Failed Possession Chapter-82

### Ch-82.

—

The next day.

Estor left the inn early in the morning, saying he had to visit the Havert Mage Tower and the Temple of the Earth Church. Yuri and Haryeong arrived at the exhibition hall a little past noon.

“Today, we’re not splitting up. We’re staying together the whole time.”

It seemed she was still holding yesterday’s matter in her heart; Haryeong cast him a sidelong glare. She had said quite a few harsh things—calling him pathetic and whatnot—but since he had no excuse for what happened yesterday, Yuri quietly nodded.

“…”

Thanks to having looked over the catalog beforehand, they didn’t lose their way in the vast hall. But before they had even toured much, they stopped.

They ran into Lacy.

He had expected this might happen, but actually seeing her made him hesitate for a moment.

“It’s been a while.”

He had intended to pretend not to notice and walk past, but Haryeong spoke first.

Lacy was not alone. A short, chubby man blinked his wide round eyes. He looked at Yuri and Haryeong, then turned to Lacy.

“Do you know them?”

It seemed Lacy also hadn’t expected Haryeong to speak first. She looked briefly flustered, but quickly composed herself.

If possible, she didn’t want it known that she had met Yuri—but they had become far too famous. Rumors that the so-called Cloud Dragon had come to Alderran with the Sword Dragon and Dark Flower were already circulating among the city’s influential families.

‘Well… it’s not like we met alone…’

She didn’t want to create a situation where Elena might misunderstand, but at this point there was nothing to be done. Lacy cleared her throat and spoke.

“Cloud Dragon and Dark Flower.”

“Ah…!”

The man’s already round eyes grew even wider.

“You’re the… recently famous ones?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Fabian Bazet, disciple of Lord Guzel Havert.”

At that introduction, Yuri was slightly surprised. The Havert Tower Lord—Iron Fortress. He had never heard the name “Fabian Bazet,” but if he was Iron Fortress’s disciple, then he must be the one Estor mentioned a few days ago.

‘Silver Wood.’

The darling of the Havert Mage Tower, said to be nearing the late 4th Rank at twenty-one. It wasn’t strange that he would be together with Lacy.

‘Is he also a possessor?’

It wasn’t a question he could ask openly. If Lacy kept Yuri’s secret, then Yuri would have to keep hers. He didn’t yet wish to become hostile toward her.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yuri.”

“I am Haryeong.”

Haryeong immediately followed with her own introduction, then stared at Lacy.

“Are you ignoring my greeting?”

There was a subtle edge to her tone, and Lacy’s brows lifted slightly.

“Of course not. I just didn’t expect to run into you here, so I was momentarily flustered. Um… it’s been a while, Lady Haryeong.”

“I heard you met Yuri yesterday. Yet you didn’t expect to see us today?”

Haryeong’s voice remained cool and sharp. Her expression was impassive. It wasn’t outright hostility, but something very close to it.

“…”

Lacy had a good idea what that was about, so she couldn’t answer immediately. She stared back at Haryeong. Haryeong did not avoid her gaze.

As a result, only Yuri and Fabian felt awkward.

“Please convey my regards to the young lady.”

Haryeong withdrew first. In truth, that wasn’t retreat—it was more like plunging a dagger straight into Lacy.

“Are you close enough to exchange regards?”

“Of course. The young lady and I are friends.”

“Friends?”

Lacy’s brow twitched. Several sharp retorts rose in her throat, but she swallowed them after steadying her breathing. Still, she did not withdraw her glare.

“We’ll take our leave.”

Yuri finally intervened. Lacy clicked her tongue softly and looked away.

‘What? Is she really the Cat Panties?’

The thought arose naturally. Until yesterday, Lacy hadn’t thought deeply about why Haryeong had approached Yuri in the first place. In truth, she didn’t know much about Haryeong at all.

But seeing that attitude now…

‘Don’t tell me she’s Cat Panties?’

The puzzle pieces clicked into place in Lacy’s mind. A chill ran down her spine. She quickly sent a voice transmission to Yuri.

[Is that woman Cat Panties?]

What kind of absurd nonsense was that? As Yuri passed by with Haryeong, he was so dumbfounded that he glanced back at Lacy.

[What is Cat Panties?]

He didn’t ask “who?” Since they both knew the other was a possessor, there was no need. Still, Yuri had never directly admitted that he himself was one.

[Stop pretending not to know, shameless…! Cat Panties, right?]

