Failed Possession Chapter-60

##Ch-60

—

Whatever the reason Haryeong had suddenly called for her mother, that was not what mattered right now.

Yuri narrowed his eyes and looked up at the Withered Old Crone. The bishop who oversaw the cultists of this district. A Sixth Rank mage.

‘So this is the kind of magic she uses…’

The ghostly wails accompanying the spell. The death masks. The ominous aura spreading and eroding the space itself. Merely looking at it brought on a headache and stabbing pain behind the eyes. Beyond that pain, anxiety and fear seeped up from the pit of his chest, turning his stomach.

In game terms, this was a mental debuff—psychological attack magic. Mages who specialized in such grisly arts were not common in this world.

“Rise!”

The Withered Old Crone shouted sharply.

The rubble of the collapsed building trembled. The crushed corpses beneath began to wriggle and crawl out.

Blood bubbled. Flesh twitched.

Fwoooosh!

The gray light swirling around the Crone poured into the corpses.

The corpses did not stand up.

Something else was born from them.

Shattered bones fused together into grotesque creatures. Sticky blood clotted into slimes. Chunks of flesh melded into pulsating masses of meat.

KYAHAHAHAHA!

Ghosts shrieked. Countless souls bound by the Crone’s magic screamed in agony. From several dozen corpses, hundreds of monsters were born.

‘This is…’

Mental attacks, necromancy that manipulated souls, corpse manipulation that kneaded the dead into new monsters. There was only one mage tower that handled such arts.

‘The Rudella Mage Tower.’

When players voted for the most goddamn annoying mage in the game, even surpassing Archmage Arsen—who boasted extreme difficulty at the highest levels—and Orca Dercia who coolly declared immunity to physical attacks, the overwhelming winner had been the Rudella Mage Tower Master: Corpse Immortal Spirit, Harein Rudella.

The reason she ranked first was simple.

Before facing the Heavenly Demon, players were forced to confront Harein.

The Heavenly Demon, once considered the final boss before hidden bosses appeared, was not easy to reach. The Demonic Cult field—the most brutal zone in the game—was filled with high-level NPCs and monsters.

But the true nuisance in that field was the mages of the Rudella Tower.

They appeared only in the Demonic Cult zone. They bombarded the player with debuffs while buffing Demonic Cult NPCs. If you failed to kill them cleanly, they cast healing spells. If you barely managed to kill them, they scattered poison and curses—or outright self-destructed.

That alone made them unbearable.

But the most horrifying was the Tower Master herself, Harein Rudella.

She blocked the entrance to the boss room where the Heavenly Demon waited. No trick could bypass her. To meet the Heavenly Demon, you had to kill Harein first.

She would summon every NPC corpse the player had killed on the way as meat shields. She would extract their souls separately to cast defense-ignoring spells. When her HP or MP dropped, she devoured souls to return to full condition. And as the battle dragged on, the player’s stats steadily deteriorated under mental attacks and curses.

The moment you killed her, you were immediately transferred to the boss room to face the Heavenly Demon. Retreat was impossible.

It was because of her that it was impossible to build-spec snipe the Heavenly Demon. If you optimized for the Heavenly Demon, you struggled against Harein. If you optimized for Harein, the Heavenly Demon became hellish.

The only saving grace was that the Heavenly Demon restored the player at the start of that boss fight. Without that, killing him would have been impossible.

‘Why is a mage from the Rudella Tower acting as a cult bishop?’

The Rudella Tower cooperated with the Demonic Cult. If so, had the Demonic Cult joined hands with the Evil God’s cult as well?

The situation invited that misunderstanding.

“Rudella Mage Tower!”

Sword Dragon was not ignorant. He bared his teeth, glaring alternately at the approaching abominations and the Crone wrapped in ominous energy.

“Has the Demonic Cult joined hands with the Evil God’s cult? Have these vile and grotesque things conspired together to defile Orsia territory?!”

“That’s not the case.”

Bi-yeon, who had been staring at the Crone, answered quickly.

“That old woman—the Withered Old Crone—was once part of the Rudella Tower, but that was ten years ago.”

“What?”

“She deserted the Rudella Tower ten years ago. She is no longer affiliated with them—and naturally, has no ties to the Divine Cult either.”

—Divine Cult?

Sword Dragon’s brows twitched. In this world, only the Demonic Cult and the Rudella Tower referred to the Demonic Cult as the “Divine Cult.”

“You are—”

Before Sword Dragon could ask further, jet-black aura from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art engulfed Bi-yeon.

In that instant, Sword Dragon felt an intense demonic energy.

There was no need to ask more.

That savage aura was proof enough of demonic martial arts.

Bi-yeon ignored his reaction.

The situation was strange, but not complicated.

Her task remained the same.

Kill the Withered Old Crone.

Sword Dragon swallowed the words he had been about to say as Bi-yeon leapt upward alone. She was undoubtedly from the Demonic Cult. Why she was here, he did not know. But the priority was killing the Evil God’s bishop.

Kurururur!

Golden sword aura enveloped his blade. Spinning in place, he unleashed a sweeping slash. Golden light flashed, cleaving through the monsters born of corpse manipulation.

