Hermit Wizard

Condition of Trust (5)

-Sheeesss!

-Kyaaargh!

There were countless snakes scattered on the dirt floor. Unable to find their targets and to bite each other, wriggling in the dirt. The serpents completely overpowered the believers. Even with their unusually strong power, they couldn’t cut off the snakes’ jaws. Their bodies were already bitten everywhere by the snakes, forming puddles of blood.

At first glance, the snakes were unusual. All of them had red blood flowing from their eyes. They were making strange screams. The longer they bit the believers, the longer their fangs became to penetrate deeper into muscle. There would be no such snake in the world. The snake, which held on to the believers’ flesh, completely shut its mouth. Yusu’s power had created an enormously strong serpent. The serpent’s fangs pierced through the man’s flesh and bone effortlessly.

The snake’s skull, with its head, stuck, cracked like a chestnut shell, and a new head grew out of the gap; it put its teeth back in to search for skin that hadn’t yet been bitten. This was one of the worst nightmares among snake dreams. The object of this collected dream today was, of course, humans, not Spirit Beasts. Considering the color and concentration of dreams, it seemed that he was mentally deranged.

‘But… that’s not good.’

On the surface, it seemed that he had won without a hitch. However, it wasn’t these humans who had lost their reason that Yusu was truly wary of. Yusu turned his head and looked at the Alien. Snakes couldn’t approach him anymore because of the translucent walls wrapping around it. Inside the shield stood a skinny middle-aged humanoid, most probably a male. He didn’t seem sane because his facial expression remained the same while watching the gruesome scene.

To break that shield, he would have to use a stronger power. However, Yusu was unable to properly replenish his strength after using the Dream-Travel technique. He didn’t want to reveal his original body in front of an alien whose identity was still unknown. There was a limit to the power that could be used while maintaining the human form.

-Kreeek!

“Again?!”

Yusu extinguished the needle-like force that stuck to his head.

Suppose the Alien ignored all of that shield and his own protection techniques and kept trying to force its ways into Yusu’s head. In that case, it seemed that there was a mixture of power that hit him with just seeing. Therefore, at first, Yusu had to be vigilant. Still, after it touched his head, it seemed that Alien had no power to do anything else. So Yusu was trying to exterminate the power that the Alien used now.

Yusu spoke, staring at the Alien.

“What the hell are you trying to do? Anyway, it doesn’t work on me, so give up.”

Saying so, Yusu thought of a way to call Garam and Mrs. Pearl. Mrs. Pearl’s fire might be able to melt that shield. At that time, the Alien looked at the human man standing next to him, turning the direction of dozens of eyes staring at him as if he had decided on something. And he reached out his hand towards his neck.

***

‘That’s not going to work.’

Eraser eventually gave up. Clearly, a golden glow was flashing in front of his eyes. That wizard clearly showed a seed of domination. However, his own domination wasn’t working with the seed. Initially, the plan was carried out under the assumption that the wizard wouldn’t have the seed of domination. It just couldn’t go more comfortably, but the plan itself wasn’t something that deserved being thrown out.

Eraser decided to proceed according to his original plan.

=Be a martyr for my glory.=

“I am willing to offer this body.”

Eraser turned his head and looked at the middle-aged man next to him. Then he grabbed his neck with one hand. For this time, this man was left in the shield instead of mobilizing to attack the wizard.

“What the hell are you trying to do again?”

The wizard, realizing that Eraser was trying to do something, lumped Mana in his hand and then burst it. A black shadow popped out of it and stuck to Eraser’s wall. The shadow scratched and hit up the shield with a pointy skewer in his hand and tried to break in, but the shield remained.

Although it was peculiar magic, it lacked power. Was that wizard looking down on him? The artifacts that implemented this shield were obtained at a fairly high price. Even if that person had the magic of even greater power than this, it was an object that could block even the magic attack, which was said to have destroyed dozens of Asphim Giants in a certain world at once. The Truth-Seeker had already guaranteed that part in Eraser’s world.

‘Because the Truth-Seeker in our world is a crazy guy, but one deal is certain. Even if it’s entertainment against the mortals.’

