Ch.242242. Exorcising Evil Spirits

“I’m going to change my name!”

“People who are already dead cannot change their names.”

“That’s discrimination!”

The Dark Spiritmaster is still floating in the air, covering her face and shouting. It’s impressive how she’s not just spinning left and right but also up and down as if in zero gravity.

If Aria and Elenoa were here, they would probably have sparkles in their eyes, thinking it looked fun.

“Should I call Vellica?”

Stella peeks out from beside me and asks. It seemed like we might need the power of a great demon to face the massive monster-like soul of Luanes.

“No, it’s fine.”

I had no intention of pushing myself by accepting Vellica into my body when we weren’t even facing an equal-level great demon.

Besides, I couldn’t always rely on her help in battle.

“Is this a rehearsal?”

Stella and Vellica would be leaving soon. She subtly asks if this is preparation for when they’re gone.

There was a hint of pain in her considerate smile, and it wasn’t entirely untrue.

“The opponent is a spiritmaster.”

There was a bigger reason why I didn’t want Vellica’s help.

“As mages walking the same path, there’s no way the Dark Spiritmaster and I can lose.”

Hearing those words, the Dark Spiritmaster, who had been spinning increasingly faster, suddenly stops.

Her head, which had been pointing toward the ground, slowly returns to its original position like a winding toy.

Before I know it, the Dark Spiritmaster stands proudly beside me with her shoulders squared.

“Of course, with the two of us here, what spiritmaster would dare to challenge us.”

It was amusing to see her puffing up with pride, but I agreed with her opinion.

Kuuuung!

Luanes’s soul, which had been cut by the Dark Spiritmaster’s magic, begins to regain its original form.

His soul, which could be called a giant monster or demon, glares at us while exhaling through his nostrils.

“I’ll be back.”

“Watch my back carefully, senior.”

Without giving each other any signal, the Dark Spiritmaster and I step forward simultaneously toward that creature.

“Is this the bond between spiritmasters? I’m a bit envious… but good luck.”

Stella gently raises her hand to see us off. With the Saintess’s encouragement, the Dark Spiritmaster and I look up at the massive beast looking down at us.

“My disciple, tell me how you plan to deal with this.”

“…”

I immediately glared at the Dark Spiritmaster, finding her words extremely distasteful, but she urges me to continue.

“Luanes is a spiritmaster who fights using his own soul in a unique way.”

“That’s right. I wonder how a human soul could take such a form.”

A being larger than any evil spirit I’ve encountered before.

Something that couldn’t even be called an evil spirit or demon. If I had to compare, it was similar to guardian deities like Sanggun or Horua.

Luanes even defeated the Light Spirit King alone.

“But for you, this should be the most familiar type of opponent.”

I remember explaining several times that spiritmasters have a concept similar to summoners.

They obtain evil spirits and use them for magic. The way spiritmasters control them is through pain and oppression.

The Dark Spiritmaster nodded with satisfaction at my words.

“Making evil spirits kneel and inflicting pain on them. That’s my specialty.”

Buuung!

The air splits with a heavy sound.

The resonance that couldn’t come from a simple downward strike was like the scream of the wind.

“How dare you act so casual before me!”

With Luanes’s shout, his soul’s fist comes down on us again.

This time, Luanes’s soul had gained solidity, making it not so easily defeated as before.

“I’ll support you.”

“That’s wise.”

But our conversation still carried a sense of leisure.

Without saying much, the Dark Spiritmaster possessed my body, but it was quite different from other ghosts’ possessions.

Because she and I were thinking with the same mind, the same movements.

In fact, control over the physical body was meaningless.

Thick black circles formed on my ten fingers.

When I pulled my crossed hands as if drawing something, magic that looked like claw marks shot upward.

Once again, the giant fist is torn to shreds. With my mana added to the Dark Spiritmaster’s magic, our spell had incomparable destructive power compared to before.

And so.

The Dark Spiritmaster and I walk forward together beneath Luanes’s massive soul, whose hand has been severed again.

There was no urgency in our steps.

We approach Luanes as if taking a stroll through a forest of spirits and fairies.

“Before, I thought of souls only as tools.”

Luanes’s soul seethes again and reaches out with his other hand toward us.

But black hands emerging from our shadows and the path we’ve walked block it.

Hundreds of small black hands blocking a massive white fist.

It was a sight that could truly be called a magical spectacle.

“That’s why I hated it most when evil spirits touched or attacked me freely.”

Therefore, when collecting evil spirits, the Dark Spiritmaster was confident. Her magic was quite specialized in dealing with souls, just to avoid being defeated by what were merely her research tools and magical materials.