[Lacy, when you suddenly say something like that, it puts me in a very awkward position. Not just panties, but cat panties? What kind of underwear is that supposed to be?]

[That’s not what I meant!]

[Referring to a person as panties—I don’t quite understand what sort of metaphor that is. So in your eyes, does Lady Haryeong look like cat panties? Or perhaps I look like panties as well?]

[W–wait, that’s not it!]

[A person seeing others as underwear… that’s quite a peculiar perception. I’m speaking seriously—Lacy-nim, I believe you should visit a hospital. No—better yet, someone of your standing could consult a priest.]

Without giving her a chance to explain, he bombarded her with transmission after transmission. Lacy’s face flushed bright red, and her shoulders trembled. If Fabian weren’t standing beside her, and if this weren’t the exhibition hall, she might have screamed.

[I sincerely hope you get treatment for that… condition next time we meet.]

[W–wait…! Don’t misunderstand!]

[By the way, is that Silver wood beside you also a possessor?]

The sudden question blanked her mind for a moment. But she recovered quickly and replied without being thrown off.

[No.]

[Then your boyfriend?]

[Don’t say something so horrifying!]

Lacy genuinely shrieked in disgust. Yuri didn’t press further. That ended their exchange.

“Ha… haaa…”

Watching Yuri and Haryeong’s backs as they walked away, Lacy steadied her breathing. She was relieved he hadn’t asked more about Fabian.

Fabian was a possessor. But Lacy couldn’t reveal that. Relationships between possessors had to be approached with caution and delicacy.

“What on earth was that about?”

Fabian blinked his round eyes as he asked, but Lacy couldn’t explain anything.

“Why did you act like that?”

Yuri also whispered to Haryeong.

“It slipped out.”

She didn’t look back as she answered. After a brief pause, she spoke again.

“Is that sack of crap beside her also a possessor?”

“Sack… what?”

“Sack of crap.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“So? Is the sack of crap also a possessor?”

Thus, the darling of the Havert Mage Tower—Silver Wood Fabian Bazet—gained an entirely new nickname without knowing it.

“Apparently not.”

“Really?”

“Probably not.”

Even if they belonged to different towers, it wasn’t strange that two disciples favored by their respective Tower Lords would be acquainted. Still, in Yuri’s mind, Fabian was tentatively marked as a possessor.

Which raised a new question—who was Fabian?

Fabian was twenty-one. If he truly were a possessor, he would be the youngest Yuri had identified so far.

‘The age of possession seems random.’

Yuri’s body had been twenty when Lee Su-hyeok possessed it. He didn’t know Lacy’s exact age at possession, but she had entered the Dercia Mage Tower in her early to mid-teens.

Even accounting for randomness, Fabian would count as a relatively “recent” arrival.

‘The one ranked first before me held that spot for half a year straight… Could it be that guy?’

The one with the nickname *HeavenGuard*.

A newbie who joined the community near its end, yet sharp and persistent. Yuri had admired his tenacity and posted several comments and guides for him. But that newbie hadn’t simply taken help—he kept pushing himself relentlessly.

‘Could it be him?’

Still, he had never spoken deeply with him—neither online nor with Fabian in person. There was no certainty.

Yuri set aside his thoughts about Fabian and glanced at Haryeong. Her expression was the same as always, but she seemed slightly in a better mood than before.

“Were you angry because of me?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Because of what happened yesterday. Weren’t you upset on my behalf?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve disliked Lacy Yuzuha since our time in Lutran. That’s all there is to it.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Why would I get upset because of you? Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Yesterday you were saying things like it’d be better to eliminate the root of trouble for my future—talking about killing her and all that.”

“That wasn’t serious. Look—didn’t that earn me quite a bit of favor from you? That’s why I said it. I’m a calculating assassin, after all.”

She spoke quickly without even turning her head. No matter how much he pressed, she likely wouldn’t admit otherwise.

“I see.”

Yuri chuckled and nodded. Whatever the truth was, it didn’t feel bad to know someone would get angry for his sake.

“Why are you laughing? Nothing’s funny.”

She shot him a glance as she spoke.

And just as he was about to respond—

—Kuuung.

The exhibition hall shook violently.

The sudden tremor rocked Yuri and Haryeong off balance. Several mages inside the hall couldn’t keep their footing and collapsed to the floor.

“A–an earthquake?”

A nearby mage cried out in shock. The shaking did not stop after a single jolt.

