Chapter 87: The Fallen Monk (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: The Fallen Monk (3)
The space was sealed, the inside cut off from the outside by the Fallen Monk’s Heaven and Earth Net.
The barrier covered everything, down to the very ground, as if to permit not a single gap. It was so complete that it even silenced the sound of the groundwater flowing beneath.
When Rin hurled her fox fire at the barrier, the flames sputtered and vanished in an instant. The fox fire, capable of turning most yokai to ash, was rendered powerless.
—See them? The talismans on the walls? They’re catalysts that dramatically amplify the spell’s effect.
Talismans had been placed on all eight sides of the barrier. The Fallen Monk, having anticipated Rin’s arrival, had laid a trap and was waiting for her.
“You knew?”
—Of course~ I told you, didn’t I? The Fallen Monk is a creature of the shadows. While he was busy dismissing you as a mere six-tailed fox, he was making meticulous preparations.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
—If you only ever seek safe battles, how will you ever become a gumiho? When you need to grow quickly, you have to take risks.
To think this childish gumiho would hit her with such sound logic. Rin found herself reluctantly agreeing, which annoyed her even more.
But as much as she disliked it, she fully agreed with the part about taking risks. She had to grow stronger, one step at a time, as quickly as possible. Only then could she protect Karami.
“Spirit Queen… I pray you forgive my transgression, but I have other duties to attend to…”
Having indirectly stated his need to finish this quickly, the Fallen Monk began his hunt in earnest.
Thunk.
He planted his staff into the ground.
The rings on it jingled.
“Thrust.”
The air in front of the Fallen Monk shimmered as if space itself were condensing. Fwoom! A single blast of wind shot out with a sound that tore through the air, causing his robes to flap violently.
Swoosh!
Something was coming. It was invisible, but its destructive power was palpable against her skin. It wasn't a physical blow or a swarm of insects, but a pure, piercing force. An invisible awl shot forward like a bullet. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Rin swept her hand through the air as if spreading paint, creating a barrier.
Krrk!
The shield, formed just in the nick of time, collided with the invisible awl. But perhaps because it was hastily made, the barrier wasn't as sturdy as usual.
It was pierced as easily as paper by a needle.
“Hnngh!”
Holding her breath, Rin twisted her head at the last second. The awl tore a hole through her hair as it passed. A moment later, and she would have had another hole in her face.
But it was far too early to feel relieved. The Fallen Monk began to count the prayer beads on his other hand, chanting an incantation.
“Nirvana Beads.”
In that instant, a colossal prayer bead fell from the sky. With no time to gawk, Rin threw herself to the side, kicking off the ground.
CRASH!
The bead that hit the floor instantly shrank. It was a binding spell. It was obvious that if she were caught by one, she’d be completely immobilized.
Worse, she couldn't even feel safe for having dodged it. Every time the Fallen Monk counted a bead, another giant one was summoned, chasing after Rin.
CRASH. CRASH. CRASH.
Just when she thought her life of running away was over. Rin began to flee, dodging the beads. But it was different from before. Running felt awkward.
It wasn't just because it had been a while. Her body was larger, and most of all, the swaying of her chest was uncomfortable.
Because Rin’s growth had been so rapid, the awkwardness was more pronounced. She hadn't had enough time to adapt to her suddenly changed body.
“Tch!”
Even as she fled, Rin desperately fired off fox fire at the Fallen Monk, but it scattered powerlessly with a mere swing of his staff.
Her attacks had worked on Ghost Bear.
It wasn't just because of the difference in power between her and the Fallen Monk.
‘This barrier. It’s suppressing my power…!’
The Heaven and Earth Net wasn't merely a barrier to trap an opponent. It was laced with a curse that weakened anyone caught inside.
Not only did it interfere with the flow of her spiritual power, but it also drastically reduced the potency of her magic.
The barrier was sturdy, and her attacks didn't work on the Fallen Monk. At this rate, Rin could only see a future where she was hunted down without a fight.
—Use your eyes. Your eyes. Are you saving those amazing eyes for a special occasion?
The gumiho, who had been quietly gauging Rin’s skills, finally spoke up in frustration.
“I don’t know how to use them yet! I only found out I had this ability today!”
—Haaah… I figured out how to use mine all on my own, without anyone telling me. And you call yourself a gumiho.
“If you're not going to help, then just be quiet! You're distracting me!”
Rin finally snapped. She couldn't shake off the spirit, and its constant sighs echoing in her mind were getting on her nerves.
Sighing once more, the gumiho spoke in a tone that suggested it was doing her a great favor.
—A powerful face-to-face barrier like this always comes with a risk. To dispel the spell, you have to remove the talismans first.
