Chapter 163
‘Is it him?.’
It seemed the sorcerer was communicating through the tree spirit.
Zeke searched for the sorcerer in the surroundings with his dragon eye vision.
However, the sorcerer was nowhere to be seen.
‘Need to lure it further inside.’
As the effects of Arin’s Fire Wall ended, the fog started creeping back inside.
Zeke shouted to Rick’s party.
“Claire! Shoot fire arrows! Rick, guard Arin while she recovers her mana! Jason! Provide cover while conserving your mana!”
WHOOSH!
Claire kept shooting fire arrows into the fog to keep the tree spirit from approaching.
TSSS! TSSS! TSSS!
But the fog gradually crept deeper inside the cave.
Claire, who was shooting fire arrows, said urgently.
“I’m almost out of arrows!”
Zeke shouted to Jason.
“Jason! Collapse the cave!”
Jason cast the spell he had prepared.
“Rock Buster!”
When the 3rd circle magic Rock Buster was cast, the rocks above the cave exploded.
RUMBLE!
The debris from the exploded rocks at the front of the cave piled heavily on top of the tree spirit.
While Zeke’s party was essentially trapped inside the cave, the tree spirit was completely buried under the pile of rocks.
Jason looked at the heavily piled rocks while breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Di-did it work?”
Zeke was internally impressed seeing Jason cast 3rd circle magic in an instant.
‘Casting 3rd circle magic without incantation at that age. What kind of group is this?’
A swordsman who mastered the Five Light Sword technique, and a mage who could cast 3rd circle magic without incantation.
Arin and Claire were showing equally impressive skills, so Zeke couldn’t help but find it fascinating.
There seemed to be some hidden background that Zeke didn’t know about.
Claire slumped down, seemingly relieved at seeing the completely collapsed pile of rocks.
“All this trouble, just to catch one sorcerer. I should’ve known something was up when that cheapskate Graham offered generous money.”
Looking at Claire, Jason snorted.
“Who was it that got excited after receiving the advance payment and completely replaced their bow set?”
“Jason, please shut up. You’re best when you keep your mouth closed.”
Rick was still on guard, protecting Arin.
Arin, who was recovering mana through meditation, slowly opened her eyes.
“Is, is the spirit gone?”
Jason grinned and pointed at the pile of rocks.
“Even if it’s a spirit, it must be completely crushed under that.”
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly something shot out from between the rocks.
THUD!
A piece of wood flew towards Arin, and Rick, who was nearby, jumped in and blocked it with his body.
“KUHEK!”
The wood piece stuck into Rick’s shoulder.
At the same time, wood pieces started flying out from between the rocks.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Zeke stepped forward, deflecting the pieces with his sword while shouting.
“Fall back! Jason! Make cover! Everyone hide behind it!”
Jason urgently gathered mana to create an earthen wall.
Arin and Claire dragged the fallen Rick behind the earthen wall.
“URRRGH!”
Rick let out a painful groan.
Arin removed Rick’s armor and tore his shirt to examine the wound.
The wood piece stuck in his skin had started growing roots and spreading throughout his body.
Claire pulled out a dagger.
“Damn it. Rick will die if we don’t get this out quickly.”
Arin firmly held Rick’s body.
Claire stabbed the dagger towards Rick’s wound area.
THUD!
The embedded wood piece had already grown roots quite far, as it wouldn’t come out even when digging into the wound with the dagger.
“KUUUUUUH!”
Rick twisted his whole body in pain.
That’s when Zeke took something out from his chest and threw it to Arin.
“Sprinkle this on the wound!”
What Zeke handed over was none other than a bottle containing spirit fire wine.
Arin sprinkled the spirit fire wine on Rick’s wound.
Then they could feel the tree roots in Rick’s wound starting to writhe.
Zeke shouted to Arin.
“Light it on fire, there!”
Arin was startled at those words.
“F-fire? But, but Rick might…”
As Arin hesitated, Claire took out a flint from her chest.
“Whether he burns to death or dies from the curse, if he’s going to die anyway, let’s at least try something!”
CLICK!
When sparks flew onto Rick’s wound where the spirit fire wine was poured, flames immediately ignited.
