CHAPTER 117: RE-ENTERING THE LAB

Daritas slashed across its back, landing on the black mist.

The Cursed Spirit howled, twisting unnaturally fast, but I was already gone through another portal that opened beside me, pulling me away before its claws could reach.

It slammed the ground, shaking the entire area.

The barrier flickered slightly.

I narrowed my eyes, keeping my calm thanks to my Adernal Silence.

One or two more strong hits like that and the spell might crack.

I fired another volley of Magic Bullets, aiming at its joints.

It tanked them effortlessly.

But the Cursed Spirit was annoyed and that was my goal.

It lunged at me again.

I ducked under its arm, sliding across the ground, and swung upward.

The blade clashed against its torso, then twisted, redirecting the Cursed Spirit’s momentum and causing it to stagger forward.

I knew I wasn’t doing any damage.

But I didn’t need to.

Victory could be achieved as long as I fought according to my plan.

I needed to keep the pressure on.

When it raised its claw again, I opened another portal in front of it.

Half its arm went through before it realized what was happening.

I closed the portal instantly.

The arm was severed cleanly.

The Cursed Spirit let out a screech, a high, distorted sound that echoed through the barrier.

I didn’t stop.

I moved forward and slashed again, aiming for the exposed stump of its arm.

The attack landed though...

’tsk, so even this doesn’t work.’

My heart throbbed painfully.

I could feel the Heart-Burst Poison I’d taken earlier circulating through me, keeping my heart beating despite the mana overload.

Without it, I would’ve already collapsed.

The Cursed Spirit roared and regenerated instantly.

I ducked under its swing and created another small portal on the location it was about to step.

Its foot went through and I closed the portal.

It fell, losing its foot.

However, before it could fall, it had regenerated already.

We continued to clash.

Its heavy fist slammed against my sword, making it rebound hard.

Before I could recover, another punch came flying toward my face.

My sword was still moving back from the last hit, leaving me open.

I fired Magic Bullets at the blade, aiming at angles to push it forward again.

The impact gave me just enough force to swing in time.

Sweat ran down my back.

My arms and legs shook every time I redirected the attacks.

Each strike felt heavier than the last.

And yet, my movements only grew faster, and sharper.

This was the first time I was truly fighting with my body.

And with each clash, I was regaining my combat senses from my last life.

The air between us vibrated from the force.

Then, suddenly, I felt something.

A chill ran down my neck, and I ducked without thinking.

Nothing was there.

Yet my instincts screamed that something had moved.

It was like... the Cursed Spirit had grown more arms.

"Yuna, what was that?" I shouted, keeping my eyes locked on the shifting figure.

"The Cursed Spirit... Lord of Shadows, you’ve already seen its eldritch form once. You can’t just pretend you didn’t. Now it’s manifesting that form even if you don’t use your Hollow Eyes," she said, her tone tight.

Her words sank in.

That meant the thing’s eldritch form was becoming visible to me, even without Hollow Eyes.

"I see..." I muttered, gripping my sword tighter. "Then I need to end this fast."

I began chanting faster, layering chants after chants while fighting off the Cursed Spirit.

The Cursed Spirit lunged again, and this time, I saw two faint, almost transparent arms moving in the air.

I twisted aside just in time.

The invisible arms smashed into the ground, leaving cracks that spread like lightning.

I countered with a quick slash.

The impact pushed it back, but the pressure didn’t drop.

The thing was growing dangerous with second.

As time passed, the extra arms started to become clearer.

Their outlines shimmered like smoke.

But along with that came the rest of its eldritch body.

My head started to buzz.

Just looking at it was making my eyes itch.

Every second it grew stronger. Every second it became more real.

If it landed one clean hit with its current strength, I would be finished.

Meanwhile, I was barely holding on.

Blocking, dodging, and trying to protect the barrier all at once.

Each movement felt like walking on a tightrope over fire. One mistake, and everything would collapse.

