Episode 163
“Is it him?”
It seemed like the shaman was communicating through the spirit of the tree.
Zeke scanned the surroundings with the eyes of a dragon warrior, searching for the shaman.
But no matter where he looked, the shaman was nowhere to be seen.
“I need to draw them in further.”
The effect of Arin’s fire wall ended, and the mist began to creep inward again.
Zeke shouted to Rick’s group.
“Claire! Shoot fire arrows! Rick, guard Miss Arin while she recovers her magic! Jason, conserve your energy and provide cover!”
Whoosh!
Claire continued to fire arrows into the mist, preventing the tree spirit from advancing.
Ssssss—
But the mist kept pushing deeper into the cave.
Claire, running low on arrows, called out urgently.
“I’m almost out of arrows!”
Zeke turned to Jason and shouted.
“Jason! Bring down the cave!”
Jason unleashed the magic he had prepared.
“Rock Buster!”
As the third-circle spell Rock Buster was cast, the rocks above the cave exploded.
Boom!
Debris from the explosion piled up in front of the cave, burying the tree spirit beneath it.
Though Zeke’s group was now trapped inside the cave, the tree spirit was completely buried under the rubble.
Jason, sweating, stared at the heap of rocks.
“Did… did it work?”
Zeke was inwardly impressed by Jason’s ability to cast a third-circle spell so quickly.
“To cast a third-circle spell without incantation at his age… What kind of party is this?”
A swordsman trained in the Five Light Swordsmanship, a third-circle incantationless mage. Arin and Claire were equally skilled, making Zeke wonder if there was more to this group than met the eye.
Claire, seeing the collapsed pile of rocks, sat down with a sigh of relief.
“All this trouble just to catch one shaman. I should’ve known when Graham offered such a generous reward.”
Jason chuckled at her.
“Who was it that got all excited and bought a new set of bows with the advance payment?”
“Jason, please shut up. You’re best when you’re silent.”
Rick remained vigilant, guarding Arin as she meditated to recover her magic.
Arin slowly opened her eyes.
“Is… is the spirit gone?”
Jason grinned and pointed at the pile of rocks.
“Even a spirit would be crushed under that.”
Just then, something shot out from the cracks in the rocks.
Thud!
A piece of wood flew towards Arin, but Rick leapt in to block it with his body.
“Ugh!”
The wood lodged into Rick’s shoulder.
Simultaneously, more wooden shards flew from the cracks.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Zeke stepped forward, slicing the shards with his sword, and shouted.
“Fall back! Jason, create a barrier! Everyone, take cover behind it!”
Jason quickly summoned his magic to create an earthen wall.
Arin and Claire dragged the fallen Rick behind the wall.
“Ugh!”
Rick groaned in pain.
Arin removed Rick’s armor and tore his shirt to examine the wound.
The wood embedded in his skin had already taken root, spreading throughout his body.
Claire drew a dagger.
“Damn it. If we don’t get this out fast, Rick’s done for.”
Arin held Rick down firmly.
Claire stabbed the dagger into Rick’s wound.
Thud!
The wood had rooted deeply, refusing to budge even as Claire dug into the wound.
“Argh!”
Rick writhed in agony.
At that moment, Zeke tossed something to Arin.
“Pour this on the wound!”
It was a bottle of Fire Spirit Elixir.
Arin poured the elixir onto Rick’s wound.
The wood embedded in Rick’s flesh began to writhe.
Zeke shouted to Arin.
“Set it on fire!”
Arin hesitated, shocked.
“F-fire? But Rick might…”
As Arin hesitated, Claire pulled out a flint.
“Better to try something than let him die from the curse!”
Snap!
As the spark ignited the elixir on Rick’s wound, flames erupted.
Whoosh!
The wood embedded in the wound began to crawl out on its own.
Arin grabbed the emerging wood.
“Burn!”
Whoosh!
Arin incinerated the wood with magic, and Claire quickly extinguished the flames on Rick’s body with her cloak.
“It’s out! The roots are all out!”
Arin applied a potion to Rick’s wound.
Sizzle!
The wound began to heal as the potion bubbled.
The immediate danger was averted, but the real challenge was just beginning.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Tree roots began to extend through the cracks in the rocks.
The rocks started to split, and the pile of rubble began to collapse.
Jason gritted his teeth at the sight.
“Trees splitting rocks? That’s impossible!”
Expecting a spirit to adhere to the laws of the world was absurd.
Finally, a massive crack appeared in the boulder blocking their path.
Crash!
The boulder crumbled, releasing a wave of mist.
Tree roots slithered out, writhing.
Zeke pointed his sword at the advancing roots.
“Come on. I’ll cut you all down.”
Just then, a root shot up from beneath Zeke’s feet.
Swish!
The root wrapped around Zeke’s ankle, and a thick vine ensnared his arms and torso, including his sword, Bahamut.
“Ugh!”
Bound tightly by the roots, Zeke couldn’t move.
A sinister laughter echoed throughout the cave.
With their mental defenses down, Jason and the others clutched their ears and collapsed.
Zeke, too, felt his strength waning, dropping his sword.
“Ugh!”
As Zeke groaned in pain, the malevolent tree spirit emerged from the shattered boulder.
Rumble!
The tree spirit exhaled mist with every breath.
Zeke glared at the spirit, gritting his teeth.