WHOOSH!
That’s when it happened.
The wood piece deeply embedded in the wound started writhing and began crawling out of the wound on its own.
Arin grabbed the wood piece that crawled out.
“Burn!”
WHOOSH!
After Arin burned all the wood pieces with magic, Claire hurriedly put out the fire on Rick’s body by waving her clothes.
“Done! All the roots are out!”
Arin took out a potion she had prepared and poured it on Rick’s wound.
HISS!
As it bubbled, Rick’s wound started healing.
They put out the urgent fire, but the problem was just beginning.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Tree branches started growing through the gaps in the piled rocks.
Then gradually the rocks started splitting and the pile of rocks began to collapse.
Seeing that sight, Jason gritted his teeth.
“Trees splitting rocks? How is this possible?!”
It was nonsense to expect a spirit to follow the laws of the world.
Finally, a huge crack appeared in the massive rock that was blocking the way ahead.
CRASH!
As the rock crumbled, mist flowed out from within.
At the same time, tree branches writhed and crawled out.
Zeke pointed his sword at the tree branches.
“Come on. I’ll cut you all down.”
Just then, a tree branch shot up from beneath Zeke’s feet.
SWOOSH!
The tree branch wrapped around Zeke’s ankle, and a thick tree branch flying from the front entangled both Bahamut and his arms and torso.
“UGHH!”
Bound tightly by the tree branches, Zeke couldn’t move an inch.
KEKEKEKEKE!
Once again, an eerie laugh echoed throughout the cave.
With the firm mental defense buff expired, Jason and Rick’s group all covered their ears and collapsed to the ground.
Zeke, caught in the tree branches, seemed to be losing strength as he dropped his sword.
“UGHHH!”
As Zeke groaned in pain, an evil tree spirit appeared from inside the broken rock.
KUGUGUGU!
The tree spirit exhaled mist with every breath.
Zeke glared at the spirit and gritted his teeth.
“I’ll… I’ll cut you down right now…”
Though Zeke used all his strength trying to break free from the tree branches wrapped around his body, he couldn’t escape.
The tree spirit slowly approached where Zeke was.
『How dare you follow me?!! Insolent fools. I shall give you pain that will make death seem merciful.』
Suddenly, the branches forming the tree spirit’s body unraveled, revealing a small person inside.
With a hunched back, patchy hair, and a face full of sores.
The grotesque old monster twisted his lips into a smile as he looked at the immobilized Zeke and his group.
“I’ll play with you until I’m bored, then use you as sacrifices for my curse. You shall pay dearly for daring to follow the great sorcerer Dusk.”
Dusk leaned on his staff and headed toward Rick’s collapsed group.
He licked his thin lips while looking at the young men and women sprawled on the ground.
“Quite good materials. This will be fun to play with. Wait. Are that woman and man virgins? Yes, this is definitely the scent of virgins! Excellent! With sacrifices of this quality, I could summon an incredible spirit…!”
SHUNK!
“KUK!”
Dusk was startled to see the dagger that had suddenly pierced his shoulder.
“H-How?”
Zeke, who had somehow freed himself from the tree branches, was approaching Dusk with Bahamut raised.
“You rat-like sorcerer. Hidden inside the spirit, that’s why I couldn’t find you.”
Zeke threw the Deep Breath of the Fire Giant he was holding at the tree spirit.
When the potion bottle broke and its contents touched the tree spirit’s body, huge flames erupted.
KEEEEEEE!
The Deep Breath of the Fire Giant, which never extinguishes once lit, burned the evil tree spirit’s body.
Seeing this, Dusk’s jaw dropped.
“N-No! Do you know how many sacrifices I offered to capture that ancient spirit?!”
Dusk pointed his staff at Zeke.
TSTSTSTS!
An ominous energy surged from Dusk’s shadow and shot toward Zeke’s body.
The energy soon enveloped Zeke’s body, and Dusk tried to use the cursed spirits to spread plague energy throughout Zeke’s body.
But something was wrong.
KIEEEEEK!
The spirits that tried to cling to Zeke bounced back toward him instead.
“W-What is this?!”
Dusk’s curse had no effect on Zeke, who possessed the curse reflection skill.
