บท 77: The Hammer of the Soul
"On Demon Island, a new little demon has arrived, originally a sea nymph from the Ropa Seven Seas and a direct subordinate of Goddess Pan. She has shared many tales about the goddess with me.
'Do tell!' My curiosity was piqued, but Juliere, the demoness, shook her head and replied, 'What good would it do to tell you? Whether it is Goddess Pan or the Three-Bladed Divine Spear, they are beyond your reach. You lack even the ability to freely enter and exit Demon Island.'
'It's truly disheartening to lack sufficient strength!' I conceded defeat, abandoning my inquiries. I had long recognized that what Juliere hesitated to reveal often indicated its futility for me.
Juliere's sweet, alluring voice tantalized my ears: 'All you need to do is complete your training camp tasks in Canada, and you will return to Demon Island, where you can continue to enhance your abilities.'
'I have no intention of going there; I might end up dead on that bizarre island at any moment.'
'With your current strength, the monsters of Demon Island pose little threat to you.'
'Still, I prefer not to return; the people there are far more dangerous than the monsters, filled with perverse killers like Jack.'
The city I inhabited was merely a modest one, with a population just over a million—not the legendary Tokyo or New York, where extraterrestrials frequently visited and casually destroyed things. Events worthy of national headlines seldom occurred here.
Though I faced some troubles now, I firmly believed that living here was far safer than on Demon Island. Despite acquiring some peculiar powers, I remained just a high school student. Such complex matters exceeded my analytical capacity. I tucked away the Book of Demons and collapsed onto my bed, silently channeling the unnamed martial arts technique to help myself drift into slumber.
As I endured the phantom torment of Gualia within the spiritual training card, I had grown accustomed to allowing the unnamed martial arts technique to run ceaselessly, synchronized with my breath, becoming an integral part of my daily life. However, when I consciously activated this technique, I experienced additional benefits, such as an accelerated flow of true energy, which, once replenished, would merge with my mental strength to form the power of Platinum Glory. Shortly after leaving Demon Island, I had already reached a training progress of ninety-eight in the second layer of the unnamed martial arts technique, only to enter a stagnation period thereafter.
The cards obtained from Demon Island exhibited a noticeable stagnation phenomenon when the training progress exceeded ninety. I had yet to ascertain the conditions required for a breakthrough.
The first layer of the unnamed martial arts technique had unexpectedly advanced after I developed a close relationship with Lilith. Despite my long practice, I had never perceived this technique as particularly sinister, so I was reluctant to resort to that method again, even though I currently had an excellent candidate in mind.
As I drifted in and out of sleep, a sudden jolt awakened me, an eerie image invading my mind.
A young man with a smile at the corner of his lips stood outside Pan Lier's home, waving his hand to unleash a cloud of blood mist...
I could see clearly that the blood mist was composed of countless tiny crimson insects, and the shock was profound.
"This event will occur in seven minutes!" I was astonished at how clearly I shouted this phrase.
Sweat trickled down my back as I realized that my sleep for the night was doomed. Quietly, I opened my bedroom window and leapt from my room.
My home was on the fourth floor, a height from which I could jump without injury, relying on no tools. In fact, I could leap from even greater heights, though I had never tested that limit, and this time, I did not intend to land on the ground.
In my haste, I had no time to summon any transportation from my small arsenal; instead, as I jumped out the window, I pushed off the wall of the third floor, unfurling my magical wings. Within seconds, I soared into the sky, heading straight for Pan Lier's home.
Disturbing Pan Lier in the dead of night was clearly inappropriate, yet I suspected that she might not refuse me should I stealthily enter her room. My plan was to wait outside her door, ready to confront the scoundrel when he released his insects.
It seemed that the sorcerer Axe mentioned was indeed him.
The speed of the magical wings was remarkable. As I quietly landed on the roof of Pan Lier's house, I quickly folded my wings against my shoulder and prepared my weapons for battle, just as the sorcerer appeared, releasing the anticipated cloud of crimson insects.
What a pity; I could not allow him to succeed. It was imperative to act swiftly.
Sorcerers are often depicted as formidable figures in many mysterious legends. Although most of these tales stem from movies and novels, their notoriety made me wary, as granting my opponent any opportunity to retaliate would be reckless.
Thus, I unleashed a barrage of sixteen holy light projectiles, targeting both the cloud of insects and the sorcerer himself.
Almost simultaneously, I clasped my hands together and cast a newly learned spell—Mind Hammer. The compendium of Max's spells consists of practical magic, and this Mind Hammer is one of the soul and holy light fusion spells. With the Platinum Glory's affinity for holy power and my strong mental prowess, I focused on these types of spells, which are quick to activate, consume little energy, and deliver straightforward attacks.
Though the holy light projectiles were launched first, the Mind Hammer struck the sorcerer's soul flame ahead of them. However, I underestimated the sorcerer's strength; the Mind Hammer rebounded as if striking an indestructible iceberg.
Despite my formidable mental strength, the backlash left me dazed, my eyes ringing, ears buzzing, and a bitter metallic taste in my mouth.
Had it not been for the holy light projectiles that I had launched first, granting me a moment's respite, I surely would not have survived the sorcerer's fierce counterattack—assuming he had any strength left to retaliate.
While I was in discomfort, the sorcerer was not faring much better. The Mind Hammer, attacking his soul without warning, left him reeling; unless one possessed extreme sensitivity, they would only realize the attack after being struck.
Though the sorcerer managed to deflect the Mind Hammer, he too was left dazed, bloodshot eyes betraying his suffering, and the holy light projectiles struck him before he could recover.
My greatest concern was the cloud of insects that comprised the blood mist, which disintegrated into ashes under the purifying light of the holy projectiles, utterly vanquished.
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