Chapter 329
Chapter 329
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 330
Chapter Title: Unsealing the Nine-Tailed Fox
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Under Gensaku's guidance, we arrived at the place where the demonic beast was sealed.
The location was in the mountains behind the temple, not far away.
"Wow... A calamity-grade demonic beast is sealed in this rock?"
Elin murmured in quiet admiration as she looked up at the massive boulder in front of her.
The rock was covered in countless spell formations, and on top of them, numerous talismans were plastered thickly.
From within, a faint ominous demonic energy seeped out.
I examined the spell formations drawn on the rock.
As expected of a seal for a calamity-grade demonic beast, the contents were profound and complex.
I could probably break it by force, but with this level of perfection, it would likely take a full week of nonstop work.
"Can the seal be released right away?"
At my question, Gensaku stroked the spell formation on the rock with his hand and said,
"This seal uses our Abe clan's sealing technique. As I mentioned earlier, it can be undone anytime the full moon rises."
His words sparked a momentary doubt in me.
It was made with the Abe clan's sealing technique?
"Gensaku's journal said that Jin Cheon-u resealed it."
"That's correct. But the seal at the time was unstable, so our clan resealed it."
Hmm. Is that so?
I looked up at the sky.
The current time was 5 p.m.
The sun was setting slowly, but there was still a bit of time before the full moon rose.
No matter how weakened it was by the seal, the opponent was a calamity-grade demonic beast.
I needed to use the remaining time to make full preparations.
Fortunately, I already had a solid plan in mind.
I asked Gensaku,
"Then tell me about the sealed demonic beast's information."
Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.
To win in battle, you need to know your opponent's information in advance.
Gensaku nodded and looked up at the rock as he said,
"The demonic beast sealed in this rock is a fox yokai with nine tails, the Gumiho."
"Gumiho?"
Elin interjected at Gensaku's words.
"Isn't the Gumiho the monster that was subjugated in China about eight years ago?"
"The Gumiho isn't just in Japan—it's a yokai that appears in Korea and China as well. There are many types in the Gumiho clan, so it's hard to explain them all, but the one sealed here is a great yokai called a calamity-grade demonic beast, so it possesses particularly special powers."
Gumiho...
The identity of the sealed demonic beast was a bit different from what I had expected.
I'd thought it might be some massive beast unique to Japan.
I sorted out my thoughts step by step.
First, the opponent being a Gumiho was positive news for me.
The Gumiho's strength lies primarily in its use of "illusions."
But I have [Silver Moon Reversal].
In other words, even if it uses illusions, I can counter them to some extent.
[Moonlight received.]
['Moon's Embrace' effect activates.]
[All recovery and resistance effects increase by 200%.]
[All stats increase 4-fold.]
Time passed, and the moment of the decisive battle approached.
The night sky darkened, and the round full moon began to rise slowly.
At the same time, I felt the intense energy of [Moon's Blessing] surging wildly within my body.
It's said that a yokai's yokai energy is strongest when the full moon is at its peak.
That time is around midnight.
The seal release is scheduled for then.
"Abbot, all the spell formations are set up."
Elin approached me with a serious expression and said.
At her words, I turned my gaze to the sealed rock. Countless spell formations laid out on the ground.
They were the trap spell formations I had modified in preparation for the recent Aporia incident.
"Good job."
At my single word of praise, Elin smiled happily.
After that, I looked around.
There was a somewhat busy atmosphere.
At first, it was just me, Elin, Ren, and Gensaku—the four of us—but now five more people had joined.
They were people from the Abe clan, the same as Gensaku—no, yokai.
They were reinforcements Gensaku had called to face the calamity-grade demonic beast.
In the remaining time, I sat on a nearby small rock and checked my smart student notepad.
[Sunbae, training at the main house is tough.. (fainting emoticon)]
[Seonwoo, you didn't come to the training grounds today?????? Did you go play somewhere?????]
Messages had piled up while I was too busy to check.
Choi Seo-yun, Yoon Ha-young, Lee Seo-jun...
And a few students I didn't know well but who messaged me like we were close.
...A ton came in.
I typed quick replies mainly to my close friends when a faint voice came from somewhere.
—...I'm still not sure if this is right. How are we supposed to handle it with just three S-rank wizards anyway.
—Forget it, we just follow the abbot and trust him.
I turned my head toward the voices and saw Ren and Elin talking with somewhat serious faces.
—...Is that so. Honestly, when we briefly clashed last time, I didn't get the sense he was that strong.
Elin chuckled at his words.
—Really? You'll be surprised this time.
It was then.
"The time has come."
Gensaku approached me and said.
I looked up at the sky.
The full moon was brightly rising in the high darkness.
I did a final check of my body condition and held out my palm.
Then I drew up my magic power and manifested a magic orb.
Woooong!
A magic orb began to form above my palm.
[Thanks to the Moon's Blessing effect, it didn't take long for the orb to shift from silver to a golden form.]
And then.
"...What is that?"
I felt surprised gazes from those around me looking at me.
Ren was the same.
He stared at the golden orb manifesting on my hand with eyes trembling greatly.
It was a natural reaction, in a way.
The magic orb now manifesting on my hand contained several times the power of any I'd made before.
Woooong!
Gensaku watched the magic manifesting on my hand, then nodded to his clan members.
The five Abe clan members stood in a circle around the rock and placed their hands on the ground. Intense light immediately burst from beneath their palms.
The ground began to shake as if an earthquake had struck.
