Chapter 163
'Is that him?'
It seemed like the warlock was communicating through the tree spirit.
Zeke used the Dragon Tooth Soldiers' vision to search for the warlock in the surroundings.
But he couldn't see the warlock anywhere within their sight.
'I need to lure him deeper inside.'
The effect of the Firewall that Arin had cast ended, and the fog started to seep in again.
Zeke shouted to Rick's party,
"Claire! Shoot fire arrows! Rick, protect Arin while she recovers her magic power! Jason! Conserve your magic power and provide cover fire!"
Whoosh!
Claire continuously shot fire arrows into the fog to prevent the tree spirit from approaching.
Tsssss!
But the fog gradually crept deeper into the cave.
Claire, who was shooting fire arrows, said urgently,
"I'm almost out of arrows!"
Zeke shouted to Jason,
"Jason! Collapse the cave!"
Jason cast the magic he had prepared.
"Rock Buster!"
As the 3rd Circle magic Rock Buster was cast, the rocks above the cave exploded.
Rumble!
The debris from the exploding rocks piled up on the tree spirit at the front of the cave.
Although Zeke and his party were trapped inside the cave, the tree spirit was completely buried under the pile of rocks.
Jason, sweating, looked at the pile of rocks.
"I-is it done?"
Zeke inwardly admired Jason, who had cast 3rd Circle magic in an instant.
'To cast 3rd Circle magic without chanting at that age. What is this party?'
A swordsman who learned the Five Lights Swordsmanship and a 3rd Circle magic caster who could cast without chanting.
Arin and Claire were also showing exceptional skills, so Zeke couldn't help but be curious.
It seemed like there was a hidden story he didn't know about.
Claire, seeing the completely collapsed pile of rocks, seemed relieved and slumped down.
"What a hardship this is, just to catch one warlock. I knew there was a reason why that stingy Graham was so generous with the reward."
Jason scoffed at Claire.
"Who was the one who excitedly bought a whole new set of bows with the down payment?"
"Jason, could you please shut up? You're at your best when you keep your mouth shut."
Rick was still on guard, protecting Arin.
Arin, who was meditating to recover her magic power, slowly opened her eyes.
"I-is the spirit gone?"
Jason grinned and pointed at the pile of rocks.
"Even a spirit would be completely crushed under that."
It was then.
Suddenly, something flew out from between the rocks.
Thud!
A piece of wood flew towards Arin, and Rick, who was nearby, jumped in and blocked it with his body.
"Cough!"
The piece of wood lodged itself in Rick's shoulder.
At the same time, more pieces of wood flew from between the rocks.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Zeke stepped forward, swung his sword to deflect the fragments, and shouted,
"Get back! Jason! Create a cover! Everyone, hide behind it!"
Jason hurriedly squeezed out his magic power and created an earthen wall.
Arin and Claire dragged the collapsed Rick and hid behind the earthen wall.
"Ugh!"
Rick groaned in pain.
Arin took off Rick's armor, tore his shirt, and examined the wound.
The piece of wood embedded in his skin had taken root and was spreading throughout his body.
Claire took out a dagger.
"Damn it. If we don't get this out quickly, Rick will die."
Arin held Rick's body tightly.
Claire stabbed the dagger towards Rick's wound.
Thud!
The embedded piece of wood had already taken root quite deeply, so it wouldn't come out even when she dug into the wound with the dagger.
"Uggggh!"
Rick twisted his body in pain.
Just then, Zeke took something out from his pocket and threw it to Arin.
"Pour this on the wound!"
What Zeke threw was a bottle of Black liquor.
Arin poured the Black liquor on Rick's wound.
Then, she could feel the tree roots embedded in Rick's wound wriggling.
Zeke shouted to Arin,
"Set it on fire! Right there!"
Arin was startled at those words.
"S-set it on fire? B-but then Rick..."
As Arin hesitated, Claire next to her took out a flint.
"Whether he burns to death or dies from the curse, if he's going to die anyway, let's try something!"
Click!
Sparks flew onto Rick's wound where the Black liquor was poured, and soon, a fire ignited.
