Failed Possession Chapter-87

## Ch-87.

—

Even though the blades had converged to a single point, it was still impossible to read each individual trajectory.

Impossible to block.

Impossible to redirect.

Impossible to evade.

So he let them graze him.

The instant they truly touched his body, he stepped with his footwork. The moment they brushed his fist, he twisted his wrist and joints. Each time, flame scattered. The flames that were sliced apart burst into sparks, fluttered—and were cut again.

There was not a single place on his body that did not hurt.

The cuts were not deep, but everywhere they brushed, they sliced. It took only a single step forward for his entire body to become drenched in blood.

But the flame did not go out.

Though it was cut down again and again, diminished repeatedly, it flared up anew as if nothing had happened.

Another step.

Wounds already cut were cut again. Blood poured from deeper gashes, yet Yuri dragged his fist forward. The lingering flames left by Dark Cloud Linking Moon of the Rantian Flowing Cloud Fist washed over the Blade Storm.

Agwi found the sight delightful.

No matter how desperately he tried to avoid it, approaching meant becoming soaked in blood. He was striving with all his might to minimize his injuries—but how long could that continue? To attack properly, he would eventually have to drive his fist straight into the blades.

‘His eyes.’

Agwi watched the eyes that never once stilled, constantly moving.

He was reading the trajectories of the blades as best he could and responding—but how long could that last?

‘The only reason you can even read a little is because I focused the storm on you.’

Agwi knew that as well.

If he left it purely in defensive rotation as usual, the brat would be able to do nothing. But that would be less entertaining.

Becoming strong and tormenting the weak was profoundly enjoyable.

This world was the best.

When he had first possessed, everything felt resentful and hopeless—he had wanted to die. But after gaining power with the talent he had been given, raising his Rank and becoming a Saint, he had come to truly love this world.

Because no matter how strong you were, on Earth you could never toy with the weak and kill them for amusement.

Each time he indulged in violence here, a shiver ran down his spine.

In the meantime, Yuri had advanced several more steps.

A blood-soaked figure. In his clear gaze burned a wordless will.

Chuckling, Agwi altered the form of the Blade Storm.

‘Coming closer doesn’t make you any more advantageous.’

A foolish martial artist whose only trick was punching.

Did he think breaking through the Blade Storm and approaching would change anything?

Snorting, Agwi expanded the storm slightly further.

—Fwoooosh!

That was the moment.

In the space where a new blade of the storm was about to be born, flame erupted.

At the very instant the magic was about to manifest, that flame interfered.

It did not cause Agwi pain—but it did startle him.

The flame of the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique.

Just as Yuri had desperately hoped, he had seized the moment before the magic fully manifested.

The suddenly swelling flame devoured adjacent blades of the storm in succession.

‘This bastard—my power?’

It swallowed, burned, and spread.

In an instant, flames filled the space around Agwi.

But that alone could not damage him.

It merely blocked the Blade Storm for a brief moment.

Though Yuri had added Intent to the Evil-Quelling Heavenly Principle Technique, someone of Agwi’s level could easily shake off such flame.

Even so—

This was the moment Yuri had longed for.

Without hesitation, he charged.

The flames spreading around Agwi were drawn toward Yuri. Scattered droplets of blood drifted like crimson mist. Within that haze, Yuri raised his fist.

The flame he had yearned for lodged within it.

Blazing Burst Fist—his strongest close-range technique.

Even if a single blow could not kill, against an opponent with such disparity, this was the only attack that might land.

‘Madman.’

Agwi had been momentarily startled by the spreading flames—but he was even more taken aback that the brat had judged this to be his chance and rushed in.

Then again, if he were sane, he would have run instead of fighting.

To Agwi’s eyes, Yuri’s approach was not particularly fast.

He knew what he intended.

A fist drawn to the waist.

What—strike with his fist, and that’s it?

“…?”

There was no need to guard against such an attack.

A Fifth Rank martial artist’s fist? Even if he wanted to die, he could not oblige—he could take dozens, hundreds of such blows without concern.

And yet—

What was this feeling?

It was different from the “thrill” he felt while tormenting the weak.

The chill crawling along his spine was a warning from instinct.

The flames spreading around him were strange as well. It seemed a little Intent had been mixed in, disproportionate to his Rank—but even considering that, the flames were stubborn.

The Blade Storm was still being suppressed.

This was not mere aura.

‘This is…’

Fragmented judgments linked rapidly.

This was not an attack he could idly take for sport.

A Fifth Rank martial artist’s fist?

Absurd.

He thought so—but he did not wish to ignore his instincts’ warning.

He was maintaining the pseudo-sanctuary, tuning the Rift, sustaining Divine Authority.

If he permitted a needless blow and the Rift’s tuning faltered—

He did not wish to imagine it.

So Agwi moved his hand.

It was not fear.

Thus he did not retreat, nor did he evade.

Rather—

He would tear him apart head-on.

It was the culmination of arrogance born from believing himself absolutely superior.

Agwi had transformed into a beast nearly three meters tall.

His hand was large enough to envelop Yuri’s entire head with ease.

That hand descended upon him.

