Failed Possession Chapter-86

## Ch-86.

—

Among the various builds under the concept of a melee beast mage—druid—Agwi’s current form was unmistakably a Blade Storm Druid.

Blade Shield and Blessing of the Storm were among the many defensive spells available to fragile mages.

Both dealt magic damage to enemies who approached closely, but orthodox mages only dabbled in them during the low-level phase. They were not skills invested in deeply.

The core of an orthodox mage was high-powered long-range damage that killed the enemy before they could approach. If they failed to kill, they either prevented approach altogether or used escape skills. Investing in defensive skills that damaged nearby enemies became wasteful the deeper one progressed into late game.

Thus, Blade Shield and Blessing of the Storm were neglected in orthodox mage builds.

But for a melee druid that added Bare-Handed, there were few staple skills as solid as those.

Even if one learned close-range magic, a druid was ultimately a hybrid magic warrior—a blend of warrior and mage. And no matter how one raised such hybrid characters, their raw specs inevitably fell short of pure mages or pure warriors.

However, if equipment slots were sealed to secure generous bonus stats, druids gained their “right to exist.” With those boosted specs, one would grind enemies down within the swirling Blade Storm while pouring out high-powered physical skills and close-range magic.

It was not without weaknesses.

No matter how much resistance was stacked, the core of the build was to take hits and endure while brawling in close quarters. Against orthodox mages or ranged warriors who darted around unleashing attacks from afar, there was little it could do.

In the game, those weaknesses could be covered.

Crush them with level advantage.
Crush them with stats.
And if all else failed, manipulate or skip patterns to create damage windows.

Yuri knew the weaknesses of the Blade Storm Druid better than anyone.

When players had flocked to challenge for first place in the Hall and the rankings had grown stagnant, it was Lee Soo-hyeok who uploaded strategies for all sorts of builds and overturned the rankings. Naturally, his guide had included methods for dealing with bosses of extreme disadvantageous matchups.

The horrifying part was that this was not a game.

No—this was horrifying enough that even if it were a game, there would be no solution.

If described in game terms:

The opponent was higher level than Yuri.
Stats were incomparable.
And the matchup was the worst possible.

Yuri was an evasive melee warrior. If he could use Withered Eternal Source, lifesteal would supplement him—but right now, he could not.

Meanwhile, his opponent was a Blade Storm Druid who brawled in close quarters and pumped out damage.

Hit-and-run? Was it even possible to strike and flee from someone who blocked his ultimate-speed Violet Lightning Single Flash head-on?

To create a variable, he would have to dive into melee and gamble on a lucky punch with Blazing Burst Fist. But during the attempt, his body would be shredded by Agwi’s Blade Storm and druidic close-range firepower.

[W-What do we do?]

Lacy stammered.

Though obsessed with being an orthodox lightning mage, her game knowledge was not lacking.

Seronis had no PvP. But humanoid bosses were plentiful; the assumption was easy. The compatibility between Yuri, a melee fighter, and Agwi, a Blade Storm Druid, was atrocious. Even at equal Rank it would be so. Now, with a Rank difference, there might not even be room for a variable.

A variable.

‘Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique.’

That flame devoured and burned everything.

If it could burn and consume even Agwi’s Blade Storm, that alone could become a decisive variable.

Aside from that… an orthodox mage like Lacy bombarding him with spells, and Haryeong providing supplementary damage with concealed weapons? Even if she was a close-range assassin, her hidden weapon technique would be exceptional.

[ Haryeong-nim.]

Yuri had reached the same conclusion.

There was no longer room to talk their way out. He drew Black Fang from his waist and handed it to Haryeong.

[What does this mean?]

Her gaze at the dagger turned cold.

She did not want to imagine what it meant to return a dagger she had once given him—especially in a moment like this.

[Don’t tell me you intend to die?]

[No.]

Yuri still did not wish to die.

[While I hold him off, please guard the rear. If that bastard targets Lacy-nim…]

[If that is the reason, I understand.]

Black Fang passed into Haryeong’s hand.

[Sixth Rank.]

Yuri bit his lip and sent a voice transmission to Lacy.

[How long will it take?]

—Kuuung!

The tremor from outside shook the world again.

As if answering it, Agwi stepped forward.

Kwasasasak—!