The rock plastered with talismans cracked while emitting ominous demonic energy.
Crack!
A massive light erupted from the entire rock.
Soon, the rock's form grew larger and larger, transforming into the gigantic shape of a fox, as if looking up at a mountain.
A snow-white face with lustrous golden fur fluttering brilliantly.
At the same time, goosebumps rose all over my body.
It was the same sensation I'd felt when first facing the Disease Demonic Beast.
[...Hmm. What is it? Who unsealed it?]
The fox's low voice rang out.
It was a voice bewildered by the sudden release of the seal but laced with delight.
Then the fox's gaze turned toward me, and it paused its movements for a moment.
Rather than looking at me, it had seen the magic orb on my hand and froze in shock.
And then, the dozens of spell formations pre-set on the ground began to glow.
Dozens of chains of light rose from the spell formations and started binding the fox's legs.
[Oh dear.]
The fox's eyes trembled greatly as it looked at me.
At the same moment, I released the magic orb.
Paaaaang—
The tremendous shockwave from the release pushed my body back greatly.
The golden magic power illuminated the darkness as it shot rapidly toward it.
The fox tried to dodge in panic, but with its legs bound by dozens of binding spell formations, it couldn't escape easily.
And then.
Kwaaaaaang—
The orb embedded in its chest triggered a massive explosion.
[Kwaaaaaaaa—!]
The attack hit true.
A huge hole was punched through the fox's chest, soaking the ground in red blood.
Even for a calamity-grade demonic beast, such an attack would be fatal.
As I expected, it seemed to have lost its strength, curling up and focusing on regenerating the wound.
An obvious result.
[It took a direct hit from an orb squeezed out of the Moon's Blessing magic power; it couldn't possibly be fine.]
"Hmm."
Fortunately, things seemed to be going even more smoothly than expected.
The claim that it was weakened by the seal must be true.
I slowly approached it and spoke.
"Fox, I have something to ask you."
The fox didn't answer my question.
It just drooled in pain, muttering to itself in a voice filled with horror.
[Kugh! What is it? Who are you exactly...?]
Then it added one more thing.
[...Why, why are you attacking me?]
Why attack? Because it's the enemy.
At that moment, the fox looked at me and narrowed its eyes.
[No, wait. You... how?]
It seemed some new doubt had arisen.
For the first time, I could read its emotions from the fox's expression.
[Impossible. Could that damn guy really have...?]
As it muttered those meaningful words, the fox began emitting ominous demonic energy.
Woooong!
The ground shook once more as if another earthquake had hit.
The hole in its chest regenerated rapidly, and its eyes toward me were filled with hostility.
It looked like it had no intention of answering my questions.
In that case.
I'd have to beat it until it did.
I immediately activated the next abilities.
[Activating effect 'Heart of Great Nature.']
[Activating effect 'Fighting Spirit.']
The two effects stacked with [Moon's Blessing], infusing my body with tremendous power once more.
I manifested seven magic orbs above my head.
Even without separate compression, they contained a faint golden light.
And release.
Pang—Pang—
Paaaaang—
[Kwaaaaaak!]
The seven magic orbs struck the fox's body, eliciting another massive scream.
Then manifest again.
And release.
Manifest again. Release.
I relentlessly fired magic at its body.
But no matter how weakened it was from the long seal, was a calamity-grade demonic beast still a calamity-grade?
It endured my endless barrage, still emitting ominous demonic energy.
Yet I felt no anxiety at all.
Its demonic energy was certainly powerful, but far weaker than the Disease Demonic Beast I'd fought before—impossible to compare.
As long as the Moon's Blessing effect didn't end, I wouldn't lose to it.
[...Kugh!]
Then, with a snap, the dozens of chains binding the fox's legs broke.
In that brief instant.
Now free to move, it leaped back greatly to dodge the attack.
It chose to flee, but I wasn't about to let it.
I immediately held out my palm and manifested a spell formation.
At the same time, dozens of light tendrils rose from the ground and strongly grabbed its legs.
It was the Rune clan's secret technique, Rune Binding.
[What is this now...?]
As the Rune Binding restrained its body, Ren leaped onto the fox's head at a speed invisible to the eye.
"Hraaaap—!"
Pooook!
The shortsword in his hand plunged deeply into the fox's neck.
It was a fox several times the size of a human, so a normal shortsword wouldn't wound it, but he was an S-rank wizard. The blade was infused with sword energy containing indescribably powerful magic power.
Poooook!
[Kwaaaagh!]
The fox with its neck stabbed plummeted back to the ground.
Kwaaaaaang!
Another massive tremor rang out, and pale dust rose.
It showed no further movement, as if it had lost the will to fight.
[Kugh... If I hadn't lost my power from the seal...!]
It kept muttering to itself as if full of grievance.
I manifested several more magic orbs above my head and approached it.
[St-stop! Hold on!]
I paused at its shout.
The voice I'd just heard wasn't spoken aloud.
It was a telepathic voice, mystical and reaching only me.
[Are you not also a yokai that guards the moon, like me? Then why try to kill me...?]
...
Did I hear that wrong?
It called me a yokai.
At that moment, the phrase from the 'Moon's Blessing' in my mind resurfaced.
'Blood of the yokai that guards the moon'
...No way.
[I don't know how you obtained Chaos, but don't do this to a fellow kin... Whatever you desire, I'll grant it all, so please....]
"Ha..."
I let out a deep sigh.
...Here we go again.