“Are you alright?”

Yuri asked Haryeong first.

Ever since the ghostly wails began, her body had been subtly tense. She clung close to him as she answered.

“I’m perfectly fine.”

She likely thought she sounded calm.

To Yuri, she did not.

“You’re an assassin, yet afraid of ghosts?”

“When did I say I was afraid?”

Haryeong snapped her head toward him, glaring—while simultaneously flicking concealed weapons. A creeping flesh-monster was pierced and burst apart.

“You look afraid.”

“An assassin kills the living. It is not a profession that kills what is already dead.”

She spoke quickly.

“That’s all. I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

So once an assassin, always an assassin—but ghosts were another matter? Yuri found it absurd, yet he could not entirely dismiss her reasoning. Even he felt a chill at the corpse-born monsters and the souls dragged forth by necromancy.

‘What the hell is she?’

Naturally, his attention shifted from Sword Dragon to the woman who had suddenly fallen from above—Bi-yeon.

A masked woman whose name he did not know.

‘Demonic Cult.’

It was not difficult to infer from her use of the term “Divine Cult” and the demonic energy she radiated.

His gaze lingered on her martial art.

The ink-black aura coating her body and erupting from her attacks.

The color of manifested inner energy differed by cultivation method. Yuri could see that her black aura did not merely flow—it dominated the surrounding qi.

Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am supreme.

Her inner energy subdued and ruled all surrounding energies.

‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art…?’

In the game, obtaining the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was impossible. It did not exist as an acquirable martial art.

But he knew well how infuriating the Heavenly Demon’s techniques were.

Against the Heavenly Demon, you could never secure elemental advantage—whether using magic or martial arts.

Worse, spells or attacks carefully timed between patterns had a chance of being reflected.

And after a certain time, he would unleash an unavoidable instant-kill ultimate. Even using rare invincibility skills was useless. The instant-death pattern repeated until you died.

The martial art of this woman—dominating surrounding qi—and the Heavenly Demon’s in-game abilities did not perfectly overlap.

But if that “domination” reached its ultimate extreme, could it not also subjugate external qi-based attacks—magic, aura—and wield them like limbs?

It was only suspicion.

But combined with her Demonic Cult affiliation and that absurd divine art that subdued all qi—

It was enough to suggest she might be the veiled disciple of the Heavenly Demon. The Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader.

‘It’s different from Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique.’

The Blood Demon Fiend, killed by Blazing Burst Fist, had raved that Yuri’s martial art resembled the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

But what Yuri saw now was different.

The Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique did not subjugate and dominate.

It consumed like firewood and burned in flame.

‘Is she a possessor?’

Nothing certain was known about the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader.

Male or female. Age. Origin.

Some said a scion of a prestigious family within the demonic stronghold. Some said a poison-insect raised through brutal cultivation. Some said a possessor.

Whether she truly was the Young Cult Leader—or a possessor—was unclear.

But being affiliated with the Demonic Cult alone made her the worst possible opponent for Yuri.

And so, unlike with Point Ignition, he could not casually send a telepathic probe asking if she too was a possessor.

Rumor had it that the Demonic Cult possessed a horrific alchemical art that ground possessors down and refined them into elixirs.

‘Blazing Burst Fist is off the table.’

The Blood Demon Fiend had been one of the Seven Evils ten years ago. Even he had not associated the aura born from the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Yuri lifted his head and looked upward.

Black and gold aura clashed chaotically in the air.

Among the Fifth Rank rising stars, Sword Dragon was considered the strongest. And though the woman’s strength was unknown, if she truly was the Young Cult Leader, she would at minimum be on par with him.

From Yuri’s perspective, watching them directly, that seemed accurate. Their martial arts were vastly different, but at a glance their skill levels did not appear far apart.

Even while facing the two of them, the Withered Old Crone was not being overwhelmingly pushed back. Rudella’s magic dominated corpses and souls. A mage’s strength depended on how many high-quality corpses and souls they possessed.

The Crone had lived long enough to earn the title “Withered Old Crone.” For ten years since deserting the Rudella Tower, she had wandered the world collecting corpses and souls. She had committed enough deeds to rise to the position of bishop within the Cult of Chaos.

And from the rank of priest onward, members of the cult could wield divine power granted by the Evil God.

Kyaaaah!

The screams of souls she unleashed were proof of the countless deaths and chaos she had wrought. Her white hair fluttered wildly as she threw back her head and laughed in harmony with their shrieks.

“I see now—you! That martial art!”

The Crone recognized Bi-yeon’s technique.

“So you are the Heavenly Demon’s disciple that rumors speak of! Kahahaha! I was never a particularly renowned or valuable mage in Rudella—so why has someone like you come personally?!”

The Heavenly Demon’s disciple?!

Sword Dragon stared at Bi-yeon in shock, but there was no time to interrogate her. Kururur! Maddened souls assailed him.

“Could it be? Could it be! Did the Tower Master—Corpse Immortal Spirit—single me out to be captured?! Did she decide I must be killed?!”

Bi-yeon had no desire to reveal her status as Young Cult Leader if she could avoid it. Beneath her mask, her face twisted in irritation as she answered.