The pitch-black Blade Storm coiling around his massive beastly body reduced nearby walls to ash.

[…Five minutes.]

Lacy answered haltingly.

She had believed she could ascend to the Sixth Rank at any time—but she had never actually done so. Doing it now, at this very moment, was an unknown for her.

‘Five minutes…’

The time Fist Wolf had sparred with Full-Moon Play had been five minutes.

And even then, Full-Moon Play had held back greatly. Had he intended to kill from the start, Fist Wolf would not have lasted five minutes—perhaps not even one. Perhaps he would have died in a single blow.

‘Should I just say I’m Pad-lip Immune?’

It might resolve the immediate crisis—but the aftermath would be another matter.

‘If I truly join the Cult of Chaos.’

Could he remain as he was with Haryeong?

He would undoubtedly become completely hostile with Estor. As the heir of the Orsia family, Estor despised heretics.

As for Lorellia—there was no need to mention her. A priestess of the Church of Order, nicknamed the faith Injector. If Yuri became a heretic, she would use any means necessary to find and kill him.

And Elena?

“…”

Becoming a heretic would sever everything Yuri had built in this world.

Even if he only sought to escape this situation without truly joining, the moment he revealed himself as Pad-lip Immune, he would be tied to Agwi—to the Cult of Chaos. Even if he survived today, he would inevitably collide with them again.

‘Five minutes.’

Ordinarily, five minutes did not feel long.

But the five minutes starting now would be unbearably long.

Even Yuri was confident that within five minutes he could kill dozens of Third Rank martial artists—two Ranks below him.

There was too much he did not wish to lose.

[I will endure.]

With those words, Yuri stepped forward.

He had to make Agwi careless. Rather than killing him in a single blow, he had to make him toy with him—stretch the suffering out.

To do that, he had to cast this body into the flames of death.

Within those flames, he would not die—he would burn fiercely and struggle.

Yuri’s protective aura flared like fire.

The initiative naturally belonged to Agwi—but without hesitation, Yuri charged.

—Kkwaaang!

He thought he had rushed forward—yet he was suddenly in the sky.

Perhaps this was what being hit by a truck felt like.

A brief blankness passed through his thoughts.

He had charged. He had seen the fist. He had tried to evade, but the timing was off. So he had no choice but to receive it.

That had been the attempt—but he had not received it cleanly.

His original plan had been to block Agwi’s punch and deflect it to the side.

Instead, his body had been sent flying into the air.

‘My arms…!’

He twisted midair to regain posture.

Other than a tingling numbness, he felt no sensation in either arm—but fortunately, they were not shattered.

‘If I hadn’t drunk the elixir, my arms would’ve been torn off.’

Not only his internal energy—his flesh, too, had benefited from the elixir.

As he slowly descended, Yuri condensed aura outside his body.

Pazzzzik!

A large sphere crackling with electricity formed before him.

Heinderga’s second formula—Explosive Thunder Sphere—manifested through the aura of the Violet Lightning Flash Art.

With external mana frozen under current conditions, the only ranged attack Yuri could use was an application of aura projection.

‘Aura sphere?’

Agwi’s eyes gleamed.

No—that was not yet a true aura sphere. It was merely compressed aura shaped into a ball. But it was a technique on the path toward one—and not something a Fifth Rank should be capable of.

“Hmph.”

Agwi waved his hand as if swatting away a fly.

At that very instant, precisely targeting the opening created by the swing of Agwi’s arm—

Concealed weapons shot forth.

They were magical throwing weapons purchased in bulk from the alchemy workshop just yesterday.

Kkwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

An explosion obscured Agwi’s vision. The power itself posed no threat to him whatsoever, but the deafening blast and billowing smoke momentarily veiled his sight.

It was of little use.

The beastly eyes within the mask saw the world clearly regardless of smoke. The incoming Explosive Thunder Sphere was shredded to pieces by the Blade Storm coiling around Agwi’s body. Pajjijik! As it was torn apart, lightning qi detonated and washed over him—but even that did not threaten him.

“Trivial tricks.”

Agwi sneered.

To him, all of this was nothing more than light amusement. That fool who babbled about being Cloud Dragon instead of Thunder Cloud—he was merely a worm Agwi could crush underfoot whenever he pleased.