“And I, who lived like that, allowed an evil spirit to approach me just once in my life.”

It would normally be difficult to speak about, but there was no hesitation in the Dark Spiritmaster’s tone. She rather cheerfully explains that time.

“And my neck was twisted, and I died.”

“Strictly speaking, it was more of a guardian deity than an evil spirit.”

The angel that protected the residents of Setima at that time displayed nearly invincible power against enemies trying to harm the residents.

“Well, I was careless. It was also funny. As a spiritmaster, I never feared death, but I didn’t expect to die so pathetically.”

Her story differed somewhat from Jenny, whom I met in the Mongma War. She showed quite a frightened appearance in the face of her death.

Well, the Dark Spiritmaster has changed in many ways now, so I didn’t point it out.

“Do you know how much research I did after that? I learned a lot from that meaningless death.”

Luanes’s soul finally retreats. Judging that he couldn’t win with pure physical force, his soul transformed into the mouth of a giant beast.

It was like a dragon.

Luanes’s soul, which disappeared by passing through the ground.

It seemed like he was hiding in the ground like an alligator in water, trying to bite me in one go.

The mana throughout my body begins to swirl violently.

The Dark Spiritmaster was handling my mana quite fiercely, to the point where even I was momentarily surprised.

A sensation I’d never felt before.

A method that didn’t seem like the Dark Spiritmaster’s magic.

I knew that since the Dark Spiritmaster was also a mage, she could continue researching magic even after death.

But what she had taught me were only the aggressive spells she had used during her lifetime.

Slowly.

The mana flows out.

And simultaneously, the Dark Spiritmaster naturally ends her possession and stands in front of me.

Playfully, she smiles and stares at me.

“Death can come suddenly anywhere, anytime. That’s my advice as your teacher.”

“…That touches my heart.”

Perhaps because it was coming from the Dark Spiritmaster, it sounded even more sincere.

“So, only after I died did I strive to create magic that could prevent death as much as possible. It took quite a long time because it was different from my usual methods.”

Kraaaaa!

The soul’s scream.

Luanes’s soul, which has become the mouth of a giant beast, begins to rise with a roar.

Teeth and muzzle rising from the floor.

I was already inside his mouth, but.

Kwaaang!

A purple round barrier protects me and the Dark Spiritmaster. It possessed overwhelming solidity without any shaking or anxiety.

Absolute defense.

This was the Dark Spiritmaster’s answer to avoiding death.

It was clearly different from her magic, which had been almost exclusively offensive. It felt like magic created by a completely different person.

I had one question, but.

I didn’t bother to voice it, nor did I not know the answer.

But the Dark Spiritmaster slyly approaches me and asks for my impression.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s impressive.”

An absoluteness comparable to the Aegis Robe, which boasted near-invincible defense for 10 minutes during the previous Mongma War.

The Dark Spiritmaster nodded with satisfaction at the magic that could be described as beautiful, and continued speaking smoothly.

“But even though I created the magic, I don’t need to use it.”

Because she was already dead.

It was an ominous statement, but the corners of the Dark Spiritmaster’s mouth were still turned up.

“So it’s a gift, Deus. This magic is the final teaching from me, your teacher.”

“…”

“Deus.”

Slowly.

And carefully, the Dark Spiritmaster places her hand on my cheek.

Even though I couldn’t feel the touch or warmth. Her feelings were clearly flowing into me.

“Don’t die.”

She, who was already dead.

“Absolutely.”

Created solely for me.

“You absolutely must not die.”

Magic that resists death.

“Alright.”

I couldn’t say anything else to her request. A strange emotion was overflowing in my heart.

Findenai?

Erika?

Stella?

An emotion similar to but different from what I felt toward those women rose within me. Something that seemed similar to Deus’s feelings toward Illuania, yet different.

Amidst the confusingly rising emotions, the Dark Spiritmaster smiled gently.

“Live happily. Joyfully, with some laughter, eat lots of delicious food, occasionally take care of your teacher’s face. Die smiling in bed when you’re old.”

Her purple eyes ripple.

“Then I.”

Though she tried to hide it, the small tears that formed revealed her emotions.

“In that world you created.”

For a moment, I almost reached out without realizing.

I almost grabbed her.

But I didn’t move.

Because that was right.

“I’ll be waiting.”

With a soft laugh, the Dark Spiritmaster lowers her hand and turns her body to look at Luanes, who is glaring at us.

He was showing an expression of incomprehension, having been defeated so helplessly by me and the Dark Spiritmaster.

But the Dark Spiritmaster pointed to herself and turned her head slightly with a mischievous smile.

“Congratulations on exorcising the evil spirit.”