Failed Possession Chapter-41

## Ch-41

—

“May I ask who the deceased is?”

Instead of attacking with the dagger in her hand, Haryeong tried asking a question first.

The chances were slim, but if conversation was possible, they might avoid fighting.
And knowing who the opponent was could help in battle.

“If you’re curious who this old man is, shouldn’t you introduce yourselves first?”

The old man wasn’t in any hurry.

He wasn’t hungry yet, and as he had said earlier, the surroundings had already been cleaned up.
He had killed more than ten adventurers during the night and dumped their corpses into his hideout.
If one of them had tried to run, he would’ve killed them immediately without talking—but fortunately, they seemed willing to fight.

“I am Haryeong of Salho Gate.”

“One of the assassins under the Faceless Killer, hm? I shouldn’t have even bothered asking your name. For assassins, nothing is more meaningless than a name.”

The old man chuckled and turned his gaze to Elena.

She stood tense, wand still pointed at him.

“From the Dercia Magic Tower… Elena Heinderga.”

“Oh-ho. I thought that lightning magic was rather flashy. As expected of the Dercia Magic Tower.”

Even if one didn’t know Salho Gate, the name *Dercia Magic Tower* would make most people shrink back.
If one of its mages were killed, the Heavenly Thunder might personally move in retaliation.

But the old man didn’t seem to care at all.

“This old man is called the **Blood Fiend Ghost**.”

The moment Haryeong heard the alias, she understood why.

“Blood Fiend Ghost… Woo Jin-yeol?”

Until ten years ago, he had been one of the Seven Evils of the Demonic Cult.

A great devil on par with the Martial Zeniths of both the righteous and demonic paths.

He had lost to the Ghost-Eyed Blade Master and been expelled from the Seven Evils, then vanished into seclusion.

Why was someone like that here in Lagos?

‘Wait…’

Haryeong looked him over carefully.

A wrinkled face.
Wrinkled hands.
Not hunched, but far from robust.

It didn’t match what she remembered.

Martial artists past Tier 6 slowed aging.
Tier 7 achieved rejuvenation.

Though she had never seen Blood Fiend Ghost in person, reports described him as a massive young man rivaling Fist Wolf.

‘…’

Is he really Blood Fiend Ghost?

She didn’t ask out loud.

Instead, fragments of information connected in her mind.

Ten years ago—defeated.
His abdomen deeply slashed.
His dantian damaged.
Begged for his life.

A fatal wound.

Dantian injury meant crippling.

Unable to maintain rejuvenation.
Forced into hiding.

‘Deviation.’

Perhaps during recovery.
Or while training for revenge.

Either way—

She didn’t feel the same “rank” from him that she felt from Full-Moon Play.

“Don’t believe I’m the Blood Fiend Ghost?”

“No. I believe you.”

“Assassin girl, you seem to be thinking hard. What conclusion did you reach?”

“If you’re recovering from deviation, wouldn’t a quiet, remote mountain valley be better than this place?”

Haryeong spoke expressionlessly.

The Blood Fiend Ghost grinned grotesquely.

“If I had learned righteous martial arts, perhaps.”

So he didn’t deny deviation.

She exhaled softly.

“Then why here? There are countless mountains.”

“Do you believe in superstition?”

“…What?”

“I do.”

He kept smiling.

“The wounds healed. But the internal energy I lost—and the deviation—couldn’t be restored. My body can’t resist aging anymore.”

“…”

“You know the superstition, don’t you? That drinking young, fresh blood restores youth? In the past, I achieved mastery by chewing human flesh and drinking blood.”

Elena’s face twisted in disgust.

“Lagos has many young adventurers. For me, there’s no better place to recuperate. When people die, it’s blamed on monsters. And young prey is plentiful. Many kinds, too.”

“We know you practiced cannibalism before. But if you devour a mage of Dercia, Heavenly Thunder will blanket this mountain in wrath.”

“The name Heavenly Thunder still frightens me.”

His lips parted.
A coated tongue slid out.

“But if I leave not even bones, how would they know? And if it’s troublesome, I can just make you my last meal and leave.”

“Must it be so? If you let us go, I swear we’ll never speak your name.”

“Killing you to silence you is safer than trusting words. Didn’t I say? I believe in superstition.”

His long tongue licked his lips.

A red mist began swirling around him.

