Episode 112
“Come to think of it, I heard that you have a disciple whom you cherish. It must have been you.”
At Shin Do-hoon’s continuous pouring of words, Arietta made an expression that she did not understand the English language.
Immediately, stories from the past that we did not know began to flow from Shin Do-hoon’s mouth.
“Myung-yul stole the immortal alcohol that was supposed to be retrieved and disposed of on a mission in the past.”
“Master?”
“It was speculation until now, but now I am convinced. He must have researched and tested it after he retired, and eventually perfected it.”
“… I’m not interested in that sort of thing.”
Arrieta took a fighting stance again, thinking that his opponent was wasting time, but Shin Do-hoon continued the conversation with a puzzled expression.
“At least it’s a story you shouldn’t know. Do you really have no idea?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Have you ever thought that your wounds heal faster than others?”
Arietta’s body trembled at those words. There was probably a corner for straw.
‘Certainly, Arietta, whom I met as an enemy in the original work, also boasted tremendous resilience.’
At the time, it was only recognized as one of the effects of an open, unconfirmed characteristic, and the details were not known.
In the end, after being silent for a while, Arietta licked her lips as if to deny Shin Do-hoon’s words.
“… How about that?”
“Huh, that’s a deplorable thing, that a perfect body born through a thread of probability harbors such a thought. It’s probably faster to experience this with your own body.”
After speaking, Shin Do-hoon’s body, wriggling and wriggling, began to shine and appear.
Feeling ominous, I hurriedly charged Arietta and warned Arietta.
“Back!”
However, it seems it was already too late.
“… ohhh.”
Arietta, who sat down in her place complaining of pain, staggered as she clenched her fists.
I hurriedly approached her and blocked her from Shin Do-hoon.
“Are you okay?”
It is not certain, but it seems that the alcohol that Shin Do-hoon has in his body is stimulating Arietta.
Both of her eyes, which opened up soon after, were dyed red like blood from a certain moment.
“… Ah, uh.”
At the same time, the teeth reflected through the corners of her mouth changed sharply, and her eyes began to tremble as if she could not control something.
Seeing the scene, Shin Do-hoon said as if he knew it.
“Is this the finished version, it’s not that bad. I will be able to reach the same level soon.”
“… What did you do to her?”
“It doesn’t matter. It just reminded me of something my body had forgotten. It seems that Myeong-yul has been suppressing it with magic until now.”
Looking at Arietta’s appearance right next to her, I also had a point to point out.
He seemed to know which branch of the immortal forbidden drink belonged to.
‘Blood Ghost (血鬼).’
A Yokai in the legend that greedy for a monster or human blood and body, and uses it as its own strength, and does not die unless it is exhausted. To put it simply, it was convenient to think of vampires in the West.
Prohibition related to it was revealed through the Baekgwi Nights incident, and for some reason, Arietta seemed to be related to it as well.
‘There was no mention of that feeling in the original story… … .’
Certainly, among the abilities that Arietta used in the battle with Yuhaon and the others, there were some that were reminiscent of vampires.
Even so, it has never seen such a marked change as it is now.
I was skeptical for a while, and then I realized the reason.
‘It’s a character that would have been in the enemy’s position originally, so the ability was adjusted under the influence of Hell difficulty.’
In other words, there is a high probability that the power of the unconfirmed characteristics of the present Arietta will be stronger than in the original.
“… junior, sir. away. hurry.”
Arrieta hurriedly shouted at me without being able to come to her senses properly.
Looking at his condition, it seemed that he was probably swept away by the unique impulses of blood demons, making it difficult to maintain his ego.
slurp.
Fuwaak!
“… Burn it.”
As soon as Gong Sam-i was summoned to protect his body, Shin Do-hoon, who was watching the scene, turned around and started to leave.
“There is no need to argue any more, once you consume human blood and flesh, you will be able to properly open your eyes.”
“… … .”
“Escape somewhere. If that happens, there will be victims other than you.”
So Shin Do-hoon completely disappeared.
It is not certain, but considering the previous statement that I would become a complete body and the mention that Myung-yul stole the immortal alcohol, there is a high possibility that I will start looking for Myung-yul from now on.
‘… Things are getting worse.’
At a glance, Arietta had already lost half of her sanity and was engulfed in her impulses.
Those blood-red eyes stared at my body calmly.
“… Throat, dry.”
In an instant, Arietta’s feet went hollow and a roar resounded.
And as soon as I saw it, I immediately developed the defense technique I had prepared.
Aww!
blah blah!
Even with a light wave of his hand, the ceremony was broken at once. Also, the physical ability has greatly improved compared to before.
‘If this is the case, it’s not a step to try with a conversation.’
I stood back and brought the food gods forward to buy time.
‘Should I somehow subdue it and then calm it down?’
But even Gongsam, who has the most melee combat ability among my shikigami, can’t keep up with Arietta’s movements.
To the extent that it interfered with access as much as possible, that seemed to be the limit.
“Burn it!”
Fuwaak!
Whoops-!
They seemed to be patient because they knew each other, but in the end, Gongsam, who felt threatened, blew out a fire of purification and pushed Arieta away.