...

Calliope POV

As soon as the four-minute mark passed, they started running toward the lab.

Calliope carried Lars on her back.

Her arms trembled slightly as she supported his weight. It wasn’t because of physical exertion, but from stress.

She kept healing him while moving.

His condition was improving slowly.

He was still unconscious, and she knew he would stay that way until his injuries became less critical.

Her face was calm, but her lips were bleeding from how hard she was biting them.

Alan’s words replayed in her mind.

He had said he would fight the Cursed Spirit alone. That he would hold it off.

At that moment, her connection with him suddenly vanished.

Her steps faltered for a moment, but she forced herself to keep going.

He had warned her this might happen.

The cut-off didn’t mean he was dead.

It just meant he had done something to block the Cursed Spirit’s teleportation.

What did he do?

She had no idea, nor did she plan to ask him.

Every Exorcist had some secrets.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel like her chest was tightening.

’Even if we save everyone else... we might not be able to bring him back.’

’He will be busy fighting the Cursed Spirit, and extracting him from that fight might not be possible.’

Zephan noticed the expression on her face.

He sighed softly.

"Alan will be fine. He’s the disciple of the Monkey King, remember? I’m sure he has some useful hidden cards," he said.

Calliope didn’t reply.

She only nodded, her eyes still fixed ahead.

They reached the lab.

The metal door looked heavy.

Standing there, it would be a lie to say she was not afraid of being attacked by the Cursed Spirit as soon as they stepped inside.

Zephan opened the door.

They stepped in carefully.

Three seconds passed.

Then three.

Then ten.

The Cursed Spirit didn’t appear.

"Alan did it," Calliope muttered.

She looked around

Rows of glass tubes lined the lab, each containing an unconscious "something" floating in pale blue liquid.

Zephan exhaled in relief. "We made it."

They began working quickly.

One by one, they opened the test tubes and pulled out their teammates.

They couldn’t open the test tubes of other humans, but worrying about them right now was not possible for their team.

Zephan’s soul form dissolved back into his real body, and he groaned softly as his memories synced up and he sat up.

Calliope still had a little mana left in her cracked core.

She used the last bit of it to cast weak healing spells on Ellyn, Mira, and Denny.

A few moments later, they started waking up.

Mira’s eyes fluttered open first.

She blinked several times, then sat up slowly.

The children ran to her and hugged her tightly.

"We’re glad you’re safe!" Ava said, almost crying.

Mira smiled faintly, patting their heads. "I’m glad you’re safe too."

But as she looked up, her expression changed.

Her smile faded, and her eyes narrowed at Zephan.

"Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did," she said coldly.

Zephan gave her a lazy grin. "I told you before. If our lives are in danger, I’ll run away with my tail between my legs."

"Unbelievable." Mira spat to the side, disgusted.

"Stop fighting," Ellyn said, brushing the sticky liquid off her skin with a grimace. "This stuff is disgusting."

She looked at Zephan.

"Where’s Alan?"

The room went quiet.

Mira followed Ellyn’s gaze and noticed Calliope’s expression.

Her eyes widened.

"Wait... he is with the Cursed Spirit?"

No one answered, but she already knew.

That was why the Cursed Spirit hadn’t appeared even though so many people were in the lab.

Alan was holding it back.

Mira’s anger flared.

She stomped toward Zephan and Calliope.

"How could you leave him there?! He’s just a kid! Do you have no honor?"

She looked ready to punch them.

Before she could do anything else, Zephan moved.

He grabbed her wrist, turned, and used her momentum to slam her onto the floor.

"Let’s not fight here," he said, smiling calmly. "We did what we could. I was half-dead before we even got here.

"Calliope has melted her mana core, and Lars is critically injured and unconscious.

"Alan stayed behind because he was the only one who could still fight. It was his choice."

"To hell with your ’choice.’" Mira glared up at him, breathing heavily.

...

A/N:

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