical power.

The discharge effect only witnessed around skilled practitioners.

“Hand over all cursed objects emanating impure power. Bring forth the ghost that has gone into hiding before me. Then I will acknowledge that you are not possessed and let you go peacefully.”

“And if we can’t do that?”

“Then I’ll subdue you by force, take the cursed objects, and find the ghost. I’ll also take some ‘measures’ to confirm there’s no evil yin energy in your minds.”

Blue lightning surged beneath Io’s palm as he made a gesture of grabbing someone’s head.

Fusion human Cassia.

A skilled practitioner who stands alongside the most notable lightning attribute characters, with presence befitting his performance.

“…Oknodie. I think I was wrong. Please defeat that nasty senior!”

“That’s what she says. I won’t forgive you until you apologize. Are you ready?”

“What nonsense. You’re the one who should be ready.”

The senior charged forward confidently.

Io senior’s combat technique was an exorcism lightning attack that mixed exorcism power with electricity.

His specialty was a vicious multi-hit exorcism: graze and get exorcised, get shocked and suffer continuous damage exorcism, get fried by high voltage and instant exorcism—everything leads to exorcism.

A terrifying ghost slayer who has high compatibility against all evil powers including yin-dimensional energy, and deals quadruple damage against ghost attributes!

His strengths are clear, but so are his weaknesses.

The weakness is that all his attacks are mixed with electricity.

If you block the electricity, all of Io senior’s attacks become useless.

Well, in other words:

“You… why isn’t my lightning affecting you?!”

“Hmph. Do you think I’d tell you?”

Today’s footwear of choice: rubber boots.

None of your attacks will work on me!

* * *

Nothing was working.

His specialty, lightning, wasn’t causing any damage at all.

Io felt something close to fear.

‘Surely they couldn’t have anticipated an unknown opponent’s specialty and prepared materials with low electrical conductivity.’

Either they could use mana to forcibly move their paralyzed body and <Continue Combat> even when stiffened by electricity.

Or they had received <Lightning Resistance Training> since childhood and had such high resistance that the paralysis status effect wouldn’t even activate.

Or they were <Instantly Dispelling> the paralysis status effect with zero delay and no incantation whenever they came into contact with electricity.

Each possibility suggested something shocking.

This was talent so extraordinary it was frightening to think the freshman class president could be this impressive.

“Hmph. Your punches are like cotton. Let me show you a real punch!”

“Guh…?!”

The punch was unbelievably powerful for an 11-year-old.

Even though he was guarding with the hardest parts of his body—elbows and knees—his bones rang and nearby body parts temporarily suffered from <Status Ailment: Paralysis>.

<Mana Cultivation Technique>

<Continue Combat>

<Exorcist Secret Technique>

<Pain Control>

Any thought that his opponent was just a child disappeared like it had been erased after taking just two punches.

This was a ghost with monstrous strength and precision beyond any spirit he had exorcised before.

‘I won’t show mercy against you. It would be better for you to fall in one strike than to suffer.’

A cluster of light flickered as more and more lightning gathered in Io’s right fist.

As the flashing light grew increasingly intense, the students behind him backed away in terror.

“Gasp! Is Io already using his signature move?!”

“It’s the Blue Fist! Run away if you don’t want to get electrocuted just from watching!”

“Is Oknodie being acknowledged as such a strong opponent that he’s charging up from the beginning of the battle?!”

“Damn, there weren’t many opponents who could make Io charge up during our sparring matches. How can a first-year, barely over ten years old, be this good?!”

No matter how frustrated and unfair it felt, it was better than getting caught up and collapsing.

Nothing is more embarrassing than ending up in the infirmary just from watching a fight without even trading punches.

“Will you receive it? My sincere strike.”

Io didn’t expect much.

Even among his advanced class peers, the vast majority feared his sincere punch.

They would all grit their teeth and rush in trying to somehow cancel his charging.

Because this wasn’t the kind of punch you could avoid by creating distance or hiding.

Evil demons especially have well-developed intuition and acute sense of crisis, so they become desperate to cancel it by any means.

Dodge and you still fall.

Face it and you enter its range.

An unavoidable ultimate move!

“Bring it on!”

Undisguised excitement appeared on Oknodie’s face along with a mischievous smile as she boldly shouted.

