Chapter 23: The Entity... Dark Exorcist

According to the novel, a spirit entity was a soul that either did not cross to the other side or was trapped for some reason. Ruthar could barely recall that fact, but he did fully remember the reference the author made:

"Plato divided the soul into three parts: the logistikon (reason), the thymoeides (spirit, which houses anger and other spirited emotions), and the epithymetikon (desire for physical pleasures)."

While the reference wasn't entirely accurate, it was used to explain the different types of souls.

But this entity was different, created by the author of the novel for one basic purpose: to kill. Its existence would be void without killing.

Up close, Ruthar was unable to move a muscle, shaking from the immense pressure he felt from the beast. The only thing he could do was turn his neck, but the rest of his body refused to move.

The Monster Panther had turned tail and made a desperate run for it, leaving Ruthar to face the beast alone.

"Bloody coward..."

[Emergency Quest]

*Rewards: Unknown

*Difficulty: D

*Time limit: Stated.

The fact that this was a difficulty D rank gave Ruthar the shivers. Even though it was merely about surviving a minute, it would still be an incredibly difficult task.

Ruthar considered running once more, but as he recalled what the system called the spirit entity, he stood sharp and cautious.

A Kuro spirit was not one of the most dangerous entities to encounter, but it was still a threat. According to the novel:

They are skeletal entities amalgamated from the bones of human skeletons. In situations of mass death, such as famines or wars, individuals could not receive proper funeral rites and thus were unable to move on after death. As their bodies decayed, their souls became twisted with wrath and resentment towards the living. Their souls and bones merged into one enormous being, 'Kuro.'

But Ruthar translated this as the "starving skeleton" because of its monstrous appetite and ability to decapitate everyone in an entire village without quenching its hunger.

Right now, he was the only food before it, and all it did was stand and size him up.

"Stop being scared, Ruthar. Make a distraction and run faster than your legs can move!"

Ruthar yelled internally as he blasted a ball of flame at the Kuro while making a run for it. He did not bother to look back to see if his attack hit the mark; he simply ran, knowing it wouldn't be enough.

"Tsk, why the hell do I have to start meeting the bosses so early..."

He kept running as fast as his legs could. Unfortunately, after making it a dozen feet, he heard a sharp shrill and felt a pair of claws tear deeply into his back, throwing him into the nearest tree.

"Ahhhh!!!" He let out a scream, shaking on his back and rolling, unable to suppress the pain. Surely this was another death about to be served to him once more.

Ruthar picked up his sword and struggled to get to his feet, but the cut in his back had done more damage than he thought. He fell to his bottom, hitting his back hard against the tree once more, and realized he wasn't going anywhere in this condition.

"Why am I so bloody weak... Isn't a System supposed to change my story? I might have powers here, but I still feel the same as my last life: weak."

Ruthar watched the entity approach him silently, its jaws opening to reveal sharp rolls of teeth drooling with saliva.

"If I were to write another farewell note before I die here, I would have more regrets than my former life... I have more faces of burden... Why am I remembering this? Is it that the closeness of death gives me some kind of motivation? After all, I'm just a red man."

Ruthar pointed his blade and poured the last of his mana into it with emptiness.

***

As the Kuro Spirit was about to slash down at Ruthar, a blinding light streaked through the air, almost hitting the Kuro, which leapt backwards to avoid the attack.

A large crater was dug into the ground by the light, and at the heart of this crater was a special sword, belonging to an Exorcist.

Ruthar shifted his gaze alongside the monster to the owner of the sword, who was sprinting at them with another sword in hand. The person was quick and reached them in a few seconds, intercepting the Kuro spirit with a kick to its skull.

It staggered and let out a shrill, dark orb-like energy forming in its mouth. It blasted the orb exceedingly fast at the woman, who ducked to evade the attack.

Ruthar, sitting still, opened his mouth in awe as he witnessed the battle. The orb she dodged was able to destroy a few trees and devastate the landscape, clearly indicating the power of the Kuro spirit.

Likewise, the skill and speed of this savior were not to be underestimated.

She slashed at the Kuro entity as fast as lightning, and it responded with consecutive dodges, sometimes parrying with its claws. But soon enough, one prevailed dominantly.

The savior sliced the arms of the Kuro first, then shoved it back with a kick to daze it before a final beheading to finish off the battle.

Various thuds were heard as she finally turned to face Ruthar.

"Wait, fluffy dog ears, long tail, cute appealing body type, adventurer clothes, muscular build... This is a beast person!"

Ruthar couldn't help but ogle at what his eyes saw in the dark of night.

"Are you Ruthar Hellborn?" the beast woman asked, patiently awaiting his answer.

Ruthar nodded, unable to figure out how she knew his name. Was he really popular now? Or did Tomaha make a wanted poster?

Ruthar fantasized about a wanted poster made by Tomaha: "Wanted extremely dead... Not even his ashes should remain."

He smiled bitterly at the image in his head.

"In that case, I will be helping you with training on behalf of Hendricks."

Ruthar's eyes brightened. "A colleague of the Beast Master."