Chapter 233: East, Black Ghosts, and the Spectral Collector (2)
“Phew… Hahahaha…”
Sitting on top of a mountain of youkai corpses, I couldn’t help but laugh.
<Zetto> Lv.55
The number on the holographic window conveyed my joy.
My experience points, which had been rising only slightly since Loki released the Limit, had risen dramatically as I slaughtered the demons.
There aren’t many places that allow me to kill so many monsters in one fell swoop, and even then, it had to overlap with my route to make it worthwhile.
The reason for the large increase in experience was simple.
The unfathomable number of youkai piled up beneath me, and the fact that they were basically high level.
The higher the level, the stronger they were. Or should I say, tricky.
The yogi emanating from the youkai’s lair deals damage over time or it should have done.
I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with my thumb. For the record, the blood I was bleeding now was from overusing Sheddie’s power and had nothing to do with yogi.
I was already using a spectral sword, so I wasn’t affected by the yogi in the youkai den.
It also helped that I had quite a bit of AoE damage available to me, which made the fight easier.
TLN: AoE = Area of Effect
It was a breeze to take on the youkai who were wearing no armor and had no weapons.
I aimed for the red circle, the ‘weak spot’, and their white flesh would be sliced off like pure tofu.
‘If there’s a problem, I’ll deal with it later.’
The spectral sword embedded in the center of the youkai den and the decomposing corpses of the youkai in real time were emitting a nasty yogi.
I had Sheddie devour one of the demons, and after that she repeatedly said she didn’t like it and wouldn’t touch it.
Now she’s on top of my head, sucking the life out of me like she’s trying to eat me.
Burying it would cause the ground around it to rot, and burning it would do the most good, but depending on which way the wind blew, it could also harm the local inhabitants.
‘If Bernice’s binding can keep the yogi at bay, I suppose I could seal them in this cave somehow…’
But that would mean that if anyone came to the cave, they would be turned into a demon.
The biggest problem was the spectral sword at the edge of the cave. It was enough to turn anyone who came near the cave into a youkai, and that’s not even mentioning the spirit in the sword.
Sierra, who happened to be looking in the same direction as me, asked.
[I wonder who’s in that spectral sword.]
“Powerful spirits are divided into two branches. Depending on how strong they were in life and the greater the amount of resentment they have, the more powerful their yogi becomes. Just like you, Master.”
[So you’re saying he was a strong man too?]
“I don’t know if he was powerful, but… Judging by the aura, I’d say it’s the second case. Depending on how evil you were in life, your yogi can also become stronger – the evil in your body is transformed into yogi. Of course, you have to be an ear to do that, so you’re bound, but I’d say it’s a disgusting kind of ‘I could have killed more’ kind of evil.”
Apparently he was called the Butcher.
Anyway, he’s a vicious criminal so I have no intention of getting my hands on that nasty little thing.
Not only is it unsealed, but a sealed contract requires a price, and I don’t want to think about what he might want.
[You’ll have to break it, then.]
“But that doesn’t sound easy either.”
I nodded in agreement.
I would have a hard time physically breaking a yogi of this caliber.
‘Without divine power…’
Purification was not my strong suit so I had to come up with a better way to do it, especially since Sheddie, the one in charge of the process, was struggling.
Just as I was mulling over the idea, my senses picked up a group of people approaching the cave at high speed.
Whoever they were, they were moving with intent and purpose. They weren’t doing anything bad, so I sat back and waited for them.
Soon they entered the cave.
“Hmmm…?”
I smiled as soon as my eyes caught sight of their outfits.
As I stood up to greet them in kind, a nearby youkai head tumbled down from the top of Corpse Mountain.
-Thud.
With a dull thud, the youkai’s head landed at their feet.
“”……””
At the same time, there was an eerie silence.
***
The men quickly approached the demon lair.
One by one, their faces began to contort as they entered.
The cave, which had an eerie aura from the outside, was filled with a hideous, thick yogi smell and it was an unpleasant experience for the crew.