Eraser, who finally cleared up all of his thoughts, contemplated the deep part of his soul and threw a call into it. As soon as the magic had been completed to some extent, Eraser saw a mark that was branded as a stamp on his soul. And he felt that the sign became a door and a passage was opened. This was different from Channels. It wasn’t a perfect passage created by a Truth-Seeker, but a breathtaking bridge between two souls. The only fact that the target soul wasn’t on this dimension revealed the power of a divine being.

Eraser spoke to call his weapon against the wizard.

=Come, my contractor.=

At that moment, Eraser’s soul began to boil.

***

As I was climbing the mountain alone, following the Fake God’s Mana pattern in my cover-up, I stopped walking when I felt a violent wave of Mana. It seemed to be close. If I went any further, it might notice my presence. I took the observation magic in my hand and blew it over the ridge. I was confused by a completely different scene than I expected.

“What, what’s all this crap?”

No, was there no CCTV in the mountain? Any witnesses? They were doing those things in the middle of Seoul! These awful things. That place was a mess now. People had fallen, there were disgusting fake snakes that appear to be made of Mana…besides, why was Yusu here again? And most of all, there was an Alien that looked bizarre at a glance where Yusu was looking. It must be the Fake God Parvache spoke of.

A closer look revealed a translucent membrane surrounding the Fake God and a human. Probably, the confrontation was ongoing because he was hiding in that shield. I was wondering so, but the wave of magical power that came from there gradually intensified. Parvache, who confirmed it through the senses I shared, suddenly shouted sharply at me.

[Hey! Min-joon! It could be annoying. We have to approach it quickly and stop that spell.

Parvache, with its torso out of my backpack, suddenly warned with strong telepathy. Parvache then informed me of the identity of the spells that the Alien was preparing. As soon as I heard the answer, I quickly prepared the leap magic and jumped out of my place. For now, it was more important to block that than to hide!

As I suddenly appeared from the sky, surprise and joy passed through Yusu’s face. Then he quickly explained the situation to me.

“It’s a strange race with unknown origin. I’m trying to catch and interrogate him because it’s attacking me, but the shield’s strength is extraordinary!”

“I know what he is! The problem is the spell he’s going to use…!”

I took out the soju glass artifacts from my backpack and threw them around with a hidden barrier. The level is lower than the barriers I struck on the Han River because I didn’t borrow the power of God, but we had to endure it first with this. As soon as the barrier was completed, another magic exploded from my hand.

“The Tornado of Dryflos!”

It was more than half a year ago that the last sacrifice was offered to this God of that true name, The one who swims in the wind of the stars. At that time, there were still enough spells left. Again, its mercy and tolerance were unlimited. You couldn’t even compare it to a stingy god-like Brunos.

-Woong woong woong!

The air was compressed and rotated according to Mana’s flow. Eventually, it became a whirlwind the size of my body and struck the Fake God’s shield. It was a magic that concentrated the destructive power to one point as much as possible so that the aftermath didn’t spread to the surroundings, but…

“What, did it block that?”

It wasn’t broken! To achieve more destructive power, I had to use a divine spell such as “Adelegos,” which will also break the hidden barrier. But…there was no way. I think that was the only thing I could do now. Let’s think about how to handle the aftermath later, and just as I was getting ready to unleash the magic…

Parvache and I felt that the Fake God’s spell had been completed.

[Tsk, it’s getting annoying!]

“…We could simply end it before!”

It went too far from the initial plan. After neutralizing that Fake God, I planned to take him home and try to find a source of information, but there was no way I could sign a contract with such a guy.

Now it was inevitable to fight. I tried not to leave any trace outside. I removed the magic I was holding in my hand again. The more I draw strong Mana in front of that opponent, the worse the fight will be, after all.

[Now that it turned like this, we have to take care of it as soon as possible]]

I looked at the one called by the Fake God. Not the shell, but the dark spirit that sat in it. The summoning magic I used was a rare type across all dimensions. I couldn’t guarantee it because I hadn’t seen all the dimensions. Still, I was probably the only one who could do it in terms of complete movement using the Channels.

However, there was summoning magic in the world, which was a little lower in level. Instead of directly jumping over space using the Channels, the summoner’s soul could be mediated to call another’s the mental body. With this magic, a summoner can only call up one being—the one who signed a very special contract with himself.

Parvache replied to me when I asked for the identity of the Alien’s spells.