Whoosh!
It was then.
The piece of wood deeply embedded in the wound wriggled and started to crawl out on its own.
Arin grabbed the piece of wood that crawled out.
"Burn!"
Whoosh!
As Arin burned all the pieces of wood with magic, Claire quickly extinguished the fire on Rick's body with her clothes.
"Done! All the roots are out!"
Arin took out a potion she had prepared and poured it on Rick's wound.
Sizzle!
Bubbles formed, and Rick's wound began to heal.
Although they put out the immediate danger, the real problem started now.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Tree branches started to extend from the gaps in the pile of rocks.
Then, the rocks gradually cracked, and the pile of rocks began to collapse.
Jason gritted his teeth as he saw this.
"A tree breaking rocks? How is that possible?!"
It was absurd to expect a spirit to abide by the laws of the world.
Finally, cracks appeared in the giant rock blocking the front.
Rumble!
The rock collapsed, and fog flowed out from within.
At the same time, tree branches wriggled and crawled out.
Zeke pointed his sword at the branches.
"Come. I'll cut you all down."
Just then, a tree branch sprang from under Zeke's feet.
Rustle!
The branch wrapped around Zeke's ankle, and then a thick branch flying from the front entangled Bahamut, his arm, and his entire torso.
"Ugh!"
Zeke, completely bound by the branches, couldn't move.
Giggle!
The eerie laughter echoed through the cave again.
Since the Strong Mental Defense buff had ended, Jason and the others covered their ears and collapsed.
Zeke, caught by the branches, also seemed to be losing strength and dropped his sword.
"Ugh!"
Just as Zeke groaned in pain, the evil tree spirit appeared from within the collapsed rock.
Rumble!
The tree spirit emitted fog with every breath.
Zeke glared at the spirit and gritted his teeth.
"Y-you, I'll cut you down right now..."
Zeke struggled to escape from the branches that were entwining his body, but he couldn't break free.
The tree spirit slowly approached Zeke.
'How dare you chase after me. Insolent fools. I will inflict pain that will make even death feel like mercy.'
Suddenly, the branches that formed the tree spirit's body unraveled, and a small person appeared from within.
A hunched back, thinning hair, and a face full of boils.
The ugly old woman grinned as she looked at Zeke and his party, who were unable to move.
"I'll play with you until I get bored and then use you as sacrifices for the curse. You'll pay dearly for daring to follow the great warlock, Dusk."
Dusk, leaning on his staff, headed towards Rick and his party, who had collapsed.
He licked his thin lips with his tongue as he looked at the young men and women lying on the ground.
"These are quite good materials. It'll be fun to play with them. Wait. Are that girl and that guy virgins? Yes, that's definitely the scent of virginity! Excellent! With sacrifices like this, I can summon an incredible spirit..."
Pierce!
"Ugh!"
Dusk was startled to see a dagger piercing his shoulder.
"H-how?"
Zeke, who had somehow freed himself from the branches, was approaching Dusk with Bahamut in hand.
"You rat-like warlock. I couldn't find you because you were hiding inside the spirit."
Zeke threw the Flame Giant's Deep Breath he was holding at the tree spirit.
The potion bottle shattered, and as soon as the contents touched the tree spirit's body, a huge flame erupted.
Screech!
The Flame Giant's Deep Breath, which never went out once ignited, burned the evil tree spirit's body.
Dusk's jaw dropped as he saw this.
"N-no! I sacrificed so many offerings to capture that ancient spirit!"
Dusk pointed his staff at Zeke.
Tsssss!
An ominous energy surged from Dusk's shadow and then shot towards Zeke's body.
The energy soon enveloped Zeke's body, and Dusk tried to spread the plague's energy into Zeke's body by controlling the curse spirits.
But something was strange.
Screech!
The spirits that were trying to cling to Zeke were repelled and returned to him.
"W-what?!"
Dusk's curse didn't work on Zeke, who had the Curse Reflection skill.
Instead, Dusk was attacked by the spirits he had summoned.
"Ugh!"