“You two are the finest young prey I’ve seen on this mountain. Such tiers at your age… marvelous talent. Your blood and flesh must taste sweet… and seep deeply into this old body…”

A madman.

She had tried invoking Heavenly Thunder, but it meant nothing.

Still, the conversation gave information.

Deviation.
Lost internal energy.
An aged body.

He wasn’t what he used to be.

But—

‘Even so… a former Seven Evil…’

He faced them head-on without ambush.

That meant confidence.

‘We have no choice.’

[Miss. Are you really going to fight?]

She sent a telepathic message.

Elena flinched but replied with magic.

[Like I said. I’m not fast enough to run. Neither is Yuri.]

[I might stall him.]

[And if he kills you first and chases me?]

[Then I’d already be dead. Perhaps we’ll reunite in his stomach.]

[Don’t say creepy things. If we fight together…?]

[Honestly… I don’t know.]

[At least tell me this—what tier are you?]

[Five.]

Elena let out a hollow laugh.

[At your age, Tier 5 is genius-level.]

[Didn’t I say? I’m a terrifying assassin.]

Green aura flared over her daggers.

Blood Fiend Ghost’s eyes widened.

Tier 5?

“Evil God! Thank you for today’s daily sustenance!”

He suddenly shouted.

Nothing happened.

Just prayer.

Perhaps the two before him were the Evil God’s blessing.

He kicked off the ground.

“Run first.”

Elena whispered through crackling lightning.

“Dangerous, but better than here. Go straight down the mountain. If you meet anyone—ask for protection.”

She didn’t wait for an answer.

She focused everything on him.

Mana and soul power surged.

**Thunder Roaring Flash Strike.**

—KRAAAAAASH!

A massive lightning spear fired.

Blood Fiend Ghost leapt skyward.

The lightning bent midair and chased him upward.

“Kuahahaha!”

He swung his arm.

Scarlet aura collided—

FLASH!

Lightning exploded.

His sleeve burned to ash, his body pushed back—

But not a single wound.

Haryeong dashed forward.

She hurled aura-coated daggers.

BOOM!

His palm strike blocked them.

He landed—

**THUD!**

The ground shook violently.

Haryeong jumped clear.

Elena instinctively raised her wand and formed a barrier.

“Run, Yuri!”

Elena shouted again and dashed forward.
If they fought here, Yuri would be caught in it too.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The sounds repeating between dagger and bare hand were too heavy to believe they came from such weapons.
Haryeong kept her distance meticulously, throwing daggers at Blood Fiend Ghost.
But no matter how many she hurled, they could not pierce his protective aura.

‘Deviation.’

That much was certain.

Even if they couldn’t penetrate and wound him, each time a dagger struck, his protective aura trembled.

Even if Haryeong, a Tier 5, fought with everything she had, it would be impossible to shake a Tier 7 protective aura.

Yet it did shake—just not enough to break.

He must have lost a great deal of internal energy—

Indeed. Even aged and depleted, the martial knowledge of someone who had reached Tier 7 remained.
He might not possess the same raw might, but his mastery in handling internal energy and his seasoned execution of techniques were intact.

‘Protective aura consumes internal energy rapidly. If he cannot maintain rejuvenation, then his tier has fallen due to deviation. His meridians must be unstable too.’

If they dragged it into a prolonged battle, there was a chance.

Haryeong reached that conclusion.

‘A prolonged battle…?’

Would that even be possible?

Within the red aura, Blood Fiend Ghost smiled hideously.

Boom!

In an instant, the distance vanished.

Haryeong did not panic. She stepped into her footwork.
The body that was about to be seized left behind a faint afterimage—her real form circling to his side.

She tried to stab at close range—

But as if expecting it, Blood Fiend Ghost detonated his protective aura.

Boom!

Her body was blown backward. She forced herself to halt midair, teeth clenched.
The taste of blood filled her mouth.

“Haryeong!”

Lightning flashed with the shout.

Dozens of bolts shot past Haryeong and exploded against Blood Fiend Ghost.
Crack! Crack!

He weaved through the storm of lightning and swung both hands.

The blast, the shock—
Even as she blocked with daggers and raised aura, her bones and organs vibrated painfully.

‘The dominance of his aura is different…!’

The gap was immense.

If he was this powerful even after deviation—how monstrous had he been at his peak?

“Kyaak!”

A scream sounded behind them.

His attacks were not focused on Haryeong alone.

Elena hurriedly raised a barrier, but it couldn’t fully block the strike.
She staggered, coughing up blood.