[That crazy damn Fake God signed a contract with the Priest of Kaidemos. That’s a spell that brings the spirit of the contractor!]

The priest who gained divine power by offering his faith to Kaidemos…I hadn’t spoken this word out of my mouth for so long that the echo from my mouth felt awkward.

“…Demon!”

***

Eraser felt another human wizard approach and attack his barrier. Still, he didn’t care much and focused on the summoning magic.

Two wizards?

He saw the new approaching wizard, but the size of the spirit was relatively insignificant. Eraser’s race couldn’t see the souls of others. Instead, the other person’s emotions, colors of memories, and thinking habits could be read.

Most of these spirit worlds grew in proportion to the time they had lived. When looking at the light source seen in the spirit of the wizard who had appeared now…20 years at best? There was no way such a young wizard could use a Channel and call a demon race. Was he like a disciple of that wizard who transcended his life span? The last attack must have been the last blow to use all his Mana.

Even though the golden glow seemed weak, he didn’t pay him more attention. Eraser cut off his interest and focused on summoning again.

-Woong woong woong!

As a result, finally, Eraser felt the demonic spirit dwell in the crack in his soul. Like the Channel, he couldn’t bring up both the body and mental body, but he possessed the mental body through his own soul. However, he had no intention of staying like that. Keeping the demon’s spirit in his body put a great burden on him, no matter how powerful the contractor was.

Before Eraser completely handed over the body’s dominance to the demon, he guided the demon’s mind toward the human male whose neck was being held in his hand. It wasn’t too difficult for him, as he completely dominated the subject. According to Eraser’s instructions, the mental body of the demon dwelled in the man’s body, who had laid down all mental resistance.

Realizing that the intent was completely over, Eraser released his hand from the man’s neck. The man’s eyes, who seemed empty, now had a light like a deep night. It was no different from before that no expression could be found on his face. Still, now his blank expression had a certain kind of cold and grim energy emanating from within.

The demon, dressed in the male body, looked at its contractor, opened his mind, and spoke.

=Contractor, [Kill] This is [Rape] Really [Relive] Garbage [Rend it] -like [Please Stop] flesh. [Aaaah] 10 minutes is the [cry] limit. [It hurts] What [sick] do you want?=

The demon, the Priest of Kaidemos, conveyed its will to Eraser. The souls who became members of the demonic family cursed all living things, suffered pain, and screamed in despair for eternity. Feeling the goosebumps unwittingly at the gruesome scream, Eraser tried hard to pull himself together.

‘Ah… damn it. Anytime I hear it is terrible.’

Kaidemos was a unique god. It didn’t accept the wizard’s offering. The only way to borrow its power was to become a priest. Also, the only way to become a priest is to enter into a contract with it. The signing of the contract became a confession of faith. There was no need to create a strong faith in advance. At the same time as the contract, the soul became God’s authority, creating a faith of perfect purity. There could be no more complete faith and obedience than this.

In the human body in front of him now resided the priest who signed the contract with Kaidemos. Eraser managed to regain his composure and then replied to the demon.

=I will tell you my wishes according to the contract.=

The demon nodded. A priest received divine power in exchange for offering souls to Kaidemos. One of them was the power of contracts. Just as the demon made contracts with God, the demon could also make contracts with other mortals. In this case, the belief of the contractee wasn’t important. The demon gave strength to the contractee, and in return, they only put a seal on the soul.

As a result, as long as the contractee was alive, it was possible to borrow power by calling the demon’s mental body to an infinite degree without paying any price.

=10 minutes is enough time to eat. We have prepared a dinner for you, so please, enjoy as much as you like. Please neutralize that wizard, but don’t take his life.=

No matter how great he was, a wizard who had lost all magic couldn’t be a target of fear. After that, Eraser could easily collect him and dig up the information he wanted. Even without brainwashing, there were many ways. The torture targeting human-type creatures was familiar to him. Was it the area closely connected to nerves, mucous membranes, including the tongue, the end of the limb, or genitals?

=Do you [despair] just want it [please]? [I want to live] Good. =

The demon replied by throwing unemotional glances at Eraser.

=I will lend [your] power [turn] according to the contract [next].=

At that moment, the barriers of the artifacts Eraser received from the Truth-Seeker collapsed.