Boom. Boom. Boom…!

The tremors intensified with each pulse. More people fell, and quite a few mages lifted themselves into the air to keep their footing.

“What the hell is this all of a sudden?”

Even the mages who had been browsing booths screamed. Never in Alderan’s history had there been an earthquake of this magnitude—and this building was layered with various disaster-prevention enchantments.

‘It’s not the ground shaking.’

Startled, Yuri looked down at the floor. It was as if a giant had grabbed the exhibition hall itself and was shaking it. The building—rather than the earth—was trembling.

“Above.”

Haryeong, scanning the surroundings rapidly, muttered the word. Yuri immediately looked up.

At the very center of the hall, beneath the high ceiling, someone stood.

He hadn’t been there a moment ago. He hadn’t risen from the crowd either. He had simply appeared there suddenly and was looking down over the hall.

His face could not be seen. He wore a large hooded robe, and over his face was a mask with a mouth slit stretched grotesquely wide.

The unknown figure slowly raised both arms. As the wide sleeves slid down, his arms were revealed—thick with muscle. On his right wrist was a bracelet set with a golden gemstone.

‘A cultist?’

The thought came instantly upon seeing the mask and bracelet. Even if he wasn’t one, floating in the center of the violently shaking hall while wearing such a grotesque mask was a blatant declaration that he was the perpetrator.

Yuri did not hesitate. He threw Black Fang.

Haryeong’s judgment was no different. Black Fang and several daggers shot toward the figure.

Lacy made the same decision in that moment.

—Crackle!

A bolt of lightning lanced toward the figure, and other mages unleashed attack spells as well.

“Hah.”

A sneer slipped from the masked figure—Agwi.

—Thump!

It sounded as though an enormous invisible heart had just beaten once. At the same time, the air itself rippled violently, and a wave burst outward.

The wave nullified the spells first.

Next, it froze Yuri and Haryeong’s daggers in midair.

“So it’s you.”

From within the pitch-black eyeholes, his gaze fixed squarely on Yuri and Haryeong.

Agwi flicked a finger.

The suspended daggers abruptly turned and shot back toward their owners.

It was only a slight movement of a finger, yet the returning blades carried tremendous force. Even after raising protective qi, Yuri and Haryeong were shoved backward. Yuri hastily snatched Black Fang from the air and caught Haryeong by the waist.

They had barely exchanged blows, but that single clash was enough to judge his level.

Stronger than the 6th Rank Old Withered Crone.

Stronger than a bishop.

What did that golden bracelet signify? And that mask?

“You.”

When he said that, his gaze had been unmistakably fixed on them.

[Yuri-nim.]

Before Haryeong could finish her voice transmission, Yuri grabbed her waist and dragged her back.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

The invisible heartbeat grew louder. The shaking intensified.

Something was about to happen here.

Sensing the abnormality, the crowd erupted into chaos, trying to flee. Yuri prioritized escape with Haryeong.

Agwi twisted his lips behind the mask and formed a hand seal before his chest.

This was not a parish.

There were no believers.

No preparations to amplify divine magic.

Even so, it was more than enough to devour a single building.

The divine power he had gathered for years—intended to overturn an entire city—manifested in black radiance.

If his goal were merely slaughter, there would be no need to construct a False Sanctuary.

And yet he did so—

To create a rift centered here.

—Szzzzzzzt!

The black light spreading from Agwi instantly swallowed the ceiling. Darkness devoured the lighting, and the hall dimmed as though the power had gone out.

The ceiling no longer resembled an interior—it looked like the night sky.

At the center of that artificial night, something appeared above Agwi’s head.

A gigantic, pallid finger.

Its knuckles protruded grotesquely, and at the end of it, a long, sharp nail stretched out—darkened, as though steeped in poison.

The instant they saw it, goosebumps broke out across everyone’s skin.

It was neither martial art nor magic.

It was something entirely different. Not illusion.

The darkness blanketing the ceiling was a gate connected to another world—and through that gate, a single finger had descended.

It was only one finger.

Yet the mere sight of it made the stomach churn with dread.

Yuri felt Haryeong trembling. When he glanced at her, her face was pale, cold sweat running down her brow.

Still forming his hand seal, Agwi lifted his gaze in rapture to the finger.

Then it moved.

Slowly, it bent—

—Kiiiiiiik!

The nail scraped through empty space.

That was the last thing Yuri saw.

.

.

.

“Ugh.”

