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Chapter 14 (1)
Chapter 14 (1)
Chapter 14 (1)
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Bam!
A dull, heavy sound burst forth.
A noise never heard before while Meave was fighting.
It happened right after something hit the dark surface and got embedded into the ground.
Amidst the rising dust and dirt.
Swoosh-!
Ian, who had landed in front of it, knelt on one knee and swung his sword downward.
Bam! Crunch! Thud!
Relentless strikes followed.
The thing that was embedded couldnt withstand the impact and bounced up.
Meave could finally identify its nature.
It was a Dullahan skull.
Not quite human, given the large eye sockets.
Was that its core?
Meave understood without difficulty.
She couldnt figure out how he had detected it among those forms, but what mattered was that Ian had succeeded in doing the difficult task.
Even attempting to shatter the skull was remarkable.
Meave slowed down her speech.
In the brief moment of hesitation about whether she should assist Ian.
Squaaaaaak-
Red light radiated from the eye sockets of the skull.
The same light as before.
-! !
A scream erupted from the gap between its gaping jawbone as if the ghost inside was howling.
Then, waves of crimson magical energy radiated from the skull in all directions.
Huh?!
Meave instinctively widened her eyes.
Her entire body froze.
It was such a powerful curse that even she, bolstered with divine power, would have been paralyzed if she hadnt slowed down her speech.
If she hadnt delayed her words, she would have been taken down.
Then?
Meaves gaze shifted to Ian.
To her surprise, even the motion of Ian swinging his sword had frozen.
Swooosh-!
The skull floated into the air.
A tainted spirits began to spread around the Dullahan.
Meave gritted her teeth.
It was clear that the creature was trying to return to its original form.
But before that, she needed to break free from the paralysis.
In her urgency to release her divine power.
Boom.
Ian extended his hand and gripped the skull.
!
Sensing the hardness of its cheekbones under his grip, Ian smiled.
I knew this would happen, you fiend.
Just like he did with Andolf, these named monsters always had at least one escape method in dire situations.
Dullahan was no exception.
Ian had prepared accordingly.
And this was the result.
Momentary numbness instead of full paralysis.
It lasted for only about a second.
A synergy effect of heightened mental strength, magical power, and a few misjudged skills.
Although there were no actual eyes, Ian keenly sensed the red light in the eye sockets of the skull wavering.
He lifted his lips slightly, as if smiling, and slammed the skull onto the ground.
Thud!
The skull was driven deep into the ground due to the infused magical power.
The swirling spirits scattered.
Then Ian raised his sword.
Thud!
Unilateral beatdown resumed.
There were no elaborate moves or flashy techniques.
Just a repetition of swinging the sword with all his might, regardless of edge or flat side, and striking it down again.
What set it apart from regular clubbing was that Ians current sword was infused with both wind blade magic and abundant magical power.
While the sword suffered damage as the beating continued, just like his opponent, it was still functional.
Thud! Crunch!
Ian continued undeterred, grabbing the skull whenever it tried to escape, while it struggled in his grip.
Meave watched the scene unfold, her sword extended.
Paralysis had ended long ago, but the atmosphere wasnt right for her to intervene.
To think that the menacing demon was being swept away by such simple violence.
What was even more bewildering was that it was working.
The red light wavered in the eye sockets.
Thud! Crack-! Clatter-!
Tainted magical energy oozed out from between the gold-rimmed skull fragments.
Crunch!
Finally, Ians sword stabbed into the forehead of the skull.
Right between the eye sockets.
And right after, the red light flashed as if it were exploding.
-! ! !
Dullahans mismatched jawbone trembled, and it screamed.
To Meaves ears, it felt like a desperate plea, a pitiful cry.
! !
The skull, which had been wailing, was lifted with the sword still embedded.
Then, Ians lips twitched as if he had anticipated this.
crack.
Kwajik!
Ian lowered his sword to the ground.
Damn, cracks spread like cobwebs across the skull. Between them, black magic power rose thickly.
Ahhhhh-!
A mournful scream erupted from the eyes.
The screams died down like wind.
When even the light in its eyes disappeared, magic power disappeared in silence.
So .
Ian, who kept staring at the skull, finally got down on one knee.
In that moment, the skull had become very worn and unsightly.
As if it would break if you hit it.
Ian muttered softly.
Do you want me to know your grudge?
He remembered Dullahans deathbed.
An old resentment that I dont want to be curious about or reminisce about.
Creak.
The stuck sword was easily pulled out.
Ian put down his nearly ruined sword and reached out to the crown of the skull, which was covered in fragments of broken bone.
He felt a faint magic power.
The moment he picked up a piece of bone.
Puff!
Something small and black came out like arrows from the eye sockets.
What is left ?
His hand moved faster than he thought.
Ian reflexively caught it flying.
Something twitched in his grasped hand.
A sharp pain followed.
?
Ians eyebrows furrowed.
It wasnt because of the pain, but because of the magic rushing through his body.
Dark, sticky, polluted magic.
That wasnt all.
Fear of the unknown. Endless hatred and anger surged like a tidal wave.
Screams and cries echoed in his head and his eyes were stained red.
Wooh .
Ian wasnt taken aback by the madness.
He was just a little surprised.
But even this level of resentment was far from enough to break Ians spirit.
It was like being thrown into the role of a villain in a game he was playing.
Of course.
Damn, its so noisy.
It wasnt that it didnt irritate him at all.
Ian clenched his hand.
And he pushed his magical power into whatever was inside his grip.
Including the tainted magical power containing remnants of resentment.
The wriggling sensation in his hand intensified.
Why are you damn persistent, just like before?
Ian pushed forward, ignoring the growing pain in his hand.
The wriggling intensified even more.
To the point where he couldnt even notice the pain anymore.
?
A surprising change happened at that moment.
He felt as if a new sensory organ was forming within the grip.
A sensation similar to when he first felt the magical power within his body.
Foreign yet familiar, as if a new hand or foot had sprouted.
But this sensation wasnt just about touch. It also conveyed simple yet clear emotions.
Surrender. And obedience.
Consciousness? Does that reach me too?
I thought there wouldnt be anything more surprising.
With admiration, Ian spread his hand.
The palm of his hand.
A section of it revealed a thin, black line.
It was a snake. A thin black snake that might be about 5 cm long.
The snake looked up at Ian with tiny eyes.
Once again, the same emotion was conveyed.
Complete submission.
Well, is this even my pet?
The creature wriggled its tail as if in response, then burrowed into his glove.
Ian quickly removed the glove.
The snake was coiled around his finger.
Even as it bit its own tail, it looked like a ring crafted in the form of a snake, seamless and intricate.
Finally, Ians eyes glistened with curiosity.
What is this?
Tl/n; Hi guys, sorry about delay, was extremely busy last week working on the site and editing some novels for future reads to stack up so I can a little room to breathe. The previous translator had some pressing issues so, Ill be picking from where they stopped.. If you notice any issues, please point them out in the comment section as I am human and there there are thing I might have missed.
This Novel chapters are particularly long like 5000 korean characters long and they take a while to translate and as such I can not really say the release schedule. Hope you enjoy reading.
Translator; ippo
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Schedule: Pending @ UTC+ 11:00 pm. 3 4 ch a /ippostranslations