Before Yuri could unleash Blazing Burst Fist.

At this rate, his body would be torn apart before he could even throw the punch.

And yet—

There was no hesitation in Yuri’s movement.

In this perilous line of death, it was not Agwi who moved first.

Yuri’s body became wind and cloud.

An illusion no hand could grasp.

With a unity beyond conscious thought, his body followed his martial art. The state he had experienced several times before—

Complete Unity.

He thought of striking—and acted.

That fierce will became Intent and fused into his flesh.

Agwi had attacked first—but Yuri was later.

The difference in specs compounded; the initiative of the attacker became the defender’s advantage.

There was no space to burrow in.

Under these conditions, the place to drive Blazing Burst Fist was—

The hand descending to tear him apart.

Yuri’s waist bent back to a precarious angle; his legs rooted firmly.

His driving fist slipped narrowly between the curved claws—

And struck Agwi’s palm.

“Kraaagh?!”

The sound of something bursting echoed from within Agwi.

With a startled scream, he yanked back the arm he had swung.

His hand—inside—it was burning.

A raging flame had entered his palm and was rampaging.

The rampaging fire moved.

Burning nerves and meridians, it sought to burrow deeper.

“What did you do?!”

Agwi roared.

Kwarrrrr!

The power he summoned surged into his arm and suppressed the invading flame.

It no longer penetrated deeper—but the sensation in his right arm was dulled.

Ordinarily, he would have used divine power to regenerate instantly.

But he could not.

The divine power accumulated over years—and his current reserves—were all pooled within the Rift.

“You son of a bitch…!”

He ignored the sluggish right arm.

Even without it, he could kill the brat.

Kwarrrrr!

From within the flames that had begun to subside, the Blade Storm erupted anew.

“I’ll make you beg for death!”

Shrieking, Agwi swung his left arm.

He would no longer wait as before.

An attack filled with unmistakable killing intent descended upon Yuri.

Though he had swung only one arm, the accompanying Blade Storm was beyond count.

This was an attack deliberately aimed by a Saint.

Yuri tried to evade—but he could not.

All he could do was amplify his protective aura and raise both arms to guard his vital points.

“Yuri!”

Amid Ha-ryeong’s scream, Yuri’s body was hurled into the sky.

He had focused on defense—

But it shattered too easily.

His protective aura was torn to shreds; both arms were cut so deeply that bone was exposed; and the attack did not stop there—

It pierced into his organs.

Yuri’s airborne body abruptly halted.

Agwi’s magic had seized him mid-flight.

Agwi’s hand chopped down through empty air.

—Kkwa-jik!

Yuri’s body was slammed into the ground.

“Keugh!”

Fragments of ruptured organs and blood burst from Yuri’s mouth.

At the sight, Haryeong kicked off the ground.

Surely five minutes had already passed.

Yet Lacy still had not opened her eyes.

Had she failed to break through the wall of the Sixth Rank?

If so, everything they had done until now had been meaningless.

Rather than remain in place guarding Lacy—who might or might not ascend—Haryeong wanted to prevent Yuri’s death.

“Not yet!”

Yuri, writhing on the ground, shouted.

At that cry, Haryeong, who had been about to unleash a barrage of concealed weapons, froze.

“Not yet?”

Agwi spat, his face twisting.

With a flick of his finger, the Blade Storm overlapped and surged toward Yuri.

Still unable to rise, Yuri rolled desperately across the ground—but a blade he failed to avoid carved a long gash across his left leg.

“What do you mean ‘not yet’?!”

Pain flared as bone was shaved away.

Yuri clenched his teeth.

With his leg injured, he could no longer move properly.

There were potions in the pouch at his waist—but would there be time to use them?

If this were outside, he could combine levitation magic to create an opening somehow—but in this mana-suppressed space, he could not use magic.

“You mean you can still fight?”

From the elongated snout protruding through the torn mask, sharp fangs glinted.

Agwi glanced at Haryeong, who had halted, and then at Lacy behind her—still standing with eyes closed.

Just how great a spell was she preparing, that she still remained immersed in concentration?

“Hmph.”

Agwi’s eye twitched.

He had sustained an unexpected injury.

He did not consider a mage of her level dangerous—but being wounded by what was essentially a monkey of a martial artist meant he ought to be a little more cautious.

“I’ll kill those bitches first—before I kill you.”

The moment he said that—

Yuri’s hand slammed against the ground.

His body sprang up; midair, he twisted his waist.

Crimson Blood Flowing Kick streaked in a crimson arc toward Agwi.

“Idiot.”

Agwi waved his hand.

Kwagagagak!

Yuri’s body was shredded by the Blade Storm, then a heavy impact sent him crashing into the wall.

“I said I’d make you beg for death! Yes—first I’ll break your limbs so you can’t struggle. Then crawl on the floor like a worm and watch those bitches die.”

Sliding down the wall, sprawled on the ground, Yuri coughed up blood and glared at Agwi.

‘Damn it… you said five minutes would be enough…’

Five minutes had long since passed.

He had even driven Blazing Burst Fist into him to draw Agwi’s fury and keep his attention—

Yet Lacy still stood with her eyes closed.