“Excellent!!”

That courage to not run away.

I’ll crush you with all my might as a sign of respect!

Flash! Flash!

The size of the lightning bundle gathering in his fist grew larger as blue lightning flashed with increasing frequency.

Absolute confidence in victory.

Arrogance that didn’t even consider defeat.

“You know what? Even among players, opinions are divided on whether Cassia or Senior Io is the ultimate lightning character. For the record, I’m Team Cassia.”

“Has facing a power you can’t handle driven you insane? What nonsense are you spouting!”

“Well, what I mean is that while Cassia’s techniques can’t be copied, yours aren’t that difficult if you know the trick.”

The fighting spirit changed.

The air became electric.

No way.

It couldn’t be.

He didn’t want to believe it.

Before his disbelieving eyes,

As Oknodie turned sideways, pulled back her right fist and covered it with her left hand,

Crackle. Crackle.

What shouldn’t exist.

What couldn’t possibly exist.

Lightning strands exactly like Io’s own <Blue Fist> charging effect began to form.

And it wasn’t even blue lightning resembling his hair color.

Oknodie’s class, Dark Princess.

Black lightning befitting that terrifying class.

Crack. Crack.

The charging speed was even faster than his.

The thickness and density of the lightning bundle was catching up at a frightening pace.

The source material was dark mana.

A forbidden power whose ominousness made one’s heart sink just by looking at it.

Io realized.

If that child pushed any further, something terrible would happen.

“You bastard, do you even know what you’re doing?!”

The already tyrannical power of lightning.

Adding the uncontrollable power of dark mana to it.

Control difficulty: Highest + Highest.

Mana control technique difficulty: Extreme.

Power that cannot be handled becomes poison that destroys one’s own body if not completely discharged.

“Kugh…! You brought this upon yourself!”

Just before reaching the second stage of charging, Io’s fist shot toward Oknodie.

FLASH─!

“Aaaagh!”

“My eyeeees!”

“I can’t seeee!”

The second-year students suffered as light penetrated through their hands covering their eyes and beneath their tightly shut eyelids, despite knowing better.

Among those present, only Arcadia had the skill to watch that magnificent strike with both eyes open.

<Mana Cultivation Technique>

<Vision Protection>

No sooner had he created a mana wall in the form of goggles to protect his eyes than the powerful strike charged with electricity that made skin tingle even from a distance engulfed Oknodie.

All he could do was tightly embrace Titosoga with one arm and bring her within the range of his ManaShield to protect her from splash damage.

‘Using this much power against a first-year, is that crazy person trying to kill Oknodie?!’

Just as Arcadia, unable to hold back any longer, placed his hand on his gun, a clear laugh that shouldn’t have been audible spread through the crowd.

“Ahahahaha! That’s more like it, senior! This is how it should be. Now copying you was worth it!”

The blue flash assaulting her skin was pushed back in real time as black lightning devoured the light.

The power of darkness that spread with terrifying momentum and swallowed the light engulfed Io’s <Blue Fist>, his signature move.

Mana shield.

A technique they had to learn almost forcibly to avoid being hit by stray bullets in the Southern Sea Battle.

The shield that had only activated one layer while experiencing the aftermath of the Blue Fist suddenly raised three more layers.

Crack!

The moment black lightning pushed back the blue lightning.

One layer of the shield cracked.

Clang!

When light and darkness flickered and swept through the crowd.

One layer of the shield shattered.

Rumble!

Crash!

The laughter continued beyond the light being pushed back.

A cute voice with incongruous monstrous strength.

As the two powers reached their peak and light and darkness erupted vertically, the shield completely broke just from the shockwave of power spreading in all directions.

“Eek!”

“Duck down, Titosoga!”

Different fragments of energy with edges like blades or hammers tore through the lawn to the left and right of them as they prostrated themselves.

Titosoga gulped as she saw the grass cut along the trajectories or the ground plowed as if struck by hammers.

“W-what happened to Oknodie?”

Arcadia gave a bitter smile at the question from the trembling girl in his arms.

“Who’s worrying about whom.”

Oknodie, who had harnessed the power of darkness as naturally as breathing, was stretching contentedly with a satisfied expression on her face.