They seemed to want to stall until reinforcements arrived from outside, but that too was meaningless. Time was needed on both sides. The Spirit-Devouring Tree required time to harvest souls drunk on happiness, and the Rift required time to complete.

Judging by the force of the pounding outside, the pseudo-sanctuary would not collapse before the Spirit-Devouring Tree finished harvesting and the Rift was complete.

Thus, their desperate struggle was merely entertaining sport for Agwi. In fact, he hoped they would struggle more desperately.

Otherwise, the waiting would grow dull.

‘Don’t break too easily.’

Though the Explosive Thunder Sphere had vanished in futility, Yuri did not stop.

If he ran, no variable would be created. And if he retreated, Agwi would target Lacy.

Yuri closed in on Agwi once more.

He had not even approached that closely when his instincts screamed a chilling warning.

Kagagagak!

Razor-sharp blades hacked and carved wildly through the air before him.

He could not even approach.

Was this what it felt like to face a Blade Storm Druid who mindlessly ground enemies down with his body—not in a game, but in reality?

At Yuri’s current level, he could not properly close the distance. Agwi did not even need to attack—simply standing amidst a crowd would result in mass slaughter.

Even so, he had to approach.

As a martial artist, he had to force his way in and strike, even if it meant breaking himself.

With a sharp headache prickling at his temples, Yuri widened his eyes.

Blade Shield was a Fourth Rank common spell; Blessing of the Storm was a Fifth Rank common spell. Spells distributed under the title “common magic” only went up to Sixth Rank—and even at Sixth, there were very few.

In truth, by Sixth Rank one would have already established personal signature spells. There was little reason to continue learning common magic. That meant Blessing of the Storm was among the highest-tier common spells.

Agwi was a Saint.

He had reproduced the Blade Storm Druid build from the game. But someone bearing the title of Saint would hardly have left the build unimproved. Those two spells were surely no longer mere common magic.

Even so—they remained within the framework of “magic.”

Mana was suppressed within this space, yet Agwi was unaffected. Yuri’s “eyes” saw the mana around Agwi constantly shifting, converting into magical phenomena.

The level of the formula was too high to comprehend.

He did not need comprehension.

What Yuri sought was to read the trajectory of that troublesome offense-defense integrated magic—to anticipate the moment mana passed through formula and became phenomenon.

If he could respond with the flames of the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique before the magic fully manifested, he might burn and consume it before it took form.

‘But the Blade Storm is already deployed and being maintained.’

Reading each trajectory of those countless slashes individually was impossible right now. Nor could he “see and respond” as the Fist King once had.

He had hoped to bombard from afar with Explosive Thunder Spheres to at least destroy part of the storm—but the aura sphere he wielded did not yet surpass the force of his own fist.

He could not yet imbue detached aura with Intent.

Grinding his teeth, Yuri concentrated the aura of the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique into both fists.

If he could not break through from afar, then he would have to suffer through it with his body.

He had prepared for that from the start.

Without hesitation, Yuri met the Blade Storm head-on with Rantian Flowing Cloud Fist.

Kwagagagak!

The moment his fist thrust forward, his aura was sliced and torn apart.

Before the flame could burn, it was destroyed first.

Yet it was not annihilated instantly.

Though the disparity in Rank was great, the flame endured for a moment.

Not enough to scatter the Blade Storm—but that “moment” became a fleeting reprieve for Yuri.

Fleeting moments chained together.

Do not stop thinking.
Unify thought and movement perfectly.
A single mistake means fatal injury—or death.

Blades that had shredded his sleeves finally reached his flesh.

At the brink of being cleaved, he altered the movement of his fist, trying to draw the blades’ trajectory.

But there were too many.

When facing the countless “hands” summoned by the Old Withered Crone, Yuri had held absolute superiority. He had evaded and redirected every attack.

Against Agwi, that was impossible.

The moment he barely avoided one, another caught him.

Chwaaak!

Blood spurted from the first gash across his forearm.

Yuri’s expression did not change.

How many battles had he fought before earning the epithet Thunder Cloud? He had nearly died more than once; he had been wounded beyond count.

Pain of this degree was familiar.

He was cut again and again.

Scattered droplets of blood were minced apart midair and vanished.