“So I have to destroy the talismans?”
—No, no. I said there’s a risk. It means he can’t get out either until he removes the talismans himself. But as I’ve repeatedly emphasized, the Fallen Monk is a creature of the shadows.
The Fallen Monk was different from a typical yokai. He was born human and chose his own corruption. Even if he had become a yokai, the unique nature he possessed as a human had not disappeared.
—Do you really think a coward who would set up talismans just in case against a mere six-tailed fox wouldn't plan for his own defeat? A coward who, despite being a monk, feared death so much that he devoured his fellow ascetic? No way. If things go south, he needs to escape immediately. Who has time to be taking down talismans?
“Then…”
—You have to find it. The barrier’s flaw.
Rin immediately activated her Solar Eye. A light like the sun kindled in her pupils.
—The Fragments of Fate are just one of the visual elements you can see with the Solar Eye. Depending on the user’s intent, its applications are limitless.
The first application of the Solar Eye.
—Melt your mind into the sun. From now on, you are the sun that illuminates all things. A sun that illuminates even the heavens.
The words were ambiguous.
She was already busy dodging attacks; this was no time for a leisurely game of twenty questions.
So Rin didn't try to understand. The more she tried, the more confused she became. She stopped thinking and surrendered her consciousness to instinct.
It was a truly wise decision.
Though eons may have passed, memories eroded, and a new personality born, their soul was still one. Their soul shared the same gumiho form.
There were things they understood without exchanging words. The instinct engraved in their soul awakened her power as a gumiho.
Rin’s eyes flew open. As if she herself had become the source of light illuminating the world, the Solar Eye began to reveal what was hidden.
The Fallen Monk’s subtle movements.
The spiritual power flowing within him.
Even the spiritual power that constituted the barrier.
And then, Rin found it.
Beneath the Fallen Monk’s feet.
In that spot alone, the flow of spiritual power was uniquely weak.
No wonder he hadn't moved a single step from his position. She had thought he was trying to maintain some sort of monk-like dignity, but there was no way someone like the Fallen Monk would do that.
It was the opposite.
It was a cheap trick to hide his own wretchedness.
Her task was simple.
“So I just need to move him from that spot, right?”
Realizing the solution, Rin crouched down and then shot forward like a slingshot, her hands wreathed in flames.
Her opponent was a spellcaster. He would be weak in close combat, and she gambled that he wouldn't dare use the Nirvana Beads while they were in the same spot.
—Ah, that’s only half right.
Rin was about to find out what that meant firsthand. The Fallen Monk pulled out the staff he had planted in the ground. An ominous, violet spiritual power coiled around its shaft.
Swish!
The Fallen Monk thrust the staff like a spear. A violet flash shot through Rin’s shoulder like a bolt of lightning.
“Keuk!”
The Fallen Monk placed his free hand on Rin’s abdomen.
“Shatter.”
Booooooooom—!
“Keoheok!”
With a deafening vibration that shook the air, a massive shockwave exploded against Rin’s stomach. She coughed up a mouthful of blood as her body was thrown back, only stopping when she slammed into the barrier.
Rin trembled on the floor, trying to stand, but her body wouldn't respond. The vibration had momentarily spread through her entire body, rattling her brain. Her head was spinning.
The gumiho crouched down in front of the fallen Rin and chuckled as if watching an amusing spectacle.
—Monks are different from your average mages. A battlemage, was it? If I had to make a comparison, they’d fall into that category. They can hold their own against most martial artists, you know?
“Why do you keep… telling me these important things so late?”
—I was about to tell you. You’re the one who rushed in on your own.
It was absurd, but she didn't have the luxury of arguing right now.
Rin cloaked her body in fox fire as if putting on clothes. It was a healing method she had pestered Yuhwa into teaching her after Karami was gravely injured by the Blood Wolfman.
Even so, her body trembled; it would take time to heal completely. Watching her, the gumiho asked with a hint of curiosity.
—You said you caught Ghost Bear. How on earth did you manage that? From what I can see, you’re nowhere near strong enough.
That was because Karami had helped her. Thanks to his strategy, which seemed to exploit every weakness with uncanny perfection, she had been able to defeat it without a single setback.
But this time, she didn't have his support. She had come here recklessly, driven by the sole desire to catch the Fallen Monk and earn his praise. She had been confident of an easy victory, even without his help.
—There is one way…
“If you have a way, just tell me already.”
—Lend me control of your body for a moment.
Even with the same body and the same power, the peak performance varies wildly depending on the pilot. In other words, if Rin entrusted her body to the spirit, it would use the true power of a gumiho to defeat the Fallen Monk.
The gumiho whispered into Rin’s mind.
—Well? Isn’t that a tempting offer?