Instead, Dusk was being attacked by the spirits he had summoned.
“URGHH!”
Dusk waved his staff to send the spirits he had summoned back into the shadows.
He gritted his teeth while looking at Zeke.
“Just what are you?!”
Zeke confirmed that he was the ancient sorcerer he had caught in his previous life by looking at Dusk’s ugly face.
He cleared his throat and shouted at Dusk.
“Did you think you would get away with cursing the daughter of House Graham!”
Dusk’s ugly face contorted at Zeke’s words.
‘Damn it. How did they find out I was the one who placed the curse on House Graham?.’
He had heard rumors that his curse on Angelina Graham had been lifted, but he never expected to be tracked down.
Zeke pointed Bahamut and said.
“I have some questions, so answer them obediently.”
At this, Dusk curled his lips to reveal his few remaining yellow teeth.
“You dog of House Graham. You really think someone like you can capture the great Dusk?!.”
WOOOOO!
An ominous energy surged around his body.
Zeke could sense that the power Dusk was using was a type of dark magic.
Soon, a huge black dog rose from his shadow.
GRRRRRR!
In myths and legends, black dogs symbolized death.
The black dog, filled with terrible death energy, approached Zeke while its red eyes glowed.
“Having encountered the cursed black death hound, you will never be able to escape death.”
The black death hound bared its teeth and charged at Zeke.
Just as it seemed about to tear out his throat, zeke grabbed the charging black death hound’s neck with his bare hand.
KYIING!
The black death hound caught in Zeke’s hand struggled and resisted violently, but it couldn’t break free from Zeke’s grip.
Before they knew it, not only the black death hound but even Dusk himself was trembling.
‘W-Why is this happening?.’
Even the hound of death felt intimidated by the dragon’s aura emanating from Zeke’s body and couldn’t even think of resisting.
Dusk was bewildered seeing Zeke subdue the black death hound with one hand and stepped backward.
“I-Impossible.”
While backing away in shock, Dusk pulled something from his clothing and threw it at Zeke.
WHOOSH!
As the thrown bottle shattered, something writhed on the ground.
A disgusting mass of flesh squirmed and created something like tentacles.
Seeing this, Zeke frowned.
“Was this another one of your curses?”
It was the same parasite that had been attached to Iraman, the youngest disciple of Salmak.
SWOOSH!
The parasite suddenly lifted its body and tried to pounce on Zeke. It was trying to parasitize his body.
Zeke used the black death hound he was holding to block the parasite.
KEEK!
The parasite quickly detached itself from the black death hound’s body, which was imbued with death energy.
Zeke summoned holy fire.
WHOOSH!
Both the black death hound he was holding and the parasite crawling on the ground were all consumed by the holy flames.
TSSSSS!
Black smoke and ashes scattered around.
Unable to imagine both attacks being blocked, Dusk collapsed with a dumbfounded expression.
Zeke slowly approached him. Dusk felt an instinctive fear of him.
“P-Please spare me.”
CLANK!
Iron chains shot out from Zeke’s left arm and bound Dusk’s body.
“HUK!”
Zeke spoke while looking at the restrained Dusk.
“You should think very carefully about what you say. That way you might die a little less painful.”
The holy fire swirling around Zeke’s body grew larger and spun in front of Dusk’s eyes.
“UUUUGH!”
Dusk struggled in terror as he felt the light magic that was the natural enemy of his cursed power.
WHOOSH!
After capturing Dusk’s energy with holy fire, Zeke grabbed the chains and muttered.
“Lightning.”
BZZZZZZT!
The power of lightning penetrated Dusk’s body through the soul binding technique.
“KRRRRRKK!”
Dusk fainted from the lightning skill. But Zeke wasn’t finished here.
He cast the infinite stamina skill as a buff on Dusk.
“HUK!”
Dusk awoke as vitality returned and looked at Zeke with a terrified expression.
Zeke took out a potion bottle from his clothing.
He spoke while looking at Dusk.
“You said you’d make death feel merciful? Good words.”
He forcefully poured the potion bottle into Dusk’s mouth.
“UUUUGH!”
Shortly after, Dusk’s horrible screams echoed throughout the cave.
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