Subjugating Grillish (5)
The sudden appearance of Kain. As Baran stared at the man before him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen him somewhere before. But at that very moment—
The completely unexpected word slipped from Luden’s lips.
What?
If he was her older brother, hadn’t he died because of the Demon Army long ago? Baran was certain he had seen that exact setting right before his possession. So the idea that Kain was still alive was simply impossible.
Still, what the hell is going on here?
As far as he knew, Grillish didn’t possess any ability like this. In the original story, once the protagonist’s party overcame their trauma, they had beaten him to death in a group beatdown. Baran’s mind raced as he tried to make sense of the current situation.
The next instant, a spark of realization flashed through his head.
So that’s it…
Come to think of it, that guy had no phases. Objectively speaking, once the trauma was overcome, he became an easy opponent. But that was only when everyone worked together. Right now, only he and Luden were here. The rest of the party might as well not exist.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have a phase.
They had simply skipped that phase in the original story. Faced with this unforeseen development, Baran furrowed his brow. Then he quietly turned his head toward Luden.
“How is my brother…”
She must have been incredibly shocked—her pupils were trembling violently, as if an earthquake had struck them. Baran quickly gathered the mana lingering in the air and formed an arrow. Then—
-Shwaaaaak!
He fired the arrow straight at Kain. Luden flinched and whipped her head toward him. Looking at her, Baran spoke with firm resolve.
“Miss Luden. I don’t know who that man is. But one thing is certain—he is definitely not the person you know.”
As if to mock his words, golden mana erupted from Kain’s body. He deflected Baran’s arrow with ease.
He can even replicate the Hero’s mana?
Baran had assumed it was just some spell created with demonic energy. But contrary to his expectations, Kain’s mana was identical to Luden’s. Perhaps that was why her face became even more stained with shock.
“Kuhuhuhu. It’s perfectly reproduced.”
At that moment, Grillish spoke with a twisted smile. Hearing those words, Luden glared at him furiously.
“What exactly did you do to my brother?”
“Hmm, well, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. That fellow is an illusion I created by making full use of my authority.”
“An illusion?”
“That’s right. An illusion crafted from the trauma inside your head.”
“How could a mere illusion wield mana like…”
“There’s no need to explain that much. After all, you two are fated to die here anyway.”
The moment those words ended, Kain charged toward them. His skill was truly on another level, befitting Luden’s older brother. With just a single kick off the ground, he had already closed the distance.
-Whoooong!
Kain swung his sword with an expressionless face. Luden quickly regained her senses and raised her blade to block it.
-Kaaaaang!
At first glance, they might have seemed evenly matched. But in reality, Luden was at a clear disadvantage. She had used sword energy, while Kain hadn’t even employed his mana.
At this rate, there’s no way we can win.
Baran immediately glanced at the Bow of the Beginning. The next moment, Miroel, who had been watching the situation from inside the bracelet, appeared. At the same time—
She gave her warning and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Bow of the Beginning ability: Possession has been activated!
The player’s stats have temporarily increased!
Power began surging through his entire body.
There’s no time to hold back.
Holding back now would only waste energy. He had to go all out until the possession ended.
-Familiar Summon.
Baran immediately summoned Ppiyak-i.
-Hmm. It doesn’t seem like the right mood for jokes this time.
Unlike usual, Ppiyak-i didn’t ask for chicken. No matter how loose the bird’s screws were, it seemed to know when to play around and when not to.
“Please help me, Mr. Ppiyak.”
-Understood.
As Ppiyak-i nodded, Kain—having appeared out of nowhere—charged toward them while radiating mana.
Tsk!
He was on an entirely different level from the opponents they had faced so far. Even while under possession, Baran still felt that Kain was fast.
-Whooooong!
In an instant, Kain swung his sword and unleashed a slash. Baran used high-speed movement to dodge the attack.
What about Miss Luden?
He briefly shifted his gaze toward her. Luden was collapsed on the ground, bleeding from her shoulder. Seeing that, Baran bit down hard on his lower lip.
The situation isn’t good.
If left like this, she would definitely faint from blood loss. She needed treatment as quickly as possible.