“Assassin. Your martial art looks familiar.”

Crack. Crack.

Clashing aura screamed.

“Salho Gate assassin… you are of the Tang Clan.”

Foul stench seeped from his mouth.

“Why is one who rules the assassin world within Salho Gate? Does Salho Gate belong to the assassin world? Even I didn’t know that. How curious. Your art resembles the Tang Clan’s Merciless Killing Flow—yet it differs. You try to hide it, but emotion fills it.”

“Your breath.”

Haryeong twisted her lips.

“Blood Fiend Ghost. Your mouth reeks of filth.”

Her body trembled—green aura surged.

Papapapak!

aura erupted from her entire body, forming dagger-like projectiles.

“A crude Rain of Ten Thousand Petals!”

Blood Fiend Ghost laughed and swept his hands.

Scarlet aura manifested into a giant hand and blocked the barrage.

“Haryeong!”

Elena rushed forward, swinging her wand.

Lightning arrows rained upon him—

But even Elena’s magic failed to push him back.

—

—

Yuri.

He saw everything.

‘Me…’

He was excluded.

The Blood Fiend Ghost had not once looked at him.
From the start, the targets were Elena and Haryeong.

Haryeong, who always joked with a blank face, had first grabbed Elena and Yuri to flee.

When escape proved impossible, she became what she always claimed to be—a guard.

Perhaps she could have escaped alone.
But she did not hesitate. She threw Elena and Yuri away and stood alone before Blood Fiend Ghost.

Elena did not choose to run either.

Her reasoning was practical.
Haryeong could not stall him long alone.
Even if Elena fled at full speed, she would not outrun him.

“Ahhh!”

Amid shattering barrier fragments, Elena staggered—

And had shouted for Yuri to run.

No one here believed Yuri could fight.

Blood Fiend Ghost ignored him.
Haryeong and Elena did not ask for his help.
They told him to run.

Running was correct.

It was the only rational choice.

Tier 2.
The lie he told them.

Tier 3.
His true level.

Not impressive.
The lowest here.

Jake—crushed like an insect—had also been Tier 3.

So Yuri could do nothing in this battle.

Even if Haryeong coughed blood and rolled across the ground.
Even if Elena, legs trembling, unleashed lightning that shattered uselessly against Blood Fiend Ghost’s palm.

Yuri could do nothing.

If he didn’t want to die—
If he wanted even the slightest chance to survive—

The right choice was to flee while they fought desperately.

Maybe he’d meet another adventurer.
Maybe he could beg for help.

Yuri clenched his fists.

They came to Lagos because of him.

If he hadn’t mentioned becoming an adventurer, Elena wouldn’t have come.
Haryeong wouldn’t have followed.

If he hadn’t existed—

This wouldn’t be happening.

He didn’t want to die.

He wanted to live.

Did he desperately want to return to his original world?

Honestly—

No.

There was nothing waiting for Lee Su-hyeok there.

No family.
No friends.
No job.
No money.
No dreams.
No precious memories.
No one waiting.
No one searching.

Empty.

Alive, but alone.

When he fell into this world because of that damned game—

He thought it was bullshit.

He wanted to return.

But somewhere deep inside—

There had been excitement.

It was extraordinary.

Chosen, in a way.

For someone who had never been chosen for anything—

It was miraculous.

So returning had never been urgent.

Perhaps—

Life here could be better than before.

Was there truly no such expectation?

‘No.’

He didn’t want to die.

He wanted to live.

Because he had begun to hope for this life.

Kill the Evil God.
Make a wish to the Goddess of Order.

He doubted he could achieve it—

But if he never revealed he was a transmigrator—

Maybe Yuri’s life could be better than Lee Su-hyeok’s.

To live, he must run.

If he ran, Elena and Haryeong would die.

But he might live.

For Lee Su-hyeok—

That was the logical choice.

‘If I survive by running…’

How would he remember today?

‘O flame that enacts heavenly punishment.’

He would not want to remember it.

‘Executioner who eradicates evil.’

He would remember it as a nightmare.

‘Apostle who sets right the order of heaven.’

He would regret it all his life.

‘My hands bear the sacred flame.’

Lee Su-hyeok—

Yuri—

Did not want to live carrying that regret.

‘My feet trample demons.’

So Yuri stepped forward.

The flame burning in his dantian surged—

And engulfed his body.