“… hot Throat, dry.”
Whatever it was, it was supposed to be a type of golden magic, so the fire of purification certainly seemed to have an effect.
I continued to ask Gongsam to keep him in check and thought over and over again.
Whatever the impact of the week, if there was such a noticeable change, it was right to appear as a trait. Just like Shin Do-hoon’s verse (S-) characteristic.
So, perhaps, the answer to the situation lies in her unconfirmed nature.
‘If you look at the situation roughly, it means that something is slightly different from what you originally had.’
The unconfirmed characteristic of her that I remember is night-time.
It gives the owner strong stamina and physical recovery ability, and is known to give various damage resistance and stealth action effects.
That’s why Arietta was called a ghost. No matter how much they attacked, they appeared unharmed at some point and constantly threatened their allies.
However, looking at the situation, it is possible that the present Arietta has other unconfirmed characteristics other than the night castle.
‘This is not the time to be here… … .’
To be honest, looking at the simple specs, it was unlikely that Myeong-yul would be defeated by Shin Do-hoon, but it is certain that he will die at the same time in the original work.
If Shin Do-hoon could not be stopped as it is, the tragedy that Un-yeon was talking about might come true.
In the end, I had no choice but to come up with one gamble and make a decision.
‘… I need to fully bloom the trait.’
As with my Phantom Delay talents before, unidentified talents usually only take effect after they’ve been unlocked.
Shin Do-hoon, who was influenced by the same week in the first place, had a sufficiently stable mental state.
Perhaps if the traits were fully developed, Arietta was highly likely to be able to somehow control her impulses.
‘In that case, the method is the problem.’
Perhaps the most probable means is to consume more than a certain amount of human blood or flesh, as Shin said.
However, it would not be at the level of literally a little.
If I had given up my neck, I would have turned into a meal for Arietta, who had lost consciousness.
‘… No, maybe there is a way?’
When I was over there, the vampire-type shikigami was distributed through an event in the VR version of the latest exorcism.
And there was one dedicated recovery technique for that shikigami, and it was clearly set to condense spiritual energy in a drop of the player’s blood and ingest it to gain energy.
I don’t know in what form the spell would be implemented in this world, but it was worth trying it out.
“Taebaekse (太伯蛻).”
slurp.
Fuwaak!
Shadows erupted, and a giant humanoid shikigami that looked like a combination of a rhinoceros and a goblin came out.
A short-term decisive shikigami that was brought out before, when facing Gsondae in Yeongwol Island.
I made one, just in case, but because of the limited holding power of 10 minutes, it was the one I had been saving up until now.
slurp.
woo woo woo.
The man’s body, which had entered the battle stance, was dyed red and began to emit steam, and I took out the mist of the female barn from my arms and strengthened Gongsamii and Taebaekse with the effect.
In order to somehow stop Arietta’s movements for a while, they needed the help of shikigami with strong physical abilities.
“… Throat, dry. I’m hungry.”
Arrieta, who had failed to approach repeatedly due to Gongsami’s flames, eventually ran through the flames with her body and rushed at me, risking some damage, perhaps because of running out of patience.
Then, I followed her movements, which was hardly noticeable, as much as possible, and waited only for a moment to throw the odds.
‘I can’t afford to pursue Shin Do-hoon.’
So, with just one workshop, we make a decision right away.
‘I don’t think I can use magic because I’m insane.’
If so, they will unconditionally approach and attack my body.
I moved Gongsam-i and Taebaek-se to a clever position, and led her to an attack route to pass through a certain space beyond them.
And, on purpose, he approached the place precisely and met Arietta’s gaze.
It was throwing my body as bait.
“… Blood, sweet smell.”
Nettle juice!
With the sound of the ground ripping, Arietta’s body disappeared in an instant.
At the exact moment, I twisted my body and unleashed a spell of bondage that I could use the fastest.
It was an intermediate restraint technique used by Professor Choi Do-won before.
Scratch!
Aww!
I felt a scorching heat in my lower back, and I fell to the ground, losing my balance.
But the timing was perfect.
Taebaek-se and Gong-sam, who were waiting for Arietta, who had stopped moving for a while due to the slimy stem of spiritual power, began to block it with their whole body.
“… Fire, burn.”
Whoa!
Whoops!
If there was a chance, it was now.
Even though I was hurt, I tried to ignore the pain I felt in my lower back and got up straight away and headed to Arietta.
Then, using the Intracerebral Scheme Library, I came up with a magic trick in my head.
Tsuzuzu.
Whoops.
“The blood of escape.”
The spiritual energy that had filled his body began to move as if boiling and directed towards the tips of his fingers, and soon a drop of blood with a clear color gushed out from there.
Arietta, completely seized with her body, looked at it as if possessed without even struggling.
Whoops.
As I brought my fingers closer, Arietta reflexively opened her mouth slightly and extended her head toward me.
I said to Arietta like that while grabbing my throbbing waist.
“… Calm down, and let’s go rescue Myeong-yul together.”
Touk.
Then, a drop of blood fell into her mouth.