I expected them to protest, thinking I was using them as bait.
After all, as a larger group, the Cursed Spirit would go after them, instead of unless I actually did what I said I could.
But they just nodded, showing their trust in .
It surprised , though I didn’t dwell on it.
I raised my hand and opened a shimring portal leading to a safe room.
"Go. When four minutes are up, run to the lab," I said.
They nodded and stepped through the portal one by one.
When they disappeared, I exhaled and closed the portal.
The corridor fell silent.
I reached into my pocket and took out a small vial of dark liquid.
It was the blood of a Rank 2 Cursed Spirit.
There was still a little left from what I had used to create space stones before.
I stared at it for a second, then poured it onto the ground.
The thick, black liquid spread slowly over the floor.
Taking out the Fairy Dust, I sprinkled it across the blood and began drawing runes.
The blood and dust mixed together, creating faint blue sparks where the runes connected.
Chants could be skipped once you mastered a spell completely.
But most mages still chanted.
Because for them, chanting made the spell more stable and stronger. About ten percent stronger, to be exact.
Writing those chants in runic language and activating the runes was also a kind of chanting, and that gave another ten percent boost.
Together, that twenty percent difference could save your life in a battle like this.
I started chanting quietly.
This was the Spell: Spatial Seal, Dominion Lock.
I had simplified it for my level, but even this version took everything I had to cast.
While I chanted, Yuna’s voice echoed in my mind.
"Lord of Shadows, why are you staying behind? Even if they rescue the others, you’ll be trapped here fighting that Cursed Spirit."
I kept chanting while answering her through my thoughts.
’Yuna, I’m not just staying. I’m here to exorcise this Cursed Spirit. Fighting it is part of that.’
Her eyes widened in surprise.
She understood what I ant.
"...Does that an you found sothing?"
’Yuna, yes. I can guess how to exorcise this Cursed Spirit. When we fought it before, I noticed sothing strange. I just need to confirm it now,’ I said while keeping the chant steady.
"That’s good, but..." she asked quietly. "You need to do sothing about the Cursed Spirit who is chasing you. Only then you would have ti to do put your plan in motion and exorcise this whole domain."
’Don’t worry about the Cursed Spirit chasing us.’
’I’ll defeat it in this fight.’
She didn’t respond for a mont.
The silence stretched before she whispered, "You’re serious."
I nodded.
The Cursed Spirit was stronger than , that much was obvious.
But strength alone didn’t decide a fight.
What I lacked in raw power, I could make up with precision and technique.
And this ti, I wasn’t using Hollow Eyes.
That ant I wouldn’t be seeing its eldritch form.
To , it would appear as a normal Cursed Spirit. Terrifying, yes, but manageable.
I took a deep breath and focused on the runes.
My chant grew faster, smoother, filling the room with faint ripples of power.
Then I reached into my spatial inventory and pulled out Daritas.
The blade shimred faintly under the flickering lights of the corridor.
Daritas was one of the Legion swords, forged by a master blacksmith.
My dear late uncle had left it to in his will.
The ground trembled faintly. Four minutes had passed.
One more minute, and the Cursed Spirit would appear.
I opened a small portal into the lab’s coordinates given to by Zephan.
Through the faint shimr of space, I could see several people floating inside test tubes.
Most were strange figures.
Among them were my teammates. Mira, Ellyn, Zephan, and Denny.
They were unconscious, suspended in a strange liquid.
Just as I finished forming the portal, a sharp, chilling pressure filled the air behind .
The Cursed Spirit appeared.
It was nearly three ters tall, its form a black shadow with a skull-like head.
Long, jagged teeth extended from its snout, and smoke curled around its body like living mist.
The mont it appeared, I finished my chant.
The runes on the ground flared up with blue light.
Lines of power connected each rune, forming a large circular pattern that surrounded both of us.
A transparent barrier rose up from the circle, locking the two of us inside.
The Cursed Spirit tilted its head, confused for a mont, then hissed.
It tried to teleport, but nothing happened.
The space around it rippled faintly, then stabilized.
Even I couldn’t teleport out now.
The barrier worked, but it wasn’t perfect.
This version was physically fragile.
A strong enough strike could break it.
I didn’t have ti to relax.
I started chanting another spell right away.
The Cursed Spirit roared, realizing it was trapped.
Its shadowy body swelled and it slamd its arm against the barrier wall.
The entire space shook, but the wall held for now.
I moved forward, my steps light.
My shadow stretched behind , connecting with others within the barrier.
Then I sank into it, disappearing.
I erged in front of the Cursed Spirit instantly.
It swung its massive arm toward the barrier wall behind .
I raised Daritas and t its blow, sliding the force aside instead of blocking it head-on.
The impact sent shockwaves across the barrier.
My arms trembled, but I held my stance.
I had used Varren’s Dominion Wall, the sword technique passed down from Sword King to dad.
It was designed to redirect heavy blows instead of clashing with them directly.
The Cursed Spirit attacked again, each strike heavy enough to break stone walls.
I t them one after another, using precise movents to divert the force.
Each ti our attacks t, sparks flew from Daritas’s blade.
I could feel the vibration in my bones.
My muscles were screaming, but I pushed through it.
The Cursed Spirit tried to move around and attack the barrier wall where I was not protecting it.
I raised my hand and fired several Magic Bullets toward it.
The glowing projectiles hit its arm, diverting its attack just long enough for to teleport to it.
It turned and charged, its claws dragging across the floor, leaving deep marks.
I used a portal to my side and stepped through, appearing behind it.
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