Agwi casually dragged a foot backward.

It was mockery—a gesture meaning that no matter how much injury Yuri endured to approach, it was futile.

And it was true.

Yuri’s arms were soaked in blood, yet he had not properly disrupted even a single blade.

Watching from a short distance away, Haryeong unconsciously bit her lip.

Five minutes?

Had even one minute passed?

At this rate, Yuri’s arms might become irreparably ruined.

Only because that grotesque wolf-like monster was withdrawing playfully did it end at “ruined.”

If it changed its mind, Yuri would die within a second.

‘Perhaps I should approach as well…’

She had confidence in her long-range concealed weapon techniques—but the blade defense encasing the monster’s body was too solid. Even emptying her entire supply would likely fail to penetrate.

Her body and internal energy had been reinforced by elixir.

Would it not be better to approach as well, share Yuri’s wounds, and divide the burden?

The moment she reached that conclusion—

Agwi’s eyes flicked sharply.

Haryeong had not yet moved, nor revealed killing intent.

Agwi looked toward her simply because of Lacy’s silence.

Lacy stood with eyes tightly shut, concentrating.

She was trying to break through the wall of the Sixth Rank she had lingered at for years. The surrounding mana did not move—but Lacy’s thoughts expanded, and her soul-force swelled.

‘What is she plotting?’

Trying to cast some grand spell beyond her current Rank?

To overcome this situation, such an attempt might be necessary—but in Agwi’s view, it was meaningless. Even a grand spell beyond her Rank posed no threat to him.

Leaving her be to grant her greater despair later would be amusing—

But he wanted to see her face twisted in distortion now.

Chwaaak!

Agwi’s claws swept out, forming a massive slash that descended upon Lacy.

Haryeong focused her protective aura and crossed the Black-and-White Twin Fangs to receive the strike.

It was an attack laden with unmistakable killing intent and the power to realize it.

Unable to withstand it, Haryeong’s body was blown backward.

The trajectory led directly toward Lacy.

Kwaang!

She twisted her body at the last second to avoid colliding with Lacy—but her body crashed into the tangled maze-like walls.

Her back and organs throbbed sharply, yet Haryeong rose immediately.

She had nearly died just now—

And Lacy still stood motionless.

Haryeong, who had considered assisting Yuri in close combat, had no choice but to reconsider.

Lacy was too deeply immersed in meditation to respond to external attacks.

Until she broke through the wall, Haryeong had to guard her side completely.

Jjirit.

At the silent killing intent, Agwi bared his fangs in a grin.

Cloud Dragon.

The sight of him swinging blood-soaked arms in futile resistance was laughably pathetic.

Chuckling, Agwi concentrated the Blade Storm onto Yuri and stepped forward.

Countless blades surged toward him.

Defense shifted entirely into offense.

Every attack was focused in one place.

‘Me.’

The chaotic slashing trajectories that had been hacking indiscriminately now converged upon Yuri.

Strangely, that was better for him.

‘Don’t only look at the Blade Storm.’

The opponent was a druid—a melee beast mage.

It was true that Blade Storm held a large share in the damage cycle, but a druid who added Bare-Handed as a penalty skill possessed specs that produced high damage even with beast-form melee attacks and magic.

Whether this one had Bare-Handed or not, priests of this world gained strength by placing restrictions and vows upon themselves before their god.

‘Even his raw physical specs alone exceed mine.’

If he focused solely on the Blade Storm and the monster’s claws or other magic erupted, he would die.

Do not stop thinking.

Consider not only the present—but the future.

This was a situation where death would not be strange.

At this rate, he would die.

Yuri did not want to die.

That was precisely why he was doing this.

If he was to live, he had to ignite the flame.

Swallow the blades. Turn them to ash.

Burn.

Something creaked within him.

Was it his overworked, blood-soaked arms screaming?

Yet they felt light.

He felt no pain.

Impossible—but Yuri was immersed in the moment to the point of not perceiving it.

Within his mind, the verses of the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique flowed.

‘I am the flame that carries out heavenly punishment.’

Become the asura that exterminates evil.

Fill your fist with heavenly retribution.

The flame within his chest burned hot.

The emotions he had felt in the dream became flame itself.

And Yuri—

Pushed his body forward into the oncoming storm of blades.