Dusk swung his staff and returned the spirit he had summoned back into the shadows.
He gritted his teeth as he looked at Zeke.
"Just who the hell are you?!"
Zeke, seeing Dusk's ugly face, confirmed that he was the ancient warlock he had captured in his previous life.
He cleared his throat and shouted at Dusk,
"Did you think you could get away with cursing Graham's daughter?!"
Dusk's ugly face contorted at Zeke's words.
'Damn it. How did Graham find out that I cast the curse?'
He had heard rumors that his curse on Angelina Graham had been lifted, but he didn't expect them to track him down.
Zeke pointed Bahamut and said,
"I have a few questions, so answer them quietly."
Dusk curled his lips, revealing his few remaining yellow teeth.
"Graham's dog. Do you think you can catch the great Dusk?"
Woooong!
An ominous energy surged around his body.
Zeke could feel that the power Dusk was using was a kind of malice.
Soon, a giant black dog rose from his shadow.
Growl!
In myths and legends, black dogs symbolized death.
The black dog, imbued with a terrifying death aura, approached Zeke with glowing red eyes.
"You have faced the cursed Black Death Hound, so you will never escape death."
The Black Death Hound lunged at Zeke, baring its teeth.
Just as it seemed like his neck would be bitten off, Zeke grabbed the charging Black Death Hound's neck with his bare hands.
Whimper!
The Black Death Hound, caught in Zeke's hand, struggled and resisted violently, but it couldn't escape his grasp.
Not only the Black Death Hound, but even Dusk was trembling.
'W-why is this happening?'
Even the death hound felt intimidated by the dragon's aura emanating from Zeke's body and couldn't even think of resisting.
Dusk, seeing Zeke subduing the Black Death Hound with one hand, panicked and stepped back.
"N-no way."
While retreating in surprise, Dusk took something out from his pocket and threw it at Zeke.
Whoosh!
The flying bottle shattered, and something wriggled on the ground.
A disgusting lump of flesh squirmed and created tentacle-like things.
Zeke frowned as he saw it.
"Was this also your curse?"
It was the same parasite that was attached to Iraman, the youngest disciple of the Assassin's Guild.
Whoosh!
The parasite suddenly leaped, trying to attack Zeke. It was trying to parasitize his body.
Zeke blocked the parasite with the Black Death Hound he was holding.
Yelp!
The parasite quickly detached from the Black Death Hound's body, which was imbued with the aura of death.
Zeke summoned the Holy Flame.
Whoosh!
The Black Death Hound he was holding, as well as the parasite crawling on the ground, were all annihilated by the Holy Flame.
Sizzle!
Black smoke and ash scattered around.
Dusk, who hadn't imagined that both of his attacks would be blocked, collapsed with a dejected expression.
Zeke slowly approached him. Dusk felt an instinctive fear from him.
"P-please spare me."
Clank!
Chains sprang from Zeke's left arm and bound Dusk's body.
"Gasp!"
Zeke looked at the bound Dusk and said,
"You'd better think carefully before you speak. That's the only way you'll die with less pain."
The Holy Flame, which had been circling around Zeke's body, grew in size and spun in front of Dusk's eyes.
"Ugh!"
Dusk, sensing the light magic that was the antithesis of his cursed power, was terrified and struggled.
Whoosh!
Zeke captured Dusk's energy with the Holy Flame, then grabbed the chains and muttered,
"Lightning Strike."
Crackle!
The power of Lightning Strike flowed into Dusk's body through the Soul Sealing Technique.
"Grrr!"
Dusk fainted from the Lightning Strike skill. But that wasn't the end for Zeke.
He buffed Dusk with the Infinite Stamina skill.
"Gasp!"
Dusk, regaining consciousness with renewed vitality, looked at Zeke with a terrified expression.
Zeke took out a potion bottle from his pocket.
He looked at Dusk and said,
"You said you would inflict pain that would make even death feel like mercy. Good words."
He forcibly poured the potion into Dusk's mouth.
"Ugh!"
A moment later, Dusk's horrifying screams echoed through the cave.