“Mr. Ppiyak. Can you buy us some time?”
-Hmm? Sure. Got it.
Ppiyak-i nodded at his request. Then it opened its beak and unleashed a breath at Kain.
-Hwaaaaak!
Kain sliced straight through Ppiyak-i’s breath. As expected of the Hero’s descendant—even in a weakened state, he shattered the breath without much difficulty.
Still, Ppiyak should be able to hold out for now.
Baran used high-speed movement to rush over to Luden. He asked in a worried voice.
“Are you alright, Miss Luden?”
“Yeah… I’m fine. But what about my brother?”
“Mr. Ppiyak is buying us time for now. More importantly, please drink this first.”
Baran handed her a potion from the cash shop. Luden slowly nodded and accepted it. The moment she brought it to her lips—
“An opening.”
Grillish launched a surprise attack as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. But Baran possessed Mind’s Eye. A simple ambush like this would never work on him. Rather—
“I’ve been waiting for you. Just for you to come.”
Baran had already anticipated his approach and prepared in advance. There was no way Grillish would leave the fallen Luden alone. He had expected a trap.
-Woooong!
Baran quickly created an arrow and—
-Whooooong!
—fired it at Grillish. But at that moment—
-Kaaaaang!
Kain, who had appeared out of nowhere, deflected the arrow. He then grabbed Grillish and retreated backward. Baran glanced toward where Ppiyak-i had been. What he saw was Ppiyak-i, sliced clean in half.
“Are you okay, Mr. Ppiyak?”
-Yeah. This much isn’t even a fatal wound to me. Well, I am a phoenix, so it’s only natural. More importantly, you should be worrying about how much time is left on that possession.
Judging by the remaining mana…
About half was left. Realistically speaking, trying to resolve this situation with only half remaining was impossible. Attacking Grillish was difficult with Kain guarding him. And taking down Kain with the time they had left was equally unrealistic.
He already knows about Space Arrow, too.
Which meant he had no choice but to take a gamble here.
Time Arrow it is.
Baran slowly breathed in mana. At the same time—
-Hwaaaaak!
He released his mana at full power. The moment Grillish saw it, he immediately realized what Baran was trying to do.
“Go and interfere.”
-Nod.
Kain nodded with an expressionless face and charged forward. Ppiyak-i moved to block his path. Using that opening, Baran began controlling the mana around him.
-Crackle!
Sparks flew from the mana floating in the air.
Ugh! Just as Miroel warned.
Even with possession active, fully controlling the ambient mana wasn’t easy. He had thought it would be possible once possessed. After all, possession didn’t just raise his stats—it raised his talent level as well. Yet despite that, veins bulged on his forehead as he struggled to control the mana in the atmosphere.
The next moment—
-Boom!
“Ugh!”
Contrary to his hopes, he failed to completely dominate the space. Luden, who had been watching from the side, ran over.
“Are you okay, Baran?”
“Yes… I’m fine.”
Thanks to the power gained from possession, he hadn’t suffered internal injuries. But even so, the situation was clearly at its worst.
Is there really no way?
The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for them. At this rate, both of them were doomed to die. He activated his Calm trait and racked his brain. Then, at that moment—
Wait a second…
One idea surfaced in his mind. Come to think of it, the cash shop had all sorts of items. Among them was one intended for beginners. It required spending real money, but it was an absolutely broken item.
Why didn’t I think of this sooner?
Because he had been saving his points so carefully, he had completely forgotten how to use them. Wasn’t the whole point of saving points for situations exactly like this?
Without hesitation, Baran opened the cash shop. He scrolled down as fast as he could. The next moment—
Trait Upgrade Ticket
◈ Description: An item that raises the level of a trait. The higher the trait’s level, the more points it consumes. Each additional purchase requires even more points.
He had found the item he wanted. He needed to buy it right now. He had 30,000 points left—his entire fortune. It would use up everything, but—
If not now, then when?
Without hesitation, Baran purchased the Trait Upgrade Ticket.
Hidden Trait: Divine Archer has been raised by one rank!
It was the moment he could finally use Time Arrow to its full potential.