“It’s eerily quiet…”
The captain muttered as he entered the cave.
If there was a battle going on, they should have heard the cries of demons, or at least the sound of footsteps, but there was no sound from inside the cave.
“Perhaps we arrived too late.”
“I told you the youkai were disappearing at a rapid rate, and if we’re not lucky, there will be no youkai, no yodo, and no spectral collector.”
“Maybe we should have brought Soho.”
“First things first. The yogi is getting pretty thick, so everyone be careful.”
This was different from the yogi they felt from normal youkai. Even the crew of the Black Ghosts, who were used to it, were concerned about the erosion.
“”……””
With that, everyone stepped inside, tense as ever, and froze in their tracks at the horrific sight they saw.
There was a mountain of mutilated youkai corpses and just then, the head of a fallen youkai touched the captain’s foot.
All that was left of the creature was its neck, its mouth gaping open, its face contorted. How could a creature without reason or self feel fear?
The answer was obvious.
Looking down at the youkai’s face, the captain’s gaze traveled to the top of the mountain of corpses.
There stood a man with bandages over his eyes.
The blind man smiled nonchalantly, as if nothing was wrong in the space where the thick yogi made it difficult to breathe.
“”……””
There was a short pause as they were weighing and measuring each other.
Zetto, on the other hand, was wondering why they were so unhappy.
‘Is it because they’ve been deprived of work?’
If so, they might be in a bad mood.
Thinking about it, Zetto spoke up first.
“I must have stepped in where I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t expect anyone to come at this time either.”
It had to be done for experience but I hadn’t expected the timing to coincide with the black ghosts.
However, to the black ghosts, who had assumed Zetto was a “spectral collector,” his words came out differently than he intended.
“You didn’t expect that. We were secretly following you, so…”
“Me? Oh, do you know me?”
Zetto asked, his mind racing in a split second.
“How could I not?”
“…Then we’ll have to talk fast.”
Zetto was thinking that he knew the Paradise Exile, which was his alias, and the captain was guessing that he was the Spectral Collector, but somehow, even with the misunderstandings, the conversation was flowing smoothly.
“Well, then…”
Zetto, who had been slowly descending, trampling over the youkai, pointed to a corner of the cave.
There was a spectral sword with a hideous youkai spewing out of it. It was the source of the evil that had turned an ordinary cave into a demon den.
Zetto had pointed it out, hoping that the black ghosts would have a way to deal with it.
“… How can you say you’re human after all that?”
Misinterpreting his intentions, the officer drew his sword.
“…”
A speechless Zetto pulled back the finger that had been pointing at the spectral sword and clamped his jaw shut.
He could see that things were taking a strange turn.
“Since we’re here, you won’t be taking it so easily, Spectral Collector.”
The captain drew the greatsword from behind his back and slammed it into the ground, declaring.
“Spectral… Collector…? I…”
Zetto tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Prepare for battle, everyone! Yodo is extremely strong, so avoid sustained combat and make it a quick one-on-one!”
The black ghost captain had already pulled up the mask around his neck in preparation for battle.
“Hah…”
Zetto sighed.
There was only so much he could do to avoid combat.
He also knew that if he used Sheddie’s power to slip into the shadows, they wouldn’t be able to follow him.
‘Whatever the Spectral Collectors are…’
But if he ran away, he would be identified as a Spectral Collector, and then he would have a portrait of himself drawn, and he would be hunted by the Black Ghosts for the rest of his journey through the East.
“Hmmm…”
Not wanting to be a criminal, Zetto crossed his arms and pondered.
‘The yogi here is very thick, so I won’t be able to fight them for long. If I can hold out just long enough, I’ll win.’
Later, when I heal the members of the Black Ghosts who have lost their minds due to yogi erosion, the misunderstanding will be resolved.
‘What are spectral collectors, anyway?’
The words alone didn’t give him a good feeling, so he glanced at Sierra and smiled bitterly.