The moment he opened his eyes, a splitting headache struck him.

He bolted upright and clutched his sweat-soaked hair with both hands. It wasn’t just his hair—his whole body was drenched, his usual T-shirt and shorts clinging to his skin.

“Ah, damn…”

Had he had a nightmare?

He tugged at his damp hair and forced his sluggish body upright. His mind gradually cleared.

A dream… he had dreamed something…

But he couldn’t remember. If only he had stayed in bed a bit longer, maybe the memory would have lingered. As with all dreams, once he got up, it faded.

What was it?

No matter how hard he tried, nothing came back.

He glanced at the clock. Almost 8 a.m.

No time to roll around in bed.

He got up.

From beyond the closed bedroom door, the sound of the TV and cheerful conversation drifted from the living room. Soon, there would be a knock.

Son~? Still sleeping?

Are you skipping breakfast and going to school?

His mother’s voice would follow.

He turned on the phone lying beside his damp pillow. The lock screen showed a family photo from a few months ago. Several messages had piled up overnight.

Instead of checking them, he turned on the lights.

A large bed. Clean furniture. A good computer.

Woof!

Their dog Namgung Jin must have heard him. Scratch scratch scratch—he clawed eagerly at the door.

“Woof!”

When he opened it, the brown Pomeranian looked up at him with bright black eyes.

He panted happily.

Yuri stroked Namgung Jin’s head once and looked up.

“Oh? You’re up early for once?”

His father sat on the living room sofa watching TV.

“Son, did you sleep well?”

His mother was setting a stew pot on the table.

Woof! Namgung Jin circled his feet, asking for more petting.

“Uh…”

Throb.

It was a morning that should have been familiar.

But something felt off.

Was he still half asleep?

He blinked several times and bowed slightly to his parents.

“Did you… sleep well?”

“Why are you greeting us so formally all of a sudden?”

“Come eat quickly and get ready for school. Don’t keep Elena waiting.”

Elena… Elena?

“Ah… yeah.”

He couldn’t even immediately recall the name of his only childhood friend. He really must not be fully awake.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated as he was eating.

[Still asleep?]

It was Estor.

[Nope. Up.]

He sent the reply and stood with his bowl.

“Put it in the sink. Dad’ll wash the dishes.”

“Ah… okay.”

“You seem strange today. Why so stiff?”

He didn’t know.

Why was he like this?

Woof! Namgung Jin barked once more, chewing on a dog treat with his front paws.

His head no longer hurt, but…

His mind felt hazy.

He should wash up. No—he had sweated so much in his sleep, he needed a shower.

What was first period today?

School.

Right. He needed to put on his uniform.

Shower.

Dry his hair.

Change underwear.

Put on the uniform hanging in his room.

“I’m heading out.”

He opened the front door and stepped outside.

“Why do you look like that?”

He met Elena.

They had known each other since childhood because their parents were close. Same kindergarten, same elementary school, same middle school—and now the same high school.

Friends who knew their history would tease:

[At this rate, are you two even going to the same university?]

Yes. That was the kind of relationship he had with Elena Heinderga.

“What about my expression?”

“You’re asking like you don’t know?”

Before he could react, Elena’s pale hand pressed against his forehead.

Her cool touch steadied him.

“No fever…”

She muttered.

As he blinked in confusion, she tilted her head and stared into his face.

“You sure you’re okay?”

Before he could answer, she said his name.

“Yuri.”

Yuri.

His name.

Family name Lee. Given name Yuri.

…Was that really his name?

The fading throb returned. His chest churned. No—burned, as though something inside had caught fire.

“L–let’s go.”

His chest still burned, but he didn’t want to focus on it. If he realized what that heat meant, it felt like everything would end.

So he forced himself to step forward.

“Wait up!”

Elena hurried to his side, puzzled.

They pressed the elevator button and waited.

A faint floral scent drifted from her.

He glanced sideways.

A blue flower-shaped hairpin adorned her neatly arranged golden hair. Beneath it, her white skin glowed. Her eyes shone blue, just like the hairpin.

“What?”

Sensing his gaze, she turned and smiled.

He couldn’t respond—only returned an awkward smile and faced forward.

The elevator arrived.

The doors opened, revealing a mirror.

He and Elena stood side by side in the reflection.

“Not getting in?”

Elena pressed the button for the first floor and looked back at him.

It was hard to move.

The person in the mirror—

didn’t feel like him.

His chest burned as though seared by fire.