“I’ll cut you down… right now…”
Zeke struggled to free himself from the roots, but it was futile.
The tree spirit slowly approached Zeke.
“You dare pursue me. Arrogant fools. I’ll grant you a pain so severe that even death will seem merciful.”
Suddenly, the tree spirit’s body unraveled, revealing a small, hunched figure.
The figure had a hunched back, sparse hair, and a face covered in sores.
The grotesque old shaman sneered at the immobilized group.
“I’ll play with you until I’m bored, then use you as offerings for my curse. You’ll pay dearly for daring to follow the great shaman Dusk.”
Dusk leaned on his staff and approached the fallen group.
He licked his thin lips as he eyed the young men and women sprawled before him.
“Such fine materials. They’ll be fun to play with. Wait a minute. Are those two virgins? Yes, I can smell it! Excellent! With offerings like these, I can summon a powerful spirit…”
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Dusk was startled to see a dagger piercing his shoulder.
“How… how is this possible?”
Zeke, having freed himself from the roots, was advancing towards Dusk with Bahamut in hand.
“You sneaky shaman. Hiding inside the spirit, no wonder I couldn’t find you.”
Zeke hurled the Fire Giant’s Deep Breath at the tree spirit.
As the potion shattered and its contents touched the spirit, a massive flame erupted.
Screech!
The unquenchable fire of the Fire Giant’s Deep Breath consumed the malevolent tree spirit.
Dusk’s jaw dropped at the sight.
“No! Do you know how many sacrifices it took to capture that ancient spirit?”
Dusk aimed his staff at Zeke.
Ssssss—
A sinister energy surged from Dusk’s shadow, shooting towards Zeke.
The energy enveloped Zeke, as Dusk attempted to spread the plague’s curse through the spirits he controlled.
But something was wrong.
Screech!
The spirits meant to attack Zeke rebounded, returning to Dusk.
“What… what is this?”
Dusk’s curse was ineffective against Zeke, who possessed a curse reflection skill.
Instead, Dusk found himself under attack by his own summoned spirits.
“Argh!”
Dusk swung his staff, sending the specters he had summoned back into the shadows.
He glared at Zeke, grinding his teeth. “Who the hell are you?”
Zeke looked at Dusk’s twisted face and recognized him as the ancient sorcerer he had encountered in a past life.
Clearing his throat, Zeke shouted at Dusk, “Did you really think you could curse Lady Graham and get away with it?”
Dusk’s face contorted with rage at Zeke’s words. ‘Damn it. How did the Grahams find out I was the one who cursed her?’
He had heard rumors that his curse on Angelina Graham had been lifted, but he never expected them to track him down.
Zeke pointed his sword at Dusk. “I have a few questions for you. Answer them quietly.”
Dusk sneered, revealing his few remaining yellow teeth. “You think a dog of the Grahams can capture the great Dusk?”
A sinister aura erupted around him, and Zeke could sense the dark magic Dusk wielded.
From Dusk’s shadow, a massive black hound emerged, growling menacingly. In myths and legends, black dogs were harbingers of death.
The hound, exuding a terrifying aura of death, approached Zeke with glowing red eyes. “Facing the cursed Black Death Hound, you cannot escape your fate.”
The hound lunged at Zeke, baring its fangs. Just as it seemed Zeke would be torn apart, he caught the hound’s neck with his bare hands.
The hound struggled fiercely, but it couldn’t break free from Zeke’s grip. Even Dusk began to tremble uncontrollably.
‘What… what is this?’ The aura of a dragon emanating from Zeke was so overwhelming that even the death hound couldn’t muster the will to resist.
Dusk, seeing Zeke subdue the hound with one hand, stumbled backward in shock. “Impossible.”
Panicking, Dusk fumbled in his robes and hurled something at Zeke.
A vial shattered on the ground, and something grotesque began to writhe, forming tentacle-like appendages.
Zeke grimaced at the sight. “Is this another one of your curses?”
It was a parasitic creature, similar to the one that had once attached itself to the youngest disciple of the Flesh Mage, Ailraman.
The parasite leapt at Zeke, attempting to latch onto him. Zeke used the hound in his grasp to block the creature.
The parasite recoiled from the deathly aura of the hound, detaching itself in a hurry.
Zeke summoned a holy flame. The fire consumed both the hound and the parasite crawling on the ground.
Black smoke and ash scattered around them.
Dusk, unable to comprehend how both his attacks had been thwarted, collapsed in disbelief.
Zeke slowly approached him, and Dusk felt an instinctive fear. “P-please, spare me.”
Chains shot out from Zeke’s left arm, binding Dusk tightly. “Think carefully about what you say. It might make your death a little less painful.”
The holy flame swirled around Zeke, growing larger as it danced before Dusk’s eyes.
Dusk, sensing the light magic that countered his cursed powers, struggled in terror.
Zeke held Dusk’s aura with the flame and murmured, “Lightning.”
Electricity surged through the chains, piercing Dusk’s body. He convulsed and passed out, but Zeke wasn’t finished.
He cast a stamina spell on Dusk, reviving him with a jolt of energy.
Dusk awoke, terror-stricken, as Zeke pulled out a potion bottle. “They say death can be a mercy. Let’s test that theory.”
He forced the potion down Dusk’s throat.
Moments later, Dusk’s agonized screams echoed through the cave.