“The Corpse Immortal Spirit said—”

The piercing screams of ghosts ceased abruptly.

The Crone’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as she stared at Bi-yeon.

“She said the reason she didn’t kill you… was because it was a hassle.”

“…What?”

“You didn’t run off with anything remarkable. And hunting you down to kill you was too bothersome, so she simply left you be.”

The Crone’s pupils trembled violently.

“The reason she ordered your death…”

“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”

The Crone shrieked before Bi-yeon could finish. Her robe ballooned outward as if filled with wind.

Pababababam!

Countless souls burst from her body.

It was not only the souls that went berserk. The corpse-constructed monsters Sword Dragon had cut down and Haryeong had blown apart creaked and staggered back to their feet.

Haryeong subtly hunched her shoulders and glanced at Yuri.

“Shall we just run?”

There was genuine intent in her voice this time.

Yuri ignored her.

“Two years ago or now—you never listen when told to run.”

Haryeong let out a long sigh and shook her head.

“I’ll remain below. You go alone, then.”

“Are you scared?”

“Try finishing that sentence.”

He avoided her glare and leapt upward.

Full Moon Play, Orca, and Flame Vermilion Bird all flew through the sky as if it were natural.

But Sword Dragon and Bi-yeon had no such ability. They had trained purely in martial arts. While there existed movement techniques like Sky-Stepping, Air-Walking, and Void-Treading that allowed free traversal of the heavens, to perform them naturally required reaching the Seventh Rank and surpassing the human boundary.

“Gasp—?!”

Sword Dragon, who had been repeatedly leaping from ground to wall to maintain altitude, inhaled sharply in shock. Bi-yeon, flailing her arms and legs to prolong her airtime, made the same startled sound.

“V-Void-Treading?”

The man below was rising into the sky.

He had not leapt.

He was flying.

“A Seventh Rank master…?!”

Sword Dragon exclaimed in disbelief. Bi-yeon swallowed.

“What nonsense are you spouting…?”

Hovering high while controlling her magic, the Withered Old Crone distorted her gaunt face.

“Void-Treading? Seventh Rank master? Are you muscle-brained fools, brains made of sinew?! That’s merely levitation magic!”

Levitation was a Third Rank spell. How high, how fast, how long one could fly depended on one’s magical attainment and soul power—but it was magic, not martial arts.

“Ignorant, pathetic creatures! Ground-crawling worms who cannot even truly fly!”

The Crone spewed insults and raised her staff high.

Kururur!

Dozens of wandering souls fused together into an ashen sphere.

“Impudent fool! A mere martial artist dares imitate a mage?!”

Within the sphere, souls screamed and cursed. The ominous projectile descended.

Bi-yeon and Sword Dragon hurriedly raised their protective aura but could not remain airborne, plummeting downward.

“Good grief.”

Haryeong, darting about below and dismantling corpse-monsters, flinched. She retreated to avoid the blast and looked up.

“Ha.”

Yuri did not fall.

Though not particularly fast, he steadily advanced toward the Withered Old Crone.

Using martial arts and magic simultaneously was not simple, even if one’s Rank matched. The methods and senses were entirely different. One might grasp spell formulas quickly but struggle with martial understanding—or vice versa.

For Yuri, they were similar.

Even before properly studying magic, he had comprehended formulas merely by focusing on grimoires. Maintaining levitation while using martial arts was not even awkward.

“Fall!”

The Crone shrieked and pointed at Yuri. Mana infused into a resentful spirit, turning it into a living bomb.

Kiiiiii—

The ghostly wail shook the mind as the spirit charged.

Instead of dodging, Yuri raised his foot.

He felt freer in empty air than on the ground.

After all, clouds drift through the sky.

His slowly moving leg split the air.

Fwoosh—

Crimson aura flared along its trajectory.

‘What?’

The first to feel doubt was the Crone.

A kick.

That aside—aura? Hardly new. She had just fought Sword Dragon, disciple of the Sword Emperor, and the Young Cult Leader, disciple of the Heavenly Demon.

Though both were Fifth Rank, their aura had been powerful enough to disrupt her magic. Yet neither had felt like this.

‘Fire…?’

From the turbulent crimson aura, she felt blazing flame.

There was no real heat.

It was not hot.

A high-rank martial artist or mage could stand bare-bodied in flames without pain. She was Sixth Rank. Ordinary fire meant nothing. Even without defensive spells, mundane flames could not burn her.

Yet fire was something one did not approach.

That was instinctive.

Fire was hot and dangerous. Get too close and you burn. Catch fire and you turn to ash.

It was not flame.

She knew that.

And yet she felt flame from that crimson aura.

Kyaaaah!

The wraith did not explode.

The moment it touched the aura, the curse forcibly binding it burned away.

It resembled purification by fire.

A chill crawled over the Crone’s skin as she retreated hastily.

‘Purification? Divine power? No—different. It’s simply burning everything!’

This unknown man’s martial art was violent and arrogant in a way distinct from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

If the Heavenly Demon’s art subdued and dominated—

This one incinerated qi itself into ash.

“What are you?!”

The Withered Old Crone screamed.