Was she planning to ascend only after his limbs were completely destroyed?

“Come to think of it, the one who taught you was that Fist Wolf, wasn’t it?”

As Agwi approached slowly, a twisted smile spread across his face.

“It seems you and I truly have a connection. Heh heh… To think I’d personally kill the disciple of Fist Wolf—of Bakered Laspion.”

“…!”

Struggling to rise on his damaged leg, Yuri felt as though the hair on his head stood on end.

“Bakered… Laspion?”

“So you don’t even know that name? No matter. No need to explain to someone about to die.”

Agwi said no more—but it was enough.

Just as Yuri had suspected possessors were involved, Agwi had been among those responsible for the massacre of the Laspion family twenty years ago.

Then what of the others?

Were the other Saints accomplices in the Laspion tragedy as well?

Yuri recalled Bakered’s figure.

He had trained under him for little more than a month—but to Yuri, Bakered had been a true master, like Lorellia, who had properly taught him martial arts.

And so—

Staggering, Yuri stepped forward.

Had he known earlier, he would have forced Blazing Burst Fist into his face instead of his hand.

Could he do it once more?

If he was prepared to die, perhaps he could drive it in one more time.

‘No.’

It was Haryeong who thought that.

She saw Yuri’s face turn cold.

She knew that expression well.

Two years ago, in Lagos, when he had stood against the Blood Fiend Ghost—his face had looked the same.

The face of someone prepared to die.

They were stalling to avoid death—yet preparing for death was a cruel contradiction.

He had said “not yet,” but…

Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, Haryeong turned her head and glared at Lacy.

‘Just how much longer…!’

She wanted to send a voice transmission—but feared disrupting Lacy’s concentration.

In the end, she tore her gaze away and gripped the Black-and-White Twin Fangs in both hands.

She truly did not know anymore.

Whatever happened, this was the moment to struggle even more desperately.

And Haryeong was willing.

It was not only Yuri who had resolved himself.

Lacy, too, was suffocating.

She did not know how much time had passed.

External phenomena, sounds—none of it reached her now.

She stood before the wall of the Sixth Rank she had long ignored.

A wall she should have vaulted lightly—

Yet instead of falling, the wall seemed to seize her ankle.

The magic she had learned until now.

The spells she had practiced with diligence and affection.

Re-understanding them—more deeply—took longer than she had expected.

It was a process she could not skip.

By reinterpreting spells she already knew at a deeper level, her own path of magic was defined—and her soul-force grew immensely.

‘Just a little more.’

It was close.

Five minutes had passed—but Lacy Yuzuha was not yet dead.

That meant the two who had asked for time were still holding on.

The worst-case scenario she did not wish to imagine—

Opening her eyes to find Yuri and Haryeong already dead.

If that happened—

Even if she survived somehow and returned, she would have no face to show Elena.

‘So please.’

—Thud.

Her understanding of magic completed.

Formulas, spells—the very source from which all magic was born.

The long-sought aspiration of countless mages who were the parents of spellcraft—

Was reinterpreted anew within Lacy.

Through that, magic became wholly the mage’s own and transformed.

Even the same fireball would differ between high-ranking mages for this reason.

Lacy had reached that domain.

Chizzz—

Electric current flowed through her soul.

She exulted in the current drifting through her spirit.

This current that linked soul to soul—

It was the form of magic Orca currently pursued.

Lacy had participated eagerly in its research.

Though it required the high foundation of Sixth Rank and she had never cast it directly before, she had already engraved the terminal formula into her soul for the future.

[Lady Orca.]

Across immeasurable distance, Lacy’s will reached Orca.

—Pajjijik!

The body that had stood with eyes closed was engulfed in golden lightning.

“?!”

Agwi, advancing toward Yuri, immediately sensed the anomaly.

Something had *passed through* the barrier of the pseudo-sanctuary.

If it had been magic or an attack, the barrier would have blocked it.

But this—

It had succeeded in intrusion without being filtered.

“What…?”

Haryeong, approaching with the Twin Fangs, also turned in shock.

Within crackling arcs of electricity, Lacy staggered.

“Ah…”

Her lips parted.

—Kuuung!

A massive presence pressed down upon Agwi.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared.

Was that truly Lacy Yuzuha?

The appearance was identical—

But the presence, the aura of the soul—was different.

This was not merely someone who had risen in Rank through meditation.

It was as though she had become an entirely different person.

‘Something is possessing her soul…!’

Agwi did not hesitate.

He charged at Lacy.

At the same moment, Lacy’s finger pointed toward him.

Pajjijik!

Golden lightning intercepted his charge.

The Blade Storm burst forth in response—but splitting bolts of lightning tore through and destroyed it.

“I wondered whether transmitting across such a distance would succeed.”

Lacy spoke.

It was unmistakably her voice—

Yet the tone was entirely different.

“With a terminal engraved, it seems transmission can be achieved regardless.”

She muttered, tying back her purple hair.

No—

The one standing there now was not Lacy.

It was the soul of Heavenly Thunder Orca, transmitted from the Dercia Magic Tower into Lacy’s body.